49 Chapter Forty-Eight
◎Li Yingqiao, I just can't sleep. ◎
...
The room was quiet, the curtains were drawn, and in the dim light there were faint pecking sounds, like the almost inaudible fluttering of butterflies, short but delicate and frequent.
At first, Li Yingqiao tentatively touched his lips with her own, her eyes open. Seeing that he didn't resist, she closed her eyes and began to kiss him gently. After each kiss, she would pause, as if savoring a piece of candy that she had licked once but had left for a long time, unsure if it was still delicious.
As they kissed, they both burst into laughter.
Nose to nose, their breaths were hot enough to burn charcoal. Yu Jinyang felt like he was in a steamer, his chest burning hot, the heat rushing to his head. He turned his head slightly and said in a hoarse voice, "Wait, I'm going to sweat."
Li Yingqiao, however, turned his face towards her and, without a word, sealed his lips with hers again. This time, the kiss was firm and urgent. Her tongue even forcefully slipped into his mouth, catching Yu Jinyang off guard and pinning him down. The force of her lips was urgent and fierce. He no longer resisted, finally reaching out to pull her close, letting her rest against his chest. Leaning back on the sofa, he cradled the back of her head in his hands and gently kissed her soothingly.
Somehow, she was calmed down and slowly returned his kisses, following his rhythm. After a moment, the long, uneven breathing filled the room again, this time more harmonious and tender. They were no longer biting each other like dogs, haphazardly and without any rhythm.
But some people's hands started to get restless, and soon they lifted the hem of his T-shirt and asked him to take it off.
While being kissed by her, Yu Jinyang could only hold her hand down, his breath coming in short gasps, but he still said in a steady tone that he couldn't.
Li Yingqiao stopped and looked at him in confusion: "Yu Jinyang, things are already like this. You still..."
Yu Jinyang looked at her with a complicated expression, so he had to be more explicit: "You can kiss me if you want, but nothing else. I don't have that habit, especially since we're just friends. I came upstairs with you because downstairs, your eyes told me that if I didn't agree, you would never come to see me again, right?"
Li Yingqiao was speechless for a moment. Just downstairs, she had indeed considered that if he refused this time, she probably wouldn't contact him again. She planned to deliver the disability certificate to him tomorrow.
Yu Jinyang knew all too well how stubborn she was. At the end of last year, after returning to China to handle some family matters, he went to the mountainous area of G province before the Chinese New Year to deliver forty boxes of stationery, schoolbags, sports equipment, and winter coats to Liang Mei's students, filling two trucks to the brim. But the mountain road was so narrow that it almost broke off the truck's rearview mirror, and he had to ask someone to help him switch the tricycles several times along the way.
Zhu Xiaoliang brought seven or eight older boys to meet him at the village entrance, and the two of them almost didn't recognize each other. After all the things were moved inside, he stood in front of Zhu Xiaoliang for a long time before Zhu Xiaoliang belatedly gestured the height difference between them and said in surprise, "You're Yu Jinyang? You've grown so tall now? Is that little pastry almost two meters tall?"
In contrast, Zhu Xiaoliang, apart from being a bit too thin with high cheekbones, seemed to have shrunk in height, and his whole body was as dark as a dried sausage.
The patch of yellow mud behind them was the basketball court where the students had their PE classes. Both basketball hoops were carved out by Zhu Xiaoliang from tree stumps found on the hill behind the school, and the rims were made from red-hot wire twisted together. In the phone call confirming his arrival, Zhu Xiaoliang had repeatedly emphasized that the conditions there were very limited and he definitely wouldn't be comfortable. He even told him not to come unless absolutely necessary. It was only after Yu Jinyang said he was coming on behalf of his father to deliver some donated supplies that Zhu Xiaoliang finally agreed.
Yu Jinyang's legs hadn't even gotten tired from carrying things when his nose started to sting. He forced a rusty smile and said, "Teacher Zhu, it's been a long time."
