Psst! We're moving!
Sitting in the car, individually unwrapping lollipops was quite a bizarre sight.
Shen Yihuan unwrapped 22 of them, and still, not one made a sound. This inexplicably made her want to cry even more, feeling that nothing was going her way, even the lollipops were bullying her.
“Try another one,” Lu Zhou said, placing another in her palm. Only one was left in the bag.
“I don’t want to try anymore.”
Annoyed, she raised her hand and threw the lollipop to the ground.
“I just can’t make it pop.”
Lu Zhou sighed softly, bent down to pick up the lollipop from under the seat. His warm breath brushed against her bare thigh, and Shen Yihuan flinched.
“I’ll teach you,” Lu Zhou said. “You hold it.”
Shen Yihuan took it, gripping the lollipop, then looked at Lu Zhou blankly.
In her eyes, he licked his lips and reached out.
A pair of warm, broad hands enveloped hers. He was very fair; the wind and sun of the border had not tanned him. There was a thin callus on his middle finger, which he had had since high school.
His fingertip pressed against her nail.
Fingers connected to the heart.
Shen Yihuan felt her heart being pressed, thumping, eager to burst forth as if it would break through her bones any second.
She turned her head to look at Lu Zhou, her slender neck stretching into a beautiful yet fragile curve.
Lu Zhou said, “You got it.”
His voice was cold, controlled to the point of being almost indifferent.
His hand enveloped hers, pressing Shen Yihuan’s hand with force. The lollipop wrapper made a crisp sound, followed by a soft pop.
Her eyes widened silently.
Wow.
Somewhat miraculous.
Lu Zhou took out the last one and placed it in her hand again. “Try again.”
“You, teach me one more time,” Shen Yihuan extended her hand, signaling Lu Zhou to take it again.
Lu Zhou, who had been pressing his temples, lowered his hand and slowly sat upright, looking directly at Shen Yihuan.
Then he saw the young girl’s red, tear-stained eyes and nose, tinged with sadness.
So he reached out again, took Shen Yihuan’s hand, pressed her fingers, and once again popped that lollipop for her.
It was inexplicably absurd.
Twenty-four opened but untouched lollipops lay scattered by the car seat.
But at least Shen Yihuan was happy.
________________________________________
The car sped along the road, headlights illuminating the dark surface.
Shen Yihuan leaned her head against the car window, a lollipop in her mouth, concentrating intently on Lu Zhou.
He drove attentively, completely ignoring her burning gaze from the side.
Tsk.
Indifferent.
“Wait here, I’ll go upstairs to get them for you,” Shen Yihuan said.
“Mm.”
Shen Yihuan went downstairs with the clothes and umbrella. Lu Zhou had already parked the car and was waiting for her outside the apartment building.
“I’m leaving,” he said after taking the items.
“Wait,” Shen Yihuan called him, her fingers clutching the hem of her clothes, uncharacteristically hesitant. “You’re going to Xinjiang tomorrow. When will you be back?”
Lu Zhou said, “Uncertain.”
“...Are you going back alone?”
“No.”
“Who else?”
Lu Zhou glanced at her, not speaking.
Shen Yihuan was stubborn, looking at him persistently, waiting for an answer.
Lu Zhou finally conceded. “A teammate, and a doctor assisting in Xinjiang.”
She frowned, sensing something. “Is it that female doctor who was hugging you at the hospital last time?”
“Mm.”
He was too blunt, leaving Shen Yihuan speechless.
“Then we won’t be able to see each other for a long time, will we?” she said, rising on her tiptoes, chin slightly raised, leaning close to his face. “Can I have a farewell kiss, or something?”
Lu Zhou’s expression completely chilled.
He stared at Shen Yihuan, the curve of his lips cold and mocking.
He took a step back, creating distance.
“Kiss me. I’m unhappy today.” Shen Yihuan didn’t hide the eagerness and longing in her eyes. “Just kiss me, just this once.”
Just this once.
Lu Zhou narrowed his eyes silently.
Shen Yihuan felt a sudden dizzying sensation.
Then her waist was encircled by an arm, while her chin was gripped, lifted forcefully. Her ears were filled with increasingly rapid breaths.
His palm was hot, his shirt hem lifted slightly. Shen Yihuan almost felt like she was melting from the heat.
He said, “Remember, you said ‘just this once.’“
In the quiet darkness dotted with faint starlight, he leaned down, their noses touching, breaths mingling, and kissed her heavily, his teeth even pressing into her plump lips, almost savagely biting down, grinding between his teeth.
Shen Yihuan muffled a cry of pain. As she tried to pull back, Lu Zhou firmly pressed the back of her head, with a force that allowed no retreat.
“Open your mouth,” his voice was hoarse.
Lu Zhou kissed her fiercely.
His arm tightly embraced her waist, veins bulging, while his other hand pressed the back of her head, a posture that allowed no resistance.
Shen Yihuan, having not been intimate for a long time, couldn’t resist. All her strength hung on him, her slender, pale arms hooked around his neck.
She didn’t feel suppressed at all; instead, it was like she was completely immersed.
Unable to breathe, she opened her mouth to bite his lips. After tasting a faint metallic tang of blood, she muffled a laugh into his chest, then licked his bleeding lips like a kitten.
This was a confrontation.
Outwardly, Lu Zhou seemed to have the upper hand, his posture rigid and unyielding.
