Chapter 44 (The Forty-Fourth Chapter)
Luo Xincheng yawned several times in a row. Fu Zhiheng asked her if she was sleepy and wanted to go to bed. She rubbed her eyes and said it was probably a side effect of the painkillers she had taken earlier.
"Shall I carry you to bed for a while?" He affectionately poked her cheek with the tip of his nose, his warm breath tickling her cheek.
Luo Xincheng turned her head away uncomfortably, "Don't get so close to me, your breath is sticking to my face, it's so hot."
He blinked and said logically, "I wasn't wearing my glasses, so I wanted to see you more clearly."
He's the type of person who likes to subtly flirt and always adds a sticky, affectionate tone to the end of his sentences.
Luo Xincheng remained unmoved and pushed his face away, saying, "There's no need to see so clearly. A hazy beauty is quite nice."
He couldn't persuade her otherwise, so he could only keep his distance.
"You never had menstrual cramps before, why are you in so much pain now that you need painkillers?"
“Most of the time it doesn’t hurt, but a while ago, uh…” she licked her lips and said tactfully, “My lifestyle habits weren’t very good.”
Fu Zhiheng immediately understood, "Drank a lot of cold drinks? But it's only March, won't your mouth get cold from drinking cold drinks? It's also bad for your stomach."
“I understand the logic.” She sighed, looking utterly exhausted, and bumped her head against his shoulder. “But I just want to drink.”
"But……"
"Stop with the 'buts,' you're so long-winded." Luo Xincheng poked his chest with interest, not wanting to listen to his rambling, even though it was for her own good. "I found a boyfriend, not another mother... and my mother never cares about these things."
When she's not exerting force, her muscles are soft, and when she pokes them, she can feel the rebound.
"Okay." Fu Zhiheng felt a little ticklish from her poke and couldn't help but laugh as he shrank back. "Really don't want to bury it?"
He was like a newly hired salesman, a little shy but determined to do his best for the sake of sales. "You always said that my chest felt terrible when buried in your chest, but now it will definitely be much more comfortable."
She pressed the fleshy part down, then suddenly tilted her face up close to his, "At this close range, you should be able to tell I'm wearing makeup, right?"
He squinted intently, scrutinized her for a moment, and then said dejectedly, "Is this why you don't want to bury your face? Afraid of ruining your foundation?"
She nodded. "Not only will my foundation smudge, but you wouldn't want a layer of foundation smudged on your chest, would you?"
After saying that, she casually slapped his chest, making a loud "smack," and his thick muscles trembled instantly.
"Next time, definitely next time."
Fu Zhiheng felt a little embarrassed by her taking a picture, and he lowered his head and pulled his shirt up tighter.
At this moment, Luo Xincheng pulled off the blanket and struggled to get up.
He looked up in surprise, "Didn't you say your stomach wasn't feeling well? Aren't you going to rest a little longer?"
"I feel much better now, although I still have that throbbing, uncomfortable feeling..." She picked up her phone from the table. "I don't know how much longer they're going to stay here. I'm thinking of going home to sleep."
Seeing that her attention had completely shifted to her phone, Fu Zhiheng silently buttoned up his shirt one button at a time, smoothed out the creases, and soon regained his well-dressed and proper appearance.
After tidying himself up, he suddenly remembered something and asked her, "Would you formally introduce me to your friends?"
He emphasized, stressing, "as boyfriend."
Luo Xincheng froze, holding her phone and looking over with a conflicted expression.
Seeing her like this, Fu Zhiheng knew that she hadn't considered this issue at all from the beginning.
He took a deep breath, his expression calm.
"Last time you didn't introduce me to your friends because you didn't want them to know you were dating too early and then tell your mom. What's the reason this time?"
Luo Xincheng turned off his phone, his face serious. He decided to calm him down first, no matter what.
"It's not that I don't want to introduce you to my friends, it's just not possible right now, at least not today."
"Today is my cousin's and my birthday after all. If I suddenly introduce my girlfriend to them, their attention will be diverted. Who will be in the mood to celebrate our birthdays then? Don't you think so?"
"That makes sense." Fu Zhiheng paused slightly, not completely fooled by her. "So when do you plan to tell me?"
Not wanting her to think he was pressuring her, he softened his tone considerably, "Even if you don't introduce me to your friends, you should at least let them know you're not single anymore, right? Otherwise, what if someone tries to introduce you to a boyfriend later?"
