For once, Wen Ci’s mind completely short-circuited. In the end, all she managed to say was, “Anything is fine. Thank you.”
Zhou Wu chose a rice ball, asked the cashier to prepare some oden, then picked up two boxes of c*ndoms.
While paying, he glanced through the convenience store’s glass windows at his car.
Wen Ci still had her head lowered. He could not see her face at all.
Wen Ci blushed very easily. Usually, by the time they reached the kissing stage, even the tips of her ears were already red.
Zhou Wu had always assumed it was simply a physical reaction. Whenever they had s*x, Wen Ci’s entire body would flush red, yet she remained remarkably composed. She cooperated with whatever he asked, keeping her eyes tightly shut and biting her lip. Only at the very end would she let out the slightest sound.
Now, however, it seemed that was not the whole reason.
Zhou Wu accepted the bag from the cashier, suppressed his smile and turned towards the car.
The door opened.
At the sound, Wen Ci immediately sat upright. Her expression had already returned to its usual calmness.
“Are these all right?” Zhou Wu asked.
“They’re fine. Thank you.”
To ease the awkwardness, Wen Ci spent the entire journey trying hard to eat.
However, her table manners were simply too refined. She had been nibbling away for the whole drive, yet by the time the hotel came into view, she had not even finished half the rice ball.
“It’s fine. Eat slowly.”
Zhou Wu rested his elbow beside the window.
“You can finish it in the room. I’m not in that much of a hurry.”
“…”
Wen Ci’s cheeks were still puffed out with food as she turned to look through the window.
“All right.”
Zhou Wu wanted to laugh again.
…
That evening, while they were kissing, Zhou Wu did not immediately close his eyes.
He lowered his gaze and studied Wen Ci’s expression.
Her eyes were tightly shut, her breathing uneven, and she obediently lifted her chin to follow his kiss.
Zhou Wu moved lower.
Remembering Qin Yun’s comment that the marks looked as though they had been made by someone gripping her, Zhou Wu paused and did not kiss her as forcefully as before.
The calf in his hand would not stop trembling.
Zhou Wu raised his eyes.
As expected, Wen Ci had one arm draped over her eyes, her lips pressed tightly together without making a sound. Beneath the dim bedside light, her skin had already turned pink.
Wen Ci rarely looked at him during s*x.
Zhou Wu had never forced her to. He respected his partner’s preferences.
But today, for some reason, he found himself curious about the face hidden beneath her arm.
A shrill phone ringtone suddenly rang out.
Wen Ci’s body stiffened.
“Sorry.”
As though the arm had heard Zhou Wu’s thoughts, it obediently moved away.
Wen Ci looked at him. The skin beneath her eyes was flushed, and her gaze was damp with moisture. She looked as though she had been thoroughly overwhelmed, yet she still asked him politely, “Can I answer the phone?”
Zhou Wu picked up her phone from the bedside table and handed it to her.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the caller ID read **Mum**.
The moment Wen Ci answered, the person on the other end demanded, “Where are you?”
Mother Wen sounded anxious, and her voice was loud enough for anyone standing nearby to hear.
“I just checked the living-room security camera. No one’s at home. I sent you messages and you didn’t reply. Are you trying to worry me to death? Where are you right now? Why haven’t you come home at this hour?”
Wen Ci fell silent for an almost imperceptible half-second before replying, “I’m at Yiqing’s house.”
Mother Wen sighed in relief.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I thought that since you weren’t home, there was no need.”
“You child. No matter what, if you’re staying out overnight, you need to report it to your father and me.”
“All right. I understand.”
“Yiqing must be very busy with work lately, right? I heard from her mother that she’s teaching second-year high school students this term. You shouldn’t disturb her too often. She—”
“I know, Mum.”
Wen Ci interrupted her.
“Yiqing’s calling me. I’ll go and see what she wants. I’m hanging up now, Mum.”
After ending the call, Wen Ci immediately messaged her pinned contact on WeChat, asking her to help cover for her if her parents contacted her.
Once everything was arranged, Wen Ci sighed in relief.
When she turned back, Zhou Wu was still sitting exactly where he had been, watching her at his leisure.
