Chapter 35 End of Text: A burning kiss on the back of the neck.
A bright light flashed before my eyes, stinging them painfully.
Yin Xiao blinked, exhaled, broke free from Yi Zhiyan's grasp, tiptoed closer, and whispered.
"Why don't you go home first?"
Yi Zhiyan looked down at her, his gaze focused, his breath spraying erratically onto her neck.
Yin Xiao felt a tightness in her chest from his gaze. She turned to leave, but her shoulder was grabbed again.
Whose profile picture did you change to?
Yi Zhiyan's aura instantly approached, and Yin Xiao, caught off guard, looked up to meet his probing gaze, her movements halting.
People dancing around them occasionally brushed past, and Yi Zhiyan skillfully put his arm around her shoulder, pulling her into his embrace.
He was so close that all you could see when you looked up was the fine stubble on his face.
His eyes were dark and swollen, and the fatigue that had been hidden by the light was now clearly visible.
Yin Xiao swallowed hard, trying to control her trembling voice.
"I don't know it, it's just a random picture I found online."
"Game punishment?" His voice was slightly hoarse as he gently brushed against her earlobe.
Yin Xiao's breathing became erratic for a second, but she quickly regained her composure. "No, I just want to change it."
As soon as the words were spoken, the music stopped abruptly, and the surroundings seemed to spring open like a squeezed sponge, leaving the view empty.
Yin Xiao glanced up unintentionally and met Dai Lan's scrutinizing gaze from not far away. In a moment of panic, she grabbed Yi Zhiyan's sleeve.
"Your classmate is looking at me... You'd better leave quickly, or you'll be seen."
She squeezed past Yi Zhiyan without looking back, forcing herself not to turn around, and gradually quickened her pace.
As Dai Lan stepped down the stairs, the scrutinizing gaze turned to her back, the expression shifting repeatedly, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
Before Yin Xiao could understand what she meant, her wrist was grabbed from behind. Skin to skin, warm breaths mingled, and their hand-holding slowly turned into an intimate interlocking of fingers.
Under the purple overhead light, Dai Lan's mouth suddenly opened into a perfect "O" shape, and her eyes closed and then opened again.
A roar echoed in Yin Xiao's mind for a second. Reason clamored for her to let go, but her body instinctively craved the warmth of close contact.
She pinched her fingertips hard, quickly changed direction, mouthed "something's up" to Dai Lan, then wrapped her hands around Yi Zhiyan's arm and pushed him forcefully into the corner.
They ran and dodged around the corner. The narrow passage was dark and gloomy, and the cheers and drumbeats that had been pounding in their ears gradually faded away.
Yin Xiao pressed the person against the wall, panting with one hand on her chest. Before she could speak, a dark shadow suddenly loomed over her head.
"Yin Xiao, you liar!"
Yi Zhiyan bent down to look at her, his eyebrows and eyes lowered, his lips taut and straight, his bangs messy, and a hint of suppressed emotion in his eyes.
Yin Xiao was stunned by his sudden sense of oppression. She stared blankly at his dark brown eyes, but the more she looked at his eyes, the more he resembled an injured cat in the grass downstairs. Her tone softened unconsciously.
Why would I lie to you?
"You said you would introduce me to your friends and classmates and that you would no longer hide our marital relationship from others. Why did you go back on your word?" He raised his hand and held the back of her neck, his fingertips idly tugging at the ends of her upturned hair.
"You took off your ring, changed your profile picture, and even dragged me away from people... Were you just trying to fool me before?"
Yin Xiao felt itchy, shrank her neck, and tried to argue, "I didn't."
She raised her hand to encircle his mischievous fingers, pulled them down and held them in her palm, then cleared her throat.
"I've thought about it carefully, and now is indeed not the best time to go public. Aren't you... busy with company matters? It's not too late to talk about it after you're done."
Yi Zhiyan's voice was slightly deep, "What am I busy with?"
"It's about what you were busy with in Xiamen this time." Yin Xiao tilted her head, unaware that something was amiss, and blurted it all out in one breath, "I know everything. Lu Ge's company was found to be stealing projects, and Yi Zhi has already suspected you. Right now, you have to be fully focused on dealing with everyone around you, otherwise, you might easily ruin everything if you're not careful..."
"Who said that?" Yi Zhiyan interrupted her softly, "Who told you that?"
Yin Xiao regained her senses, stiffened her neck, turned her face to the side to pretend to be stupid, and her eyelashes fluttered uncontrollably.
The air around them moved slowly, and for a moment there was a stalemate.
After a long while, she finally heard a faint sigh beside her ear.
Yi Zhiyan cupped her cheeks in his hands, his fingertips tracing her chin, forcing her to look at him. "You're backing out, is it to help me?"
Yin Xiao was held down by his hand and couldn't move. She puffed out her cheeks uncomfortably, making a silent accusation.
“I don’t need you to help me like this…” Yi Zhiyan let go of her hand, lowered his head to press his forehead against hers, wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and slowly put his arm around her. “This trip to Xiamen has been taken care of.”
