Desire
The next day, Shen Anxia woke up early. She looked at herself and saw that she was still wearing the same clothes she had worn to the Yi'an Dance Troupe the day before. The clothes still smelled of smoke, alcohol, tea and food, and the smell hadn't dissipated even after a whole night. She started to feel sorry for her four-piece suit. Then she thought that she hadn't even washed her face, and Shen Anxia started to feel sorry for her skin.
She took her clothes and went into the bathroom to remove her makeup, but saw an opened makeup remover wipe package lying on the sink. Touching her cheek, Shen Anxia realized that Yang Zheng might have helped her remove her makeup. A strange feeling welled up in her heart. Then, thinking that Yang Zheng was living in the other room, she smiled and felt good.
After quickly taking a shower and throwing her clothes into the washing machine, Shen Anxia planned to go downstairs to make breakfast.
Passing by Yang Zheng's bedroom, Shen Anxia saw that the door was open and looked inside. She didn't see anyone and called out to him, but there was no response. She went in and saw that the bathroom door was closed. Shen Anxia suddenly remembered the scene when Yang Zheng came out of the bath last time. She was shocked and quickly covered her face and ran out.
Leaning on the railing between the second and first floors, Shen Anxia swallowed hard. A drop of water from Yang Zheng slid down her neck and into her brain, burning her face.
"Awake?" Yang Zheng's voice came from downstairs. "Come down for dinner."
Shen Anxia's mind was still filled with Yang Zheng's abs, but she never expected that he would be downstairs looking up at her while setting out the dishes.
"..."
"What are you doing?" Yang Zheng saw Shen Anxia's cheeks flushed pink and her hands supporting her chin as she stood there dumbfounded. He put down his chopsticks and walked over to her.
Yang Zheng touched Shen Anxia's forehead; she didn't have a fever. He asked again, "What are you thinking about?"
Shen Anxia lowered her hand, which had been supporting her chin, and placed it on the railing. She looked down and remained silent. Her mind was a little confused, especially now that she had a profound understanding of the meaning of "seeing through the phenomenon to the essence".
Yang Zheng felt that Shen Anxia was still a bit drunk and confused early in the morning. He pulled her downstairs and said, "Have some porridge to soothe your stomach. You'll probably feel uncomfortable all morning."
Shen Anxia sat down at the dining table and remained silent, sipping her porridge.
Yang Zheng asked, "Why aren't you eating shrimp dumplings?"
Shen Anxia sullenly echoed Yang Zheng's words, "Have some porridge to soothe your stomach."
Seeing that Anxia looked listless, Yang Zheng said, "Anxia, if you don't want to drink in the future, then don't drink, or drink less. If anyone insists that you drink, then just refuse, okay?"
Shen Anxia felt a warm sensation in her stomach and gave a smiling "Mmm".
Yang Zheng added, "Just focus on dancing. I can't guarantee I can solve everything else, but there are always people or methods that can. No one says that being good at playing along, being socially adept, or being worldly-wise is the right thing to do. I think what you said last time makes a lot of sense—life is a grand experience. Since it's an experience, you should live however you want."
Shen Anxia snapped out of her reverie and smiled happily: "Okay."
Seeing her like this, Yang Zheng said, "I'll take you to your workplace in a bit, then I'll go to my workplace too."
"Didn't you take leave?" Shen Anxia asked.
“After you went to the dance troupe yesterday, I went back to my unit to report back on my leave and gave a report on the training work. I’m officially back at work today.”
"Then, our lives will soon be back on track!" Shen Anxia felt that the future was promising.
"Okay, right away."
Yang Zheng thought to himself that some things should be put on the agenda.
Upon arriving in the city, the two went to work separately. Shen Anxia began to cooperate with the dance troupe's intensive promotional work. Every day, she recorded countless videos to shoot promotional films, gave interviews, and wrote and memorized scripts every night. It was like returning to the high-pressure state of taking the English Proficiency Test Level 8. Of course, the Yi'an Dance Troupe also gained some fame because of Shen Anxia's joining.
Fortunately, the injury healed quickly. The scabs fell off one by one, the bruises gradually faded, the scars on the back and shoulders also faded, and the sprained ankle was basically back to normal. After a check-up at the hospital, the doctor said that I could run and jump normally again, but I should be careful not to overdo it when dancing.
Every night or the night before, Zhao Ping and Shen Ke would video call Shen Anxia. Shen Anxia was afraid that the elderly couple would find out about her injuries, so she never mentioned that she had returned to Yi'an. Fortunately, the two of them usually lived the life of old cadres and did not watch various short video apps, so they were unaware of Shen Anxia's situation on the Internet.
Zhao Ping and Shen Ke also sent Yang Zheng a video once, wanting him to have dinner together, and Yang Zheng promised to come see them after he finished his work.
Nearly two weeks have passed in the blink of an eye, and the scorching July is rushing in with great fanfare. Shen Anxia figured that her injuries were no longer noticeable, so she started packing her luggage to go home and formally tell them that she had returned to Yi'an. It just so happened that Shen Anyi was also on summer vacation, so the family could have a good get-together.
On Friday night, Yang Zheng leaned against the large desk with his arms crossed, watching Shen Anxia excitedly pack her things with a half-smile. He gritted his teeth and asked, "Are you that happy?"
Shen Anxia continued working, and said with a "hmm", "If Mom, Dad and Yi knew I was back, they would definitely be very happy."
Yang Zheng walked up to Shen Anxia and asked, "Are you happy?"
"happy."
Yang Zheng asked again, "Am I happy?"
"happy."
Seeing that Shen Anxia didn't even look up, Yang Zheng pulled her into his arms and asked, "Why am I happy?"
