Chapter 62 I feel like…
Before long, it was the Spring Festival. Everyone who had been busy all year was on holiday, and the pace of the city suddenly slowed down.
The streets were much emptier, and supermarkets and shopping malls had closed early. Only the firecracker debris at the intersection was still rolling in the wind, leaving a trace of the lingering warmth after the festivities had ended.
Xia Zhiyao returned home. Although she still had to deal with partners and various company resources, and occasionally visit and chat with relatives and friends, it was a rare moment of relief compared to her usually packed schedule.
She was awakened in the morning by the clanging of pots and pans in the kitchen, the air filled with the aroma of rice and hot oil. After breakfast, she accompanied her mother to the market, and upon returning, helped her prepare the vegetables and wash the dishes.
In the afternoon, nestled on the sofa, she unusually started playing games. At that moment, she slowed down completely, as if escaping the fast-paced torrent of life and quietly settling on this small island.
Zhou Yue stayed at his father's house for two days, exchanging New Year's greetings, socializing, and eating, just like in previous years. The wine glasses were passed around, and the conversation always revolved around work, the market, and investment opportunities.
He occasionally glances at his phone, mostly at holiday greetings or the ever-present messages in the business group chat.
He responded politely to every question, his smile perfectly timed, but it felt like a heavy stone was pressing on his heart, and he never truly felt at ease.
On the third day at noon, Zhou Yue carried various gifts in big bags and small bags and put them into the car, filling the trunk to the brim.
He closed the trunk, dusted off his hands, got into the driver's seat, and started the car as usual, preparing to go to his mother's place.
His hand had just touched the steering wheel when his gaze lingered for a moment on the empty passenger seat. As if possessed, he unlocked his phone and tapped on that familiar profile picture.
Their chat history stopped two days ago, on New Year's Eve, when they were discussing the Spring Festival Gala, which was becoming increasingly uninteresting.
Zhou Yue stared at the screen, his finger hovering over the input box for a few seconds before finally typing: "Are you home?"
A reply came more than ten minutes later: "[At my mom's house.]"
He pursed his lips, thought for a moment, and then quickly typed: "Can I go back to your house? I'll come find you."
The other end quickly replied with a refusal: "Don't come to my house."
Zhou Yue paused on the steering wheel, his brow furrowing slightly. He had never been to Xia Zhiyao's home, not because he hadn't mentioned it, but because she had always turned him away with various excuses.
He remembered clearly that once they drank until very late, and he casually suggested that he go to her house to sleep. She smiled and went to his house anyway.
On another occasion, he happened to be finishing work near her company and offered to take her home, but she made him stop at the intersection, got out of the car, and disappeared into the crowd.
He hadn't thought about these things in detail at the time, but now, sitting quietly in the car, he realized that the deliberate avoidance was actually quite obvious. Xia Zhiyao wasn't avoiding him; she just wouldn't let him into her private space.
As he was thinking, his phone vibrated again. It was a hotel address sent by Xia Zhiyao: "I'm only free this afternoon; I have to spend the evening with my mom."
Those two short lines were like a match that ignited the restlessness in his heart.
Zhou Yue glanced at it for less than two seconds before turning the steering wheel and making a clean U-turn at the empty intersection.
The roads were unusually empty during the Spring Festival. His hands gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles slightly clenched. He couldn't even tell whether this urgency stemmed from curiosity, concern, or the itch in his heart caused by her "only giving him a little bit".
Zhou Yue arrived at the hotel first and casually sent Xia Zhiyao a WeChat message: 【806】.
Less than twenty minutes later, the doorbell rang. He opened the door, and she was standing outside, her hair still slightly damp, obviously having just taken a shower. The floral scent of her shower gel wafted into his nostrils.
As soon as the door closed, Zhou Yue barely thought before reaching out and grabbing her waist, pulling her closer to him. His voice was low as he asked, "Do you think I only contacted you to do this?"
Xia Zhiyao looked up at him, deliberately blinking slowly, a smile playing on her lips: "Isn't that right? Then what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be visiting your mother's house for the New Year?"
Before she could finish speaking, Zhou Yue grabbed the back of her neck, pressed her against the wall, and kissed her with a hint of ruthlessness, his lips and teeth filled with unrestrained passion.
Between kisses, he chuckled softly, "How about we go pay New Year's visits now? Would you be willing?"
The room still held the lingering warmth of the intimacy, and the sunlight streaming through the half-drawn curtains cast a warm, hazy glow on the carpet.
Xia Zhiyao picked up the shirt from the bedside, bent down to button it, her hair falling across her face, obscuring most of her expression. Her movements were slow, as if she was intentionally trying to appear calm.
Zhou Yue leaned against the headboard, not lighting a cigarette, but his gaze was fixed intently on her. After a few seconds, he suddenly spoke, his voice low: "Why won't you let me go to your house?"
It wasn't an inquiry, it was more like an interrogation.
Xia Zhiyao paused noticeably for a moment, but without looking up, she simply said, "I haven't tidied up yet."
