Chapter 92 Can we go eat first? Zhu Qingzhi, what do you think...?
Wen Qi complied with her, not insisting on helping, and went upstairs to take a shower and change into clean clothes. He dried his hair and walked into the dressing room, but paused slightly when he opened the wardrobe.
Several different colors have appeared in the otherwise monotonous black, white, and gray shirts. Oatmeal, coffee, and tobacco colors are all relatively neutral.
Matching suits and trousers were also hanging to the side, each with a small color-printed photo on the hanger.
There are many more casual clothes available, each with a unique style, and they all appear to have been carefully selected.
The light in the dressing room poured down gently like water, enveloping everything in a tranquil halo. He stood there, motionless for a long time.
The horizon at dusk was tinged with a rich orange hue, and the flapping wings of birds added a touch of liveliness. There were only six hours left before Zhu Qingzhi left.
Zhu Qingzhi put the last dish into the insulated box, took off her apron, and rushed upstairs to change her clothes.
She had hardly ever been exposed to cooking fumes since she was a child, but now she feels that her eyes, nose, and even the crevices of her fingernails are filled with the pungent smell of smoke, which she can't stand.
Upon entering the master bedroom, she didn't see Wen Qi. She looked around and then noticed him standing on the balcony in his pajamas, seemingly doing nothing.
She had originally planned to go and scare him, but it would take about an hour to get to the airport from here, and with her luggage still unpacked, Zhu Qingzhi suddenly felt that there wasn't enough time.
Forget it, let's get down to business first!
The bathroom still held a lingering warmth and the faint scent of shower gel. Watermarks crisscrossed the mirror, creating a hazy, dreamlike beauty.
Zhu Qingzhi had taken off half of her clothes, but then she remembered that Wen Qi had just taken a shower and went out in the wind, which would make her catch a cold. So she gritted her teeth and put her skirt back on.
Unexpectedly, the door was pulled open from the outside as soon as her hand touched the doorknob. The floor was slippery, and she lost her balance. In a flash, her arm was firmly clamped and held in place by a dry and strong hand.
"Sorry, I didn't know you were there."
There was a faint smell of tobacco on his fingertips, but not on his lips and teeth.
Zhu Qingzhi looked up and met his deep eyes. A few drops of water slid down his hair and dripped onto his collarbone, leaving a winding trail of water.
It had been a long time since I'd seen him, and he seemed to have lost a lot of weight. His thin face had a more defined jawline, and it seemed he had been really tired lately.
Zhu Qingzhi was in a state of unease. After using the support to steady herself, Wen Qi withdrew his hand, and the distance between them was not very close.
She blinked and took a step forward. At the same time, Wen Qi, with his hands behind his back, also stepped back slightly. Zhu Qingzhi grabbed his sleeve and leaned in, asking, "What? You don't like me?"
Wen Qi's expression froze for a moment, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly: "No."
"You're unhappy to see me?"
"no."
"You don't want me to come home? You don't want to see me? I'm affecting you..."
As if in a fit of pique, Zhu Qingzhi kept asking questions one after another.
Suddenly, Wen Qi reached out and hugged her.
All sounds ceased abruptly.
With her forehead pressed against his chest, feeling his heart pound, Zhu Qingzhi nestled in his arms and whispered, "Are you in a bad mood?"
"I'm not in a bad mood, and I don't dislike you at all." Warm breath brushed past my ear, causing a slight tickle. "I'm so happy to see you. I hope to see you every day when I come home."
His voice was low and husky, with a solemnity that seemed to come from the depths of his heart. Zhu Qingzhi gently rubbed her forehead against his chest.
"Are you very tired?" She reached out and hugged him, eagerly inhaling his fresh and sweet scent. "I didn't mean to hide it from you."
Zhu Qingzhi chose to return to Beijing without telling him, genuinely wanting to surprise him, and also genuinely worried that he would overwork himself to get back.
What worries her more is that if something goes wrong with the overseas project and he can't return on time, given Wen Qi's personality, he will definitely blame himself.
She didn't want things to turn out this way, so she figured she might as well finish everything quietly. If he could make it back in time, all would be well; if he couldn't, she wouldn't feel guilty for missing him.
