Chapter 37
The boat has finally reached the shore.
Josh got back very late. After all that fuss with Chen Zhiyu—showering, eating, and being all lovey-dovey—even though she didn't have to get up early for work today, she still needed to rest.
After letting go of him, she turned and went to the bedside to make the bed. "Let's both sleep on the bed tonight." The sofa was really not long enough. Chen Zhiyu had traveled a long way, and she couldn't bear to let a tall guy squeeze onto it.
"Hmm?" Seeing that the person behind him did not respond for a long time, Josh turned around and took a look.
Chen Zhiyu had taken off his shirt at some point, leaving his upper body bare. He was lying on the sofa with his head resting on the back, eyes closed, seemingly oblivious to her suggestion.
The warm lighting in the room made the outline of his abdominal muscles clearly visible, and his muscles rose and fell slightly with each breath.
She's a little bit sexy.
Josh sat down on the edge of the bed and watched for a while before reminding him, "Hey."
The person on the sofa finally spared a glance for her. She remained in the same position with her legs spread apart, only slowly turning her head, her eyes half-open, and her expression somehow making her look rather pitiful.
Josh suppressed a laugh, crossed his arms, lazily raised his chin, and said with a hint of impatience, "Did you hear what I said?"
"Mm." Chen Zhiyu responded and then stopped looking at her. He bent down, buried his face in the sofa like a deflated balloon, and said in a muffled voice, "I'll listen to you." Then he added, "Just talk less for now."
That means it's not ready yet.
Fearing the air inside was too dry, Josh lowered the air conditioner temperature by two degrees. Once the temperature had dropped a bit, she got up to continue tidying up, muttering under her breath as she gathered the clothes that were carelessly piled at the foot of the bed, "Are you sure you can handle this?"
"I'm awesome!" came a roar from the sofa.
Seeing him get the short end of the stick, Josh finally couldn't help but burst into laughter.
There will be times when you can't laugh.
Chen Zhiyu was furious. He stood up abruptly and, as if taking off, took three steps at a time to turn off the lights in the room.
The room instantly darkened.
"You should go to sleep first."
Chen Zhiyu turned off the lights and stood still like a gatekeeper, hands in his pockets, waiting for the lights to cool down.
Josh wisely stopped teasing him, groped his way into the dark, and crawled into the blankets, lying on the innermost side.
The temperature was just right, and a pleasant warm breeze filled the air. She lay there listlessly, staring at the dark ceiling, her thoughts drifting away with the breeze.
The bed I was on wasn't very big, only a little wider than a regular single bed, but it was just right for two people to sleep on.
However, there was only one quilt in the room, and it was too late, so she didn't bother anyone else.
Anyway, it's just one night's rest.
However, from childhood to adulthood, Josh seems to have never slept under the same blanket with anyone, not even Joey.
Josh's mind was wandering, filled with random thoughts. She didn't know how much time had passed when the left corner of the blanket was lifted, and Chen Zhiyu lay down next to her.
The room was quiet, a stillness reserved for the dead of night, broken only by the mingled, chaotic breathing of the two people. Josh turned her head slightly and saw Chen Zhiyu standing before her like a wall.
Is this a plan to sleep back-to-back with her?
In the dead of night, Josh's thoughts wandered wildly. How could they be sleeping in the same bed but dreaming different dreams so soon? Who falls asleep the moment they lie down? They didn't even exchange the most basic goodnight.
Go to sleep if you want.
Josh turned away angrily and closed his eyes to sleep. A few minutes later, he opened his eyes again in the darkness. How could he possibly sleep with such a big heater next to him?
She then laboriously turned around, staring at his broad back, before reaching out her right hand from the warm blankets, extending her index finger and thumb, and gently placing them on his strong shoulder. Her nimble thumb gradually closed, and once it settled in one position, her index finger opened again and slid to the other side of his shoulder.
To everyone's surprise, Chen Zhiyu, who thought the man was fast asleep, suddenly grabbed the mischievous hand with a bit of force, "Qiao Xi."
In the darkness, the warning voice was low and hoarse.
“Hmm.” Josh held his shoulder without moving.
"sleep!"
"I can't sleep."
That's the truth.
Logically, after a busy day, Josh should be asleep the moment her head hits the pillow, but she just can't fall asleep. She doesn't know if it's the alcohol, the ginger cola, or some other secret reason.
She just couldn't sleep.
"Chen Zhiyu." Qiao Xi spoke softly, with a hint of probing.
"Um."
Did you know that the release of prolactin and melatonin can help you sleep?
The two lay quietly on a bed in a quiet, dark room, where the air seemed to freeze.
