18 Night Talk

◎“A kiss while sitting on his lap”◎

Song Chiyu was not particularly moved by Xie Yunjin's arrival; rather, she felt a sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a complex emotion encompassing both emotion and reflection).

If she had seen Xie Yunjin now, she might have given in the moment he got out of the car in the sandstorm, but at this moment, she was completely calm.

She really doesn't love him anymore.

Even when talking to him, one loses some of the petty, calculating spirit of youth.

"What's wrong?" Song Chiyu asked calmly.

Xie Yunjin was instantly pushed far, far away by her calmness. The trepidation and anticipation he felt upon arriving, the anticipation of seeing her, vanished in that instant. He would rather have her anger and resentment than this serenity. Sitting across from her, somewhat saddened, he asked, "Is that all you wanted to ask me?"

Shouldn't she have asked him that?

A look of confusion crossed Song Chiyu's face: "What do you want to talk to me about?"

Couldn't she guess?

Xie Yunjin stared at her without saying a word, his eyes welling up with tears he himself didn't even realize. The Song Chiyu of the past wouldn't have acted like this. She would have called him more than a dozen times after missing a call, eager to explain and detailing every single little thing.

I stand in the setting sun, lost in thought about the past.

At the time, it seemed like nothing special.

Song Chiyu pointed to his eyes: "Do you want to wipe your eyes with a tissue?"

I thought he was acting strangely because he had sand in his eyes.

As soon as he finished speaking, the girl and the driver who had come with him entered the room together. The girl brushed the dust off her head, looked around the room, and went straight to her. "You must be Teacher Song? Oh, Teacher Song, you really have to forgive him. You have no idea how much he suffered on his way to see you. He suffered from acclimatization problems from the train journey, constantly vomiting and not eating anything for two days. When they encountered a sandstorm on the way, the driver refused to take him, but he offered to pay ten times the fare. Look at us, all disheveled..."

The girl wanted to complain, but after glancing at Xie Yunjin, she silently swallowed her words.

Song Chiyu smiled helplessly. Now he's in the mood to suffer? What was he doing before? It's not like he just met her today.

“Perhaps, fate is preventing you from seeing me.” Song Chiyu picked up the water glass in front of her and deliberately showed him the ring on her ring finger.

"Perhaps." Xie Yunjin's emotions calmed down. He had accepted the fact that she was married before he came, but what could he do? After learning about that person, he secretly watched her many times. Most of the time, she was with her mother, and that person was never there, except for the time she was drunk.

He also believed that person existed.

But there was only one person. Compared to the feeling of being inseparable from him when they were in love, that other person seemed more like a compromise she made after giving in to reality.

“You don’t need to emphasize this to me,” he said, looking down at the ring on her finger. “I know better than anyone that you’re married.”

Song Chiyu felt somewhat relieved.

The fact that he could say that proves he still has his rationality and won't do anything too outrageous.

“But no one can guarantee that you won’t get a divorce,” Xie Yunjin replied with unwavering determination.

Song Chiyu subconsciously looked at Qi Yanzhou behind him, a fleeting look of panic crossing her previously calm face, fearing he might think she was the one who had said those words. Fortunately, Qi Yanzhou's face didn't show much emotion; in fact, he seemed quite indifferent. Compared to her worries, he appeared to be pondering and observing something.

In contrast to his impassive demeanor, the expressions of the burly men beside him were priceless, frequently turning to look at him. It was obvious they were asking: "Wait, Master Qi, how can you tolerate this?"

Qi Yanzhou didn't even blink, calmly meeting Song Chiyu's gaze.

Song Chiyu's mouth moved faster than her brain: "Even if I wanted a divorce, it wouldn't be your turn."

If it's not his turn, then who is?

The archaeological team members who were watching the scene all looked towards Qi Yanzhou.

Qi Yanzhou remained unmoved.

Several burly men nearby almost stood up for him. Why was his sister-in-law still thinking about divorcing Master Qi?

Xie Yunjin didn't respond to that statement at all. Whether it was his turn or not was not something she could decide today.

Song Chiyu vaguely realized she had said the wrong thing, but she didn't try to correct herself. She thought it was fine to live like this for the rest of her life, but that didn't mean Qi Yanzhou was willing. What if he met a girl he liked and wanted a divorce? Wouldn't that be moral blackmail? And he was such a responsible person.

Song Chiyu also fell silent.

The sandstorm outside had stopped. Qi Yanzhou stood up expressionlessly, crossed his arms, and glanced at the burly man beside him: "Let's go."

Perhaps because she felt guilty, he seemed much colder and more forlorn than usual.

