Chapter 39, as you know, it's rather arbitrary...

The man's eyes were hazy with the effects of alcohol, seemingly both light and heavy, indicating that he was also slightly intoxicated.

Xu Yuewei didn't know how she appeared in his eyes, or if he would also look like he was drunk with a confused gaze.

She wondered if he knowingly participated in this kind of scheme, or if she had simply fallen into their trap. The difference between these two possibilities determined whether she had been fooled, and she would then adjust her facial expressions and body language accordingly.

But she walked past the people gathered around the pool table, enduring the discomfort in her ankle, step by step, and in that time that was measured in seconds, she received no answer.

All she could see was his hands resting on the top of the golf club, his eyebrows perfectly positioned to lower his eyes, giving him a slightly fierce look, but his lowered gaze was gentle, even carrying a hint of teasing, as he stared straight at her.

Xu Yuewei stopped in front of him, her eyes half-open, staring blankly, her eyes asking him: What do we do now?

We can't actually kiss, can we?

From her perspective, Jiang Shiyan's hair was blocking a certain light source, and the hair on his forehead was pulled back, forming a fluffy, somewhat unorthodox slicked-back hairstyle.

Xu Yuewei's eyes widened suddenly. No, really?

Should she say something to lighten the mood, laugh it off, or let the matter drop? But she wasn't good at any of those things, so in the end she could only grip his arm and apply the brakes with so much force that she could dig her fingertips into it.

But the instant he lunged at her, she instinctively closed her eyes tightly, feeling a jolt of electricity run through her body, almost shivering. And just a second before they were about to touch, the man's lips deviated from their intended path and kissed her cheek.

He let her go, but his kindness wasn't much better; he gave her a light kiss and left a soft "pop" as he got up.

The heat radiated from that spot, instantly covering her entire face, especially her ear on that side, which turned noticeably red.

Xu Yuewei turned her head away from the crowd, took a deep breath, and heard them arguing relentlessly, "This doesn't count," "What kind of pure love is this?" "Cheating," "Can't you take a joke?" "Is Jiang Sir henpecked?"...

During the scuffle, Jiang Shiyan's right hand was still on the woman's waist, while his left hand handed the golf club to the person next to him. He then took out a folded mask from his pocket and put it on.

He coughed seriously and said, "Actually, I have the flu and I'm afraid of infecting her."

Everyone fell silent in unison, then burst out in a shout: "Holy crap, is this for real?"

Jiang Shiyan's eyes moved horizontally from left to right, like a video camera, recording someone's subconscious action of raising their hand to cover their mouth and nose. Then, his exposed eyes smiled.

"It's fake, you guys actually believed it?"

No one would take the joke seriously, but he was pleased to see a fleeting look of fear on the faces of some who thought their health was threatened; it was a harmless form of revenge.

I really want to encourage him to just grab anyone and kiss them.

He raised his eyebrows at Xu Yaochen across the distance: "Your sister is coming to get me, so I'm stopping playing for now."

Some people said, "It's only been a short time, just warming up. At least learn the basics before leaving, right?"

"Yes, I think Xiaxia is really looking forward to teaching you step by step."

The woman who was suddenly called out reacted quickly, tucking her hair behind her ear and smiling contemptuously: "I think you're just too afraid of losing and want to drag others down with you, right?"

"I think you're the one who doesn't know the power of your brother's hole-in-one!"

The men burst into laughter. Xu Yuewei frowned, pushed Jiang Shiyan's hand away but didn't let go, loosely holding it and shaking it. This was the maximum she could act coquettishly.

"I twisted my ankle and can't find any medicine," she said dryly.

Jiang Shiyan withdrew his gaze and looked down at her feet. The wide-legged pants covered her feet, so nothing seemed amiss.

"Then why are you wearing such high heels?" he teased casually, his tone softening as he said, "I'll give you a cold compress when we get back."

Now, no one stopped them.

Jiang Shiyan loosely put his arm around her waist, and Xu Yuewei leaned towards him but didn't actually lean on him. The two of them were like a pair of tacit yet awkward acrobats. Once they were out of sight of the glass room, they immediately separated.