"No way, they don't have time to introduce me to anyone, and besides..." She glanced at Fu Zhiheng, then hesitated, "they all know about you."
His eyes lit up. "Have you mentioned me to them?"
Luo Xincheng spoke vaguely, not making her point too clear, "They're very gossipy, so... anyway, they inexplicably figured out that our relationship was unusual."
Sigh, thinking about it now, it's really embarrassing.
Just a few days ago, she swore that she and Fu Zhiheng were completely innocent and had no relationship whatsoever, but now they're back together and hugging.
The clown, so clownish.
Luo Xincheng couldn't even imagine how they would laugh at her.
So let's keep it a secret for now, although we might not be able to keep it a secret forever.
Looking at her face, which was furrowed with worry, Fu Zhiheng considerately said, "Alright, then you can talk about it whenever you want. I can wait."
Luo Xincheng breathed a sigh of relief, then heard him say in a melancholy voice, "Anyway, we've waited all these years, so what's a little more?"
Luo Xincheng: "..."
Ha, you little green tea b*tch, playing the victim again.
Don't even think about disturbing my Daoist heart!
She turned and went into the small ensuite bathroom, turned on the light, and started tidying her messy hair in front of the mirror on the sink.
Fu Zhiheng went to the bedside to get his glasses and followed her to the bathroom. Just as he reached the door, he heard her call out loudly, "Bring me my bag."
He had no choice but to turn around and walk back to the sofa to pick up her bag.
Thanks.
Luo Xincheng took out lipstick from her bag and began applying it in front of the mirror.
To avoid blocking the light, Fu Zhiheng deliberately stood diagonally behind her, tilting his head to watch her purse her lips and chatter away, a gentle smile playing in his eyes.
The mirror faithfully reflected his focused gaze. Luo Xincheng turned her face to him, waved the lipstick in her hand, and joked, "Want to wear some too?"
He smiled and shook his head, leaning slightly against the wall, looking exceptionally well-behaved as he quietly waited for her to finish applying her lipstick.
Luo Xincheng swirled the lipstick back, her gaze fixed on his dry lips.
Actually, his lips looked pretty good; they weren't peeling and the lip lines were faint. He probably uses lip balm regularly, but definitely not every day. He didn't use it today, and his lips looked a bit pale due to dehydration.
She stuffed the lipstick into her bag, rummaged around for a while, and finally pulled out a jar of lip balm.
Your lips are so dry, do you want to put on some lip balm?
He said he wanted it, but instead of taking the lipstick from her, he bent down, gestured with his lips, and looked at her expectantly.
Luo Xincheng thought to herself, "How can someone so grown up have to act cute and ask someone to do it for her when she's applying lipstick?"
Her hands moved quite deftly as she unscrewed the jar, her fingertips gently circling the cream.
Then she looked up and met his eyes. She pressed her fingertips against his lips, spreading the thick cream evenly and gradually turning it into a thin, glistening layer.
The refreshing scent of mint spread with the movement of her fingertips, and a slight, damp coolness silently blended into the intertwined breaths of the two.
Luo Xincheng was focused on applying lipstick for him and was about to pull her hand away when he, whether intentionally or unintentionally, lightly pursed his lips.
For a fleeting moment, it felt as if he had taken her fingertips into his mouth, the sticky sensation burning her.
When she finally withdrew her hand and awkwardly rubbed her fingertips together, she heard him say resentfully, "You used to apply lipstick to my lips with your mouth, but now you just use your hands."
Luo Xincheng was taken aback, and glanced at him suspiciously, "Really? I used to be so good at this?"
"Really?" He smiled, his eyes narrowed, as if savoring the moment. "Several times."
Because she often complained that his lips were dry and it was uncomfortable to kiss him, he gradually developed the habit of applying lip balm. But if he applied lip balm every day, he wouldn't be able to enjoy her helping him apply it. After much deliberation, he had no choice but to apply lip balm only sporadically, so that she wouldn't complain about his dry lips, and if he was lucky, she might even kiss him occasionally.
Of course, he would never reveal these thoughts to anyone.
Listening to his words, Luo Xincheng could only sigh, "Young people always have so many tricks up their sleeves when it comes to dating."