She parted her lips slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but after glancing at the onlookers around her, she shut her mouth again.

**

Xie Yunjin knew Zheng Qiu, and the other archaeologists respected him as well. Even if Song Chiyu ignored him, he wouldn't feel embarrassed.

After dinner, everyone worked together to clean up the dust and sand on the ground in the yard and outside the windows.

Song Chiyu was cleaning the windows of the restoration room when Xie Yunjin suddenly leaned closer to her. "It seems that even the heavens aren't so against it. The wind stopped as soon as I saw you."

Song Chiyu pretended not to hear.

Xie Yunjin glanced at her indifferently, cleaning the half-glass pane beside her, until his assistant called him away, at which point he put down the towel in his hand and left.

Before leaving, he didn't forget to tell Song Chiyu, "I'll come back later."

Song Chiyu didn't care about his departure or stay at all, and unconsciously looked towards the construction site camp.

Unfortunately, the wall outside the station blocked most of her view, and even when she stood on tiptoe, she could only see the green plants covered by sand and dust.

She put down her cleaning tools, took out her phone, and sent Qi Yanzhou a WeChat message: "Are you free later? Let's talk."

He replied quickly as usual: "Okay, where shall we talk?"

"Would it be convenient for you to come to our workstation?" She was a little scared because she had walked too far at night.

"Okay, when?"

"Let's wait until it gets a little darker." It gets dark late here; even at 11 pm, it often feels like it's only 8 or 9 pm, as if it's just gotten dark. "Let's wait until after 11 pm."

It was almost dark by then, and everyone at the workstation was asleep.

He had no objection whatsoever.

It's almost 10 o'clock.

Song Chiyu went back to her dormitory early to wash her hair and take a shower, then changed into clean clothes before heading to the workstation. Holding a flashlight, she peered into the archaeological site when Xie Yunjin's voice suddenly rang out from behind her: "What are you doing here so late instead of sleeping?"

Song Chiyu was startled.

Clutching her heart, still shaken, she said irritably, "I'm waiting for my husband."

Xie Yunjin didn't believe it at all and looked her up and down.

She wore a white chiffon dress that reached her ankles, with a light-colored cashmere shawl draped over her shoulders. Her freshly washed long hair fell naturally over her shoulders, revealing her slender neck and flat, delicate shoulders and back.

"Are you waiting for me or your husband?" Xie Yunjin asked shamelessly as he leaned closer to her. "You always did this when you waited for me in front of the lab building."

The beautiful, simple long dress made her look as flawless as a ray of moonlight.

He feels dazed whenever he thinks about it.

Song Chiyu also remembered that back then he always did scientific research until very late, and it was harder than climbing to heaven for her to see him. She would often wait for him outside in the dead of winter wearing only a dress.

And this person never once felt sorry for her.

It was as if all her waiting was taken for granted.

"Xie Yunjin, we've already broken up, and I'm already married," Song Chiyu said, stepping back to keep her distance from him.

"I know." Xie Yunjin rarely had moments like this, spending the evening breeze with her. "But I'm willing to wait."

"Then you probably won't be able to wait." She had seen what a good man was like, and even if she broke up with Qi Yanzhou, she would never go back to him. "I was young before and didn't know what a good man was like, which is why I was so single-minded in liking you. But now I know that you are not a suitable partner for marriage. I am also grateful to your family for being so harsh on me back then. Otherwise, I really would have married you back then."

That would be a disaster.

"So, you married him because he's more suitable than me?" Xie Yunjin seemed to have heard something happy, unable to suppress the smile on her lips: "So, even after breaking up with me for so long, you've only ever loved me?"

“It was that I loved you, not that I love you,” Song Chiyu corrected seriously.

"Isn't that love for me?" Xie Yunjin's smile widened.

Song Chiyu and he couldn't communicate at all. They were thinking completely different things; she was saying goodbye to him, while he was anticipating their reunion.

Song Chiyu ignored him.

Xie Yunjin felt much better when he realized that she still cared about him, and immediately opened up: "Songsong, since we broke up, no one has ever been so good to me."

He would think of her simply because no one had ever been so kind to him.

Song Chiyu gained a deeper understanding of him.

She lowered her head and remained silent.

He became increasingly moved: "You have no idea how unforgettable you are. In my dull and monotonous life, every time you appeared, it was like a vibrant and fragrant elf, subverting my perception and breaking the old rules I had been sticking to. From being at a loss for you at first, I began to look forward to what kind of surprise you would bring me today."

Song Chiyu looked at him in disbelief.

I never expected him to see her this way.

