Chapter 81: Falling into Su Zhaozhao’s Hands
The girl was like a small cat, wrapping her arms around him and nuzzling her soft head against his neck.
The ticklish, tingling sensation, combined with the sudden, rich scent of jasmine, struck him right in the heart. Xie Huaizheng felt as if his own had been pierced.
He took a deep breath and, with considerable effort, finally pried Su Zhaozhao off him.
But the moment they were apart, Su Zhaozhao burst into tears. "No, I don’t want to be apart from you! Don’t leave me by myself."
Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes dazed and glistening with unshed tears. She looked utterly pitiful.
Gone was the calm, cunning look she wore when sober; right now, she was like a child who had been abandoned.
Xie Huaizheng’s voice softened. "There, there. You just lie down. I’ll go get some water to wash your face, how about that?"
Su Zhaozhao seemed to understand, and she nodded.
Xie Huaizheng took the washbasin and a towel and went outside to get water.
Back in the room, he poured a little hot water from Su Zhaozhao’s thermos into the basin.
He recalled the other day, when he had a drink of her water and found it exceptionally sweet and refreshing.
He grabbed a cup and poured some for himself as well.
He took a sip. Sure enough, it had the same sweet, refreshing taste.
The fatigue he felt vanished in an instant.
It tasted even better than mountain spring water.
Xie Huaizheng poured another cup.
Then, he soaked the towel in the basin, wrung it out, and gently began to wipe Su Zhaozhao’s cheeks.
Su Zhaozhao’s eyes were open, watching Xie Huaizheng in silence.
When Xie Huaizheng glanced over, she immediately broke into a smile.
Her gaze was direct and unwavering. The corners of her eyes curved with a flirtatious allure, shimmering in the dim light as if they could peer into the depths of his very soul.
Xie Huaizheng wished she would close her eyes.
No matter how strong his self-control, he couldn’t bear being stared at like this.
To make matters worse, Su Zhaozhao was still teasing him. "Hey handsome, let’s get married!"
"Why don’t you want to marry me? Do you hate me that much?"
Su Zhaozhao’s voice was tinged with grievance, but her hand reached out uncontrollably to stroke Xie Huaizheng’s cheek.
Xie Huaizheng hadn’t expected this. Even completely drunk, Su Zhaozhao was still fixated on marrying him.
His gaze fell to her palm, and he paused, his brow furrowing.
She had scraped the skin off her palm when she fell earlier, and in some spots, tiny beads of blood were seeping through.
Her skin was so delicate; a simple fall had injured it this badly.
Gazing at her reddened palm, the man pressed his lips into a thin line. He then stood, found some medicine on Su Zhaozhao’s desk, and began to treat her wound.
As the medicated powder was sprinkled on her hand, Su Zhaozhao flinched from the pain and tried to pull away.
"It hurts!" She frowned, trying to wrench her hand free.
Xie Huaizheng held her hand firmly. "Don’t move. I’m putting medicine on it. It’ll heal faster this way."
Xie Huaizheng said softly, as if he were coaxing a small child.
The moment the words left his mouth, Xie Huaizheng froze.
He had never been so gentle with anyone before. Even with his own family, he was always aloof.
But now, looking at the girl before him, his heart had somehow grown soft.
He even found himself blowing on the wound as he applied the medicine.
Once the wound was treated, Xie Huaizheng breathed a sigh of relief.
But in the next instant, a warmth touched his cheek.
It was moist and carried the light scent of jasmine, leaving Xie Huaizheng momentarily stunned.
"Thank you for putting the medicine on for me." Su Zhaozhao beamed at Xie Huaizheng. "I don’t really have any other way to thank you."
With that, Su Zhaozhao leaned in and kissed Xie Huaizheng again.
This time, her lips met his.
It was a fleeting kiss—soft lips, the elegant scent of jasmine, and the faint taste of wine.
But it felt like Xie Huaizheng’s brain had just exploded.
A fire ignited within his body, spreading and searing its way straight to his heart.
His body felt like it was about to explode.
His eyes turned impossibly deep, tinged with a savage intensity, like a wolf about to devour the girl before him.
It was the first time Xie Huaizheng had ever felt anything like this.
It was a craving that stemmed from his very soul.
And yet, just after kissing him, Su Zhaozhao flopped onto the bed, pulled the covers over herself, and promptly fell asleep.
Xie Huaizheng stared at Su Zhaozhao, now sleeping peacefully on the bed. He narrowed his eyes, his expression darkening with irritation.
’Flirt with me and then run away?’
’She kisses me a couple of times, says she wants to sleep with me, and then passes out first?’
’Leaving me all fired up.’
Xie Huaizheng couldn’t resist reaching out and pinching Su Zhaozhao’s cheek.
He didn’t use much force, but Su Zhaozhao still frowned in her sleep as if disturbed, batting his hand away.
Xie Huaizheng sighed. Fine. He was no match for her.
Xie Huaizheng bent down to take off Su Zhaozhao’s shoes.
The girl’s feet were so small, not even as large as his palm.
Her ankles were even more slender and delicate...
Xie Huaizheng pressed his lips together, averted his gaze, and calmly tucked Su Zhaozhao under the covers.
Nights in West State were still quite cold. This would keep her from catching a chill.
Finally, gazing at Su Zhaozhao’s peaceful, sleeping face, Xie Huaizheng leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
’Everything tonight was so chaotic.’
’So why not let it get even messier.’
In that moment, he felt as if he were drunk himself.
Downstairs, Xie Huaizheng pulled out a pack of cigarettes, lit one, and took a deep drag.
He walked to his car, which was parked in the shadow of a tree, his own figure swallowed by the darkness.
Only the ember of the cigarette between his lips glowed, illuminating his dark eyes.
Xie Huaizheng couldn’t help but think that he had well and truly fallen for Su Zhaozhao.
When Su Zhaozhao woke up the next day, her head was pounding.
She quickly drank a few sips of spiritual spring water, which made her feel a bit better.
’Last night... what on earth happened last night?’
The stinging pain in her palm made Su Zhaozhao wince.
A quick glance revealed that it had been treated.
’I remember going to dinner with Xie Huaizheng, and then wanting to drink because I was in a bad mood.’
’After that... I don’t remember anything.’
’Don’t tell me I got drunk?’
’Dammit, I’ve never been drunk before!’
’And I blacked out!’
Su Zhaozhao couldn’t remember what had happened last night at all, not even how she’d gotten back here.
But she was in her bed, and there was a washbasin nearby with a towel draped over a rack.
’And my palm has been treated... Could it be that Xie Huaizheng brought me back?’
’I didn’t do anything... untoward to Xie Huaizheng, did I?’
At this thought, Su Zhaozhao immediately sprang up, entered her pocket dimension for a quick shower, and prepared to go find Xie Huaizheng.
But just as she was about to leave, she hesitated. Xie Huaizheng was probably at training right now; she wouldn’t be able to find him anyway.
’Forget it,’ she thought. ’I’ll go deliver those things to Liang Zhongcheng first.’
’Once I close this big deal and make a good profit, I’ll be a rich woman.’
It was already a bit late in the day, but Su Zhaozhao still tidied herself up, pulled a pile of potatoes, sweet potatoes, and apples from her pocket dimension, and headed for the base’s elementary school.
Under her direction, cabbage had already been planted in her dimension.
But cabbage took two days to grow, so she would have to wait a little longer for the harvest.