However, the next second, Chen Zhiyu suddenly turned around and broke the silence, his deep gaze fixed on Qiao Xi.
Through the darkness, Josh felt an undeniable sense of oppression as the blurry silhouette gradually approached her.
The tangible air, carrying a surge of heat, pressed down on her, her heart raced, and her hands, hidden under the covers, clasped together.
Chen Zhiyu, who had turned over, continued his actions, almost pressing down on her, his hot breath hitting Qiao Xi's face.
The soft rustling of the bedding sounded like a series of impatient drumbeats. She felt her hints were bold and obvious enough. Josh's heart pounded uncontrollably, as if it were about to leap out of her throat. Tension overwhelmed her like a tidal wave, the oppressive feeling growing ever stronger until she could no longer bear it and closed her eyes.
However, the next second, the blanket on the right side was tucked in, and the oppressive feeling suddenly disappeared.
Josh opened her eyes and saw Chen Zhiyu turn around again, leaving her with a silent back view.
"Don't provoke me."
The voice was cold and helpless.
...
Chen Zhiyu tossed and turned, unable to sleep, and finally fell asleep very late. Meanwhile, the person who had instigated the trouble dropped the fuse that had just been lit, ruthlessly abandoning him, and quickly drifted off to sleep.
Chen Zhiyu closed his eyes, suppressing his surging emotions, and finally fell asleep after a long time. When he opened his eyes the next day, the curtains were only slightly ajar, and the outside world was gray and gloomy, without a ray of sunlight.
It's still early.
He turned around and looked over; the other side of the bed was empty, Josh was no longer there, only a trace of warmth remained. Just as he was about to get up to look for her, Josh came out of the bathroom. He wanted to say hello, but the second thing he saw was Josh holding a phone and making a call.
After asking something over the phone, Josh replied casually, "I'm not going." She spoke softly on the phone, glancing out of the corner of her eye at Chen Zhiyu, who was awake, waving at her.
Josh walked to the bedside and placed his hand on it.
Chen Zhiyu squinted and took Qiao Xi's hand. Feeling his fingertips being gently kneaded, he squeezed back, his palm enveloping the softness.
Because of the final exams, Chen Zhiyu had been studying intensely. After finishing his last exam yesterday afternoon, he rushed over to spend the holiday with Qiao Xi, which took a lot of energy. Now his head was spinning, and he felt like he wanted to go back to sleep.
It's still early, not even eight o'clock yet, there's still time.
Just as Chen Zhiyu was about to drift off to sleep amidst the whispers in his ear, he heard someone above him say, "Hmm, my boyfriend is here. You guys have fun."
Chen Zhiyu opened his eyes wide, the dazed look in them instantly disappearing.
The call was from my colleague Xiao Yao. We finally got a day off, and since it's not convenient to go home anyway, several colleagues were clamoring in the group chat to go out shopping and eating. They had a full schedule planned from morning till night.
After eating local food for several months, they wanted to try something different. While searching around, they found a particularly famous iron pot stew restaurant, a chain store.
Everyone got more and more excited as they chatted, and many responded, but Josh was the only one who didn't show up in the group, so they called to ask.
Josh hadn't had iron pot stew for quite a while. She loved the steamed buns from this iron pot stew restaurant the most. She had eaten it with a few colleagues in Hengcheng last time, and she ate three by herself.
But after careful consideration, taking into account the time to get ready, go out, go shopping, and eat, it would be time for Chen Zhiyu to leave soon, so he declined.
Yesterday, Josh forgot to charge his phone. He let go of Chen Zhiyu's hand and turned to the charging port near the sofa to charge his phone. After finishing everything, he turned around to speak, only to see that Chen Zhiyu, who had been lying on the bed, had sat up straight.
Completely different from last night, Chen Zhiyu's eyes were sparkling, and he looked energetic, as if he could obediently run home if given a bone.
"What's going on?"
Like a well-behaved puppy that's been stroked gently.
Is it not going to sleep?
"I've ordered breakfast. I'll go wash up first, and then we'll get ready to eat."
Chen Zhiyu obediently followed orders.
Fearing they'd be too rushed, they decided against going out. Since they were together, it didn't matter where they were. After getting up, Josh first ordered some fresh fruit online, then placed an order for breakfast. They figured having breakfast there would allow them to spend more time together.
The breakfast delivery arrived first, and the fruit only came after the two of them had leisurely finished their breakfast.
Josh bought some kiwis and cherries. He figured the temperature outside wasn't high, and the fruit was still chilly when it arrived. Chen Zhiyu took the fruit from the deliveryman and went straight to the kitchen.