"Songsong, I used to think I was someone who loved life, but after you left, I found this world to be really boring. What I love isn't this world, but—ah!"

He was suddenly bumped from behind by something and fell straight to the ground.

Two Rottweilers bounced around behind him, one on the left and one on the right.

This is clearly the culprit.

Before Song Chiyu could recover from the shock of "two dogs causing such a big impact," Qi Yanzhou was already standing behind him with his hands in his pockets. "Are you alright?"

Xie Yunjin lay on the ground, clutching her waist, unable to stand up for a long time.

Qi Yanzhou leaned down slightly: "I'll find someone to take you to the hospital."

“No need,” Xie Yunjin turned around and recognized him at a glance: “It’s you.”

"It's me, Qi Yanzhou." His clear, deep eyes showed no trace of remorse: "Who are you?"

Xie Yunjin then believed that she was really waiting for her husband, not him.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Qi Yanzhou didn't press the matter further and looked at Song Chiyu gently: "How long have you been waiting?"

"Yes, it's been a while." Song Chiyu stared absentmindedly at Xie Yunjin: "You should still go to the hospital, just in case..."

What if something happens to her and she tries to extort money from her?

Xie Yunjin hadn't thought that far ahead. She forced herself to stand up and asked Qi Yanzhou, "When did you arrive?"

"It's been a while."

That means they all heard it.

Xie Yunjin simply stopped pretending and asked, "So you heard what I said to Song Song?"

"Hmm." Qi Yanzhou's eyes were indifferent, but a faint smile appeared on his lips. It conveyed the final calm before the storm.

"Then you'd better be sensible..."

Song Chiyu guessed what he was going to say, grabbed Qi Yanzhou's sleeve, stood behind him, and gently pressed her small, delicate nose against his shoulder and back as she leaned close to his chest and abdomen.

The eyes looking through Qi Yanzhou's shoulder were full of resistance and incomprehension.

Xie Yunjin stopped abruptly in his tracks.

Qi Yanzhou gestured for him to continue, "What do I need to know to be sensible?"

These words struck Xie Yunjin like a boomerang.

Anyone with a modicum of sense would have left quietly by now. Regardless of the true nature of the relationship between Song Chiyu and this man, her stance is clear.

Between him and him.

She chose him.

Xie Yunjin, who had never been abandoned by Song Chiyu, was almost crushed by this realization. How could she not want him? She left in tears when they broke up.

In the years since she broke up with him, she hasn't had a boyfriend.

How could she not love him?

However, the lack of intimacy between her and that person clearly indicated that they weren't close. He quickly composed himself; this was the person she had brought to spite him.

As long as he's not angry.

If they want to talk, let them have the chance to talk. Given the progress between the two of them, what's wrong with letting them talk for ten nights?

"It's alright, you guys chat." Xie Yunjin, supporting her back, limped towards the workstation.

Qi Yanzhou took the initiative to create distance between them, taking a step forward before turning around.

Looking at her thin shawl, he asked, "Are you cold?"

In the blink of an eye, Teacher Qi, with her gentle and refined demeanor, was back.

Polite yet aloof.

"Let's go upstairs and talk." It wasn't the first time she had dressed like this, but she felt awkward in front of him, and she wrapped her shawl tightly around her shoulders, covering herself completely as she walked inside.

**

Qi Yanzhou tied the dog to the entrance of the workstation.

I followed her into the dormitory.

He didn't even glance inside, standing straight behind the door: "Miss Song, is there anything you want to say to me?"

"Aren't you going to sit?" Song Chiyu asked.

Do you have a lot to say to me?

Song Chiyu nodded.

He walked to the foot of the bed, pulled out a chair from under the desk, and dragged it outwards, creating a sloping edge with the bed where she was sitting.

"Miss Song, please speak."

Song Chiyu: "Come sit here."

He tilted his head, puzzled.

She shifted to the side: "Sit here."

Sit on her bed.

He lowered his eyes and pondered for two seconds before slowly getting up. He walked over and sat down beside her. Even so, he maintained a polite distance from her.

Song Chiyu moved closer to his shoulder.

Holding up the phone that was waiting for Li Li to answer, he said, "My mom wants me to let you stay overnight, but I know you won't agree. Don't let it slip later—hello, Mom."

The video call was answered abruptly, and Song Chiyu immediately leaned against Qi Yanzhou's chest: "Look, it's the real Teacher Qi."

Seeing Qi Yanzhou put Li Li at ease, and her unconsciously furrowed brows instantly relaxed. "I saw on the news that many places in Suzhou were hit by sandstorms. Is everything alright where you are?"