But looking at him now, he's not much better off.
"I'm so happy!" Wen Qi gently rubbed his chin against the top of her head, affectionately and casually. "Suddenly I wish every day was my birthday."
Wen Qi didn't tell Zhu Qingzhi about going to Nancheng last night. Since he had misjudged the situation, there was no need for her to know about this futile trip and feel guilty.
Zhu Qingzhi suddenly looked up and stared at him seriously: "Then you'll never be able to eat fish again." She said each word slowly and deliberately, "Because I don't want to kill fish anymore."
Wen Qi mimicked her serious expression: "Really? You don't want to play an assassin anymore?"
“I’ll act it out,” Zhu Qingzhi replied seriously. “I’ll practice on you later.”
After saying that, she broke free from his embrace, pressed his shoulder and pushed Wen Qi out, closing the door without a trace of hesitation. "I can't take it anymore, I need to take a shower!"
Across the door, Wen Qi's voice sounded distant: "Aren't you going to eat first?"
"Take a shower, change your clothes, and then eat!"
Zhu Qingzhi first turned on the shower, and the warm water splashed down, drizzling and quickly rising into a misty fog.
Then she pulled off the hair tie, and her long hair cascaded down like an ink-black waterfall, with a few strands playfully clinging to her smooth neck. She then quickly took off her skirt and threw it into the laundry basket.
The door lock clicked softly as my fingertips touched the bra clasp.
The bathroom was filled with dappled light and mist, which outlined her slender profile. Crystal-clear water droplets fell on her smooth shoulders and quietly slid down her graceful back.
Wen Qi closed the door behind him, his gaze calmly sweeping over her wet hair before finally settling on her slightly widened eyes.
Zhu Qingzhi crossed her arms, her eyes carrying a strange interrogative tone: "What are you going to do?"
"I didn't mean anything by it, just wanted to wash my hands." Wen Qi turned on the tap, leaning lazily against the wall with his right shoulder, looking completely at ease.
The water flowed through his slender fingers, but his gaze remained openly fixed on her.
The misty steam swirled between the two, blurring his features somewhat, but his deep eyes remained remarkably clear.
Wow, he calls this... "washing hands"? Huh? How can he be so shameless?!
Zhu Qingzhi stepped into the shower and tested the water temperature with her hand: "You go outside to shower, I'm in a hurry!"
Wen Qi obeyed and turned off the tap on the sink, but he didn't intend to leave.
His voice sounded as if it had been soaked in water, with a slightly sticky, viscous quality: "I've packed my luggage, canceled my flight, and applied for a private flight tonight, so it won't delay your return to work tomorrow morning."
Zhu Qingzhi slowed down her movements as she adjusted the water temperature, and two symmetrical question marks slowly rose in her eyes.
"Also, I'm on vacation this week, so I'll go with you."
Zhu Qingzhi exclaimed in surprise, "Huh?"
Taking vacation right after a business trip? Is it because you're in a bad mood? Or did you have a setback at work?
Wen Qi suddenly approached, but his gaze didn't fall on her. Instead, it went over her shoulder: "Your hands smell of smoke. Could you please hand me some shower gel?"
Zhu Qingzhi was still in shock at Wen Qi's sudden leave of absence. She subconsciously turned around to grab the shower gel from the shelf, but as she handed it over, she seemed to realize something and withdrew her hand.
"You just said..." Water droplets rolled down her eyelashes, and her confused eyes met Wen Qi's. "What do you need shower gel for?"
"Wash your hands." He said without changing his expression, but his breathing became noticeably heavier. "To get rid of the smell of smoke."
Zhu Qingzhi finally realized what was happening, feeling both annoyed and amused: "Use shower gel to wash your hands? There's hand soap on the sink!"
"Mmm." He answered matter-of-factly, his gaze finally shifting from the shower gel bottle to her face. "I like using shower gel, is that a problem?"
A few drops of water slid down his jawline and into his soaked collar, highlighting his disheveled and broken appearance. Zhu Qingzhi suddenly felt a pang of tenderness and naturally didn't mind his unusual quirk.
"Okay." She handed him the shower gel, her hot palm rubbing against the back of Wen Qi's hand. "Give it to me quickly after you're done washing, I need to take a shower! Are you sure this shower gel is better?"