The two of them were at home with nothing to do, so they decided to watch a movie to pass the time and have some fruit as dessert.
The red and green fruits were neatly arranged on the fruit plate.
The movie has started.
Josh moved the blanket to the sofa to cover his lower body. When he caught sight of the tall figure out of the corner of his eye, he moved over and patted the empty space next to him.
Chen Zhiyu placed the fruit plate on the coffee table in front of the sofa, stretched out his long legs, crossed them high, and sat back on the sofa listlessly, obediently keeping her company while watching the movie.
This is a comedy movie.
Josh had no intention of going out. Her hair was tied up casually and looked messy, but she didn't care at all. She tilted her head and focused intently on the movie screen.
Chen Zhiyu watched with her for a while, then put his legs down, bent down slightly, and used his long arms to pick up the fruit plate containing fruit on the coffee table. He then picked up the stem of a cherry and put it directly to her mouth.
The movie was at a thrilling moment, and Josh was completely absorbed, hugging her knees. A blurry figure appeared in her vision, but her upper body didn't move. She simply opened her mouth and precisely ate a cherry before returning to her original position.
All that was left in his hand was a lonely stem. Chen Zhiyu lowered his eyes, a smile playing on his lips. He casually twirled the tender green fruit stem in his hand before tossing it into the trash can.
This movie has a lot of funny scenes. Josh hasn't seen it yet, but he was constantly amused and laughed so hard that he was falling over. Sometimes he would fall to the other side, and sometimes he would lean on the hard shoulder of the person next to him.
Chen Zhiyu, standing beside her, witnessed the entire sequence of actions. He stared at her profile for a moment, lost in thought, before looking away and lowering his gaze, seemingly pondering something. He then turned his attention to the cherries in the fruit plate, picking one and offering it to her lips.
As usual, Josh tentatively hooked her tongue onto the fruit, opened her mouth, and ate it. As she bit down, the corner of her lips brushed against her rough fingertips, touching and then quickly separating. She rarely detached herself from the plot, still sucking on the sweet and sour taste, "You eat some too."
The soft, warm touch burned his fingertips. Chen Zhiyu's thumb trembled, and he mumbled a response as he reached out and picked up another one from the plate to feed her, his eyes fixed on her: "You eat first."
This time, however, she didn't let go of the cherries.
Until you feel warmth and moisture, then slowly move away along the edge.
The burning gazes were like swimming fish, unrestrained and naked.
Josh was startled by his bold move, staring at him with wide eyes, his lips half-open, momentarily forgetting to chew.
Why aren't you eating?
"Huh?" Josh hadn't come to his senses yet.
"Then it's my turn to eat."
Chen Zhiyu moved with lightning speed, reaching out to grab Qiao Xi's waist and lifting her up.
Josh was forced to straighten his upper body, and didn't even have time to open his mouth to answer.
The nimble tongue accurately tasted the fruit pulp.
The comedic scenes on TV continue.
Chen Zhiyu's hand kept shifting.
The subtle sweetness of the fruit lingered between my lips and teeth.
Loud background music drowned out the soft murmurs. Josh's lips parted slightly, his knees limply resting on the soft sofa cushions as he leaned closer to him.
Noticing that the other woman was avoiding his gaze, Chen Zhiyu grabbed Qiao Xi's chin with his other hand, forcing her to look directly at him. The two were only a fist's distance apart and could see each other clearly.
He almost lost control. He quickly pulled the person into his arms, took a few quick steps, and came to the bedside.
The curtains, which had just been drawn open, were closed again.
The movie, which no one cares about, continues to play:
The once calm sea was suddenly engulfed in a storm. On the boundless sea, stretching as far as the eye could see, a lone boat lost its way in the raging winds and towering waves, left to be tossed about by the waves at will.
Wave after wave crashed fiercely against the small boat, battering its fragile hull and preventing it from reaching the shore.
The ship was still struggling to sail, and at one point it lost control of the surging waves, tossing and turning and unable to land on solid ground.
The raging waves continued to roll and churn.
…
The movie was nearing its end, and the tide was still rising, creating snowflake-like waves. Just then, the hurricane suddenly reversed course, successfully propelling the tide forward.
The ship has finally reached the shore.
[Author's Note]
I don't know what went wrong. Sometimes when I write a new chapter, I have to read the previous chapters, and I feel like they're really bad, no wonder nobody reads them. My mindset has definitely been affected.
I don't have any writing partners, either in real life or online. Please allow me to ramble on for a little while. I hope it won't affect your reading experience.
Okay~
Thank you for reading. (Kiss version) There will be another update on November 10th, I won't abandon it.
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