Gu Beizheng halted in his tracks. He wasn’t unaware of this woman’s designs on him. He shouldn’t have let Xiaotao drag him here to move her things today, and he definitely shouldn’t have been unable to refuse Xiaotao’s request to deliver these curtains in the rain.
Right now, he should just ignore this woman, rush out immediately, and leave.
“What do you want to say?” the man asked in a low, obscure tone, his back turned to Xu Zhouzhou.
Xu Zhouzhou looked at his back and slowly walked up behind him. “Gu Beizheng, can’t you really help me?”
Gu Beizheng had his back to her, so he couldn’t see her expression, but he could hear the plaintive sorrow in her voice.
“I’ve already saved you twice, Teacher Xu. Don’t push your luck.”
Gu Beizheng’s voice was ice-cold and indifferent.
“Gu Beizheng, I really have no other choice. I’ve offended Lu Shijie. His family has power and influence; they won’t let me off. I’m all alone here. If I stay, I will definitely meet a wretched end.”
Gu Beizheng turned his head and met the woman’s reddened eyes.
“When Teacher Xu was fighting yesterday, you didn’t look like this.” Since she claimed to be afraid of offending people, she sure had been fierce when fighting Fu Chunhua yesterday.
Xu Zhouzhou paused for a moment, then argued defensively, “I was just furious at the time. Even a rabbit bites when it’s cornered.”
A rabbit? Did she really think she was a rabbit, and not a fox that was sometimes crazy and sometimes seductive?
Thinking of this, Gu Beizheng twitched the corner of his mouth. “I’ve already asked the Village Head to change your housing. How else do you want me to help you, Teacher Xu? Beat up Lu Shijie again? Or send him to prison?”
Xu Zhouzhou knew he was mocking her.
Although Lu Shijie was hateful, he hadn’t caused her substantial physical harm yet, so how could he go to prison? Even if things played out like in her dream and he really did defile her, given his family’s capabilities, he would still get off scot-free.
“Even changing housing can’t stop those with evil intentions.” Xu Zhouzhou looked up into Gu Beizheng’s eyes and took a step closer to him.
“Gu Beizheng, can you take me with you?”
Gu Beizheng looked as if he had heard a joke. His brow jumped slightly as he looked at Xu Zhouzhou with a complex expression. “Take you with me?”
Xu Zhouzhou looked sincere and nodded seriously. “I’m not trying to blackmail you. I know that you giving me artificial respiration to save me was a necessary measure. I’m just begging you: can you take me away from here?”
“Xu Zhouzhou, why should I take you away? And what makes you think I can take you away?”
Xu Zhouzhou ignored the sarcasm in the man’s eyes and said, “You are an officer, a war hero. Your prestige is high in the village and the township. You definitely have a way. If you can take me away, I… I will definitely repay you well.”
Gu Beizheng’s lips hooked into a smirk, and he asked in a low voice, “How do you intend to repay me?”
“I…” Xu Zhouzhou looked at Gu Beizheng and moved forward again, her body almost pressing against his. Her voice slowly dropped to a whisper. “Can I… give myself to you?”
Gu Beizheng looked at her in shock. “…Do you know what you are saying?”
Xu Zhouzhou’s throat tightened, and she swallowed hard. “As long as you can take me away, I don’t need you to take responsibility. Whether as a lover or just a fling, I don’t care. And later, if you want to leave, I definitely won’t pester you. I swear.”
Gu Beizheng looked at the woman raising her right hand to swear an oath, watching him carefully. He never expected she would propose such a condition, and even “kindly” allow him to withdraw at any time.
This woman really was poisonous.
“Xu Zhouzhou, I didn’t know you were so… shameless.”
His words shattered Xu Zhouzhou’s forced self-esteem. Tears began to stream down her face. “I know I’m being thick-skinned and you look down on me, but what can I do? You tell me, what should I do?”
“But what does that have to do with me? Why do you think I’m some soft-hearted fool you can just cling to?” Hearing her unreasonable, tantrum-like questioning, Gu Beizheng scoffed.
Xu Zhouzhou looked up, staring at him steadily, and secretly gritted her teeth.
“Because I know you don’t have absolutely no feelings for me.”
Holding the man’s waist, she stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his.
The original owner had never touched a man, and Xu Zhouzhou certainly hadn’t either. In school, aside from studying, she was busy with work-study programs; where would she have found the time to date? Her only theoretical knowledge of romance came from the novels and movies she had seen.
