Chapter 29: A Kick That Made Him Grunt

In the darkness, Lu Dingquan slowly exhaled, his voice regaining its usual low and calm tone: “That’s not what I meant. I’m sorry.”

What did he mean? He couldn’t quite put it into words.

In any case, the fact that she could say these things clearly meant she was opening up her heart and intending to be honest with him.

But he wasn’t exactly happy to hear it.

She said, “Don’t interfere with each other, just live together…”

In bed, a couple lay side by side, whispering sweet nothings, a scene that should have been heartwarming, but it was nothing more than a case of different dreams in the same bed.

Jiang Ning felt that Lu Dingquan probably still didn’t believe her.

She didn’t expect that opening up about this would actually make both of them unhappy, it would have been better not to talk about it at all.

She couldn’t help but wonder if her approach to clinging to him was wrong.

Jiang Ning calmed down for a moment and wanted to ask him if he still wanted a divorce.

Lu Dingquan suddenly spoke: “I was the one who said the wrong thing.”

“Jiang Ning, I know you wouldn’t fall for someone like that. I…”

He hesitated for a moment, “It’s my fault, you’re right, the most important thing between husband and wife is loyalty and trust, no matter what, I shouldn’t have said those things as a man.”

Jiang Ning blinked in the darkness.

He’s already starting to reflect on himself? As expected of a future big shot.

She felt something was wrong. Previously, the original owner clearly liked Meng Yuanbin, and everyone knew it. When he questioned her, she was only feeling low but could accept it. But the way he was speaking now, it seemed like he was very certain and trusting her again.

However, hearing his soft and gentle tone, she felt much more comfortable, and the little awkwardness she had earlier disappeared.

From his attitude, did he agree with her thoughts then?

Before she could respond, Lu Dingquan suddenly asked in a deep voice:

“Did you cry?”

Jiang Ning was startled and quickly said: “No.”

She really didn’t! She just sniffed a little without noticing.

However, the man in the night had already sat up, and the next second, his hand reached out, landing precisely on her cheek.

Jiang Ning jumped, dodging away: “I didn’t cry! You…”

The man’s hand, with its rough touch, quickly pinched her cheek, finding no wetness. He withdrew his hand.

Actually, Lu Dingquan had excellent eyesight, and his night vision was amazing.

He had clearly seen that there were no tears on the woman’s snow-white, delicate cheek, but she was curled up beside him, moving restlessly, her beautiful long hair cascading down, her red lips pursed, her soft eyes staring straight at him. The hidden discomfort he had felt in his heart suddenly turned into dry straw for the stove, igniting an unspeakable, dark fire in the man’s eyes.

They were a couple sleeping together, yet she treated him like a righteous gentleman.

Don’t interfere with each other, just live together.

She had to admit, her way of thinking was naive.

Jiang Ning only felt that in the darkness, her face was pinched lightly by that big hand. She hummed, quickly raised her hand to cover it, frowning and accusingly staring at the man’s silhouette.

How could he pinch her?!

He was actually hitting her in bed?

How could he…

Lu Dingquan simply couldn’t help himself when he touched her.

Seeing her like this, he couldn’t help but lower his voice and coax: “Does it hurt?”

“You were the one who said the wrong thing, and you’re still pinching me.” She covered her face and turned her back to the wall, sulking.

It only hurt for a moment, but her face was definitely red where he pinched it. Didn’t he know how strong his hands were?

“I was wrong, let you pinch me back.” The man readily admitted his mistake and moved closer.

He didn’t get too close, just turned his head a little. Jiang Ning couldn’t see the dark shadow, only thought he was getting closer to her, her heart suddenly trembled, suddenly realizing that this was a man and a woman alone in bed.

She wanted to chat with him under the quilt, but he was a strong, healthy man in his prime after all.

So Jiang Ning licked her dry lips from nervousness and began to struggle to squeeze towards the corner of the wall: “You have thick skin, I won’t pinch you! Lu Dingquan, you, don’t come over, I’m going to sleep…”

The man didn’t intend to get closer, but her struggle caused the quilt to fall off, her hair falling messily over the edge of her loose nightgown, revealing two delicate, white collarbones below her slender neck, her figure soft and yielding, and her angry, soft complaints sounded like something else…

He wanted her to stop moving, it was easy to catch a cold in the middle of the night.

As a result, she kicked out with her leg while struggling under the quilt, kicking him with a muffled groan.

Lu Dingquan: “…Don’t move, Jiang Ning.”

Jiang Ning didn’t know what she kicked when she moved, she was still shrinking towards the edge of the wall, feeling wronged.

The man’s eyes were deep, he grabbed her hand, pulled the quilt up, covering her almost to her chin, practically pressing her onto the pillow.

His voice was hoarse: “Don’t move, go to sleep.”

