“Am I interrupting?” Zhou Yansheng asked with a faint smile. “It’s getting late. Are you two continuing or calling it a day?”
Though he addressed both of them, his gaze lingered on Qin Qing.
From the moment Zhou Yansheng entered the room, Qin Qing hadn’t taken her eyes off him.
His crisp military overcoat, his tall and straight figure.
Even the sound of his military boots earlier—each step seemed to resonate right in the pit of her heart.
Better than any piano melody.
Now, seeing Zhou Yansheng ask her, she nodded instantly, forgetting there was someone else present, and instinctively acted coquettish.
“Let’s go home, go home! Brother, I’m hungry!”
Only after speaking did she realize the setting was inappropriate, and she quickly added with a hint of embarrassment to Xiao Yang, “Sorry, Senior Brother, let’s continue tomorrow, okay?”
Zhou Yansheng naturally picked up Qin Qing’s bag from the piano and casually tapped out a chord on the keys. “Nice tone.”
It was all very casual.
“Wow! You’re a pro!” Xiao Yang’s eyes widened. “That’s exactly the feeling! Junior Sister, this is the sound you couldn’t find earlier—this sense of power! It’ll definitely blow the roof off…”
While Xiao Yang was still rambling on, Qin Qing was already stunned, her mouth slightly agape.
The last time she saw him play the piano was on her twentieth birthday. Back then, although there was a rift between them, they hadn’t yet reached the point of arguing every time they met.
The Zhou family had thrown her a birthday party, and he had made a special trip back to celebrate with her…
But she had brought Lin Xiang along, and they had ended up in a huge argument.
She had said it was the Zhou family who owed her, that there wasn’t a single good person in the Zhou family…
“Brother…” She looked at him, wanting to say she was sorry.
She had been so terribly wrong back then.
“Alright, let’s go home.” Zhou Yansheng had already closed the piano lid and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Teacher Xiao, we’ll take our leave first.”
With that, he led the slightly dazed girl away.
On the small bicycle, Qin Qing sat obediently on the back seat. She had initially wanted to hug Zhou Yansheng, but her hands were too cold in the late evening, so she simply tucked them into the man’s overcoat pockets.
She even pressed her entire face against his back.
Zhou Yansheng noticeably stiffened his spine.
Despite trying not to care, he still said, “Do you sit like this on other people’s bicycles too?”
Qin Qing was taken aback, then remembered Xiao Yang giving her a ride yesterday and suddenly understood.
He was jealous!
“Of course not! I was perfectly proper, even keeping my hands on the seat.”
After a moment’s thought, she added, “Brother, I’ve only ever hugged you like this.”
“Then… hold on tight.”
The bicycle suddenly sped up.
“Slow down~”
Zhou Yansheng didn’t take Qin Qing straight home. Instead, they stopped at the entrance of an alley and had a simple, steaming bowl of wontons.
“I’ll take you somewhere.”
Qin Qing didn’t mind. As long as he was with her, she’d go anywhere.
Yet when Zhou Yansheng planted his feet on the ground and stopped in front of a new apartment building, Qin Qing’s heart still fluttered a little.
Strictly speaking, this place could no longer be considered part of the old residential compound. It was a separate residential area built by the unit in the city center, much like ordinary apartment buildings.
“The new apartment’s been approved. Let’s go.” Zhou Yansheng parked the bicycle and led the girl upstairs.
“The application was submitted late, so there weren’t any good floors left. We’ll have to make do.”
Zhou Yansheng stopped in front of Unit 202, took a key from his coat pocket, but instead of opening the door himself, he handed it to Qin Qing. “The lady of the house should be in charge. It’s only right for the lady of the house to open the door.”
Qin Qing felt as if her feet were floating.
It wasn’t that she had never lived in a luxurious home. On the contrary, she had spent all these years in a grand villa.
But this door before her was different.
This was her and Zhou Yansheng’s… little home.
“Don’t just stand there dazed, open the door.” Zhou Yansheng ruffled her hair.
“Keep doing that and I’ll go bald!”
Qin Qing pouted playfully, inserted the key, and opened the door.
