Chapter 64: The Swing

Chi Xiao stiffened instantly upon hearing her words and subconsciously asked, “What are you talking about?”

Ming Can’s lips moved, emitting a vague, meaningless murmur before she quieted down again. It was only then that Chi Xiao confirmed she had truly fallen asleep.

It was nearly one in the morning. The movie had been playing for over half an hour. On the computer screen, the dim yellow light illuminated the crowded dance floor. Darcy and Elizabeth danced together amidst the crowd, maintaining a superficial peace while subtly testing each other’s boundaries. Suddenly, the bustling crowd in the banquet hall seemed to fade from their eyes, leaving only the two of them in the dance floor, gazing at each other with guarded yet stirring emotions.

Chi Xiao leaned slightly forward and reached out to turn the movie’s volume down to the lowest.

As the song ended, Elizabeth, her eyes filled with prejudice and hostility, bowed her head to Mr. Darcy in a curtsey and turned away without looking back.

Although Chi Xiao had never watched this movie before, he knew the general plot: a pair of lovers, due to misunderstandings and prejudices, initially miss each other, but through later interactions, they gradually come to understand and accept one another, eventually resolving their misunderstandings and ending up together.

Suddenly, he remembered that Ming Can had mentioned yesterday that she used to hold prejudices against him. He wondered if she had completely changed her view now.

However, while she was asleep, she surely didn’t remember any prejudices or hostility.

In fact, she seemed to have mistaken him for a large, very convenient stuffed toy. Half her body weight was pressed against him, and her dangling legs were gradually starting to wrap around him.

Ming Can’s biological clock had always been very regular. At this hour, she would normally have been asleep long ago.

Because she was watching the movie with Chi Xiao, she had been somewhat excited at the beginning, but later she forced herself not to speak or think. Her stagnant brain, combined with the numbing effects of alcohol, caused her to gradually slip into a light sleep, like a computer forced into hibernation.

Until her body tilted and leaned against something.

Her subconscious told her that this was a pillow she particularly liked.

This pillow emitted a faint, enchanting fragrance and could generate its own warmth.

The moment she hugged it, Ming Can felt extremely comfortable, and her sleep deepened even further.

She wanted…

To get even closer.

…

When her arms, like two water snakes, wrapped around his waist, Chi Xiao finally couldn’t help but shrink back slightly.

“Are you sure?”

He asked in a low voice, his tone restrained, the veins on the back of his hand bulging. His lean, long arms braced against the sofa behind him. Before long, seeing that Ming Can was about to lose her balance and topple over, he reached out to loosely hold her, his hand lightly touching her slender waist with restraint. After straightening her up, he immediately let go, not daring to touch her further.

The only response he received was the sound of her even, steady breathing.

And her increasingly clinging, soft body.

“Hey…” Chi Xiao’s voice was hoarse, as if scorched by fire, as he called out to her, “Junior Ming Can.”

“Holding on so tight.”

“Do you… like me?”

Ming Can’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, as if she had heard him, yet also as if she hadn’t. She pursed her lips and let out a soft murmur, but her hands didn’t stop moving.

She leaned even closer to him, climbing onto the sofa as if deeply dissatisfied with the sitting position, eager to lie down.

To lie down and sleep, hugging her favorite pillow.

Chi Xiao finally gave up all resistance, letting her adjust him as she pleased, pressing him down bit by bit into the position she liked best.

Her fair, slightly pink cheek pressed against his neck, her warm breath brushing against his skin.

He lowered his gaze, his eyes uncontrollably drawn to her slightly parted lips.

Pink, soft, delicate like flower petals.

All he had to do was lower his head, and he could kiss her.

She was asleep now, and she had been drinking. There was no way she would know what he had done when she woke up.

Chi Xiao’s arm, loosely holding her, was now covered with bulging veins. His fingers curled, his knuckles turning white from the force of his restraint, desperately holding back the impulses surging through his blood.

Even in this situation.

He still couldn’t bring himself to do anything that would violate her.

He slowly exhaled a heavy breath, pulled out the blanket wedged between them, and draped it over Ming Can.

Then, he reached out and ruffled her fluffy hair, which had become tousled from all her shifting.

In the darkest hour of the night, Mr. Darcy emerged from the morning mist, walking across the endless fields toward Elizabeth, who had stayed awake all night. The dawn rose in the gaze they shared.

Chi Xiao’s hand rested behind Ming Can’s neck, gently pulling her head closer. Finally, he lowered his head.

And placed a fleeting-light kiss on her hair, like a dragonfly touches the water surface lightly.

…

The room, surrounded by glass on three sides, allowed the outdoor light to stream in unobstructed.

Ming Can slept both comfortably and uncomfortably.

Comfortably, because she slept deeply, without a single dream throughout the night.

Uncomfortably, because… the thing she was hugging was a bit too hard and too hot, making her back sweat.

Ming Can opened her eyes to a dim, hazy light.

Where was this?

She blinked in confusion, finding the surroundings strangely familiar. It seemed like…

The glass room they had been in yesterday to watch the fireworks?

Everything around her was shrouded in a dusky hue, as if the sky was caught between night and dawn.

She propped herself up slightly, her drowsy gaze lifting, her eyelashes brushing against something.

Focusing her eyes, she saw a very familiar, sharp, and pale jawline.

A little lower, she noticed the man’s prominent Adam’s apple, subtly moving up and down with each breath.

…

In that moment, Ming Can’s mind went completely blank.

Ah—

Ahhhhhhh!

Was this a dream?

