Chapter 37 Proposal
The temperature between their lips rose rapidly as they intertwined. Xia Li's back trembled slightly. Her hand, which had originally wanted to push him away, clung weakly to Ji Ling's clothes. His breath filled her nostrils, and the delicate, sticky sensation between their lips continued.
He only softened and slowly released her when her breathing became disordered from the kisses and her chest heaved rapidly.
The air rushed in suddenly, and Xia Li lowered her eyes. Her hand was still on his shoulder, her fingers slightly cool, and she unconsciously curled up.
Ji Ling gazed deeply at her, then held her tightly around the waist, his grip firm and unyielding, trapping her firmly in his arms.
She coughed lightly twice, trying to steady her voice, and said softly, "Why are you doing this again..."
Ji Ling seemed completely oblivious to anything amiss. He nuzzled her affectionately, his restrained gaze lingering on her moist eyes for a moment before placing a very light kiss on the corner of her eye. He tilted his head nonchalantly and asked, "What were you trying to say to me?"
Xia Li sighed softly, her eyes filled with a mixture of flustered panic and a hint of helplessness. Afraid of being disturbed by him again, she quickly picked up her phone, found her flight booking, and handed it to him.
Ji Ling glanced down and raised an eyebrow: "What's this?"
The destination is Anchorage, a city in a state within the Arctic Circle.
Xia Li looked at him with a hint of expectation in her eyes, and asked cautiously, "I bought your ticket for next Monday, do you want to come together?"
Her statement was simple, without repetition, detailed reasons, or unnecessary explanations; she simply said that she had bought his ticket and invited him to come along.
She tried to calm the pounding in her heart, silently reminding herself that this was just a trivial matter. Whether Ji Ling agreed or refused, it wouldn't make any difference. She would still proceed with her plan.
She was grateful to have met him, to have had a brief moment with him, and to have gained experiences she had never had before.
She also had regrets, regrets about her ambiguous relationship with him, and regrets about constantly missing opportunities.
Ji Ling stared at the destination on the plane ticket for two seconds, then his pursed lips slowly curved into a smile. His gaze returned to her lowered eyes, and with a slight flicker of his eyes, he asked in a low voice, "You want to go?"
Xia Li didn't speak, but simply nodded slightly, her ear tips turning slightly red.
Ji Ling noticed the subtle change in her expression, his eyes paused, and his heart felt like it was being immersed in warm water. He especially wanted to kiss her reddened earlobe, so he did it. His cool lips touched her hot skin, and a warm feeling spread through his whole body.
Xia Li quickly dodged, and a kiss landed lightly, like a dragonfly skimming the water.
Ji Ling narrowed his eyes and stared at her, not pressing the matter further. His breath still carried the warmth of the kiss, and his voice was low and husky: "Why are you hiding?"
Xia Li lowered her head, grabbed his strong arm, broke free from the restraint around her waist, took two steps back, and replied insincerely, "...I didn't dodge."
Ji Ling's gaze remained fixed on her, as if trying to see through her. He stepped forward, grabbed her wrist, and said with a hint of dissatisfaction, "Then back off."
As she spoke, she slowly leaned down, preparing to continue their previous intimate moment.
Seeing this, Xia Li tilted her head slightly, her bright eyes filled with tenderness after being immersed in love. Just as his kiss was about to land, she raised her hand and reached out to him, her slender, fair fingers covering his warm lips, stopping him from making the next move.
Caught off guard, Ji Ling not only did not leave, but instead quietly watched her, his expression darkening little by little, his breath gathering in her palm into a burning sensation.
Xia Li's fingertips were gently brushed by the corner of his lips, and in an instant, the warm touch, carrying a tingling sensation, penetrated her chest. She felt as if she had been burned and immediately withdrew her hand, but unexpectedly, Ji Ling grabbed her wrist instead.
Ji Ling tilted his head slightly, his lips and tongue sliding from her palm to her fingertips, gently taking them into his mouth, while he also raised one eye to observe her expression.
Xia Li was taken aback, her fingers hastily withdrawing. She gently placed her left hand, which had been kissed, behind her back, calming her wildly beating heart. Then she took a deep breath, thinking that she absolutely could not continue to play along with Ji Ling's antics. Mustering her courage, she carefully continued the normal conversation and asked Ji Ling the question that had not received a response: "Are you going?"
Ji Ling lowered his eyes, pursed his lips, and after a long while replied meaningfully, "Isn't my answer obvious enough?"
Of course he would go. He wanted to be with her, to be with her every moment, and to do anything with her.
How could there be such a silly person in the world? She was as clueless as a kitten. No matter what she said, it sounded like a kitten meowing. She always unintentionally stirred up the restlessness in his heart. But he was also glad that she was so unguarded. Otherwise, he would never have had the chance to be with her again, and he would not have the relatively peaceful life he had now.
After receiving a response, Xia Li looked up and opened her bright eyes to look at him. She suddenly smiled with relief, as if pondering. After a moment, she gazed at him affectionately. Her gaze was peaceful and deep, quietly falling on his eyebrows and eyes, carefully tracing them.
Ji Ling's pupils were extremely deep and black, but from her perspective, that ink-like color was a deep, dark green, with a translucent light color around the outer edge, like an amber halo.
Ji Ling felt uncomfortable under her gaze, his brows furrowing slightly, embarrassed.
He tilted his head shyly, the wisps of hair on his forehead lightly obscuring his beautiful eyes. He coughed lightly, covering his mouth with his hand, and said somewhat embarrassedly, "What are you looking at?"
Xia Li did not answer. She pursed her lips and slowly shook her head, blinking gently as she watched his movements. After considering for a long time, she took a small step forward, slightly tiptoed, and reached out to brush aside his stray hairs, revealing the entire triangular area between his eyebrows and his deep eyes.