Zhou Yue stared at her retreating figure, his thin lips slightly pursed, his tone slow yet imposing: "You didn't pack, so you won't even let me go once?"
Xia Zhiyao seemed to have been forced into a corner by those words, so she let out a soft breath and added, "I'll have the cleaning lady take care of it in a couple of days." Her tone was still calm, but her back was subtly straightening.
Zhou Yue noticed this detail, but the dissatisfaction in his eyes from being treated perfunctorily was even stronger than before.
The buttons had barely been fastened when he reached out and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up at him. His voice was even lower: "Do you think I believe your reason?"
Xia Zhiyao met his gaze, blinked, and her expression remained unreadable: "Does it matter whether you believe me or not?"
Seeing her stubbornness, Zhou Yue's brows furrowed. He moved his fingers away from her chin, but then slid them down her neck to her collarbone, as if silently warning her that this was not over yet.
"Okay," he said in a low voice, letting her off the hook for now, but he would definitely remember this debt. "I'll be waiting for you to invite me in a couple of days."
Xia Zhiyao didn't respond. She just straightened her clothes in front of the mirror, looking at her neck and chest from left to right to see if there were any marks. She knew very well that he wasn't just saying that casually.
"I'll head back now. I'm going out for dinner with my mom and her friends tonight."
Zhou Yue leaned against the headboard and suddenly spoke, his tone lazy but with a hint of dissatisfaction: "I feel like I've been slept with by you."
Xia Zhiyao paused, turned to look at him, her eyes filled with laughter, and the corners of her lips slowly curled up: "I didn't pay, so it doesn't count as prostitution."
She pushed open the door and left, closing it softly, leaving him with a room full of quiet and an inexplicable restlessness.
Her words seemed to be a deliberate reminder to him that their relationship could be dissolved at any time.
He chuckled softly, feeling as if he'd been teased halfway through, only to have the spark extinguished, leaving him feeling uneasy.
Zhou Yue got up and walked to the window, drew back the curtains, and looked down at the street. As expected, she had already walked out of the hotel, her back view as neat as everything that had just happened was just an interlude that could be turned over at any time.
But the sound of her voice still echoed in his ears, the low moan she had tried so hard to suppress but was forced out by him. He remembered those details clearly.
She looked up, closed her eyes, gripped him tightly, and her breathing was so erratic that she could barely speak... These images seemed etched into his mind, impossible to erase, and he didn't want to erase them.
Only he could see her like this. She could always be calm, restrained, and at ease in front of others, but once she was in his hands, her rationality and defenses would crumble little by little.
Thinking of this, the fire in Zhou Yue's chest rose instead of subsiding, and it felt more like a secret, almost possessive sense of satisfaction. He really shouldn't have let her go just now.
Zhou Yue's fingertips rested on the windowsill, a cryptic smile curving his lips. She was always like this, giving him a moment of tenderness before pulling away cleanly and decisively.
He stared for a few seconds, then suppressed the smile on his lips, turned and went into the bathroom, took a cold shower, trying to suppress the pent-up frustration in his heart.
Just then, Xia Zhiyao sent a message: [Arrived home.]
Then another message came: "Didn't you say it was never just once?"
Zhou Yue stared at the screen, his fingertips pausing for a moment before he replied with two words: "Come back."
The other person quickly replied with a smiling emoji, followed by: 【No time, maybe next time.】
When he finished packing and got back into the car to drive to his mother's house, the emotion was still there. It not only didn't subside, but it felt like hot air accumulating in his chest, getting more and more bloated the more he tried to suppress it.
He suddenly longed to see her completely thrown into chaos, so chaotic that she could no longer maintain that indifferent facade.
On the afternoon of the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, as dusk fell and the streetlights came on, Zhou Yue came out of the gym. It was still a bit chilly, so he put on his hoodie as he walked home.
From afar, I could see a familiar figure leaning against the handrail of the steps. The dim streetlights cast a halo of light on the ends of her hair.
"You're sweating so much, don't you even know how to dry off before going home?" Xia Zhiyao crossed her arms, her voice carrying a hint of disdain, yet it also sounded like she had been waiting for a long time without realizing it.
Zhou Yue paused, looked slightly taken aback for a moment, and then laughed out loud: "What are you doing here?"
"I'll fuck you." She looked up, her tone playful.
Zhou Yue was speechless for a moment, then couldn't help but chuckle and curse under his breath: "Damn, isn't that something only men say?"
"So you're not going to let me do it?" She raised an eyebrow, as if touching his most sensitive nerve.
He smiled and shook his head, then raised his hand and waved the keys, gesturing for her to walk forward: "Let's eat first, okay?"
"We've been eating so much rich food during the Spring Festival, let's have something light," she said as she came down the steps, her steps naturally following beside him, as if she had already arranged his whereabouts for the evening.
Zhou Yue took her to a Yunnan restaurant, thinking that if she ate something sour and spicy, or wild mushrooms, Xia Zhiyao might have an appetite.
