Love For You - Chapter 30
Chapter 30: Lightly Pressed Against Her Lips
The weather forecast predicted a heavy rainstorm that night. The nightclub parking lot was filled with luxury cars, and waiters holding wide, black umbrellas escorted guests from the private elevator to the top-floor suites. The thumping, chaotic sound of club music drifted through the corridor. Chen Yi stood in the stairwell with his arms crossed, chatting with a companion, when he caught sight of a waiter silently carrying a tray along the wall and into a suite. His gaze swept over them intentionally or otherwise, and he paused slightly, his tone becoming somewhat strained—he could roughly guess what was happening inside that room. He knew the strange stench that would linger after closing time, the colorful straws scattered on the floor, and the makeshift tools fashioned from those straws.
The nightclub had a large force of internal security guards with a strict hierarchy and clearly defined divisions of labor. There were plenty of knives and tools in the storage room, and Chen Yi suspected there might even be firearms, ammunition, or explosives. The underling who had fled to Yunnan likely had some connection to that earlier shooting case. Chen Yi had vaguely heard them talking about "taking inventory," though what exactly they were counting, he hadn't asked in detail. He didn't want to get involved in the "black" side of things, but he had ambitions. Zhai Fengmao held many legitimate industries. It’s good to seek shade under a big tree; just the humble market for disinfected tableware in Vine City was monopolized by several cleaning companies under Zhai Fengmao’s name, netting millions in profit annually. That was not to mention his other ventures in food, real estate, raw material processing, waste recycling, and trading companies. If he could squeeze into that circle, he would be set for life.
After finishing a cigarette, Chen Yi deliberately took a detour to the downstairs restroom. He bumped into a young man wearing a baseball cap and a high-collared jacket that pressed against his ears. Their eyes met, but neither spoke. They both retreated a step and went their separate ways. After coming out of the restroom, Chen Yi stood by the roadside, looking at the pitch-black sky. He planned to take a taxi to the school to pick up Miao Jing after her self-study. Just then, he caught another glimpse of the young man in the baseball cap sliding into the driver’s seat of a taxi parked by the curb and driving off past him.
Chen Yi furrowed his brows slightly and, without hesitation, got into another taxi. Halfway there, a heavy rainstorm began to fall. The school gate was packed solid with parents picking up students, their colorful lights swaying and shimmering in the puddles on the ground. He waited for half an hour, but Miao Jing never appeared. Chen Yi had the taxi driver drive slowly along the road to search for her, unsure if he had missed her due to his distraction or the thickness of the rain. When he finally reached their building, it was dark; the lights weren't even on.
It was already eleven o'clock at night, and Miao Jing wasn't answering her phone. Chen Yi grabbed an umbrella and headed back out into the rain to look for her. There were very few pedestrians on the road. The plastic tables and chairs of the night-snack stalls had been washed over by the rain, lying in disarray in the mud. The rain, which had just stopped, began to drizzle down again. Halfway there, he finally saw her. Under the dim yellow streetlamp, amidst the misty rain, a slender figure was walking slowly with an umbrella. Her pant legs were soaked through, rolled high above her knees, revealing two fair, clean calves as she waded through the puddles.
“Miao Jing.”
“Why are you here?”
His expression was exceptionally gloomy today, and his tone was deeply displeased: “Why are you back so late? Why didn't you answer your phone?”
“My homeroom teacher confiscated our phones today. I turned it off and forgot to turn it back on.” She explained as she walked, the cold rain dripping down the edge and handle of her umbrella, soaking her sleeves and back. “The rain was too heavy, so I waited in the classroom for a while. Later, I caught a ride home with a classmate, but then the rain stopped, so I got off halfway. Who knew it would start pouring again.”
“The rain really is too heavy.” Miao Jing wiped the raindrops from her forehead. “Why did you come?”
“With rain this heavy, couldn't you have called me?” Chen Yi’s tone was sharp. He took off his leather jacket and handed it to her: “Put this on.”
Miao Jing glanced at him lightly, silently put on his jacket, and followed behind him toward home.
The downpour was too sudden, alternating between torrential and steady. The drains couldn't keep up, causing the road to flood. In low-lying areas, the water even spilled onto the sidewalks. The water was deep. Miao Jing held her umbrella and her textbooks, having to carefully probe the terrain beneath her feet. Whenever thunder rumbled, she would shrink her shoulders to hide.
Chen Yi turned his head, his side profile cold and stern. Seeing her walking with such cautious trepidation, he took half a step back. The two umbrellas stood side-by-side. He grabbed her soaked canvas bag to hang on his own shoulder and reached out to take her freezing cold hand, holding it as he said coldly, “Walk faster.”