He glanced at her swift and decisive footsteps, then put his hands in his pockets and remained silent.

The elevator doors opened in front of them, and they entered one after the other, each taking up a corner at the back.

Xu Yuewei stared at the slowly counting down numbers: "...So, this is how you got close to him?"

"You think I took advantage of you?" Jiang Shiyan fiddled with a room key in one hand, turning it over and over without looking at her. "It's not like I can control everything."

"How could it not be? Didn't you know perfectly well that your basketball skills were terrible, yet you still played this kind of gambling game?"

Jiang Shiyan lifted his eyelids and glanced at her: "Even if I really kissed someone else, it's none of your business, right?"

The elevator dinged and the doors slowly opened. Xu Yuewei was glad that the timing was just right. She didn't need to answer him; she just needed to get out quickly.

But she forgot that the sixth floor was his room first, and she also forgot that her right ankle was not in a normal position.

While walking, she consciously shifted her weight to her left foot. Now that she was standing, she didn't feel anything, and her attention was still drawn to him. In her anxiety, she stepped out with her right foot and felt her small joint slip and dislocate, and a needle-like pain shot up instantly.

She paused for a moment while holding onto the elevator door, then continued walking despite the pain.

"Are you addicted to coming to my room?"

Xu Yuewei finally realized what was happening and turned around, resigning herself to her bad luck. Just then, she saw the elevator doors closing, and she had already missed the chance to press the down button to salvage the situation.

Jiang Shiyan followed her out and naturally noticed that something was wrong with her walking. After she turned around, he raised his arm to block her way, squatted down, lifted her two trouser legs, and visually compared her bare ankles.

There was nothing unusual about redness or swelling. He touched it again, and the rough texture of his fingertips sent a shiver down her spine. The chill that had been suppressed finally erupted.

Jiang Shiyan thought she was reacting this way because she was hurt by being touched. He turned the toe of the foot he was squatting down with bent legs 180 degrees behind him, gesturing for her to come up: "Consider this your reward for coming to my rescue."

Before she could refuse, he quickly added,

"If you don't want to, there's nothing I can do. Unfortunately, we don't have a stretcher or crutches available for you here."

Xu Yuewei naturally refused to go up, and walked around him to press the elevator button. Just then, another elevator was about to go down to the sixth floor.

Just as the elevator doors opened, the people inside, who were ready to welcome someone in, were surprised to find that instead of a door, a curtain was being drawn back.

Several people watched as a tall, strong man lifted the slender woman up by the waist, bounced her around the knees, and carried her away in a princess carry.

The whole process was completed in one go.

"...?"

*

Jiang Shiyan carried the person back to his room.

The hotel rooms were all scented with floral fragrances, and the scent was the same in rooms 6008 and 3009.

This made her feel a little more relaxed.

Xu Yuewei was sitting at the foot of the large bed, her pointed high heels pointing up and down on the ground. Her legs were bent and together, and her wide-leg pants were rolled up to her knees.

With the air conditioning on, my exposed skin wasn't cold; I even wanted to take off my sweater.

Jiang Shiyan took a can of iced cola from the small refrigerator, wrapped it in a towel, and pressed it on the spot where she said it hurt.

"here?"

"I can do it myself, thank you."

She became polite again, and Jiang Shiyan handed her the things. Leaning against the edge of the table, he opened a can of soda. The coldness sank down his esophagus, and his eyes returned to their usual cool and calm state.

"Is that how he always treats you?" He tilted his head back and took a big gulp of his drink. "I'm talking about your brother."

Xu Yuewei shook her head in silence.

Jiang Shiyan held the bottle and turned it around, and this time the sweet water overflowed, wetting his fingers.

After a long pause, he slowly asked:

"So, regarding the matter that led to our breakup, was it entirely voluntary on your part, or were there some hidden circumstances that I should know but don't?"

As if she had anticipated his question, Xu Yuewei quickly shook her head: "There's nothing you should know."

