The way these two went back and forth made Pei Tianyang, the self-appointed mediator, look like he was poking his nose where it didn’t belong.
He looked at Lin Shuxue, whose expression was entirely open and candid, and then at Jiang Zong, who looked completely indifferent.
Forget it. If his Brother Jiang wasn’t even afraid, he must have considerable confidence in his own self-control.
Thinking this way, Pei Tianyang put his mind at ease, content to just sit back and watch the show.
At some point, the lights in the private booth had shifted along with the gentle, lyrical music into a slightly ambiguous, dim amber glow. Striking that naturally captivating face of his, it added an extra layer of seductiveness.
Though Lin Shuxue had spoken lightheartedly, she felt a wave of shyness the moment she actually moved. Not quite comfortable sitting down fully, she only hovered, lightly pressing against the very edge of Jiang Zong’s thigh.
As a result, the primary support point for her entire body relied on her own legs. Terrified of bumping into him, her lower body posture became awkward and strained.
Lin Shuxue hadn’t cared at first, thinking it was just a matter of unbuttoning a shirt and that she could easily endure it for a short moment.
Moreover, everyone else’s line of sight was blocked by the marble table in the center of the booth, so no one would notice the strange way her legs were overlapping.
However, from Jiang Zong’s angle, he could see it with perfect clarity.
The young girl’s balance was mediocre at best. She was using all her strength to support her legs, yet they were still trembling. Even the fingers she extended to unbutton his shirt were shaking slightly and uncontrollably.
Feeling somewhat dissatisfied, his deep brows knit into a frown as he let out a sharp “tsk.”
“Are there nails growing on my legs?”
Hearing this, Lin Shuxue lifted her eyes. “No.”
“Then why aren’t you sitting down? Are you practicing horse stances for fun?”
His retorts always came naturally. His dark pupils were half-lidded, wearing an amused, expectant smile.
Being called out, Lin Shuxue couldn’t help but feel a warmth spread behind her ears. She uttered a tiny, quiet “oh,” and carefully pressed half of her body weight onto him.
Even so, she only dared to rest against the front section closer to his knee.
This also indirectly led to.
The sofa was very soft. Having suddenly pressed down right at the front edge, she failed to catch her center of gravity properly, causing her body to lurch violently backward.
Everyone else in the booth gasped in surprise.
Quick-witted and agile, Jiang Zong threw out an arm to catch her, pulling her body forward a bit.
He narrowed his eyes and teased, “If you break it, you don’t have to pay for it. Sit down properly with peace of mind.”
Lin Shuxue’s heart hammered with lingering fear.
The marble countertop behind her was the real deal. If Jiang Zong hadn’t caught her just now, she couldn’t imagine what would have happened to the back of her head if she had slammed into it.
At this moment, she couldn’t care less about being embarrassed. She quietly shifted a bit closer toward the base of his thigh, wanting nothing more than to quickly finish this punishment and be liberated.
She lifted her hands.
Jiang Zong loved wearing button-down shirts, but he never liked fastening the topmost button at the collar. In her memory, every time she saw him, one side of his collar would always hang loosely and messily down.
Just now, however, in order to make this punishment look more official, Lin Shuxue had caught a sneaky glimpse of him deliberately fastening that first button.
The booth’s spotlight rotated above his head, and the amber light cast a distinct shadow from his jawline down to his Adam’s apple, which Lin Shuxue could see clearly.
The uppermost button was firmly trapped against Jiang Zong’s neck. To gain leverage, she had no choice but to draw close.
The button was too tight. She was in a rush to unfasten it, making her breathing turn a bit heavier. Her warm breath spilled evenly across Jiang Zong’s exposed skin, causing a slight tickle.
To accommodate her unbuttoning, he had tilted his head back slightly, making it look as though he were “offering his neck to the blade.”
Terrified that the scene of her losing her balance and falling might repeat itself, Jiang Zong’s hands remained hovering loosely behind both sides of Lin Shuxue’s waist. From an outsider’s perspective, it looked exactly like he was drawing her into his embrace.
On the other side, He Xicun, who was watching the drama, quietly raised her phone lens.
“What are you filming?” Meng Shuyin asked curiously.
