"Then just stay at my place from now on," Si Yanjing said. "You can go back whenever you want to return to the Su family."
When Su Zhiyi was playing the pity card, she had also mentioned that she had "stormed off" from the Su family because of Su Qinghuai's matter and was now living outside. Si Yanjing, without thinking too much, directly invited Su Zhiyi to stay at his house. Si Yanjing's home was large, with several bedrooms, so there was plenty of room for her. Having a nice place to stay instead of a rundown small rental apartment was unexpected for Su Zhiyi. Not only had she achieved her goal, but she could also live in Si Yanjing's home. Of course, she wouldn't refuse, so she gladly agreed.
Su Zhiyi took a shower at Si Yanjing's place and removed the makeup that had been smudged from crying. Her bare face, like a lotus emerging from clear water, was even more pure and fresh compared to her sweet made-up daytime appearance. Her clothes were all in the rundown rental apartment, so she had no change of clothes and could only borrow Si Yanjing's shirt for the time being. Si Yanjing's clothes were a bit too big for her petite frame; a loose shirt could even cover the upper half of her thighs.
The lamp in the living room cast a warm yellow glow, creating a full ambiance. The air was thick with ambiguous tension, breaths intertwined, and the temperature seemed to have risen by a couple of degrees. Su Zhiyi straddled Si Yanjing's lean waist, as if she was inexperienced with such a bold move, a shy blush spreading across her face. She unintentionally shifted her legs, her delicate inner thighs brushing against his firm waist. The hem of his shirt rode up, revealing his well-trained eight-pack abs.
"Hold me, I'm about to slide off," she pretended to lose her balance, slipping sideways and grabbing onto Si Yanjing's chest.
"Careful." Seeing Su Zhiyi about to slide off, Si Yanjing instinctively leaned forward and wrapped a strong arm around her slender waist. His other hand, at a loss for where to go, accidentally landed on her snow-white thigh!
Compared to his rough, calloused fingers, her skin was as fragile as a smooth, flawless piece of tender tofu. Warm and soft, it made him want to... squeeze it a little more.
Reason conquered desire. Si Yanjing suddenly realized his action might be a bit offensive and quickly withdrew his hand from her leg. He gasped a few times, his voice hoarse and strained: "Sorry, I didn't mean to."
"Why are you apologizing to me?" Su Zhiyi's voice was as sweet as melted sugar, sticking between them. "Yanjing..."
Her soft hand caressed his hard abs, tracing the contours of the muscles. The cool touch sent a shiver through the man beneath her.
"Don't you want to get a little closer to me?"
Si Yanjing suddenly felt parched. Saliva kept secreting, but it evaporated in his scorching mouth or was swallowed down. His gaze was as dark as the night, his voice low and husky.
Desire and love replaced the last shred of reason. The string of reason snapped, never to be restored.
"Yes."
Without waiting for Su Zhiyi's response, as if afraid of breaking a precious art piece, he gently caressed the back of her head. His fingers threaded through her soft hair, and his dry lips kissed her tender lips, which were like petals dotted with dewdrops.
He was like a lost traveler in a dry desert who had found an oasis, wanting to soothe his restless heart with this cool spring, to lower the heat in his body by one degree. But instead of calming, his frantic heart only beat faster, nearly bursting out of his chest. Their body temperatures rose—his and hers—scorching hot.
Their lips and tongues entangled, the sounds of ambiguous wetness and gasps echoing. After a long kiss, their lips parted, pulling out several alluring silver strands.
"Sitting here is so tiring, it's uncomfortable," Su Zhiyi murmured softly, hugging Si Yanjing's arm. "Yan—Yanjing, I want to lie down..."
His hand supporting her waist involuntarily tightened. Si Yanjing wrapped his arms around her waist and changed positions, so now Su Zhiyi was on the bottom and he was on top.
Her soft hair spread out on the sofa, the dim light contouring her soft cheeks. Her cheeks were so flushed they could bleed, her snow-white skin tinted like fresh peach blossoms. Her eyes were shimmering with tears, her long lashes wet, evoking pity. Her red lips slightly parted, revealing a bright red tongue as she breathed gently, tempting him to taste her again.
Her entire body went limp, her thighs slowly rubbing against his. With just a few moves, she aroused the man above her.
Si Yanjing's mind went blank with a buzzing sound; the only thing in his eyes was the lover beneath him. The sound of his heartbeat was like muffled thunder, pounding against his chest.
"May I?" he asked.
Su Zhiyi cupped his face with one hand, propping herself up on the sofa with the other, and raised her head to place a gentle kiss on his lips. "At a time like this, saying 'May I' isn't really appropriate, is it? Yanjing, you should say sweet nothings. I love hearing you say the words I want to hear."
*
After a night of passionate indulgence.
Morning light filtered through the thin window curtains into the room. Su Zhiyi woke up late. By the time she got up, Si Yanjing, who had been sleeping beside her, was already gone. She quickly washed up, opened the door, and left the room.
