The two of them stared straight into each other’s eyes, faces super close.
Zhou Zuizui could even see the faint dark circles under his eyes. In his dark pupils, right now, only her face was reflected. No one else.
Just one light sentence from him felt like he had grabbed her by the lifeline.
— What do you think.
What could she say? How was she supposed to know what Shen Nan wanted to do?
She wanted to guess, but she was also scared of guessing wrong. So she didn’t dare think about it. But not thinking… that wasn’t Zhou Zuizui’s style at all. She wasn’t the type to twist and hesitate.
Both of them were the stubborn type — super unwilling to lose. Neither wanted to be the first to admit they were giving in.
Even though Zhou Zuizui knew she had feelings for Shen Nan… and Shen Nan felt the same about her.
She was pinned under him, and the man on top just stayed in that position. His black eyes locked tightly on her, not doing anything, not saying anything.
Thinking about it, Zhou Zuizui closed her eyes, finally losing patience: “If you’ve got something to say, say it quick. I want to sleep.”
Hearing that, Shen Nan let out a low hum-laugh and looked at the woman in his arms. She already looked cute and charming by nature. With makeup she was beautiful; without makeup she was still gorgeous. Right now, lying under him, she looked like a fully bloomed, tempting flower just waiting to be picked.
Looking lower, her skin was fair and almost see-through. Right now — maybe from nerves or something else — her clean face was flushed red. Her big eyes were staring straight up at him.
If he could hold back after seeing this, then he wouldn’t be Zhou Zuizui’s man.
Zhou Zuizui pressed her lips together, wanting to push him away. Shen Nan’s stare was way too intense and pressuring, and he wasn’t saying a single word. The whole room suddenly felt thick with tension.
“What exactly do you want to… mmph…”
Before she could finish, Shen Nan lowered his head and kissed her hard, sealing her mouth shut.
Their bodies were already pressed tightly together. Zhou Zuizui was only wearing a big loose T-shirt — nothing underneath. Shen Nan was still fully dressed. When they rubbed against each other, the fabric of his pants scratched against her thighs, making it ticklish. And up top, this man was kissing her fiercely, with a rough edge.
Even more intense than when they first met again back in the old town.
She didn’t back down either. She reached up, hooked her arms around his neck, and kissed him back. Their lips sucked and tangled together, kissing hot and wild… both their breathing turned messy.
The temperature in the room kept climbing higher.
Shen Nan completely let go of his control. He just wanted to punish her hard, teach her a lesson — for being so naughty… for teasing him… Actually, deep down, he wanted to spoil her and let her do whatever she wanted.
At first, Shen Nan had planned to talk things out clearly with her before doing anything. But after getting interrupted at noon, she started avoiding him. By the time they got back here, her mood had flipped again. Women were too unpredictable — their emotions changed in ways impossible to figure out.
So Shen Nan thought: punish her first, then talk.
After all—
She wasn’t completely without feelings for him either.
He bit down hard on the corner of her mouth, his tongue pushing in, hooking hers, tangling and sucking.
At some point the room light had been turned off. Only moonlight came in through the window, adding an extra layer of暧昧 (sexy, intimate) atmosphere to the two people inside.
They kissed for who-knows-how-long. Shen Nan felt the changes in her body, suddenly tilted his head, licked her earlobe, and asked in a hoarse voice: “No bra?”
“……”
As he spoke, he bit again, then leaned right against her ear and breathed out in a low, teasing voice:
“On purpose, huh?”
Zhou Zuizui felt like she was about to melt.
This guy… once he took off the military uniform, he really was just a hooligan.
“You…” As soon as she opened her mouth, she froze. When did her voice turn into this? Soft and whiny, nothing like her usual self.
Before she could finish, Shen Nan gave her another hard kiss. Then he rolled off to the side and lay down next to her.
Zhou Zuizui: “……”
What… was this about?
The next second, he pulled her into his arms. From above her head came Shen Nan’s hoarse voice: “We’re still at home.”
— Meaning: no condoms here.