"What's done?" Yin Xiao leaned against the wall, her ears filled with the faint buzzing of the speakers, her mind a complete mess.
“My plan, the beginning of our marriage.” Yi Zhiyan pressed his face against her neck, as if he had breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s over. I got back the smart home patent that Yi Zhi had taken from my parents. I’ve completely parted ways with Yi Zhi.”
Yin Xiao sniffed, smelling the dry, sweet scent of oranges on her collar, which calmed her down considerably. Suddenly, wisps of mist appeared before her eyes.
"We've fulfilled all the conditions stipulated in the original agreement perfectly for each other." She raised her hand from her side, wrapped it around him, and smiled. "It was a pleasure working with you! See you next time!"
"Next time?" Yi Zhiyan placed his large hand on the back of her head and rubbed it haphazardly.
Yin Xiao raised her chin and looked up at him.
"Can you keep your word next time, you little liar?" he said, as if complaining.
Yin Xiao blinked, looking somewhat aggrieved, "Being a liar is also very painful for me. We've been married for so long, yet I've been keeping it a secret from everyone..."
The thoughts she had when she took off the ring were all self-deception. It was a lie that she wasn't ready to go public; in reality, she really, really wanted to share her happiness with the people around her.
"It's my fault." Yi Zhiyan curled his fingers and wiped the water off her face. "Wife, if you're not satisfied, let's start dating again, or I can start pursuing you now... I'll make up for everything we missed because of that broken agreement, okay?"
"Oh, I see..." Yin Xiao rubbed the corner of her eye, drawing out the last syllable, pretending to look worried, "But my team building activity tonight isn't over yet. I originally wanted to bring my family member, but since this family member doesn't want to, never mind."
Yi Zhiyan stared at her, raised his eyebrows, and asked uncertainly, "You mean, you're going to introduce me to your classmates?"
Yin Xiao pursed her lips and remained silent.
Yi Zhiyan suddenly leaned down, his eyes sparkling, cupped her face and kissed her, "Wife, I love you so much."
—
As expected, Yin Xiao was bombarded with WeChat messages all night.
She changed her profile picture, lay on the bed, and replied to each message one by one. Seeing the screen full of blessings, her patience level soared, and she responded to every blessing to make sure no one was missed.
Yi Zhiyan was still working in his study. He had just retrieved the patent and returned from Xiamen ahead of schedule. Lu Wen almost stormed into his house and dragged him to the company, but was persuaded to resign by an official announcement on his WeChat Moments.
Yin Xiao sat up cross-legged, scratched her long hair out of boredom, and then got out of bed and went to the study.
The study door was open. Yi Zhiyan was leaning against the table, making a phone call with his legs crossed. When he looked up and saw her, his brows relaxed, and he smiled and waved at her.
Seeing that he was busy, Yin Xiao went inside and nestled into the beanbag chair at the other end to scroll through her phone.
After scrolling for a while and getting really bored, she stretched out her arms and her gaze naturally fell on the bookshelf opposite her.
A picture book was tucked inside various computer and finance books, its spine printed with crooked cartoon fonts.
"I want to go to the beach." Yin Xiao murmured softly, staring intently at the book, then curiously walked to the bookshelf, reached out and pulled it out to read.
It turned out to be a thick notebook with cute panda stickers on the cover. Yin Xiao didn't open it, guessing that it contained the secrets of Yi Zhiyan's records. Kindly, she held the book, stood on tiptoe, and put it back on the bookshelf.
She couldn't put it in, and then she noticed a rose gold square box at the very back of the bookshelf. It had probably fallen over on the shelf because she had just taken the notebook away.
She reached out and straightened the box. Through the transparent packaging at the top, she could vaguely see a familiar button, the one that Yi Zhiyan had taken away on the day of their argument.
Yin Xiao took two steps closer and then saw that there was a long brown rope tied behind the button, like a handmade vintage choker. She stretched out her fingers and fiddled with the box, and suddenly the image of Yi Zhiyan wearing it flashed through her mind.
Collarbone, Adam's apple...
She recoiled as if burned, shaking her head frantically as she hurriedly put the box back in its place. In her haste, she dropped the notebook in her hand, scattering the photos inside.
Yin Xiao bent down to pick it up, but her movements suddenly froze.
She recognized herself in the photo, standing by the sea in a beige floral dress, with a light orange hair clip barely holding her bangs back.
It was indeed her. It was during her summer vacation in Sanya after finishing her college entrance exams. At that time, her hairstyle was quite strange, with her bangs blown into a three-seven split by the wind, but she was smiling happily.
Or perhaps, this photo captured the moment she was smiling the most.
"Do you remember?" A tentative question suddenly came from behind.
Yin Xiao turned to look at Yi Zhiyan who was approaching. He seemed to have just finished his work, his phone still lit up in his hand.
"I...I don't remember," Yin Xiao replied softly, lost in memories. "Did we meet in Sanya?"
