Chen Ling had been sitting by the table for nearly an hour when Yaxi finally came home. Without so much as a glance at the dishes he'd prepared, she stormed into her room and slammed the door shut.
After a week of living together and their minimal past interactions, Chen Ling had come to realize that Yaxi was someone who excelled at enduring hardship.
She rarely spoke honestly, seldom revealed her true feelings, and most of the time kept herself isolated from others, using silence and coldness to ward off any attempts at closeness.
Only around those she trusted would she let her guard down slightly.
For instance, when talking to Dr. Yu, she became lively, full of smiles, and even knew how to charm people with gentle words.
And during moments of passion, her lips would part just enough, her eyes gleaming with innocence, unable to hide the excitement within.
Slamming the door seemed to be her way of venting—something she only did around him. Though he wasn't exactly someone she was close to, perhaps he had become a dog she could marginally trust.
Without his cane, he limped over to her door and knocked three times.
"Whatever's upsetting you, you should eat first. Let me heat it up for you."
The sound of footsteps quickly approached from behind the door, and Yaxi opened it, casting a brief glance at the dining table. "Did you make this?"
Chen Ling offered a soft smile, nodding.
"You're much better than Lu Ziyang. Xu Xiaoyi really does have good taste," Yaxi remarked as she walked toward the table.
"Hmm," Chen Ling didn't inquire about what had happened, calmly agreeing instead. "Lu Ziyang can't hold a candle to me."
Yaxi didn't seem to hear him; she began eating without another word.
Lu Ziyang returned home without greeting his parents, simply announcing that he wouldn't be having dinner before storming into his room.
The loud slam of the door made Old Man Lu's heart ache.
"That brat," Lu Hong muttered in his study, wearing reading glasses as he pored over a plant encyclopedia.
Jian Ningzhi, after lighting the incense burner, said coolly, "All temper and no brains. Let him starve if he wants."
Lu Ziyang slammed the door shut and threw himself onto the bed. In the pitch darkness, every sensation in his body and every buried emotion felt amplified.
He was both ashamed and furious. Earlier, Yaxi had merely shown her foot, pressing it against him for less than half a minute before he climaxed. She laughed and consoled him, saying it was normal for a virgin to ejaculate within thirty seconds the first time a woman used her foot on him.
Then she turned serious, saying, "No matter one's background, there is no distinction between high and low among people. If the young master looks down on others, I won't give him the time of day in the future."
"As for Chen Ling, yes, I forced him. It seems he's running from something and made a deal with me, willingly staying. I'll ensure his safety.
If Xu Xiaoyi can't let go, don't tell her about him being here. She definitely wouldn't be able to handle it. If she's hurt, none of you will find peace. Think carefully—don't do something so despicable.
Don't worry, I won't keep Chen Ling for long.
After the college entrance exams, I'll send him back.
But I need your help. Find out who's pursuing him. His leg's already been broken."
Lu Ziyang, also concerned for Chen Ling, immediately agreed.
But whenever he was around Yaxi, he couldn't find the right words. He had insulted her and himself, yet he didn't know how to apologize.
At school, Yaxi was always alone, elusive, never meeting anyone's gaze. The kids at No. 2 High School spread rumors, claiming she stole things and that her father was in prison. They had no idea how remarkable Yaxi truly was.
It was her who didn't mock him for scoring twenty points in physics, patiently explaining problems to him ten times over.
It was her who, after he bribed her with chocolate, imitated Old Man Lu's flamboyant handwriting to sign his red-marked test papers, saving him from disaster time and again.
It was her who always stopped him from impulsively getting into fights, teaching him clever ways to retaliate indirectly.
It was her who looked beautiful whether studying seriously, plotting revenge, smiling with sparkling cat-like eyes, secretly smoking while teasing him, or gazing at Chen Ling with glowing admiration…
Why did her eyes only hold Chen Ling? She had come to him, ostensibly to inform him about Chen Ling's situation, but in reality, she was worried about Chen Ling, assuring him she would protect him. The Yaxi who smiled at him, who was endlessly patient with him, who showed him another side of herself—why didn't she like Lu Ziyang? What did he lack compared to Chen Ling?
…Lu Ziyang opened his eyes in the darkness.
Who she liked was none of his business.
He sprawled on the bed, limbs splayed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Fifteen minutes passed.
Finally, he couldn't resist any longer. Lu Ziyang reached into his pants and grasped his penis.
Before leaving the sickroom, he glanced back.
The girl was standing by the bed, stretching lazily. Her black sweater rode up, revealing a sliver of her waist.
Her waist was soft and slender, so delicate it seemed his hands could encircle it entirely.
Her stomach was flat, her navel small and faintly pink, almost tempting enough to take a bite.
She bent down to grab the phone tucked beneath the pillow, her ass pointed right at him. The sweeping curve was smoother than any mountain ridge, but where a mountain stood rigid and unyielding, her hips—hugged tight and squeezed by her pants—promised a softness that begged to be pinched.
Her ass jutted out, so her waist dipped inward.
And her breasts—what about those?
He rubbed his palm a few times, fingers tracing circles around the tip of his cock.
Back then, he should've charged in, yanked off that sweater, and grabbed her breasts to feel how they perked up under his hands. He'd knead them, lick them, plunge his tongue into her mouth and suck, silencing any chance of her crying out "Chen Ling." He'd coax every moan from her lips.
No one ever came to the infirmary anyway.
She'd lured him there to tease him—beyond just her feet, she could use her hands, her ass, her mouth to drive him over the edge.
A bead of liquid seeped from his tip, and Lu Ziyang's muscles bulged, straining as if they might burst. He quickened his hand, sliding the foreskin back with urgency.
"Mmm… Lu Ziyang, don't touch there," she whimpered, pleading through tears.
"Where—the stiff nipples, the tender earlobes, or that little bud that gushes the moment it's fucked?"
Lu Ziyang straddled Yaxi from behind, squeezing her breasts until they felt ready to explode, his tongue trailing down her spine, teeth sinking into her ass. Her hips rocked against his cock—she wanted it, no question. Her slick arousal had already soaked the infirmary bed, drenching the sheets back in his room. He wanted to smack her ass with his cock first, then drive himself inside.
She'd surely sob from the sheer force of him: "So big—Ziyang's cock is so big, it fucks me so good."
Beep—beep—idiot, get up—idiot, get up—
If you don't get up—half your brain's gonna rot away—
Lu Ziyang flung a long arm out from under the covers and swatted the alarm clock to the floor.
He reached for his rock-hard cock, ready to tackle his usual morning ritual.
But his fingers brushed a damp spot on his abs—a sticky, congealed mess.
The vision of Yaxi, naked beneath him, her tits bouncing in his dream, flickered through his mind. He growled a loud "Fuck!" and stormed off to the bathroom for a cold shower.