He took the bottle, his fingertips tracing the pump head, but he hesitated to press it. The only sounds in the bathroom were the dripping of water and their intertwined breaths.
"Not sure." He suddenly released the shower gel, reached out and turned off the shower. In the silence of the sudden stop of the water, his deep voice was particularly clear. "So, I may need to shower a few more times."
The moment the words left her lips, Wen Qi had already taken half a step forward. Zhu Qingzhi instinctively stepped back, her smooth back pressing against the cool tiles, sending a shiver down her spine.
He reached out and braced himself against the wall beside her ear, trapping her in a small space. Beneath her soaked pajamas, the taut lines of his muscles were faintly visible, rising and falling slightly with his breath.
"You..." Zhu Qingzhi was about to speak when she saw him suddenly lean down.
His restrained, burning breath brushed against her neck, and he actually remained in that position, slowly and methodically pressing the pump head with the bottle of shower gel she had just handed him.
The milky white liquid fell into his palm, where he gently rubbed it to create delicate foam, and the fragrance of roses filled the humid air.
Zhu Qingzhi stared at his long, slender fingers covered in foam, and her heart skipped a beat. This man was clearly being unreasonable, yet he maintained a serious demeanor; it was a shame he wasn't in the entertainment industry.
Just as she was about to retort, he suddenly offered her his foam-covered palm: "This is your scent, and it's also my scent."
The movement was so sudden that Zhu Qingzhi was caught off guard and leaned back slightly, but the back of her head gently bumped into his palm, which he had prepared in advance. He had already calculated every possible reaction she might have.
The delicate scent of foam lingered in her nostrils. She looked up and met his deep eyes, catching a fleeting smile beneath the seemingly calm surface of the deep sea.
"Wen Qi!" She finally found her voice, tinged with embarrassment and annoyance, "You were clearly..."
"What?" He raised an eyebrow, deliberately pushing his foam-covered fingertips forward a little more, almost touching her nose.
Water droplets dripped between them, forming small puddles at their feet, and the sweet scent of shower gel grew stronger.
"You're being shameless." She finally finished speaking, but her voice unconsciously softened.
Wen Qi stared at her flushed cheeks, then suddenly grabbed her wrist.
"Yes." He admitted frankly, his deep voice carrying a rare tenderness. "So, are you going to indulge me?"
Almost the instant Wen Qi finished saying, "Are you going to indulge me?", Zhu Qingzhi suddenly stood on tiptoe and kissed his lips.
Unexpectedly, her soft arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him down to deepen the kiss.
Wen Qi's hand, which was braced against the wall, tightened slightly, his knuckles turning white. He closed his eyes, letting her explore him awkwardly but earnestly.
Water droplets slid down their pressed cheeks, making it impossible to tell whose was whose.
Only when she felt his breathing become increasingly rapid did Zhu Qingzhi step back slightly, pressing her forehead against his.
“Like this,” she said, slightly out of breath, a sly glint in her eyes, “that’s what you call indulgence.”
Wen Qi didn't answer, but kissed her again.
This time it was deeper, more tender. His eyes grew darker, and he finally abandoned all restraint, cradling the back of her neck, their skin pressed together, every inch clamoring for further.
The showerhead had been turned on again, and warm water flowed down the curves of the two people who were pressed together.
Whether it was the water being too hot or an unbearable reaction triggered by her body, Zhu Qingzhi was in a daze, her consciousness in a blur.
The sound of water droplets hitting and splashing continued in her ears, and she vaguely saw fine ripples spreading on the surface of the water that had accumulated on the ground, stirring up her already limited rationality.
Her voice was soft, trembling slightly without her realizing it: "Could we... go eat first?"
"Zhu Qingzhi, look at me." Wen Qi's voice was extremely low and hoarse, each word sounding like he was trying his best to restrain himself from the edge of desire.
"......Um?"
His breathing was heavy, and his hot breath brushed against her lips: "Look carefully at what I'm doing right now."
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Author's note: Kiyoshi [resting her chin on her hand]: I don't know either.
Wen Qi [starry-eyed]: Hmm. Not hungry.
Ah Mei [doge emoji]: I don't know why either.
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