Zhong Wanqiu sat on the stairs, breathing in the scent of darkness as she slowly closed her eyes. For some reason, she felt utterly exhausted at this moment. She really shouldn’t have come back here, yet she had returned anyway.
Perhaps she was longing for the feeling of home.
How long had it been since she last tasted that sense of belonging?
Truth be told, she was being rather foolish.
It was only natural for him to be with Liu Ruoxin. She had no right to interfere with his personal life—this was clearly stipulated in black and white in their agreement.
Yet the fact that Liu Ruoxin had a key to Leng Muxun’s apartment made her uncomfortable.
Maybe it was all a scene deliberately orchestrated by Liu Ruoxin.
Though these thoughts crossed her mind, she couldn’t be bothered to verify them. After all, Leng Muxun was nothing to her—she might as well take things as they came.
After sitting for a long time, she figured Liu Ruoxin should have left by now. Propping herself up against the wall, Zhong Wanqiu prepared to stand. It was time to go—she was starving. But the moment she rose, “thump”—her head collided with a cold, firm chin. “Ah…” She instinctively almost screamed. It was too dark here, so dark that she immediately imagined she might have encountered… encountered a pervert…
A hand promptly covered her mouth. “Zhong Wanqiu, do you want to become a spectacle?”
“Leng Muxun, you… you…” She never expected it to be him.
“What about me?”
“You scared me to death. Next time, could you give me a heads-up?” Catching her breath, her heart finally settled back into place upon recognizing Leng Muxun’s voice.
“I did, but you didn’t see it.”
How could she possibly see anything in this pitch blackness? Pushing his hand away, she asked, “Did you heat up the food? I’m hungry.”
“Zhong Wanqiu, I’ve reheated it seven or eight times.” As he spoke, one arm wrapped around her waist, effortlessly guiding her out of the dark stairwell. She wanted to push him away, but another voice inside her ultimately kept her from doing anything.
Pushing the door open, the room was clean and filled with the aroma of food. The sofa no longer had that disgusting condom that made her nauseous just thinking about it…
Perhaps it was because she resembled his first love that he was treating her so kindly now.
But she didn’t want to be someone else’s substitute. If she weren’t so hungry, she wouldn’t even bother with him.
After washing her hands and stepping out of the room, the dining table was already set with steaming dishes. Zhong Wanqiu walked stiffly to the table and sat down without a word. Across from her was Leng Muxun. Her gaze fell upon the feast spread out on the table: Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs, Boiled Fish in Chili Oil, Twice Cooked Pork, and Radish and Scallop Soup. Only one plate of greens was relatively light—a classic four-dish, one-soup meal.
Picking up her chopsticks, she began to eat. “Leng Muxun, thank you,” she said while looking at him. He must be treating her so nicely out of guilt, afraid that she would find out about the mess he had made in the room earlier today.
“Come home earlier from now on. Don’t go shopping so late. And no sitting in the stairwell, especially at night—it’s too dark.”
Casually scooping a spoonful of soup, she found it incredibly flavorful. “Leng Muxun, is this your way of caring for me?”
“Of course. You’re my fiancée.”
Heh, right—she was his nominal fiancée. She was in a bad mood today and couldn’t be bothered with him. “Why aren’t you eating?”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Then I won’t stand on ceremony.” Picking up pieces of her favorite Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs one by one, she loved this dish so much—sour and sweet, absolutely delicious. She’d loved it since childhood, though it had been at least five years since she last tasted it.
After devouring the food like a whirlwind, she noticed Leng Muxun had already moved to the living room, leisurely watching TV news while sipping tea, completely at ease.
Full and resolved, she accepted that she owed him and had no choice but to fulfill her part.
She entered the kitchen to wash the dishes, and after finishing, stepped out feeling inexplicably restless. Suddenly craving a drink, she approached Leng Muxun and placed her hand on his shoulder. “Muxun, I want some alcohol.” Last time, her mind had been a mess due to Xia Jingxuan’s betrayal, but this time, Zhong Wanqiu was perfectly clear-headed.
“Fine, but Zhong Wanqiu, you can only have one glass. Otherwise, your behavior after drinking too much is quite poor.” His words alluded to her drunken antics the first time she drank.
“Alright, just one glass, but you have to drink with me.”
Leng Muxun casually snapped his fingers. “Come, follow me.”
They ascended the stairs to the second floor, where a small bar area awaited. Glancing at the array of liquors on the counter, she felt dizzy—so many varieties, all exceptionally expensive, even more so than those at Fengjian. “Leng Muxun, do you use these fine wines to get your girlfriends drunk and then…?” she remarked offhandedly, thinking of the day’s events, which left her unsettled.
