“Have you missed me?” The man’s breaths were heavy, his voice hoarse.
He was bare-chested, his back broad and his muscles taut. His facial features were as if sketched with charcoal—cold and handsome.
Veins stood out on the arm resting on the girl’s waist, hinting at a vigorous, contained power.
Wen Shiqing hummed and whimpered without speaking, a faint, cat-like mewl escaping her throat.
Xie Yucheng tilted his head to suck and bite her delicate pink ear, his large, hot palm gently caressing her waist.
His low, mellow voice, accompanied by hot breaths, sprayed next to Shiqing’s ear:
“Say you missed me, and I’ll let you go.”
The girl’s skin was fair and smooth, her waist as slender as a willow. A cascade of long hair was draped over her shoulder, and her exquisite, graceful curves were clearly visible through a thin nightdress.
The room was steeped in her sweet fragrance, filled with a warm, perfumed air.
The two were pressed close together. One was as unyielding as steel, the other as soft as a block of tender tofu.
Her earlobe was sensitive, and she couldn’t take it for more than a few moments before her entire body collapsed into his arms.
Wen Shiqing let out a soft sob, two wet tears squeezed from her beautiful eyes.
“I missed you…” Her voice was delicate, the end of the word trembling.
Xie Yucheng let out a soft chuckle. His arm tightened around her, pressing her fiercely against him. He bent his head to lick away her tears, his voice hoarse as if on fire.
“I was lying.”
His thin lips crushed against hers, nimbly prying her teeth open and slipping inside. A forceful, domineering kiss stole all her air.
The distinct, wet sounds of the kiss echoed intimately by her ear. The girl’s cheeks flushed red with shame and anger, the tip of her heart trembling.
The kiss slid from her chin to her fair, slender neck. A potent masculine scent enveloped Wen Shiqing’s neck as his teeth gently nibbled, setting a trail of fire wherever they touched.
In the next second, Wen Shiqing’s body was suddenly lifted into the air and tossed onto the bed.
She reacted quickly, trying to crawl toward the edge of the bed, but he grabbed her fair, slender ankle and dragged her back before him.
He impatiently bent his head and kissed her small mouth again.
Her long neck, delicate collarbones, and fair shoulders were not spared…
He tasted her sweetness with near-brutishness.
After a long while, Shiqing was kissed until her limbs went weak and her expression grew hazy. She pressed her hands against his chest, pleading in a soft, sweet voice:
“Don’t, I’m begging you, not today, really…”
Xie Yucheng suppressed his ragged breaths and stopped, trapping her within his territory. “Give me a kiss of your own accord, and I’ll let you go.”
She furrowed her delicate brows and pouted, her small, soft fists hitting his shoulder. “You’re lying again.”
“I’m not lying. Really.” His eyes were dark and deep, and his thin lips curved slightly. He looked very serious.
Shiqing blinked her long lashes. After two seconds of silence, she closed her eyes, gently tilted her face up, and pressed her lips to his. Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and her fair, pinkish skin was like a piece of fine jade.
Xie Yucheng’s throat tightened. The blood in his veins seemed to boil as he abruptly seized the nape of her neck and kissed her red lips deeply, his actions intensely aggressive.
In the darkness, Wen Shiqing heard the click of a belt buckle.
The man’s voice was raspy, his low, curling breaths falling beside her ear.
“So eager. How could I possibly let you go?”
A few months earlier.
Ji City, the transportation department of a certain state-owned factory.
Dressed in all black, Xie Yucheng slung a black handbag over one shoulder with one hand, a lit Marlboro cigarette dangling from his lips. He sauntered out of Manager Zhang’s office in the transportation department, turned right down the long corridor, and headed straight for the finance office.
“Reimbursement!” He leaned casually against the finance office doorway, knocked, and a lazy smile played on his face, giving him a roguish charm.
“Well, well, if it isn’t Young Master Xie, back from a trip?” Sister Zhang, the office supervisor, teased.