Zhu Xiaoliang straightened his frayed sweater, forced an embarrassed smile, and didn't even dare to reach out and pull him. He pointed the way and said, "Come on, Teacher Liang knew you were coming, so she specially made some of your favorite dishes."
Liang Mei's cooking skills were taught to her by Li Shuli. During their senior year of high school, the academic pressure increased, but Liang Mei's cooking skills showed no improvement. Seeing Li Yingqiao's increasingly thin face, Ms. Shuli came to Liang Mei's door with large and small pots and pans, saying, "You take care of teaching, and I'll take care of cooking for the children." Only then did Liang Mei realize that frying the crucian carp until golden brown and then mashing it all before stewing it in the soup makes it more nutritious.
Liang Mei hadn't changed much; she was still thin and her hair was still neatly combed. Only her temperament had become more subdued. She used to have a fiery temper, but now she seemed like a burnt incense stick, half-burnt, with only a half-burnt stick remaining. She chatted with Yu Jinyang for a long time, almost every day, talking to him for hours on end.
He stayed there for almost a week. Zhu Xiaoliang encouraged him to teach the children to play ball, and until the day he left, after Yu Jinyang and Baba had tugged at his clothes to say goodbye to all the children, Liang Mei suddenly grabbed his car window and asked, "...How is Li Yingqiao now?"
He also learned that she and Liang Mei had never met in all these years.
Having learned from so many past mistakes, he knew how stubborn she was. She had previously said they were only suited to be friends, and then she rarely contacted him again, giving him the cold shoulder for many days.
He knew that if he refused again, she would never contact him again. So he decided to come up anyway, but his bottom line was clear. Yu Jinyang, quite perceptively, stood up, picked up the blanket that had fallen during their kiss, looked down at her one last time to confirm, and asked, "Do we still need to talk?"
Li Yingqiao looked up at him intently without saying a word.
Downstairs just now, she genuinely hadn't thought much of it; she just wanted to show him the document about prosthetics, hoping it might be helpful to Uncle Yu. But his behavior just now infuriated her, as if she only wanted to sleep with him, and that he was the only gentleman who made her a female bully?
So she couldn't resist wanting to provoke him. Since he was already thinking this way, she figured she might as well confirm his guilt. But he didn't shy away; in fact, he responded so enthusiastically. So what was wrong with her going along with it?
Li Yingqiao watched as he casually draped the blanket over the sofa armrest. She had just finished showering and hadn't put on lipstick, only a thick layer of lip balm.
His lips were also moist, glistening with moisture; even the most upright and dignified scholar has his share of rouge. But the calmer and more restrained Yu Jinyang appeared, the more pleased she felt inside, though she also said with a hint of dissatisfaction, "Fine, then I'm the only womanizer I know. I'm going back to my room to face the wall. Do as you please."
Yu Jinyang immediately stepped aside to block her view, his eyes as calm as a deep pool, and said, "...You know perfectly well that's not what I meant."
Li Yingqiao scoffed, "Isn't that exactly what you mean by your attitude? I can tell."
Yu Jinyang looked down at her without speaking, finally giving in. He then raised his arm and covered her eyes with his palm. The dry, warm palm made Li Yingqiao instinctively close her eyes as well. Just as she was about to ask what he was doing, he asked her a few questions slowly and deliberately.
"How many employees does your company have?"
Li Yingqiao thought for a moment and said without hesitation, "Twenty-three."
"Where is your department?"
She answered fluently: "There are four so far. Including Zhao Pingnan, who will be returning from Qingyi soon, there are five."
"What's the name of my friend from Chicago?"
"Zhong Su."
"Who was that guy downstairs who was playing basketball with me just now?"
"Sun Taihe".
Yu Jinyang felt her eyelashes tremble slightly in his palm. She was unusually obedient and patient. He asked again, "What color is my hair today?"
"Black."
"So what color pants should I wear today?"
“Gray.” She said it almost without thinking.