"I think I should have known you had a brother like this a long time ago, shouldn't I?"

She tilted her head and chuckled softly: "Are you standing up for your past self?"

No, I'm doing this for you.

He put down the soda can, stepped over, squatted down again at the foot of the bed, and looked up at her: "Given your family's situation, you can't possibly escape being bullied, can you?"

...Something suddenly started to feel off.

No, the moment she pushed open the door to the billiard hall, or even earlier, when she put on her high heels, the course had already unknowingly deviated from its intended path.

Xu Yuewei felt a fear that all her efforts were about to be in vain.

The tree root that had bound her the deepest and most tightly, after she ruthlessly chopped it off, somehow sprouted new buds and began to twine around her again, seemingly out of nowhere.

After my ankles had been cold for a while, I even started to feel warm.

She thought, the countdown is almost over, I must not repeat the same mistakes, I must not repeat the same mistakes.

But the man brandished a sword pointed directly at his brow: "Where are your bed photos?"

"..." Caught off guard.

"No, right?"

He laughed, "Otherwise, you would have turned your head away from me first, instead of me turning away."

It took Xu Yuewei a long time to find her voice again.

"...It was just a kiss, I didn't even think about it."

Her hands were frozen stiff as she held the ice pot.

"It's not like I haven't kissed you casually before."

"Fine, since that's the case, I'll let you off the hook in front of everyone because I'm shy. Now you owe me a kiss." He said shamelessly.

"How can you calculate it like that?"

"You could also repay it in other ways, like, tell me, what do you want from that kid?"

He seemed certain she couldn't say it, and a confident smile played on his lips.

Xu Yuewei was drawn into a maze of questions, and after thoroughly examining Zhou Xu from head to toe, she couldn't find any evidence to prove that her views on choosing a partner had improved.

But she was anxious, too anxious, so much so that she blurted out: "He's nineteen! Youth is an asset. What do I want from you at nineteen? I want from him."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Shiyan was stunned. He felt that he understood the meaning of these words and couldn't help but look down.

"...Are you sure you want to bring this up at a time like this?"

He blamed himself for drinking, as he was more prone to distraction when slightly drunk; he blamed her for being too light and soft, and for smelling so different from his. On the way back to the room, he gradually lost control and let it go until now.

Meeting her astonished gaze, he wanted to play a trick, but his ears turned red with frustration.

"You know, it's rather capricious."

Xu Yuewei calmed down first, her expression even worse than when he kissed her.

She suddenly remembered Jin Shu's confession about her past relationships, and a flash of insight made her understand everything:

"You've been pestering me relentlessly just for this?"

Jiang Shiyan's hand, which was covering the back of his neck, froze.

She thought she had hit the nail on the head, and a surge of anger rose within her, making her lose her temper. She sneered, "You should have said so earlier."

Jiang Shiyan's temper flared up: "I already told you, you're willing?"

“Maybe.” She stared at the object that disgusted her and retorted, “I can sleep with other people, so of course I can sleep with you… Ah!”

My ankle hurt so much I cried out.

Jiang Shiyan grabbed her calf above the ankle, slid her to the edge of the bed, and grabbed her head without saying a word.

The next second, all she could feel was the man's cool, refreshing scent and the sweetness between his lips, overwhelmingly drowning out the floral fragrance in the room and engulfing everything.

Unlike last time, this kiss was like strong liquor, with a fierce initial taste, but gradually, the aftertaste became gentle.

"Your kissing skills have deteriorated."

He checked the answer in his own way, wiping the moisture from his lips with his thumb. Seeing her turn her face away to avoid him, he immediately followed and pressed his forehead against hers.

"What, you two only do sex when you get into bed, but don't kiss?"

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Author's Note: gān gàn

Men get hard so easily. I'm looking for real men in novels where nothing is realistic. (Believable!) [rainbow fart]

I finished tidying up the previous chapters these past few days, and then I lost all 30,000+ words of the remaining drafts. 555

Nutrient solution [crying emoji] Please, please give me nutrient solution, thank you so much! [pleading emoji]