As soon as she reached the living room, she smelled the lingering aroma of food. Si Yanjing walked out of the kitchen, holding a plate of fried eggs. The moment he saw Su Zhiyi, several frames of last night's thrilling scenes flashed through his mind. The passionate words he had spoken echoed in his ears. All of it stirred the heart of a pure young man experiencing love for the first time.
Si Yanjing's ears immediately burned. He didn't dare look into Su Zhiyi's eyes, shifting his gaze slightly to the side, pretending to be calm as he placed the plate on the dining table. There were already several dishes on the table—congee, fried eggs, corn, fruit, and more—enough for two.
Su Zhiyi wore her signature sweet smile and warmly greeted Si Yanjing, "Good morning."
"Good morning." Si Yanjing pulled out a chair for her. "You've woken up just in time. I've just finished making breakfast. You must be hungry, right? Sit down and eat slowly."
Su Zhiyi naturally sat down in the chair he had pulled out, picked up a spoon, scooped up some congee, and took a small taste. A faint steam rose from the congee; the temperature was just right, neither too hot nor too cold. The taste was mild and light, suitable for many palates.
Si Yanjing sat down across from her and ate breakfast with her. He occasionally glanced up to steal a look at her, but she seemed not to notice his gaze, quietly eating her meal. Si Yanjing thought she hadn't noticed him, but that wasn't the case. His burning gaze was hard to ignore; Su Zhiyi was aware of it but chose not to acknowledge it. Staring at her while eating—truly a pure virgin... Oh, after last night, he was no longer one.
"Ding-dong! Dear host, your system 030 is online! Sincere greetings to you. Good morning!"
System 030's lively voice suddenly rang out in her mind. Su Zhiyi, while savoring the breakfast Si Yanjing had made, said good morning to System 030: "Morning, you're punctual."
System 030, seeing Su Zhiyi and Si Yanjing eating together harmoniously, gave a strange "Eh?" "Eh? Host, have you already resolved the matter?"
"More or less."
"Oh... Host, you're amazing! I couldn't even imagine how to resolve that scene yesterday!"
Su Zhiyi let out a soft laugh: "Alright, let's not talk about yesterday. Did you find the information I asked you to look up?"
"The information you wanted—I stayed up all night checking the database for you. Next month's charity gala..." System 030 reported all the findings it had gathered, including the schedule of the Su family's charity gala, the specific list of families attending, and the recent activities of the top aristocratic families that would attend.
Su Zhiyi listened in silence until System 030 finished its last sentence.
"The Si family hasn't made any moves, but the Song family and the Su family reached a business cooperation last night. I don't know the specifics of their cooperation—my authority is too low to probe deeper. That's all the information I found last night. Any other questions, host?"
Su Zhiyi digested these fragments of information: "No, this is enough." She suddenly remembered the house she was currently in. Now that she was living in Si Yanjing's place, she didn't need to go back to the rental in the slums. "By the way, since I'm staying at Si Yanjing's house now, can you help me bring over the luxury items from the rental? You should be able to apply for that permission, right?"
Mainly, she wanted to live in a mansion, not a shabby rental. She was greedy—she wanted to save moving costs and couldn't let Si Yanjing do the heavy lifting, or she'd blow her cover.
System 030 agreed readily: "No problem. I'll apply to the main system for spatial item transfer permission later. Transferring a few luxury items is doable."
"Alright."
Su Zhiyi's mind wandered to the date she was supposed to have with Si Yanjing last night. But she had run into Song Lian and Su Qinghuai at the restaurant, almost ruining her plan and nearly exposing herself in front of Si Yanjing. "Hey, by the way, there's something else I want to ask you." She had spent the whole night entangled with Si Yanjing, so she hadn't had a chance to probe Song Lian and Su Qinghuai to find out why they had appeared together at the restaurant. As soon as she arrived at Si Yanjing's place last night, her phone had died and shut down automatically. She had only charged it after waking up, and she hadn't dared to turn it on to see the messages from those two men.
Last night, the three men had turned the restaurant into a battlefield. Thinking about it carefully, one would notice a hint of weirdness. Su Qinghuai knew the most information. He knew about Song Lian's existence and that Song Lian had the same intimate relationship with her as he did. Su Qinghuai had always regarded Song Lian as a love rival and couldn't stand him. What about Song Lian? Song Lian recognized Su Qinghuai but had never taken him seriously. On the surface, Song Lian was gentle, humble, and polite, but deep down, he still had the arrogance of a young master from a wealthy family. Song Lian had never considered Su Qinghuai a love rival; it wasn't that he couldn't stand Su Qinghuai, but rather he disdained to even spare him a glance. Two people who didn't get along—how could they end up in the same restaurant and coincidentally bump into her on a date with Si Yanjing?
It was too strange...
"About Song Lian and Su Qinghuai..."