Chapter 20 Numb.20 *Smack!*
The faucet was turned on, and the stream of water flowing down reflected Xu Wu's somewhat cold expression, which was then distorted by the water flow.
She never expected Jie Ying to suddenly do that. For a moment, her head spun and buzzed. She was so shocked that she wanted to pull her hand away and slap him.
But she couldn't move. Even though Jieying wasn't using any force, she was holding it as carefully as if it were a precious treasure.
Xu Wu stared at him blankly, watching as he lowered his head and kissed the back of her hand.
A devout, unadulterated desire.
Like believers offering their loyalty and even their lives to a messenger.
His lips were soft, and when they touched the skin of Xu Wu's hand, the breath he exhaled seemed to spray onto her hand, making it warm and moist. Then he gently pressed his lips against hers, and she felt the softness of Xie Ying's lips being pressed against the back of his hand.
With each movement, the tip of her high, straight nose brushed against her skin, and the itching sensation, like the lingering threads of a broken lotus root, gradually spread through her meridians and sensitive nerves.
This is desensitization; hold back, don't slap him.
Xu Wu restrained himself and told himself this.
But having tasted the sweetness, Jie Ying clearly didn't know the meaning of restraint. Seeing that he was about to use the same trick to kiss her a second time, Xu Wu could no longer control her conditioned reflex. The fear buried deep in her heart was completely brought to the surface, and the panic and unease in her eyes could no longer be concealed. She raised her hand—
Snap!
A crisp and loud slap.
The wind stopped, and the sycamore leaves ceased to sway.
Jie Ying's head was knocked to the side, and a red mark slowly appeared on her pale face.
Xu Wu didn't stop, and when she realized what was happening, she was stunned.
The burning sensation in my palms still lingered.
When I looked at Jieying again, her cheeks were becoming red and swollen.
Those eyes hidden beneath his bangs looked straight at Xu Wu. For a fleeting moment, she seemed to see a dark glint in his eyes that threatened to engulf her, but it vanished in an instant.
His eyes were shimmering with a faint redness, and his breathing was erratic and irregular.
"You..." Xu Wu put her hands behind her back, her left hand tightly gripping her right wrist, and tentatively asked nervously, "Are you... alright?"
This expression doesn't look good, nor does it look bad.
Xu Wu bit her lip, feeling secretly annoyed and conflicted.
This level of touch was indeed beyond her capabilities; even a simple touch on her arm or forearm was difficult.
"Does your hand hurt?" Jie Ying's Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and her eyes darkened.
"...Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Xu Wu said with a complicated expression.
But Jie Ying didn't respond immediately. His gaze lingered on her for a moment before he suddenly smiled softly.
It was still a terrifying smile, but Xu Wu strangely found herself accepting it well, and even found herself unable to look away from the mole on the corner of his mouth that curved upwards with the smile.
For a fleeting second, she regretted not getting closer to the mole when Jieying kissed her earlier.
......
Pulled back to reality, Xu Wu got up, turned on the tap, shook it a couple of times, and then took out another pack of tissues that Jie Ying had given her earlier from her pocket.
After wiping her hands, she crumpled the tissue and threw it into the trash can.
Xu Wu turned around and met the gaze of Jie Ying, who was standing not far away.
His eyes were dark, and a slight glint appeared in them. The swelling on his face had at least subsided somewhat.
"I'll come to rehearsal tomorrow," Xu Wu replied to Xie Ying's question.
Upon hearing this, his brows relaxed, as if he had breathed a sigh of relief.
"Wu Yao, who will you partner with?" Jie Ying pressed persistently.
"The ball scene in the script has nothing to do with you, does it?" Xu Wu ignored her and turned to leave. If she was any later, she would miss the next train, and she only had five minutes left to argue with Jie Ying.
Upon hearing this, Jie Ying opened her mouth, unsure of what to say, but ultimately didn't ask.
Seeing that he had nothing more to say, Xu Wu said "See you tomorrow" and headed to the bus stop. But as they passed each other, she remembered the slap and felt conflicted. She stopped and turned back, saying, "Um..."
Jie Ying blinked, her smooth, wind-blown hair twitching like a black cat's ears, and stared at her without moving.
"If it hurts, go home and get an ice pack. I didn't do it on purpose." Xu Wu pursed her lips. "If it really doesn't work, just tell me, and I'll pay for the medical expenses."
It wasn't a deliberate act on her part; it was purely an unintentional mistake.
Being able to tolerate contact is already quite difficult. Before undergoing this desensitization training, Xu Wu's traumatic stress led her to associate all touch in the world with disgust, let alone things like kissing, which caused her to have a physiological aversion.
If Jie Ying hadn't made that move, she wouldn't have gone to such extremes.
Thinking of this, she waited until she saw Jie Ying nod before she felt relieved and went to catch the bus.
Putting everything else aside, she would really feel uneasy if that face were left with any scars.
Can a piece of art that is incomplete still be called art?
There weren't many people at the bus stop at almost 5 o'clock. Luckily, the little time she was delayed earlier allowed her to miss the rush hour. Now, including her, there were only four or five people scattered here waiting for the bus.
Before long, Xu Wu spotted bus number 56 approaching and opened the ride code on her WeChat mini-program to prepare to board.