Jiang Ning was so scared she bit her lip and looked up at the man above her.

She once again experienced firsthand how strong he was, easily subduing her, as if he were grabbing a chick.

In the night, the woman’s eyes were soft, she whispered: “Then you can’t pinch me, and you can’t touch me anymore.”

From her angle, she could only see the man’s slightly sharp and tall outline, and a pair of dark, deep eyes.

She heard him say in a very deep and slow voice: “I won’t touch you.”

Jiang Ning pursed her lips, unconsciously swallowing.

Seeing her like this, the subtle fire in his eyes dissipated.

So afraid of him? Then why was she so naive earlier, suggesting things like “live together, don’t interfere with each other…”

She was even daring enough to mess around with him in the car before, so it turned out she was just a paper tiger.

Lu Dingquan slowly released her, lying back in his own position.

After a while, he finally said softly: “Go to sleep.”

Jiang Ning breathed lightly, after all this tossing and turning, she was still feeling a little flustered, but she was also really tired and wanted to sleep.

Unconsciously, she closed her eyes, drowsiness gradually setting in.

But just when she was about to fall asleep, a strange sound came from the wall.

A few muffled thuds, very deep, sounding like it was coming from next door.

She opened her eyes in a daze.

The thudding sounds against the wall continued in quick succession, followed by a faint, sharp sound, finally stopping.

Then, from the other side of the wall, a suspicious sound continued, interspersed with rhythmic panting and occasional high-pitched female voices.

…

Now, this was incredibly, unbelievably awkward.

The sound startled her awake, and she couldn’t sleep a wink anymore.

Jiang Ning had lived here for so many days and had never imagined that the sound insulation in this kind of apartment building would be so bad.

She also hadn’t expected that the couple next door, who usually slept quietly, would choose to have some intimate exchanges on the very night that Lu Dingquan finally came home.

Needless to say, the man next to her must have heard it too.

She could only pretend not to hear it.

Jiang Ning silently shrunk into the pillow, closing her eyes tightly, trying to ignore those sounds.

A short minute or two, but it felt like a century.

She felt the bed sink slightly, was Lu Dingquan getting up?

What was he going to do, was he going to take a cold shower…

With the faint “accompaniment” from next door, Jiang Ning couldn’t help but think wildly. Suddenly, something warm and fuzzy covered her ears, making her shiver all over.

She reached out and touched a warm surface, suddenly opening her eyes, the man’s face was right in front of her, his expression unclear, his thin lips moved and he said something, but she couldn’t hear clearly because of what was covering her ears.

The world became quiet.

Lu Dingquan lifted the quilt and lay back down, the hand she had touched reached out and gently covered her eyes.

Jiang Ning understood, he meant for her to sleep peacefully.

She quietly touched the thing on her ears, it was probably a cotton earmuff, a bit thick, and she couldn’t hear anything at all, all the messy and awkward sounds were gone.

…

When she woke up in the morning, Lu Dingquan was still at home.

Jiang Ning had slept well, when she got up she saw the earmuffs had fallen off at some point, rolling to the side of the pillow. She quickly threw them in the closet while he was washing up.

Lu Dingquan came out of the bathroom, his clean and handsome face was calm and expressionless, like any ordinary worker who got up early to go to work. But for some reason, he looked like he hadn’t slept well.

Jiang Ning lowered her eyes and went into the bathroom to change and wash up.

Both of them tacitly avoided mentioning last night.

It had rained last night, the weather was a little chilly today, but it didn’t continue raining this morning. Jiang Ning planned to go to Su Chanzi’s place early today to check on the situation.

She wore a white, Peter Pan collar shirt, paired with a light blue knitted cardigan, and a pair of jeans, her face bare, looking very refreshing.

She had finished getting ready and came out of the bathroom to see Lu Dingquan pushing open the door from outside, carrying a plate, still wearing the same vest from last night, he hadn’t even changed clothes yet.

The plate held steaming rice cakes and steamed dumplings, he casually put it on the table: “Ying Jie from next door sent them over.”

Jiang Ning didn’t expect Ying Jie to be so considerate, she even sent dumplings over this morning?

To be honest, she was a little tired of eating them after having them for several meals, but she definitely had to thank her for her kindness.

She used a shark clip to casually tie her hair up, sat down at the table, looked at Lu Dingquan, and said calmly: “Are you in a hurry to go out? If you’re not in a hurry, eat the dumplings while they’re hot.”

She then picked up the white, chewy rice cake and took a small bite.

Lu Dingquan was about to go to the inner room to change clothes, but he paused upon hearing her words, turned around, and sat down at the table as well.

The two sat facing each other, the cool breeze blowing in from outside carried a slightly damp air, Jiang Ning ate a few bites of rice cake, listening to the man ask: “Why aren’t you eating?”