"It's nothing," Song Chiyu denied instinctively.

Qi Yanzhou took her phone and explained to Li Li earnestly, "It was windy here this afternoon too, but everyone was fine."

“Then you must be careful,” Li Li said immediately with concern.

"Yes, our facilities here are very good, so don't worry," Song Chiyu replied.

“Great!” Li Li beamed, “I won’t worry anymore when I see Xiao Qi!”

"Xiaoyu, you have no idea how many nights your mother hasn't had a good night's sleep..." Old Song suddenly got out of bed, shirtless.

"What are you saying to the child?" Li Li slapped him twice on the shoulder in annoyance. "He's not even dressed. Alright, Xiaoyu, you two go to sleep. We'll talk tomorrow."

As soon as the video call ended, the atmosphere between her and Qi Yanzhou, which had just eased, became awkward again.

She immediately straightened up from his chest, but unexpectedly, his hand holding the video went around her waist, and as she dodged, she bumped straight into his arm.

The softness of her breasts contrasted sharply with the hardness of his arms.

Song Chiyu was in pain from the impact, "You—"

The words that were on the tip of his tongue were swallowed back down.

Rubbing his chest where he had been bumped, he slowly bent over and said, "Don't carry it like that next time."

Qi Yanzhou slowly lowered his raised arm, leaned down and approached her from behind, asking, "Are you alright?"

Before he could finish speaking, Song Chiyu's elbow had already bumped into his chest. "Does it hurt?"

She saved herself some effort, but not completely.

He was knocked backward, forced to brace himself with one hand behind his back, his face filled with an inscrutable coldness and unspoken words that she couldn't understand.

Song Chiyu quickly realized that their relationship was not one to joke around, and hurriedly got up to help him up, saying, "I'm sorry, Teacher Qi."

Instead of getting up, he adjusted his posture, leaned against the wall behind him, and pulled her towards his chest: "What exactly do you want to say to me?"

Song Chiyu knelt on one knee on the outside of his thigh, using the other hand to support herself on the folded quilt beside her, barely managing to keep her balance and avoid crashing into him.

Song Chiyu thought that she must have hurt him when she bumped into him.

She closed her eyes with some annoyance, "Teacher Qi, I really didn't mean to."

"I know."

"You knew that, yet you still grabbed her so hard?" Song Chiyu instantly became righteous again, tentatively pulling her wrist away from his grasp: "You're hurting me."

Qi Yanzhou didn't even blink.

He stared straight at her and exposed her, saying, "You're lying."

He didn't even use any force.

"But it's not right for you to keep pulling me like this..." With the movement just now, the shawl she was wearing silently slipped off her shoulders, revealing her slender arms and fair neck and shoulders. But that wasn't the most important thing. The important thing was that she felt this movement was very unsightly.

"My clothes fell off," Song Chiyu muttered, making an excuse.

He remained unmoved.

Without batting an eye, he pulled the shawl that had slipped off and draped it over her shoulders.

Song Chiyu: "..."

Having run out of options, she decided to finish the matter quickly: "I just want to ask you, what is your stance? Are you and those people really on our side? Aren't you a university professor? Why have you suddenly become Master Qi?"

Although she had a general idea in mind, she still wanted to confirm it with him again.

Qi Yanzhou stared at her without saying a word.

Song Chiyu felt that she didn't look pretty enough right now, and even looked disheveled. She lowered her head to avoid his gaze: "I don't know your position, so I can't answer my colleagues' questions and tell them what my relationship with you is."

"What is our relationship?" Qi Yanzhou asked.

Song Chiyu looked up in surprise: "A married couple!"

If it were any other relationship, she would have answered long ago. But because they are husband and wife, their fates are intertwined; one's success is the other's success, and one's failure is the other's failure.

Surely he didn't even consider this?

“Although we are not husband and wife in reality, we are husband and wife in name. If you have done those kinds of things, I naturally cannot stay here.”

"Then what should you call me?" Compared to her excitement, he seemed a little absent-minded, slowly leaning his shoulders closer to her.

Song Chiyu was taken aback.

She and he were clearly thinking about different things. She paused for two seconds and said, "Honey."

"Mm," he responded softly.

Song Chiyu gave a habitual answer, but she didn't expect him to actually agree.

The passionate expression on his face suddenly became somewhat subtle, his gaze darting around, revealing a sense of being busy but not knowing what he was busy with.

“No, it’s not…” Song Chiyu didn’t even know what she was saying.

"Do you want a divorce?" Qi Yanzhou asked abruptly.

"No!" Song Chiyu denied immediately.

