Teach her
The second time they were together happened under the starry sky.
Luffy took her to a small courtyard at the foot of a mountain, one of his many private properties in Beijing. Zuo Xiao hadn't brought any clothes, so she showered and put on Luffy's clothes. He set up a small table in the courtyard and treated her to some red wine he had brought back from Burgundy and brewed himself.
As they drank, he pulled her into his arms, holding her as they gazed at the stars. Kisses, scented with red wine, fell like stars on her head and face. The chirping of crickets, the rustling of wind through the treetops, and the man's breath, his breath brimming with emotion, filled her ears. In this moment, she felt at peace.
Zuo Xiao embraced him face-to-face, looking down at him as she placed two fingers into his warm mouth. She licked, sucked, teased, stirred. She felt like a spider, wrapping her web around him, silently watching his struggles from the side.
Returning to the bed for the third time, Zuo Xiao felt he should immerse himself further, so he tilted his head back and took a long gulp of red wine. The alcohol heated up his brain, and he finally became excited.
"Don't hold it..." Luffy whispered in his ear, "Bite me, scratch me, treat me like a cat, okay?"
Zuo Xiao fulfilled his wish. When she woke up the next day, she felt embarrassed looking at his bruised body. However, Luffy admired her masterpiece with satisfaction and encouraged her to "be a little wilder next time."
Before returning to the city, Luffy walked around behind her. When he loosened his grip, he found a necklace around her neck.
Zuo Xiao looked down and immediately recognized it as a classic rose gold diamond fan necklace from a prestigious brand, priced around 100,000 yuan. Last Christmas, Zhou Zhihui bought her one, but she asked for a return and scolded him. At the time, she thought they were getting married and couldn't let him spend money recklessly.
Zuo Xiao smiled slightly: "Thank you, it looks very nice. But don't give it to me next time."
Luffy hugged her from behind, kissed her ear, and said with a smile: "Can't you give my girlfriend something beautiful?"
Zuo Xiao was stunned for a moment, then said, "Do you have a girlfriend? Then isn't this a bad idea for us?"
It was Luffy's turn to be stunned. After a moment, he let go and got on the car first.
The two of them were silent along the way, but after getting off the car, Luffy still gentlemanly walked her downstairs. "See you tomorrow," he said with a smile.
In the shower, Zuo Xiao reviewed the whole thing and felt a little annoyed. She shouldn't have had those two subsequent encounters with Luffy. She wasn't that fond of him, nor did she want a deeper relationship with him. She simply had some pent-up negative emotions that she needed an outlet for.
The next morning, Zhan Jiaxin asked in the group chat where to eat. Zhuang Jinghao said she was in pain all over and didn't want to go anywhere, so she planned to order takeout. Worried, the two went to her workstation, only to find her slumped in a chair, listless.
When he saw them, Zhuang Jinghao hurried to get up. Before he could stand up, he cried out "Ouch" and grimaced in pain.
"Is it really that serious?" Zuo Xiao teased. "With that little bit of exercise, you made it feel like a marathon."
Zhuang Jinghao curled her lips: "I practiced for four hours yesterday!"
"Ah?" Zuo Xiao and Zhan Jiaxin looked at each other, shock in their eyes.
"Have you hired a coach?"
"That's right!" Zhuang Jinghao said seriously, "The coach taught me for two hours, and I went home and practiced for another two hours. I was exhausted..." Suddenly, a smile broke out, "Hehe, although it's a bit hard, but now my serve won't drop to the ground!"
"Wow, that's really great." Zuo Xiao gave her a thumbs-up. Zhan Jiaxin also said, "You're so hardworking! With this drive, you'll definitely succeed!"
"Yeah!" Zhuang Jing was full of fighting spirit. "I'm going to continue practicing when I get home tonight, and try to catch up with you guys as soon as possible!"
"Don't," Zhan Jiaxin advised her, "You need to balance work and rest. Don't overdo it all at once. What if you get hurt?"