Sister Lan, the accountant in charge of driver reimbursements, smiled and nodded her chin at Xie Yucheng. “The forms are over there. You can fill them out first.”
Xie Yucheng tucked the cigarette behind his ear, strode into the room, and sat down decisively at an empty desk with a laugh. “No rush.”
His voice was low, husky, and magnetic, like a magnet that sent a jolt of electricity through one’s ears, making hearts inexplicably tingle.
To his left was a young girl, a new intern in the finance department.
It was clearly her first time seeing him. Her gaze darted toward Xie Yucheng several times, and she couldn’t help but blush.
The man’s side profile was sharply defined. His eyelashes were slightly lowered, his brow bone high, and the bridge of his nose prominent. His features were deep and well-defined, with a noticeable Adam’s apple.
When he occasionally turned his head, you could see his sharp and dashing almond-shaped eyes. When he smiled, the corners of his lips curved ever so slightly, his dark eyes deep and captivating.
Xie Yucheng unzipped the black handbag and pulled out a bar of soap with exquisite Russian packaging. He handed it to Sister Zhang, who was opposite him. “Here. I heard you mention this brand of soap last time, so I brought one back for you.”
Sister Zhang’s eyes lit up. She quickly took it, and the soap’s rich fragrance wafted to her nose through the wrapper. She couldn’t stop smiling. “Oh, you’re so thoughtful, you kid! How much was it?”
Xie Yucheng gave a rakish smile and waved his hand. “Talking about money ruins the mood.”
He then took out a copy of Industrial Accounting from his bag and placed it on Sister Lan’s desk. “Sister Lan, I asked a friend to help me find the book you wanted to read. Is this the one?”
Sister Lan put down her pen, her eyes overflowing with surprise. She picked up the book and examined it from all angles. “Yucheng, how are you so resourceful? This book is impossible to find on the market anymore.”
Xie Yucheng’s brow arched slightly. “As long as it’s the right one.”
A wave of warmth spread through Sister Lan’s heart as she caressed the book, unable to put it down.
Next, the man pulled out a few chocolate candies and handed them to the new girl at the next desk, a flirtatious smile on his lips. “Imported from Germany. Have a taste.”
The young girl’s face instantly turned red to the tips of her ears. She whispered, “Thank you.”
He sat down at the desk and finally got down to business, pulling a stack of receipts from his pocket and beginning to fill out the reimbursement forms one by one, his head lowered.
His handwriting was firm and powerful, each stroke and slash as sharp and unrestrained as the man himself.
Xie Yucheng was a formally employed truck driver in the transportation department of a large state-owned factory. The job had been arranged for him by his father, Xie Guoli.
Xie Guoli himself had once been a long-haul driver there. At the time, Xie Yucheng had just graduated from high school and was fooling around with a group of friends in the city every day. That year, Xie Guoli happened to break his leg in a work-related accident and could no longer drive, leaving him with a lifelong disability. The factory compensated him with a sum of money and arranged for his early retirement. Before leaving, Xie Guoli had his son take over his position at the factory.
The salary ranged from over a hundred yuan on a slow month to two hundred on a good one. In an era where the average monthly wage was only thirty to forty yuan, this was an incredibly enviable profession, a typical “golden rice bowl.”
But Xie Yucheng was not satisfied with it.
Looking out the finance office window, he could see the Yellow River JN162 Truck parked in the factory yard. Its body was imposing and tall, with a 10-ton carrying capacity. It had been his companion on the road for over a month and was now being inspected by colleagues from another department.
No matter how hot his hands got from gripping the steering wheel, it was still the company’s truck.
Driving the company’s truck, enduring the wind and sleeping in the open for a month, he could at most earn a hundred-odd yuan.
But if he could have his own truck, it would be a different story. Independent truck drivers were the real deal, earning anywhere from several hundred to a thousand yuan a month.
Xie Yucheng dreamed of owning his own truck.
This long-haul trip had lasted nearly a month. There were numerous expenses to be reimbursed, from meals and lodging to fuel. By the time he finished filling out the forms, it was almost closing time.
