Chapter 56: Wang Kan receives a gift from Fang Minzhou...

When Wang Kan received Fang Minzhou's gift, she was pleasantly surprised but also found Fang Minzhou's behavior strange.

He has many problems.

On his birthday during summer vacation, she gave him a mouse to cater to his tastes. Because of the news about people being expelled from school for being addicted to games, she also reminded him of a few things. He agreed verbally, but he didn't know if it was just his imagination, but he felt that the mouse Fang Minzhou gave him was more convenient for playing games. And now, on what day it is, she suddenly gave him more expensive sneakers.

It's not that he can't give them as gifts... but he had a hunch about the considerations behind those shoes, and his feelings were complicated, like a swinging clock, sometimes feeling that Fang Minzhou was being too polite to him, and sometimes feeling that she had feelings for him.

But I'm still very happy.

On the phone, Fang Minzhou asked him if it suited him, and he said it did, that he liked it very much, and that it was exactly the pair he had been wanting to buy recently.

The recipient of the gift showered the giver with compliments, leaving Fang Minzhou unsure whether to call Wang Kan sincere and enthusiastic or just glib. She retorted, "Can't you speak properly?"

“I’m telling the truth,” Wang Kan laughed. “But how did you know my shoe size?”

He remembered that he had never mentioned it to her.

Fang Minzhou was silent for a moment, then hesitantly said that she didn't know either, but she felt that he was a size 42. Hearing Wang Kan's ambiguous laughter, she got annoyed and deliberately made up a ridiculous argument, "What's so funny about that? Don't you know my shoe size?"

It seemed he should know her shoe size, and strangely enough, an answer actually came to Wang Kan's lips: "...Size 36?"

Fang Minzhou was also surprised. After a while, he said that he had answered correctly. The two of them held their hot phones and laughed at the same time.

Wang Kan treated his sneakers like treasures for several days, and his roommates teased him, their jokes tinged with envy. Some even expressed their desire for a sweet romance, while others remarked on how wealthy and generous Wang Kan's girlfriend was.

Wang Kan accepted all of these words as praise for Fang Minzhou. Little did they know that his girlfriend was only generous to him, but quite stingy with herself.

Thinking of this, he felt a mix of bittersweet emotions. He wanted to return the gift to Fang Minzhou, but upon reflection, he felt the timing was wrong and it would definitely put a psychological burden on her. So he decided to wait a while, or until her birthday, but that would be in December, which was too far away.

...He wanted to see her again.

Not wearing shoes isn't a big deal, so Wang Kan picked an auspicious day to put them on. He changed his mindset, becoming the kind of person who, if someone casually mentions new shoes, will say yes, they were a gift from his girlfriend.

As if aided by divine power, he would touch a basketball between drawings, and his three-point shooting percentage improved; he also took great care of his clothes.

Before National Day, during the preliminary round of the college basketball tournament, Wang Kan also wore his uniform. However, his opponent's hands and feet were very dirty, and the two sides clashed several times. Wang Kan's foot was stepped on twice, and the third time, he stepped back.

This sparked a brawl, as Wang Kan's teammates had also reached their breaking point. A chaotic fight ensued, resulting in both players being disqualified from the finals. Neither side fared well, but they all felt a sense of catharsis. Afterwards, some joked that Wang Kan's actions weren't impulsive or hot-blooded; "he was just upset that his girlfriend had stepped on his new shoes."

"Wang Kan has a girlfriend?" Some people still don't know.

"Yeah, he was my high school classmate, a top student. He's currently at Beicheng University. He even took leave to fly to Beicheng to see his girlfriend."

Wang Kan was relieved that his face wasn't injured, otherwise he would have been in trouble if Fang Minzhou had seen it during the video call.

He was looking forward to National Day.

During the National Day holiday, Fang Minzhou planned to go home and tried to snag a sleeper berth, but failed and had to buy a plane ticket instead. Ticket prices had skyrocketed, which was painful, but the thought of going home made it all worthwhile – money well spent.

Seven days of vacation, minus the time spent traveling, visiting grandparents, classmates, and friends... it's simply not enough. Wang Kan had less time than she had imagined. Apart from eating and watching movies, the two of them just wanted to spend some quality time alone.

Wang Kan's parents lived in the southern part of the city, so this was the first time Fang Minzhou had actually visited his home.

