Chu Li: “…”
Before she could speak, Pei Mo, leaning against the wall nearby, had already smiled with an air of innocent implication. “Cousin, that’s obviously not appropriate.”
“This is Li Li’s sister’s first time here.”
“She’s a guest.”
Shen Zhe lazily tugged his collar loose and turned to look at Chu Li.
She didn’t throw him an interested glance, only pressed her lips together and smiled faintly, repeating what she’d said before: “I’ll head off first.”
She’d eaten and drunk her fill.
Why torture herself by continuing to deal with this trouble-magnet young master?
Shen Zhe watched her walk out the door, his lazy, half-lidded eyes filled with a rare look of confusion.
He glanced at his own loosened collar and thought, this doesn’t add up.
Wasn’t his hint obvious enough?
Could it be that Chu Li was shy in front of his family?
Trying to make a good impression on them?
【You only undid one button, what’s there to see. Might as well look at your older brother, he undid two.】
【Speaking of which, doesn’t anyone else find it a little strange, being cooped up together like this? The abstinent older brother’s started unbuttoning his shirt, and the cousin who’s mooching a meal has both an ear stud and a tongue piercing.】
For now, they all seemed absorbed in their own little worlds, not yet noticing anything off.
Shen Zhe still wanted to reach out, grab her wrist, and say a few more words.
Pei Mo pulled him back, smiling as he changed the subject. “Bro, there’s something I need to ask you about.”
“Talk with me for a bit.”
Shen Zhe could only be dragged away, watching her walk further off.
Chu Li returned to her own suite, opened the laptop she’d brought with her, and made a few more edits to her work designs.
The suite was spacious and comfortable, scented with lemon sea-salt aromatherapy, and there was even a vintage record player she could use.
The working environment Shen Jichu had given her was excellent.
What a good client.
Compared to going through those restricted-content storylines, she was far more focused on making money.
Once she finished this project for Shen Jichu and built up a good reputation working with the Shen Corporation, she’d land even more clients.
Chu Li hummed a little tune, occasionally chatting online with Qin Mian, and now and then checking in on the kittens through video.
“Have they all been eating properly?”
Qin Mian: “Of course.”
“I strictly rationed the appropriate amount of canned food tonight. Guaranteed sensible portions, balanced nutrition.”
“Say hi to your mom, babies~”
A few kittens meowed at the camera in different pitches.
Qin Mian reached out to pet one, then another. “Sigh, your mother’s been charmed by some wild man out there. She’s not coming home to see you tonight.”
Chu Li: “…”
See, this was her good best friend.
Every day, trying in various ways to drag her back onto the righteous path, away from becoming a “love-brained” fool.
“Don’t worry, kitties, I’m out there working hard for money. I’ll buy you cans when I get back.”
Chu Li blinked and declared this with great righteousness.
She kept her hand on the mouse, glancing at her computer now and then as she carefully revised the draft. In the meantime, the Shen household’s butler brought over a fresh set of pajamas, along with warm milk and evening snacks to help her sleep.
Seeing she was busy, he set them aside.
After a while, Chu Li stretched. She’d just gotten up to walk around a bit when someone knocked on the door.
“Who is it?”
Her eyelid twitched faintly.
She tried to glance at the danmu floating around her, hoping to guess who was outside and what might be about to happen.
【It’s Pei Mo, tsk tsk. After he pulled Shen Zhe away, he deliberately chatted with him about boring stuff for a long time, and slipped a bit of sleeping medicine into his drink.】
【What a good little brother, so concerned about his brother’s sleep (dog head).】
“Li Li, are you in there?”
He’d pried the corner of the wall open earlier as if he had no moral qualms about it at all. The door creaked open, and he stood outside wrapped in a bathrobe.
Chu Li: “…what’s up?”
He lowered his puppy-dog eyes and reached up to loosely gather the bathrobe.
The sash at his waist hung loose, on and off, and his robe fell open, hinting at the shape of his body underneath.
“My bathroom’s broken. Could I borrow yours?”
He tilted his head. “The butler might already be asleep, so it’s not really convenient to bother him.”
【Didn’t expect the first person to show up at her door tonight would be little green tea Pei Mo. Makes sense though, from the way Chu Li avoided answering, Big Brother Shen probably already guessed the dream was real too.】
【He’s still processing the truth. Give him some time.】
Chu Li didn’t expect Pei Mo to come up with such a flimsy excuse.
She studied him for a moment, thinking it over.
As if he sensed her gaze.
Pei Mo, smiling, gathered his bathrobe a little tighter. “Don’t worry, Li Li, I didn’t wear anything weird when I came to the Shen house today.”
Chu Li quickly looked away.
She wasn’t curious about that at all.
Considering he’d treated the little tabby cat before, she didn’t flatly refuse him, and said plainly, “Go ahead and use it. I’ll go down to the tea room for a bit.”
Pei Mo: “…”
【Hahaha, little green tea’s just like Shen Zhe, gathering his collar and doubting his own charm.】
Pei Mo narrowed his eyes slightly. He seemed to mull it over, then said to her on purpose: “But just now, on my way up, I saw Big Brother Shen head that way too.”
He seemed to be testing her deliberately.
Chu Li’s steps faltered slightly. The night breeze, carrying a chill, brushed against the hem of her skirt, and the red mole on her knee flickered faintly into and out of view.
She shut the door with a light click.
Running into Shen Jichu would make things even more awkward.
It would be fine if they just kept those restricted-content storylines confined to the dreams, quietly, between themselves. If it spilled out into the open, it wouldn’t be good for anyone.
Chu Li was genuinely troubled.