“Don’t talk nonsense. With someone like me, do I need to get others drunk? It’s always women trying to get me drunk and then… Never mind, let’s not go there. What would you like to drink?”
Zhong Wanqiu’s gaze swept over the bar again, and suddenly, she spotted the letters ‘X O’. Pointing at the bottle, she said, “That one.” She’d seen and heard about it at Fengjian but never tried it. Tasting it couldn’t be wrong, right? After all, Leng Muxun was treating her.
He elegantly opened the bottle, and soon a transparent goblet was filled with amber liquid, its rich aroma permeating the air.
At some point, the room’s lighting had dimmed to a soft glow. As she took the goblet from Leng Muxun, Zhong Wanqiu’s heart suddenly tightened with nervousness.
“Cheers!” Just as she was staring somewhat anxiously at the liquid in her glass, Leng Muxun clinked his glass against hers and said with a light laugh.
“Hey, I’m not toasting fully. We agreed I’d only have one glass, so I’ll just take a sip. But you can finish yours.” His clink brought her thoughts back into focus.
Leng Muxun smiled. “OK, today you call the shots. Drink as much as you like. I’ll finish mine first.” Tipping his head back, he downed the entire glass in one go, as if he, too, was in a mood to drink away his troubles.
For the first time, Zhong Wanqiu promptly and eagerly refilled his glass. “Here, have another.” She took a small, tentative sip first, then watched as Leng Muxun consumed another full glass—he drank X O as if it were water.
If she were paying for this, each sip would make her heart ache, with every mouthful costing over a hundred.
One bottle, then two—it seemed Leng Muxun was genuinely unhappy. In less than an hour, several bottles of X O were emptied. Noticing his gaze growing somewhat unfocused, she said, “Muxun, it’s very late already. We have work tomorrow—let’s go to sleep.”
“No, I want more to drink.” He grabbed the wine bottle and tried pouring into his glass, but the bottle was already empty. As if too drunk to notice, he raised the empty glass to his lips, “Zhong Wanqiu, drink, I want more.” Beyond the word “drink,” his slurred tongue couldn’t form anything else clearly.
“Let’s go, we’ll drink downstairs later.” She helped him downstairs—he was so heavy, leaning against her, reeking of alcohol that made her instinctively pull away, yet she couldn’t escape.
He was truly drunk, staggering all the way down. Pushing him into his own room, she urged, “Go to sleep now.”
But he clutched her hand, refusing to let go, “Qiu’er, is that you?”
Her heart skipped a beat—he never called her Qiu’er, always Wanqiu.
Yet the address sounded so intimate.
The alcohol made her somewhat dazed, her thoughts unclear, and she replied casually, “A Xun, it’s me.”
The faint scent of Eau de cologne gently enveloped Zhong Wanqiu’s heart, its aroma unexpectedly alluring.
Her heart raced as she recalled the scene in the car when he had forcefully kissed her—though it was deliberately done for Xia Jingxuan to see, the memory still made her blush and her pulse quicken.
“Qiu’er…”
The saccharine voice drifted from the man’s lips.
Qiu’er—was he calling her?
Her body was pulled along, and the two of them swayed unsteadily before collapsing together onto the large bed.
Gradually adjusting to the darkness of his room, Zhong Wanqiu gazed confusedly at the man on the bed. His face was truly handsome, so much so that she couldn’t resist reaching out a hand to touch his cheek. The moment her fingertips met his skin, he let out another soft murmur and called out once more, “Qiu’er…”
As if bewitched, Zhong Wanqiu was pulled and tugged by his hand, instantly collapsing onto Leng Muxun.
Through the thin fabric, Zhong Wanqiu’s expression changed abruptly, but it was too late to break free.
The haze of alcohol blurred everything.
She struggled instinctively, “Muxun, let me go, let me go now.” Never had she been so close to a man like this before; Zhong Wanqiu was terrified.
“Qiu’er, don’t leave.” But the man’s arms not only refused to release her—instead, they tightened around her more forcefully. With a sudden turn, just as Zhong Wanqiu gaped, unsure how to respond to Leng Muxun, her body was pinned beneath him, and that handsome face loomed directly above her.
“Qiu’er, don’t leave…” he continued to murmur softly, his thin lips slowly descending toward Zhong Wanqiu. In that instant, her brain went starved for oxygen—she couldn’t breathe…
“Mmph…” Zhong Wanqiu’s heartbeat accelerated.
Yet her soft whimper was instantly swallowed by the man’s kiss. A gentle kiss descended, landing on her lips like a scene from an idol drama where the male lead tenderly kisses the heroine—so tender, so intoxicating.
Zhong Wanqiu’s body went limp at once; she no longer even knew how to resist.