ankle

My tongue felt prickly.

Zhou Ji'an withdrew his injured mouth and tongue, covered his chin with his palm, and complained, "You didn't shave."

"Let's go somewhere else." Deng Yi ran his fingers through her hair and lowered his head to kiss the corner of her eye.

His kiss was very light, but Zhou Ji'an immediately closed his eyes and his body trembled slightly.

There are moments when Zhou Ji'an feels that Deng Yi loves her so much that he can't extricate himself.

Zhou Ji'an was afraid that if he indulged in this illusion for too long, he would eventually be doomed, so he suddenly opened his eyes and buried his face firmly in the crook of his neck.

She was about to bite his neck when she heard him hiss.

It seems she bumped into him when she moved.

"I'm sorry." Zhou Ji'an hurriedly supported himself on his shoulders and moved his hips back. His gaze happened to look down and he saw the change in him. He stiffly looked up and met the look in the man's eyes, which were filled with desire.

Didn't he reject her yesterday? Why is he acting like this again today?

"You don't mean to make me bite you..." Zhou Ji'an's breathing was unsteady, and he met his gaze steadily, not daring to look around.

Deng Yi's Adam's apple bobbed excitedly as he gritted his teeth and said, "Bite there, no one will see."

Zhou Ji'an breathed a sigh of relief and slowly buried his face in the crook of his neck.

Her hand was grabbed and pressed tightly against his unbearable desire.

“You…” Zhou Ji’an said angrily, “Didn’t you not want to do it with me yesterday?”

"I've thought about it now." Deng Yi held her hand and, like teaching someone to hold a pen and write, taught her to recognize his hand.

As his blood rushed to his head, Zhou Ji'an's mind gradually went blank.

Deng Yi, on the other hand, calmly guided her through the game.

Even though they were all obscure and unfamiliar words, Zhou Ji'an's ears burned as he listened.

"You don't want to anymore?" Deng Yi pressed down on her index finger, his breathing becoming chaotic and disordered in an instant.

Zhou Ji'an almost screamed.

Do all couples go through such a long preparation process after marriage? Or does he need this long preparation to get into the mood, otherwise he can't be with an ordinary person like her?

Zhou Ji'an couldn't help but fall into memories. It seemed that she always did this after their reunion, always comparing the current Deng Yi with the Deng Yi of the past.

At that time, not long after Zhou Ji'an and Deng Yi broke up, he learned that Deng Yi had entered the entertainment industry and was going to make movies.

He closed his studio, so Zhou Ji'an believed the news was true.

A year after their breakup, Deng Yi starred in a movie that was released.

Zhou Ji'an had no knowledge of film, but he had seen some film critics say that the content of that movie was only passable, and that its popularity as an art film was entirely due to Deng Yi's good looks and privileged family background.

The film's marketing team recognized this early on and actively leveraged Deng Yi's strengths to make him stand out and become a sought-after figure, naturally boosting the film's popularity.

Deng Yi's acting skills were praised to the skies due to his rising popularity, but he did not covet this popularity and directly announced that he would no longer act, which made him a god in the eyes of many people.

When Deng Yi became a sensation, Zhou Ji'an could hear his name and see his face wherever he went.

Those who knew she had dated Deng Yi would always find her and pry into Deng Yi's past. She was so annoyed by their inquiries that she eventually began to deny ever dating Deng Yi.

Her roommate was always being sarcastic and sarcastic in the dorm, so she couldn't escape her.

"Zhou Ji'an, when you see the actresses who have worked with Deng Yi, and the female celebrities he met on variety shows, don't you feel inferior?"

"Hey, what's the use of her being insecure? Didn't you see Deng Yi's interview last time, where he said he'd never been in a relationship? Even Deng Yi was ashamed to admit he'd dated someone of her caliber."

Wei Jinglin was even worse than her roommate, sending her messages related to Deng Yi almost every day.

"I know some people in the entertainment and film industries, and I've heard they're quite the ladies' men. How many women do you think Deng Yi has slept with by now?"

"Deng Yi has seen countless people even before entering that circle. I guess he's getting more and more daring now. He was only dating you back then to create stories about ordinary people. Don't think he really had feelings for you."

"There's only one standard to tell if a guy likes you: see if he wants to sleep with you."

"You look like you've never been slept with by Deng Yi."

For a long time, Zhou Ji'an was trapped in doubt about whether he was really that bad. He was cautious in everything he did and in his interactions with everyone, fearing that he would expose his shortcomings.

She felt as if her limbs had been cut off and her mind imprisoned, living a life of pain and tension.

But she was unaware that she was too ordinary to be a good match for Deng Yi, and during the time she spent with and dated Deng Yi, she did not feel any contempt or disdain from him.

During that time, she was even spoiled by Deng Yi to the point of being prone to throwing tantrums.

However, since everyone else felt that she was not good enough for Deng Yi, she would subconsciously look for evidence that Deng Yi despised or disliked her.

"Why didn't you want to be with me before?" Zhou Ji'an's fingertips curled up, his grievances and sorrow unfolding.

"How could I not want to?" Deng Yi said, then held her head tightly and kissed her, trying to fill the emptiness and loss of the past few years with his kiss.

He pressed his forehead against hers, panting. Zhou Ji'an tried to judge the truth of his words by looking into his eyes, but because they were too close, she couldn't catch his gaze.

His hand was no longer holding hers; it began to explore her boundaries.

Zhou Ji'an's breathing became heavier, and he straightened his back and whimpered, "I feel a little uncomfortable."

