Chapter 21: Is "Indulging Your Pampered Nature" a verb or a static word?
When Xie Qingci went to the dressing room to get clothes, she still needed some courage to open the inner wardrobe.
He quickly pulled out a set of pajamas, rolled them up, and went into the shower room.
Due to the house design, the bathroom in Liang Family Mansion is much larger than the bathroom in Fushun Hutong, with a clear division between the shower area and the bathtub area, and ample space.
After showering, while waiting for the bathtub to fill with water, Xie Qingci paused for a moment, glancing down at the bathrobe she was wearing.
Thinking about the pajamas I just picked up, they probably weren't a very revealing style.
Xie Qingci's clothes are mostly conventional for everyday wear, with the most casual being a slip dress. But today she didn't bring a nightgown; instead, she wore a regular long-sleeved pajama set, with nothing out of the ordinary.
That's good, it won't be too awkward.
After the hot water was ready, she took off her bathrobe and stepped into the bathtub.
Just as the sound of water entering the bathroom came from outside, Liang Jingzhuo came in.
After finishing his business trip in London, he rushed to Beijing and then immediately returned to Hong Kong Island. His jet lag was a bit messed up, and his nerves were overloaded, so he was used to drinking a little alcohol.
After checking the guest rooms, he went to the lounge to get a bottle of whiskey, and carrying the bottle by the neck and glass, he pushed open the door and entered the room, where he heard the sound of splashing water.
He paused for a moment as he pushed the door shut behind him, and stood in front of the door for a while until the noise subsided before entering the master bedroom.
When he saw the sofa by the window, he was once again impressed by Ms. Zhuang's meticulous thinking.
They even replaced his sofa with a new one.
The original sofa was wide enough to be used as a single bed. The current set is the same length, but the width has been reduced by two-thirds. Lying down is impossible, and you could fall off if you just roll over.
He frowned helplessly, then put down his wine and glass and sat down on the sofa.
After Xie Qingci finished showering and drying her hair, she paused for a moment halfway to push the door open when she reached the bathroom door. Then she took a deep breath, grasped the doorknob, and pushed the door open to go out.
I stopped as soon as I stepped into the bedroom.
The main lights were off, only the hidden ambient lights on the walls were on, creating a dim and quiet atmosphere.
Liang Jingzhuo sat on the sofa by the wall, his long legs spread wide. He had taken off his suit jacket and was only wearing a black shirt. His tie at the collar was loosened. His head was leaning back on the soft pillow behind him, his arms outstretched, his elbows resting on the back of the sofa on either side. He had a wine glass in one hand, with ice cubes soaking in the amber liquid.
Because of the outstretched arms, the shirt clung slightly to his body, revealing his broad, muscular chest and tight waist.
Xie Qingci inexplicably recalled Ke Meng's comment about her figure that day, and her ears began to burn.
He was sitting directly opposite her, his head tilted back, so all that could be seen was his prominent Adam's apple above his collar and his sharp chin.
The facial folds are almost perfect.
She looks very tired, as if she's asleep?
Should she wake him up now, or find a blanket to cover him up?
Liang Jingzhuo closed his eyes to the sound of rushing water in the bathroom, his thoughts drifting and floating in a daze until the continuous sound of running water stopped, and his wandering thoughts slowly returned to their place.
He opened his eyes, looked up, and was caught off guard to meet Xie Qingci's gaze as she stood in front of the bathroom door.
Xie Qingci was about to go to the dressing room to find a blanket when the person who had been sitting still suddenly raised her head slowly. For a moment, her dark eyes were misty as if they had been pulled out of their daze, and she stopped in her tracks.
She said softly, "You're awake?"
Liang Jingzhuo took a moment to react, glancing at her pajamas, a loose and conservative home style, her long hair cascading over her shoulders, her clear eyes and bright, rosy complexion from her recent bath.
He paused for a moment, then replied, "I wasn't asleep."