Now that she had pressed her lips to the man’s, what was next?
Theoretically speaking, she should stick out her tongue.
The man stood ramrod straight, seemingly unresponsive. She gritted her teeth, squeezed her eyes shut, and slowly extended the tip of her tongue. She gave his cold lips a tentative lick before quickly retracting it.
When Gu Beizheng was kissed, his mind exploded with a boom. His pupils dilated instantly. This man, usually so decisive and stern, was now somewhat at a loss.
When the woman’s soft tongue peeked out, every nerve in his body pulled taut, and the veins on his forehead bulged.
“So what you mean is, Teacher Xu, as long as I can take you away, I can do whatever I want with you and I won’t have to take responsibility?” Gu Beizheng pushed her back slightly, lowering his head until his nose tip almost brushed against hers, asking in a low, husky voice.
The man’s scorching breath tickled her cheek. Xu Zhouzhou couldn’t tell if the emotion churning in his eyes was danger or anger. Her hands gripping the hem of his shirt tightly, she nodded slightly and rasped, “Yes.”
The face before him overlapped with the face beneath him in last night’s dream. A taut string inside him snapped with a twang.
Blood surged through his veins, seemingly breaking through a dam of restraint, sweeping through his entire body, uncontrollable.
A dangerous glint flashed in his eyes. He hooked an arm around her waist and growled, “You asked for this.”
He lowered his head and took a fierce suck on her soft lips. Just as he was about to continue, he realized the woman was clenching her teeth, her body trembling slightly.
Gu Beizheng slowly pulled away from her lips and asked in a low voice, “What’s wrong? Scared? Or do you regret it?”
Xu Zhouzhou shook her head, her trembling voice laced with a hint of grievance. “I don’t. I… I just don’t know how.”
Hearing her words, Gu Beizheng seemed stunned for a split second, and then a muffled laugh escaped his chest.
Xu Zhouzhou sensed the man’s mockery. She looked up, defiant. “You… you teach me. I… I can cooperate with you.”
Gu Beizheng choked inwardly. What did this woman mean? Did she think he was some veteran playboy who went around deflowering maidens? Did… did she think he knew how either?
He released her waist and took two steps back. Meeting her misty eyes, he swallowed hard.
“Teacher Xu?” A shout from outside disrupted the heated atmosphere between them.
Gu Beizheng furrowed his brows, took another step back, and walked to the door.
“Oh, Comrade Gu, what are you doing here?”
Principal Wang hurried over holding an umbrella. Seeing Gu Beizheng, he was surprised for a moment, then cast a thoughtful glance into the room.
“Principal Wang, Comrade Gu came to help me move. The rain got heavy, so he’s sheltering for a bit. Did you need something, Principal Wang?” Xu Zhouzhou also walked to the door and spoke.
Principal Wang had heard the rumors in the village about these two. If Teacher Xu could get together with this man, it would actually be a good thing.
He glanced at the two of them and smiled. “I left something in my office and came to get it. The village broadcast just announced there will be a power outage soon, so I brought you a few candles while I was at it.”
Xu Zhouzhou accepted the candles. “Thank you, Principal Wang.”
“It’s nothing, it’s nothing. Well then, you two carry on. I’ll be going.”
Principal Wang retrieved his items from the office, then held up his umbrella and walked out the school gate.
Xu Zhouzhou felt that if Principal Wang hadn’t suddenly arrived just now, Gu Beizheng would have lost control. She looked up at the man’s back, unsure of what to do now.
Gu Beizheng, who had cooled down by now, took a deep breath. He turned around and said in a deep voice, “Apologies, Teacher Xu. I can’t help you. And don’t get any ideas about me again.”
Before Xu Zhouzhou could say anything, he shoved the flashlight he was holding into her hand. He turned and strode out into the rain, walking out the school gate. He even locked the gate for her before hurrying away.
Xu Zhouzhou watched his silhouette and let out a soft sigh. She couldn’t tell if she felt disappointment or relief.
Lying in bed that night, listening to the rain outside the window, Xu Zhouzhou decided she felt more disappointment than anything. She had gone that far, yet that man remained unmoved.
“What a rigid blockhead. Is he even a man? Can he not get it up?”
She turned over in a huff and punched the pillow. What a lousy pillow; it’s so hard.