Chapter 53 Numb.53 Licking, Swallowing

After he finished speaking, a silence gradually filled the space between the two of them again.

Xu Wu looked up and glanced at him lightly. His annoying bangs were still stubbornly sticking out on his eyebrows and eyes. His figure also blocked out the light, making his appearance hazy and unclear to her.

Neither of them spoke first; their heavy, sluggish hearts were almost crushing the scales.

Xu Wu looked down at the tips of her shoes with slight unease. These white shoes were a bit old, washed and then whitened again, and with some dust stains from who-knows-where, they looked rather dirty.

Compared to the rich and noble clothes worn by the person in front of them, it was utterly insignificant.

—I shouldn't have thought that way.

Xu Wu thought to herself, but couldn't help comparing herself to him.

Aside from his constant spying and stalking, normally there shouldn't be any interaction between them, even though his gaze on her hair was still sickly, as if he wanted to crush her bones into ashes and then stick out his tongue to carefully lick and swallow them bit by bit.

Xu Wu's fingertips curled slightly, but her expression remained unchanged as she asked him, "Are you on vacation or still in Lijiang?"

His tone was as calm and natural as possible, revealing no hidden ripples beneath the surface of his tranquil voice.

As soon as she said this, she noticed Jie Ying's slight pause and felt a little embarrassed. Realizing she had said the wrong thing, she coughed lightly, intending to change the subject, but Jie Ying pursed her lips and replied, "Yes, right here."

Looking at his serious expression, Xu Wu suddenly didn't know how to react.

She asked this casually, since in the past, many people, including Fu Xi, would ask her where she was going for the long holiday or whether she was staying at home.

"What about Jieying...?" Xu Wu remained silent.

For a fleeting moment, she wondered where Jieying was going.

She knew about his parents' situation, and under these circumstances, she shouldn't have asked. But for some reason, given the clear economic disparity, she became somewhat impatient. This restlessness made her eager to find a breakthrough to ascertain something.

Seeing Jieying's expression, she felt regretful again, wishing she hadn't spoken so quickly.

"I thought..." Xu Wu muttered softly.

"What?" Jie Ying didn't hear clearly.

"nothing."

"And what about the fog?"

"ha"

Jie Ying pressed further, "Will Wu Hui stay in Lijiang?"

His eyes were bright and sparkling, with a slightly curved arc, as if even his thick, long eyelashes were carrying a bit of the light coming in from outside.

"..." Xu Wu turned her head away in a flustered manner: "Turn around."

"Oh, oh, oh." Jie Ying didn't understand, but she still obediently did as she was told, turning around to face downstairs.

"Where else could I go if not to Lijiang?" She raised her hand and touched the tip of her nose awkwardly, then slowly exhaled and walked past Jieying, heading downstairs without looking at her.

As he walked, strands of hair fluttered, lightly brushing against his slightly parted lips as Jie Ying glanced sideways. He subconsciously stuck out his pink tongue, and coincidentally, the same strand of hair, just like its owner, slid lightly across his soft, wet tongue, touching the fleeting moisture before falling away.

Jie Ying stood there stiffly, a tingling sensation in his mouth. He smacked his lips, feeling as if a faint scent of freesia lingered on his tongue, lingering on his palate and tonsils.

Coming to his senses, Xu Wu had already walked quite a distance downstairs. He hurriedly scrambled to catch up, calling out, "Wait, wait... Wu..."

A girl's light, airy voice drifted on the wind from not far away: "You're so tall, but your legs are like those of a seventy-year-old in a wheelchair."

"Yes, I'm sorry," Jie Ying quickly apologized.

"Except for, on New Year's Eve you..."

"No—" she trailed off.

"Hey, hey"

Did I say I'd make the arrangements with you?

"But, but..."

Don't be presumptuous.

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry."

"Take a few steps back, don't get so close to me."

Seeing him staring at her expectantly from ten meters away, Xu Wu smirked mischievously, her upturned eyes revealing a playful glint in her eyes. With one hand on her hip and the other pointing at him, she raised an eyebrow and continued to command, "Step back."

Jieying took a step back.

"Retreat again."

He took another step back.

"Alright," she said, lowering her hand with satisfaction. "Keep this distance, don't get any closer."

Jie Ying lowered his head in disappointment. He forcibly pulled back the foot that was about to stick out because of Xu Wu's words. His hand, hanging by his side, clenched the hem of his clothes and then let go.

—Just like a cat.

Thanks to his rich imagination, Xu Wu seemed to really see a pair of black cat ears drooping down on his fluffy head, just as listless as he was, and even his tail just weakly swept through the air.

He has a lot of hair, and the strands are fine. When you touch it, it doesn't feel rough at all; on the contrary, it's very soft.

Especially since he didn't know what resistance was, he would feel pleasure when she touched him, his eyes would crinkle and his fair face would flush red, and he would use this position to rub against her wrist.

......

Xu Wu quickly turned around, covering her burning face with one hand, suppressing the urge to scream. The temperature from her palm was getting higher and higher, making her feel uneasy.

