Chapter 35: Misbehaving

The sound of rain pattered against the floor-to-ceiling window, water droplets forming wispy threads that eventually coalesced into a thick fog, obscuring the intertwined figures on the bed.

“Qin Yingxia, tell me, who do you like…”

The man captured her wrist, pulling it up and over her head, pressing his lips against hers in a series of light, delicate kisses, like the incessant rain outside, falling upon every inch of her skin.

Qin Yingxia shifted restlessly, her face flushed.

Their clothes lay scattered on the floor, a testament to their passion.

Her lips were a vibrant crimson, as if they could drip with water. “I don’t know…”

The man seemed dissatisfied, his brow furrowed. His voice, laced with a husky breath, was incredibly sexy. His hand clasped her soft waist. “Yingying, you know. Say it. Say you like him…”

Tears welled in Qin Yingxia’s eyes, and she clutched the bedsheets, her face a picture of misery. Despite Jin Zhuo’s insistent questioning, she bit her red lips, refusing to utter the man’s name.

“You like me. You like Jin Zhuo.”

The man’s voice rang out once more, leaving no room for argument.

“Tell me,” Jin Zhuo lifted her chin with his thumb and forefinger, his lips brushing against hers in a suggestive manner. “Do you like Jin Zhuo?”

…

Qin Yingxia woke up with a start, her body burning with a feverish heat, slick with perspiration.

She breathed heavily, her face flushed, her head throbbing. For a moment, she couldn’t distinguish between dream and reality.

As she regained her senses, Qin Yingxia clutched the sheets and let out a silent scream.

She had…

Dreamed that kind of dream!

Dreamed about herself and Jin Zhuo…

Oh my god!

How embarrassing!

How could she ever face Jin Zhuo again?

The thought of Jin Zhuo brought to mind the image of him kissing her forehead.

She froze, her hand instinctively reaching for her forehead.

Did Jin Zhuo really kiss her?

Qin Yingxia fumbled around on the bed, finally finding her phone at the foot of the bed.

It was already nine in the morning.

“Yingying, are you awake?” Yu Zhizhi asked, noticing the movement of her bed.

Qin Yingxia pulled open the curtains. “Zhizhi… my head hurts.”

Yu Zhizhi, with a toothbrush in her mouth, said, “You were drunk last night. I made you some honey water and kept it warm for you to drink when you woke up.”

“Did you buy the honey last night? Thanks Zhizhi!” Qin Yingxia got out of bed, taking a couple of sips of water to soothe her throat, trying to subdue the heavy nasal tone that accompanied her waking voice.

Yu Zhizhi, with a knowing smile, looked at her. “No need to thank me. Jin Zhuo bought it specifically for you…”

Jin Zhuo.

Qin Yingxia’s fingers froze around the cup, suddenly feeling as if the honey water was scalding hot.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t notice Yu Zhizhi approaching her.

Only when her cheek was poked did she snap out of her reverie. “Yingying, I wanted to ask you, your face… it’s redder than usual!”

“I… I woke up because of the heat.”

“Really?” Yu Zhizhi was skeptical. She looked up at the air conditioner’s temperature setting: 22°C.

Qin Yingxia quickly changed the subject. “Where’s Wanwan?”

“School gave us two days of quiet time after military training, so her long-distance boyfriend came to see her. They went on a date early this morning!”

Yu Zhizhi couldn’t help but sigh. “It seems like there are people in this world who can truly make love blossom…”

She talked on and on, but Qin Yingxia didn’t respond.

Turning around, she saw Qin Yingxia staring blankly, her face growing increasingly red.

“Qin Yingxia!”

“Yeah!” Qin Yingxia snapped out of her daze, the fear of being called by her full name washing over her.

Yu Zhizhi narrowed her eyes. “Something’s wrong with you.”

“No, I’m fine!”

“Look me in the eye.”

Qin Yingxia couldn’t bring herself to do it. She was too guilty.

“Stop it, I need to wash up!”

She fled the scene, leaving Yu Zhizhi to chatter behind her. “Yingying, tell me, did something happen between you and Jin Zhuo last night that I don’t know about?”