He had good habits and exercised regularly. The lines of his shoulders and back were smooth and well-defined. Because he was still aroused, faint veins stood out across his arms, while a light sheen of sweat covered his lean muscles.
Because of what they had been doing moments earlier, the way he looked at her was deep and direct.
It was the first time Wen Ci had properly looked at Zhou Wu in this state.
With only one glance, every place he had touched seemed to burst into flames.
“Finished?” Zhou Wu asked.
Wen Ci immediately looked away.
“Mm. Sorry, I didn’t expect…”
Her voice trailed off.
She found it difficult to say, *I didn’t expect my family to check the security cameras.*
For someone like Zhou Wu, who had always lived freely, it must have been difficult to understand why an adult in her twenties still needed to report her every movement to her parents.
She did not finish, and Zhou Wu did not ask.
His broad, burning palm easily pulled her back towards him.
“Then I’ll continue.”
…
They finished at two in the morning.
When Zhou Wu emerged from the shower, Wen Ci was preparing to get dressed and leave.
“Are you going to Dou Yiqing’s house?” he asked while drying his hair.
Yiqing was almost certainly already asleep by now. Wen Ci had no intention of disturbing her.
“No.”
Wen Ci paused.
“You remember her?”
“Wasn’t she your deskmate in high school?”
Thinking about the phone call earlier, Zhou Wu asked, “If you go home at this hour, won’t your family question you?”
“I’ll sit in a convenience store for a while. Once the sun rises, I can go home.”
“…”
“Wen Ci.”
Zhou Wu suddenly called her name.
Leaning against the wall, he asked in amusement, “Do you dislike this hotel, or are you not accustomed to sleeping beside someone?”
Wen Ci immediately replied, “No.”
“Then is the problem me?” Zhou Wu asked lazily. “I don’t have any bad sleeping habits.”
“It isn’t.”
Wen Ci finally understood what he meant and raised her phone to explain.
“Finals are approaching. The school just announced that our end-of-term performance reports are due tomorrow. I haven’t finished mine yet, so I need to stay up tonight and complete it. I didn’t want to disturb your sleep by working here.”
“I can sleep in any environment,” Zhou Wu said.
Wen Ci was only halfway dressed. She had not yet put on her long skirt, leaving her straight, pale legs exposed.
Zhou Wu glanced at them, then quickly looked away.
He had restrained himself this time. The marks should not take as long to fade.
Zhou Wu picked up her laptop bag and placed it on the desk. He also adjusted the lamp and turned the brightness to its highest setting.
“Stay and work here.”
Wen Ci hesitated briefly before her selfish desire won out.
“All right. Thank you.”
Zhou Wu turned and walked towards the bathroom area.
The room fell quiet again.
While waiting for her laptop to start, Wen Ci could not resist looking through the window.
One reason the suite was so expensive was its floor-to-ceiling windows, which overlooked the entire nightscape of Jiangcheng.
Wen Ci had never sat at such a large desk before.
Resting her chin on one hand, she stared at the corner of a building in the distance.
It was the hotel where she and Zhou Wu had first arranged to meet, the one she had chosen after researching for a long time.
It was also a well-known hotel chain, yet its building was less than half the height of the Jinjiang. From there, one could neither see the endless city lights nor the stream of traffic crossing the bridge beside the river.
Wen Ci stared outside absent-mindedly for a while before returning her attention to her performance report.
After thinking for a moment, she reached out and dimmed the lamp by half.
The next second, Zhou Wu suddenly returned.
He glanced at the lamp and handed her a T-shirt he had just taken from the walk-in wardrobe.
“Wear this to sleep. It’ll be more comfortable.”
Wen Ci stared at him without moving.
Zhou Wu laughed.
“It’s been washed. It’s clean.”
“…That isn’t what I meant.”
Wen Ci accepted it, then added stiffly, “Thank you.”
Zhou Wu gave a lazy hum.
Then he reached over and turned the lamp back to maximum brightness, illuminating the room once again.
“You’re the last teacher in your year group who isn’t short-sighted,” he said. “You need to protect your eyes.”