What kind of ridiculous ideas are these?

She suddenly felt a bit resigned to her fate.

Xu Wu licked her lips, hesitated, and turned to look at Jie Ying's motionless figure. She frowned and struggled to decide whether to say something more.

But the next second, the sudden vibration of her phone in her pocket interrupted her thoughts. With her mind preoccupied, she only glanced at the contact name before answering and putting the phone to her ear.

"Hey." Her eyes never left the rosy lips of the person ten meters away.

A familiar female voice came through the phone: "Are you on holiday? Come back and stay for a few days. You can visit relatives after New Year's Eve. Do you want your mom to come over and help you pack your things?"

The voice carried a faint buzzing sound from the microphone, making it sound hazy and indistinct when it reached Xu Wu's ears. He didn't really think about what the other person was saying.

Jie Ying really didn't restrain himself; he was still staring at her like that.

The fine strands of hair on his forehead were slightly disheveled by the wind, and only at times like these could one catch a glimpse of his beautiful eyes, which he had kept hidden. Those amber-colored pupils brightly reflected her delicate face, and when they rippled with a barely perceptible smile, it was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples that lingered for a long time.

Despite the distance between them, Jie Ying's gaze fell on her wrist, which was holding the phone, and inexplicably made the veins beneath her pale skin feel faintly hot.

Xu Wu blinked, and with the incessant chatter on the phone surrounding her and clouding her judgment, she could only mumble a few answers without paying attention to what the other person was saying.

"Little Fog, are you listening?"

"Come out after school, I'll wait for you at the school gate."

The phone call was disconnected, and Xu Wu snapped out of her daze.

Thinking back to what Fang Rumei had said on the phone, she couldn't help but feel a headache coming on. What was she even talking about?

Jieying is a person.

Xu Wu gave him a light glare, her slight resentment quickly replaced by a roll of her eyes.

She put her phone away and said, "My mom's here to pick me up, I'm leaving now."

Without waiting for Jie Ying's reaction, he practically fled. He only stopped at the school gate to catch his breath and calm his racing heart.

Xu Wu glanced up and noticed the SUV parked across the street. The driver's side window was rolled down, and Fang Rumei was on the phone with someone, a smile playing on her lips. After hanging up, she caught sight of Xu Wu and waved.

Such a scene would only ever happen in her dreams; she would never receive the kind of treatment that Fang Rumei gave her.

Xu Wu composed herself, gripped the strap of her backpack tightly, walked over with a tense expression, and asked coldly, "Is that person still staying in my room?"

Knowing who Xu Wu was referring to, Fang Rumei felt a little embarrassed, but still explained, "Your cousin hasn't found a place yet, so he can stay for a few more days. We've already prepared a study for him to stay in. Besides, it's almost New Year's Eve, so a few more days won't make a difference, right?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Wu looked down at her, observing the ingratiating expression on her face. However, he paused when he noticed the wrinkles around her eyes that she couldn't hide, and his brows furrowed slightly.

A moment later, he gripped the backpack strap even tighter, but at least he didn't say anything. He gave a faint "hmm," opened the back door, bent down, and got in.

Fang Rumei unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, told her to sit properly, and then drove the car towards the residential area.

Xu Wu leaned against the car window listlessly, resting his chin on his hand on the control panel and tilting his head to look at the rapidly receding scenery outside the window.

A short while later, the car stopped at the entrance of the residential area. Fang Rumei unlocked the door and said, "Xiaowu, you go in first, I'll go park the car."

Xu Wu got out of the car and watched the SUV drive off towards the underground parking lot.

She took out her phone and checked the time; it was just past five o'clock.

However, it gets dark quickly in Lijiang in winter; in just half an hour, it will become dark, just like seven o'clock on a summer night.

She rubbed her hands, which were exposed to the cold air and gradually growing cold, and put them in her pocket to warm them as she turned to walk inside. With her other hand, she scrolled through her phone to pass the time.

The first newest post in my WeChat Moments was posted by Fu Xi.

She took a picture of the stacked documents and captioned it with a complaint that Chu Lian was a troublemaker who would drag people down with him.

The scourge is showing up in the comments.

Xu Wu smiled, swiped to refresh the screen, and a new post on Moments with a black cat avatar popped up.

It's also a picture, but without any caption.

The main character is a little tabby cat with green eyes. In the close-up photo, the facial features take up most of the space within the square proportion.

It looked like it was lying on the blanket, its emerald green eyes looking down, its expression visibly listless, as if it had suffered some great injustice, except for a few clever hairs sticking up on its ears.

What does this mean? Was this specifically shown to her?

Xu Wu stopped and stared at the photo without moving, his mind inexplicably conjuring up images of Jie Ying making that expression.

She just now...

Was that a bit too harsh?

Author's Note: I overestimated myself, thinking I'd finish in three chapters. [Clown]

This chapter is just a transition; barring any unforeseen circumstances, there are still two more chapters to go before it ends.

Power [Please]