He handed the reimbursement forms to Sister Zhang. She gave them a cursory glance. As usual, every expense was reasonable and compliant, written down in meticulous detail.
Although this kid from the Xie family seemed wild and unrestrained on the surface, he was thorough and considerate in his work and didn’t try to fleece the factory like other drivers. He wouldn’t take a cent less than he was owed, nor a cent more. He was a man of principle.
Sister Zhang didn’t even bother with a detailed look, signing her name with a flourish of her pen.
Xie Yucheng then handed the signed forms to Sister Lan. The office normally closed at 5:30, but from 5:00 onwards, Sister Lan wouldn’t do any more work-related tasks. No one who came for reimbursement would get it.
The silver-chained Seagull watch on Xie Yucheng’s wrist now pointed to 5:28.
With the stack of receipts at her side, Sister Lan had no suspicions. She glanced at the total reimbursement amount, took the cash from the safe, counted it, and reimbursed Xie Yucheng on the spot.
“Thanks,” Xie Yucheng said, stuffing the money into his pocket.
Sister Lan smiled, picked up her bag, and prepared to leave for the day. “Don’t be so formal.”
Xie Yucheng went to the parking shed in the factory yard and yanked the cover off his motorcycle. The airflow stirred up a cloud of dust. It was a red Xingfu XF250 model. He hadn’t ridden it much since buying it, so it still looked new and cool.
With a long stride, he swung his leg over the motorcycle and sped out of the factory grounds.
The wind made his jacket flap noisily. The man was like a wild black panther, speeding past the old factory buildings and through the tube-shaped apartment residential area. His perfect side profile made the girls on the roadside turn their heads to look.
The Xie family lived in an alley in the northern part of the city. All the houses in this alley had their own private courtyards. Although the location was a bit remote, the living environment was much better than the tube-shaped apartments in the city center.
Wen Shiqing was sitting at the entrance, basking in the sun with a baby chick in her arms. Her mother, Yang Ying, was chatting with a few neighborhood aunties under a large scholar tree at the east end of the alley. Her stepfather, Xie Guoli, was inside reading the newspaper.
Suddenly, a few short, loud honks from a motorcycle horn sounded, followed by the boisterous laughter of the women at the alley’s entrance.
“Well, look who’s back! The handsome one!”
“Yucheng, ah, do you have a girlfriend yet? You’re not getting any younger. Auntie can introduce you to one…”
Hearing the commotion, Wen Shiqing shot to her feet. Cradling the chick, she took a few steps out and craned her neck to look—
A familiar handsome face came into view.
The man had a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth, his lips curved. His long, narrow eyes were wild and untamed as he tilted his head and bantered with the women.
“What’s this? Did you miss me, Sixth Auntie?”
“What’s a girlfriend? I’m not even an adult yet, and you’re talking to me about this.”
Wen Shiqing stood awkwardly at the doorway. Her pale yellow dress made her look like a pure little daisy. Her dark, glossy hair was braided into two pigtails, and her skin was so fair it seemed translucent like rice paper held up to the light, with tiny blood vessels faintly visible. She looked so fragile, as if she would shatter at a touch.
She clutched the hem of her dress tightly with one hand, her heart thumping wildly.
He hadn’t been home for a full 27 days.
When the motorcycle came to a steady stop in front of her, Wen Shiqing’s long, curly eyelashes fluttered. She called out timidly, “Brother.”
Her low, soft voice brushed against Xie Yucheng’s ear like a feather.
The man propped his long leg on the ground, the cigarette held rakishly in his mouth. He blew a puff of white smoke in her direction, casually raising an eyebrow and staring at her with a teasing look in his eyes.
The girl in front of him was indeed his stepmother’s biological daughter. That pair of similar eyes and brows were just as annoying to look at.
He noticed the baby chick she was holding. It had soft, yellow fluff all over, timid eyes, and a tiny beak. It looked quite a bit like her.
Xie Yucheng lifted his chin, his lazy, deep voice drifting through the air. “What, did you give birth to it?”
