The heavy music made the entire villa seem to vibrate.
Qin Yun had originally bought this villa specifically for parties, so there were barely any bedrooms. The first floor did not have a single guest room, though it did have several entertainment rooms.
The billiards room at the end of the corridor had been locked from the inside. Its curtains hung loosely, separating the room from the outside world. At present, it was the only corner of the villa that was not open and exposed.
Soft, lingering kisses sounded inside.
Zhou Wu’s jacket had been removed and placed beneath Wen Ci as a cushion. She sat on the billiards table, her head slightly lowered as her slender fingers cradled Zhou Wu’s face while she kissed him.
Zhou Wu stood between her legs, his palms braced against the edge of the table, tilting his head back and allowing her to kiss him to her heart’s content.
Wen Ci kissed him very slowly and with great concentration.
He did not know what shower gel she had used, but its scent mingled with the fragrance of alcohol and spread faintly between Zhou Wu’s lips and teeth.
It was not as though they had never kissed before, but Zhou Wu had almost always been the one taking the lead.
The only previous occasion on which Wen Ci had initiated a kiss was in the stairwell during that wedding, when she had crashed her mouth against his hard enough for her lips to strike his teeth.
Thinking about it now, perhaps that could not truly be called a kiss.
It had been more like a surprise attack.
Before long, Wen Ci stopped.
Her breathing was rapid, and she was panting softly. Her lips were wet, though it was impossible to tell whose saliva covered them.
Worried that the curtains might not be completely closed somewhere, Zhou Wu had not turned on the lights.
Only faint moonlight illuminated the room, along with Wen Ci’s bright eyes.
After catching her breath, Wen Ci leaned towards him again—
Only for Zhou Wu to pinch her cheeks.
His hands were large. He held up her chin while his fingers pressed against the sides of her face.
He did not use much force, but Wen Ci’s cheeks still puffed out slightly beneath his grip.
Zhou Wu praised her.
“Wen Ci, you’ve improved at kissing.”
“Have I?”
With her cheeks pinched, Wen Ci’s words sounded slightly muffled.
“Mm,” Zhou Wu replied lazily. “The first time you kissed me, it felt as if you wanted to smash my teeth.”
The fingers holding his face suddenly moved.
“I’m sorry.”
Her slender thumb slipped into his mouth and gently rubbed against his teeth twice.
She asked softly, “Where did I hit you? Did it hurt?”
“…”
Zhou Wu’s Adam’s apple moved.
He pulled her hand away and said, “Although you’ve improved, there’s still one small problem.”
Wen Ci humbly asked, “What is it?”
“You need to leave yourself time to breathe.”
Still pinching her cheeks, Zhou Wu kissed her.
“Learn properly.”
Usually, whenever they kissed, they were doing something else at the same time. Kissing had only ever been spontaneous and secondary.
This was only the second time they had kissed while fully dressed.
Zhou Wu’s kisses were different from hers.
Wen Ci was kissed until her chin repeatedly tilted backwards, completely unable to resist him.
She swallowed and gasped, her heartbeat racing faster than the pounding music travelling through the floor.
Several times, she felt as though she was about to suffocate. Each time, Zhou Wu would give her just enough air before kissing her again.
The cycle repeated.
It was both painful and pleasurable.
The kiss lasted for so long that Wen Ci felt she might faint before Zhou Wu finally released her.
At some point, their bodies had pressed closely together.
Wen Ci rested her cheek against Zhou Wu’s shoulder and panted quietly.
Zhou Wu kept one arm around her waist. His own breathing was heavier as well, and his voice had become lower and slightly hoarse, carrying the faintest trace of amusement.
“…Wen Ci, if you keep squeezing me between your legs, something really is going to happen.”
He released her waist.
Still lying against his shoulder, Wen Ci apologised immediately.
“Sorry. I’m used to it.”
“…”
Zhou Wu discovered that after drinking, Wen Ci became extraordinarily direct and honest.
She had been the same on the night of the wedding.
Yet tonight still seemed different from that night.