Yi Zhiyan looked down at her, her tone helpless, "You took a picture of me and used it as your profile picture. Everything that happened after that photo happened because of that photo, but you don't remember it."
"..." Yin Xiao's lips parted slightly, but she couldn't utter a single word. Her chaotic memories slowly became clear.
She couldn't remember where the photo was taken, but it turned out she was taking landscape photos in Sanya when she accidentally framed Yi Zhiyan under the lighthouse in the frame. She probably didn't avoid it because she thought he was good-looking and suited the scenery, but it was just a fleeting thought.
"So it was an accident, and taking pictures of me was also an accident?" Yi Zhiyan seemed to see through her embarrassed thoughts, blinked, and looked disappointed with a drooping mouth. "You never remember me."
"No!" Yin Xiao denied it subconsciously, then realized he was telling the truth. She explained softly, "I'm a little face-blind. I didn't see your face clearly on the subway, but I remembered it at the high-speed rail station... Although I never remembered you before, I've always really fallen for you, so I always ask for your WeChat..."
"Crush?" Yi Zhiyan curled the corners of his lips, took the photo from her hand, stuffed it back into the notebook, put it back on the bookshelf, and then casually raised his hand to block her side, showing no intention of letting go.
"Hmm, a little bit of a crush... I guess." Yin Xiao wrinkled her nose, gestured with her hands to admit it, then crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, nodding her chin as she asked, "What about you? Taking my picture was an accident too, you know?"
“No.” Yi Zhiyan pressed his nose against hers, his voice low and husky, “According to your logic, I should have met my crush much earlier than you…”
Yin Xiao instinctively raised her hand to hug his neck and took the kiss that slid down from his brow.
Are you tired?
"Not tired," Yin Xiao replied casually, only realizing the conversation sounded familiar after she finished speaking.
Sure enough, the next second, Yi Zhiyan caught her and lifted her into the air, his hurried footsteps landing towards the bedroom.
Her rapid breaths pounded against her lips, drawing her into a state of absentmindedness...
—
The phone rang unexpectedly in her ear. Yin Xiao was still asleep. She closed her eyes, snuggled into the arms of the person next to her, and let out a soft hum in protest.
In her daze, Yi Zhiyan hugged her tightly, soothingly rubbing the tips of her ears, and seemed to pick up her phone from under her pillow.
"It's Mom calling." He patted her back.
"Hmm..." Yin Xiao responded perfunctorily, drowsily twisting her neck, then suddenly realized what was happening, squinted, turned over, and grabbed her phone.
It was indeed Ms. Qian Yue's surprise phone call.
She frantically swiped to open the call button, "Mom?"
"Your dad and I have arrived in Anlin. We'll be at Qiyuan soon to see you..."
Yin Xiao immediately snapped out of her daze and complained, "Why are you all so sudden? Didn't you say you weren't coming last time?"
"We didn't say we weren't coming. We heard Xiao Yi was away on a business trip, so we just wanted to see how you two were doing..." Qian Yue paused, "Eh? Is Xiao Yi back?"
“He…” Yin Xiao turned her head to look, and on a whim, she handed her phone to Yi Zhiyan’s face.
Yi Zhiyan propped his head up without moving, smiled, and pulled her closer to him by his wrist.
"I'm back, Mom."
"You're together? That's great, we're coming right away..." Qian Yue's excited voice stopped abruptly. After a few seconds of silence, she asked in a low voice, "Xiao Xiao, are you awake yet?"
Yin Xiao froze in surprise, pulling the blanket up a little. "Not yet... no, it'll be soon..."
“It’s nothing, honey. Your dad and I just happened to be passing by the museum, so we went in for a look around and suddenly wanted to buy something…” Qian Yue laughed heartily, sounding like she was talking nonsense.
Yin Xiao coughed twice, trying to stop Ms. Qian.
"No rush!" Qian Yue's tone suddenly rose, and she laughed even more heartily, "Take your time."
After hanging up the phone, Yin Xiao threw the phone aside, pulled the blanket over her face, held her breath for a moment to calm down, and then got up.
As soon as she propped herself up, a pair of familiar arms wrapped around her waist. The forearms had bulging veins and smooth, strong lines, pulling her back into the warm bed.
Startled by the burning heat of the kiss on the back of her neck, Yin Xiao jumped back, turned around and pressed against the chest that was close to her, her eyelids twitching.
"Stop it, Mom and Dad are coming, they're worried..."
Yi Zhiyan grabbed her wrist, leaned down, and calmly kissed the corner of her mouth.
"I heard you, take your time."
"Honey, let's take it slow."
-----------------------
Author's Note: The main story is finished! Thank you for reading and commenting! I'm so happy to share this story with you all!
Next week will see the start of a bonus chapter, which will likely include a beach honeymoon, a sequel to the choker story, an interview with a campus couple, a wedding anniversary... To be continued [starry-eyed]
My next book is about hating my ex, titled "After Mistakenly Logging into My Ex's VIP Account to Browse Handsome Guys." Those interested can check it out in my author page! [Let me see!]
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