Chapter Sixty-Eight
Whoever Made It Wet Should Take Responsibility?
Shen Qianzhan understood the implication behind his words. Her other bare foot, still submerged in the water, stepped onto his chest and gave a light kick. "Have you no shame?"
After laughing and scolding him, she noticed him lowering his gaze, remaining silent with a calm expression. Gradually, the smile at the corner of Shen Qianzhan’s lips faded as she asked, "What’s wrong?"
She suspected she might have taken the joke too far, but upon reflection, she didn’t feel she had crossed any boundaries or acted inappropriately. As she pondered this, he patiently dried her feet, his palms holding her heels before shifting upward to clasp her ankles.
Men run hot.
His palms were scorching, like flames that never subsided. After just a moment of his touch, she could feel the intense heat emanating from his body, flowing toward her endlessly.
He was too close, and this position tested the flexibility of her body.
Sensing he still had something to say, Shen Qianzhan leaned back, resting her back against the cool surface of the mirror.
In Wuxi during May, the weather was already leaning toward summer heat.
These past few days had been sunny with clear skies, light clouds, and no wind or rain. Evenings were unbearably stuffy, let alone this night with a thunderstorm looming.
"I’m thinking," Ji Qinghe said softly, "about what to do with you once we cross this curfew in the future."
Tonight, he truly had no filter. Every word he spoke struck a chord within her—sometimes with immense weight, sometimes elusive—stirring the calm waters of her heart until they rippled and swayed. She felt the urge to take him right then and there, to teach him what should and shouldn’t be said when a man and a woman were alone in a room.
Unfortunately, tonight was not the night.
Shen Qianzhan felt a pang of regret.
Her toes pressed against his chest, her nightgown riding up just enough to cover the tops of her thighs.
The jacket draped over her shoulders had slipped halfway off, revealing one of her delicate shoulders.
Yet, Shen Qianzhan was completely unaware of her current state. After all, tonight, neither she nor Ji Qinghe could do anything to the other.
If boundaries could be blurred at will, then desire could also be ignited freely.
She curled her index finger, hooking it into his shirt where two buttons were already undone, and pulled him closer.
Half-sitting and half-leaning, she bent her knees, bringing herself extremely close to him.
"It’s not like we haven’t done it before," Shen Qianzhan said, her fingers adorned with bright nail polish twisting his buttons, undoing another one with ease. Deliberately, she used her toes to tease his waist, and as their breaths mingled, she whispered like an orchid-scented breeze, "When have I not indulged your preferences?"
Ji Qinghe leaned his forehead against hers and laughed, the sound low and pleasant.
As their eyes met, he lowered his head to kiss her, starting from her brow and trailing down to her chest.
Shen Qianzhan’s chest was already swollen and tender. When he bit her, she couldn’t tell whether it was pleasure or torment. She tried to push him away, but he clasped her wrist and pressed it against the mirror.
He looked up at her, a hint of amusement in his gaze, as if teasing or satisfied. "Still undoing buttons?"
Sitting on the bathroom counter, she was at eye level with him but restrained in every way.
Yet, her expression remained calm and composed, devoid of the panic she had felt the last time when she was pinned down and unable to break free.
Shen Qianzhan moved her wrist, signaling for him to let go first.
Once Ji Qinghe loosened his grip, she wrapped her arms around his neck, leaned in, and bit his earlobe.
Between bites and kisses, she exhaled softly until a faint blush spread across the base of his ear. Only then did she show mercy. "You can go back now." Her tone carried three parts laughter and seven parts teasing, accentuated by the rosy hue of her earlobes, like a vibrant sunset filling the entire view.Ji Qinghe didn't move, only pulling her hand down and pressing it against a certain spot: "How can I go back like this?"
Shen Qianzhan suppressed a laugh, her eyes shimmering with ripples of light. Just meeting her gaze was enough to make one's heart flutter and breath shorten, difficult to restrain.
He simply carried her back to the bedroom.
