Chapter 30 Sucking Now, our taste has become the same. ...

The first day of the sports meet ended, and the classes returned to the teaching building one after another. The corridors were filled with the sounds of students dragging their feet and groaning that they were exhausted. The boys slumped in their seats, unwilling to move, while the girls passed each other milk tea and snacks and gossiped.

After the competition, Qiao Bolin went to ask Lao Qin for leave, saying he wanted to return to the provincial team base early. Lao Qin was already overjoyed that he had won three first places in a row, so he didn't ask any more questions and almost immediately nodded and waved his hand to let him go.

During the last self-study period, everyone was restless. Gao Hexin and Chen Poyao talked about several highlights of her competition, which made Chen Poyao feel embarrassed by the praise. This continued until they talked about the last mixed relay.

"That girl deliberately blocked you, we don't need to let her affect our mindset!" Gao Hexin stood up for his classmate, but couldn't help thinking about Qiao Bolin's moment of glory later on. "But Qiao Bolin is really awesome. He was so far behind, yet he still managed to get first place. His legend will probably spread throughout the entire Jianglan Experimental School from now on."

Whether in academics or sports, they are all outstanding.

An undeniable legend of the age group.

Chen Po recalled the scene just now: the boy's figure, which suddenly rushed towards the finish line, was elongated by the sunlight. The wind swept through the track, lifting the hem of his clothes and the ends of his hair. His back was outlined with a warm silhouette by the light, making him seem almost unreal.

The moment they exchanged the baton was probably the closest they were ever to each other, but it was only for a fleeting instant. It was as if he was so far away from her that he almost disappeared into the sunlight.

She used to disapprove of Song Yunhe's blatant affection for Qiao Bolin, always feeling that even if a girl was deeply in love, she shouldn't show her emotions on her face, much less take the initiative to get close to him. But now...

"Hi, Yaoyao, are you listening to me?"

As Gao Hexin was speaking, he noticed that Chen Poyao had been in a daze for a while, so he waved his hand in front of her eyes.

Chen Poyao snapped out of her daze and suddenly asked, "Where's Xiaojiu?"

"ha?"

Gao Hexin didn't follow Chen Poyao's train of thought. After looking around, she realized that Ning Jiu was indeed not in the noisy classroom.

Thinking about what had just happened, she also felt a headache coming on.

She was closest to Ning Jiu at the time, and she was probably the only one who noticed that when Qiao Bolin hugged Ning Jiu, his usually calm black eyes revealed an intense, almost overflowing, love.

Perhaps out of consideration for her friend, she didn't tell anyone this detail, and when she explained to Chen Poyao, she only said that it was a classmate helping each other when they were physically exhausted.

"I just saw Tianjiu go to Lao Qin's office. She probably asked for leave in advance and went home."

"......"

Chen Poyao lowered her eyes, looking somewhat dejected, and changed the subject.

"By the way, what did you just say to me? I was distracted and didn't hear you."

"Just now? Oh right..."

Gao Hexin frowned slightly as he thought for a while about what he had said when Chen Poyao was distracted.

"I was just making a casual remark. Does someone like Josh Bolin really have flaws?"

Like Joel Berlin—

Once you set your sights on a goal, there's almost no one who can't achieve it.

Is it really without any flaws?

Ning Jiu leaned against the corner of the wall behind the Jianglan Experimental School, arms crossed, watching Wen Yi pretend to lift his T-shirt, revealing his well-defined abs covered in bruises, and sneered.

That's it?

“Of course not,” Wen Yi put down the clothes and raised an eyebrow at her, “not only on my waist, but also on my leg, there’s a huge bruise, all from when he bumped into me.”

Ning Jiu, of course, did not believe him. From the finish line, she could see clearly that although the two were close, Qiao Bolin did not run onto the other track. Moreover, given his personality, there was no need for him to do such a thing.

"Next time you pinch yourself, remember not to pinch so hard, it looks terrible when you're dancing," a hint of weariness flashed in her eyes; she was genuinely sleepy today. "I'm going home now..."

"Ning Jiu, stop fooling yourself," Wen Yi mocked from behind. "Didn't you clearly know that his actions after winning were just for show? People like that are always very good at pretending—"

"Shut up."

Ning Jiu finally couldn't hold back and turned around to stomp on his foot hard. She didn't hold back at all and stepped on the most protruding part of his bone. She thought he would back away, but who knew that he would actually laugh.

......ill.

Perhaps Wen Yi is ill, but what she doesn't know is that the girl who was originally gentle and obedient in both appearance and voice revealed her claws, like a reef ice that had been ignited, vividly dazzling.

She saw Wen Yi's Adam's apple bob as he took a step toward her, but his expression suddenly darkened when he looked behind him.

When did you arrive?

The hostility in his words was so obvious that Ning Jiu wanted to turn her head away, but he held her shoulder and she couldn't turn around no matter what she did.

She secretly rolled her eyes, and just as she was about to kick Wen Yi again, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind her.

"Ning wine".

Her movements froze.