"That's right." Zuo Xiao smiled mischievously and whispered in her ear, "Chen Liqing is right there. He will be yours sooner or later. Why are you in such a hurry?"
Zhuang Jinghao took a deep breath and his face turned red.
Saturday arrived in the blink of an eye. Zuo Xiao organized a group as usual, but this time he didn't invite Luffy, but Eric. Zhan Jiaxin was absent due to some matters, so there were exactly four people on the field, split into two groups.
Zuo Xiao, eager to test Zhuang Jinghao's training, had her play against him. Sure enough, her grip and swing were impeccable, and she could not only serve but also return simple shots, which was impressive.
Zuo Xiao adjusted himself to her level and fought back and forth with her. However, after only five minutes, she bent down and waved her hands, indicating that she could not continue.
Zuo Xiao helped her sit on the sidelines and asked, "Did you overtrain recently and get hurt?"
Zhuang Jinghao nodded: "My right leg seems to be a little strained."
Zuo Xiao frowned. "I told you not to rush things. More haste, less speed. If you keep going like this, you won't be able to play basketball, you won't even be able to walk. How will you deal with your Chen Liqing?"
This intimidation trick was very effective. A look of regret appeared on Zhuang Jinghao's face. He bit his lower lip and nodded.
After a while, Zuo Xiao stood up and walked over to Chen Liqing: "My apprentice has been training too hard recently and has injured his leg. Why don't you go and comfort him?"
"What does it have to do with me? I'm not the one who taught her to practice." Chen Liqing said with a straight face.
"Why is it none of your business? If you hadn't called her stupid, would she have practiced so hard just to save face?"
"Damn it, can this be blamed on me?"
"Tsk, are you going?"
“…”
Chen Liqing snorted irritably and left reluctantly. Zuo Xiao took his place and started fighting with Eric.
That night, Zuo Xiao lay on Zhuang Jinghao's bed and told her a bunch of stories about Chen Liqing's past, telling her that this guy was tough on the outside but soft on the inside, and couldn't bear to see girls suffer. She had to learn to act pitiful and make him feel distressed. He also warned her not to express her love for him directly, but to let him feel it and guess.
Zhuang Jinghao was stunned by what she heard. She hugged her and said with heartfelt emotion: "Master, I am so lucky to have you as my love coach!"
Zuo Xiao was very pleased with her sincere flattery, and was just feeling happy, but unexpectedly, she sighed next: "Alas, my brother is not so lucky..."
When she mentioned Zhuang Yu'an, Zuo Xiao couldn't help but feel incredibly proud. Finally, this guy who'd always considered her a thorn in her side was away on business, and she'd just swaggered into his house. Not only had she spent quite a while in his beloved study, she'd even taken a couple of selfies in his bedroom—even though that room was as dreary and boring as he was. Humph, he'd even dared to threaten her, unaware that she could take over his entire home in a matter of seconds.
I heard that this guy was dating Liang Sirui before his business trip. Didn't it seem to be going well? Humph, with his reincarnated Fahai-like virtue, it would be strange if it went smoothly!
"How are your brother and Liang Sirui?" she asked hypocritically.
Zhuang Jinghao sighed. "They went hiking together last weekend. Then, midweek, my brother was on a business trip, and he chatted with Sirui on WeChat every day. But Sirui said it was just a chat between ordinary friends... Oh, what do you say? If this keeps up, will my brother miss Sirui? Will he be single for a long time?"
Zuo Xiao chuckled and asked, "What is Liang Sirui's attitude?"
"She has a good impression of my brother. However, she feels that my brother doesn't seem to be very fond of her..." Zhuang Jinghao's tone was full of confusion. "But I also asked my brother, and he said that he quite likes Si Rui. I was surprised..."
"Normal," Zuo Xiao analyzed. "Some people are just not good at expressing their emotions. Also, different people may have different emotional capacities and interpret the same behavior differently. For example, your brother's emotional capacity may be as much as a can of Coke. He thinks climbing a mountain alone with someone and sending WeChat messages every day is enough to show his love. But Liang Sirui's emotional capacity may be as much as a bucket of water. The amount your brother poured out is just a sprinkle in his mind, at most a little bit of affection. This will lead to a misalignment in the perceptions of both parties. One person thinks I'm pursuing her sincerely, while the other thinks you're not serious enough."