Xie Qingci said "Oh," pursed her lips, and looked at him. "I'm done washing. Are you going to wash?"
Liang Jingzhuo responded with a "Mm".
As I put down my glass and stood up, I felt I should explain, "This... wasn't my arrangement. I didn't know they put you here."
Xie Qingci blinked and hummed in response.
They don't seem to believe it too much.
He was speechless for a long while, then moved his lips and calmly repeated, "It's true."
Xie Qingci knew this, of course; otherwise, he wouldn't have sent someone to take her to her room that afternoon.
She nodded. "I know."
Liang Jingzhuo didn't know if she really believed him, but she still hummed in agreement and stepped into the dressing room.
After taking the pajamas, she skillfully opened the drawer where the underwear was stored, but then her hand froze for a moment.
Next to the neatly arranged men's underwear, there were two rows of folded women's underwear.
The black and white sides are clearly distinct, with the styles being both rigorous and simple, and the designs being ever-changing and diverse, like the fusion of two worlds.
His gaze lingered unconsciously on that bright color he had never seen before, then quickly looked away as if he had come to his senses a few seconds later.
When the sound of running water came from the bathroom, Xie Qingci stood by the bed for a while, her gaze sweeping over the two pillows placed side by side on the headboard, before sitting down on the edge of the bed.
My phone vibrated twice, indicating that a message had been sent.
She picked it up and took a look; it was a small group chat featuring her, Ke Meng, and Duan Siyu.
The two planned to travel during the National Day holiday, so they took advantage of the two days without classes to go home for a visit.
Qiqi sent a message in the group chat: 【Happy wedding, my darling Aci!】
She smiled, opened the group chat, and said: "Thank you, but not today, tomorrow."
The two were silent for a while, then began to blame each other.
Ke Meng: [@AAA Building Materials Lao Duan, didn't you say today?]
Duan Siyu: [I'm holding on a thread; I misread the date.]
Ke Meng: [...]
Xie Qingci smiled and replied: 【It's alright, I appreciate your kindness.】
More pressing than whether to get married today or tomorrow is the question she faces now: should she consult her two advisors on how to ease the awkward atmosphere after Liang Jingzhuo comes out of the bathroom?
Should we chat with him? Or just go to sleep?
Or perhaps she pretended to be asleep before he came out.
Ke Meng joked in the group chat: "How about we change our National Day holiday travel plans to Hong Kong Island to visit Aci? Let's get her to come and play with us."
Duan Siyu immediately objected: "Did you even consider her husband's opinion? To be left alone on your wedding night, Meng, that's so immoral!"
Ke Meng was silent for a moment, then sent a weak message: "[Um... Aci, did you and your husband sleep together...?]"
Xie Qingci stared at the message, biting her lip and pausing for a long time. Just as she was about to open the input box and ask for a plan, she realized that the message was too long.
Duan Siyu's reply came first: "[This is ambiguous. Are you asking about verbs or indicative words?]"
Xie Qingci's fingertips paused, her eyes blinked twice slowly, as if trembling unconsciously. After realizing what was happening, she felt a slow heat rising under her eyelids.
Ke Meng yelled: 【Aaaaaah! Duan Siyu, you old pervert! Of course it's Jing Ci!】
After a two-second silence, she sent a message: "I'm curious too."
If they were face to face, the two of them would probably be turning to look at Xie Qingci at this moment, waiting for her answer.
Fortunately, it was through a phone screen, so I could escape.
Xie Qingci cut and deleted the question she had just typed in the input box, deciding to play dead: 【I'm going to sleep. You guys should go to sleep early too. Goodnight!】
After sending the message, I immediately left the group chat, turned off the screen, and didn't give them a chance to ask any further questions.
Just as I put my phone back on the bedside table, the bathroom door opened, and Liang Jingzhuo came out.
