Chapter 27

Exclusive Enjoyment

When Lin Qianyou woke up in the morning, the first thing she saw was Qi Shanglan holding her in his arms under the covers.

She had slept all night with her head resting on his arm—and had also been tormented by him all night.

But she had to admit, his skills were pretty good. At the very least, this body of his was incredibly pleasing to the eye.

She buried her face under the blanket. The dim light inside made it a little shadowy, but she could still clearly make out the well-defined contours of his abs.

The little nubs were soft and chubby—so cute, and fun to press.

She stifled a laugh, trying not to wake Qi Shanglan.

Finally satisfied with her fun, she moved her hand downward—only to suddenly pull back in shock, inhaling sharply.

Realizing what she had just touched, Lin Qianyou immediately threw off the blanket and looked up—only to see Qi Shanglan watching her with an amused smile.

“You were awake and didn’t say anything?!” Lin Qianyou complained, caught in the act.

“Just woke up,” he replied, his voice deep and lazy with a hint of magnetism. Looks like he had really slept well last night.

Qi Shanglan took the opportunity to kiss her forehead. “What do you want to eat? I’ll go buy it for you.”

“You’re even buying breakfast? Can’t you cook?” Lin Qianyou pulled the blanket up around herself. Being completely exposed to him in broad daylight still made her a little self-conscious.

Qi Shanglan helped push her messy hair back behind her head, his large hand gently stroking her fair cheek. “I used to live alone, so I rarely cooked. I mostly bought food instead.”

“Alone?”

“Yeah, but now I’ve moved back home.”

“Then why did you live alone before?”

“Rebellious phase,” he explained.

“Rebellious phase?” Lin Qianyou was skeptical. “That sounds way too rebellious—renting a place just to live on your own? When you finally moved back, didn’t your parents beat you?”

Hearing that, Qi Shanglan chuckled. “Yeah, they did.”

“Why do I feel like you’re lying to me?”

Qi Shanglan clicked his tongue and, without warning, straddled her again. “When are you free to go home with me and meet my parents? That way, they won’t beat me anymore.” He leaned down and kissed her.

Lin Qianyou turned her head away in protest—she felt like her body was going to be kissed to death by him.

“Meeting the parents is part of the process before marriage, isn’t it? We just started dating,” Lin Qianyou cupped his face with both hands, stopping him from getting closer.

“Then let’s get married,” he replied, direct and honest as ever.

“Huh? Are you serious? Isn’t that too fast? You haven’t even figured out what kind of person I am yet.”

“There’s no need to,” he said, tilting his head to kiss her hand. “Once I’ve decided on someone, why should I wait?”

Lin Qianyou watched him kiss her hand so tenderly, moved by his words.

She stared at him for a long time before finally asking, “Are you serious? You really want to marry me?”

“Yeah, I do.”

The dimly lit room fell into a deep silence, their breaths the only sounds breaking the stillness.

The presence of the other lingered in their minds—like a rainbow after the rain, fresh and captivating.

“You won’t regret it?”

“I won’t.”

With a thud, Lin Qianyou suddenly pushed Qi Shanglan down, flipping their positions as she straddled his lean waist.

The blanket slipped off, revealing her slender, fair body sitting atop him.

“You’d still accept it even if we don’t go public?” She pressed her hands against his chest and asked.

“I would.” Protecting you in the shadows is a kind of romance too.

Qi Shanglan flipped her over again, took the last box of condoms, and tore one open.

“Ah, I’m hungry, no energy, not doing it anymore,” Lin Qianyou swatted his hand away, stopping him from putting it on.

“Just once. After we’re done, I’ll go buy breakfast,” he said, putting it on and pinning her down again.

“Forget buying… I’ll make it for you…” Lin Qianyou gritted through the pain.

“Alright.”

In the kitchen, Lin Qianyou was wearing Qi Shanglan’s black T-shirt, just long enough to cover her hips and thighs. Qi Shanglan, in matching black shorts, stood beside her, watching her busy around. He wanted to help but didn’t know how.

“You have nothing in your fridge,” Lin Qianyou frowned at the sight of his fridge, stocked entirely with cold drinks.