Shen Anxia, still holding the storage bag, paused for a moment and asked, "I'm back. Aren't you happy?"
Looking at Shen Anxia, Yang Zheng realized that Shen Anxia's so-called "happiness" was not the same as his own. He leaned down and buried his head in Shen Anxia's shoulder and neck, feeling somewhat downcast: "I'm happy."
Noticing Yang Zheng's mood, Shen Anxia asked, "What's wrong?"
Yang Zheng didn't bring up the topic. He let go of Shen Anxia, pulled her outside, and said, "Anxia, I have a gift for you."
"Um?"
He led Shen Anxia to the third floor. When they arrived, he opened the door, turned on the lights, and Shen Anxia was shocked by what she saw.
Yang Zheng had completely opened up the third floor and converted it into a dance studio, which was more than four times larger than her own room. The SPC flooring was in warm colors, and the walls were treated with sound-absorbing and noise-reducing materials. There was a changing room in the southeast corner, and on the north side of the changing room were two double-door wardrobes that could hold various practice clothes.
The south-facing windows were all open for ventilation, making it extremely hot. The other three walls were covered with full-length mirrors. I wonder how much effort it took to install such large mirrors. The barre was designed as a wall-mounted adjustable barre. Shen Anxia exclaimed in surprise, "Even the barre is so stylish!"
"The control panels for the audio and lighting are here."
Yang Zheng pressed Shen Anxia's shoulder and turned her around. The control panel was on the wall behind her. She could turn on the switch to adjust the spotlights and add or download dance music at will. Shen Anxia studied each function and was extremely excited.
A piece of light music was played, and Shen Anxia smoothly swung around to the center area with several consecutive flips, then casually danced a short while to the melody.
Watch your ankles.
After giving a worried remark, Yang Zheng sat down on the long bench below the panel, his long legs casually stretched out, one hand propped on his chin, watching Shen Anxia's genuine happiness. He felt a strong sense of accomplishment, and his eyes softened even more.
After performing a highly flexible dance, Shen Anxia was covered in sweat and bowed to the only audience member in the entire venue.
Yang Zheng burst out laughing.
Shen Anxia sat down beside him, a fine layer of sweat on her cheeks: "You said you were busy before you went to Xinfeng, were you busy renovating this place?"
"Yes, I wanted to give you a surprise."
"Why did it take you so long to tell me? I've been living here for almost two weeks and I didn't even notice."
“I didn’t tell you as soon as you recovered from your injury,” Yang Zheng said. “Besides, I’ve only been pretending for a short time, and the smell hasn’t dissipated yet.”
"But... don't you think it's a huge waste of space to turn the whole floor into a dance studio?"
“The first and second floors are enough for living. When I visited your room, I suddenly thought about how to decorate the third floor.” Yang Zheng asked, “Is it hot?”
Shen Anxia hummed in agreement: "Shall we go down?"
Down on the second floor, it was finally a bit cooler. Shen Anxia hadn't finished packing her luggage yet, but she was a little distracted and didn't really want to pack anymore.
"I'm going back to my room to take a shower; I'm covered in sweat," Shen Anxia suggested. "Why don't you go back to your room too?"
"Aren't you going to tidy up?" Yang Zheng hadn't had enough time with Shen Anxia yet; he was happy even just sitting in the same room with her.
"I'll pack up later. I want to watch a movie. Let's watch a movie together in a bit!"
Upon hearing this, Yang Zheng immediately agreed: "Okay!"
"I've found one and I'll watch it with you later. Shall we go to the first floor?" Shen Anxia was thinking of finding a variety show to have some fun. There was a projector on the first floor, so the view would be better.
"good!"
While taking a shower, Shen Anxia recalled every little thing that had happened since she met Yang Zheng. It seemed that from the very beginning, no matter what kind of plans he made, there was always a place for her in those plans.
After drying herself with a towel, Shen Anxia wrapped herself in a long bath towel and walked to the sink, looking at herself in the mirror.
She's pretty good-looking and has a decent figure. Her features are well-proportioned, and her eyes resemble Chen Ke's, typical "peach blossom eyes." Her breasts aren't large, but they're not small either. Her legs are quite long, easily reaching past her crotch. Her most striking feature is her fair skin, which she inherited from Zhao Ping. It's not a deathly pale white, but rather a pinkish-white, like milk spilled on a light pink flower. Because of her fair skin, her features appear very beautiful. In short, as her roommate puts it, she's a top-quality woman who's easy for men to lose control of.
At twenty-four, Shen Anxia's life has been filled with continuous learning and growth, leaving her no time to study her figure or appearance. But recently, she keeps having images of Yang Zheng wearing only a bath towel, especially at night.
So, does Yang Zheng also have these uncontrollable thoughts?
After slowly putting on her underwear and then a set of extremely conservative loungewear, Shen Anxia haphazardly blew her hair dry and went downstairs.
Yang Zheng was already waiting downstairs.
"Anxia, sit here." Yang Zheng reached out to Shen Anxia.
Shen Anxia sat down next to Yang Zheng. Yang Zheng hooked his arm around her so she could lean against him, and then took a small blanket from the armrest and covered her legs with it.
"So thoughtful," Shen Anxia thought.
"Which program are you watching?" Yang Zheng asked.
"Let's go with the second one!"
Shen Anxia's attention was entirely on the person beside him. He was also wearing navy blue loungewear. His short hair, which had always been neat and tidy, had grown a bit longer, with a few strands hanging casually in front of his forehead. He probably hadn't had time to get a haircut recently because he had been dealing with her matters.
The scent on him was the same strawberry shower gel she always used.
Yang Zheng noticed that Shen Anxia was absent-minded and turned to look at her: "What are you thinking about?"
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