Deng Yi's fingers retreated beyond her boundaries.

Zhou Ji'an felt a chill on the skin nearby, and suddenly shuddered, opening his mouth to bite the muscle on his shoulder.

"A little higher, so others can see it." Deng Yi smiled contentedly. "Use a little force, and the mark will be more obvious."

He explained it very clearly, but Zhou Ji'an was at a loss, his lips gently touching his skin, unsure of what to do next.

"Still feeling unwell?" Deng Yi asked, tilting his head and biting her ear, while his hand massaged her waist. "Will this make it too late for you to go to work?"

"meeting."

Her sullen tone pleased Deng Yi.

Deng Yi supported her buttocks, stood up, and put her back in her chair, deliberately saying, "Then you go to work first."

Zhou Ji'an's calves were still hooked around Deng Yi's waist and hips. When his buttocks touched the chair, his calves were about to fall, but Deng Yi grabbed his ankles.

Just like he measured her wrist circumference that day, he measured her ankle circumference, and finally tightened his grip and said, "Your ankles have become quite thinner too."

Zhou Ji'an, who had previously warned herself not to indulge in illusions, was now almost certain that Deng Yi loved her.

She thought that if Deng Yi didn't love her, there was no need for him to remember these details.

About six months after they met, on an ordinary Saturday, Zhou Ji'an got up early and headed to Deng Yi's studio.

Deng Yi's studio door was closed, so she stood at the door waiting for him. She waited from a little after eight o'clock until almost midnight before Deng Yi finally appeared.

"Why are you standing outside? Did you forget your keys?" Deng Yi asked, carrying two paper bags.

Zhou Ji'an nodded and said, "Yes, I thought you had already arrived."

"Are you cold?" Deng Yi switched all the bags to one hand and touched her red ears with his free hand. "Next time you forget your keys, call me."

Ever since that time they touched each other's "vertical lines" (a feature on the forehead), Deng Yi has made physical contact with her from time to time.

Zhou Ji'an liked Deng Yi's approach very much, and she would occasionally try to tease him, but she could never do it as easily as he did.

Today was the first time Deng Yi touched her ear, and also the first time Zhou Ji'an realized that her ear was unusually sensitive.

Her body visibly trembled, and then she stared blankly at the perpetrator.

Deng Yi was a little surprised. A second later, he touched her ears again and found that she had the same reaction. He smiled for a while before taking out his keys to open the door and said, "Your ears are all red from the cold."

As soon as he entered the house, he turned on the heating and said, "Next time you forget your keys, either call me right away or come to my house. I'll send you my address later."

Zhou Ji'an found her body's reaction strange, as if she had opened up a new world. She stared at Deng Yi's well-defined fingers and said, "I'm not afraid of the cold. I like winter."

Deng Yi chuckled and said, "That's good. I was worried that you wouldn't want to come anymore because you got cold today."

How could she not want to come? She wants to come every day.

Thinking this, Zhou Ji'an turned his back, put down his schoolbag, took out two boxes from the bag, and presented them to Deng Yi like treasures. "The prize money I won in the competition last semester has been paid out. This morning I passed by a fruit supermarket and saw that the persimmons and strawberries looked very fresh, so I bought two boxes. The owner said they were delicious."

Deng Yi took the persimmons and strawberries, carefully examined the beautifully packaged fruit, and said, "They look delicious."

Zhou Ji'an felt a warm sensation all over her body. She looked up at Deng Yi with a smile, and Deng Yi smiled back and reached out to touch her head.

The two ate some strawberries and then shared a persimmon.

As Zhou Ji'an recounted the events of his winter vacation, he watched Deng Yi unpack the cardboard box he had brought.

At first, Zhou Ji'an thought the box contained the new equipment Deng Yi had bought, but he took out a pair of black and white sneakers and four pairs of cotton socks of different colors from another bag.

Neither the sneakers nor the cotton socks seem to be men's style.

As Zhou Ji'an felt nervous and expectant, Deng Yi said, "Try it on and see if it fits."

Perhaps seeing that she seemed a little lost, Deng Yi walked to her side, knelt down on one knee, took her ankle, and took off her shoes and socks.

Remembering what Yu Xi had said in that clothing store, Zhou Ji'an refused, saying, "It must be very expensive, I don't want it."

Deng Yi held her ankles tightly, his gaze naturally falling to the tops of her feet.

Zhou Ji'an's body became increasingly strange, even stranger than when Deng Yi touched her ear earlier. She couldn't help but struggle, and Deng Yi immediately let go of her, looked up at her and said, "Work here during the summer vacation. Don't go anywhere else or go home. Consider these shoes as an advance on your wages."

This was something Zhou Ji'an desperately wanted, but Deng Yi brought it up as if it were a request.

During the previous winter break, Zhou Ji'an wanted to stay at Deng Yi's studio, but she had nowhere to stay, and the rent in Ji City was too high, so she didn't want to go home.

She had heard from Zhao Haiyan that electronics factories would hire workers during the winter break, so with Zhao Haiyan's help, she returned to that electronics factory and worked there for more than a month.

For more than a month, what she looked forward to most every day was getting off work, picking up her phone, and seeing Deng Yi's messages or receiving his calls.

Zhou Ji'an had originally planned to work in an electronics factory during all her winter and summer vacations, but Deng Yi's words pulled her out of this predicament.

When Deng Yi wrapped his arm around her ankle again, Zhou Ji'an asked, "Then where will I stay?"

As Deng Yi helped her put on her brand-new shoes and socks, he replied, "Stay here, or stay at my house."