Chapter Fifty-Four Seduction
Lin Yu had ended the video call and was sitting at the dining table waiting for dinner. When she looked up, she saw Jiang Chuan standing at the top of the stairs, his gaze fixed on her. She smiled and waved to him. "Come on, the dumplings are getting cold."
Jiang Chuan walked down the steps and sat down beside her. The clock hands quietly slid toward 11:30, firecrackers went off one after another outside the window, and the Spring Festival Gala host on TV was giving New Year's greetings.
Liu Wenbin's raised glass suddenly stopped, his gaze falling on the prominent scar on Jiang Chuan's arm. "Oh, Xiao Jiang, this scar..." he shook his head in annoyance. "Uncle kept urging me to drink, really..."
Jiang Chuan casually clinked his glass with his and downed his drink in one gulp. "Uncle, it's just a minor injury, nothing serious."
Lin Yu guiltily poured vinegar into Jiang Chuan's dish, feeling that his deliberate act of showing his wound in front of his elders was truly malicious. "Uncle, he's resilient, don't worry!" Before she could finish speaking, Lin Min slapped her arm with a chopstick.
After a few rounds of drinks, Lin Min subtly took away Jiang Chuan's wine glass and replaced it with a glass of sugar water infused with cucumber slices. "If you can't refuse social engagements outside, don't try to be a hero at home."
Lin Yu keenly noticed the words "at home" and couldn't help but bite her chopsticks as she looked at her mother. She saw that her mother's eyes were full of genuine care when she looked at Jiang Chuan, the kind of caring look that was usually reserved for her only daughter.
After eating dumplings and cleaning up the kitchen, Lin Min helped the slightly tipsy Liu Wenbin back to his room. As she closed the door, she peeked out and told Lin Yu to take good care of Jiang Chuan.
Lin Yu rummaged through the depths of the bathroom cabinet and pulled out brand-new toiletries, shoving them into Jiang Chuan's arms. "We need to get up early to visit relatives for the New Year tomorrow, so I'll wash up first, and you can come in when I'm done." With that, he slipped into the bathroom and locked the door on his side with a click.
Jiang Chuan changed into her pajamas and slowly strolled through Lin Yu's bedroom, savoring the memories of her childhood there. Every detail in this space, which held so many of her childhood memories, exuded a sense of warmth and familiarity.
His gaze swept across the desk and stopped in front of the dusty photo album on the opposite bookshelf.
The sound of running water came from the bathroom. Jiang Chuan carefully took down the photo album and sat on the edge of the bed to flip through it. The corners of the photos were slightly yellowed, recording moments of Lin Yu's growth, from when she was wearing open-crotch pants all the way to her middle school graduation.
She was adorable as a child, with a round face full of collagen and eyes brimming with the bright, carefree smile of summer. Jiang Chuan carefully flipped through the pages, his gaze lingering on one particular one.
The child in the photo is only five or six years old, with two high braids, the ends of which are curled into playful loops and secured with sunflower hair ties, revealing a round and shiny forehead. A pale yellow crew-neck sweater is tucked into black penguin-patterned overalls.
She was a tiny little ball, leaning against the white wardrobe in the living room, her little hands mimicking a penguin's outstretched arms, her fingertips curled up, her almond-shaped eyes squinting, her lips pursed in a smile, and the dimple on her left cheek appearing and disappearing.
Most of the photos were taken before Lin Yu's parents divorced, and the photographer was presumably his future father-in-law, whom he had never met. Without thinking, he pulled the photos out of the album, ran his fingertips over Lin Yu's smiling face in the photos, examined them for a moment under the overhead light, and then put them in his wallet.
A photograph slipped out of the album and landed face down on the floor. Jiang Chuan bent down, picked it up, and turned it over in his hand.
The Polaroid film, thick and substantial, was discreetly tucked away at the very back of the bookshelf, clashing with the overall style of the album.
The photo was taken at night, some years ago. The photography skills were questionable, and the image was overexposed, but it still clearly showed Lin Yu's brightly smiling face and the strange boy next to her with his cheek pressed against hers.
He held the photo between two fingers, glancing at it unconsciously a couple more times. On the blank back, in an unpretentious but stylish handwriting, were written: Chen Guang & Lin Yu, 2013.
He immediately recognized that it wasn't Lin Yu's handwriting. After staring at it for a while, he easily memorized the name and the overly sunny and refined face.