“Shuxue and Senior Jiang, of course!” He Xicun answered without a second thought.
Hearing this, Meng Shuyin’s brows knit tightly. “Why are you filming the two of them?”
“A handsome guy and a beautiful girl… it’s eye candy.” He Xicun didn’t think much of it, lowering her head to admire the gorgeous composition and unmatched atmospheric imagery she had just captured, sighing, “It would be an injustice against heaven not to ship them!”
She loved photography and videography. Back in high school, she would take on freelance photoshoot gigs. At this moment, it was purely an occupational habit kicking in; whenever she spotted good-looking models, she couldn’t resist snapping a picture or two.
To her surprise, Meng Shuyin snapped sharply, “Ship what! Have you completely forgotten all that trash about Jiang Zong I told you before?!”
“A scumbag like him! A player! He is not allowed to mess with our Shuxue!”
He Xicun wanted to explain that she was only shipping the atmosphere between them, but just as she was about to speak, she happened to lock eyes with Lucy across from them, who was throwing a hostile glare their way. Remembering the unpleasantness that had just occurred between them earlier, she decided to keep her mouth shut.
Smooth down her feathers first.
She nodded heavily, putting on an expression of deep agreement.
Meng Shuyin was genuinely furious, continuing to mutter endlessly, “Coming to a bar to fool around and even bringing a woman along. The school confession wall was right about him after all; he really isn’t anything good.”
“Even a fool like Pei Tianyang is better than him!”
The more He Xicun listened, the more she felt something was off. It seemed Meng Shuyin wasn’t just taking her anger out on Jiang Zong because of Lucy; her dissatisfaction with Jiang Zong himself seemed far deeper.
Unfortunately, the timing wasn’t right, so she could only suppress her curiosity.
Hurryingly taking advantage of the moment while Meng Shuyin was still venting her emotions, she secretly backed up the photo she had just taken, just in case Meng Shuyin snapped out of it and forced her to delete the picture to prove her innocence.
Lin Shuxue was completely unaware of her roommates’ complicated thoughts; she remained entirely focused on battling the small button in front of her.
Perhaps because the booth’s lighting had lingered on them for too long, Lin Shuxue faintly felt fine beads of sweat breaking out on her forehead. Yet this button felt as though it were seamlessly trapped inside, refusing to budge no matter how she pulled.
Furthermore, she didn’t dare to use too much force, intentionally avoiding contact between her hands and Jiang Zong’s skin, which left her unable to find the right method.
Seeing that she had been stuck for several minutes, Lin Shuxue spoke up softly.
“Could you… please relax a little bit?”
Don’t tense up so much.
Of course, she kept those last words trapped in her throat and didn’t say them aloud.
Hearing this, Jiang Zong let out a low laugh.
Out of pure exasperation.
He was already enduring the torture of the young girl’s phantom-like breath, and he had to maintain a perfectly calm, unbothered facade whenever her fingertips accidentally brushed against his Adam’s apple. Now, the culprit had the absolute audacity to ask him to “relax a little bit”?
Jiang Zong lifted his chin, his tongue lightly pressing against his inner cheek as his deep eyes flared with a trace of impatience.
He lifted his hand, covering Lin Shuxue’s fingers that were causing chaos all over the place.
As he wished, he saw the girl’s consistently calm expression shatter.
The wicked desire deep in his heart was satisfied.
He guided Lin Shuxue’s wrist, pressing it flat against his chest. His fingers threaded through the gaps between hers as he deliberately and unhurriedly undid his first button.
“If you don’t press close, how are you going to unfasten it?”
He smiled playfully, his voice dropping over the top of Lin Shuxue’s head. The rising cadence at the end of his tone felt as if it held a tiny hook.
Jiang Zong hadn’t spoken quietly; the few people around them could hear him clearly. Lucy’s face visibly worsened, while He Xicun, enduring the pressure from her best friend, screamed internally, “This is absolutely killing me!”
Lin Shuxue felt the heat on her face gradually spread from the back of her ears down to her neck. Forced flat against Jiang Zong’s chest at this moment, she could perfectly detect every rise and fall of his chest cavity as he breathed.
