Chapter 76
The heat in Zhi’an had become unbearable recently. Nan Xu would start sweating after just a few steps outside.
Hating the sticky feeling on her skin, she decided to stay home and avoid going out altogether.
“Go out for a walk, don’t just stay at home all the time. Aren’t you bored?” Xie Hejing said.
Nan Xu had taken these past couple of days off to escape the heat, spending them stubbornly indoors.
“I don’t want to. It’s way too hot in Zhi’an this year,” she said, sitting on the sofa with some fruit she’d treated herself to.
She skewered a piece of watermelon with a toothpick; the icy sweetness made her squint with delight.
“Also, I don’t want to get tanned.”
Xie Hejing looked at her exposed arms, her skin like porcelain. If she got tanned, she’d probably be upset afterward.
“Then put on some sunscreen and wash it off when you get back. It’s not that sunny outside right now. Go take a walk, you can’t stay cooped up all day.”
The sun was just setting behind the mountains, the light outside soft and gentle.
Nan Xu thought for a moment. “Alright, fine.”
She went to her room to grab the sunscreen and had just returned to the sofa when it was suddenly in Xie Hejing’s hands.
“What are you doing? Are you going to put it on for me?”
“Mm,” Xie Hejing said, squeezing some sunscreen into his palm and rubbing his hands together. “Come here.”
Nan Xu didn’t hesitate. She sat down next to him and even reminded him, “Make sure you spread it evenly.”
She lay across Xie Hejing’s legs, letting him apply the sunscreen wherever he wanted; she simply turned along with him.
“It’s rare to see you so obedient,” Xie Hejing said.
Lately, he had been so busy that Nan Xu hardly dared to get close to him, especially at night, when she wished she could keep her distance. It was rare for her to actually lie obediently on his lap.
Nan Xu sat up and glared at him. “What do you mean by that?”
“I’m complimenting you,” Xie Hejing said, gently holding her arm. The soft touch made him unable to resist caressing it a little.
Nan Xu pulled her hand back. “You’re not really applying sunscreen, you’re just taking the opportunity to touch me.”
“Both,” Xie Hejing admitted.
Nan Xu didn’t know how to respond to such blunt honesty. She turned her head. “Hurry up and finish.”
“Why are you in such a rush now?” he teased.
“I still need to go buy some food, so hurry up,” Nan Xu muttered.
Xie Hejing didn’t waste any time, and in just a few moments, he had finished applying the sunscreen.
Nan Xu stood up to grab a bag to take with her, but Xie Hejing pulled her back.
Looking into his eyes, she could guess what he meant. She bent down and pressed a quick kiss to the corner of his mouth.
“Thank you.”
By the time they stepped outside, the sky was growing darker. There were quite a few people walking their dogs in the neighborhood.
They ran into the elderly man who lived across the street. He greeted them warmly. “It’s you two again, the young couple! I hadn’t seen you for a while, and I was wondering if you had moved. I only found out you had moved back when you brought me wedding candy last time.”
“How’s the wedding planning going? When are you thinking of having it?” he asked.
Xie Hejing smiled. “Still some time. We’re planning to wait until after our trip.”
“Besides, it’s way too hot in Zhi’an right now. Not really suitable.”
Given Nan Xu’s temperament, once the weather got hot, she didn’t even want to move—let alone host a wedding.
The elderly man raised his eyebrows. “Ah, so you’re thoughtful,” he said, then turned to Nan Xu. “Miss, you’ve got good taste.”
Nan Xu had been squatting down, playing with the old man’s little dog. Hearing his words, she reluctantly stood up.
“Yes, Grandfather, you’re right. I’m lucky.”
“We’ll send you an invitation when we have our wedding.”
The elderly man tightened the leash on his dog and laughed heartily. “Alright then! I’ll be waiting to drink at your wedding banquet!”
. . . . .
“What do you want to buy?”
Xie Hejing held Nan Xu’s hand as they walked side by side out of the neighborhood.
“Um… I want cake, the mousse cake from that shop in front of the No. 1 Middle School.”
Worried that Xie Hejing might forbid her from eating cake at night, she added, “It’s been so long since I had it. Having a little tonight shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Sure.”
Surprisingly, Xie Hejing didn’t refuse. He simply turned a corner and headed with her toward the garage.
The cake shop was still a fair distance from their location. If they walked, they probably wouldn’t even make it to the cake shop before it closed.