At the wedding, although Wen Ci had said equally shocking things, her expression and tone had been perfectly natural. She had walked steadily and had not appeared particularly drunk.
Even when they reached the bed, she had cooperated with everything, but her reactions had been inexperienced, and she had barely spoken.
Unlike now, when she was endlessly seducing him with every sentence.
Was she simply more drunk tonight?
Remembering the way she had poured drink after drink into her mouth, Zhou Wu lowered his gaze and asked in an ambiguous tone, “Were you really that heartbroken today?”
“Heartbroken?… I’m not heartbroken.”
Her eyelids gradually grew heavier.
“I’m very happy today.”
Zhou Wu assumed the initial rush of alcohol had passed and she had entered the sleepy, nonsensical stage.
He did not respond.
Unexpectedly, she refused to let the matter go.
When she received no answer, she murmured again, “Zhou Wu, I’m very happy.”
“What are you happy about?” Zhou Wu asked.
“I’m happy to see you. I’m happy to kiss you. I was happy when you came to collect me too…”
Wen Ci spoke in broken phrases.
“I’m also happy that Duan Wei and Xiang Wenwen have a good relationship…”
After saying it, the small amount of reason she had left told her those words might touch one of Zhou Wu’s painful wounds.
She added, “I’m sorry.”
“After hearing the first few things, I thought you had suddenly learned to say sweet words.”
The corner of Zhou Wu’s mouth lifted slightly.
Then he commented calmly, “It turns out the alcohol has damaged your brain.”
No one answered him.
Wen Ci had closed her eyes against his shoulder and was already deeply asleep.
…
“Call the police.”
Dou Yiqing inhaled deeply.
“Call the police immediately!”
“Calm down first. I’ll have someone check the bathrooms again.”
In the first-floor living room, Dou Yiqing paced anxiously.
“Check my arse! I’ve searched the bathrooms on all three floors! Wen Ci isn’t in any of them!”
Half an hour earlier, Wen Ci had said she needed to leave for a moment and had refused to let Dou Yiqing follow her.
Dou Yiqing waited ten minutes, but Wen Ci did not return. Her calls also went unanswered, so she hurried out to search.
She still had not found her.
“She’s drunk! What if something happened to her?”
Dou Yiqing’s scalp tingled with fear.
“She didn’t fall into the swimming pool, did she?!”
When Dou Yiqing prepared to climb into the pool and search, Qin Yun hurriedly grabbed her.
“How could that happen? You can see the entire pool at a glance. Why are you insisting on getting in?”
“Besides, the waiters only dared serve you low-alcohol drinks. A few glasses wouldn’t be enough to make anyone drunk—”
Dou Yiqing pressed a hand to her forehead.
“Wen Ci was drunk. Tonight was the first time she had ever had alcohol! This is my fault. I never should have allowed her to leave alone…”
“What?”
Qin Yun froze and instinctively argued, “That can’t be right. At Duan Wei’s wedding, Wen Ci left early because she was drunk.”
Dou Yiqing stared at him.
“That’s impossible.”
Wen Ci’s family was extremely strict.
Her mother did not usually allow her to drink even soft drinks like cola. Wen Ci had only just asked Dou Yiqing what alcohol tasted like.
“It’s true. Why would I lie to you? Wen Ci told me herself,” Qin Yun said.
“Forget it. Just stop panicking for now. There are people watching the grounds outside the villa at all times. There’s absolutely no way anything could have happened to Wen Ci.”
“She might simply have fallen asleep somewhere. I’ve already asked someone to check the security footage. We’ll go to the monitoring room now. If we still can’t find her on camera, we’ll call the police.”
“Where could she possibly fall asleep? You barely have any bedrooms, and it’s so noisy here. She—”
Dou Yiqing’s gaze moved beyond him.
Whatever she saw caused her eyes to widen abruptly, and she fell silent.
Qin Yun turned to follow her gaze and froze as well.
Zhou Wu was walking out from the end of the corridor, carrying the woman they had spent so long searching for.
Wen Ci’s face rested against Zhou Wu’s chest. Her hair hung down, and she was sleeping peacefully.
