Chapter 14 You cancelled your hotel reservation...
When Xia Zhiyao was pulled back to reality from her memories, she was lying in bed with her eyes open and not closed. This wasn't the first time she had experienced jet lag, but this time was different.
This wasn't the first time she'd experienced jet lag, but this time was particularly different. She and Zhou Yue hadn't slept much last night.
It wasn't just because of that physical intimacy, but also because afterwards, they were like people who had sunk to the bottom of the water, and once they surfaced, they never wanted to sink again so easily.
She forced herself to stay awake during the day, hoping to adjust to the time difference as quickly as possible and return to a rational and efficient state, but she overestimated her willpower.
She held on until the afternoon, but her body eventually lost control. Her consciousness blurred layer by layer. When she closed her eyes, she was still thinking, but the next second, she sank into darkness.
The phone kept ringing, the sound jarring in the quiet room. She frowned, squinted, and reached for the bedside table. Before she could even see the screen, she instinctively swiped to answer.
"……Hello?"
There was a half-second pause on the other end, followed by a very familiar voice, with its usual laziness and nonchalance: "Did I wake you up? Wake up, come open the door for your husband."
The moment the door opened, a night breeze rushed in. Zhou Yue stood outside, wearing a black wool coat with the collar slightly open, his hair disheveled and slightly sticking up in the night wind, his cheeks radiating a faint chill.
He was carrying a bulging shopping bag. The light from the corridor shone on his brow bone and the bridge of his nose, making his already handsome face even more defined. He just stood there quietly, his gaze steadily fixed on her face, with a restrained calmness.
Xia Zhiyao leaned against the door frame, her eyebrows slightly raised, a faint smile playing on her lips: "What, you came all this way, and even brought a gift." Her tone was lazy and teasing.
She took the bag and stepped aside, saying, "Come in."
Zhou Yue responded softly, stepped inside, and into the warm yellow light. He deftly took off his coat, draped it over his arm, revealing a well-tailored dark blue suit underneath. His shirt was buttoned up perfectly, his tie was neatly tied, and a clean white glimpse of his cuffs was visible.
The gold-rimmed glasses on his nose added to his scholarly air, making him appear especially noble given his already calm and refined demeanor—restrained yet exuding a powerful presence.
Xia Zhiyao glanced at him, a smile hidden in the corner of her eyes, and said nothing, silently thinking to herself: If this man were to bring another glass of wine, he could practically be on the cover of a magazine.
She placed the bag on the coffee table. Inside the bag was a down jacket, the same color and style as the one Zhou Yue was wearing.
She raised an eyebrow. Underneath her down jacket, there was a small plastic bag. She reached out to grab it, but her fingertips stopped as soon as they touched that familiar curve.
She held the box out in her palm, a dangerous smile curving her eyes. She didn't speak, but simply looked up at him quietly, her gaze neither hurried nor angry, but clearly conveying a "let's see how you explain this" attitude.
Zhou Yue was startled by her gaze and tried to remain calm, but his ear tips quickly turned red. He cleared his throat and lowered his voice, as if trying to control some kind of unease: "Yesterday... to be honest, I wasn't very rational."
"I didn't even ask if it was your safe period..." His lips were pursed, his eyes instinctively avoiding hers, and his Adam's apple bobbed slightly, like a boy whose secret had been exposed on the spot.
Xia Zhiyao's gaze never left the embarrassment and struggle on his face; her eyes were bright and sharp, like a cat teasing a mouse.
After a long while, as if she had finally let him go, she raised the corner of her lips, a lazy smile spreading across her face, but her tone was as light as a feather brushing against his ear: "Of course, otherwise... I wouldn't have let you do that." Her voice carried an innate arrogance and mockery, and every word precisely struck at his weak spot.
She paused, her eyes slowly lifting slightly, before adding an even more lethal remark: "However... as a virgin, you know quite a lot."
Zhou Yue seemed to choke, the blush on his face hadn't faded completely, and he let out a muffled groan, as if he were ashamed or unwilling, but he couldn't find a single word to refute it.
He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to speak, and mumbled out, "...Well, we still have to learn a thing or two."
His usually calm and collected eyes were now like the surface of water being gently stirred, rippling with fine waves, revealing panic, embarrassment, and an undisguised longing.
