Chapter 118: Wanting to Go Further
Xie Huaizheng grew anxious when he heard Su Zhaozhao. "Zhaozhao, I won’t let you. If you’re going to run away, you have to take me with you."
His words made Su Zhaozhao laugh.
’If he treated me poorly, I’d be running away from him. Why would I ever take him with me?’
"And I would never treat you poorly, Zhaozhao. You know I don’t fall in love easily."
Xie Huaizheng tilted Su Zhaozhao’s chin up, making her look at him.
Their eyes met, and Su Zhaozhao saw the earnest determination in Xie Huaizheng’s gaze.
"Don’t leave me, okay...?" His voice lowered, tinged with a hint of panic.
Su Zhaozhao hadn’t expected a simple joke to provoke such a strong reaction from Xie Huaizheng.
She said at once, "Alright. I promise you."
"Good." Xie Huaizheng leaned down, cupping Su Zhaozhao’s face to kiss her.
One kiss after another, he trailed them from her forehead to the tip of her nose, and finally to her lips.
Su Zhaozhao was pressed into his embrace, her face tilted up as she let him kiss her as he pleased.
The moonlight shone down on them, bathing them in a hazy, dreamlike glow.
The man’s tall frame completely enveloped the woman, his strong arms wrapped tightly around her slender waist.
’She’s so thin.’ He could easily wrap his arms completely around her.
’And despite that, she’s still thinking about losing weight.’ Xie Huaizheng truly wished Su Zhaozhao would eat more.
He didn’t know how much time had passed before he finally released Su Zhaozhao.
Su Zhaozhao leaned against his chest, panting for air. Xie Huaizheng held her, his gaze lowered to her flushed cheeks and misty eyes.
The beast of desire in his heart broke free from its cage, searing through him like fire.
Xie Huaizheng took one look at Su Zhaozhao and immediately tore his eyes away.
He was afraid that if he stared any longer, he wouldn’t be able to control himself.
’I can’t wait to get married. Once we are, we can finally take things further.’
But for now, aside from kisses and hugs, he couldn’t do anything more.
After hugging for a little while, Su Zhaozhao pushed Xie Huaizheng away, and they resumed their walk.
They were silent as they walked, not saying a word, but even so, Su Zhaozhao didn’t feel awkward at all.
’I guess this is what it’s like when you have a good relationship. Just walking in silence, hand in hand, is enough to make you feel wonderful.’
"By the way, what kind of girl does your mother like?" Su Zhaozhao asked him.
"Your type."
"Really?" Su Zhaozhao looked down at herself. ’I guess I’m not so bad.’
’Back when I was in the real world, I was always good at winning over the older generation.’
’What about in this world?’
’I seem to be doing alright here, too.’
’I got along well enough with Zhang Jingshu before.’
’And I’m on good terms with Zhou Xiaoyun and the others, too.’
"I’m planning to go downtown again tomorrow to do some shopping," Su Zhaozhao told Xie Huaizheng. "And I can’t forget a first-meeting gift for your mother."
"Zhaozhao, you’re always like this." Xie Huaizheng sounded helpless.
’She was such a good girl, one who always repaid kindness. If someone was good to her, she would return the favor twofold.’
’How could a girl like this not be wonderful? If she wasn’t, then who was?’
"Let me go with you."
"No, don’t worry about it. Your training is so demanding, and you just took time off. You can’t always be asking for leave. Besides, I’ve been a few times already, so I’m familiar with the area."
Xie Huaizheng hummed in acknowledgment, then pulled out a ten-yuan bill and handed it to Su Zhaozhao. "Buy whatever you like. If it’s not enough, just ask me for more."
’There he goes again, giving me money at the drop of a hat. And it’s always ten yuan every time.’
Su Zhaozhao stared wide-eyed at Xie Huaizheng. ’Wasn’t his family supposed to be down on their luck? How can he afford to spend money like this?’
’Or is it just that the male lead is really determined to spoil his girl?’
"It’s okay, really. I still have money. I haven’t even finished spending the cash you gave me last time."
Xie Huaizheng frowned at her words. "You still haven’t spent it all? Zhaozhao, how on earth are you spending your money?"
It had been a while since he’d last given her money. In that time, she had worn so many different outfits. Even if her meals were free, surely she needed to buy other daily necessities?
Su Zhaozhao was even more surprised to hear him say that. ’That was ten yuan! How could she possibly spend it in just a few days?’
But in the end, Xie Huaizheng simply stuffed the money into her pocket. "Just take it. Don’t worry, your man has money."
Xie Huaizheng really was quite a traditional man.
Su Zhaozhao started to say something, but she didn’t want to wound his pride. Instead, she just gave him a sweet smile. "Thank you."
"Mm-hm. Don’t thank me with words. Give me a kiss instead."
Xie Huaizheng broke into a roguish grin and pointed to his lips.
At his words, Su Zhaozhao showed no hesitation. She rose onto her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to Xie Huaizheng’s lips.
It was a kiss as light as a dragonfly touching the water’s surface. She was just about to pull away when he wrapped his arm around her waist, bent down, and cupped her face, deepening the kiss.
By the time Su Zhaozhao returned to the guesthouse, her head was still swimming and her cheeks were flushed crimson.
’Xie Huaizheng was getting really good at kissing. He had gone from being all brute force at the start to being so skillful now. He often left her breathless, stirring up all sorts of emotions inside her.’
’But I know people of this era are more conservative,’ she thought. ’Oh well. We can wait until after we’re married.’
’With a great body like Xie Huaizheng’s—tall, long-legged, and with an eight-pack—honestly, she felt like she’d hit the jackpot just thinking about it.’
The next day, Su Zhaozhao got up, washed, had breakfast, and then headed for West State.
She planned to also sell the white radishes from her space to the textile factory.
She had also heard there were several other factories around and wanted to see if she could contact them about selling some of her wares.
The black soil in her space looked like a small patch, but its yield was enormous.
She couldn’t possibly use it all up in one go. It would be better to sell to multiple factories at once while she was in West State, which would allow her to earn more money.
She decided she would stop selling the hair clips and other trinkets.
It was hard to conceal her identity, and being out in public so openly made it too easy to be recognized.
Furthermore, the incident with Xu Jiaming had left her with some trauma.
’Thankfully, Xu Jiaming was leaving today. He probably wouldn’t be stalking her anymore.’
All the public buses stopped at the West State Railway Station. If people wanted to go elsewhere, they had to transfer from the bus platforms there.
Su Zhaozhao stood waiting at the bus stop, having bundled herself up tightly to ensure that little pervert, Xu Jiaming, wouldn’t recognize her.
But she never expected that not far off, a middle-aged couple who had just arrived at the West State Railway Station and were also waiting for a bus would set their sights on her.
"Hey, Su Dashan, take a look. Does that person look like that little bitch?" a sharp-featured, cruel-looking woman asked, nudging the man beside her.
Su Dashan turned to look at the woman who was bundled up from head to toe. He frowned. "How can anyone tell who that is when she’s covered up like that?"
"Look at her height and build. I’m telling you, it’s her." Zhang Fengxia stared at the dark figure, practically grinding her teeth to dust.
Just then, Su Zhaozhao boarded a bus. Zhang Fengxia immediately grabbed Su Dashan. "Let’s go, we’re getting on too!"
"Are you insane? Didn’t they say she was in the military district?"
"Let’s just go see! That little bitch is so good at running off, I’m afraid we’ll lose her."
The woman dragged Su Dashan onto the bus.