Chapter 29

“You’re really not coming with me?”

In the villa room, Dou Yiqing incredulously asked for the nth time while packing her bag.

Wen Ci put half of the floral body spray she had just split into Dou Yiqing’s bag. “I’m not going. I get seasick, and… I’m a bit afraid of monkeys.”

“I was just about to ask, when have you ever been on a boat?” Dou Yiqing thought back. “When the school organized a trip to Monkey Mountain in middle school, you didn’t seem that scared.”

“I’m scared now,” Wen Ci paused for a moment. “When I was a kid, I went to the park to row on the lake, I’ve been on a swan boat.”

“?” Dou Yiqing was speechless. “That’s totally different!”

“Anyway… I just don’t really want to go,” Wen Ci rubbed her nose and asked, “Do you need me to go with you? If you don’t want to be alone with Qin Yun, I can push through it.”

“Well, not really. Since becoming a teacher, my tolerance for idiots has reached another level. Besides… he’s barely human now, not as annoying as he was in high school.” Dou Yiqing spoke frankly. “I’m just worried you’ll get bored staying here by yourself.”

“I won’t. I brought a book,” Wen Ci paused, then asked, “Isn’t Zhou Wu staying here too?”

Dou Yiqing was confused. “What does it matter if he’s here or not? You two aren’t even close.”

Not sure how to respond, Wen Ci quickly blinked. “Hmm… hmm. Are you done packing? What time’s the boat? I’ll go with you.”

Dou Yiqing frowned, suddenly feeling like Wen Ci’s tactic of changing the subject and her evasive little expression seemed oddly familiar.

Before she could think more about it, her phone rang—Qin Yun was calling to hurry them up.

Dou Yiqing didn’t answer, just hung up, grabbed her bag, and said, “No need. It’s so dark out, if you go now, you’ll have to come back by yourself. I’m leaving now. If you regret it tomorrow when you wake up, you can buy a ticket and come find me.”

Wen Ci agreed.

The hotel had arranged for a car to take them to the dock. The two of them rushed onto the boat just in time.

As the boat slowly moved forward, Qin Yun bent over, gripping the railing, panting, “I—I haven’t run like this since high school…”

In the end, she was always blamed by Dou Yiqing for being late.

Dou Yiqing also gasped, “That means you’re out of shape.”

“That’s funny. I work out every day, okay? It’s not my fault, it’s because of you! You were dragging your feet and took forever to come downstairs!”

“…It was because I had too many things to pack, and I talked to Wen Ci a bit more before leaving,” Dou Yiqing admitted her delay.

Just a moment ago, she briefly understood how Wen Ci’s mother must feel. Although she and Wen Ci were about the same age, she always felt a strange protective instinct toward Wen Ci.

This might also have something to do with Wen Ci’s looks and personality. She was too obedient and looked like an easy target for bullying.

“How about we get off the boat?” Dou Yiqing suddenly suggested.

“You can’t get off the boat now. You can only jump off and swim back,” Qin Yun said coldly. “What’s with this nonsense?”

“Tsk, I just don’t feel comfortable leaving Wen Ci alone in Bincheng. She’s not familiar with the place,” Dou Yiqing asked, “The resort’s security should be good, right?”

“Of course, and anyway, Zhou Wu is there too. Don’t worry, even though they’re not as familiar with each other as we are, they were high school classmates, so he’ll take care of her,” Qin Yun gave her a look as if she were foolish. “With him around, the chances of you being snatched away by monkeys on the island are a hundred times greater than Wen Ci getting into any danger.”

“Get lost, who’s familiar with you?”

Qin Yun snorted, “We’re on the same boat, and you’re saying that?”

Dou Yiqing ignored him and looked at Bincheng, her face full of concern as if she were a mother. “Little Wen Ci, you must wait for Mommy to come back, okay?”

—

“Sorry, is this weird? Because my other nightgown is still drying, and it doesn’t seem right to wear the swimsuit now…”

Zhou Wu looked up upon hearing this.

Wen Ci was lying beneath him, her little bear pajamas had three buttons undone, her bra was pushed down to her collarbones, and her pajama bottoms had already been casually tossed onto the foot of the bed by Zhou Wu.

Her long, soft black hair sprawled across the bed. Wen Ci’s lips were swollen, and even the area around her ears had a pinkish hue. She looked at him with long lashes hanging, and asked gently, “Should I take it off myself?”

“No, I didn’t take it off on purpose,” Zhou Wu kissed her chin. “It makes you look obedient.”

Although she usually was.

Wen Ci wanted to ask Zhou Wu to turn off the light; it was too bright. When they had done this before, they would leave just a nightlight on, which would help cover many of her reactions. But now, the chandelier overhead illuminated the whole room, including her.

Hearing Zhou Wu’s words, Wen Ci swallowed back her request and silently used her arm to cover half of her face.

Zhou Wu was attentive to her feelings on the bed, but after being interrupted several times earlier, he was a bit impatient tonight.

Fortunately, Wen Ci responded well every time. After just a few kisses, she was already in the mood.

Zhou Wu grabbed her ankle, turned his face, and kissed the side of her leg as a reward.

Wen Ci instinctively tightened her grip, her nails almost digging into her palm, but Zhou Wu grabbed her hand and held it down on the blanket, his fingers pressing into her palm.

