Chapter 42 Knowing the answer already, I ask you a question. My attachment to you has never lingered on my body…
Liang Minghe's emotions seemed unchanged, yet also somewhat subdued; Zhou Jinqin couldn't quite discern the difference.
She leaned closer to peek at the man's expression, and stammered, "He just thought I wasn't feeling well, so..."
"I know." Liang Minghe took the suit from her hand, casually tossed it onto the back seat, and when he turned to face her again, he had a cat in his hand.
He pulled Tuantuan into Zhou Jinqin's arms, then bent down to untie the sun-protective clothing around her waist, his voice flat: "I'm happy that someone can lend you a hand when you need it."
Liao Zhengqing, always eager for drama, asked, "Are you sure it's happiness, not sadness?"
Zhou Jinqin tried to notice the subtle changes in the man's eyes and brows, but his large hand covered her eyes, blocking her view.
Liang Minghe asked casually, "They're just colleagues, do you think I'm that petty?"
“Of course not.” Zhou Jinqin and the cat in her arms shook their heads in unison.
Liang Minghe chuckled at the adorable appearance of the person and the cat, and opened the passenger door to gesture for her to get in: "Alright, get in the car."
Zhou Jinqin was afraid that her menstrual blood would stain the seat, so she wanted to grab two tissues to put on the seat before sitting down.
Liang Minghe grabbed her hand and said nonchalantly, "It's okay, just wash it if it gets dirty, it's no big deal."
"A car is bought to serve life, not to be worshipped like an ancestor." As he spoke, he gently pressed her into the seat and fastened her seatbelt. As he pulled away, he lightly kissed her lips, his beautiful eyes sparkling. "In my heart, you are the most important."
Liang Minghe wasn't the type to care about what others thought. Completely ignoring the watchful eyes of onlookers wasn't difficult for him, as were the two people he could run into at any moment, and Liao Zhengqing who was right next to him…
Liao Zhengqing watched enviously from outside. He glanced at the man with the gentle breeze on his face and deliberately said, "Brother Minghe, you are so magnanimous."
Liang Minghe threw the clothes into his arms, raised an eyebrow, and asked him coldly, "Not leaving?"
"Let's go..." Liao obediently shut his mouth.
The purring, cuddling cat snuggled into Zhou Jinqin's arms, and her heart softened. She asked Liang Minghe, "Why did you decide to bring Tuantuan along?"
“When I leave, it sits obediently on the entryway cabinet, staring at me with pleading eyes, as if it would burst into tears the moment I leave. I couldn’t bear to see it like that, so I just took it with me.” Liang Minghe glanced at her. “I think it’s because it hasn’t seen you in a long time and missed you.”
Whether intentionally or unintentionally, he omitted a subject when he said the last sentence, as if he were talking about a cat, or perhaps himself.
Faced with this subtle flirting, Zhou Jinqin blushed easily. She wanted to say something but was too embarrassed because of the presence of others, and in the end, she could only bury her head in the kitten's belly in shame.
Liao Zhengqing was deeply impressed by the man's superb skills.
They arrived at the hotel quickly, and just as the car parked, Xiang Ziqing's car arrived as well.
She must have drunk quite a bit of alcohol, for a deep blush rose on her fair cheeks, and a thin layer of bewildered mist clouded her large, cunning eyes, which unnecessarily masked much of her inherent competence.
Liao Zhengqing was about to help her up, but a large hand with prominent veins beat him to it.
He looked up and saw a rather serious-looking, elite-type man, perhaps ten years older than him, or perhaps more; a man's age is always unpredictable.
Take Liang Minghe, for example. If you didn't know, who would guess that he's a man approaching thirty?
Liao Zhengqing frowned, looking at the other person warily. When he glanced at the other person's sharp and mature suit, he couldn't help but feel annoyed that he had chosen this tattered white T-shirt today, which made him seem inferior.
As he was feeling down, Xiang Ziqing pushed away the elite man's hand and leaned her limp body straight into Zhou Jinqin's arms: "Alright, I'm here, you can go back now."
"Okay, get some rest." The other person replied simply, and then said to Zhou Jinqin, "We haven't seen each other for a long time, and we were so happy that we drank a little too much. Please bear with us."
Zhou Jinqin nodded politely: "Of course, we are good friends."
The other person nodded and took Xiang Ziqing's handbag out of the car: "Thank you for your trouble."
Zhou Jinqin handed the cat to Liang Minghe, took the bag, and said, "Okay, be careful on the road."
In the past few years, Xiang Ziqing focused on domestic business, traveling all over the country from east to west and from south to north, and made many acquaintances.
The person in front of her might be a former client, a friend from her travels, a past boyfriend, or a future prospect. Zhou Jinqin didn't have much of an impression of him. She whispered in Xiang Ziqing's ear, "Who is this?"
Xiang Ziqing frankly said, "My ambiguous relationship is in the past. I just happened to run into it today."
Liao Zhengqing didn't hear these words and felt extremely sad, but he forced himself to suppress his emotions and pretended to be obedient to please her: "Let me help you."
Xiang Ziqing glanced at him: "Trying to curry favor?"
"Well, I guess so. I did promise to take responsibility for you..." Liao Zhengqing glanced at her, "Did I make you unhappy?"
Xiang Ziqing snorted and tossed the bag she had left with Zhou Jinqin into his hand: "Take it upstairs."
As he spoke, he turned to Liang Minghe and said, "You should go up too, so you can take the celery back with you."
Zhou Jinqin asked in surprise, "Why?"
“That damned phoenix man wouldn’t approve my leave, so I booked a flight for the early morning and have to catch my shift tomorrow morning. You don’t sleep well anyway, so I might as well not bother you.” Xiang Ziqing said with a grin. “Besides, I only borrowed three days and two nights from Liang Minghe. Any more and I’m afraid you’ll be lonely to death.”
