Chapter 33 Senior Year
Song Ting watched the anxiety in Nan Jiu's eyes turn into panic, then he slowly withdrew his arm.
Nan Zhendong and Liao Hong found their son first. When they found them later, Song Ting was sitting steadily by the stream. Nan Jiu had already climbed ashore, his face dark and his body dripping with water.
Before the sun set, they returned to the B&B, each went back to their room to take a shower and change clothes, and agreed to go to the first floor of the B&B for dinner after changing clothes.
Song Ting and Nan Jiu each had a room, and Nan Zhendong and his family of three had a room.
The owner of the B&B had reserved a large round table for them. When Nan Jiu finished taking a shower and came downstairs, Nan Zhendong and his family had not yet packed up. Only Song Ting came down first and was sitting there talking on the phone.
Nan Jiu pulled out a chair and sat across from Song Ting. He opened his eyes and looked over at her. Nan Jiu had just showered, her skin clear and her hair tied up, but she still had a chill about her. Noticing his gaze, she leaned aside, pulled out her phone, and scrolled on it. His eyes fell back on her phone, the same one he'd bought her two years ago. It was in a protective case, and with careful use, it looked like new.
Not long after Nan Jiu sat down, the B&B owner came over and asked, "Brother Song, right?"
Song Ting stood up and greeted him, "I decided to come here at the last minute. I'm sorry to bother you."
"It's not a big deal. Da Chen and I are brothers. We're family, so why would we bother? Come and sit down. The food will be ready soon."
As they were talking, Nan Zhendong and the others changed their clothes and went downstairs. The B&B owner looked at Nan Jiu and asked casually, "Did you bring your girlfriend here to play?"
Nan Zhendong and Liao Hong pulled up their chairs and happened to hear these words. Nan Jiu raised his gaze to Song Ting. Song Ting leaned back in his chair nonchalantly, his eyelids half-closed.
The atmosphere at the table suddenly fell into an eerie silence. Seeing that Song Ting didn't say anything, Nan Jiu quickly denied it, saying, "We are relatives."
The owner of the B&B looked at Nan Zhendong and Liao Hong, said hello, and went to the kitchen.
Nan Jiu turned around and stared at Song Ting. Song Ting held his phone nonchalantly, not even looking up.
Nanjiu reached for his phone and clicked on the dialog box: [Why didn't you speak just now? ]
The phone in Song Ting's hand vibrated. He raised his eyes and glanced across at the opposite side, then lowered them again.
Later, Nanjiu received a reply from him: [What? Relatives? How can I be your relative? You slept with your relatives?]
Nan Jiu's eyes swept over the last two words, his eyebrows twitched, and he glanced at Nan Zhendong and Liao Hong guiltily, then locked his phone and put it on the table.
When the topic of boyfriends and girlfriends came up, Liao Hong suddenly remembered something and asked Nan Jiu, "By the way, Xiao Jiu, do you have a girlfriend at school?"
Song Ting's eyes fell on her face imperceptibly.
Nan Jiu didn't answer directly: "What's wrong?"
"The son of one of my colleagues is 28 years old and works in IT. He earns a decent salary and is a pretty honest person. Would you like to meet him?"
"Is he handsome?"
"I haven't seen her in person, but I've seen photos. She's fair-skinned, with regular features, and she's a local. How about you add each other's contact information when you get back and find a chance to have dinner together?"
Nan Jiu slowly raised his eyes, his gaze vaguely meeting Song Ting's. He sat there, one hand on the table, his face calm, but his eyes composed.
Nanjiu turned his eyes away, a casual smile on his lips: "Okay."
Nan Zhendong said, "You've graduated now, so if you find someone suitable, you can look around."
With a crisp "bang", Song Ting tore open the sealed sterilized dishes in front of him. The sudden sound interrupted the conversation, and Nan Jiu did not respond to Nan Zhendong's words.
After dinner, Nanjiu went upstairs. She lay on the bed and looked at her mobile phone for a while. She was so bored that she had to go downstairs for a walk.
As she left the hotel, she spotted a commercial vehicle parked at the door. She took a few steps over and peered at the dashboard. A voice drifted over, not too far away: "Have you driven on the road since getting your license?"
Nan Jiu straightened up and looked around, but didn't see a single person.
"above."
Nan Jiu looked up. Song Ting was reclining in a rattan chair on the second-floor balcony, his legs crossed on the stool, his phone in hand, the screen dimly lit.