Looking up, I saw Wen Yi's extremely provocative gaze.

Behind him was Qiao Bolin's voice, devoid of any discernible emotion.

It was accompanied by the occasional soft breathing of the puppy.

Ning Jiu suddenly realized something and slapped Wen Yi's wrist away without hesitation, her movements swift and decisive.

Wen Yi paused for a moment, his fingertips still hovering in the air, when he saw Ning Jiu turn her head and look at Qiao Bolin—

The Border Collie in my hand.

In just a few weeks, the little guy had grown quite a bit stronger. The fluffy little ball nestled in Qiao Bolin's arms, its soft belly pressed against his chest, its tail swaying back and forth in the crook of his arm, its whole body held securely by those well-defined hands.

Upon seeing Ning Jiu, Xiao Bai was stunned for a moment. The next moment, its tail started wagging wildly like a small brush. It struggled to break free from Qiao Bailin's arms but failed. It then placed its two front paws on the crook of his arm and made excited noises.

Her attention was drawn to Xiao Bai, so she naturally walked over and patted Xiao Bai's round head, her tone carrying a hint of questioning towards Qiao Bolin.

"Didn't you just get out of school? Why did you bring it out?"

The latter's gaze swept lightly over Wen Yi's slightly stiff profile, and when it landed on Ning Jiu, he softened his demeanor and appeared harmless.

"Xiao Bai's eyes need to be checked every week. The pet hospital is not far away, so I usually just carry him there."

Ning paused in his act of petting the dog.

She knew that pet hospital. Although it was only two streets away from the school, Xiao Bai was already quite big now. Qiao Bolin had used up so much energy today, so carrying Xiao Bai would definitely be tiring.

Without saying much, Ning Jiu affectionately pinched Xiao Bai's soft little leg with her fingertips. The little guy pulled his paw back and let out a soft "woof". Ning Jiu laughed triumphantly.

Then, she looked up at Qiao Bolin, her palms naturally outstretched.

"Can I hold it for a while?" she asked cheerfully. "It's been so long since I've touched it."

......

Wen Yi watched them fade away in the twilight. Qiao Bolin glanced at him casually before leaving, and their figures were gradually swallowed up by the setting sun.

He stood still, but his knuckles clenched tightly in his palm, as if a hot, suffocating gas was stuck in his chest, and he couldn't get rid of it.

He gritted his teeth, a hint of barely concealed annoyance flashing in his eyes, and couldn't help but say something.

"A scheming man."

The scheming man is currently filling out a form at the pet hospital reception desk.

Having just returned home and taken a shower, he changed into a white shirt with the cuffs rolled up, revealing the clean lines of his wrists. Sunlight streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting long, shadowy shadows on his eyelashes and settling into his deep-set eyes.

Several girls in the waiting area were holding cats and dogs. Their conversations had quieted down a bit, and they all looked in his direction at the same time.

Qiao Bailin had booked an appointment in advance, and they didn't have to wait long.

Ning Jiu noticed that Xiao Bai was still a little resistant to the follow-up examination. As soon as the little guy entered the examination room, he moved restlessly in her arms, his round paws pressing against her arm, his body quietly shrinking into her chest, his ears drooping, and his tail no longer wagging.

"Remember what I said last time? The problem with its right eye is congenital. During development, the cornea did not fully grow, so it is prone to redness, light sensitivity, and sometimes more tears."

The doctor examined the cornea with a slit lamp and removed his gloves after confirming that the inflammation had not recurred.

"But it's in much better condition than last time. There are no new wounds or signs of infection. It's very well-behaved and cooperative."

Xiao Bai seemed to understand and hummed. Ning Jiu subconsciously hugged it tighter, stroking its back to comfort it while asking, "Can we stop the medicine now?"

"You can stop taking the anti-inflammatory medication for now, but you should continue using the moisturizing eye drops for a while, twice a day, without stopping."

After getting her medication from the vet, Ning Jiu finally realized that truly raising a pet requires far more effort than she had imagined.

She looked at Qiao Bolin with admiration, having almost completely forgotten the previous grudges that Xiao Bai had caused.

The latter was amused by the sudden surge of respect in her eyes, and when he tried to take Xiao Bai from her, he suddenly hissed.

"What's wrong?"

Ning Jiu turned her gaze to him, and the latter shook his head.

"nothing."

"......"

She handed Xiao Bai to him expressionlessly, but halfway through, she suddenly reached out and pinched his arm with her other hand. Qiao Bailin felt his eyelid twitch, and a fine pain spread from where she pinched him.

Ning Jiu withdrew her hand, gave a soft hum, and didn't let him actually hug Xiao Bai.

“The city center hospital is right next to the pet hospital,” she asked. “Would you like to go there directly for a checkup?”

“No need,” Qiao Bolin said quickly. “It should just be a common muscle strain. I can just apply some medicine when I get home.”

He stretched out his hand again: "It's getting dark. Give me Xiao Bai, and I'll take you to the bus stop—"

"Joe Berlin".

This was the first time Ning Jiu had called his name so seriously.