She knew Wang Kan came from a wealthy family, but she was still a little surprised to see a wall of shoes in the entryway. Wang Kan briefly "showed off" his collection, but probably thinking she wouldn't be interested, he didn't say much more.

Fang Minzhou wasn't interested, but because she was buying shoes for Wang Kan, she learned some information. When she saw the pair of sneakers she had given Wang Kan carefully placed on the shoe rack, she couldn't quite describe her feelings.

She couldn't remember what kind of shoes Wang Kan wore in high school. Back then, everyone wore school uniforms and studied hard, so she really didn't care much about "these things" at the time.

"These are for you." Wang Kan bent down and handed her a pair of pink slippers. "They're new."

He seemed about to casually help her put on and take off her shoes, which startled Fang Minzhou. Her wild thoughts vanished, and she quickly pushed him away, insisting on doing it herself. Wang Kan also seemed to realize what was happening, hastily responding twice, scratching his head as he stood up. "W-would you like some water? Or a drink?"

Without waiting for Fang Minzhou's reply, she ran off to the kitchen on her own.

Fang Minzhou changed into slippers, stood still, lowered her head, her toes twitched inside her socks, and slowly walked to the edge of the kitchen. She'd never seen Wang Kan rummaging around in the kitchen before; it was a bit of a novelty.

Then, she followed Wang Kan to his room.

His room was large, with a private bathroom and a wall of cabinets. The cabinets contained many models, including the small one he gave to Wang Kan in high school, which was placed in the middle.

The reason she chose to have a date at Wang Kan's house was naturally because she felt more comfortable there than outside. She could watch movies whenever she wanted, play games whenever she wanted, and kiss whenever she wanted.

But when they actually sat down together, the atmosphere was more awkward than they had imagined, and every move they made seemed to be testing each other's nerves.

Fang Minzhou could only keep her eyes glued to the computer screen, pretending not to see Wang Kan's frequent glances.

Wang Kan did indeed harbor some shady thoughts, but now she was afraid of accidentally going too far and offending Fang Minzhou, so she became tense.

Seeing Fang Minzhou's still-restrained posture, Wang Kan gently took her hand. Fang Minzhou's fingers twitched as if by reflex, but she didn't object. Wang Kan barely managed to suppress the upward curve of her lips.

Later, perhaps their nerves had lost their elasticity from being stretched for so long, they gradually relaxed a little. The sunlight streaming into the room changed direction as time passed, and both of them looked over, their gazes meeting each other's when they looked away. Eyes sparkled like crystals, lips were moist, drawing them in for a closer look. Faces drew closer, warm breaths mingled, and lips pressed together.

Instantly, my agitated heart was soothed; in the sweltering heat of late summer, a kiss was more refreshing than drinking water.

We kissed for who knows how long, biting each other's lips and tongues, but it wasn't as intense as the last time in the hotel. It felt more like we were practicing the techniques of a long kiss, figuring out how to breathe and how to make each other more comfortable and enjoyable, like swimming, where short and long distances have different rhythms.

Fang Minzhou preferred gentler kisses. Wang Kan was a boy, but his lips were very soft, like flower petals. When he kissed her gently, Fang Minzhou would take the initiative, feeling like a little bee collecting honey. The palate was a sensitive spot for both of them. When Wang Kan lingered on her, her tongue would accidentally lick it, and she would hear a muffled groan from his nose. The subsequent sucking was a bit rough and vengeful.

What flows gently and steadily eventually becomes a rapid current.

When they parted, his eyes were open, the sunlight still bright. The silver strands of hair on his lips, barely broken, glistened like dew-kissed leaf veins. Fang Minzhou belatedly felt ashamed and nudged the still-dazed Wang Kan, "The curtains..."

Wang Kan was still savoring the moment when she blankly uttered an "Oh," and quickly drew the curtains. As the room dimmed, Fang Minzhou realized that it seemed like a mistake.

Wang Kan's face was very close to hers again, and he asked in a low voice, "Last time you said you 'understood'... Do you really understand?"

Fang Minzhou's thin eyelids trembled slightly as she glanced at Wang Kan, remaining noncommittal.

Wang Kan's Adam's apple bobbed. "I found one..."

Fang Minzhou's eyes widened, and Wang Kan realized that there was an ambiguity in what he said, so he quickly explained, "No! It's... a proper science popularization."

Fang Minzhou stood up to leave, but she wasn't ready for this. Wang Kan stopped her, "Really, I specifically looked for this!"