It had to be a dream!

Her arms went limp, and she fell back into her previous position.

Through the thin layer of clothing, her face pressed against a broad, firm “pillow.” Suddenly, she heard a steady, powerful heartbeat that wasn’t her own.

Ah—

What was this?!?!

Ming Can couldn’t help but shiver, her body instinctively trying to distance itself from this strange pillow.

In the next moment, she felt a tightening grip around her waist.

The sofa was narrow, seemingly designed to prevent her from falling off at any moment. The arm around her waist instinctively tightened whenever she moved even slightly.

It was only then that Ming Can belatedly realized that the arm had been wrapped around her waist from behind all along. She had grown so accustomed to the touch that she hadn’t noticed it upon waking up.

Ming Can forced herself to calm down and surveyed her surroundings.

This wasn’t a dream.

The current situation was—

She was lying on top of… Chi Xiao, one arm still wrapped around his waist, her chest pressed against his, her legs draped over his. He, too, had an arm around her, holding her close on the narrow sofa. The thick woolen blanket covering them made the space beneath it almost unbearably hot.

They had slept like this, embraced, all night.

Now, the sky was just beginning to lighten, around six o’clock in the morning.

Ming Can vaguely remembered that she had only watched the movie up to the part where Elizabeth and her sisters were preparing to attend the ball. After that, she must have fallen asleep.

Given the current situation.

For some reason, she felt that the probability of her being the one who had taken advantage of Chi Xiao was far, far greater than the other way around.

Most likely.

Last night, after falling asleep, she had, under the influence of alcohol, shamelessly pounced on Chi Xiao, using him as a pillow and pinning him down, sleeping like that until now.

At this thought, Ming Can felt her entire body go numb, overwhelmed with helpless regret.

He probably wasn’t awake yet.

Ming Can propped herself up again, cautiously glancing at Chi Xiao.

His eyes were closed, his long, dense eyelashes casting a faint shadow over his eye sockets. His facial features were sharp and defined, his skin appearing exceptionally pale in the dim light. His lips, a soft shade, were tightly closed, and even in sleep, he exuded an air of cool detachment.

Ming Can could hear her own heartbeat, thumping loudly in her chest, its presence so strong that the vibrations seemed to transmit to the person pressed against her.

Holding her breath, she very slowly and carefully withdrew her right arm from around Chi Xiao’s waist.

The sofa was so narrow, with both of them lying on it, she had no idea where to find the leverage to get up.

Gritting her teeth, Ming Can lightly placed one hand on Chi Xiao’s shoulder and began to slowly push herself up.

The next second.

The long arm around her waist tightened again, pulling her back firmly against him without hesitation.

This time, Ming Can was fully awake. Her chin lightly bumped against the hollow of Chi Xiao’s neck, and the distinct, scorching heat of the opposite sex, mixed with restless hormones, enveloped her overwhelmingly, sweeping over all her senses.

Ming Can closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them again. She saw, extremely close to her face, the sharp Adam’s apple of the man, which seemed to come alive, sliding slightly.

Immediately after, she heard a low, hoarse voice above her head: “Awake?”

The voice seemed to drill directly into her eardrums.

Ming Can felt a tickle at her waist, sending a shiver through her body as if being nibbled by ten thousand ants. She tried hard to suppress her restless emotions, forcing herself to sound calm: “Just woke up.”

After a pause, she added, “Can you let go of me now?”

Chi Xiao didn’t respond for a while.

It was as if he had just woken up and needed some time to gather his thoughts.

During his silence, Ming Can couldn’t help but try again to get up from him.

At this point, she decided to throw caution to the wind, no longer worrying about her movements, just wanting to escape this awkward and ambiguous predicament as quickly as possible.

Ming Can placed one hand on the back of the sofa and the other on Chi Xiao’s chest, bending her legs forward and quickly pushing herself up.

The movement was too abrupt, causing the sofa to suddenly sway.

Only then did Ming Can remember that this was a hanging swing sofa.

Her body swayed with the sofa, and a wave of dizziness hit her. She quickly lowered herself back down to stabilize her center of gravity and let her brain recover.

Her head was spinning.

Drinking really complicates things.

Ming Can’s gaze shifted downward, directly meeting a pair of light, composed eyes that were leisurely watching her.

Was it her imagination?

As she sat back down.

It seemed like Chi Xiao frowned very slightly.

Ming Can had gone from lying on top of him to sitting and leaning over him.

Chi Xiao instinctively reached out to support her waist, his voice hoarse as he said, “What’s the rush?”

“Who’s rushing?” Ming Can bit her lip. “I just want to get up.”

“Don’t move for now.”

“Why not?”

“Just listen to me.”

“Why should I listen to you?” Ming Can pressed her hands against his chest, feeling the firm, burning muscles beneath her palms. As the swing’s movement slowed slightly, she immediately tried to sit up again. “I want to get down—”

She had only managed to say three words before her voice abruptly stopped.

Her forceful movements caused the swing to sway again, the creaking sounds echoing through the quiet room.

The unusual sensation made Ming Can freeze completely, not daring to move. Her heartbeat was erratic, and her cheeks felt as if they had been licked by flames, burning hot.

Chi Xiao’s brows furrowed more noticeably, a faint flush appearing on his cheeks. His hand gripped her waist firmly, pulling her body forward slightly so that she was sitting on his abdomen.

The swing continued to sway, emitting a hoarse, ambiguous creaking sound.

“I told you,” Chi Xiao said, his gaze dark and intense as he stared at her, “not to move.”