One of Zhou Wu’s fingers was also hooked through the straps of her high heels.
“Wen Ci!”
Dou Yiqing reacted first.
She broke free of Qin Yun’s grasp and hurried over.
Only after confirming that Wen Ci’s clothes were intact, her breathing steady, and there was nothing unusual apart from her alcohol-flushed cheeks, ears and lips did Dou Yiqing release a long sigh of relief.
Zhou Wu said, “Keep your voice down. She’s asleep.”
“Oh…”
Dou Yiqing froze briefly before blurting out, “Why were the two of you together?”
“I went outside to get some air and happened to run into her.”
“Then why are you carrying her?”
Zhou Wu very much wanted to wake the woman in his arms and make her invent an explanation herself.
“She couldn’t stand steadily. I searched the entire first floor and couldn’t find a clean sofa or bed,” Zhou Wu said.
“So I was going to take her to sleep in the car.”
It sounded barely reasonable, yet something still seemed strange.
Dou Yiqing frowned.
Before she could think about it more deeply, Zhou Wu interrupted.
“Where is her bag?”
“I have it.”
Dou Yiqing hurriedly stretched out both arms.
“Thank you. I was nearly frightened to death just now… Give her to me. She drank too much, so I’ll take her home first. Could you help us call a car?”
Zhou Wu did not move.
“Can you carry her?”
Dou Yiqing froze.
“I can support her…”
“There’s no need. She feels unwell. Don’t wake her.”
Remembering that his sports car could not fit three people, Zhou Wu looked towards the person beside him.
He asked indifferently, “Qin Yun, where is your car parked?”
Wen Ci was placed on the back seat of Qin Yun’s SUV, and Dou Yiqing hurriedly climbed in to support her.
Zhou Wu tossed his own car keys to Qin Yun.
“I’m taking your car. Use mine for now.”
“Fine—wait. What does that mean?”
Qin Yun froze.
Had this man not just said he refused to take Wen Ci home and told Qin Yun to call a driver?
“I’m tired. You’ve already cut the cake anyway, so I might as well go home and sleep.”
“It isn’t even midnight. What are you tired for?”
“I’m leaving.”
Zhou Wu ignored him, opened the door and got into the car.
Before stepping on the accelerator, he offered one more sentence.
“Happy birthday.”
…
During the drive back, Dou Yiqing held Wen Ci’s shoulders and continued trying to recover from the shock she had just experienced.
In her eyes, Wen Ci and Zhou Wu were two people who could not possibly have been connected.
Even in their high school classroom, one had sat at the very front and the other at the very back. They could go half a semester without speaking to each other once.
She never could have imagined that one day Wen Ci would lie in Zhou Wu’s arms—
And that he would even be carrying her like a princess.
“Where do you live?”
Zhou Wu’s voice interrupted Dou Yiqing’s thoughts.
Dou Yiqing gave him an address.
Wen Ci was far too drunk to be taken directly home. Otherwise, her mother would explode.
“Just take us there. Wen Ci will sleep at my house tonight.”
“Me?”
The car had been silent, but Wen Ci, who had been asleep the entire time, seemed to hear her own name and responded instinctively.
“I… Where am I sleeping?”
Seeing that she was fine, Dou Yiqing finally relaxed completely.
“You’re sleeping at Dou Yiqing’s house.”
Wen Ci opened her eyes blearily and happened to meet Zhou Wu’s gaze in the rear-view mirror.
“All right. All right.”
Still staring into his eyes, Wen Ci mumbled, “…Can’t I sleep at Zhou Wu’s house?”
The moment the words left her mouth, Dou Yiqing reacted swiftly and covered Wen Ci’s mouth with her hand.
Because the students in her class refused to behave, Dou Yiqing was criticised by the administrators during every Monday meeting. She had long since become accustomed to embarrassment.
Without changing her expression, she explained to the person in the driver’s seat, “She’s like this when she’s drunk. She talks nonsense.”
“Mm.”
Zhou Wu turned the steering wheel and replied casually, “I’ve noticed.”
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