As Xie Hejing got into the car, he was still thinking about Nan Xu’s conversation with the elderly man, she had admitted that she had good taste. He let out a low chuckle.
Nan Xu, fastening her seatbelt, was puzzled by his sudden laugh. “What are you laughing at?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re being all mysterious,” she muttered.
Because some students had evening self-study sessions at No. 1 Middle School, the shops in front of the school tended to stay open later than most.
When they arrived, the cake shop was still open, but the cake Nan Xu wanted had just sold out.
Seeing Nan Xu looking a little down, Xie Hejing asked, “Want to check other shops?”
“No need.”
Nan Xu picked out some other cakes.
“These will do too,” she said.
Carrying the bag, they stepped out of the cake shop. Looking at No. 1 Middle School just a short distance away, Nan Xu noticed that the teaching buildings were still lit in the distance.
She suddenly remembered the night Xie Hejing had helped her climb over the school wall.
“Let’s walk around the school a bit,” she said.
She slid her wrist through the top of the bag and took Xie Hejing’s hand.
“I haven’t been back to No. 1 Middle School since I returned.”
“Then come during the day? We can see it more clearly then.” he asked.
Nan Xu shook her head. “No, just now. Let’s just walk around a little.”
The cake bag swayed slowly between their hands. Gradually, the streetlights on either side flickered on. Nan Xu stopped, looked up, and realized that night had fully fallen.
She lowered her gaze, and in the glow of the streetlights, her shadow quietly merged with Xie Hejing’s silhouette.
She stepped forward, and in the shadow, she leaned perfectly against Xie Hejing’s shoulder. The mottled pavement beneath them now seemed to form patterns across their bodies.
Nan Xu extended her thumb and forefinger, reaching along the shadow on the ground. Her finger shadows landed precisely on either side of Xie Hejing’s head.
It was as if she had “pinned” him in place, and she was delighted.
Xie Hejing remained still, letting her play with the shadows.
Nan Xu was so enchanted that she kept trying different movements until a light sweat formed on her back, and only then did she stop.
“Xie He…”
She looked up and met Xie Hejing’s gaze, a pair of eyes filled with gentle amusement.
Nan Xu remembered that night they had climbed over the school wall together; back then, his eyes had been restless, cold, and impatient.
But now, his gaze was much softer, almost like a completely different person from before.
The leaves of the phoenix tree rustled in the night breeze. Nan Xu leaned closer, studying the eyes that belonged only to her.
Where there had once been distant, untouchable depths, now they were focused entirely on her, drawing her in slowly.
She suddenly whispered, “Xie Hejing… I really like you.”
“What did you say?”
Xie Hejing’s Adam’s apple moved as he swallowed, and he could hear the sudden racing of his own heartbeat.
“What did you just say?”
Nan Xu realized what she had just said. She pressed her lips together and tried not to admit it.
“No, I didn’t say anything. Come on, let’s walk a bit further.”
She was clearly embarrassed, but this sudden confession left Xie Hejing savoring the moment. He didn’t push her further; he simply followed her lead, walking along. A couple of seconds later, he added, “I like you too.”
To avoid giving away what she had just said, Nan Xu hummed a little tune and resisted responding.
Xie Hejing thought: This girl really doesn’t want to admit it at all.
He let go of her hand, and naturally, she ended up leaning into his arms.
“Pretending you didn’t hear me?” he asked.
Nan Xu coughed. “No… I heard.”
“Then why aren’t you saying anything?”
Knowing she couldn’t pretend anymore, Nan Xu pushed aside her shyness and said in one breath, “I like you… I really like you.”
“Mm, say it a few more times,” he said.
Xie Hejing stared at the six-second recording on his phone, feeling a little regretful that it was so short.
“Why do you need to record it?” Nan Xu frowned.
“So that you can’t deny it someday.”
“You… are childish,” Nan Xu said, pretending to be serious. “This is so childish of you, and there’s no way I’d ever deny it.”
Xie Hejing raised an eyebrow. He didn’t care how Nan Xu complained, he was absolutely keeping the recording. Who knew, maybe on a sleepless night he could even replay it for comfort.
Since Nan Xu hadn’t gone out for a walk these past few days, Xie Hejing asked if she could manage walking back home instead of driving.
Nan Xu thought it would be easy and agreed right away… only to later realize she had seriously overestimated herself.
By the time they reached home, she didn’t even have the strength to eat the cake. She used the very last bit of energy she had to place the cake on the table before collapsing face-first onto the sofa.