“…………”
“I’m not just acting on impulse.” His voice was still a bit rough, but he sounded very serious: “I wanted to talk it out clearly with you at noon, but we got interrupted.”
His tone was calm — none of his usual strictness. When talking to Zhou Zuizui, he always held back a lot, afraid of scaring her. He was always careful and gentle with her. Honestly, Shen Nan wasn’t impulsive toward Zhou Zuizui. From the very beginning, he couldn’t deny he was attracted to her.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have stepped in to help her back then.
He was a soldier, but he wouldn’t throw away his whole life’s marriage for someone unimportant.
He spoke softly: “You’ve always been this stubborn, never willing to admit defeat. From the first time we met, you said you only love living free and easy…”
He said a lot more. Then Shen Nan lowered his eyes. Just as he was about to keep going, he realized the person in his arms had already fallen asleep.
At some point, she had fallen into a deep sleep.
Shen Nan: “…………”
He got so annoyed he laughed. Couldn’t help reaching out to pinch her fair cheek. The moment he pinched, Zhou Zuizui flipped over in her sleep. Her leg swung over and landed across his waist.
“…………”
Her sweet scent filled his nose. Shen Nan’s throat bobbed. He tried scooting his body back a little. But the moment he moved, Zhou Zuizui scooted right back over and pressed against him again.
Shen Nan closed his eyes and endured. His face turned dark and stormy.
About ten minutes later, he couldn’t take it anymore. Shen Nan threw off the blanket, got out of bed, went into the bathroom, and took his second shower of the night.
The next morning, the wake-up bugle sounded across the military compound. Zhou Zuizui was woken up by the noise.
She pulled the blanket over her head, burrowed deeper, closed her eyes and tried to keep sleeping. Not long after, she fell back asleep.
When she finally woke up, bright sunlight was already shining outside. The curtains in the room were still drawn, but some light still slipped in. She stared for a few seconds before belatedly noticing the spot next to her was already cold.
Shen Nan… who knew when he got up. He wasn’t in the room anymore.
Zhou Zuizui pressed her lips together. The moment she did, her mind went “boom” — last night’s scenes flooded back. Her whole face instantly turned red and hot.
She thought for a second, threw off the blanket, climbed out of bed. It wasn’t even eight yet, but in Shen Nan’s family home, most people were already up by five or six. Zhou Zuizui rubbed her forehead, not sure how she slept so deeply — probably because she hadn’t slept well in a long time.
She quickly changed back into her own clothes and went downstairs. As soon as she reached the stairs, she heard lively voices coming from below.
There were guests at home.
She paused, wondering whether to go back to the room or go down. But the people downstairs spotted her first.
Shen’s mom was the most excited. Her eyes lit up when she saw Zhou Zuizui: “Zuizui, you’re awake! Come down quick for breakfast.”
Zhou Zuizui gave a dazed “Mm”: “I think I woke up late.”
Shen’s mom looked at her with a long, meaningful smile: “No problem. Our family doesn’t care about that. Did you sleep well?”
“……”
Why did she feel like Shen’s mom’s smile had a hidden meaning?
A little later, Zhou Zuizui figured it out.
She watched Shen’s mom go to the kitchen to get breakfast, then walked toward the dining room in confusion. As she walked, Shen Nan followed behind her.
Zhou Zuizui heard the footsteps behind her. The corner of her mouth curved up.
Only after she sat down did she turn to look at Shen Nan. The moment she saw him… her whole body froze.
“You…” She stared straight at Shen Nan today, hardly able to believe her own eyes.
“What?”
Zhou Zuizui looked at the scar on the corner of his lip, then suddenly coughed hard: “What happened to your mouth?”
As soon as she said it, Shen Nan leaned back in his chair and just stared straight at her, full of meaning: “What do you think?”
Zhou Zuizui blanked for two seconds, then suddenly realized exactly what had happened.
That was from last night — when he kissed her so hard she couldn’t breathe, and he wouldn’t let go. In order to survive, she opened her mouth and bit down. But back then… she hadn’t even noticed it broke the skin.
