Chapter 42 — Bite me, okay?
When Nan Xu and Qi Zhiyu had been sightseeing back in Zhi’an, they’d made detailed travel plans for every stop.
But this resort trip was different—they’d agreed it was going to be all about relaxation and going with the flow.
So neither of them had planned much ahead, which left them a bit at a loss about what to do this afternoon.
While having lunch in the restaurant, they happened to run into Cheng Keyi, who came over to greet them warmly and asked what plans they had for the day.
Nan Xu and Qi Zhiyu both admitted they hadn’t decided yet, though they did mention the scenery around the resort was lovely and they might just wander around.
Hearing they had no plans, Cheng Keyi glanced subtly at Qi Zhiyu.
He’d actually been hoping to sound her out about her feelings toward Xie Hejing—maybe even help Xie Hejing out a little—so he enthusiastically recommended one of the resort’s highlights: fishing.
The two women had heard about it before; apparently, any fish caught could be cooked for free by the resort’s kitchen.
But since neither of them had ever fished before, they hadn’t been particularly interested—until Cheng Keyi started describing it in vivid detail.
By the end of his persuasive little pitch, both of them were curious enough to give it a try.
Qi Zhiyu even declared confidently, “I’m catching ten fish today! Tonight we’re having fish soup, grilled fish—an entire fish feast!”
The pond was behind the resort, about a ten-minute walk along a winding path. It was an irregular oval shape, and when Nan Xu looked across the surface, she saw rolling hills covered in dense trees.
She took a deep breath, the air full of crisp freshness.
Guests could rent U-shaped lounge chairs from the resort, and there were also a few simple wooden fishing stools around the pond, each with a little shelf beside it for personal items.
By the time they arrived, quite a few guests were already seated and fishing.
To make it easier to “gather information,” Cheng Keyi led them to a more secluded spot.
But to his frustration, Qi Zhiyu spent the entire time chatting with Nan Xu, giving him nothing but vague, breezy answers whenever he tried to ask her questions.
When he asked what she thought of Xie Hejing—
“He’s nice. Pretty handsome.”
When he asked if they’d talked much—
“Not really.”
…And that was it.
Cheng Keyi began to wonder if he’d gotten the wrong person entirely. Wasn’t Qi Zhiyu the one Xie Hejing liked? Or had they maybe had a fight?
While he was busy overthinking, the two women were discussing whether they should move to another spot since they hadn’t caught anything yet.
“Xuxu, anything biting over there?” Qi Zhiyu sighed, watching her unmoving fishing line.
Nan Xu focused on the bobber floating on the water. Still no movement. “Nothing. Maybe we’re just unlucky today.”
They’d already been sitting there for nearly three hours. Apart from Cheng Keyi—who had managed to reel in two fish—both Nan Xu and Qi Zhiyu were completely empty-handed.
Qi Zhiyu finally couldn’t hold back. “President Cheng, are you sure this pond even has fish? Maybe there are only a few in here!”
Just then, Cheng Keyi’s bobber sank sharply beneath the water. He didn’t even bother replying—he jumped up in excitement and shouted, “Got one!”
Sure enough, when he pulled up the line, a half-kilo grass carp dangled from the hook.
After taking the fish off the hook and happily tossing it into the bucket, Cheng Keyi said, “Of course there are plenty. Before the resort opened, I personally arranged for several batches of fish fry to be released. There are even some big ones—just to make sure guests have a good experience.”
Hearing that, Qi Zhiyu slumped her shoulders in defeat. “Then I guess we really are out of luck if we can’t catch a single one.”
Meanwhile, Nan Xu wasn’t paying attention to their conversation. She lifted her phone to shield her eyes from the bright sunlight and sent a message to Xie Hejing.
[Are you at the resort right now?]
After pressing send, she let out a small sigh. There were only a few hours left in the day, and she still hadn’t seen Xie Hejing even once.
During their fishing trip, Nan Xu had made several excuses to go back to the lodge—claiming she needed the restroom—yet she never caught sight of him. Even his room showed no signs of being occupied, and she began to suspect he’d stayed at the company all night.
Sure enough, about two minutes later, his reply came in.
[Just finished a meeting at the office. I’ll come over today, but it’ll probably be a bit late.]
Seeing that, Nan Xu rubbed at her brow. A bit late—how late was that supposed to mean? Without a clear answer, she typed another message.
[Between nine and ten, Zhiyu and I are going to the hot springs. If you get back around that time, just wait for me in the room.]
When Xie Hejing read the words “just wait for me in the room”, a faint, teasing smile curved his lips. Then he replied—
[Assistant Nan, this message sounds suspiciously like you’re “hiding a beauty in a golden house.”]
Nan Xu’s lips quirked. Feeling a little playful, she sent back:
[Then President Xie had better be the “beauty” when the time comes.]
