Chapter 42 Taste is seduction
Shen Zhiwei felt that Xiao Wangqing seemed a little different since that day in the hot spring.
It’s hard to explain specifically. He still spoke little and his expression was still as indifferent, but he spent noticeably longer time with her.
In the past, they would visit her morning and evening, but now they would often stay in the palace all day, even if they were just doing their own things. She would read or play with the cat, while he would deal with the seemingly endless paperwork.
Occasionally he would notice her gaze, look up, and his eyes would meet hers. He wouldn't say anything, just staring at her. It was as if something in the depths of his eyes had melted, faster than the ice and snow outside the window.
The black cat that sneaked into the hall was very clingy and stayed by her side all day long, but it never let down its guard against Xiao Wangqing.
Whenever he tried to get close to Shen Zhiwei, the cat would arch its back and growl from its throat, as if he were an intruder with ill intentions.
Her husband seemed helpless. Every attempt to show affection was met with a single, unappreciative swat from the cat, which even bared its teeth and snorted. After a few attempts, he gave up and watched from afar as Shen Zhiwei held the cat in her arms, gently stroking it, his eyes complicated.
"It seems that it particularly dislikes you." Shen Zhiwei laughed once, scratching the kitten's chin with his fingertips. The cat snored in comfort, but the tip of its tail was still wagging impatiently in the direction of Xiao Wangqing.
Xiao Wangqing looked at the fur ball that had dominated her attention, frowned, and said calmly, "It's just wild, I can't tame it."
Having said that, Shen Zhiwei felt that the way he looked at the cat was not completely indifferent, but rather as if he was offended and depressed.
In a blink of an eye, it is the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, the Little New Year.
When I woke up in the morning, the sky outside the window was gray, as if it was holding back a snowstorm. The maid brought in a copper basin of hot water, moving very gently, afraid to disturb the two people hugging on the couch.
Shen Zhiwei had actually been awake for a moment, but she was too lazy to move. A warm chest pressed against her back, his arm across her waist, neither loose nor tight. Since their first night together, he had slept with her every night. At first, he had been a little stiff and reserved, but now it was becoming more and more natural, and he would unconsciously pull her into his arms even in his dreams.
She moved slightly and tried to turn around, but as expected, she felt the arm around her waist tighten immediately.
"Awake?" Xiao Wangqing's voice, hoarse from just waking up, rang behind his ears.
"Yeah." Shen Zhiwei responded with her eyes lowered, feeling him burying his head in the crook of her neck, his warm breath steaming that small piece of skin to a crimson red.
He seemed to be greedy for this moment of tenderness, and hugged her for a while longer before slowly letting go of her hand and getting up to put on her clothes. Shen Zhiwei watched him fasten his belt with his back to her, his black hair loose and his shoulders smooth and neat.
It is indeed pleasing to the eye.
At breakfast, the black cat was carried in by a maid, and it hopped lightly onto an empty chair, its eyes fixed on the table. As the maid served the dishes, it tilted its head to watch, its tail wagging gently.
Shen Zhiwei found it interesting and picked up a small piece of fish meat, placed it in her palm and handed it to her. The cat came close to sniff it, rolled its tongue and ate it, rubbing its head against her wrist.
Xiao Wangqing was sitting opposite her, scooping up a spoonful of porridge. Seeing this, he paused, said nothing, and just lowered his head to continue drinking the porridge.
He doesn't seem to like the cat very much.
Indeed, the cat had never given him a good look since it appeared. Every time he tried to get closer to her, the cat would bar its teeth and growl, looking fierce and protective of its food.
Shen Zhiwei always felt like he remembered something recently.
It wasn't a specific image or sound, but a feeling. For example, when I saw the bright red dish of dogwood jam on the table, a vague feeling came over me: this must be the flavor the person next to me would like.
She stretched out her chopsticks, picked up a piece of shiny roasted meat, dipped it in the sauce dish, and placed it on the plate in front of Xiao Wangqing.
The sauce is bright red and wrapped around the thin slices of meat. It looks spicy and appetizing.
"Here, husband, try it."
Xiao Wangqing's hand holding the chopsticks paused, his eyes fell on the piece of meat covered with red oil, then he looked up at her, his eyes darkening a little.
"Okay." He responded, picked up the piece of meat, put it into his mouth without changing his expression, and chewed it carefully.
Shen Zhiwei looked at him and saw that his Adam's apple rolled as he swallowed the food without any abnormality on his face. Only then did she feel relieved and asked casually, "How does it taste?"
"It's okay." He answered with a curl of his lips, then picked up the teacup beside him and took a big sip.
Shen Zhiwei didn't pay much attention to it and tried other dishes herself. For some reason, she always felt that today's meal seemed to suit her appetite better than usual, especially the light seasonal vegetables and the stewed bamboo shoots with ham in the broth, which were fresh, sweet and refreshing.
She ate some, and seeing that Xiao Wangqing seemed to have stopped eating the roasted meat, she picked up a portion of spicy stir-fried bean sprouts and put them in his bowl.
Xiao Wangqing looked at the bean sprouts in the bowl, was silent for a moment, but still picked up some and ate them.
Shen Zhiwei was amused and recommended a few dishes that she thought were rich or spicy. "This stewed bamboo shoots is tasty, and this mushroom is flavored with dogwood. I'm sure you like it."
Xiao Wangqing looked at the rapidly growing mountain of food on the plate in front of him, remained silent for a moment, and ate it all. He only drank some tea after every few bites, and by the end of the meal, a thin layer of sweat had even seeped from his forehead.
Shen Zhiwei thought he was eating hot food.