In an instant, Zhou Zuizui understood what that meaningful smile from Shen’s mom earlier really meant.
Her face exploded with heat again.
During the rest of breakfast, Zhou Zuizui felt too embarrassed to say a single word. She just kept her head down and ate like crazy. Halfway through, she really couldn’t eat anymore and stopped. But there was still quite a bit of porridge left in her bowl. Shen’s family had always been against wasting food. She was debating whether to force herself to finish or just leave it, when a hand reached over from the side and took her half-full bowl away.
“Mm.”
Shen Nan lowered his eyes. Without any change in expression, he drank the rest of her porridge in one go.
Zhou Zuizui watched him. Her eyes flickered, but she didn’t say anything.
After breakfast, the two of them smoothly left the house.
Once they got in the car, silence filled the space again. Zhou Zuizui didn’t know what to say. And Shen Nan… she sneaked a glance at the man next to her. Was he… a little angry??
Angry about what??
Zhou Zuizui couldn’t figure it out.
When they got home, Shen Nan opened the car door and got out, carrying the things Shen’s mom had prepared for them. He went straight into the elevator. Zhou Zuizui followed.
There were other people in the elevator at that moment — two young girls chatting and laughing about current celebrities.
Zhou Zuizui listened and couldn’t help curving her lips a little.
Being young is great — you can fangirl over stars however you want. She herself had never really chased after celebrities. From childhood all the way up, it was just study, study, study. All other entertainment was forbidden. Later, when she grew up and started thinking for herself, she began secretly doing things behind her family’s back.
She had actually done quite a few big, bold things without her family knowing.
The more a soul is locked up and controlled, the more it craves excitement and freedom.
When they reached their floor, the two got out of the elevator and walked into the apartment one after the other.
Zhou Zuizui looked at the silent Shen Nan and, for a moment, really couldn’t read what this man was thinking.
She changed into slippers. Just as she was about to head back to her guest room, the man grabbed the hood of her jacket and pulled her back.
“Come here.”
Zhou Zuizui: “…What for?”
Shen Nan glanced at her: “We need to talk.”
Zhou Zuizui coughed once, blinked, and looked at him: “You tell me first what it’s about. If I’m interested, we can talk. If not, forget it.”
Hearing that, Shen Nan gave a light scoff. “The thing you’re interested in.”
“…………”
“You know what I’m interested in?”
She raised an eyebrow, asking smugly.
“Me.” Shen Nan lowered his head. His dark eyes locked on her. His voice was calm, with a bit of arrogant confidence. And yet — Zhou Zuizui loved exactly this side of him: confident, a little cocky, but never conceited. He always had everything under control and always kept his word.
Actually, from the very beginning, what attracted her to Shen Nan was this exact trait.
Zhou Zuizui really was very interested in Shen Nan.
They looked at each other. She pressed her lips together and said: “Okay, but let me change clothes first.”
“Mm.”
She went in to change. Shen Nan sat down on the sofa nearby. But after sitting for a bit, he started feeling restless inside. He pulled out his lighter and a cigarette, lit it, took a drag, and forced himself to calm down for a few seconds.
Even when facing enemies with guns in the past, he never felt this unreal, this unsteady.
He tugged at his lips and gave a self-mocking laugh.
Not long after, Zhou Zuizui came out after changing. The moment Shen Nan saw what she was wearing, his expression shifted. His eyes darkened. He narrowed them slightly, looking at the woman in the skirt, and asked in a low voice: “Not cold?”
Zhou Zuizui looked down at her long skirt: “No. The air conditioning is on at home.”
She paused, then added: “I’m going out with Xia Wen later.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she was pulled onto Shen Nan’s lap. She ended up straddling his thighs.
This position was way too embarrassing.
Shen Nan raised an eyebrow, lowered his head to stare at her, reached out and gripped the back of her neck. Casually, he asked: “You think I’m going to let you go out today?”
Author’s note: Grandpa Shen: Are you looking down on me, or looking down on yourself?