"Still asleep?"
"It's only eight o'clock." Song Ting didn't move and hid behind the railing.
Nanjiu replied to what he had just said: "I have never been on the road."
The car lights flickered twice, and the retracted rearview mirror automatically extended. Nan Jiu glanced at Song Ting, then reached out and opened the door. She climbed in and tinkered with the car, studying the central control screen and the handbrake. She poked her head out and asked, "Can I go for a drive?"
Song Ting didn't answer. After a few seconds of stillness, he stood up and walked into the house. A moment later, Song Ting came down from the second floor, opened the passenger door, and stepped into the car.
Nanjiu started the car, her long dark hair tied back, a few strands falling at the side of her neck. She looked sideways, her hair swaying slightly with her movements.
"I haven't touched a steering wheel in six months. Do you dare to sit on it?"
"Go ahead, and let fate do the rest."
Nan Jiu raised her eyebrows, turned the steering wheel, and the car suddenly turned around in the open space, inertia throwing her towards the door. Song Ting silently pulled the seat belt, fastened it, and looked at her with a squinting eye.
Nan Jiu curled his lips and said, "Sorry, this is the first time I drive this kind of car." Although he said sorry, there was no guilt in his eyes.
The car pulled out of the lane leading to the guesthouse and onto the main road. After eight o'clock in Xianshui Town, the streets were deserted, leaving only an empty, unobstructed road. Nanjiu used to go to the driving school for practice during the day. Before she could even get up to speed, the instructor would slam on the brakes and warn her with his eyes to control her speed.
This was the first time Nanjiu had ever sped up in the middle of nowhere. She'd had her driver's license for a few months, but she'd barely touched a car. She was in the middle of a driving spree, and the sight of the steering wheel made her want to try it. She'd already driven unnoticed, not knowing how far she'd gone before Song Ting reminded her, "If you keep going any further, you'll end up back in Mao'er Lane."
Nanjiu had no choice but to turn and drive onto a scenic road. The road was narrow, lined with trees on both sides, somewhat similar to the road he'd taken to Qining Mountain that day. With the windows down, he could occasionally hear the sound of water flowing through the trees. Deep in the woods, there were flashes of light.
Nanjiu slowed down the car: "It's so late, what are those people doing down there?"
"Go down and take a look. You can take a break."
After Song Ting reminded her, Nan Jiu realized that she had been driving for almost an hour.
They parked the car and walked down the trail. During the day, this place was a place for people to play and camp, with a gravel path leading to the lake. At night, when the crowds were gone, a few night fishing enthusiasts sat by the lake, and the faint light came from their place.
Song Ting walked forward and looked into the bucket. There were several silver carp and bighead carp in it, and they were quite big.
When he turned around again, he saw Nan Jiu squatting on the ground, digging around like she was panning for gold, finding a relatively thin rock. She stood up, adjusted the rock's direction, and raised her arm to run, but Song Ting grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the lake.
Nan Jiu was puzzled and said, "What's wrong? This stone of mine can bounce up and down three times."
"People are fishing, and you're skipping stones beside them. If a fish is about to take the bait and you scare it away, will they chase you away?"
Nan Jiu thought for a moment and said, "That makes sense." She threw the stone away, clapped her hands, and when she looked up she saw a pavilion. She stopped skipping stones and instead climbed towards the pavilion.
The pavilion is built on a small hillside, offering a panoramic view of the lake from its vantage point. At night, the lake's surface is repainted by moonlight, a stark contrast to the daytime. Instead of the bustling, rippling blue waters of the day, only a deep, dark green remains, swallowed by the vast night sky.
The heat faded, and a cool breeze rippled Nanjiu's hair. She stood quietly by the pavilion, her figure bathed in a soft glow. A gentle breeze rustled the fabric that clung to her form, its thinness tracing the undulating curves of her figure.
The footsteps behind her gradually approached, and a tall figure loomed over her. Her breath paused, and before she turned around, a familiar breath enveloped her.
Song Ting's arms went around her waist, his warm palms pressed against her lower abdomen, and he held her entire back in his arms.
Nan Jiu lowered his gaze, his eyes fixed on the void: "Men and women should not touch each other, Uncle Song."
He stroked the top of her head with his chin, a slightly sarcastic sneer falling on her hair: "You didn't have such boundaries with me before, but now you have learned to be reserved."