In reality, it was a crushing defeat for him. He lost control and indulged, while Shen Yihuan achieved her desired outcome.
________________________________________
Finally, he watched the young girl skip into the elevator, smiling and waving goodbye to him.
Lu Zhou stood with his hands in his pockets, not moving until the elevator doors completely closed.
Every nerve in his body was reliving the wonderful feeling of that kiss, and the softness and scent of the girl’s body.
Nicotine numbed his nerves; Shen Yihuan stimulated them.
As he got into the car, he received a call from Yu Jiacheng. “Lu Ye, what time’s your flight tomorrow?”
He turned and walked towards the car. “2 PM.”
“That early? I thought it would be in the evening. Want to meet tonight?”
“Where?”
“I’ll send it to you.”
Lu Zhou drove to the location Yu Jiacheng sent him.
“Aiyo, what happened to your mouth? Are you sick from heat?” Yu Jiacheng exclaimed upon seeing him. Only when he got closer did he realize something was wrong and paused. “You... were you bitten?”
Lu Zhou pulled out a chair. The late-night snack had already been served. He picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks.
Yu Jiacheng edged closer to get a better look, but Lu Zhou grabbed him and pulled him away. “Stay back.”
“No, you’re not back with Shen Yihuan, are you?”
He didn’t even lift his head. “Why does a cut on my mouth automatically mean Shen Yihuan did it?”
“I’d be happy if another woman could leave a mark on your mouth! Don’t you think about how many girls have liked you since childhood? Why did you have to fall for her tricks?”
Yu Jiacheng’s mouth tended to run off when he talked. “You don’t even think about your own life. If it weren’t for your luck, you would’ve been ruined because of her long ago.”
His chopsticks paused. He curled his lips. “That has nothing to do with her.”
Yu Jiacheng wanted to say more, but seeing Lu Zhou’s sharp gaze, he stopped himself.
“Drink.”
Lu Zhou raised his hand to press the cup lid. “Reporting back to duty tomorrow. No drinking.”
“It’ll be the day after tomorrow before you’re actually back with the team.” Although he said this, Yu Jiacheng didn’t pour him any more wine.
Lu Zhou had been in the army for a long time, and his self-control in this regard was always good. He rarely touched alcohol, but he just couldn’t quit smoking.
“Why don’t you stay at my place tonight? I’ll drive you to the airport tomorrow morning.”
Lu Zhou glanced at him. “Two grown men living together?” He picked up another piece of vegetable and said, “I have something else to do tomorrow, so I won’t go.”
________________________________________
The next day, Shen Yihuan was woken by a rapid doorbell.
She shuffled in slippers, threw on a thin shirt over her pajamas, and opened the door. Seeing Gu Minghui standing there with a bag of items, she rolled her eyes completely.
“Waking people up early in the morning, looking for death?”
Gu Minghui carried the bags directly into the kitchen, saying, “Look at the sun outside, it’s already eleven o’clock, and you’re still in ‘clear sleep’.”
Shen Yihuan rubbed her eyes and followed him into the kitchen, watching Young Master Gu personally put the fruits and drinks into the refrigerator.
“What are you doing here?”
“Shen Yihuan, do you consider me a friend?”
She nodded, matter-of-factly. “Of course I do.”
“Then why the hell didn’t you tell me you were going on a business trip out of town?” Gu Minghui retorted, frowning as he glared at her.
He had also received a call from Shen Yihuan’s studio this morning, saying that due to work schedule issues, his project’s photographer, Shen Yihuan, would be replaced with another one.
Shen Yihuan was still half-asleep. His reminder made her recall the cool decision she had made.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you and Ruru. I’m shooting a special feature. Don’t put any more fruit in, I won’t be able to finish it in a few days before I leave for Xinjiang. I won’t be back that quickly...”
Gu Minghui’s movements paused. He looked at her in disbelief.
Shen Yihuan shrugged casually.
“Going to Xinjiang?!”
“Yes.”
“Looking for death?”
Shen Yihuan glared at him. “No.”
“Why would you suddenly be assigned a task so far away? Did someone deliberately make things difficult for you?”
“No, I chose to go myself,” she said.
Gu Minghui fell silent, looking at her without speaking. Finally, he put the remaining fruit from the bag into the refrigerator and asked, “Is it for Lu Zhou?”
“That’s one reason,” she said. “It’s also because I want a change of scenery, to have some peace and quiet there for a while.”
Gu Minghui asked, “When will you be back?”
“Undecided,” Shen Yihuan washed an apple and took a bite. “Anyway, when you and Ruru are free, come find me. Think of it as a trip; I think the scenery there should be nice.”
Gu Minghui smiled.
“I’ll order hotpot and call Ruru over to eat together.”
“Okay.”
Shen Yihuan walked out of the kitchen to get her phone. The doorbell rang twice again.
She didn’t think much of it and just pulled the door open.
She froze completely when she saw Lu Zhou standing at the door.
“Why are you...”
Before she could finish, Lu Zhou’s gaze had already swept over her shoulder to look behind her, his eyes dark and menacing.
Shen Yihuan instinctively turned her head. Sure enough, Gu Minghui was standing behind her, holding a plate of fruit, fresh and glistening with water droplets, looking very appetizing.
“Shen Yihuan.”
He looked at her coldly.
“You’re something else.”