“There are skewers in the lower compartment,” he said, thinking he was finally being useful.

“Skewers?” Lin Qianyou looked at him with a frown. “Who eats skewers in the morning? Forget it, let’s go to my place. I have ingredients.”

After a quick move to Lin Qianyou’s home, she skillfully began washing and chopping vegetables. “Do you want soy milk or porridge?” she asked him.

“Either one, whichever is faster,” he replied, leaning against the sliding kitchen door. The next second, he stood up straight and walked in, wrapping his arms around her from behind.

Lin Qianyou felt something pressing against her back and immediately knew what he was thinking. She squirmed and pushed at him. “Qi Shanglan, I’m cooking!”

He lowered his head, kissed the top of her head, and said in a deep voice, “Do it with me first.”

“Oh no, we can’t!” Lin Qianyou pried at the hands wrapped around her waist. “I really have no strength left.”

“I still do.” Qi Shanglan lifted her T-shirt.

“Ah, no! I’m not wearing underwear, and there’s a window here—someone might see!” Lin Qianyou panicked and quickly pressed her shirt back down.

Qi Shanglan glanced at the window. Outside, there was nothing but a bare wall—no one could see a thing. He chuckled. “The wall blocks it. No one can see.”

In the sky, those two white clouds were once again visited by the strong wind, distorting even more than before.

Lin Qianyou pushed at his hands, but Qi Shanglan had already slid off his shorts and put on the last condom.

“Ah!” Lin Qianyou’s lower abdomen bumped against the edge of the counter—both painful and pleasurable. “Get out—let me, let me start the soy milk machine first…” Her fingers gripped the countertop tightly, turning slightly pale.

Qi Shanglan withdrew from behind and told her to hurry up.

Lin Qianyou only felt soreness and swelling down below. She quickly rinsed the grains, placed them into the soy milk machine, set the timer, and was immediately carried into the bedroom by Qi Shanglan.

Twenty-five minutes later, the soy milk machine in the kitchen beeped a few times. Lin Qianyou’s mouth was sealed by his kisses, preventing her from speaking, so she could only pinch his waist.

“The soy milk is ready. Let’s eat first…” she mumbled.

“It’s hot. Wait a bit.” He kept moving.

“Ah! I can’t take it anymore! Let me shower first!” Lin Qianyou started crying again. “I hate you, Qi Shanglan… wuu wuu…”

In the bathroom, the man tossed away the last condom, suppressing his lingering desire as he showered with her.

“Are you even human, Qi Shanglan?” Lin Qianyou angrily pinched him. “Look at what you’ve done to me!” She pointed at the red marks and bruises on her body, then lowered her head, sobbing softly.

Qi Shanglan wasn’t sure if she was really crying or just pretending, but he still softened and gently wiped the corners of her eyes, sincerely apologizing, “Sorry, I’ll be gentler next time.”

“You’re still thinking about a next time?!” Lin Qianyou turned off the shower and glared at him angrily.

Qi Shanglan was amused by her expression. “Then how about just tonight? I promise I’ll be gentle.”

“Qi Shanglan!”

At the dining table, Lin Qianyou sat far away from him, as if a whole galaxy stretched between them. She was truly exhausted—how was he not tired? All he ever wanted to do was that.

Qi Shanglan sipped the soy milk she had made. Even without sugar, it tasted sweet—just like her.

He took out his phone and saw a message from Zou Ying, sent at dawn, asking why he hadn’t come home yet.

Qi Shanglan replied: Had something to do last night. I’ll be home in a bit.

Then, as if something came to mind, he asked Lin Qianyou, “Are you free today?”

“Hmm?” Lin Qianyou took a sip of soy milk, set down her bowl, and replied, “Yeah, I’m free. Why?”

“Come home with me to meet my parents. They want to see you.”

“Huh? So soon?” Lin Qianyou almost choked.

“They’ve wanted to meet you for a while. I just hadn’t told you yet. Want to go in a bit?”

Lin Qianyou held her bowl in both hands, thought for a moment, and then said, “How about this afternoon? I’ll go out first and buy some gifts for your parents. I can’t just go empty-handed.”

