Chapter 96 - 92: Secretly...

Chu Zhengran wasn’t aware that they had been living at Fenglin Villa all along. He drove directly towards Gu Yanjing’s usual residence. Halfway there, Gu Yanjing glanced at the driving route and said, "To Fenglin Villa." Chu Zhengran looked at him through the rearview mirror, then turned the steering wheel at the intersection ahead. Qiao Yuxian nestled in her seat, her eyelashes fluttered slightly, but she said nothing. They arrived at Fenglin Villa in silence. Qiao Yuxian got out of the car and followed Gu Yanjing towards the villa. After a few steps, Chu Zhengran suddenly called out to Gu Yanjing. Both Qiao Yuxian and Gu Yanjing turned to look at him. Chu Zhengran and Lin Huai Shu stood by the car, not moving. With a warm smile on his face, he looked at Qiao Yuxian and said, "Let me borrow him for a moment." Qiao Yuxian glanced at them and said, "You go ahead, I’ll head in first." Gu Yanjing watched her enter the villa, then turned to look at Chu Zhengran. The sky had darkened, with only a strip of orange-red on the horizon. The two of them stood in the yard, looking at each other. A few seconds later, Chu Zhengran spoke first, "Is it safe enough?" Gu Yanjing didn’t answer. Chu Zhengran asked again, "Can you confirm her background?" Gu Yanjing remained silent. Chu Zhengran said, "I shouldn’t meddle in matters between you and your wife. I’ll just say one thing. Even if you like her, you must be cautious." Lin Huai Shu stood aside, watching the two of them. He understood in his heart. Today, it seemed that Qiao Yuxian was not a simple person. She had approached Gu Yanjing on her own. They couldn’t help but think more about it. The main issue was that Gu Yanjing seemed to be moved by her. They had no idea what had happened between them before. They couldn’t be sure if Gu Yanjing genuinely liked her, or if he was taking care of her out of responsibility. After all, they had never seen him take care of anyone like this before. Most likely, he was indeed moved. "Hmm." Gu Yanjing replied. Chu Zhengran smiled lightly, relaxing a bit, "I hope we’re just overthinking it." Gu Yanjing pinched his fingers. Chu Zhengran said, "Tell Miss Qiao we won’t go in." "And mention, we’ll come over for dinner next time," Lin Huai Shu added to lighten the mood. "All you think about is food," Chu Zhengran teased. Lin Huai Shu shrugged. "Stay away from me, you’re covered in dirt," Chu Zhengran said disdainfully as he opened the car door. "I won’t," Lin Huai Shu got into the car too, "I’ll stay at your place tonight." With that, they left, and Gu Yanjing turned to enter the villa. He didn’t see Qiao Yuxian in the living room. Aunt Mei mentioned she had gone to her room to shower. So he waited in the living room. Over an hour later, Aunt Mei came out of the kitchen, seeing Gu Yanjing still in the living room, she went upstairs to knock on Qiao Yuxian’s door. Qiao Yuxian had just finished showering and was drying her hair when she opened the door, "Aunt Mei?" Hearing the voice, Gu Yanjing looked up towards the stairs. "Madam, shall I wash the clothes you changed out of?" Aunt Mei asked with a smile. "Yes," Qiao Yuxian took the clothes from the laundry basket and handed them to Aunt Mei, "Thank you, Aunt Mei." "You’re welcome." Aunt Mei left with the clothes. Qiao Yuxian closed the door and returned to her room. But before she reached the bedroom, there was another knock on the door. She paused, then turned back to open it. After just one step, the door was pushed open from the outside... Gu Yanjing stood at the door. Qiao Yuxian stopped in her tracks, looking at him. She was only wearing a lotus pink silk robe, tied at the waist, accentuating her slender waist. The overlapping collar exposed her originally fair neck, which had turned slightly red from the steam, gleaming with a soft pink hue, extending to her collarbone, then spreading into her clothing. Her eyes were reddish, clear yet hiding a hint of seduction. Miss Qiao held a towel over her head with one hand and instinctively overlapped her collar with the other, covering more of her skin. "Is there something you need?" she asked. Gu Yanjing’s eyes twitched slightly as he entered the room and shut the door. Miss Qiao’s wide eyes were full of questions as she watched him walk up to her, and she subconsciously took a step back. As she retreated, Gu Yanjing stepped forward and grabbed her arm, leading her toward the bedroom. Miss Qiao wore slippers, being pulled