Steam filled the bathroom. Lin Yu spat out the toothpaste foam, untied his hair tie, hummed a song, and tested the bathtub water temperature. Just as his fingers hooked onto the hem of his clothes and rolled it up, the door to his bedroom was suddenly pushed open.
She let go of his hand and turned around abruptly, her clothes falling back to her waist. There she saw Jiang Chuan leaning against the doorframe, looking at her through the white steam rising from the bathroom, a half-smile on his face.
Lin Yu's ears burned as he realized that he had only locked the door on his side of the room, not expecting that he would come in through the door on his side of the bedroom.
She was caught in a dilemma, both annoyed by his intrusive behavior and secretly relieved that she wasn't naked in the bathtub yet.
Lin Yu grew angrier the more he thought about it. He rushed forward, grabbed Jiang Chuan's arm, and tried to push him away. But Jiang Chuan suddenly grabbed Lin Yu's waist and lifted him up, sending him flying into the air and landing on his backside on the washing machine by the door.
Before she could even utter a cry of alarm, Lin Yu pressed her hand back into his. Furious, she pounded Jiang Chuan's shoulder with her fist, scolding him in a low voice, "Are you crazy? My mom and the others are still down there!"
Jiang Chuan braced himself on his arms beside her, trapping her between the washing machine and himself. He looked up at her with an innocent expression. "We didn't do anything, what are you afraid of, Banban?" he said, then deliberately pinched her soft waist.
Lin Yu forcefully slapped away Jiang Chuan's mischievous fingers, but Jiang Chuan seized the opportunity and pinned him firmly to the washing machine lid. Lin Yu was terrified, and his legs unconsciously parted, allowing Jiang Chuan to immediately push in.
The humid heat of the bathroom, mixed with the faint smell of alcohol on his body, made one feel dizzy from the excessive closeness.
Lin Yu looked down at Jiang Chuan from his high vantage point, shrouded in the shadow he had created. His gaze as he looked up at her carried a hint of barely perceptible devotion.
"Are you drunk? Put me down!" She struggled in vain against her restrained wrists.
Jiang Chuan leaned closer, his breath hot against her chin, and abruptly changed the subject, asking, "Was it that coal mine owner who brought you back that day?" Despite his lower position, he still exuded a domineering and oppressive aura.
Jiang Chuan had asked Lin Yu this question once when she was drunk, but she had completely forgotten about it when she woke up the next day.
At this moment, Lin Yu suddenly realized that Jiang Chuan had been holding a grudge about everything that night. She gasped and instantly understood why he had lost his composure that day.
Lin Yu involuntarily shrank back, her fingertips tightening in Jiang Chuan's palm, afraid that her drunkenness would shatter his usual facade. "He just saw that I had a few drinks and offered to give me a ride home."
"You had another man take you home to my place, Lin Yu?" Lin Yu felt Jiang Chuan's pupils shrink into dangerous slits, his posture one of predation, clearly dissatisfied with his answer. "Would you also like to invite him upstairs for coffee?"
"How could that be? I deliberately made him stop at the nearby intersection." As soon as she said it, Lin Yu suddenly felt a little strange. She and Jiang Chuan clearly had no relationship. Her explanation sounded like a cheating wife confessing to her husband.
She cleared her throat awkwardly, trying to regain the initiative. "He's just an ordinary colleague at the design institute. When he first joined, he tried to get in touch with me through the director, but I refused. It's that simple, don't overthink it."
A flicker of pleasure crossed Jiang Chuan's eyes. He loved seeing Lin Yu's flustered explanations to him, as if she cared deeply for him. His expression softened as he cupped her chin with his thumb and rubbed her burning earlobe. "Is he still bothering you?"
These words suddenly reminded Lin Yu of the exceptionally resilient flowers Jiang Chuan had sent to her company before the holiday. "Those flowers of yours! If you lined them up, they could circle the entire design institute, and now not even a male fly will stay far away from me!"
The gloom in Jiang Chuan's eyes finally dissipated completely, and a meaningful smile appeared on his lips. His fingertips reached towards Lin Yu's collar, lingering on her delicate, snow-white neck. "Has the mark on your back disappeared?"
Lin Yu was taken aback, then realized he was referring to the marks left from the cupping therapy. But she didn't notice or care; after all, it was the dead of winter, and no one but herself would see them. Besides, she didn't have the habit of admiring her back in the mirror while showering.
