Chapter Fifty-Four
Shen Qianzhan dared not move.
This scene was somewhat reminiscent of a tense wilderness hunt, where the hunter hides behind a tree, then cunningly reveals a pair of eyes concealed beneath a hat brim from within the thicket. She could sense the hunter’s gaze—focused and intense, like the desert at two in the afternoon, where the sand scorches the feet, leaving her nowhere to hide, exposed beneath the barrel of his hunting rifle.
To feign ignorance was the only way to disguise the fear in her heart.
She felt utterly pathetic, yet she dared not provoke him, maintaining her stiff posture of half-kneeling on the edge of the bed.
For a moment, Shen Qianzhan felt as though she were erecting a monument to chastity—her heart yearning, yet forced to suppress its desires to maintain a dignified and graceful demeanor.
But deep within, a voice remained vigilant and alert, like ethereal Buddhist chants in moments of confusion, washing over her in waves.
As the heat within her cooled slightly, Shen Qianzhan lowered her gaze and brought her other leg up, kneeling on the edge of the bed. Her hand, which had been resting on Ji Qinghe’s left shoulder, slid along the line of his shoulder to his shirt.
He wore no tie, yet his buttons were meticulously fastened, all the way to the collar.
Following her heart, she let her hand glide over his shirt, pausing at his chest. Then, her fingertips wandered to the area over his heart, tracing it lightly as she asked, “Is this empty or full?”
“If you want it, it’s empty. In terms of weight, it’s full.” The corners of his eyes lifted slightly, and when his lips pressed together, the curve was as graceful as a swan dipping its neck into water—every detail seemingly measured with precision.
Shen Qianzhan pursed her lips as well. This time, she met Ji Qinghe’s gaze directly, her eyes sharp and unwavering, like a finely honed blade. “You came without a word of warning. Weren’t you afraid I’d be angry?”
“There’s no situation worse than the current stalemate.” He grasped her restless hand and pressed it against his chest. “There’s no signal here. Giving you advance notice would have been too difficult for me.”
“I came to confirm your safety, not with the impure thoughts you’re imagining.” As their eyes met, Ji Qinghe also observed the expression on her face. Her emotional control was nearly flawless, rarely revealing any cracks. Yet, often, the subtlest flicker of her eyes or a deliberately defiant lift of her brow laid her feelings bare.
What a bold man he was.
Who was it, just half an hour ago, who swiped a card and entered her room without a word?
She scoffed, not bothering to hide her strong disapproval of his words.
Footsteps approached from a distance. Shen Qianzhan guessed it was Su Zan and Ming Jue. Her eyes flickered toward the wall, but she didn’t waste the rare, intimate atmosphere. She asked her final question: “Heart or body?”
Ji Qinghe was momentarily taken aback.
According to his expectations, Shen Qianzhan’s third question would either confirm his sincerity or probe relentlessly into his true intentions.
“Heart or body” was an unexpected query, but he didn’t ponder it for long. “I want both.”
Shen Qianzhan didn’t ask if he was serious.
Whether Ji Qinghe was a master of romance or a player with a bag of tricks, the fact that he had changed his flight to Xi’an and come to Wuxi just because her phone was unreachable was enough for her to offer him all the tenderness in her heart.
After turning twenty-eight, she often repeated, “I’m getting older,” and felt that life had made her pragmatic and rational. She no longer believed she would encounter passionate, reckless love, nor would she invest her money, time, or the dwindling remnants of her energy into a man who was, in essence, merely a passing acquaintance.But at thirty, she discovered that her life could still ignite the kind of impulsiveness she had only felt in her reckless youth.
She no longer doubted that Ji Qinghe had ulterior motives. The warning line engraved in her mind like a strict commandment, reminding her to stay alert at all times, shattered like glass, crumbling into dust.
The beeping sound of a key card unlocking the door next door snapped Shen Qianzhan out of her thoughts.
She couldn’t bring herself to say outright, "I got you a pass—whether you can get in is up to you." After all, even though the mood was right, the words hadn’t been spoken aloud, and a girl still needed to maintain some reserve. Besides, the more righteous and firm she had been when rejecting Ji Qinghe before, the more it felt like tearing off her own skin now, leaving her bleeding and exposed.
To be so moved just because he came to Wuxi in the snow that she’d spill everything—that wasn’t Shen Qianzhan. That would make her the new generation’s Mary Sue.
When Shen Qianzhan was being stubborn, she was truly stubborn, and she didn’t hold back when wrestling with herself. But once she made up her mind, she could let go of everything.
Her fingers, pressed under his palm, curled slightly, gently brushing against his chest through his shirt twice.
Ji Qinghe didn’t catch on immediately. When he looked up, Shen Qianzhan met his gaze and lightly scraped his Adam’s apple with her other hand: "If you want it all, let go now."