That slightly firm texture, could it be the abs that Pei Tianyang had accidentally let slip during his joking?
She spaced out slightly.
Seeing her hand resting unmovingly on his body, another laugh rumbled from Jiang Zong’s throat.
“What?” He lowered his eyes, locking onto Lin Shuxue’s completely clear, light-colored pupils. “You still haven’t learned after one demonstration?”
“Do you want to do it again?”
Lin Shuxue’s wandering mind snapped back into place, and she hurriedly shook her head.
“N-No need.”
Jiang Zong tirelessly teased her, “Really no need?”
Lin Shuxue was resolute: “Really no need.”
Having said that, as if to prove herself, she swiftly reached out and unfastened the second button.
Smooth. In one continuous motion.
Jiang Zong watched the girl’s slightly panicked eyes with great interest.
Further down were her thick, long eyelashes that resembled raven feathers, and her high, upright nose bridge.
The booth’s music had already transitioned from lyrical tracks to a dynamic DJ set. Amidst the noisy surrounding environment, a sentence Pei Tianyang had uttered in the dormitory that day abruptly burst into Jiang Zong’s mind.
“…She looks so obedient and pure, she’s practically my dream girl…”
Shifting his gaze down further, it landed on the girl’s slightly parted lips.
Perhaps because she had just drunk some fruit wine, un-dried moisture clung to her crimson lips, reflecting a crystalline, bright light.
Jiang Zong suddenly realized that the “goddess” Pei Tianyang babbled about every single day was not a joke.
She truly possessed a breathtaking beauty, like a perfume lily.
Not glaringly showy, yet forcing anyone who saw her to lose their heart.
His gaze lingered on the girl’s lips for too long, long enough for him to clearly see the texture and lines on Lin Shuxue’s lips, as well as her dainty labial tubercle.
For some unknown reason, Jiang Zong felt the light above his head turning unbearably hot. The booth’s 16-degree air conditioning felt way too high.
His arm, which had been loosely hovering behind Lin Shuxue’s waist, slowly dropped, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing against her repeatedly. His nose faintly caught the unique, clean fragrance coming from the crown of the girl’s head.
Right at that moment, Lin Shuxue unfastened his third button.
The collar fell completely open, exposing a small patch of his chest.
The cold air blowing from the air conditioner made contact with the skin of his chest, instantly shocking Jiang Zong completely awake.
Recalling the absurd thoughts that had just flashed through his mind…
His expression turned abruptly cold and stern.
“Get down.”
The man’s cold, deep voice dropped over the top of Lin Shuxue’s head.
Initially, she didn’t even react. After all, this tone was a world apart from how he had sounded just moments ago.
A look of confusion flashed through her eyes, but she still stood up with a good temper.
Everyone else in the booth was equally mystified.
Without providing any explanation, Jiang Zong picked up the glass in front of him and downed it in one gulp.
“I concede the punishment.”
“I have something to attend to. Excuse me.”
When the words left his mouth, they carried a raspy edge. He didn’t even bother to maintain his usual smiling eyes; his deep pupils displayed a sharp, severe intensity.
Pei Tianyang was entirely stunned in place. He could faintly sense a trace of anger radiating from Jiang Zong’s body, but he had no idea where his Brother Jiang’s anger had come from.
Yet, without waiting for anyone to react, Jiang Zong stood up and strode right past Lin Shuxue’s side, leaving behind only a hurried silhouette.
Lucy’s brain worked quickly; she grabbed her bag, stepping into her high heels to chase after him.
Looking at the silhouettes of the two further down the corridor, Pei Tianyang assumed Jiang Zong would definitely push Lucy away, and prepared to head over to offer the girl a few comforting words.
To his utter surprise, Jiang Zong’s figure paused for a fraction of a second before continuing forward, unexpectedly giving his tacit approval for Lucy to accompany him.
Could Brother Jiang really have taken a liking to Lucy? Is that why he wasn’t even angry after she stepped into his minefield? Then what on earth was he so angry about to leave without a word?
Pei Tianyang couldn’t figure it out.
Simultaneously, Lin Shuxue, who was standing closest to the two, took in the entire interaction between them in the distance with perfect clarity.