His hand suddenly withdrew, and he didn't ask any more questions. Li Yingqiao then opened her eyes and saw Yu Jinyang staring at her with a half-smile. She subconsciously glanced at him from bottom to top—yes, it was true. Gray work pants, black…
Just as Li Yingqiao was about to pat her chest and say, "Don't I have eagle eyes?", her pupils suddenly dilated: "Huh? You got a haircut? And you dyed it too."
Yu Jinyang, with one hand in his pocket, feigned displeasure and frowned, but his tone was quite calm as he raised his chin and said, "Is there anything else you want to argue about, Ms. Li Yingqiao? Let me make it clear beforehand, I don't mean anything by it, I just want you to see the facts."
Li Yingqiao was naturally unconvinced: "You dyed it chestnut brown! Who would notice? And it's the same hair salon? Yu Jinyang, you're really something. You only learn from your mistakes, and there are still a few strands that are pure black. No way, I'll go and fight for your rights tomorrow."
After saying that, she mentally cursed herself. No wonder she thought he suddenly looked so much more handsome downstairs; he'd gone to get a haircut. Yu Jinyang really suited this clean-cut, tousled style. His face didn't need much embellishment; the simpler it was, the sharper and more mature his features became, adding a rare touch of coldness to his brows, further highlighting the divine artistry of the goddess Nuwa. Putting everything else aside, in terms of appearance alone, he had a winning hand.
Yu Jinyang was just joking to tease her. Seeing that she was really getting angry, he decided to get even angrier, since their relationship was already as bad as it could get: "But you just don't notice where your attention is, you know that yourself."
Li Yingqiao went to face the wall in silence. Of course, she was still unconvinced. Half an hour later, she sent a message to Yu Jinyang, who had already returned home: "Let's make a bet. If two people tell you tomorrow, 'Yu Jinyang, you actually dyed your hair!' Two, if there are two of them, I'll be your slave, and you can order me around as you please!"
Seeing her so confident tone, Yu Jinyang, who had just finished showering and hadn't even dried his hair yet, leaned against the sink and calmly replied, "...I'll give you a chance to take it back. I'll pretend I didn't see it. You know my status at home since I was little."
There was no reply from them. Half an hour later, they finally responded.
"Pure-hearted dung beetle doing the cha-cha": Just got off the phone with Juan'er. How was it, sprint? Status, bro?
"321": 0.0
Immediately, a "SmithMasai" meme appeared on the other end, full of sarcasm.
Yu Jinyang was about to ask, "Are you and Wu Juan already that close?" when another WeChat message came in quick succession:
The innocent dung beetle hops around: "Don't forget tomorrow at six o'clock. I happen to have no social engagements. Looking forward to your dinner. The password is 0315."
After sending this message, Li Yingqiao was supposed to go handle her work. She had a bunch of emails to reply to and several planning proposals for the scenic area's renovation to review. She should have gotten right back to work, and she didn't usually wait for people to reply to her messages, but today she just couldn't put her phone down, inexplicably wanting to wait for the person on the other end to say goodbye before going to work.
She was certain her adrenaline hadn't subsided tonight; the atmosphere just now had been wonderful. She had always known him to be gentle and reserved, but she hadn't expected his kisses to be so incredibly soothing, miraculously calming the anxiety and gloom that Li Lianfeng had brought her.
What she didn't know was...
Someone is starting to feel anxious and gloomy right now—
"Hey, do you have any friends you can really talk to..."
"Hey, Zhong Su, do you have any female friends you get along with really well, but maybe you cross the line a little... No, not Li Yingqiao, I'm really not close to her. I don't need you to introduce me!"
Midway through the call, Yu Jinyang also searched online: "...Do sexual partners talk about feelings?"
"Hey, Taihe, are you asleep? I can't sleep. Li Yingqiao, I just can't sleep."
"Hey, do you have any friends like that... Gao Dian? Never mind, I dialed the wrong number, go have some fun."
[Author's Note]
Happy summer vacation, kids!!!
To keep you company this joyful summer vacation, the author is writing this with utmost sincerity. [doge][doge]
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