As soon as she finished speaking, a few light knocks sounded on the door. Su Zan’s voice, as if squeezed through the crack, came through distorted: "Sis Qianzhan?"
"Mr. Ji?"
"Are you two asleep?"
Shen Qianzhan fell silent for a few seconds.
She felt that at least half of her gossipy news came from Su Zan’s inappropriate wording.
After knocking, Su Zan pressed his ear against the door and listened for a moment.
Confirming there were no moans or creaking bed noises—none of that messy stuff—he grew bolder and called out again: "Sis Qianzhan, if you’re not asleep yet, open the door for me."
From inside the room came the sound of a quiet, tug-of-war-like argument, followed by footsteps hitting the floor. Every sound seemed magnified countless times in the darkness, each frame weaving into vivid scenes.
Su Zan’s unhealthy mind immediately conjured up a poorly edited adult film. He cleared his throat, his ear still glued to the door crack, unwilling to pull away: "I’ll count to three. If you don’t answer, I’ll assume you two are busy with business."
Whether it was because the prelude had been long enough or the threat worked, as soon as Su Zan finished speaking, the door opened.
Shen Qianzhan stood at the doorway, fully dressed and holding a flashlight: "Sorry to disappoint you."
—
To be honest.
Su Zan was a little disappointed.
He was an unlucky player when it came to hotels—from the time he was old enough to book a room to now, in his seasoned years, he had never once stumbled upon a live romance scene.
He had thought that with this hotel’s terrible soundproofing, he might finally get to hear some live audio tonight. But no—your mom is still your mom, your dad is still your dad, and the regrets of youth remained regrets.
—
Ji Qinghe had a low-grade fever, nothing too serious.
The medical team girl brought fever-reducing medicine, promised to come back tomorrow to check his temperature, and then left with a yawn.
It wasn’t exactly chaotic, but after all the commotion, everyone looked exhausted.
Shen Qianzhan had originally planned to squeeze in with Song Yan, but when she checked the time, it was almost dawn—clearly not a good time to disturb her. Sharing a room with Ji Qinghe, however, was something she couldn’t bring herself to do psychologically.After dawdling for a long time and thinking she might as well swallow her pride and follow the girl from the medical team back to her room, Ji Qinghe seemed to see through her thoughts. He had originally intended to tease her a bit more, but when his peripheral vision caught Su Zan, who clearly didn’t feel he was in the way at all, he paused and said, “Before I came up, I borrowed a folding bed from the front desk and put it in your room.”
Su Zan, who had been running up and down and was now exhausted from the exercise, was dumbfounded: “…How come I didn’t know?”
This time, Ji Qinghe didn’t even look up: “You’ve been here the whole time. How could you know?”
Su Zan, who thought he had been watching the show: Dead.
Upon receiving this good news, Shen Qianzhan naturally breathed a sigh of relief. Now, she finally didn’t hesitate to show her thoughtfulness, attentiveness, and generosity. She personally escorted these two “ancestors” next door and, after reminding Su Zan not to sleep too soundly tonight, retreated triumphantly to her room to sleep.
On the other side, the three men were still awake.
The sound of wind and snow outside seemed to have quieted down a bit, leaving only the soft rustle of falling snow.
Su Zan lay on his side for a while, unable to sleep, then turned over to look at Ji Qinghe on the folding bed.
Noticing his gaze, Ji Qinghe glanced at him.
That glance seemed to open Pandora’s box. Su Zan’s temporarily silenced chatterbox immediately unlocked, and he began to babble incessantly. From highly praising Ji Qinghe’s determination to endure hardships to imparting tips on wooing girls, he talked nonstop for half a quarter of an hour. Seeing that Ji Qinghe remained silent the whole time, he thought he had fallen asleep.
Then Ji Qinghe said, “She’s different.” His voice was slightly hoarse, raspy.
For Shen Qianzhan, forceful tactics didn’t work, playing hard to get didn’t work, and even the “suffering hero” act didn’t work. He had tried every move, every strategy, patiently testing them all, only to find that none of them were as effective as seduction.
At the thought of this, a faint ache throbbed in Ji Qinghe’s brow.
Unaware of the inner turmoil in Ji Qinghe’s heart, Su Zan assumed he was deeply devoted to Shen Qianzhan. Just as he was about to unleash a torrent of flattering praise, he suddenly heard Ji Qinghe ask, “What about those male foxes?”
Author’s Note: Surprised? Happy?
Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or nourished me with nutrient solutions between 2020-04-12 16:36:48 and 2020-04-12 23:46:36~
Special thanks to the little angel who threw a rocket launcher: 24159018 (1);
Thanks to the little angels who threw grenades: Wei Yi hhh, Zhang Lingyun (1 each);
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Thank you all very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!
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