Zhou Yansheng wrapped an arm around her as they entered, casually flipping the switch in the entryway.
The simply decorated house was empty except for whitewashed walls, feeling quite spacious.
Yet, Qin Qing’s tears began to patter down.
Without any hesitation, she turned and hugged the man.
Rising on her tiptoes…
She pressed her lips against his, which felt slightly cool.
She nibbled clumsily, without any technique.
But he cupped her cheeks and gently pulled her away.
Before she could feel disappointed, his low, heated voice reached her ears.
“Close your eyes, I’ll teach you.”
Then, his lips came down on hers fiercely.
Tender and lingering.
He had never kissed her like this before.
Qin Qing felt her heart trembling…
Mm.
She let out an unconscious, soft moan.
The sound was light, delicate.
Yet laden with intense desire.
But that faint sound seemed to jolt the man back to his senses, and he slowly pulled his lips away.
Both of them were breathing heavily, their breaths unsteady.
His forehead rested against hers, his chest heaving violently.
They were pressed so close together that Qin Qing could feel the heat radiating from his body.
“Zhou Yansheng…” she called his name.
Their lips met again.
But the man didn’t dare continue, instead pressing the girl’s head against his chest.
“Qingqing… don’t move.”
His voice was hoarse and gravelly, yet each word pierced straight into Qin Qing’s heart.
He called her Qingqing again.
“Mm.” She nodded obediently in his embrace.
They held each other, calming the tremors within.
Suddenly, Qin Qing thought of something and looked up, asking out of the blue, “Who taught you?”
Zhou Yansheng was momentarily taken aback, his brow furrowing. “Hmm?”
“You said you’d teach me… who taught you…” Qin Qing’s voice was as faint as a mosquito’s hum.
Hmph! His technique was so good!
She looked at him with resentment.
Zhou Yansheng understood and couldn’t help but laugh. Looking at the girl’s swollen lips, he gave them a light bite. “Self-taught.”
Qin Qing’s face flushed even redder.
“Then what about you and Yao Lina…” The moment the three words left her mouth, Qin Qing regretted it.
Why did she act impulsively again!
Why bring up someone else in such a good atmosphere!
“Forget I asked.” She hurriedly pulled away from the man’s embrace, pretending to look around the house.
“What do you think could have happened between me and her?” The man’s voice came calmly from behind, tinged with a light laugh.
“You almost got engaged to her.” Qin Qing stopped walking and pouted.
“That was ‘almost.'” Zhou Yansheng licked the back of his teeth. “Alright, can we not bring up irrelevant people? I don’t even remember what she looks like.”
“Mm.” Qin Qing nodded, her attention genuinely captured by the layout of the house. “The place is quite spacious!”
Zhou Yansheng watched the girl as she continued exploring the house and smiled self-deprecatingly.
She could easily bring up Yao Lina, yet he didn’t even dare mention the name Lin Xiang.
After all, he was the man who had occupied her heart for three whole years.
Could she really cut ties just like that?
“Brother, come quick, look how big the balcony is!”
The girl’s cheerful voice interrupted Zhou Yansheng’s thoughts. Suppressing the bitterness in his heart, he walked over.
A two-bedroom, one-living-room apartment of less than a hundred square meters, yet Qin Qing insisted on looking around for half an hour, unwilling to leave.
“I’ve asked Qiangzi to ship the furniture and appliances directly from the capital. They should arrive in about three days. The specific arrangement is up to you.”
“Sixth Brother?” Qin Qing was somewhat surprised.
Among Zhou Yansheng’s group of childhood friends, Yang Zhiqiang ranked sixth, having grown up with them since they were young.
“Yeah, he has wide connections. He can buy directly with foreign exchange certificates, so there’s no need to gather so many coupons all at once,” Zhou Yansheng explained.
“Ready to go, young lady?” He took her hand. “It’s getting late, and it’s cold outside. Let’s head back early and rest.”
“Brother, I don’t want to leave tonight,” Qin Qing said, swaying Zhou Yansheng’s finger with a hint of willfulness.