She tightened the lipstick, put it back in her bag, and picked up her bag to leave.
She's been separated from the group for too long; if she doesn't go back and show her face soon, they'll probably think she's unconscious.
Are you leaving?
"Well, but..."
She pointed at Fu Zhiheng, struggling desperately to continue concealing their relationship, "Why don't you sit here a little longer? Don't come out with me yet."
He nodded readily and said okay, without asking why, which made Luo Xincheng a little concerned.
"I'll talk to them about it gradually in a few days..."
He smiled and said, "It's alright, I understand."
Luo Xincheng breathed a sigh of relief, but then felt something was wrong, and a rebellious streak instantly rose up.
"Why do you only ask me to introduce you to my friends? Where are your friends?"
He said matter-of-factly, "I don't have any friends."
Luo Xincheng: "..."
Luo Xincheng: "Not a single one..."
Fu Zhiheng: "Hmm, not a single one."
Luo Xincheng: "..."
Ha ha.
Oh, I see. You don't even have a single friend.
I almost forgot that you're a socially awkward shut-in at heart, and you don't need to socialize at all unless absolutely necessary.
Luo Xincheng thought to herself, "That's why he's so clingy when he's in a relationship. Even when we don't see each other, he bombards me with messages every day and has to report everything he does. After all, he doesn't have any other friends to share his feelings with, so he just picks her to leech off."
Fortunately, he had to work part-time from time to time during his student days, so he didn't have much free time to be with her. Now... he's quite busy with work, so he should be able to give her enough personal space, right?
Thinking of this, she asked him, "How's your work going? Do you often work overtime?"
Luo Xincheng raised his hand and said in a sanctimonious manner, "You don't need to disrupt your work rhythm for me. Just do it the way it was before."
"After all, I'm quite busy with work." When talking about work, she became much more listless. "Even if you accommodate me, I might not be able to accommodate you."
Fu Zhiheng felt something was off about these words. "What about our date?"
Luo Xincheng said matter-of-factly, "It depends on our respective work schedules. Let's make it a week in advance."
He wrinkled his nose in annoyance, probably feeling that this was too different from the romance he had imagined, and reluctantly hummed in agreement.
Luo Xincheng gently pinched his cheek to comfort him, "To be honest, I'm not quite used to having a boyfriend yet, after all, I've been single for so long."
His eyelashes fluttered slightly, and he looked at her with a hint of flattery. "What do you mean? Didn't you date anyone in the past few years?"
"Don't get me wrong, it's not because I can't forget you," she said honestly. "Actually, I wanted to date in the middle of it all, but I couldn't because there wasn't a normal guy around me, so I've been single ever since."
When she was with Fu Zhiheng, she thought he was dull, stupid, and lacked romance. But after they broke up, she looked at the men around her and suddenly realized that she had been eating quite well before.
At least Fu Zhiheng has no shortcomings in appearance, figure, or intelligence. She is always clean and tidy so that her nose won't suffer. She has no romantic experience and is obedient enough to silently endure being bullied by her. She will even try her best to please her if she is afraid of upsetting her.
The more people he knows, the more valuable he is as an ex-boyfriend.
But Luo Xincheng is the kind of person who never looks back once she's made up her mind. Even if the guys coming and going around her don't suit her, her first reaction is to just move on to the next batch if the current batch isn't good enough, rather than thinking about going back to an ex.
So no matter how good her ex-boyfriend Fu Zhiheng was, she rarely thought about him, except for occasionally comparing him to new guys she met.
The two came from vastly different family backgrounds. After graduation, they returned to their respective social circles, and Luo Xincheng thought she would never see him again in her life. Little did she know that he would transform into a wealthy heir.
Real life is so dramatic.
Luo Xincheng felt embarrassed whenever she thought about the harsh words she had said when they broke up. A few years ago, she said that he wasn't even good enough to be her lover, but a few years later, he was on her parents' blind date list, and he might even be one of the most sought-after men on the first two pages.
"Life is truly unpredictable."
That's all Luo Xincheng could say.
Having been repeatedly battered by life, she has become much more worldly and resilient, and she no longer stubbornly refuses to go back to an old flame.
Not to mention, this reclaimed grass looks so fresh and tender, it looks delicious and refreshing.
Although she hadn't actually eaten it yet.
I'll try it next time.
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