The car stopped in front of her, the door opened, and Xu Wu got on after the girl in front of her got on.
There are still three empty seats in the car: one single seat by the window and one double seat in the back.
Xu Wu went straight to the window seat and sat down. Then he took out a Bluetooth headset from his tote bag, put it on, and the car started moving. A notification sounded in his ear indicating a successful connection.
"We meet again." The person in the front seat turned around.
Xu Wu lifted her eyes and met the middle-aged man's face, which was crinkled with laughter.
"......"
She glanced at it indifferently, then looked down and scrolled through her phone to select a song.
Undeterred, the middle-aged man continued in a low voice, "Are you short of money?"
Xu Wu did not answer.
"How about two hundred a day, oh no, an hour? I can add more if that's not enough." Seeing that Xu Wu remained unmoved, the middle-aged man held up three fingers. "And what about this number?"
Xu Wu put on the other earphone.
"I'm not doing anything, it's just..." the middle-aged man pleaded in a low voice, "Could you... scold me a couple of times?"
"..." Xu Wu accidentally tapped the loop on the music player interface. She slowly raised her eyes and saw the middle-aged man obediently gripping the back of the chair with both hands. She was shocked and frowned deeply.
Is he or she insane?
"Get out." Xu Wu said coldly.
The middle-aged man's eyes lit up immediately, and he felt a sense of relief. He licked his lips and said expectantly, "Could you tell me a little more?"
The high school girl in front of him had a face that was naturally good at cursing. He couldn't imagine how comfortable he would feel when she insulted him.
He hadn't originally intended to have such thoughts, but ever since he said goodbye to this girl last time, the image of her standing outside the bus window, giving him the middle finger and calling him an idiot has been haunting him, and he even dreams about it.
Xu Wu was speechless for a moment, cursing himself for his bad luck.
Just then, the car's announcement came on, and the car stopped. Xu Wu hurriedly got up, swiped her QR code, and got out of the car as if afraid of touching something dirty. Fortunately, the middle-aged man did not seem to want to follow her.
It's disgusting, absolutely disgusting.
Xu Wu felt disgusted, as if the air in the car was terribly dirty.
With ten minutes to go until 5:30, Xu Wu composed herself, let out a breath, and turned to a wonton shop near the bus stop.
After ordering her food, she went to the beverage cabinet, grabbed a bottle of iced tea, tore open the plastic bag containing the straw, inserted the straw into the bottle, and returned to her seat while drinking. She also took off her Bluetooth device.
This shop's wontons have plenty of meat and thin wrappers, making them much better than other shops that cut corners.
Xu Wu ate it with fried rice.
She wasn't really in the mood to cook today, and there wasn't much food in the fridge to make do with. She figured she'd have to go grocery shopping during the week off.
After finishing her meal and paying, Xu Wu rubbed her slightly full stomach, then turned left at the store entrance, intending to stroll back at a leisurely pace.
When Xu Wu got home, he took out his key and opened the door. He glanced at the clock on the wall: 5:53.
She tossed her tote bag onto the sofa, grabbed some clothes from her bedroom, and then rushed into the bathroom, unable to contain herself any longer.
Under the showerhead, the bathroom quickly filled with steam, which misted her fair skin into a pink hue. The water flowed eagerly through her body, guided by Xu Wu's hands, carefully cleaning the areas she considered too dirty.
There is only one place.
Xu Wu raised her hand, staring blankly at the back of her hand that Jie Ying had kissed.
After being washed so many times, there were hardly any marks left; the veins were hidden under such a thin layer of skin. She suddenly thought—
What does that feel like?
What did he feel when Jie Ying kissed her hand?
Will it feel pleasant? Or will it cause a thrilling tremor?
Xu Wu didn't understand, but Jie Ying treated her like a precious treasure.
After hesitating for a long time, Xu Wu, as if possessed, lowered his head just like Jie Ying.
Thin lips pressed against the back of his hand, right where Jie Ying had touched.
I felt nothing at all.
Xu Wu was puzzled, but remained completely unmoved.
Realizing what she was doing, Xu Wu abruptly lowered her hand, her face flushing even more. She rubbed the back of her hand vigorously until it was completely red before she stopped.
She glanced sideways at the mirror shrouded in mist, her face barely visible.
At the same time, Jie Ying raised her hand to touch her face in front of the mirror, staring intently at her reflection, scrutinizing her from the inside out.
He pulled the corner of his mouth upwards with his finger, then lowered it.
"So ugly," Jie Ying thought, leaning down with her hands on either side of the sink. "If I were a little prettier, would Wu's gaze linger a little longer?"
While I was lost in thought, my phone, which was lying to the side, vibrated.
Fog: Is your face feeling better?
Before Jie Ying could even process the huge surprise of Xu Wu's message and realize what Xu Wu was asking, he touched his face, which had completely subsided.
...That's a bit bad.
He gripped the phone tightly, his fingertips turning white from the effort.
Would it be more serious if I got it injected again?
Will the fog... show sympathy?
Author's note: The draw will be held tomorrow morning at 10 AM! [Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers]
The character design for Big Eyes has been updated with fog and shadow removal [sunglasses][sunglasses]
Thank you so much for the nutrient solution, it's incredibly delicious! [droopy-eared rabbit head]
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