Wen Shiqing’s face instantly flushed red at his words. She quickly shook her head. “No, Brother, it wasn’t me. Ali gave birth to it.”
Ali? That was the hen she had raised for over two years. She fed it diligently every day, gave it medicine when it was sick, and kept its coop cleaner than her own room, treating the hen like a treasure.
The corner of Xie Yucheng’s mouth twitched. She was explaining it so earnestly.
Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly felt a sharp gaze on him from behind. He pressed his tongue against the back of his molars, let out a disdainful scoff, and beckoned to the girl with his index finger.
“Come here,” he said in a commanding tone.
Wen Shiqing obediently took a step forward, closer to him.
The man’s large hand suddenly pressed down on the nape of her neck. He leaned in close to her ear, the distance between them so small that Xie Yucheng could see the fine, downy hair on her skin.
The slightly bitter scent of tobacco, mixed with the man’s crisp, winter-forest-like aura, enveloped Wen Shiqing, creating an intense sense of pressure.
Her breath caught, and she didn’t dare to move.
His warm breath fanned across her ear, and the girl’s earlobe turned visibly red.
Xie Yucheng’s peripheral vision caught the sound of approaching footsteps from behind. He shot her a cold glance and said in a harsh tone:
“You’re just like your mother. Neither of you is any good. Stop pretending to be some pure, innocent little rabbit.”
Although the posture was extremely intimate and ambiguous, the words that came out were like invisible knives, stabbing into Wen Shiqing’s heart inch by inch. The upward curve of her lips quietly froze.
She was used to it.
Over the years, the vicious words he had spoken had already subjected her to a death by a thousand cuts.
“Nannan!” Yang Ying stepped forward and pulled her daughter away. She said to Xie Yucheng with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, “Hurry up and go inside. Your father has been talking about you for days.”
She couldn’t stand this stepson of hers. When she had first married Xie Guoli eight years ago, Xie Yucheng had already shown his dislike and rejection of her.
He didn’t like her, and she didn’t like him. As her daughter grew up, she became even more vigilant about them having any contact.
Xie Yucheng knew what she was thinking. He slanted a glance at her, treating her like thin air, and didn’t bother to reply. He propped his motorcycle against the wall, walked past them, slung the black handbag casually over his shoulder, and swaggered into the house.
“Nannan, what did he say to you just now?” Yang Ying pulled her daughter aside.
Yang Ying was from Suzhou, and her speech carried a hint of the soft, gentle Wu dialect. Wen Shiqing’s accent was just like hers.
She was ten years younger than Xie Guoli, young and beautiful in appearance, and dressed very fashionably. She changed her clothes daily, and her hair was styled in the popular “beckoning wave” perm of the time, making her look gentle yet alluring.
Besides cooking three meals a day at home, she spent the rest of her time out and about. Xie Guoli didn’t manage her much, as long as she kept the house in order.
Wen Shiqing lowered her gaze, her long eyelashes slightly curled, forming a charming arc. “He didn’t say anything.”
“Let me tell you, Mom’s telling you, don’t get too close to him, you hear? He’s full of bad habits, and his temper is foul and stubborn. No matter how good you are to him all these years, it’s all for nothing. He’s a stone you can’t warm up.”
“Mom, Brother is not the kind of person you think he is.”
Seeing her own daughter speak up for her stepson, Yang Ying poked her on the forehead, her tone one of exasperation. “Brother, Brother, does he even see you as his sister? Don’t you go embarrassing me by fawning over him.”
Wen Shiqing pursed her lips, stunned for a moment, then carried the baby chick into the courtyard.
She didn’t want to be his sister.
[“Grumpy Persimmon” has a new book, family! This is a sincere author who will never pad out the story. This story involves pseudo-incest, with a brother and sister, and has a reunion-after-a-long-separation plot. Many people have asked why my previous book is gone. Those who have read it should be able to guess the reason. Sob, what I wrote was severely explicit and got locked in the little black room. Currently, only those who have added the book to their shelves can see it.