[?]
The question mark popped up instantly. Even through the screen, Nan Xu could almost picture his expression darkening, which made her burst out laughing.
Hearing her laugh, both Qi Zhiyu and Cheng Keyi turned to look.
Qi Zhiyu asked, “Xuxu, what’s so funny?”
Nan Xu froze for a moment. “Uh… I just saw a funny video.”
She turned toward Qi Zhiyu—and in her peripheral vision, she noticed the float in front of her starting to sink. She quickly said, “Zhiyu, reel it in! You’ve got a bite!”
Qi Zhiyu glanced down, and sure enough, after all this time, something had finally taken the bait. She was so excited she almost dropped the rod while reeling it in.
Cheng Keyi hurried to help, while Qi Zhiyu cheered herself on the entire time. Fortunately, the effort paid off—a two-jin fish came up thrashing at the end of the line.
Qi Zhiyu beamed from ear to ear. Over the next two hours, it was as if her luck had suddenly turned—she caught five or six more fish in a row, leaving Cheng Keyi completely astonished.
Meanwhile, Nan Xu sat frowning at her own empty bucket. Was her luck really that bad today?
She’d been there for five hours, and even the water in her bucket—prepared for fish—had started to evaporate, yet her line remained untouched.
Just as Qi Zhiyu reeled in her last fish, a sudden downpour came pouring from the sky, filling the air with the smell of wet earth and bringing their fishing trip to an abrupt end. Nan Xu, unfortunately, caught nothing.
The path back had turned muddy and slippery. What should have been a ten-minute walk stretched longer, with the sudden rain crowding the narrow trail.
The three of them hadn’t brought umbrellas, so they could only use their coats to barely cover their heads, waiting for the person ahead to get on the path before following them.
In front of them was a little child. The child wasn’t watching where they were going and was eager to catch up with the adult ahead.
In their haste, the child stepped on wet mud, their sole slipped, and their whole body started to fall backward.
Nan Xu was the first to notice this mishap and rushed over to catch the child.
Fortunately, she managed to catch them, and the child didn’t fall. However, Nan Xu slipped instead, resulting in two bruises on her knees, but she didn’t pay it much attention.
That night, when they were planning to soak in the hot springs, Qi Zhiyu suddenly got her period and wasn’t feeling well, so she decided to stay in the room and watch a show.
Nan Xu had been rained on that day. Although she had already showered upon their return, she still wanted to go for a soak.
She changed her clothes, chatted and laughed with Qi Zhiyu for a bit, and then casually chose a hot spring pool.
About twenty minutes later, Xie Hejing messaged her, saying he had arrived at the mountain resort, but instead of asking Nan Xu to come to his room, he gave her the location of a different pool.
Nan Xu knew this pool. The last time she and Qi Zhiyu were choosing pools, there were two that were closed to the public, and this was one of them.
The two of them had spent a good while guessing what kind of scenery might be inside.
When Nan Xu entered, she took an extra look around. The scenery was exquisitely arranged, with the trees and stones placed perfectly. Several stone lanterns stood by the pool, casting a soft glow that wasn’t harsh but perfectly illuminated the surroundings.
Xie Hejing was sitting in the pool, eyes closed in meditation, acting as if he didn’t know someone had come in.
Nan Xu didn’t make a sound either. She slowly sat down at the edge and gently splashed the water twice. After observing him for a long time, Xie Hejing still didn’t stir.
She bit her lip. Xie Hejing couldn’t possibly be unaware that she had entered, yet he hadn’t said a word or even opened his eyes. The only possibility was…
He was waiting for her to make the first move.
Thinking of this, Nan Xu let out a long sigh of relief, clenched her fists, and tried to cheer herself up.
She stood up and slowly walked toward Xie Hejing. Ripples spread across the water’s surface, but Xie Hejing remained with his eyes closed, as if he had entered a state of stillness right there.
Nan Xu bent down slightly, leaning close to Xie Hejing’s face, but didn’t immediately kiss him.
Her breath brushed against Xie Hejing’s face, and his eyelashes fluttered slightly. Two seconds later, he finally opened his eyes.
Seeing this, Nan Xu hesitated no longer. She lifted her hand, splashing water onto both of them.
She hooked one arm around Xie Hejing’s neck and rested the other on his shoulder, sliding it a bit further to cover the tattoo, then closed her eyes and kissed him.
Based on her last experience, Nan Xu was very careful with this kiss. Her tongue tentatively licked and gently enveloped him.
Xie Hejing did not close his eyes. His eyelids were half-raised, and his dark eyes were fixed intently on Nan Xu.
He watched her lightly fluttering eyelashes, her slightly flushed cheeks, and felt her trembling lips and nervous, rapid breathing.
