Siege

"Jian." Deng Yi called her name with joy, leaning down to let her hug him tighter. "When will you finish your work today?"

"I'll have a video conference later, and I'll reply to work messages promptly afterwards." Zhou Ji'an slowly pulled his arm out from around his neck and hugged his waist instead.

He wanted her to go back to how she used to be, and she wanted to hug him like she used to.

When she used to hug him, there was no agreement between them; they were in a normal romantic relationship. The hugs were simply to express their love, without any other motives.

Deng Yi kissed her cheek and said, "Let's confirm how many people are coming first, then I'll get ready. You go to work."

A sense of reality washed over me.

Zhou Ji'an looked up at him, swallowed a bitter taste in his mouth, and said, "Let me go first."

Deng Yi raised an eyebrow: "Hmm?"

He looked down at her hand resting on his waist, his eyes full of mockery.

Zhou Ji'an immediately let go and pushed him in the chest.

Deng Yi stood up, maintaining a faint smile, and stroked her soft hair, feeling her presence.

Zhou Ji'an endured it stiffly, and when he touched her ear again, she said impatiently, "Are you done yet?"

Deng Yi fiddled with her earlobe to satisfy his desire and replied, "Touch me."

"Where should I touch?" Zhou Ji'an asked.

“Anywhere is fine,” Deng Yi replied.

He even told her back then that she could bite wherever she wanted.

Zhou Ji'an's eyes, like water, flowed over every part of his body, and finally he took his hand. When he saw the dissatisfied expression on his face, he grabbed his hand and pressed it against his unbearable discomfort, saying in a mischievous tone, "Touch it yourself."

Deng Yi, who was being teased, showed no annoyance and calmly said, "I've touched it myself many times, it's your turn."

His words made Zhou Ji'an's face burn red.

Zhou Ji'an hurriedly let go, "I don't want to touch you."

"You already touched it back then."

"You forced me to touch it."

"Yes, so you need to take the initiative to touch it now."

Unable to handle the adult version of Deng Yi, Zhou Ji'an asked, "Are all the men in your circle this promiscuous?"

Deng Yi's gaze was sharp as a blade, and he said coldly, "Don't believe Wei Jinglin's words."

Zhou Ji'an lowered his head and muttered, "Who told you to always treat me like this?"

“You’re my wife. If I don’t treat you like this, who else would I treat like this?” Deng Yi asked.

“You can do this to whomever you want.” Zhou Ji’an felt awkward listening to how he addressed her.

“I love treating you like this,” Deng Yi said calmly.

Zhou Ji'an's heart fluttered uncontrollably, as if it were drifting back to the days when they were in love many years ago.

"I have to go to work." Zhou Ji'an glanced at the large screen of the desktop computer and pushed his side. "Move aside."

Deng Yi stopped blocking her, took a small step to the left, and turned around to look at her computer.

Xu Zhiyan's latest message is: Can I call Jinglin senior?

Zhou Ji'an turned his head and asked, "What should we say?"

Deng Yi typed on the keyboard and sent the word "cannot".

“Wei Jinglin will definitely feel that we are ignoring him. What if he starts to slander you again?” Zhou Ji’an said worriedly.

“You can speak up for me,” Deng Yi said happily, bending down to kiss the top of her head. “I’ll go out and prepare; you focus on your work.”

Zhou Ji'an nodded vigorously and said "Mm".

Zhou Ji'an, who was preparing to work diligently, kept having vivid and lively images in his mind.

It was probably the fantasies and emotions that had accumulated over the years that finally erupted when Deng Yi crossed her boundaries.

Deng Yi returned to the study carrying a full plate of food, and Zhou Ji'an's eyes involuntarily drifted to a certain part of him.

"Let's eat," Deng Yi called out, placing the plate in the middle of the desk and pulling up a chair to sit next to her.

"I'm not hungry yet." Zhou Ji'an's hands didn't leave the keyboard, nor did his gaze shift to Deng Yi.

She deliberately avoided looking at him to prevent him from completely disrupting her concentration.

“If you don’t eat, I’ll feed you myself.” Deng Yi picked up the milk and brought it close to her lips.

Zhou Ji'an's gaze was fixed straight ahead, without any hesitation. He simply took the milk, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp. After wiping his mouth, he said, "You can go now."

Deng Yi: "There are also eggs and vegetables."

Zhou Ji'an quickly finished the eggs and vegetables, and then she shooed him away, saying, "Get out."

Deng Yi didn't move. He was lifted up by the everyday scene he had imagined countless times, feeling light and full of strength. "Jian."

His voice seemed to come through the gaps between them over the years, without the slightest dullness; it was smooth, clear, and direct, as if his voice was filled with the breeze of early summer.

Zhou Ji'an asked in confusion, "Hmm?"

Deng Yi suggested, "How about we leave it at that?"

Zhou Ji'an certainly thought it was good, but she didn't dare to agree.

There are too many unpredictable factors lurking between them; any one of them could easily end their relationship.

Such conversations, which involve commitment, weaken her ability to accept predetermined outcomes.

Moreover, maintaining this relationship doesn't prevent him from loving others, while if she agrees to maintain it, it means accepting that he might one day fall in love with someone else and even leave her for that person.

Zhou Ji looked dumbfounded: "That's it, my shift will go on until the evening."

Deng Yi's eyes flickered, and he smiled, saying, "I'm ready to call you."

When Lu Jianni, Xu Zhiyan, Qin Xirang, and Zhao Xingran arrived, Zhou Ji'an had not yet finished his work. He vaguely heard voices coming from the living room, which made him a little nervous. He mustered all his strength to finish the most urgent task and ran out of the study without even turning off the computer.

