Chapter 26: Who's better, him or me...?
The city of Shenzhen is less hot at night than during the day, and a cool evening breeze blows in your face, which is very refreshing.
Many people who found it too hot during the day came out for a walk after dinner. Some carried palm-leaf fans, while others held children's hands, making the streets even more lively than during the day.
After his work unit allocated him housing, Shen Huai'an moved to the procuratorate's family compound. Over the course of two years, most of his neighbors knew him.
Bai Zhenzhen followed him all the way out, greeting him countless times. The elderly men and women who knew Shen Huai'an were very curious about her, and everyone who saw her would praise her for being beautiful and elegant. It would seem impolite for her not to reply. At first, Bai Zhenzhen was happy to be praised, but as more and more people greeted her, her mouth became dry by the time she left the family compound.
"Everyone's so curious because you just moved here. It'll get better later." Seeing that she seemed agitated, Shen Huai'an told her to wait under a tree by the roadside while he went to a nearby store and bought two bottles of water.
It's not that she dislikes greeting people, she's just rather impatient, and Bai Zhenzhen is quite curious about the everyday life of ordinary people.
In her memory, before Bai Chuxiong resigned and went into business, she had lived in a tenement building with more than a dozen families on one floor when she was a child. The aroma of someone cooking a dish could waft up to three floors. She hadn't experienced that feeling for a long time.
After drinking the water, Shen Huai'an continued to lead her towards the park.
Instead of making a special detour to the main entrance of the park, the two casually chose a side path and strolled in at a leisurely pace.
The path was lined with all sorts of flowers and trees. Bai Zhenzhen had never been here before, and it had been a long time since she had strolled through a park so leisurely. She was so engrossed in looking around that she almost forgot there was someone beside her if Shen Huai'an hadn't been holding her back.
"Be careful." The path was narrow, and the ground was covered with uneven large stones. When Shen Huai'an saw that she was looking around and almost missed a step, he quickly put his arm around her waist and lifted her up to his side.
Bai Zhenzhen was startled. While holding his arm, she complained to him, "It's all your fault for choosing this narrow path. It's not easy to walk on at all."
Shen Huai'an didn't argue. It was clearly she who had just seen the bougainvillea in bloom and was about to walk through this area. He simply withdrew his hand and held hers even tighter.
He didn't argue, and Bai Zhenzhen quickly calmed down, returning her attention to the surrounding scenery. In fact, knowing that Shen Huai'an was protecting her made her feel even more at ease subconsciously.
After spending time together, Shen Huai'an increasingly felt that Bai Zhenzhen's personality was different from what he had imagined, or perhaps he simply didn't know her well enough to begin with.
She may seem spoiled and willful on the surface, but in reality, it's just that her lifestyle has shaped her somewhat delicate personality. She's also easy to appease when she gets angry. Perhaps the main reason is that Shen Huai'an doesn't dislike her spoiled and willful nature.
At first, he just felt that since he had promised Bai's father that he would not take the initiative to bring up divorce, he couldn't be too cold to Bai Zhenzhen no matter why she suddenly moved in, so he agreed to her requests several times.
Later, Bai Zhenzhen repeatedly mentioned wanting to be his real husband and wife. She not only urged him to come home early every day to be with her, but also made several attempts to take their relationship to the next level.
Shen Huai'an wasn't a complete idiot; he had long seen through Bai Zhenzhen's little tricks. However, he didn't understand or believe that she genuinely wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. Therefore, even though they were legally married, Shen Huai'an was unwilling to be overly intimate with her at this time. He only intended to observe the situation and find out why she had suddenly changed so much.
But he didn't expect that by waiting and seeing, he would be the first to succumb to temptation and fall into the trap.
Shen Huai'an had always thought that he was not a lecherous man. Since he came of age, he had never paid special attention to any woman. When he had been married for a year, his mother, knowing that his marriage was not going well, felt sorry for him and suggested that he take the initiative to pay back the money to Bai's father and let him divorce and marry a wife he liked and who was a good match for him.
Shen Huai'an refused at the time, not only because he had agreed to Bai's father's request, but also because he was satisfied with the current situation and had no intention of getting married again.
At that time, he thought that a marriage in name only was convenient. The two of them lived their own lives and did not disturb each other, which was good, and he could concentrate more on his work.
Now he gradually understands why his married colleagues at work want to go home to be with their families as soon as they get off work, and he also understands the meaning of the saying in the book that "a moment of spring night is worth a thousand pieces of gold".
Last night, when his self-control completely collapsed, Shen Huai'an didn't have time to think too much. Today, he has enough time to figure it out. He is not a true gentleman who can remain unmoved by temptation. His mind has already been shaken without him realizing it.
However, he and Bai Zhenzhen had already registered their marriage and held a wedding ceremony more than two years ago. They were a legally married couple, so it was normal for anything to happen.
He no longer wanted to guess why Bai Zhenzhen had changed. Adults don't need to think things through, or perhaps he was already calm enough in handling various cases. When it came to matters of the heart, Shen Huai'an didn't want to think too much. He just needed to know what Bai Zhenzhen wanted.
The two strolled in the park for more than half an hour. Before leaving, Shen Huai'an applied mosquito repellent to Bai Zhenzhen. She didn't get bitten, but she walked slower and slower.
After noticing this, Shen Huai'an took the initiative to pull her to a stop and asked, "Are you tired? Let's go back first. If you want to continue shopping, I'll come with you again tomorrow."
She wasn't really tired; Bai Zhenzhen was just bored with the park scenery.
"Then let's go back," Shen Huai'an suggested, since the line maintenance was finished today. "Want to go back and watch a movie with you?"