As she spoke, she strode forward, and Liao Zhengqing followed eagerly after her.
Liang Minghe didn't look at the two figures, but smiled at Zhou Jinqin: "Although it's lonely, it won't kill you. If you want to spend more time with her, I'll wait until she leaves and then come back to pick you up. We're never short of time."
Although Zhou Jinqin was reluctant, she shook her head and said, "That's good. She has her own things to take care of, and we'll meet again eventually."
After Xiang Ziqing started working, the two of them would always part ways like this. They should have gotten used to it, but it was just too difficult to do so.
"Will you secretly cry when you get back?" Liang Minghe put the cat on his shoulder and reached out to hug her.
Zhou Jinqin blinked her slightly moist eyes: "You'll definitely find out eventually, so how can it still be considered secret?"
Liang Minghe pinched her slightly red nose and coaxed her with a smile: "That's perfect. You don't have to hide anymore. You can cry freely in my arms. It's okay to shed tears. At least we won't feel resentful."
He patted her on the back: "Okay, go upstairs and say goodbye to her properly."
After packing her things, Zhou Jinqin wiped away her tears and said goodbye to Xiang Ziqing.
Liao Zhengqing had booked a room next door to take Xiang Ziqing to the airport, and was now diligently staying in her room to help her unpack her luggage.
His hands kept moving, and his mouth kept chattering: "Does your hand hurt? Can you brush your teeth? Won't it be too tiring to wash your hair?"
Xiang Ziqing retorted, "Why don't you just help me take a shower at the same time?"
"If you need it, that's fine, but it seems... not appropriate."
The two people in the room were still arguing. Liang Minghe asked, "Is it okay to just leave him here like this?"
Zhou Jinqin's face flushed slightly, and she coughed awkwardly: "Uh... are you alright? Qingqing is not one to suffer losses."
Liang Minghe wasn't oblivious to her little scheme, so he simply stopped asking and took her home.
Zhou Jinqin has a slight obsession with cleanliness and was in a hurry to deal with the bloodstain on her pants, so she rushed into the bathroom to take a shower as soon as she got home.
When she came out feeling refreshed, Liang Minghe was lying on the sofa, staring intently at the suit hanging not far away, with a slight chill emanating from him.
Zhou Jinqin said helplessly, "You said you weren't angry."
“He helped you, so of course I have no reason to be angry.” Liang Minghe turned to look at her, lowering his voice. “This can only be considered jealousy at most.”
Zhou Jinqin smiled, bent down to take off the round scarf around his neck and put it aside. She squatted down by the sofa and poked his cheek: "It seems a little sour in the house."
Liang Minghe grasped her finger, kissed it, and his gaze was intense: "Then what should you do?"
Zhou Jinqin blushed and, under his urging gaze, straddled his lean and powerful waist.
"Is that all?" Liang Minghe helped her sit up, his beautiful eyes crinkling with laughter as he looked at her.
Zhou Jinqin instructed Tuantuan in a hoarse voice, "Tuantuan, help Mom turn off the light."
With a click, the main living room light went out, leaving only a dim, tree-shaped ambient light illuminating their corner.
Liang Minghe, supporting her hips, chuckled, "Alright, let my sweet wife neutralize my sourness."
"Hmm..." Zhou Jinqin responded almost inaudibly.
Under that undisguised, aggressive gaze, she awkwardly and slowly kissed the man's dry lips.
It was just a simple touch, cautious and tentative, Liang Minghe didn't rush or get impatient, but patiently let Zhou Jinqin take the lead.
Perhaps because she was too tense, the kiss didn't last long before Zhou Jinqin gave up.
With their noses touching, Zhou Jinqin could feel the man's eyelashes brushing against her skin, teasing her until she felt restless and itchy.
She bit her lip lightly, her eyes flickering, and almost trembling, she pulled Liang Minghe's dry hand and placed it over the area where her heartbeat was spreading.
A frantic heartbeat and an overwhelming tenderness left Liang Ming momentarily dazed, but he quickly regained his composure and teased her with a smile: "Empty?"
Zhou Jinqin's face was burning red, her voice dry and hoarse. She was both ashamed and angry: "You're not...you're not..."
She couldn't bring herself to say the shameful words, and could only scold him for asking a question he already knew the answer to.
Liang Minghe chuckled softly, then lowered his head slightly and bit her rosy lower lip: "Yes, I know perfectly well."
The kiss landed again, forceful and brutal. He clearly had a smile on his lips, but his behavior was anything but polite.
Zhou Jinqin's throat was dry and her skin was hot; she felt like a dehydrated fish.
But then again, it didn't seem so. Her eyes were brimming with tears, and sweat was seeping from the tiny pores of her skin, which wasn't a sign of dehydration.
She was so nervous that her nerves were stimulated to the extreme, and her muscles involuntarily contracted and spasmed. Zhou Jinqin felt like a frozen human sculpture, completely unable to move.
Fortunately, Liang Minghe didn't ask for too much. He looked up again and kissed her forehead reassuringly, making her relax again.
Zhou Jinqin felt guilty and somewhat annoyed: "It seems my period came at the wrong time."
The arrow is ready to be released, but it always fails to go through due to various factors.
“It’s great.” Liang Minghe smiled. “You said that having regular periods is a rare thing for you, and we should cherish it.”
They are the ones who should cherish it, not her. Zhou Jinqin's heart suddenly softened again.
Liang Minghe hugged her tightly and whispered gently in her ear, "Don't feel guilty. My affection for you has never been limited to physical intimacy."
He looked at her, his eyes smiling: "Just being by my side, watching over you, is enough."
-----------------------
Author's Note: Let me say some sweet nothings [heart emoji]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com