"Everyone's young and frivolous once." His heartbeat pounded against her back. She felt the rise and fall of his chest, the subtle movement of his throat, and suppressed the faint restlessness. "After all, Liu Yin and I have known each other for so many years. This is not good."
"I called back." His breath approached again, falling on her earlobe, causing her breathing to stop.
"My grandfather asked me to persuade you."
"Are you going to persuade me?"
"Rationally speaking, I should advise you to move forward."
"Irrational?"
Nanjiu fell silent. Irrational thoughts that were selfish, possessive, and unruly should not exist.
"I made it clear to the Liu family last night."
Nan Jiu raised her eyes, turned around in his arms, and looked at him with raised eyes: "Why?" She regretted asking these three words, she was afraid that the answer she heard would point to her. These words were like a stone that should not be turned over, revealing what was hidden underneath.
Nan Jiu almost immediately wanted to swallow the words back, but it was obviously too late. Song Ting's eyes wandered over her face, taking in her flickering eyes and the slight frown on her brow.
"I didn't even consider it at the beginning. Others have experienced one marriage, so why should I consider it? Am I a relationship recycling station?"
A few years ago, Liu's parents, concerned about the situation at Song Ting's house and fearing their daughter would be involved with him, arranged for Liu Yin to meet a well-off man. Now that life is unhappy, she wants to return to Song Ting. Song Ting appears to be easygoing and usually treats the neighbors politely, but that doesn't mean he will give in on everything.
Nan Jiu understood what he meant, and the strength accumulated in his body was released at once.
Song Ting took a step back, sat on the stone bench, and pulled Nan Jiula onto his lap. He crossed one arm over her back to support her waist, and with the other hand lifted her chin, bringing her palm-sized face to his eyes. "Are you planning on dating?"
The drowsy aroma of tea lingered faintly, not strong, but silently surrounded her thoughts.
"No plans." She leaned in close, her upper lip resting on the tip of his nose.
His gaze darted down, falling into those blurry eyes: "Are we going back to meet that IT guy?"
"That's hard to say." An elusive smile played at the corners of Nanjiu's lips, her breath, wrapped in a warm fragrance, escaping from her lips and teeth. Suddenly, the corners of her eyes raised, and the look in her eyes was like a hook and a blade, piercing into the heart.
"You really deserve to be punished."
As soon as he finished speaking, his thumb, warm and caressing her jaw, gently forced her head up to meet his. Without warning, he leaned forward, his teeth gnawing across her lower lip, causing a subtle yet sharp sting. She pushed him away in pain, but he held her tightly in his arms.
He held her soft lips with the tip of his teeth, nibbling cruelly yet patiently, as if to penetrate her skin and taste the sweet, fishy flavor of her body. It was more like a mark than a kiss, an uncontrollable, beast-like intimacy.
In the end, he didn't pierce her lips. His hot, wet tongue soothed her bitten lips, tracing the shape of her lips before prying them open. Their lips and tongues met, a slight tremor, but it opened the floodgates of danger. His kiss deepened, grinding with passion and desire.
This extreme and contradictory sensory stimulation gave her body a strange feeling, with pain and pleasure intertwined, and numbness and itchiness spreading wildly.
She closed her eyes, raised her wrists, and clasped them around his neck. The hem of her dress rose with her arms, revealing a slender waist. His palm touched her waistline, his fingertips gently caressing the hem of her dress, the fabric rustling softly. She melted silently against his chest, her fingertips curling uncontrollably. A soft moan became the spark that ignited his fire.
Song Ting put Nan Jiu on the ground, stood up, held her hand, strode back to the car, stepped on the accelerator and drove to the Nancheng Economic Development Zone a few kilometers away.
The car stopped in front of the only star-rated hotel in the development zone. Nan Jiu got out and followed Song Ting into the hotel lobby.
In the spacious lobby, Nan Jiu sank into the soft sofa, his gaze fixed on Song Ting, who was processing paperwork at the front desk. He leaned slightly forward, his elbows resting on the polished countertop. The light from the overhead chandelier slid down from the steep curve of his nose to his jawline, the outline of his back clearly visible against the dark fabric. He picked up his pen, finished signing, and turned back to look at her. His face, alternating between light and dark, showed a calm sense of control.
The lights became dim, and only his gaze was clear and thrilling.
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