He then started searching on the computer.

Fang Minzhou didn't believe it. During the struggle, the video started playing, and a female voice, similar to that used in English listening comprehension exercises, came on. Fang Minzhou stopped and glanced hesitantly at the screen. The video quality was blurry, like an old-fashioned experiment video that the teacher used to show in chemistry class—something from the last century, ancient but scientific.

“I already told you,” Wang Kan said confidently.

Fang Minzhou swallowed hard and awkwardly sat down again.

The video only has English subtitles and no Chinese translation. No one appears on screen, at most a pair of hands. It goes from drawings to model simulations. I haven't learned the relevant professional terms, but I can roughly understand what it's about by listening to the visuals.

The fifteen-minute video felt like a physiology lesson or an English lesson; it was educational and taught me a lot of new knowledge. The room's dim lighting transformed into the drowsy feeling of a quiet afternoon while reading, and they were deskmates again.

Fang Minzhou turned to look at Wang Kan, who also looked at her, giving an awkward laugh. Fang Minzhou saw the embarrassment on his face and suddenly burst into laughter, her heart softening. At this moment, she found Wang Kan extremely adorable and couldn't help but lean over and kiss his cheek.

The kiss was meant to be comforting, perhaps with a hint of praise, telling him that while it was a bad movie, it wasn't all that bad. But after the kiss, Fang Minzhou felt she had been a bit rash. She was afraid Wang Kan would think she was implying something, and his deepening gaze made her heart pound.

At such close range, Fang Minzhou's timid gaze did indeed give Wang Kan the impression that she had tacitly agreed to something.

He tentatively returned the kiss.

After a day of scorching sunshine, the temperature had reached its peak, making the air conditioning seem nonexistent. From the forehead to the neck and then to the chest and abdomen, with each breath, a thin layer of sweat was wiped away by the fingers and licked clean by the tip of the tongue.

Fang Minzhou lay on Wang Kan's bed, Wang Kan on top of her, his breath capturing her like a net.

Wang Kan was very hot and heavy, his entire body hard and pressing against her. His head buried itself in her dress, and his short hair tickled her, but the itch was only on the surface of her skin. It was nothing compared to the tingling sensation that rose from deep within her body, which wandered around with his kisses and could not be scratched.

Fang Minzhou's head was buzzing. Sometimes she stared at the quiet ceiling with light and shadow, and sometimes her gaze was unfocused and had no place to fall. She felt that Wang Kan was like an animal at this moment. She didn't know what kind of animal, but he was lying by the stream licking water and drinking. But sometimes, his soft lips would bite her flesh and suck a few times. At that time, she became the animal and he became something like a trap.

It was neither comfortable nor uncomfortable; the physical and psychological stimulation overwhelmed everything. I was breathless, but instinctively I climbed to higher ground.

They followed the steps taught in the video and obediently caressed each other, but with clothes in between, even the most excited people couldn't suppress their passion. Only Wang Kan took off his short-sleeved shirt, his back and chest were covered in sweat, and Fang Minzhou's palms were also full of sweat.

The clothes are still intact, and there is still some room for maneuver, although it is unknown to whom this room for maneuver is reserved.

His fingertips were damp and soft. He stared intently at Fang Minzhou's flushed face. Her hair was disheveled and scattered on his dark blue sheets. She bit her lip, her gaze darting away, and she muffled her voice.

Wang Kan wanted to hear more, so he continued to lick her, mumbling some thoughtless words as he did so. Fang Minzhou probably didn't hear him clearly either. She looked at him again with misty eyes, but her gaze was sharper than a hook. Her fingers swirled upwards, and finally, her voice flowed out like water.

Indescribable, never heard of before, accompanied by a slight tremor, it entered my mind, making my eyes red and ears hot.

He should have jumped out of bed immediately and hidden away to take care of himself as usual, because he knew that such behavior was very shameful. But he had really lost his mind. While kneeling, he was stared at by Fang Minzhou, who had come to her senses, and his blood rushed to his head.

Whipped with shame, yet he stood taller and taller, like a pervert, wanting Fang Minzhou to stop looking, yet also wanting Fang Minzhou to touch him. But when her hand actually covered him, he had no time to feel anything, his mind went blank, and he uncontrollably surrendered.

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Author's Note: Coincidentally, the National Day holiday is over, but I'm already writing this...

The full text is approximately 300,000+ words, and I don't have any social media accounts yet.