“I’ll throw you off the bed!”
Qin Lie said it with absolute certainty, thinking this threat would be enough to keep Jiang Wu in check.
However, the woman on the bed merely blinked, then burst into a soft laugh.
The sound was clear and pleasant, like wind chimes tinkling.
“Alright.”
Jiang Wu agreed with surprising readiness, even shifting toward the inside of the bed to make more room for him.
“I promise I won’t move, absolutely won’t cross the line.”
She raised three fingers as if swearing an oath, though a mischievous glint shone in her eyes.
Qin Lie eyed her with a mix of doubt and suspicion.
He felt things wouldn’t be so simple.
But at the moment, he had no better option.
He couldn’t actually stand outside all night.
He removed his coat and shoes, keeping on only his white undershirt and military-green trousers, and stiffly lay down on the outer edge of the bed.
He stayed as close to the edge as possible, his body tense as a drawn bowstring, leaving a person’s width of space between himself and Jiang Wu.
The bed frame swayed slightly under his weight.
An unfamiliar, feminine fragrance drifted from beside him, lingering at the tip of his nose.
It was the fresh scent of her body wash, mingled with her unique natural fragrance—like a gentle net, seeping into every pore.
Qin Lie closed his eyes, ordering himself not to think about it, not to breathe it in.
He silently recited the military’s disciplinary regulations in his mind, trying to distract himself this way.
“First, obey orders, follow commands…”
“Second, be brave and tenacious, unafraid of sacrifice…”
But as he recited, Jiang Wu’s lovely, smiling face surfaced in his thoughts.
He could feel the woman beside him roll over to face him.
Despite the distance, he could still sense that unabashed, burning gaze.
It felt tangible, roaming over his face, his neck, his chest.
Qin Lie felt utterly uncomfortable, even his breathing growing cautious.
“Darling.”
Jiang Wu’s voice was especially clear in the quiet night.
“Hmm.”
He let out a low grunt from his throat as a response.
“Are you asleep?”
“…No.”
“What are you thinking about?”
“Military matters,” Qin Lie lied offhandedly.
“Oh.” Jiang Wu drew out the word. “I thought you were thinking about me.”
Qin Lie: “…”
He felt a throbbing at his temples.
This woman—was there ever a moment she wasn’t stirring up trouble?!
“Go to sleep!”
He growled softly, turning over to face away from her.
Out of sight, out of mind.
Behind him came a soft, low chuckle, then silence.
The room fell quiet again.
Only the sound of the wind outside and the clear, audible breathing of two people remained.
Qin Lie listened carefully for a while, confirming Jiang Wu wasn’t up to any more mischief, and finally relaxed his tense body slightly.
Fatigue washed over him like a tide.
Today had been far too intense.
Both his mind and body had been tested to their limits.
After what felt like a long time, lulled by the sound of the waves, Qin Lie finally fell into a deep sleep.
…
Late at night.
Qin Lie woke to an indescribable sense of suffocation.
He felt as if he were being entangled by a giant octopus.
A warm, soft, fragrant body was pressed tightly against his back from behind.
An arm was boldly wrapped across his chest, clutching his waist tightly.
A leg went even further, directly wrapping around his thigh.
The entire person clung to him like a large koala, leaving no room for escape.
Qin Lie snapped awake instantly.
His body stiffened like an iron plate.
The startling softness and warmth pressed against his back sent his blood rushing in reverse.
He could even feel her cheek resting against the hollow of his shoulder.
Her warm breath brushed against his neck with each exhale, sending shivers of tingling pleasure through him.
The so-called “demarcation line” had long been crossed without a trace.
“Jiang Wu!”
Qin Lie gritted her name out through clenched teeth.
This faithless woman!
He reached out, intending to peel her off him.
But the moment he moved, the person in his arms let out a soft murmur.
She seemed to be sleeping soundly, disturbed by his movement, and shifted discontentedly.
Instead of letting go, she clung even tighter.
Her soft body rubbed unconsciously against his stiff back.
Qin Lie drew in a sharp breath.
He felt that restless fire inside him ignite once more with a “whoosh.”
And this time, it was more intense and unstoppable than ever before.
“Mmm… darling…”
Just as he was about to explode, a drowsy murmur sounded by his ear.
“You smell so good…”
Her voice was soft and slurred, as if she were pouting.
Qin Lie: “…”
He froze completely, as if struck by lightning.
Smell good?
He was a grown man who spent his days training on the field. Apart from sweat and soap, what could possibly smell good about him?
Yet those words, coming from her lips, felt like a magical incantation.
It made his heart skip a beat.
It also instantly shattered a corner of the mental defense he had painstakingly built.
Stiffly, he turned his head slightly, using the faint moonlight seeping through the window to look at the woman clinging to him.
Her eyes were closed, her long eyelashes like two small fans casting faint shadows under her eyes.
Her sleeping face was peaceful and serene, completely devoid of the temptress-like demeanor she displayed during the day.
She looked like a defenseless child.
Was she really talking in her sleep?
Or… was it intentional?
Qin Lie couldn’t tell.
His mind was in chaos.
Reason told him he should push her away immediately, without delay.
Maintain the discipline and boundaries expected of a soldier.
But his body was honestly enjoying this sudden intimacy.
He had never been this close to a woman before.
Her softness, her warmth, her fragrance…
All of it was a fatal temptation to a healthy, vigorous man.
Qin Lie’s Adam’s apple bobbed uncontrollably.
His breathing grew heavy.
He could feel his body undergoing some shameful changes.
His hand, which had intended to push her away, hung in midair.
In the end, it only dropped powerlessly.
Push her away?
And then what?
Throw her off the bed?
Looking at her peacefully sleeping face, Qin Lie found he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
He closed his eyes in frustration.
Forget it.
Let’s just say she was talking in her sleep.
Let’s just say… he was being pressed by a ghost.
Qin Lie hypnotized himself this way, trying to fall back asleep.
But he failed.
With such a warm, fragrant “octopus” clinging to him, if he could still fall asleep, he wouldn’t be a man.
This night was unprecedentedly long for Qin Lie.
He lay motionless like a log, letting Jiang Wu cling to him.
He could clearly hear her steady breathing and his own drum-like heartbeat.
The two sounds intertwined, forming an eerie harmony.
He lay with his eyes open, staring at the ceiling from late night until the sky began to lighten at dawn.
His body suffered.
His mind waged an inner war.
He found his resistance to Jiang Wu rapidly disintegrating at a terrifying speed.
This woman was like a slow-acting poison.
Seeping into his bones and blood bit by bit.
Making him aware of the danger yet unable to resist drawing closer.
When the first clear bugle call sounded outside the window, Qin Lie felt as if he’d been granted amnesty.
He sat up almost instantly.
The “octopus” clinging to him seemed to sense the movement, letting out a couple of discontented murmurs, but ultimately didn’t wake.
Qin Lie looked down at the delicate arm still wrapped around his waist and the graceful leg draped over his thigh.
The skin was fair, the lines elegant.
He quickly averted his gaze, his ears burning once more.
Carefully, as if defusing a ticking bomb, he moved her limbs away from his body.
Then, he dressed in record speed and fled the room that had made him lose control.
He needed to go to the training ground.
He needed to use the most intense training to vent the restless, surging fire inside him.
Otherwise, he feared he might do something irreversible.