Not to mention that Shen Jichu still hadn’t paid her the remaining balance for the work.
Pei Mo slipped off his bathrobe, his abs and the sharp lines running down toward his hips clearly on display under the light.
He tilted his head and asked innocently, “Li Li, are you that afraid of Big Brother Shen?”
Chu Li: “Of course I am. Who wouldn’t be afraid of an elder in the family, or the client paying for their work?”
Her light tea-colored eyes blinked a few times.
A dimple appeared on her fair cheek, her expression composed as she gave a light shrug, not betraying the slightest hint of anything unusual.
As if the undercurrents of desire swirling around the dinner table earlier hadn’t happened at all.
She neither accepted it nor rejected it.
Pei Mo realized he’d hit a snag.
He tugged at the sash and pulled it loose, letting the bathrobe slide down further.
Chu Li sat back down, continuing to type away at her keyboard, occasionally glancing up to look at him calmly.
Hm.
She watched to see what he’d do.
Wasn’t Pei Mo just trying to spite Shen Zhe by deliberately coming to flirt with her?
She picked up her orange juice and took a sip, a bit curious how far Pei Mo would actually take this.
【According to the original storyline, after Big Brother Shen discovered that red mole, Li Li got forcefully taken. Back in her room, Pei Mo would gently comfort her, with another round.】
【So good, so good. Since you two aren’t following the original storyline, you’ll probably still end up dreaming about it eventually~】
Pei Mo went to shower, and when he came back trailing a bit of steam, his hairstyle and pajamas looked somewhat like Shen Zhe’s usual look.
He was imitating him.
As Chu Li was writing something, her pen cap accidentally rolled off the desk. It landed on the carpet with a crisp clatter.
She instinctively tried to step on it lightly to stop it from rolling.
Pei Mo happened to crouch down right then.
In his half-kneeling position, his fingertips seemed to reach for the pen cap too. But his fingers only brushed past it, and in the end he didn’t pick it up.
Chu Li’s bare foot landed on the back of his hand.
He raised an eyebrow and didn’t withdraw his hand. “Li Li.”
“Hm?”
Chu Li assumed he was about to needle her again, maybe tattling that Shen Zhe was being flirtatious with some pretty girl again.
Instead, she heard him say, lazily, “Want to try what it feels like to kiss with a tongue piercing?”
Chu Li: “?”
【No idea, what does kissing with a tongue piercing feel like. Us honest folks only dare sneak a peek when we’re reading restricted content.】
A wave of yellow heart emojis scrolled across the danmu.
【Meanwhile Shen Jichu next door is still tormented by guilt and the dream coming true, and here this Pei Mo kid’s already gone on the offensive, hehe.】
【So how does the tongue piercing feel? Hurry! Up! Try it!】
Chu Li felt a little dazed too.
She was a tiny bit curious about the answer, but not exactly eager to make the first move. So she stayed seated where she was, watching Pei Mo tilt his face up, drawing closer and closer to her.
He’d originally planned to take things slow.
But after sensing Shen Jichu’s intentions over dinner, he decided he couldn’t afford to wait any longer.
The Shen brothers were putting on too much of an act.
Might as well let him get in the fight first, and try to snatch a piece for himself.
Chu Li felt him take hold of the pen cap that had rolled away, then his fingers drifted upward and closed around her ankle instead.
Pei Mo spoke, innocent and smiling: “Li Li, don’t you want to try?”
“Shen Zhe isn’t exactly the model of a faithful boyfriend.”
“I could be.”
“I’m willing to skip the whole official-title thing, want to try kissing with me?”
He asked so bluntly.
One kiss-or-not question after another.
“I won’t let Shen Zhe find out,” he added. “I’ll be very careful.”
Lately Chu Li had also grown a bit tired of Shen Zhe’s games. She really didn’t mind trying something on the side with someone else.
It was all those seductive scenes from the original storyline’s dreams.
They’d corrupted her, boo hoo.
She didn’t shake her head, her gaze curious as it landed on the jet-black tongue piercing between his lips.
Pei Mo loosely gathered his bathrobe again, still half-kneeling on the carpet, and straightened his bent back a little so they were now at eye level.
He said, “If you’re not shaking your head, that means yes.”
Pei Mo raised a hand to cup her face, his thin lips drawing closer.
His tongue piercing was a little cold, and the moment she made contact with it, he caught her firmly.
The piercing was smooth, but had a certain hardness to it.
Chu Li’s thoughts scattered in different directions, sometimes wondering whether he’d get kicked out of the lab if he wore this thing to class.
Oh, maybe he’d put it in specially for today.
Other times she found herself marveling at just how strange human aesthetics could be, to invent such a peculiar thing.
It was quite different from an ear stud or a lip ring.
Pei Mo had just showered and rinsed his mouth.
Between his lips lingered a fresh mint taste, passed to her through the white mist of their breath.
The piercing he wore seemed deliberately left loose.
She kept accidentally knocking it loose with the slightest touch.
Cool, tangled between their lips, when she pushed, he curled right back. She could clearly feel the metal texture mixed with the mint scent.
Pei Mo kept his hand cupping her face the whole time, and after a while she accidentally bit down on the corner of his lip.
He let out a muffled laugh, like a wolf pup rewarded with a bone, and slowly pulled back to their original distance.
“Li Li.”
“Next time, you can bite harder.”
He said this with the most serious, innocent expression. His eyes were dark, carrying a hint of aggression left over from the kiss.
Just as he reached out again to tug at the sash of his robe—
Her phone rang.
It was Shen Zhe calling: “Chu Li, are you asleep? Pei Mo just left. I’m alone and feeling a bit bored.”
“Keep me company and chat for a while.”