Chapter 51

Since Wen Tang received the signed greeting card from Jiang Qianya that Zhou Jingyu gave her, she went home and found her signed poster and gave it to Zhou Jingyu.

“Here, this is a surprise I went through a lot of trouble to get for you!”

Wen Tang said this without a hint of embarrassment.

It wasn’t really a problem. It was just a matter of asking Ke Xin to get it.

But she had genuinely wanted to surprise him, believing he was a die-hard fan of Jiang Qianya and had pretended to be a fan herself, praising Jiang Qianya extensively.

Zhou Jingyu took the poster.

Seeing Jiang Qianya’s poster in Zhou Jingyu’s hands made Wen Tang feel uncomfortable, even though she was the one who gave it.

A soft snort escaped her lips as she turned her face away, refusing to look at Zhou Jingyu.

Zhou Jingyu laughed softly.

“Since you’re so unhappy, why did you give it to me?” He asked.

Wen Tang’s response was another soft snort.

Zhou Jingyu placed the poster on the table, noticing that Wen Tang’s expression had softened. He gently wrapped his arm around her waist and teased, “You’re pretending to be magnanimous.”

No one had ever said that to her before.

Wen Tang immediately bristled. “What did you just say?”

She looked ready to continue the argument if he dared to repeat himself!

Zhou Jingyu’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he chuckled, looking at Wen Tang with amusement. “Isn’t it?”

“If you didn’t like it so much, why pretend?”

Back then, she had constantly talked about Jiang Qianya, which had perplexed him, given he didn’t know her at all.

Wen Tang recalled the days when she would try everything to get close to him. She turned her face away without saying a word.

Wasn’t it because of him? He was always as cold as ice, and if she didn’t make an effort to talk to him, he wouldn’t even bother acknowledging her.

Thinking back to that time, although there were sweet moments, it was mostly a mix of bittersweet emotions, impossible to describe. She always thought she was flirting with someone else, but in the end, it was him all along.

Thankfully, it was him.

With that thought, Wen Tang reached out and wrapped her arms around Zhou Jingyu’s waist. She buried her head in his chest, mumbling, “Don’t become Jiang Qianya’s fan, and don’t like her. She’s not that great.”

You should only like me.

Zhou Jingyu heard her say this and sighed softly, “How could I possibly like her?”

Liking you is more than enough.

Wen Tang looked up and met Zhou Jingyu’s eyes.

His gaze, warm with a deep affection, met hers. After a moment, she nodded in satisfaction.

“I’ll believe you for now.”

Then she stood on tiptoe and gave Zhou Jingyu a quick kiss on the lips, like a reward.

A brief, fleeting touch.

But what she thought was just a reward, Zhou Jingyu didn’t let go so easily.

His lips followed hers, capturing them again.

In the beginning of their relationship, Wen Tang could still sense Zhou Jingyu’s awkwardness in kissing, but now, his kissing skills had improved dramatically. He was so skilled that Wen Tang was completely enchanted, feeling dizzy from his kisses.

Realizing Zhou Jingyu’s intentions to go further, Wen Tang quickly stopped him, breathlessly saying, “Wait… I haven’t showered yet.”

In reality, her rationality was hanging by a thread, and she found it particularly hard to resist Zhou Jingyu. No matter when, it was as if she was under his spell.

Zhou Jingyu, usually so gentlemanly and considerate of Wen Tang’s feelings, was surprisingly assertive in this aspect. No matter what she said, he usually didn’t care and did what he wanted.

The lights were bright.

Wen Tang leaned back on the sofa, lowering her head, noticing her disheveled clothes.

Afterward, Wen Tang’s eyes were misty, lying on the sofa, struggling to catch her breath, completely drained of energy. Zhou Jingyu filled the bathtub and carried her to take a bath.

He had bathed her more than once or twice, but he never washed himself, always staying neatly dressed. Zhou Jingyu knew every inch of her body, yet Wen Tang had never seen him completely undressed.

After bathing her, Zhou Jingyu dried her off, carried her back to bed, and carefully dried her hair before heading to take his own shower.

After spending all that time, Wen Tang regained some of her strength.

She had been busy all day, and hadn’t played a single game. Now, her fingers were itching to play.

Taking advantage of Zhou Jingyu showering, Wen Tang pulled out her phone and started a game.