Wen Ci froze.
“How do you know?”
“There was a photograph in the announcement you reposted.”
Among the row of teachers, Wen Ci had been the only one not wearing glasses. Her eyes curved as she gave a polite, official smile, as though she had specially practised the perfect expression.
She was conspicuous.
And beautiful.
By the time Wen Ci recovered, Zhou Wu had already walked to the other side of the room and lain down on the bed.
Wen Ci changed into his T-shirt.
It was extremely loose. She did not know the brand, but the fabric was very soft, and it fell just low enough to cover her bottom.
She opened her Moments and, for the first time, clicked on the compulsory post she had shared.
There really was a photograph inside.
The caption read:
**All faculty and staff of Jiangcheng Primary School celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Jiangcheng Middle School together.**
Wen Ci found herself in the photograph and could not resist rubbing her face.
Her collar was slightly crooked, and her hair was too messy.
When the photograph had been taken, she had never imagined Zhou Wu would see it.
His like was still displayed beneath the post.
Wen Ci put down her phone and returned to work.
After typing several lines, she pressed her lips together and reopened WeChat.
She removed the restriction that had hidden her Moments from Zhou Wu.
…
The following day, Wen Ci returned home.
She had barely put her bicycle away when her phone began ringing as though her life depended on answering it.
“Wen Ci! You are simply too **daring**!”
Dou Yiqing shrieked dramatically on the other end.
“You! You’re even spending the night at that man’s place now! Ahhhhh!”
Dou Yiqing was Wen Ci’s best friend.
They had met in middle school and remained classmates afterwards. They had even attended the same university and studied the same major.
Wen Ci now taught at Jiangcheng Primary School, while Dou Yiqing taught second-year students at Jiangcheng Middle School, their former school.
Perhaps because both of them had grown up with two teachers for parents, they understood each other’s suffering and had always been extremely close.
Dou Yiqing was the only person who knew Wen Ci had a regular s*xual partner.
After all, whenever Wen Ci returned home late, she occasionally needed Yiqing to help provide her with an alibi.
However, Wen Ci had never told Dou Yiqing that the man she was sleeping with was their former high school classmate, Zhou Wu.
“It was only this once.”
Wen Ci laughed. The exhaustion from staying up all night seemed to scatter beneath Dou Yiqing’s shouting.
“Lower your voice.”
“Why should I care? I live alone now. No one else can hear me.”
They had both grown up beneath the immense pressure of having two teachers for parents.
Under such pressure, one either exploded in silence or died in silence.
Dou Yiqing belonged to the former category.
After being forced to attend blind dates, she had officially fallen out with her family the previous year and had since moved out to live alone.
But she now believed her best friend was even more unhinged.
“You have to tell me today! Who is that man?”
“It must be someone you know. There’s no way you would sleep with someone whose background you know nothing about.”
Dou Yiqing began her analysis for what must have been the hundredth time.
“Anyone you know is someone I know too. He might even be one of our classmates. Which period was he from? University or high school—”
“No.”
Wen Ci interrupted far too quickly.
“He… You don’t know him. He isn’t someone we both know.”
“High school,” Dou Yiqing declared confidently.
“…”
“Stop guessing, Yiqing. I really don’t want to say.”
Wen Ci admitted defeat.
Dou Yiqing released a heavy sigh.
It might have been easier if she did not understand Wen Ci so well.
Someone like Wen Ci would never sleep with another person unless she liked him.
But if she liked him, why could they not openly be together?
There was only one possible answer.
The man was a scumbag who only wanted to sleep with her and had no intention of taking responsibility.
When Dou Yiqing saw Wen Ci’s message that morning, she had nearly been frightened to death. She had originally planned to force the name of that bastard out of her today no matter what.
But the moment she heard Wen Ci begging her to stop, she softened again.
“Fine.”
After remaining silent for a while, Dou Yiqing temporarily compromised.
Then she began shrieking again.
“But you have to swear that you’ll never accidentally get pregnant!”
“How could that happen? Every time we—”
Wen Ci abruptly stopped, then raised a hand towards the sky.
“I swear.”
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