She continued fiddling with her hair, saying bluntly, "Your hair is getting a bit long."
Ji Ling raised an eyebrow. Although Xia Li's answer was not what he wanted to hear, it still greatly eased his unease. This showed that Xia Li had been paying attention to him. He stared intently at her, a barely perceptible smile playing on his lips, and said, "Then you'll come with me."
They were talking about going to get haircuts together, omitting some details, which sounded extremely ambiguous, with desire lurking in their words.
Sitting in the barbershop, the stylist asked him how he wanted his hair cut, and he looked up at Xia Li.
Xia Li didn't understand their conversation and remained largely unmoved until Ji Ling suddenly looked over. This snapped her out of her daze, and she frowned slightly.
She heard him open his mouth and say, "The hairdresser said, as you like."
After omitting a few words, Xia Li stepped forward to his side, lowered her eyes to look at the top of his head, and wanted to reach out and touch it, but before she could move, she awkwardly withdrew her hand, her knuckles hanging down at her sides.
She sincerely advised, "You look good no matter what."
Finally, the hairdresser thinned out the stray hairs on Ji Ling's forehead, revealing her affectionate eyes.
Xia Li stared at him, lost in thought. She really loved his eyes and the way he looked at her.
The hairdresser also trimmed her stray hairs. After the hairdresser finished, Ji Ling talked to him and then handed him a small pair of scissors.
She asked, puzzled and confused, "...What is this?"
Ji Ling opened his palm, his gaze falling silently on her. "Give me a lock of hair."
He spoke softly, as if pleading, yet also as if it were a matter of course.
Xia Li paused for a moment, then subconsciously touched the ends of her hair. The strands were soft and smooth under her fingertips, with slightly curled ends. She asked, "What do you need this for?"
Ji Ling didn't answer. He simply reached out and gently pinched the end of her hair while she hesitated. He moved slowly, cutting off a small strand of hair, which fell into his hand. He rubbed it between his fingertips, looked down at it carefully for a long time, and then put it into his palm, holding it tightly.
In island cultures, hair symbolizes a person's vitality, and couples exchange hair as a way to express their deep affection for each other.
When one person asks another for a lock of hair, it is actually a marriage proposal.
They stayed in the island nation for a few more days afterward.
The next morning, while Ji Ling was fast asleep, Xia Li broke free from his embrace, quietly got out of bed, wrapped herself in long sleeves and trousers in the sweltering heat to cover the hickeys completely, went to the front desk to book a room alone, and planned to continue her itinerary after she had recovered her energy.
When Ji Ling woke up and learned that she wanted to sleep separately, his first reaction was to refuse. But he didn't say anything. He could only bite his lip and stand at a distance, looking at her with a dry expression. His large hand gripped the doorknob tightly, his knuckles turning white, as if he wanted to take the door off his body. He then watched as Xia Li walked into the room next door.
He wanted to do everything, yet he couldn't do anything.
Xia Li had planned to fly directly from here to the country where Ancheng is located, but unfortunately, they couldn't buy tickets. On Monday, they returned to China according to their original itinerary, and spent almost all their time on the plane after that.
Check-in, security check, boarding, immigration. Because there were no direct flights, it took more than ten hours to land and then I had to transfer again. Fortunately, everything went smoothly, but by the time I arrived at Ancheng Airport, it was already midnight local time.
It was June, and the summer here was characterized by extremely long days and extremely short nights. The sky was still bright, just like daytime, and there were still many pedestrians on the road, some even riding bicycles around.
Xia Li couldn't help but sigh. In such an environment, it's easy to forget about time and find it hard to notice the passing of seconds. A day feels very long, and people become excited as a result. Just a second ago, she was feeling dizzy and sleepy, and had dozed off for a while. Now, she was exceptionally energetic again.
Stepping out of the terminal, she was greeted by a flat driveway for passengers to drop off and pick up passengers. In the distance, there was a large open space and low-rise buildings. Her dangling knuckles curled up. Perhaps it was the cool, refreshing air, or perhaps it was the unfamiliar environment, but a sense of melancholy arose in her heart. Her relaxed brows furrowed slightly, and she looked up calmly at the sky.
In June and July, Ancheng often experiences light showers.
Today was a fine day, and because of the good weather, she could see the distant mountains at a glance, their slopes a deep green. Soon after, she heard the clear sound of the wind, whooshing, whooshing.
This was her first time here, and the cold and aloof atmosphere was her first impression.
Ji Ling noticed her unusual behavior, moved the luggage to her left, freed her right hand to hold her fingers, interlocked them, and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"
It was her suggestion, so why does she not seem happy?
However, no response was received.
Ji Ling began to reflect on whether there were any oversights in his actions. The car was rented, the driver was booked, the sightseeing tours were signed up, and he had put aside his domestic affairs to avoid any disruptions. Everything was arranged properly, and he had even decided where to go next.
"Like a couple who eloped." Xia Li's cold voice came through at this moment, exceptionally clear, reaching his ears.
He lowered his eyes and gave a bitter smile. Compared to eloping couples, he hoped and wanted to hear more from honeymooning couples.
-----------------------
Author's Note: After updating the last chapter, I discovered that several of you have subscribed! I'm so incredibly grateful for your company and support, love you all! The revisions took a bit long, and I changed some settings that might cross certain lines. There will be some minor differences from the previous version, but it won't affect the overall reading experience. I've been very busy lately, so updates haven't been very timely. I'm really sorry to have kept you all waiting. I'll maintain a daily/every other day update frequency until the end. Thank you, my darlings! Love you all!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