Wearing a dark gray pajama set with long sleeves, she had long legs and broad shoulders. Her hair was half-dry, slightly damp, and her eyes were dark. She had shed the cold, business-like aura of the daytime and gained a more relaxed, homey feel.
Xie Qingci was about to take off her shoes and get into bed when he suddenly pushed the door open and stopped her.
The two stood and sat facing each other silently for a few seconds.
"Are you done washing?"
"Um."
Nonsensical literature devoid of any substance.
A few seconds of silence fell. Xie Qingci's heart rate rose a few beats. She gripped the edge of the bed with both hands and softly broke the silence: "Then... let's go to sleep?"
Let's not chat anymore, it seems like it'll only make things more awkward.
Liang Jingzhuo looked at the half of the space she had left for him, his fingertips curling slightly, and replied, "Okay."
He then turned off the bathroom light and walked to his side.
Xie Qingci had already taken off her shoes and lay down, with the blanket under her arms, her hands folded over her abdomen, and she turned her head slightly to look at him.
Her bright, jade-like eyes blinked.
He looked at her and said, "I'm turning off the lights."
She nodded and replied, "Okay."
The light switch was pressed, and darkness enveloped the surroundings.
In the silence, the bed beside him sank slightly as Liang Jingzhuo lay down.
The bed is big enough that there is still plenty of space between the two people sleeping on each side.
The curtains were drawn tightly, blocking out all light. Xie Qingci lay straight, but she couldn't fall asleep. There was only peaceful silence around her. She didn't know if Liang Jingzhuo was asleep or not.
She didn't know how much time had passed, but she felt her back and neck were almost stiff, so she moved her body slightly and adjusted her sleeping position.
After a few more minutes of trying to stay awake, she still couldn't fall asleep, so she decided to take out her phone and play for a while.
Liang Jingzhuo wasn't actually asleep. He had never shared a bed with anyone before. Although there was plenty of space, the fragrance that wasn't his own wafting into his nostrils made him feel that the bed he had slept in for many years was cramped and narrow.
As he was considering whether to carefully get up and go to his study to handle some work, he heard a soft turning over beside him.
The fabric rubbed against the quilt, making a rustling sound.
Xie Qingci couldn't fall asleep either.
A moment later, a bright light appeared in the darkness.
In the group chat, after Xie Qingci left, Ke Meng and Duan Siyu, seeing that their attempts to call her were unsuccessful, continued the conversation on their own.
Ke Meng: [This is a very worthwhile question to discuss, but I don't think it warrants a discussion of verbs yet.]
Ke Meng: [After all, Liang Jingzhuo doesn't seem like the impulsive and reckless type; they probably haven't even kissed yet.]
Xie Qingci: "..."
Duan Siyu: [No way, that's so unacceptable! Is he even a man?]
Further on, perhaps finding typing too troublesome, the two started using voice messages, occasionally interspersed with a few dog emojis laughing and teasing.
Xie Qingci tapped the voice message bar, intending to convert it to text. She lightly touched it with her fingertip, but the conversion option didn't appear; the message was played directly to the speaker.
Ke Meng's loud voice amplified infinitely in the darkness: "Men are all secretly perverted. Think about it, even your male god watches porn in private. Can you tell from the surface?"
"..."
Xie Qingci was taken aback at first, and then frantically tried to press pause.
The next voice message played automatically: "Let's make a bet, whether Liang Jingzhuo watches porn or not. I bet he does. No man doesn't watch porn."
"…………"
With a bang, Xie Qingci felt a rush of heat to her head, her entire brain went numb, and she accidentally pressed the power button off the screen with her thumb.
All the noise and commotion suddenly stopped, and all around remained silent.
She covered her phone, lay stiffly for a while, her back slightly sweaty, and then slowly turned her head to look at it.
Her vision adjusted to the darkness and fell on the person lying beside her. Just as she thought he might be asleep and breathed a sigh of relief.
Under her gaze, Liang Jingzhuo turned his head to look over.
...
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