But the black cat nestled at her feet suddenly meowed and rubbed her leg with its furry head when she scooped another spoonful of spicy chicken and was about to hand it to her.
"What's wrong? You want to eat it too?" Shen Zhiwei lowered his head and rubbed the cat's head in a funny way, "This is too spicy, you can't eat it."
Being interrupted by this, Miss Shen forgot to continue serving food to her husband.
Nor did he see Xiao Wangqing breathe a sigh of relief and quietly push the red plate of spicy chicken in front of him away.
After the meal, the maid cleared away the cups and plates and served tea. Xiao Wangqing sat beside her, a scroll in his hand.
The hall was warm, Shen Zhiwei leaned against the soft pillow, and her fingers combed the cat's fur more and more slowly.
The person next to her hadn't turned the pages of the book for a long time, and she looked up lazily.
Xiao Wangqing remained poised, his gaze fixed on the void, as if lost in thought. The halo of candlelight in the hall traced the contours of his face, casting a warm hue. His lips were a shade redder than usual, perhaps from the chili sauce.
After an unknown amount of time, he put down the book and stood up to pour tea.
Shen Zhiwei looked at his hand holding the pot. His knuckles were distinct, his wrist bones clear. He was wearing a dark blue robe today, which revealed more flesh than usual. The collar was slightly open, revealing a section of his collarbone. As he moved, the lines of his shoulders and back were faintly visible under the fabric.
Shen Zhiwei woke up all of a sudden.
The lines of his collarbone were sharp, and his skin glowed a cool white in the candlelight, rising and falling slightly as he poured tea. Shen Zhiwei's eyes involuntarily followed the lines down and into the shadow of his collar.
He finished pouring the tea, turned around, and met her gaze.
Xiao Wangqing paused holding the teacup, then walked back, meeting her gaze. He placed one of the teacups on the small table beside her and sat down on the edge of the couch beside her, much closer than usual.
"What are you looking at?" he asked.
Shen Zhiwei didn't answer, thinking that he was asking even though he knew the answer, and reached out to take the tea he handed over.
She took a sip of her tea, her eyes still fixed on him. The color of the robe made his skin look even whiter, and the loose design of the collar made it easy for her to see other things through the collar.
"I've never seen you wear this dress before." She put down the teacup and said casually.
Xiao Wangqing lowered his eyes and adjusted his cuffs slowly and said, "These are old clothes I found in the warehouse. They are more casual to wear."
Shen Zhiwei uttered an "oh" and her eyes wandered to the fingers that were adjusting his cuffs.
She recalled how those hands had lingered on her body last night, and the trembling caused by the calloused fingertips brushing against her skin. She picked up the teacup and took another sip, secretly sighing that she lacked self-control.
The hall was quiet for a moment.
Xiao Wangqing didn't seem to notice her abnormality. He picked up the book he had just put down. The skin at his collar was so dazzling in the candlelight that it made people dizzy.
Shen Zhiwei felt that the hall was a little hotter than before. She raised her hand to fan herself, her eyes seemed to be glued to her, unable to move away from the smooth skin on the side of his neck.
After being stared at by the burning gaze for a long time, Xiao Wangqing turned his head to look at her and smiled: "Are you hot?"
Shen Zhiwei nodded subconsciously, then felt that this reaction was a bit silly, pursed her lips and said nothing.
As if granted some kind of permission, he raised his hand and naturally undid the top button of his collar. His movements were neither hurried nor slow, his fingertips hooked around the small jade button, and with a gentle flick, the collar loosened slightly, revealing more of his collarbone and even the faintest glimpse of the firm lines of his chest beneath.
"It's a bit stuffy," he said. "The dragon's burning too strong."
After unbuttoning his shirt, Xiao Wangqing didn't look at her, his gaze returning to his book, his demeanor somewhat reminiscent of a respectable man. However, the way he leaned back slightly in his chair made the open collar even more conspicuous.
The black cat was curled up at her feet, fast asleep.
Shen Zhiwei put down the teacup. She felt that she should say something, or do something, to break this inexplicably sticky atmosphere. But her mind was empty, and her eyes kept drifting towards the sudden spring light.
She coughed lightly.
Xiao Wangqing raised his eyes when he heard the voice.
"We're going to the West Market tomorrow," Shen Zhiwei found a way to start a conversation, "what do we need to prepare?"
"No," he replied briefly, "just dress warmly."
After saying that, he lowered his eyes to read again, but Shen Zhiwei saw that his fingers holding the book tightened slightly, and the pages did not turn for a long time.
She felt a little dry in the mouth, so she picked up the teacup and took another sip. The tea was warm and slightly bitter.
Shen Zhiwei could feel the warmth coming from his body and smell the refreshing scent on him.
This is seduction.
A blatant seduction.
She felt that she had to do something and couldn't be so dazzled by his beauty. So she reached out and her fingertips touched his collarbone, which was exposed after he unbuttoned his shirt.
Xiao Wangqing's body stiffened for a moment, but he did not dodge. Instead, he turned his head slightly and let her fingertips linger there.
His skin was slightly cool and smooth to the touch. Shen Zhiwei's fingertips slid slowly along the line of his collarbone, feeling the subtle pulse beating under his skin.
Her movements were very gentle, and seeing that he did not resist, she became more unscrupulous, slowly reaching into the edge of the loose neckline and touching the warmer skin.
Xiao Wangqing's breathing suddenly became heavier. He suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist, but he only held it loosely, and his palm was very warm.
"Awei..."
Shen Zhi smiled, looked up at him, and stroked his cheek with his other hand.
"Husband," she said softly, "Why are you shaking?"
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The author has something to say: This is a transition chapter, happy National Day to all the bosses [scatter flowers]
Try to write more on National Day
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