"I'll take you and Xiaobai home, then I'll take a bus back myself, that's all."

-

More than a month later, when I visited Qiao Bolin's house again, the layout was not much different from what I remembered. Even though the furnishings were simple, I could still feel the understated yet indescribable sense of refinement.

Ning Jiu opened the door, put Xiao Bai on the floor and was about to leave when Qiao Bolin naturally took a pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet and placed them in front of her.

Compared to the slight panic and discomfort they felt when they first came in, the two of them were clearly much more skilled this time.

She thought for a moment and went inside. She found the dog bowl and poured dog food for Xiao Bai. When she looked up, Qiao Bolin had already come out with a first-aid kit.

Ning Jiu glanced around the living room, which was even emptier than the last time she came, and casually asked.

Are your parents very busy?

"Yes, my dad is away in meetings five days a week, and my mom often travels abroad for work."

When Qiao Bailin said this, he spoke as if it were a matter of course, suggesting that he was already used to this kind of family environment.

“But they all love me very much, I can feel it,” he said, not feeling embarrassed at all about expressing his feelings for his parents. “They all have their own things to do, and I have my own things to do. I quite like this lifestyle of maintaining personal space while loving each other.”

Ning Jiu sat down on the other side of the sofa and watched him casually roll up his sleeves, revealing his pale forearms and slightly protruding veins, as he skillfully sprayed the aerosol spray on the area of ​​muscle strain.

She suddenly asked.

"So your name was chosen because your parents like the city of Berlin?"

The hand holding the sprayer paused, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

"Want to know?"

"Um."

He didn't answer immediately, but shook the empty bottle in his hand.

“It seems like I’ve run out of this spray,” he said, his handsome dark eyes looking at Ning Jiu. “Could you please find me a new bottle of muscle strain spray in my room?”

Seeing his current state, Ning Jiu realized that it was unrealistic to ask him to get up and go find it.

She did not refuse and stood up.

Where is it in your room?

"The first drawer of the desk."

Going upstairs and into the room, she opened the top drawer of the desk as Qiao Bolin had instructed. A bottle of white aerosol spray was placed in the most conspicuous spot. The bottle was covered in French and looked very similar to the one Qiao Bolin was holding.

Having learned her lesson from last time, Ning Jiu stopped looking around and quickly went downstairs with the spray.

As he approached, Qiao Bolin glanced up at the bottle in her hand and nodded slightly to his side.

"I tried spraying it on my elbow just now, but it seems like I can't reach it," he said politely and calmly. "Could you spray it for me?"

Ning Jiu's gaze fell on Qiao Bolin's forearm, where the veins stretched out, and he lowered his head to begin unpacking the new nebulizer.

He chuckled, seemingly in a good mood, and naturally continued their previous conversation.

“My mom really likes Berlin, but my dad isn’t as fond of it.”

Qiao Bailin's voice rang in her ears, much closer than she had imagined.

"They decided on this name because my mother went on a last-minute business trip to Berlin without telling my father. When my father caught up with her, the two of them unexpectedly got pregnant with me there."

His voice was calm, his tone understated, and there was nothing unnatural about it.

Ning Jiu seemed to be scalded by his breath, and slightly dodged behind her. Her finger accidentally pressed the switch of the spray, and an extremely cool and moist breath quickly filled the entire space, soaking the air.

The spray nozzle was positioned directly against her wrist bone. She could keenly sense that the two sprays smelled slightly different; this one had a more pungent smell, a particularly strong cooling sensation, and a hint of mint and patchouli.

She realized something.

"Wait, did I take the wrong one...?"

"It doesn't matter."

The boy's hot breath overshadowed the coolness of his wrist.

Qiao Bolin lowered his head slightly, and the slightly stiff ends of his hair inadvertently brushed against the thinnest skin on her wrist, stirring up an uncontrollable tingling sensation.

Ning Jiu felt a few subtle throbbing in her wrist. Just as she was about to pull away, he grabbed her wrist.

His strength was gentle yet irresistible; his knuckles slowly tightened, locking her completely in place.

He leaned down, squinted slightly, and gently rubbed his face against his wrist bone, which still carried the cool scent of the aerosol, while his chest rose and fell imperceptibly.

Ning Jiu felt dizzy and disoriented, not understanding how things had developed this way.

Feeling her rapid pulse, Qiao Bolin's lips lingered on her wrist for a moment, then suddenly and gently took that most tender and sensitive spot into his mouth and sucked on it.

His breath, undisguisedly hot, lingered on her fair skin, burning into her nerve endings, causing her to tremble uncontrollably.

She heard him chuckle softly.

"Now, we taste the same."

-----------------------

Author's Note: So, becoming a cunning and scheming man doesn't happen overnight...

-

While the story of Joe's parents here isn't about forced marriage, the incident abroad was still an unplanned pregnancy that occurred after a heated argument between the couple.

Xiao Qiao's personality is similar to her father's; she appears gentle, but when she truly likes someone, she reveals her assertive, possessive, and even obsessive nature.