When Zhou Jingyu came out of the bathroom, Wen Tang was still finishing her game. Zhou Jingyu glanced at his watch. It was already 10:30 p.m. They had spent over an hour in the living room, and by the time he finished showering, it was past their usual bedtime.

Zhou Jingyu got into bed, naturally reaching out to wrap his arm around Wen Tang’s waist.

Wen Tang immediately leaned into him.

After five more minutes, the game ended.

Wen Tang put down her phone and handed it to Zhou Jingyu, who took it and placed it on the nightstand.

He also turned off all the lights except for the bedside lamp.

Zhou Jingyu pulled Wen Tang into bed, gently patting her shoulder as if soothing a child. “Go to sleep.”

Wen Tang didn’t want to sleep.

Her fingers fiddled with the hem of Zhou Jingyu’s pajamas.

“I thought you wouldn’t do that anymore.”

Her voice was filled with grievance.

Zhou Jingyu’s calm voice responded, “Hmm? Do what?”

Is this something you can casually talk about? Even as bold as Wen Tang was, she was left speechless by his question.

…Does this really need to be said?

Wen Tang wasn’t sure if Zhou Jingyu truly didn’t understand or was just pretending not to. After a moment’s pause, she whispered, “…What you did on the sofa just now.”

Ugh, just thinking about it made her blood race!

No other man had ever made her feel so vulnerable, so utterly defenseless.

The thing is, he hadn’t even really done anything!

How was he so good at this?

If it weren’t for the fact that she had clearly felt Zhou Jingyu’s initial awkwardness, she would have thought he was a seasoned expert in love.

Is this the difference between a mature man and a young boy??

…

After speaking, Wen Tang buried her flushed face into Zhou Jingyu’s chest. She didn’t know if it was out of embarrassment or if recalling the scene from earlier had made her hot.

While Wen Tang’s face was practically smoking, Zhou Jingyu remained calm and composed, his breath as steady as ever.

Seeing her like this, Zhou Jingyu’s throat bobbed, and he let out a soft laugh.

“So, do you like what happened on the sofa?” he asked.

Wen Tang: “…”

How could she possibly answer that?

But if she didn’t answer, he might think she didn’t like it and never do it again.

For the sake of future happiness…

Wen Tang buried her face deeper into his chest and gave a tiny nod.

Zhou Jingyu’s chest rumbled with laughter, and Wen Tang, feeling embarrassed, lightly punched his chest in mock punishment.

She wasn’t like this before. In all her past relationships, she was always in control, like a queen, doing whatever she wanted without ever worrying about her boyfriend’s feelings.

But for some reason, when she was with Zhou Jingyu, she couldn’t help but become a little girl—fragile, spoiled, unable to bear even the slightest grievance, and easily flustered!

This tendency had shown itself early on when they started talking.

Now, it is only getting worse.

She was no longer the person she used to be.

“You’re not allowed to laugh!” Wen Tang said, feeling both annoyed and embarrassed, her tone domineering.

Zhou Jingyu laughed even harder.

In the end, Wen Tang turned over, ignoring him completely. Only then did Zhou Jingyu reach out, spin her back around, and face her towards him.

“If you like, we can try more locations and different positions,” he whispered softly into her ear.

Wen Tang: “…”

Whatever you say!

…

The next day was the weekend, also Wen Tang’s last day off.

Both of them tacitly agreed not to make any other plans. After these past few days of seemingly inexplicable little quarrels, their relationship had grown even stronger. Wen Tang didn’t even want to leave Zhou Jingyu’s side for half a minute, not even when he was cooking.

As for the poster and autograph of Jiang Qianya that had been left forgotten on the table last night?

Naturally, Wen Tang wouldn’t keep them. The trash can became their final destination.

On Monday, Wen Tang returned to work.

She hadn’t been on set for over a month, but the crew couldn’t just stop filming because she wasn’t there. Yet, they were unwilling to replace her with someone else, as Wen Tang was hard to book, and the entire cast was full of newcomers. The whole show relied on her to pull in viewers. So, they waited a month, pushing the other actors’ scenes ahead to film first.

As a result, by the time Wen Tang returned to the set, the only scenes left were hers. Her schedule was packed daily, leaving no free time at all.