Xia Zhiyao looked at his stubborn but cowardly appearance and suddenly chuckled. She stopped teasing him and simply handed him the box, her tone slightly condescending and mocking: "Then you should continue to study hard."
Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly felt a tightness behind her. Zhou Yue finally mustered up his courage and hugged her from behind with a gentle and careful gesture.
His chin rested gently on her shoulder, his breath cool with the night air, deep and slow, as if he wanted to pull her back to his side with an embrace.
That moment felt like a closeness to him.
But for Xia Zhiyao, it was like a memory valve that had been turned open in an instant.
Her eyes suddenly froze, her fingertips trembled slightly, and those images of intertwined lips and bodies mingling uncontrollably surfaced in her mind. Every fragment was so real, with a burning texture, instantly reigniting the emotions she had suppressed so intensely the night before.
Zhou Yue glanced casually at the room behind her, then suddenly spoke without any preamble or introduction: "I have a suggestion."
"What?" Xia Zhiyao raised an eyebrow, her tone languid, and gently broke free from his embrace, sitting back on the sofa.
Zhou Yue walked slowly closer, leaning slightly forward, his hands resting on the sofa cushions on either side of her body. His movements were restrained, yet carried an oppressive sense of pressure.
He leaned down, his face almost touching hers, their breaths mingling, so close it felt as if he could kiss her eyelashes with a simple lowering of his head.
His gaze was fixed on her face, filled with an unwavering seriousness and determination: "You cancel your stay at this hotel and move to my place."
Xia Zhiyao paused for a moment, then chuckled softly. She leaned lazily against the sofa armrest, resting her chin on her hand, her eyes crinkling with a teasing distrust in her smile: "Zhou Yue, your excuse is a bit too casual, isn't it?"
Her nonchalant response was an instinctive defense developed from years of tug-of-war in the workplace and in relationships: first a smile, then defuse the situation, and then retreat.
But Zhou Yue didn't follow the path she had planned. He didn't laugh or say anything; he just watched her quietly.
Those eyes were as calm as a still pool of water in the night, but the calmer they were, the more unshakable they seemed.
“I’m telling the truth.” He spoke slowly and deliberately, as if he were calmly stating something after suppressing his emotions to the lowest point. “You just lost your phone, and someone else brought your coat back to you. I’m worried about you being out there alone.”
Without beating around the bush or using superfluous words, he only said what needed to be said, and that was enough.
Xia Zhiyao stared at him, the smile slowly fading from the corners of her eyes. She spoke slowly, her tone indifferent, yet a hint of sharpness gradually surfaced: "Are you afraid I'll leave without saying goodbye?"
She thought he would respond with a joke, as he always did, and then downplay his emotions. But he didn't.
He looked directly at her, his gaze unwavering and without hesitation, and then uttered a single word: "Yes."
The voice was like a pebble thrown into the lake of her heart, stirring up ripples that reached her deepest vulnerability.
She froze, her expression momentarily flustered. "You...you don't have to be this nervous, do you?" She tried to change the subject, but her tone unintentionally carried a hint of passive avoidance.
Zhou Yue hugged her, his voice tinged with a burning heat. "You should know better than me whether I'm nervous or not." His voice was low and husky, yet carried an undeniable firmness.
She looked away, about to retort, but Zhou Yue smiled first, a mischievous look that she knew all too well appearing in his eyes.
"Don't overthink it," he suddenly said lightly. "Check house prices tomorrow morning and see which one is the best deal. My suggestion is quite practical." With one sentence, he melted away the heaviness and replaced it with his usual playful and gentle manner.
Xia Zhiyao finally couldn't hold back and chuckled as she picked up her down jacket and threw it at him: "Fine, Zhou Yue, you win. I'll move it, but don't be too annoying."
He looked at her, his voice as soft as a sigh: "Whatever you want, it's fine with me."
"As long as you're here, that's enough."
He walked to the sofa, took off his suit jacket and casually draped it over the back of the chair. With a tug of his long fingers, the knot of his tie came loose, and the dark fabric fell into his palm, making a slight rubbing sound.
He turned and walked toward her, his gaze focused, as if he had traversed countless years just to reach this moment.
Xia Zhiyao looked at him, and something gently touched her heart.
