Chapter 42

Sheng Qingli sat on the raised platform, her height parallel to Pei Qingci’s, making the kiss suddenly feel effortless.

His scorching breath fell upon her as he kissed her, as if to set her ablaze.

Instinctively, Sheng Qingli wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing close to his chest.

The kiss quickly spiraled out of control; his tongue tightly entwined and sucked on hers, his presence occupying her mouth completely. It felt as if he wanted to reclaim all the moments they had missed over the years in this one instant.

In the vast living room, the only sounds were their labored breaths and the wet noises of their kisses.

Sheng Qingli’s already unresponsive lips grew numb, her mind becoming muddled and unclear.

Though she was sitting, her body inexplicably softened, the numbness spreading from her tailbone throughout her body, making her restless and uncontrollably lean into him.

Noticing her movement, Pei Qingci tightened his grip around her waist.

He kissed her for a while longer, lingering, and only pulled back slightly when Sheng Qingli really felt she couldn’t breathe. In a hoarse voice, he asked, “Uncomfortable?”

“…Cool,” Sheng Qingli managed to say.

It wasn’t really cold yet, but the tiled surface of the platform felt chilly beneath her thin nightgown.

Upon hearing this, Pei Qingci chuckled softly, “Then shall we move to the sofa?”

He spoke with a sense of negotiation.

Sheng Qingli’s ears flushed, her skin tinged with warmth, and her lips were numb from his kisses. “No way.”

She weakly refused, muttering, “My lips are numb.”

“…”

Pei Qingci lowered his eyelashes, observing her at this moment.

Her unadorned face was tinged with a blush, and her beautiful, watery eyes exuded a seductive allure from their kiss, while her plump, rosy lips looked enticingly red from his affection.

Pei Qingci’s gaze deepened, and he swallowed lightly. “I’ll be a little gentler.”

Without waiting for her response, he leaned down again, kissing her lips. This time, he was indeed gentle, carefully pecking at her lips before trailing soft kisses to her cheeks, nose, and forehead, leaving a warm, tender touch.

His way of kissing left Sheng Qingli feeling flustered.

She felt dizzy from his kisses, gripping his clothes tightly, her body reacting instinctively.

“Pei Qingci…” Sheng Qingli murmured between breaths, slightly dazed.

He responded, kissing her lips once more. “I’m here.”

Her heart raced uncontrollably. “Don’t… don’t kiss me anymore.”

“Why not?” Pei Qingci feigned ignorance.

Sheng Qingli’s eyes widened, bright and shimmering, her exposed collarbone flushed. “Let’s… let’s wait until tomorrow.”

She felt parched under his gaze.

Pei Qingci paused for a moment, gathering himself before asking, “Are you uncomfortable?”

Sheng Qingli’s ears burned crimson.

Pei Qingci understood, lowering his gaze to meet her forehead, his warm breath brushing against her face as he murmured, “I’m also uncomfortable.”

After saying that, he lifted Sheng Qingli into his arms and walked toward the sofa.

In this position, Sheng Qingli quickly sensed something, instinctively trying to escape his embrace but was held firm. “Don’t move.”

If she fidgeted, he couldn’t promise he’d hold back tonight.

Sheng Qingli froze, suddenly hesitant.

Once seated on the sofa, she straddled Pei Qingci, feeling embarrassed. “Are you sure about this?”

“…Yeah.” Pei Qingci let out a low sound. “Let’s hold each other for a while.”

Sheng Qingli hesitated before asking softly, “Should we go to the bathroom?”

Pei Qingci looked up, his deep black eyes knowingly questioning, “What do you want to do in the bathroom?”

She glanced down at the overly large object pressed against her, her gaze flickering. “You know.”

“No need.” Pei Qingci covered her eyes, swallowing hard. “Don’t look.”

If she saw, he wouldn’t be able to control himself.

With her eyes covered, Sheng Qingli became more sensitive to sound and touch.

Her curled eyelashes fluttered like butterflies against his palm, leaving a tingling sensation. “Pei Qingci—”

Before she could finish her thought, Pei Qingci leaned down and kissed her lips again. “I know.”

He paused for two seconds before speaking softly, “I want to be with you, not just because of this.”

He didn’t want her to think his desire to reconnect was purely physical.

Sheng Qingli fell silent, mumbling, “I wouldn’t think that of you.”

Both understood each other well.

When they first got together, they were young and curious about romance. But Pei Qingci was restrained; aside from frequent kisses and hugs, he wasn’t in a rush for anything deeper.

He feared scaring Sheng Qingli and didn’t want to leave her with a bad experience.

Pei Qingci smiled softly, “I understand.”

He paused, his hand resting on her waist, pulling her gently into his embrace. “Are you tired?”

Sheng Qingli blinked, confused. “Huh?”

Only then did she notice the clock on the wall—it was already past one.

What time did Pei Qingci come in?

It shouldn’t have been midnight yet, right?!

Sheng Qingli was shocked. Had they been kissing for that long?

She hadn’t felt a thing.

Sensing her thoughts, Pei Qingci chuckled lightly. “I came in just after eleven fifty.”

Sheng Qingli: “…”

Her breath caught, and she opened her mouth in shock. “So much time has passed already?”

Pei Qingci nodded, softly reflecting, “Yeah.”

Sheng Qingli paused, realizing his “yeah” referred not just to tonight, but to the years that had passed.

In the silence, she poked his shoulder. “Do you want to… wash up first?”

“Are you asking me to spend the night here?” Pei Qingci asked straightforwardly.

Sheng Qingli shot him a glance, slowly getting off him. “If you don’t want to stay, you can leave now.”

Pei Qingci laughed, grabbing her wrist and lifting her up again. “Where’s the bathroom?”