When the sour soup shrimp was served, its bright red color made the sour soup look even more tempting. Zhou Yue took the plate over and put the shrimp and soup into Xia Zhiyao's bowl, saying, "Try it."
Xia Zhiyao lowered her head, gently touched the piece of shrimp meat with her chopsticks, and put it directly into her mouth without saying a word. When she bit into it, the sour and spicy juice exploded in her mouth.
The mint beef tongue rolls were served next. Dipped in the secret dipping sauce, they were spicy and refreshing. The pan-fried tofu was pan-fried until the outside was golden and crispy, but when you picked it up with chopsticks, the inside was still hot and tender white tofu. Drizzled with garlic soy sauce, mixed with the aroma of wild mushrooms, the heat filled the air between the two of them.
Xia Zhiyao's gaze unconsciously fell on him. This unintentional eye contact was more unsettling than a direct confrontation.
The last dish to be served was the green bonito flakes, which were so vibrant and juicy that when the lid was lifted, steam carrying the fresh aroma of the mountains and fields surged out, as if to envelop the entire table. The aroma was rich yet refreshing, with a unique mushroom fragrance that whetted one's appetite.
Xia Zhiyao slowly picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks, chewing it carefully. The delicate fragrance and slight bitterness mingled on her tongue. She put down her chopsticks and casually asked, "What do you think we'll do if we get poisoned from eating this?"
Zhou Yue slowly wiped his hands, looked up at her, and curled his lips into a nonchalant smile: "You definitely won't die." He paused, then added with a half-smile, "At most... you'll see some hallucinations."
Xia Zhiyao raised an eyebrow, as if deliberately pressing for an answer: "What illusion?"
Zhou Yue didn't answer immediately. He paused with his chopsticks, then suddenly leaned closer to her, his breath carrying the heat of the soup, and whispered a laugh in her ear: "For example... you can ride on top of me and move yourself."
Xia Zhiyao paused, her hand holding the chopsticks slightly raised, and subtly withdrew her gaze: "Was that an illusion? Didn't that just happen a few days ago?"
Zhou Yue slowly picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks, his smile deepening: "Don't rush, I haven't finished yet." The smile in his eyes was like a fire buried, not in a hurry to burn, just waiting for the wind to ignite it, "In the illusion, you begged me not to stop."
The meal was eaten at a leisurely pace. At the end, the waiter brought over a cup of rose ice cream in a chilled stemmed glass. Xia Zhiyao did not hesitate, scooped a spoonful and put it in her mouth, her expression as if she were seriously dealing with a small but important matter.
Zhou Yue watched, secretly surprised. She ate more tonight than usual, almost her usual daily amount.
He looked away, but a slight smile still crept onto his lips—a subtle change that was sweeter than ice cream.
Zhou Yue paid the bill and stood up: "Let's go."
Where to?
"Didn't you say...you would sleep with me?" He looked down at her, his eyes burning.
As soon as they got home and the door clicked shut, Zhou Yue pinned her against the door and pressed his lips against hers without hesitation.
The kiss was urgent, yet also carried the weight of long-suppressed impatience. His hand slipped under her coat along her back, the movements practiced and eager, as if he had been holding back for a long time.
Xia Zhiyao was slightly breathless from his kiss, but her hand gripped the collar of his hoodie, a hint of teasing in her eyes: "You smell of sweat."
Zhou Yue chuckled softly, his fingertips already unbuttoning her shirt, his lips and breath never leaving her: "Go wash up later, are you busy at work tomorrow? Don't leave tonight."
"Flying to Singapore the day after tomorrow to renew my contract with Nexora." She turned her head to catch her breath, her voice still carrying the lingering warmth of laughter, as if it were overflowing from her lips. "What about you?"
"Hong Kong, that mixed-use development project in the Greater Bay Area." His lips pressed against her collarbone, his breath hot, his voice muffled between her skin, carrying a hint of restlessness and agitation.
Xia Zhiyao hooked her arm around his neck and gently bit his shoulder, but her tone was like she was evaluating a plan in a meeting room: "If we can get that project, our profits for the next six months will be secured."
“Yes,” Zhou Yue looked up, his gaze lowered in the ambiguous light and shadow, a slight smile on his lips, “That’s why it’s difficult.”
The two entangled themselves all the way to the bedside, their clothes scattered along the way, their breaths quickening. Zhou Yue suddenly stopped, his arms bracing on either side of her body, his brows furrowing slightly.
Xia Zhiyao looked at him with half-open eyes, a hint of sarcasm on her lips: "What's wrong?"
Zhou Yue lowered his head, bit her earlobe, his breath swirling around her neck, and said with a slight smile, "Why do we always talk about these things in bed?"
Xia Zhiyao tilted her head back and laughed, her fingers sliding down his neck to his shoulder: "So what do you want to talk about?"
"Let's talk about you." His kisses didn't stop, his voice muffled around her collarbone, "Let's talk about when we can have a proper chat outside of bed."
Xia Zhiyao felt a little weak from his kisses and laughed as she pushed him away, saying, "Can you shut up now?"
Zhou Yue chuckled softly, "Okay."
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