Zhou Ji'an bumped head-on into Deng Yi, who seemed to be coming to call her.

"Why are you running?" Deng Yi asked, supporting her shoulders. "Lunch is in half an hour. Would you like some fruit?"

"I'm not eating." Zhou Ji'an looked over his arm at the "friends" on the other side of the room. "I haven't even digested what I ate back then."

Seeing her nervous expression, Deng Yi leaned close to her face and whispered, "Are you that afraid they'll find out our marriage is fake?"

“Hmm.” Zhou Ji’an admitted, and whispered, “Xu Zhiyan said that Qin Xirang is an actress. If anything is discovered, people in your circle will find out very quickly.”

Gossip spreads even faster in the entertainment industry.

Deng Yi's gaze swept across the space between the study and the living room, as if trying to determine which one Qin Xirang was.

Zhou Ji'an had only met Qin Xirang once. If they met outside, she would most likely not recognize Qin Xirang, just as she wouldn't recognize Zhao Xingran.

Fortunately, only four people came to my house today.

She looked at the three girls on the sofa and said, "The one with slightly curly hair and a small, fair face is Qin Xirang."

"Hmm." Deng Yi responded casually, releasing her shoulder. "Let's go."

The coffee table in the living room was filled with all kinds of fruits and snacks, all served in exquisite fruit platters and plates.

Zhou Ji'an felt that those things didn't suit him at all, but they matched the other five people in the living room perfectly.

"Finished with your work?" Xu Zhiyan asked her first. "Is the pressure of doing technical research and development high?"

"It's alright," Zhou Ji'an said somewhat awkwardly.

The other five were also more natural and poised than her.

Lu Jianni said sarcastically, "I hate people who invite friends over to their homes. Why did you suddenly decide to invite friends over today?"

Zhou Ji'an instinctively looked at the composed Deng Yi, hoping he would answer the question.

“I sent you the message using Ji’an’s WeChat,” Deng Yi readily admitted. He gestured for Zhou Ji’an to sit on a beige single sofa, while he himself sat on the left armrest. “I wanted to see what kind of person her good friend, Lu Jiani, was.”

Deng Yi then simply took a double-edged approach.

Zhou Ji'an wanted to say something to change the atmosphere, but Zhao Xingran said, "Ji'an, you've only been married for a short time, how come you have no privacy so soon?"

"No, I asked him to send it." Zhou Ji'an subconsciously spoke up for Deng Yi.

"Jian, you're defending Director Deng again." Qin Xirang said almost the same thing he said on Saturday.

If I had to point out a difference, it might be in how she addresses Deng Yi.

Zhou Ji'an thought of a way to change the atmosphere. She turned to Deng Yi and said, "They really like watching movies. Do you want to take them to see a movie?"

Xu Zhiyan sighed and said, "Sigh, I want to do something completely different from my job when I'm resting."

Zhou Ji'an: "No, no, I meant the three girls."

"You and he can stay here, is that what you mean?" Deng Yi said quietly.

"No, no, I just feel awkward sitting here like this," Zhou Ji'an said urgently. She felt helpless, as if she were being surrounded, and wished she could shrink down and hide under the sofa cushions.

Lu Jianni was exasperated and her sarcastic remarks became even more intense: "You're so reserved, like you're living under someone else's roof. Anyone who didn't know better would think you were playing house with him or having a fake marriage."

As soon as Lu Jianni said this, everyone's eyes were drawn to her face, including Deng Yi's.

Everyone wanted her to give an answer, and deep down everyone had an answer they wanted to hear.

Zhou Ji'an could only bear the consequences of his previous reckless remarks, "It's not like he can't find a marriage partner, why would he need to have a fake marriage with me?"

"Her main point is that you're too reserved, making you and Director Deng Yi seem like an unlikely couple." Xu Zhiyan also seized the opportunity to chime in, wanting to find out the truth as soon as possible.

"There's no such thing as a couple being alike or not, only whether they are alike or not." Deng Yi said this to several familiar or unfamiliar faces, his hand naturally resting on Zhou Ji'an's shoulder.

His words were firm and resolute, which calmed Zhou Ji'an down a bit. He then casually leaned his head against his waist.

However, when Zhou Ji'an glanced at the expressions of the other people, he could still sense their suspicion.

She had no choice but to blame herself for not concentrating on the wedding day, for saying the wrong thing, and for being too mismatched with Deng Yi.

"There's a gym upstairs, do you want to go check it out?" Zhou Ji'an changed the subject.

She thought it was fortunate that she had been told some information about the family this morning, which would allow her to use that information to play the role of the lady of the house.

Qin Xirang, who doesn't talk much, reminded him, "Director Deng just said it's almost lunchtime."

Words like restrained, awkward, embarrassed, and embarrassed seem tailor-made for Zhou Ji'an.

She couldn't help but wonder if she would be more relaxed and at ease when entertaining friends at home if her marriage partner were someone similar to her in every way.

Zhou Ji'an, whose performance had failed, was completely deflated after just one glance at Deng Yi.

She noticed that Deng Yi seemed to be looking at Qin Xirang.

Qin Xirang is a new actress. Zhou Ji'an has never heard of her name, seen her work, or even seen her photos online.

But as long as she says she wants to be an actress or a new actress, no one doubts the truth of what she says, and no one ridicules her.

Qin Xirang is very beautiful, just as beautiful as Yu Xi, but when she and Yu Xi appear at the same time, everyone will probably notice her first.

Because she was not only beautiful, but also innocent, as if she had never suffered any injustice or hardship.

Zhou Ji'an said awkwardly, "Really? I was working just now and didn't know."

Deng Yi asked, "Zhiyan, are you still looking for a job?"

The two spoke at the same time.