He picked up a dumpling, easily eating one in a single bite, his dark eyes looked over faintly.

Jiang Ning: “I’ve had too much, I’m a little tired of it, you eat it.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she met his gaze, and she also felt that it didn’t sound right, so she quickly added: “Besides, you eat a lot, these should be just right for you, I’ll just eat the rice cakes.”

Lu Dingquan curled his lips and smiled: “Thank you, I’m taking advantage of you.”

Jiang Ning: “…”

Halfway through the meal, she went to pour a glass of water. While sipping her tea leisurely, she couldn’t help but secretly observe him.

She hadn’t dared to look closely last night, but now in the sunlight, Lu Dingquan looked…

Well, how to put it.

Simple yet somewhat open, straightforward yet with a hint of taboo.

Although it was a very ordinary white vest, many men in the apartment building would wear it out to fetch water, chat, or cook after resting.

But Lu Dingquan wearing this most ordinary men’s vest, looked different.

First, he didn’t have a potbelly, second, he didn’t have a receding hairline.

Ah, phew…

It should be said, his figure was tall and slender, his muscles tight and even, his bones exuded a straight and strong aura.

Years of military training had left their mark on him, but his muscles weren’t overly exaggerated or shocking, but rather strong and lean, solid and resilient.

If she had to say, he gave her the feeling of… a tall white poplar.

Yes, a tall white poplar.

His temperament clearly seemed very upright, but the male hormones of a mature man were undeniable.

In her line of sight, his shoulders were strong, his chest was flat and wide, and his waist and abdominal muscles were not to mention, she had seen and felt them with her own eyes and hands, every part of his body was pleasing to the eye, combined it was…

Cough cough, both pure and sexy.

Jiang Ning was startled by her own thoughts, she swallowed the last sip of water and coughed in a daze.

“Cough, cough…”

Lu Dingquan quickly finished his breakfast, seeing her on the opposite side, her little face flushed red from coughing, his brows slightly raised, he silently walked away.

He changed clothes quickly, he didn’t need to hide in the bathroom like Jiang Ning, he simply pulled the vest down from the neckline and put on a shirt.

When Jiang Ning turned her head, she accidentally saw it again, just a glance.

Eight packs.

Right?

She finished looking, quickly turned her head back, pretending nothing had happened.

Lu Dingquan didn’t seem to care, he quickly put on his clothes, transforming back into the calm and composed factory director of the day.

He was about to go out, Jiang Ning quickly asked: “Are you coming back today?”

He turned his head and looked at her quietly, his deep eyes seemed to have a different meaning.

Jiang Ning was stared at by him for two or three seconds, for some reason, the sounds from next door last night popped into her mind…

Lu Dingquan’s strong jaw also tightened for a moment, but it was fleeting, unnoticed by her. His voice returned to its clear and deep tone: “We’ll talk about it later.”

.

Before eight o’clock in the morning, Jiang Ning went out, all the way to Su Chanzi’s place.

This time she came to find out if Su Chanzi had noticed her picking up bargains last time. If he had, she would take the opportunity to discuss cooperating in the future.

Secondly, her batch of goods should have been sold by now, she should be able to get some money back.

As she just reached the alley, she ran into two people who looked familiar.

She stopped in her tracks, her heart sinking slightly, weren’t these the people who had come to collect debts from the original owner?

It was such a coincidence to run into them. She didn’t have any money on her now, and this place was very remote, if she was caught by them and they demanded money, she would be finished. She had to come up with an excuse to get away from them.

However, the alley was narrow, there was no way to avoid them. The two men looked at Jiang Ning, their brows immediately raised, recognizing her:

“Oh, isn’t this Ms. Jiang? It’s been a long time, you’re here, it seems you have some new business?”

Jiang Ning saw the smiles on their faces, full of rough features, her heart grew more wary, but she heard the other one say: “This is Mrs. Lu, you, Second Dog, can’t you speak properly?”

“Yes, yes, Mrs. Lu, haha, you see my mouth.”

The two men were polite to Jiang Ning, completely different from their previous debt-collecting appearance.

Jiang Ning pretended to be calm, politely responding to their greetings, and only then did she understand from their words.

It turned out that her debt of two hundred yuan had been repaid long ago, and it was Lu Dingquan who had paid it for her the day before he took her to the city!

She was a little dumbfounded, why didn’t he tell her when he repaid it.

The two men thought she knew, they politely exchanged a few words and left. After all, they were in this line of work, they also had to be tactful. They had been chasing the debt because this girl named Jiang wanted to run away with her second sister to avoid paying. Now that it had been repaid, maybe they would have use for them in the future, so of course they would be smiling and welcoming.

Besides, who knew she had a factory director husband? Why didn’t she say so earlier!