Inside the bedroom, the scent of incense had faded from its initial smoky intensity, now diffusing into a faint, gentle fragrance. At first whiff, it was the fresh aroma of lotus, but upon closer inhalation, there was an added hint of sandalwood, slightly richer and deeper.
Shen Qianzhan took a deep breath, her gaze falling on the base of the gilded pagoda, when she suddenly remembered something: "Will we see Ji Lin when we go back to Xi'an?"
"Do you want to see him?" Ji Qinghe asked.
How could Shen Qianzhan have the nerve to say she didn't want to right in front of him?
She was thirty years old, having crossed more bridges than the kid had eaten grains of salt. It wasn't as if she would really hold a grudge against a child.
The reason Shen Qianzhan brought up Ji Lin was because she had an extremely deep impression of him. Besides being called a spider demon from the Cobweb Cave by him before, another reason was that Ji Lin was exceptionally good-looking.
Throughout her career working on projects, she had seen many child stars with outstanding potential, but none had ever possessed Ji Lin's appearance—eyes as bright as the moon, features as dazzling as a galaxy of stars.
Instead of answering directly, she said, "Last time I visited Old Mr. Ji, I was in a hurry and didn't prepare a gift for Ji Lin."
Actually, this time was rushed too.
The trip had just been decided, the plane tickets just bought—everything was hurried, with no time to prepare gifts.
"Just tell me what he likes, what he prefers, so I can take a shortcut and make him happy."
Ji Qinghe glanced at her and said, "Ji Lin may be good-looking, but he's still young and hasn't even started school properly. If you're already setting your sights on him now, how am I supposed to feel?"
Shen Qianzhan was baffled: "What do you mean, setting my sights on him?"
"Raising him?" Ji Qinghe wasn't entirely sure if that was the right term, but seeing that she understood, he continued: "Isn't there a saying about cultivating and customizing from a young age?"
Pervert!
Shen Qianzhan resisted the urge to roll her eyes and said, "By the time Ji Lin grows up, I'll probably have one foot in the grave. I'd have to be out of my mind to pass up ready-made blessings."
"Even if you made up a story about me wanting to have a child who looks like Ji Lin, that would be more believable than this."
"Qiao Xin said I get dumber when I'm drunk, but you're the one who stays foolish for three years after drinking."
Ji Qinghe set her down, pulled over a chair, and sat by her bed: "That could work too."
"The Ji family has good genes. Since you have ideas, take advantage while I'm diligent in my efforts, with high daily wages and quality work." He smirked, deliberately teasing her: "Our child could also grow up to look like Ji Lin, with well-proportioned features."
Well-proportioned features?
Shen Qianzhan was about to retort that if Ji Lin's uniquely gifted appearance could only be called "well-proportioned," then no child in the world could be considered pleasing to the eye.
But as the words reached her lips, she sensed something was off. Seeing Ji Qinghe's half-smile, full of mischief, she finally realized she had once again unwittingly fallen into his trap.
He had baited the hook to lure her into indignation, his real goal being to tease out her next words so he could fan the flames and gain the upper hand verbally.
Having fallen for it, Shen Qianzhan kept her mouth tightly shut.Before meeting Ji Qinghe, she hadn’t even considered marriage, let alone having children. But following the dog man’s line of thought, if she could have a child as fair and adorable as Ji Lin, it was impossible not to feel tempted.
So, deep down, she didn’t harbor much resentment, but on the surface, she pretended to be overly sensitive, feigning embarrassment and anger.
Ji Qinghe glanced at her and said, “Ji Lin is an only child. He was only brought back to the Ji family after he turned three.”
Shen Qianzhan was slightly surprised, completely forgetting that she was pretending to be angry.
She tucked the corner of the blanket under her legs, propped herself up on her elbows, and half-leaned against the headboard.
From the meaning of his words, Ji Lin’s background seemed to hold a story.