She suddenly remembered the little boy who gritted his teeth and held on despite his fever, and the figure coming against the wind in the neon-lit snowy night. These fragments gradually pieced together to form the person in front of her.
“Anyway, I’ll be docked pay tonight,” she said softly, her tone seemingly nonchalant. “I might as well stay.”
The moment she finished speaking, she herself was stunned. Zhou Yue was slightly taken aback at first, and then a smile slowly spread across his eyes. He approached step by step, his breath enveloping her, enveloping her in his quiet and confident world.
He leaned down and asked in a low voice, "Are you inviting me?"
Her heart suddenly skipped a beat, and she lowered her eyes and nodded.
"Don't act innocent after getting the benefit." She snorted lightly, her tone carrying a familiar teasing tone mixed with a slightly trembling tenderness. "I'm going to take a shower."
Zhou Yue leaned back on the sofa, watching her back, and couldn't help but smile. "How many times a day do you take a shower?" he complained in a low voice. "Xia Zhiyao, do you have OCD?"
Without turning her head, she replied, "You've made me sore all over. How am I going to recover if I don't soak in a bath for a while?"
Steam rose from the bathroom, filling the air with mist. Xia Zhiyao lay in the bathtub, her hair wet and clinging to her shoulders. Her skin was flushed from the heat, but her eyes and brows were unusually relaxed.
Zhou Yue leaned against the door frame, the light falling on his shoulder. He looked at her with an indescribable tenderness in his eyes.
“You really know how to enjoy yourself,” he said with a smile.
Xia Zhiyao opened her eyes, casually brushed her wet hair behind her ear, water droplets sliding down, her movements lazy yet alluring.
"Want to give it a try?" she asked in a flippant tone, as if it were a joke, but also an invitation.
Zhou Yue raised an eyebrow, said nothing, but his gaze remained quietly fixed on her.
Then, he began to unbutton his clothes, one piece at a time, until the tall, upright man was finally exposed without any cover between the moisture and the light and shadow. He had broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and well-defined muscles, a kind of real, powerful, and restrained natural beauty.
Zhou Yue chuckled softly, slowly stepped into the water, and approached her. The water rippled slightly, and their breaths mingled.
Xia Zhiyao smiled lazily: "Don't you feel like you've lost out now?"
He looked down at her, his eyes and brows full of laughter: "I go to the gym every day, I can't let it all go to waste." He moved closer, a smug smile playing on his lips: "Isn't this all for this day, so I can show off a bit?"
The two looked at each other, their laughter echoing in the bathroom, the steam rising as if the night had finally removed all the distance between them from the past.
The next second, he lowered his head and kissed her. He first gently touched her lips, as if with some restraint confirming the truth, and then deepened the kiss little by little. His tongue pried open her teeth and slowly wrapped around hers, delicately and slowly, as if he was finally allowing himself to indulge in it.
Xia Zhiyao frowned slightly, but did not push him away. Instead, she followed his slight tilt of his head, and at the moment their lips met, she felt that the hard shell in her heart had quietly cracked open.
"Don't hide." He kissed her earlobe, his voice low and husky, his breath so hot it seemed to ignite the water. "I've waited three years... how much longer do you want me to wait?"
She reached out and held the back of his neck, giving him a kiss. Water droplets slid from her hair down his neck, as if it were some kind of ritual.
As if he had finally received some kind of permission, Zhou Yue could no longer hide the emotions in his eyes. He leaned down and kissed her again, as if the world consisted only of the two of them, and all sounds and time were shut out by the steam.
He seemed to have finally let go of all the waiting and anxiety, leaving only a kind of unwavering certainty. He used all his strength and tenderness to touch her, feel her, and confirm that she was really still there, and this time, she would not disappear.
His arms were around her back, his palms resting on the part of her back closest to her heart, quiet and gentle, as if through this action he was slowly pressing all her longing and emotions into the water and then gently scooping them out.
He chuckled softly, pulling her closer. An air of intimacy slowly rose in the air, like a silent flame, seeping into each other's breath and heartbeats.
He lowered his head, his forehead touching hers, his eyes so deep they seemed to pull you in, his voice low and hoarse: "You can't escape now."
She closed her eyes, as if finally admitting defeat, or as if she had shed her sharp shell. She leaned softly against his chest, her fingers gently clasping his shoulders, and chuckled softly: "Yes, there's no escaping it now."
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