She also had to accommodate the shooting of a mountain of new advertisements and endorsements.

Wen Tang was so busy that she barely slept three hours a day, severely sleep-deprived, and despite being so close, she couldn’t even go back to her apartment. She was constantly working, and her phone was rarely in her hand for more than five minutes.

Previously, she had spent every moment with Zhou Jingyu when he wasn’t working, but suddenly, she couldn’t even find the time to send him a message. Every time she left him a message, if he didn’t reply immediately, she would have to wait until her work was done to check it again before responding.

The time she had to sleep was drastically reduced. From being able to sleep in and even take an afternoon nap, she now barely slept three hours a day. By the time she went to bed, Zhou Jingyu was already asleep, and she was too busy to even say goodnight to him on time. When she woke up, Zhou Jingyu was still asleep.

Her messages were always sent late at night, and his replies came during the day.

Even though they were in the same city, it felt like they were in different places with a time difference.

The longing became unbearable.

Wen Tang had never experienced missing someone so intensely.

Whenever she had a free moment, she couldn’t help but think of him, yet she couldn’t see him.

Perhaps because of this emotional overflow, her scenes involving emotions were unexpectedly smooth, without any obstacles. It seemed her acting had suddenly improved. After finishing a scene, everyone on set would often shower her with praise. When Wen Tang was joyful, everyone else felt joyful with her; when she was sad, they would quietly wipe away tears. The director and others couldn’t praise her enough, retracting all the complaints they had about her insistence on taking a month off. If taking a month off allowed her to produce this kind of performance, who could disagree?

After watching Wen Tang act, they could already imagine the success this show would achieve once it aired. It was almost guaranteed to be the top-ranked show; it would be unjust if it didn’t become popular.

Wen Tang’s performance was truly outstanding.

It resonated deeply.

This was not a level that an average actor could reach.

Two weeks passed in this busy manner, and by Saturday night, Wen Tang’s scenes were flowing smoothly, progressing at an incredible pace. She finally managed to carve out a bit of free time, though it was after 11 PM.

Since Wen Tang started working again, she practically lived on set, not returning home, so Zhou Jingyu had moved back to his own house.

Wen Tang had registered her fingerprint in the lock of his house, but she hadn’t used it until that Saturday night. She wasn’t sure if she would have time, so she hadn’t informed Zhou Jingyu that she would be coming back. She hadn’t seen Zhou Jingyu for half a month and had been enduring the bitter taste of longing every day.

So, even though it was 11 or 12 at night, under the cover of darkness, she rushed back.

She first went home to take a shower and then, wearing her pajamas and an overcoat, headed to Zhou Jingyu’s place.

As soon as she opened the door, the cats, Prince and Princess, rushed to greet her. Since she hadn’t been home for a long time, she had entrusted the cats to Zhou Jingyu’s care. The two cats adored him, and over the past month, he had been feeding and caring for them. In Prince and Princess’s eyes, his status had long surpassed Wen Tang’s.

Wen Tang crouched down, cuddling the two cats for a bit before letting them go and heading toward Zhou Jingyu’s bedroom. She was very familiar with his place, as their apartments were across the hall from each other, making it very convenient. Over the past month, she had come and gone from Zhou Jingyu’s place so often it felt like her own home.

Pushing open the bedroom door, she saw Zhou Jingyu lying alone on the large bed, bathed in moonlight.

Wen Tang quietly removed her coat, tiptoed over, and climbed onto the bed.

Once her eyes adjusted to the darkness, the moonlight allowed her to easily see Zhou Jingyu’s face. His stunningly handsome features were captivating even in his sleep.

This man was her boyfriend.

He was hers.

Wen Tang knelt in front of Zhou Jingyu, leaned forward, and gently kissed his forehead.

It seemed that this soft kiss disturbed Zhou Jingyu, as he opened his eyes.

Wen Tang swore that his eyes were the most beautiful she had ever seen.

Clear and serene, they seemed to pierce straight through to a person’s soul with just one glance.

In the next second, the world spun, and Wen Tang suddenly found herself pinned beneath Zhou Jingyu.

His hand gripped her waist, and he frowned slightly, his voice husky from just waking up.

“You’ve lost weight.”

He whispered in her ear.

Then he lowered his head and took her earlobe into his mouth.