“Empty-handed is fine, it doesn’t matter.”

“How could that be okay? I don’t even know if your parents will like me yet—I have to make a good impression. A gift is a must.”

Qi Shanglan couldn’t argue with her and smiled. “Alright, then I’ll go with you.” He took another sip of soy milk, his gaze sweeping over her, and suddenly let out a light chuckle. “But first, I have something to do.”

“Hmm? What is it?” Lin Qianyou asked while sipping her soy milk. The next second, she almost spit it all out when she heard him lazily say, “Wash your bedsheet first.”

With a loud bang, Lin Qianyou slammed her bowl down on the table and glared at him. “Qi Shanglan!”

Qi Shanglan chuckled, pulled her—chair and all—closer to him, and teased, “Don’t be mad. Wetting the bed isn’t embarrassing.” He cupped her face, gave it a little squeeze, and couldn’t resist stealing a kiss.

Lin Qianyou burned with fury at his teasing. She was truly speechless—why was he so childish when it came to relationships? He never seemed like this before!

A scam. This was definitely a scam. A police officer, leading the charge in fraud!

In the bedroom, Lin Qianyou rummaged through her wardrobe, searching for something that could completely cover the red marks on her body. She finally picked out a pure white, waist-cinching long dress—with long sleeves that didn’t even expose her arms.

Just as she was about to change, she noticed Qi Shanglan lounging on her bed, watching her like a lord overseeing his domain.

What a completely oblivious man.

“Qi Shanglan, I’m going to change,” Lin Qianyou reminded him.

He raised an eyebrow in confusion, as if to say, So?

Lin Qianyou sighed. “Can you step out for a moment? Men and women should have boundaries, you know?”

Unexpectedly, Qi Shanglan burst out laughing, looking at her with amusement. “Lin Qianyou, we’ve already slept together, and you still care about this?”

“It’s different, okay? That was in the heat of the moment—this is about basic decency,” Lin Qianyou explained seriously.

Qi Shanglan humored her and stood up—but instead of heading toward the door, he walked toward her.

“What are you doing?” Lin Qianyou tensed and backed away. “We can’t… There are no condoms left…”

Qi Shanglan slowly closed the distance between them, pressing her into the corner. He raised his hand, his fingertip gently tracing her cheek.

“Lin Qianyou, I really like you.”

The sudden confession caught Lin Qianyou off guard. She had no idea why he was saying this out of nowhere, so she could only smile and reply that she liked him too.

“Let’s stay together forever—don’t leave me, okay?” His tone was more serious than ever before.

His deep, and dark eyes lingered on her for a long time. Qi Shanglan had to admit—he really had fallen for her. No matter what she did, he liked watching her. He loved the way she laughed so freely, the way she blushed when she was shy, and even the way she got angry. To him, even her frustration was unbearably cute—so cute that he couldn’t help but tease her, even if it meant getting punched in return.

He wished he could keep her by his side forever. But he couldn’t do that. She had her own career, her own dreams, and he couldn’t be so possessive as to demand otherwise.

Besides, if he really did that, his little wildcat would probably accuse him of having a controlling obsession again. And at this point, “jealousy” would no longer be a valid excuse.

But he still wanted to have her all to himself. He wanted her to belong to him and no one else. He regretted agreeing to a secret relationship—he wanted to claim her openly, to let the whole world know that Lin Qianyou was his.

Lately, he kept thinking—why hadn’t he met her sooner? Why hadn’t he known her earlier? But at least they were together now. At least she was his now.

He still remembered the first time they met at the old earth god’s temple. She had looked at him with such a flustered expression that the elders around them had teased him, saying he was too handsome and had caught a young girl’s attention. He had deliberately taken another look at her then—and just that one glance had left an impression he could never erase.

How strange. He had never believed in love at first sight, but somehow, he felt like he had seen her somewhere before. And yet, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t remember when or where.

Oh well. If he couldn’t remember, then so be it. It wasn’t that important.

He was simply grateful that the earth god had chosen him to be her divine messenger. It felt as if they had been destined to be together from the very beginning.

For the first time, Qi Shanglan—the staunch materialist—found his beliefs shaken.