along: "Hey? Hey? Gu Yanjing, Gu Yanjing... The sky isn’t completely dark yet, what are you doing, what are you doing?" Gu Yanjing pulled her to the bedside, pressing her shoulders to make her sit on the edge of the bed. Miss Qiao quickly took off her slippers and scooted a bit into the bed, hugging her knees, and looked at him warily: "What are you doing? Let me tell you, just because the marriage certificate is legal, but, but, I didn’t agree." Gu Yanjing deliberately stood by the bed watching her without moving. "I haven’t prepared myself yet." Miss Qiao’s hair was a mess, still topped with a towel, resembling a small fox with its fur all ruffled. "I’m such a pure, innocent, kind, naïve, super-duper cute little fairy that I need to build my mental foundation first, you, you, you..." Gu Yanjing tossed two ointments onto the bed and turned to fetch a chair. Miss Qiao looked at the two anti-swelling, pain-relieving, blood-circulating ointments on the bed and swallowed back her words. The ointment had been in his hand, but she hadn’t noticed it earlier. Gu Yanjing placed the chair by the bed, pulled her hand over and checked the marks on her wrist. The rope had been tied tight, and Miss Qiao herself had untied it. Not only were there marks, some places were a bit scuffed, and some had drawn blood. Gu Yanjing put her arm down and went to get the ointment. Miss Qiao hugged her knees, sitting at the edge of the bed, and laughed awkwardly: "It was a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding. Heh heh." Gu Yanjing kept his eyes downcast without speaking. Neither of them spoke again; after a quiet moment, Miss Qiao wiggled her toes. Gu Yanjing glanced down at her bright, round little toes. "Gu Yanjing, are you still angry?" Miss Qiao asked, looking at his eyelashes. Gu Yanjing spread the ointment on, gently massaging her wrist. Miss Qiao said, "I really did ensure my own safety before letting them take me in the car." Gu Yanjing raised his gaze to her. Miss Qiao met his eyes, pressing her lips together, paused, and said: "I, I... I won’t do it again." Gu Yanjing looked at her briefly, then continued massaging her wrist. Miss Qiao felt that his look clearly said "Do you think I believe you?" "I... I’ll try my best." Miss Qiao said with little confidence, "I’ll really try my best. I’ll take care of myself. Trust me." Gu Yanjing remained silent. "Really, believe me." Miss Qiao’s voice softened. After a few seconds of silence, Gu Yanjing finally responded: "Hmm." Miss Qiao smiled and continued pressing the towel to dry her hair: "Then don’t be angry with me. I won’t talk nonsense anymore. It’s just that today you were so fierce, my mood got a bit upset, and I just spoke without thinking. You even hit me, so we’re even now." Gu Yanjing kept massaging her wrist to let the ointment absorb, then applied more ointment. He said with a calm, steady, cold voice, without warmth but not perfunctory: "Sorry." Miss Qiao didn’t expect him to apologize, blinked dumbly, then stammered, "It’s okay." After a while, she added: "I didn’t blame you. But can you not do it in front of so many people? I, I do care about appearances." Gu Yanjing had gotten so angry back then that he probably didn’t even acknowledge the people around them. "I’m already so grown up, a young woman. Being spanked like that... if this gets out, how am I supposed to live?" Miss Qiao muttered as she sat cross-legged. "Can’t we just do it behind closed doors, secretly..." As she spoke, her voice suddenly disappeared. Gu Yanjing’s hand paused while massaging her wrist, and he raised his gaze toward her. Meeting eyes, there was a faint meaningful undertone in Gu Yanjing’s deep gaze. Like melting pine snow slowly seeping into the heart... Miss Qiao stared at him, her ears gradually turned red, her lips quivered lightly, and she stammered: "Even, even secretly is no good. None of it, nothing’s okay." Gu Yanjing’s eyebrows moved slightly. Miss Qiao quickly put her hand over his eyes: "Don’t look! And don’t think about it either!" With his eyes covered, Gu Yanjing’s lips formed a faint, slight smile. Staring at his pale, thin lips curve slightly, Miss Qiao instinctively pressed her lips together, and her heartbeat accelerated, as if everything around her lost color, leaving only Gu Yanjing. She watched for a few seconds, quickly shifted her gaze, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. Silently in her heart, she roared. Miss Qiao— You are too flirtatious!