"That makes sense..." Zhuang Jinghao seemed to be lost in thought. "So my brother should have been a little more aggressive, right? Like, maybe give someone flowers?"
You're stupid! The woman has already made her move, why are you beating around the bush? Just go for it! Zuo Xiao was about to answer, but then he changed his mind and said with a smile, "He's not my apprentice, why should I teach him?"
The genuine disciple chuckled, pinched her arm and said, "Oh, don't be like that. If my brother were to fall in love, wouldn't he be too busy to embarrass us? If he's happy, I'm happy, and everyone else is happy, how wonderful!"
"You're dreaming!" Zuo Xiao mercilessly shattered her fantasy. "Didn't you say that the blind date he arranged for you was a highly intelligent, honest, and dull technical guy? That's his ideal brother-in-law. If he knew you were attracted to someone like Chen Liqing, he'd be furious! Do you think he'd allow you two to be together? Can a mere Liang Sirui stop him?"
Zhuang Jinghao gasped and said hesitantly, "It's not that bad, is it? Chen Liqing is excellent in every aspect..."
"The key is whether your brother thinks he's excellent," Zuo Xiao reminded her. "So you have to be mentally prepared. You can't have your cake and eat it too. If you want to be with Chen Liqing, you'll have to have a big fight with your brother. Forget about turning it into a Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai fight—it's not that exaggerated, but at least it should be like Xiaoyanzi and the Fifth Prince, right? If you don't even have that level of awareness, then don't mess with Chen Liqing, okay?"
Zhuang Jing didn't speak for a long time, so long that Zuo Xiao almost thought she was asleep.
"I'm ready!" she said suddenly.
Zuo Xiao's mind flashed with the image of the little girl pecking at her brother like a red-feathered fighting cock, and she couldn't help laughing.
After a while, she continued, "I sincerely hope that my brother can enjoy the beauty of love. Even if he still needs to separate from me after falling in love, it doesn't matter. He is my only brother, and I hope he is happy."
Zuo Xiao was stunned for a moment.
She had always wanted to have brothers and sisters since she was a child, but unfortunately, her wish was not fulfilled. The status of the Zhuang brothers and sisters was what she had always dreamed of.
No relationship is perfect. Although Zhuang Yu'an's control over his sister was indeed excessive, his care and love for her was seen, heard, and felt deeply. Sometimes she wondered if she had a brother like Zhuang Yu'an, who loved her unconditionally, no matter how willful she was. Wouldn't that be a blessing? She was more self-centered, more rebellious, and more cunning than Zhuang Jinghao. She would probably deliberately do provocative things to infuriate her brother and tame him into obedience.
Or maybe, if she didn't have a brother, but had a little sister like Zhuang Jinghao, who was as bright as a sun, she would be very happy too! At least, when she was little, she could play with her sister every night when she came home, tell her bedtime stories, play house with her, and take her to try all kinds of fun games, instead of playing alone in her room. After her parents' divorce, she didn't have to face and process it alone...
In a sense, she treated Chen Liqing, her childhood friend, like a brother or sister. As a child, they would quarrel and quarrel to fill their boredom; as an adult, she would act unbridled and willful in front of him, ordering him around and even testing his limits. This was because she trusted him and relied on him, repeatedly reassuring him of his unconditional love by giving him whatever she wanted.
At this time, Zhuang Jinghao was heard pleading, "Xiaoxiao, baby, can you teach me? If I were the older brother, how would I speed up?"
Zuo Xiao smiled and said, "I don't know whether to say you're smart or stupid. Didn't I tell you the answer a long time ago?"
"Ah?" The little brain worked frantically, and after a while, he threw out a sentence:
"You won't let my brother take off his clothes and go straight in, right?"
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