"So what's your assumption for this afternoon?"

"It's not a hypothetical situation!" Song Chiyu quickly explained to him, "I'm just worried that you might feel pressured."

Song Chiyu truthfully recounted her thoughts at the time, and then added, "I think it's fine to live like this, but who knows, you might meet a girl you like and are interested in in the future, and then... what if you're too embarrassed to tell me?"

He met a girl he liked and was interested in.

Qi Yanzhou's expression grew increasingly cold: "Isn't it because you're afraid of meeting a man you like and are interested in?"

“I don’t know how,” Song Chiyu replied firmly.

Qi Yanzhou recalled what Xie Yunjin had just said; it seemed that she had only ever loved him.

His deep eyes were now dark and heavy.

"So sure?" Qi Yanzhou raised the corners of his lips without a trace of a smile in his eyes: "The future is so long, who can say for sure?"

“I…” Song Chiyu avoided his gaze and replied truthfully, “When I broke up with Xie Yunjin, I completely lost all my fascination with men. Smart ones, good-looking ones, rich ones, in the end they’re all the same.”

"What?"

Song Chiyu belatedly realized that he was also a gender, and blinked her eyelids embarrassedly, saying, "I'm not talking about you. I just feel that if all the talking is the same, it's better to find someone you don't have feelings for but who is a good person to marry."

"Then how do you define someone who is inherently good?"

"Someone like you." Song Chiyu realized she shouldn't have said so much to him, but since she had already said it, she could only grit her teeth and continue.

"I?"

Even if you don't like me, you will still treat me kindly.

"That's how you see me." He wasn't asking, but rather announcing to himself. So, her reluctance to date wasn't because she couldn't forget Xie Yunjin, but simply because Xie Yunjin had completely stripped away any allure he held for men. His previously stern expression softened slightly.

Song Chiyu said everything that she should and shouldn't have said.

With a defiant look, she raised her head and said, "Yes, can you let me go now? My legs are sore from kneeling."

"Who told you to kneel?"

"You're not..."

"Why don't you just sit down?" He pulled her thighs, which she was struggling to support, and sat her on his lap, holding her waist.

"This is a place you can sit?" Song Chiyu looked completely bewildered. "Then what... what was I doing just now?"

"So your knees are in good shape?" Qi Yanzhou was amused by her reaction, and his originally deep eyes were filled with laughter.

"Then why did you take so long to think when I asked you to sit on the edge of the bed?"

Qi Yanzhou tilted his head slightly: "Do the two have anything in common?"

I thought it was because you didn't want to get too close to me.

“Indeed,” his expression turned serious again, “Isn’t my only function with you to appease and deceive Ms. Li?”

"How could you think that—" But it is indeed the truth.

It seemed like every time she contacted him, it was about these kinds of things.

Suddenly, I realized that sitting on that handsome guy's legs wasn't so easy; it felt like being pricked with needles. I secretly braced my knees, preparing to sit up from his lap.

"Where are you going again?" He didn't stop me, but just lowered his eyelids and glanced at me indifferently.

"I'm not comfortable sitting here—"

"Then please move to the front and sit down."

Caught off guard, he pulled his knees together and propped up his thighs. She, who had been sitting on the front of his thighs, instantly leaned towards the back of his thighs, pressing her buttocks against his groin and his strong, narrow waist.

Song Chiyu's face instantly turned bright red.

His cool and serious face showed no trace of a smile, but his naturally upturned eyes were full of cynical mockery.

"Is this any better?"

It was only at this point that Song Chiyu truly realized that he was also a man in this kind of matter.

Feeling both ashamed and angry, she punched him in the chest.

"Qi Yanzhou!"

"Hmm?" He grasped her hand, which was pounding against his chest, and replied in a serious tone.

Didn't you just admit that you didn't want to get too close to me?

"Didn't you tell me not to think like that?" He leaned closer to her, his back slightly hunched.

Song Chiyu: "..."

He suppressed a laugh and gently stroked the strands of hair that fell beside her face. "Miss Song, there's something I need to tell you..."

Before he could finish speaking, Song Chiyu suddenly grabbed his shoulders as if in retaliation, tightened her legs, and rubbed them hard against his legs.

His gaze suddenly turned deep and intense as he stared at her.

alright.

There's no need to discuss it with her anymore.

Whether she agrees or not, it's inevitable.

He pulled her up to the back of her head, held her slender, fair neck, and tilted his head back to kiss her lips.

[Author's Note]

We've received all your requests for more chapters~ So this chapter is really long~ (Author's version)

Thank you everyone for the food and for liking it! [heart emoji] [heart emoji]