Miao Jing blinked, her lips curling slightly into an almost imperceptible smile as she walked side-by-side with him toward home.
“You seem… in a bad mood.”
Chen Yi raised an eyebrow: “When have I ever been in a good mood when I’m with you?”
“Oh.” She looked down. “Okay.”
“Curse me less, and I’ll be happier—and treat you with more courtesy.”
In such a turbulent, misty, and noisy night, everything around them seemed unreal. They were like two small boats in the middle of a crashing wave. Her heart felt soft, like a piece of pastry soaked through with rain, about to melt away. Her voice was soft and submissively apologetic: “I’m sorry…”
Sometimes she really didn't have the right to curse him like that. Looking back afterward, she would feel annoyed and pained.
A droplet landed between his brows, relaxing his handsome features. He gripped her smooth, damp hand even tighter: “I told you to live on campus, but you refused. It’s so late after self-study; don't you know the world isn't a safe place?”
“I know… there are plenty of people eating late-night snacks by the road, and many shops are still open…”
“You don’t know a damn thing.”
Go to the nightclub and see for yourself the vast variety of scum that exists.
Chen Yi had long legs and a fast pace, dragging Miao Jing’s hand straight ahead. Her calves were submerged in the water, and she couldn't see the path beneath her feet at all. She suddenly stumbled, let out a soft “ow,” and began to tip over into the water, only to be caught by Chen Yi’s quick reflexes before she hit the surface.
“Stand steady!”
“My shoe.” Miao Jing brushed the rain from her forehead and wiped the fine water droplets from her eyelashes. She stood on one foot in her white sock, looking torn between tears and laughter. “Something tripped me.”
Whether it was a tree branch or something else, her canvas shoe had slipped right off her foot.
The umbrella floated away, and half her body fell into the water. She scrambled around in the puddle with both hands and feet, unable to find the shoe. Chen Yi searched blindly as well, getting himself completely soaked. Finally, he became impatient: “It’s raining this hard, forget it. Let’s go.”
“Then how am I supposed to get back?” She leaned on Chen Yi’s arm, standing like a stork. Unwilling to give up, she felt around in the dark for a moment, then kicked off the other shoe. Wearing only her short socks, she tiptoed like a ballerina, step by step, avoiding the puddles.
His eyes were fixed on her feet, which had been soaked by the rain; their lines were elegant, easily cupped in one hand, gentle and graceful.
“Get on my back. I’ll carry you.”
“No need, I’m all wet anyway.” She wrung the hem of her jacket, wringing out a bag’s worth of water.
“Enough talk.”
Chen Yi shoved the umbrella into her hand, tugged at his pant legs, and after a moment of thought, he simply wrapped his arms around her waist. He lifted her up, sitting Miao Jing’s buttocks onto his arm, and wrapped his other arm around the back of her knees. Her upper body was held straight, a head taller than him, her entire frame pressed against his chest and shoulders.
Beneath the black umbrella, Chen Yi’s eyes were dark, yet hidden with a spark of fire: “This saves effort. Hold onto my neck and hold the umbrella well.”
The gap between their bodies was filled with cold fabric. As they walked, the friction allowed them to feel the tension and strength of his body, and the softness and fragility of hers. Their breath, heartbeats, and body heat were all churned together by the rain, turning into a blurred, cold mess. The rain outside the umbrella was sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sweeping in from all angles, impossible to resist, unpredictable. Miao Jing was afraid of tiring Chen Yi out, so she made herself as small as possible, silently wrapping her arms around his neck. She tilted the black umbrella to block the rain, but when she saw water dripping down the handle, she reached out her sleeve to wipe it away. Unexpectedly, a gust of wind caught them, and the umbrella tumbled to the ground, rolling several times before drifting away behind them.
The two of them, soaked to the bone, looked back at the umbrella being blown further and further away, their expressions awkward.
“Forget it, we’re almost home.”
Chen Yi quickened his pace, his arms gripped tightly. His muscles and bones were hard, which actually made Miao Jing uncomfortable—it would have been better to just walk herself—but neither of them said it.
Miao Jing took off her coat, leaned a little closer to him, and held the coat over their heads. His leather jacket was too delicate; she couldn't bear to let it soak in the water. She took off her school uniform jacket, too, leaving her with only two thin layers of clothing, which had already become like a second skin. She reached out to block the water droplets on his forehead and leaned her face close to his temple. Smelling that fresh, mellow scent of a man amidst the damp, rainy air, she felt her heart begin to burn.