Sheng Qingli was about to say it was downstairs, but he added, “The master bathroom.”

“…”

—

Once upstairs in the room, Pei Qingci placed Sheng Qingli on the bed, glancing at her and feeling that earlier urgency resurface.

He closed his eyes, trying to calm himself. “Do you have any clothes to change into?”

Sheng Qingli replied, “I bought my dad two sets of pajamas before; one hasn’t been worn.”

Pei Qingci: “Okay.”

“Go ahead and shower first,” Sheng Qingli said, feeling her body temperature rise. “I’ll find something for you.”

Pei Qingci entered the bathroom, and as the sound of running water filled the air, Sheng Qingli rolled over in bed, lightly slapping her face before heading downstairs to find pajamas.

Last time her parents came, she and Ms. Sheng went shopping, adding quite a few clothes for both of them.

When they returned to Nancheng, they didn’t take everything with them.

Sheng Qingli rummaged through the guest room’s wardrobe and found some unopened clothes.

She took them upstairs and knocked on the bathroom door.

The door was pulled open from the inside.

As she handed him the clothes, Pei Qingci’s fingers brushed against her hand, leaving a cool, wet mark.

“…”

Standing by the bathroom door for about half a minute, Sheng Qingli realized he was taking a cold shower.

She felt there was no need to ask why Pei Qingci was showering with cold water.

Feeling a bit dazed, she returned to bed and picked up her phone to send a few emojis to Li Yuwei.

As expected, Li Yuwei, a night owl, replied immediately even at just past one: “???”

Li Yuwei: “Why are you still awake?”

Sheng Qingli: “…I’m thinking.”

Li Yuwei: “Thinking about Pei Qingci?”

Sheng Qingli: “No!”

Li Yuwei: “Using an exclamation mark just proves I guessed right.”

Li Yuwei was about to put her phone down and go to sleep, but yawned and replied, “Don’t think about it. He’ll come back to find you tomorrow.”

Seeing this, Sheng Qingli hesitated for three seconds before deciding to tell Li Yuwei the truth: “He’s back tonight.”

Li Yuwei: “?”

Li Yuwei: “?!”

Li Yuwei: “Then why are you still chatting with me?!”

Sheng Qingli was speechless and almost said that Pei Qingci was currently taking a shower.

But the word “shower” was too suggestive.

She thought for three seconds and replied to Li Yuwei: “He already left.”

Li Yuwei: “What?”

Li Yuwei: “Is it him who can’t or you who can’t?”

Sheng Qingli: “You can’t.”

Li Yuwei: “…”

Sheng Qingli: “He just finished early and came back; nothing happened.”

Li Yuwei: “I don’t believe you.”

Sheng Qingli: “If you don’t believe it, then forget it.”

Li Yuwei: “If nothing happened, would you still be awake at one-thirty?”

It had to be said that no one understood Sheng Qingli better than Li Yuwei.

Sheng Qingli was left speechless by the question, unsure how to respond.

While she hesitated, Li Yuwei hit the nail on the head: “Haven’t you been out of the dating game for too long and feel a bit lost?”

Sheng Qingli: “Maybe.”

Li Yuwei: “I knew it.”

She pondered for a moment, holding her phone: “There’s nothing to be nervous about. It’s just dating; just do what you did before with Pei Qingci.”

Li Yuwei was really sleepy, so she got straight to the point: “If all else fails, just use the things I gave you.”

…

After finishing her conversation with Li Yuwei, there was some noise from the bathroom.

Sheng Qingli turned to see Pei Qingci coming out in dark blue pajamas.

Sheng Qingli’s father was a bit shorter than Pei Qingci, and the clothes he bought for him looked a little tight on Pei Qingci.

Seeing his exposed ankles, Sheng Qingli couldn’t help but chuckle, “Mr. Pei, you’re suffering.”

Pei Qingci lowered his eyes with a smile, “Not suffering.”

He actually found it quite amusing.

The room suddenly fell silent.

Feeling Pei Qingci’s gaze on her, Sheng Qingli found it hard to breathe. She bit her lip, struggling to get the words out, “Where are you planning to—”

Before she could finish, Pei Qingci raised an eyebrow and looked at her with a teasing smile, “What?”

Sheng Qingli closed her eyes, giving in, “I’m going to sleep. You do as you please.”

With that, she pulled back the covers and got into bed, taking up only one side.

Pei Qingci watched her, then slowly walked over to the other side of the bed.

He lay down next to her.

Immediately after, he wrapped his arms around Sheng Qingli.

The familiar scent of her body wash wafted to his nose, fresh and pleasant.

Sheng Qingli stiffened for a few seconds, then asked, “Are you sure you can sleep like this?”

Pei Qingci: “As long as you can sleep, it’s fine.”

Sheng Qingli’s voice was slightly choked as she said softly, “You’re just asking for trouble.”

Pei Qingci: “…”

He chuckled helplessly, his handsome nose brushing against her cheek lightly, “I’m enjoying this.”

Sheng Qingli couldn’t argue with him, so she let it be.

The room fell silent, only the sound of their breathing filling the air.

After a while, Sheng Qingli couldn’t help but open her eyes, “You really didn’t have anything going on when you came back early?”

Pei Qingci replied with a sound, “I don’t need to show up tomorrow morning.”

He tightened his grip around her and looked down at her, “Aren’t you sleepy?”

“Very sleepy, but…” Sheng Qingli met his deep, dark eyes and honestly said, “I don’t want to sleep yet.”

Pei Qingci paused, his voice low and husky, “Neither do I.”

He felt the same way.

What was most precious was what had been lost and then found. He worried that if he fell asleep, the person in his arms would disappear.