By the time the clock reached ten-thirty at night, the sun had finally disappeared completely below the horizon.
Everyone who witnessed this scene cheered, delighted that the sun had finally set, unaware that this would be the last time they would see it for the rest of the month.
On the third floor of Villa No. 66 in Shengshi Haoting, inside the master bedroom, the atmosphere was exceptionally alluring.
After Qiao Anran finished her bath and came out, she immediately noticed that there was an extra person on her large bed. Still wrapped in nothing but a bath towel, she stopped in her tracks, and even the small hand that had been drying her hair came to a halt.
Her snow-white, flawless little face was tinged with a faint blush.
She swallowed as her mouth suddenly began producing an excessive amount of saliva. Only then did she force herself to keep her gaze on his face, preventing her eyes from wandering down to his bare chest.
Although she kept reminding herself that a girl should be reserved and that she had clung to him so shamelessly last night only because she had been drugged, her eyes clearly had a mind of their own and had long since stopped obeying her.
He had probably just finished bathing as well. His long, ink-black hair was no longer tied up with the white jade hairpin and instead fell loosely down his back, with a few mischievous strands hanging over his chest, making him look like a mesmerizing male demon who could steal a person’s soul.
She did not know whether he had no clothes to wear or whether he had deliberately come here to tempt her. Leaning against the headboard, he wore only a bath towel around his lower body, covering the important parts.
His long, slender, well-defined legs were casually stretched out across the bed.
His skin was extremely fair, even whiter than that of an ordinary woman, yet it was not the sickly kind of pallor. It was flawless and translucent, like white jade.
He was also naturally blessed with the physique of a perfect clothes hanger. His body was well-proportioned, making him appear cold and slender when dressed, but once his clothes were removed, the abdominal muscles on his stomach were clearly visible.
They were not exaggerated, just perfectly defined, making her want to reach out and touch them, if only to feel their springy firmness.
Just as she gradually became lost in his irresistible beauty, a deep, husky voice drifted through the air.
“Little Jiu’er, want to touch? You can come over. You may enjoy me to your heart’s content.”
Those final four words instantly brought Qiao Anran’s wandering mind back to reality. Her dazed gaze immediately moved away from him, and her face visibly flushed even deeper. Even the words that came out of her mouth carried a scorching warmth.
“You… Why are you in my room? The guest room is on the second floor.”
At that moment, even though the air conditioner was running, she felt as though she were trapped inside a furnace, her entire body burning hot. Just now, she had actually wanted to pounce on him again and devour him.
She looked down at her rosy toes and wondered to herself whether the aphrodisiac she had been given last night was still lingering in her body.
Before she could figure out the answer, his soul-stirring, intoxicating voice once again reached her ears through the air.
“Little Jiu’er, we are husband and wife. How can we sleep in separate rooms?”
“!”
She had selectively forgotten that being husband and wife meant sharing the same bed and sleeping together. The reason was that during her mother’s lifetime, she and Qiao Yutang had never slept in the same room and had always slept separately.
On top of that, her maternal grandparents had also slept in separate rooms, so she had subconsciously assumed that this was simply how married couples lived.
But now, what was she supposed to do?
Tomorrow would be the first day of the apocalypse. What if she upset him and he left in a fit of anger?
And who would cook for her? How would she hide in his spiritual space whenever they encountered danger?
The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she became. In the end, she could only raise her head and give a slight nod.
“Sleeping in the same room is fine, but I’ll make the rules. You have to listen to me.”
Li Cangchen’s gaze had remained fixed on her face the entire time, their eyes meeting across the room. Upon hearing her words, he raised his brows slightly and said softly, “All right. I’ll listen to Little Jiu’er.”
As long as he could hold her soft, fragrant body in his arms while they slept, he could agree to anything. However, her next words immediately caused his brows to furrow.
His Little Jiu’er walked toward the spacious sofa as she spoke.
“You sleep on the bed. I’ll sleep on the sofa.”
His deep eyes were already so cold they seemed capable of freezing into ice. A dangerous edge entered his voice as each word escaped his sensual lips.
“Little Jiu’er, are you asking me to carry you over there?”
The moment Qiao Anran sat down on the sofa, she felt a chill run down her spine, as though the temperature in the bedroom had suddenly dropped several degrees.
She could clearly sense that he was on the verge of becoming displeased. She even had the strange feeling that if she continued challenging him, she would be given a very harsh lesson.
But this was her territory. How could she possibly back down?
She immediately raised her head and met his dark, unreadable eyes.
Yet under the intense pressure of his gaze, the courage she had just mustered instantly deflated like a punctured balloon, disappearing without a trace.
Her little hand gripped the already half-wet towel as she explained in a quiet voice, “I… my hair isn’t dry yet. If I sleep on the bed, I’ll get the sheets wet.”
The moment she finished speaking, he, who had been reclining on the bed, wrapped the bath towel securely around his lower body, got out of bed, and walked toward her.
When she saw the unmistakable outline beneath the towel, she suddenly felt her mouth go dry and her face grow even hotter. Even the air she exhaled seemed to carry sparks of heat.
Her bright eyes immediately darted away. She did not dare look any longer, afraid that she would truly turn into a shameless woman who could not resist a handsome man.
This was only their second day seeing each other. She did not want to leave him with the impression that she was a lustful woman. She wanted to remain reserved for at least another day.
Her mother had also once gently told her that a woman must never allow herself to be completely controlled by a man. She had to hold the decision-making power in her own hands, rather than letting him dictate everything or blindly doing whatever he said.
A woman’s beauty would eventually fade, and everyone would grow old one day. Being an independent woman was a perfectly good way to live.
She had always thought her mother was right. Without a man, a woman could live a more refined and carefree life.
But now, she felt that she could no longer do that.
She wanted him. She did not want to spend the long years of her life alone.
Especially in an apocalypse where she did not even know whether there would be a tomorrow, she wanted to live according to her own wishes.
She then openly looked at him without dodging his gaze any longer, facing her true feelings as she watched him walk toward her step by step.
Li Cangchen reached the sofa and sat down beside her. He took the towel from her palm and draped it over the armrest of the sofa, then picked up the hair dryer from the coffee table and plugged it in. Leaning close to her ear, he said softly,
“I’ll dry it for you.”
The hair dryer switched on, and his slender fingers immediately spread through her flowing hair, gently drying it little by little.
His expression was extremely focused, as though he were afraid of pulling her hair and hurting her, and his movements were exceptionally gentle.
The only sound in the room was the soft whirring of the hair dryer. Her waist-length hair danced gracefully in the stream of air.
Her soft, lustrous strands were like smooth, exquisite silk, impossible to grasp as they repeatedly slipped through the gaps between his fingers.
His bare chest was very close to her, so close that she could clearly feel his heartbeat, as well as his warm breath.
The sound of the hair dryer beside her ear seemed to fade away completely, leaving only the powerful rhythm of his heartbeat.
She did not know how much time had passed when his slightly heated lips suddenly caught her earlobe and drew it gently into his mouth, accompanied by his husky voice.
“Little Jiu’er, shall we go to bed?”
She gradually came back to herself and realized that he had already finished drying her hair.
The sandalwood fragrance lingering beneath her nose was rich and intoxicating, causing the desire suppressed deep within her heart to rise once again.
She lifted her little hands, wrapped them around his neck, and softly answered, “Mm.”
The next moment, her delicate body was lifted into his arms as he carried her toward the large bed.
The bath towel around his body was mercilessly tossed onto the sofa.
That night was so beautiful that all she wanted was to lose herself in it forever.