Lin Yu stared at him, completely baffled as to why this person was suddenly concerned about this. "I don't know!"
Jiang Chuan, however, persisted. "It was quite obvious last time I saw her, let me see!" With that, he hooked a single finger around her collar and gently pulled it down.
Lin Yu wasn't wearing a bra, and hurriedly used her free hand to cover her neckline tightly. She didn't delve into which time Jiang Chuan meant by "last time."
"What are you looking at? Get away! Are you addicted to being a hooligan?" Lin Yu kicked Jiang Chuan's shin in a fit of rage, like a kitten with its fur standing on end, but Jiang Chuan dodged it with ease, and the smile in his eyes grew even deeper.
Jiang Chuan didn't insist any further. He put his hands back on either side of the washing machine, leaned closer, and said accommodatingly, "You don't have to look. Just call me 'brother,' and I'll put you down!" His tone was blatantly mocking.
The drunken Jiang Chuan became exceptionally difficult to deal with, much to Lin Yu's annoyance. But he dared not struggle, fearing the noise would be overheard by Lin Min and Liu Wenbin downstairs, so he could only whisper a scolding: "Who's calling you 'brother'? You're a pervert!"
Jiang Chuan tilted his head, feigning ignorance, and looked at Lin Yu. "What's wrong with calling me 'brother'? Is your brother a pervert?" With that, he tightened his arms around her uneasy, wriggling waist.
Jiang Chuan's words were like a fire ignited in Lin Yu, making her flush red all over. Although she was an only child, she did have two older brothers, but they didn't interact much on a daily basis, and their relationship was completely innocent.
But Jiang Chuan's words made it seem as if they were hiding some unspeakable secret. This gave Lin Yu a strange sense of immorality, as if uttering those two words would subject her to a moral trial and imprisonment for ten or eight years.
The open door hung like a Damocles' sword over her head. Jiang Chuan's tightening arms and his breath so close to her mouth proclaimed that if she didn't say those two words today, he would definitely make a commotion so everyone could hear.
After a long stalemate, Lin Yu finally gave in, blushing and muttering something under his breath.
"Brother! Put me down quickly."
The voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, yet it was amplified with extraordinary clarity in the confined space. He felt as if a powerful electric current had instantly pierced his body, a surge of heat shooting from the back of his head to the top of his head, but his face remained expressionless. "What? Didn't you hear me?"
Lin Yu glared at him, embarrassed and annoyed. "You clearly heard me, how could you be so mean!" She said, her expression a mix of reproach and anger, yet also a charmingly innocent look.
"If you truly understood me," Jiang Chuan chuckled, his fingertips tracing her burning earlobe, "you'd discover that I'm far worse than you think!"
His palm slowly slid down her taut spine, caressing her lower back intimately. "Want me to kiss you?" He gently pressed Lin Yu's body towards him, stopping at a distance where their breaths could touch. "Come here if you want!"
Jiang Chuan's gaze made Lin Yu feel as if she were completely naked. She shook her head helplessly and asked in bewilderment, "Why do you always try to seduce me?" Her expression was full of contradictory feelings of wanting to refuse and welcoming.
Jiang Chuan's lips curled slightly, a dark current surging in his eyes as he fixed intently on Lin Yu's hazy gaze. "If you have no good feelings towards me, then you shouldn't have provoked me in the first place!"
"It's too late to regret it now, Banban." His voice blended into the fireworks that suddenly exploded outside the window, but every word clearly struck Lin Yu's heart.
"I've said it before, I've never been a gentleman!"
Jiang Chuan suddenly released his grip, and in the process, grabbed Lin Yu's wrist and pulled him towards the back of his neck. Lin Yu's fingertips touched a patch of burning skin, and he was pulled into a fiery embrace.
He finally tore away the last bit of pretense, his lips and tongue, reeking of alcohol, plunged in, the low, hoarse sound fading between their pressed lips.
"Happy New Year."
This kiss was more ferocious than any before. Lin Yu glanced at the golden fireworks exploding outside the window, his teeth were pried open, and in the dizziness of lack of oxygen, he tasted a salty and fishy flavor.
As the clock struck midnight, fireworks lit up the night sky, and the new year arrived amidst a dazzling display of light.
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