Suddenly, Wen Ci looked up at him, their eyes met. Zhou Wu gazed at her with undisguised malicious desire. He leaned down, kissed her intimately, and made loud sucking sounds, which mixed with other noises. It made Wen Ci feel dizzy and overwhelmed.

Her bra had already fallen to the floor, but her pajamas were still on, the last button stubbornly holding on, trying to maintain her privacy despite the intense pressure.

Just then, the sound of a phone ringing loudly broke the moment.

Wen Ci didn’t even look at the screen. She blindly reached for her phone on the bed, hung up, turned it to silent, but it kept vibrating endlessly.

It rang again, and she hung up. It rang once more — after four calls, she could no longer ignore it. She picked up the phone, saw it was Dou Yiqing calling, along with a message preview: [What happened, baby? Pick up the phone!!!]

Wen Ci quickly replied that she was in the shower. This time, it wasn’t a call, but a video request, and Dou Yiqing’s message popped up again: [You were already in the shower when I left! Wen Ci! Pick up the phone immediately!!!]

Oh no.

Wen Ci looked up at Zhou Wu pleadingly.

Zhou Wu was generous: “You go ahead.”

Although he said that, he showed no intention of leaving. Wen Ci, her head spinning, decided to explain briefly and hang up. She ended the video call, dialed back with a voice message, and Dou Yiqing answered immediately.

Dou Yiqing’s side was loud, filled with heavy beats; she must have been at a bar. “What’s going on with you? Not answering your phone!”

Wen Ci cleared her throat and was about to speak, but then she froze.

Zhou Wu, amused, avoided her panicked and questioning gaze and buried his face in the open little bear pajamas.

“Hello? Wen Ci?” Dou Yiqing called again.

Wen Ci: “…”

“Yeah,” she gripped Zhou Wu’s shoulder tightly, “I really am in the shower, I… I accidentally spilled something on myself.”

“Why have you been so careless lately?”

Wen Ci opened her mouth but quickly closed it again. She shut her eyes, enduring the discomfort, and said abruptly, “I’ll hang up now.”

“Why are you hanging up? I haven’t played the song for you yet! I rushed here as soon as I got off the boat, and this band’s live performance is amazing! You should’ve come with me!”

“There’s foam all over me. You can record it and let me listen to it when you get back… I’m hanging up, Yiqing.”

She ended the call without hesitation.

—

After a while, the room finally fell silent. Wen Ci’s skin felt numb, and she was exhausted. With her eyes closed, she felt a white blur in front of her. She was breathing heavily, still recovering, when she was kissed.

“Sorry, Teacher Wen,” Zhou Wu said insincerely.

“……”

“But shouldn’t Dou Yiqing also apologize to me?” Zhou Wu gently pushed aside the damp strands of hair from Wen Ci’s forehead, playing the part of the villain first. “How many times has she interrupted?”

Wen Ci thought to herself that this should not be heard by Yiqing, or else the title of ‘hated king’ would shift from Qin Yun to Zhou Wu in her mind.

“Zhou Wu, you… don’t do this next time,” Wen Ci said, holding his face as she suggested, “It’s dangerous.”

Zhou Wu hummed, though it was unclear whether he had listened. “Was it comfortable?”

“……”

Wen Ci swallowed, biting her teeth. It took several seconds before she murmured softly, “Yes.”

Zhou Wu smiled and then bent down to kiss her again.

Things had started in a rush. The condom she had just brought was left in the living room, not brought into the room. The only one available was the one Zhou Wu had hidden in his pocket from last time. Afterward, Zhou Wu stepped out of the room naked, bringing in a box.

He grabbed Wen Ci’s ankle, intending to make her lie down, but noticed that the person on the bed had already closed her eyes and fallen asleep, her face pressed against the blankets.

She had stayed up late watching a movie the night before and woke up early this morning. Wen Ci had barely slept for four hours.

Zhou Wu had no intention of waking her up.

He buttoned her clothes one by one, wiped her clean, covered her with a blanket, turned off the light, and then went to the bathroom.

When he came back, Wen Ci was already in a deep sleep. The moonlight spilled on her pure, elegant face, her breathing steady and long.

Zhou Wu watched her in the moonlight and suddenly thought of Wen Ci back in high school.

She always wore her hair in a ponytail, her uniform was always neat, she was good at studying but not tall, and her seat was always locked by the teacher in the first three rows. The most common thing she would say to him was, “Zhou Wu, your English homework hasn’t been turned in.”

One time, as usual, he told her he wouldn’t hand it in. Wen Ci stood in front of his desk, holding a stack of homework she had just collected, and didn’t leave for a long time.

Zhou Wu looked up in confusion and met Wen Ci’s hesitant gaze.

“If you don’t turn in this homework, they’ll call your parents,” she said calmly. “I can wait for you through two classes, just write it, Zhou Wu.”

Remembering how serious she had looked back then, Zhou Wu smiled.

It was strange. He had no real impression of those days, yet tonight, for some reason, those memories came flooding back.

The interactions between him and Wen Ci, it seemed, were not as few as he had thought.

When he first agreed to maintain this relationship with Wen Ci, it was out of curiosity, out of interest, but the biggest reason was that he had felt very comfortable with her that night.

But now, Zhou Wu discovered that hugging her, kissing her, and even exposing her lies brought him a subtle, unexplainable sense of pleasure.

Under the moonlight, Wen Ci was deep in sleep. Zhou Wu gently lifted her chin and leaned down to kiss her in a very soft, shallow kiss.