Nan Xu had made considerable progress. Her tongue finally learned to tentatively enter Xie Hejing’s mouth, gently and timidly moving around. The sensation was delicate and soft.
Xie Hejing’s brow lifted slightly.
Suddenly, Xie Hejing remembered the message Nan Xu had sent him, telling him to be a little more “tender”.
His eyes filled with a doting indulgence. He raised his hand and held the one Nan Xu had rested on his shoulder.
The sudden movement made Nan Xu freeze. She stopped the kiss and asked softly, “What’s wrong?”
A faint smile curved at the corner of Xie Hejing’s lips, his eyes flickering with a dangerous kind of heat—so intense it felt like he might seize control at any second.
But the corners of his eyes were tinged with red, carrying traces of the kiss she’d just given him—a soft, flushed mark that somehow made him look both tempting and a little wrecked.
Nan Xu swallowed hard and quickly turned her gaze away.
Her reaction only made Xie Hejing more certain—she liked this.
His tone softened, low and coaxing. “Bite me… okay?”
The way he said it was pitifully tender, yet inexplicably seductive.
Nan Xu’s whole body trembled. “You—you…”
She couldn’t handle that kind of voice from him.
Xie Hejing lifted his gaze, suppressing a smile as his fingers brushed over her earlobe, already thinking about kissing it next time. His voice was still low and velvety. “Can’t you? Don’t want to?”
Her eyes flickered toward him, and she coughed lightly. “Bite… where?”
A few seconds later, she seemed to realize what she’d just said and quickly blurted out, “No—no, you only said I could kiss you. Nothing else.”
“Really?” Xie Hejing murmured, his gaze deepening. The hand that had been toying with her earlobe slid down to hook around her neck, pulling her gently into his arms.
Then he leaned in and bit softly at her lower lip—just enough to sting a little. The faint pain mixed with tingling warmth, dragging Nan Xu straight into a dizzy, breathless desire.
Her eyes grew hazy.
“Like that…”
He released her lips, watching her reactions closely, then took her hand and guided it to the side of his face.
With his lashes lowered and a teasing tilt at the corner of his eyes, he brushed her palm lightly, moving closer as if surrendering himself to her completely.
“Go on. Bite me.”
Nan Xu’s gaze trembled.
That voice—it was like the hook from their afternoon fishing, tugging again and again at her heart until her breathing turned unsteady. “Then… okay.”
She took a slow breath, trying to steady the pounding in her chest, then leaned in once more.
Her lips met his again as she carefully mimicked his earlier movements, nibbling gently.
After a while, she felt his fingers tighten around her wrist. She pulled back slightly and asked, “Did it hurt?”
She stared at his lips. There weren’t any visible marks—she’d been very careful.
He didn’t answer, just smiled and asked, “Have you figured out what I wanted you to think about yesterday?”
Nan Xu froze. She’d gone straight to bed after returning home, slept soundly, spent the morning wandering the villa with Qi Zhiyu, and then went fishing in the afternoon. She’d completely forgotten whatever that “thing” was.
But she couldn’t admit that. Who knew what he’d say if she did?
Putting on a calm face, she nodded. “Yeah. You meant I should stop saying ‘fast,’ right?”
The look on his face told her he knew she hadn’t given it a moment’s thought.
Her eyes darted away nervously, yet she stubbornly held his gaze.
Xie Hejing sighed, pinching her cheek lightly. “Nan Xu, how are you so cute? Makes me want to bite you.”
Nan Xu’s face scrunched up at once. “Why do you always want to bite me?” she grumbled in protest.
“Alright, no biting then,” Xie Hejing replied casually. “Let’s continue.”
Nan Xu let out a small yelp. “Wait—today’s kiss isn’t over yet?”
At that, Xie Hejing’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Are you sure it’s over?”
The chill in his gaze—the quiet, dangerous intensity between his brows—was the Xie Hejing she was familiar with.
She couldn’t help but think that the Xie Hejing who had just now rested his face so obediently in her hand must’ve been momentarily possessed.
The thought amused her, and before she could stop herself, she broke into laughter—soft at first, then uncontrollable, her shoulders trembling as she laughed right in front of him.
Xie Hejing’s expression darkened. “You still dare to laugh?”
Maybe it was because she’d been the one to make the first move this time—he didn’t restrain her. Instead, she managed to slip out of his arms with surprising ease.
Standing by the edge of the pool, Nan Xu turned back to glance at him. His expression was cold, his eyes sharp. Flustered, she stammered,
“Um… tomorrow, then. Anyway, we already kissed today.”
And before he could react, she bolted—leaving Xie Hejing behind, struggling to suppress his body’s involuntary response.
A shadow crossed his eyes as he recalled her words. Then he let out a low, humorless chuckle.
“Tomorrow, huh?”
He leaned back slightly, voice low and dangerous. “Let’s see if you can still laugh tomorrow.”