Carrying her, Chen Yi didn't complain of exhaustion, but Miao Jing’s hands, which were holding up the jacket, were already trembling slightly. He stopped and stood under a broken billboard at the entrance of the complex to catch his breath. He tilted his head to look at Miao Jing. Only a slight shift in angle was needed, and his gaze fell upon her face—a snow-white, water-slicked face. Her brows and eyes were as vivid as a midnight water lily. Her pupils were filled with crystalline, translucent water light, and her lips were wet and crimson.
Their eyes met too suddenly. Both were slightly stunned, as if captured by the face inches away. Whether it was bewitched by a ghost or a silent understanding flowing between their gazes, he freed a hand to wipe the rain from her cheeks and the tip of her nose. His hand stopped when it touched her flushed, cold lips. His thumb rubbed over them with the slightest of movements. With a seductive air, he tilted his handsome face upward, and with effortless ease, he pressed his lips against hers.
The taste of fresh water vapor.
The touch of their lips was like a dragonfly skimming water, yet it triggered an intense, numbing electric current that made their bodies sway and tremble, as if they were falling from the clouds. They probed and pressed together. At first, their minds were blank because of the softness, but then, sensing the touch and the situation, his heart suddenly gave a heavy thump. Like boiling water, he needed to cool down because it was too hot. He gently took her cool lips into his, lightly sucking, nibbling, and then gently letting go, before covering her lower lip and rubbing it slightly, repeating the action.
The time should have been very short, yet in their memories, it was exceptionally long—so slow that every moment felt like slow motion. Miao Jing’s eyelashes fluttered gently against his cheek. Chen Yi suddenly snapped back to reality and stiffly released her lips, which had been sucked until they were even more vibrant and full. In the rainy night, their four lips parted with a sticky sound.
Both their faces were flushed and burning.
“I’ve been drinking.”
After a long while, he blurted out that explanation in a daze.
“Mm.”
Miao Jing lowered her head, a sound of acknowledgment escaping her throat.
She struggled to get down from Chen Yi. They returned to their warm, dark home and turned on the lights. Soaked to the skin, their clothes saturated with water, they didn't know why, but the feeling of the clothes sticking to their bodies was unbearable. Chen Yi stood beside the sofa and stripped off his clothes, kicking away his shoes and socks, and peeled off his T-shirt and trousers. Turning back, he saw Miao Jing standing at the balcony door, on tiptoe to reach for a towel on the rack. She, too, had taken off her outer T-shirt and trousers, wearing only a milk-white camisole and small underwear underneath. Whether it was the rain or the fact that the fabric had loosened, the length of the camisole just managed to cover the tops of her thighs. From Chen Yi’s angle, it was a body so graceful and enchanting it was almost transparent. Every line and curve was laid bare, beautiful enough to stir up illicit fantasies.
His nose felt sore, and his body reacted instantly. He wanted to walk over, wanted to embrace her, hungering to reach out and test her.
Miao Jing went to shower first, then returned to her room wrapped in a bath towel, leaving the bathroom for Chen Yi. When he came out much later, he was only wearing boxer shorts. Hearing movement in the kitchen, he turned his head and saw that Miao Jing hadn't gone into her room; she was at the stove, boiling ginger soup for the two of them.
Chen Yi narrowed his eyes, a bath towel wrapped around his waist. He didn't know her pajamas were so revealing—it was a black T-shirt he had bought for himself before. Because the size was too small for him, Miao Jing had taken it to use as a nightgown. The delicate, tiny core of her body encased in the loose clothing made her look as soft as a dandelion.
The two sat around the table, neither saying much. The room was quiet. The ginger soup was hot. Her hair was still half-dry and half-damp, resting on her shoulders. She sipped the soup little by little, yet there was a subtle, ungraspable atmosphere between them. Chen Yi downed the ginger soup in one gulp, and looking at her lips, he suddenly wanted to taste the ginger soup on her mouth.
“Can’t finish it?”
She shook her head.
“I’ll drink it for you.”
He drank it all in one breath.
They said goodnight before sleep and closed their respective bedroom doors, yet both tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. In the middle of the night, the window rattled—whether from the wind or the rain, he didn't know. There was faint rolling thunder in the distance. Chen Yi heard a weak knocking at the door. Thinking it was an illusion, he hesitated before opening it, only to see someone standing barefoot at the dark threshold, clutching a pillow. Her black hair cascaded like a waterfall; her black clothes were elegant, her face as bright as the moon, her thighs exposed. That pair of clear eyes stared at him, gloomily and darkly.
Chen Yi’s throat bobbed, and his expression changed abruptly.