“We barely walked at all. How are you already out of energy?” Xie Hejing looked at her limp posture and was already considering whether he should start taking her out to exercise.
Nan Xu didn’t care. She didn’t even lift her head, voice muffled into the cushion. “I was tired to begin with… and I don’t like exercising. You’ve always known that.”
“No wonder your stamina’s so bad. Every time I put you on top, you run out of strength after just a little while.”
Nan Xu froze for a second before realizing what he meant. Instantly forgetting she was exhausted, she flipped over and shot him a glare.
“That’s because of you! Why do you always—” She choked on her words, flustered. “Ugh, I’m done talking to you. My legs are so sore…”
Xie Hejing accepted defeat and shut his mouth. He sat down beside her, bent over, removed her shoes for her, and gently lifted her foot to massage it, slow and careful.
Nan Xu felt wonderfully relaxed under his hands, and at the same time, she remembered what Wen Qiu had said. She murmured, “My mom said you spoil me too much.”
“Isn’t that how it should be?” Xie Hejing replied matter-of-factly.
Nan Xu sighed. “No… it’s that you do everything for me. When I go back to my mom’s, I get a bit unaccustomed—I keep instinctively asking you to get things for me. My mom asked if you do everything at home, and I said pretty much… then she scolded me a little. Hmm,” she exhaled, “okay, I guess I’m a bit at fault.”
“Are your legs sore? I can massage them too,” she asked.
Nan Xu was so weak that even pinching him didn’t do much, let alone massaging. Xie Hejing shook his head. “No, not sore.”
“Then… are you tired now? Hungry?” she continued.
Xie Hejing smiled. “Not tired. But I am hungry.”
“Well, perfect. You can eat the rest of the cake. I’m too exhausted to eat anything.”
Xie Hejing slowed his movements on her legs. “I don’t want to eat that.”
“Then what do you want to eat?”
Nan Xu pursed her lips. She didn’t have the energy to make anything, and besides, her cooking wasn’t great.
“Tomorrow…”
“You,” Xie Hejing slowly uttered a single word.
Nan Xu blinked, and two seconds later she grabbed the pillow next to her and threw it at Xie Hejing. “You’re so annoying.”
Later that night, after going to the bathroom, Nan Xu realized her period had started. The sudden boldness made her unusually daring, so much so that she even dared to sit on Xie Hejing’s lap while he was looking at documents.
Xie Hejing looked slightly surprised. “Have you… figured it out?”
She had been avoiding him for days, and now she boldly came to tease him. He wondered what had changed—was it her temperament or her mindset? What had she just seen?
Xie Hejing pondered this, yet he overlooked the simplest explanation: Nan Xu was confident he wouldn’t make any move on her at this moment, which made her fearless.
She slowly began to slide Xie Hejing’s sleep shirt off. “Yeah… I just figured it out,” she said.
!!!
Xie Hejing inhaled sharply.
Nan Xu didn’t even have to move aggressively. The moment she sat on him, his entire presence shifted. In just a second, the restrained, lazy aura he had carried before vanished completely, replaced by a gaze filled with intimacy and raw allure.
“Where do you want to go?” he murmured, his voice deep, radiating a mature dominance. The smile in his eyes carried the warmth and possessiveness unique to a husband.
Nan Xu refused to show hesitation. She continued to pull down Xie Hejing’s shirt until his upper body was fully exposed.
Nan Xu leaned in and kissed him gently, then began to explore, teasing, and unabashedly tracing the lines of Xie Hejing’s body.
She was completely different from her usual self, the timid girl who would normally run away after even a single kiss from him.
Even that wasn’t enough. Remembering the last experience, Nan Xu continued teasing, “If we put ice here, how long do you think it would take to melt?”
“Curious? Then let’s try,” he said, reaching to pick her up and fetch the ice.
But Nan Xu stopped him. “No rush yet.”
Her moist lips traced the fine shallow lines on his body, gradually deepening the touch.
Hearing Xie Hejing’s restrained, muffled groan, she finally stopped—but her expression showed she was far from satisfied. Moments like these, teasing him, didn’t come often.
“What do you want to do?” he asked, his eyes burning with desire, the last threads of restraint about to snap.
Nan Xu laughed boldly. “I want to see how long you can hold out tonight.”
She leaned close, whispering into his ear, “I got my period.”
Before he could react, she dashed off his body and ran toward the bedroom.
Xie Hejing ground his teeth, veins on the back of his hand bulging. “Nan Xu!!!”