“Ji Lin is the first child of the Ji family’s great-grandchildren. His father is Ji Suimu, my elder brother, who is a year older than me. When he divorced Ji Lin’s mother, he didn’t know about Ji Lin’s existence, so it wasn’t until Ji Lin was three that he brought him back to the Ji family and raised him personally.”
With the backdrop of a wealthy family’s marriage and the added plot twist of the crown prince being taken away, Shen Qianzhan immediately sensed the drama of an eight o’clock soap opera, her curiosity burning fiercely: “Was Ji Lin’s mother willing to give up custody?”
Ji Qinghe didn’t avoid discussing what could be called the “secret of the Endless Year’s wealthy family” with her, saying, “Of course not.”
“I’m not entirely clear about what happened back then. At that time, I was working as a watch restorer at a clock museum in Beijing and didn’t have much contact with my family. I only know the general outline.” Ji Qinghe paused and explained, “My family’s interpersonal relationships aren’t complicated. My parents are still alive, and the old master and Ms. Meng are both in good health.”
His tone was calm, but the corners of his lips lifted slightly: “When you’re with me, you won’t have to worry about supporting my elders.”
Shen Qianzhan ignored him, neither responding nor arguing.
“I also have a younger sister named Ji Suihuan, who’s currently discussing marriage. The Ji family has a strict and upright family tradition, with a simple household. Suihuan has a good personality, and she’d probably be very happy to have you as her sister-in-law.”
“She’s financially independent, spends lavishly, and loves giving gifts when she’s happy. That personality should suit you well.”
Ji Qinghe thought for a moment and added, “My family doesn’t favor sons over daughters, nor do we pressure anyone to have a second child. It’s just that the elders enjoy liveliness. After Ji Lin was born, to express their joy, they gave my sister-in-law a large red envelope.”
“Looking back three generations, the men in the Ji family haven’t had the bad habit of philandering. Marriage is a lifelong commitment. Although my brother didn’t set a good example, the breakdown of his marriage wasn’t due to a third party. Even now, he’s focused on winning back my sister-in-law and hasn’t been with anyone else.”
He seemed to have a headache, closing his eyes and gently pressing one temple. When he opened them again, he added several more points as if filling in the gaps.
He spoke as he thought, with no particular order.
Shen Qianzhan’s heart softened, as if drenched in sweet syrup.
“Ji Qinghe,” Shen Qianzhan interrupted him, “I’m thirty years old, not exactly young. With your qualifications, you could find either a well-bred lady from a prominent family or an eighteen-year-old girl. Although I’ve achieved some success in my career, I don’t have much savings. After years of hard work, I’ve barely managed to buy a house to settle in Beijing, and I’m still burdened with a mortgage.”
“On the surface, I seem glamorous, but inside, I’m neither here nor there, stuck in an awkward position. There are plenty of women out there who are prettier, more capable, and more financially independent than me, and they’d all be willing…”
Ji Qinghe asked, “Then why aren’t you willing?”He knew what Shen Qianzhan wanted. Having fallen to the lowest point, fame and fortune were mere externalities to her. Having stepped into the abyss, she avoided emotions like venomous snakes.
She wanted to be chosen with unwavering certainty, to hold a trump card in life.
This trump card needed no gilding or silver inlay, nor did it require a halo. It only needed to stay by her side through life’s storms and trials, whether she was weathering hardships, climbing mountains, or crossing rivers—never abandoning her, always walking shoulder to shoulder.
So Ji Qinghe knew that in Shen Qianzhan’s heart, he held no advantage.
No matter who it was, to move her, one had only to offer sincerity with both hands, pledging unwavering devotion.
His gaze fell on her face, and he repeated softly, "They were all willing. Why aren’t you?"
The incense stick had burned out, leaving a lingering fragrance in the room.
The faint scent on her remained distinct and vivid, like an unstoppable current of fragrance.
All he could smell was her.
Seeing her seemingly speechless, Ji Qinghe took a step back and said, "If you want to uncover my final trump card, you must show sincerity."
"My heart is right here. You can take it anytime."
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