“I heard you were so drunk that Jin Zhuo carried you back!”

“The posts on the confession wall are going crazy!”

“Yingying, you have to check it out!”

The bathroom door closed, and Qin Yingxia let out a long sigh of relief.

She leaned against the door, her heart pounding.

She remembered it all, she remembered it all.

Biting Jin Zhuo’s ear, being kissed on the forehead by him, being carried back to the dormitory by him, and then having inappropriate dreams in the dormitory at night…

Qin Yingxia covered her face and slowly squatted down. She clicked on the chat page with Jin Zhuo, and he hadn’t sent any messages.

As if they were in sync, the moment she turned off the screen and was about to take a shower, Jin Zhuo’s message popped up: [Are you awake?]

[Jin: Is your head dizzy?]

Qin Yingxia trembled, her fingertips shaking as she typed: [I’m awake, not dizzy, thank you for the honey, Senior.]

[Jin: Did you forget my name when you woke up?]

[Youxia: I didn’t forget, you’re Jin Zhuo.]

Ever since she had that inappropriate dream, Qin Yingxia even felt his name was a bit dazzling.

[Jin: Is there anything you want to ask me?]

[Youxia: No, I don’t.]

Jin Zhuo’s reply came quickly, almost at the same time as Qin Yingxia’s message: [Then I have something I want to ask you.]

Qin Yingxia’s heart skipped a beat, and she quickly reviewed in her mind if she had said anything she shouldn’t have last night.

She couldn’t remember too many details, so she typed: [Jin Zhuo, don’t ask.]

[Jin: ?]

Qin Yingxia felt inexplicably flustered when she saw that question mark. She bit her lip and typed: [Little Jin, Little Jin, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have bitten your ear.]

[Jin: What else?]

It was obvious he wanted to bring up the forehead kiss.

But Qin Yingxia couldn’t bring herself to mention it. All she could think about was that dream, where she was getting intimate with Jin Zhuo.

She didn’t respond, and Jin Zhuo took the initiative to clarify, directly calling her on voice chat.

Qin Yingxia hesitated, closing and opening her eyes, and rejected his call.

“You don’t want to answer a voice call, do you want to answer a video call?”

“Alright, Little Qin, I just finished showering…”

Jin Zhuo’s voice messages came one after another.

Qin Yingxia couldn’t take it anymore and hurriedly replied with a voice message: “Jin Zhuo, I just woke up and need to shower, I’ll talk to you later!”

She thought Jin Zhuo would let her go, but he sent another voice message: “Okay, are we having lunch together?”

He had a “if you don’t agree, I’ll keep bombarding you with messages” attitude, and Qin Yingxia eventually gave in.

Jin Zhuo stared at the “little cat OK” emoji Qin Yingxia sent, a smile curving his lips.

He would find a way to make Qin Yingxia only like him from now on.

•  

Qin Yingxia came out after blow-drying her hair, just as Yu Zhizhi came in with a package in her arms: “Yingying, Jin Zhuo is here, he’s waiting for you downstairs.”

“Why is he here so quickly…” she muttered to herself, leaning on the balcony to look down.

Jin Zhuo stood under the camphor tree, wearing a blue shirt with black trousers and white sneakers, his whole demeanor was elegant and sunny.

Besides Qin Yingxia, many other girls had gathered on the balcony, some of them even brought cameras and took pictures of Jin Zhuo downstairs.

“For a man like Senior Jin, we can only admire from afar.”

“I’m looking forward to the day Senior Jin is defiled.”

“You’re so vulgar.”

“I want a tutorial on how to become Jin Zhuo’s girlfriend!”

“You should go ask Qin Yingxia on the fourth floor, room 20.”

“Yeah, who in Imperial University doesn’t know that Qin Yingxia is Jin Zhuo’s girlfriend now…”

“The posts on the confession wall went crazy last night, I even took a picture of Jin Zhuo carrying Qin Yingxia back to the dorm!”

“…”

Qin Yingxia’s face flushed red, and she quietly retreated back to the dorm.

She started rummaging through her closet for clothes. Thinking about Jin Zhuo wearing a blue shirt, her eyes fell on the matching short skirt…