Bai Zhenzhen nodded indifferently at first, but as she nodded, she suddenly heard a laugh beside her. She looked up and saw that Shen Huai'an's smile had not faded. She immediately thought of how she had used the excuse of accompanying him to the movies to urge him to go home every time in the past two days in order to seduce him.
She didn't know if Shen Huai'an had thought of these things before he laughed, but Bai Zhenzhen blushed slightly and said with a hint of embarrassment and annoyance, "I don't need you to accompany me!"
"Huh?" Shen Huai'an seemed genuinely puzzled. "Didn't you keep urging me to come back early the other day to watch the movie with you? There won't be a power outage today, so we can watch the whole movie properly."
Hearing that he actually dared to bring it up, Bai Zhenzhen turned to leave, but Shen Huai'an tightened his grip and lowered his voice, "Slow down, watch your step."
He was tall and had long legs, so he could keep up with Bai Zhenzhen no matter how fast she walked. However, after walking a certain distance, he ended up tiring himself out.
After returning home, Bai Zhenzhen, covered in sweat, went to the bathroom to take a shower first, while Shen Huai'an took out the stack of discs and carefully selected them. Having experienced putting in the wrong disc the other day, this time he made a point of opening the movie beforehand to check if it matched the description on the packaging before rewinding and pressing pause.
After Bai Zhenzhen finished showering and came out, she didn't refuse anymore. She sat on the sofa, picked up the movie synopsis that Shen Huai'an had chosen, and found that it was a Hong Kong romance movie.
This movie is quite famous. Bai Zhenzhen went to see it with her friends when it was shown in theaters. She remembers that there were many intimate scenes between the male and female leads in the movie.
Thinking of all this, Bai Zhenzhen felt a strange unease rising in her heart. She put down the packaging and shifted her body, wondering if Shen Huai'an had deliberately chosen this book.
Because of her plan, Bai Zhenzhen was not opposed to having a relationship with Shen Huai'an. However, she was inexperienced and inevitably felt uncomfortable when she encountered things related to that kind of thing.
When Shen Huai'an finished getting ready and changed into his pajamas, he came to the living room and saw Bai Zhenzhen lost in thought. He walked over, sat down, and asked, "Did you like this movie? Would you like to watch another one?"
Bai Zhenzhen's eyes flickered, she shook her head, and then watched him press the start button.
The romantic movie starts off with a comedic tone, and Shen Huai'an, seeing Bai Zhenzhen intently watching the TV, also gets engrossed in it for a while.
He's usually busy with work and rarely pays attention to these things, but now that he's discovered Bai Zhenzhen likes them, he's become interested in learning more about them.
The plot quickly progressed to the romance between the male and female leads. At first, it was just simple kissing and hugging, and Shen Huai'an's expression remained unchanged. However, on a rainy night, when the male lead was injured and taken home by the female lead, not only did the background music gradually become ambiguous, but the male lead's actions also became more and more excessive. When the female lead's nude scenes appeared in the film, Shen Huai'an lowered his eyes slightly.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Bai Zhenzhen was still watching intently. He paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the male lead in the film, who had taken off his shirt, revealing large areas of bronze muscles. Bai Zhenzhen was still staring at the TV without blinking.
Shen Huai'an pursed his lips, reached out and grasped Bai Zhenzhen's hand, which was resting on the sofa. She seemed to feel disturbed and impatiently tried to pull her hand away, but couldn't.
"What?" Bai Zhenzhen turned her head, wrinkled her nose, trying to get him to let go. "If you're sleepy, go to sleep first, don't disturb my movie."
The man didn't move, but the corners of his mouth deepened. Bai Zhenzhen glanced at him and was secretly pleased, but said in a serious tone, "Shen Huai'an, did you see that? I think this male lead is so handsome!"
When someone praised another man's good looks in front of him, Shen Huai'an frowned and forcefully pulled the person into his arms.
When Bai Zhenzhen realized what was happening, she was already sitting in his lap, her hands on his chest as she cried out in surprise, "What are you doing?"
Shen Huai'an placed one hand on the back of his hand and asked calmly, "Where is he handsome?"
Bai Zhenzhen blinked and counted leisurely, "Hmm, I think he's very handsome, and his physique is also..."
Bai Zhenzhen suddenly stopped mid-sentence, because Shen Huai'an took her hand and slipped it inside her pajamas collar. The skin he touched was hot and elastic. He continued to guide her hand downwards, and soon his fingertips touched a slightly raised area.
Her fingers trembled slightly, and as her nails grazed the surface, Shen Huai'an let out a low groan, and Bai Zhenzhen's cheeks instantly turned bright red.
Shen Huai'an's hand, which had been on her lower back, gently stroked her back upwards, finally resting on her neck before gently caressing her cheek. He leaned closer to her, his voice noticeably husky, "Zhenzhen, who do you think is better, me or him, hmm?"
To be honest, Bai Zhenzhen actually prefers Shen Huai'an's looks and physique. She only said those things to annoy him. In reality, Bai Zhenzhen thinks the male lead's muscles in the movie are too exaggerated.
She preferred Shen Huai'an's complexion and his strong, yet not overly exaggerated, muscle lines. His physique was just right for her aesthetic preferences; otherwise, she wouldn't have so easily agreed to her father's conditions.
But Bai Zhenzhen didn't want to do as he wished, so she pretended to consider it and refused to say it.
Shen Huai'an had no choice but to lower his head and shut her up.
The movie ultimately didn't show a ending, and Bai Zhenzhen, who was already in deep trouble, had no time to care about anything else.
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Author's Note: Here I am~ [dog head with rose in hand]
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