Chapter 99: Bite a Little Harder
Xie Huaizheng let Su Zhaozhao bite him. The faint stinging pain was nothing to him.
He let out a soft chuckle. "Bite a little harder. Leave a mark here. We can call it your personal seal on me."
’He’s actually enjoying this, isn’t he?’
She, on the other hand, felt her own teeth ache from pressing against Xie Huaizheng’s taut muscles.
’This man is hard as a rock.’
Su Zhaozhao released his hand and quickened her pace, walking ahead.
In no time, Xie Huaizheng took hold of her hand.
Xie Huaizheng gently massaged her wrist. It was so small and looked slender, but it felt incredibly soft.
His thumb caressed her wrist, as if he couldn’t get enough of the feeling.
Then, he spoke. "The Commanding Officer knows I’m getting married. He wants me to bring you to his home tomorrow evening. He and his wife would like to meet you."
Su Zhaozhao gasped, staring at Xie Huaizheng in astonishment. "Are your background checks always this strict? I have to be vetted by the Commanding Officer?!"
’Isn’t this just like a job interview? The problem is, it’s an interview with the top brass. That’s just too weird.’
Xie Huaizheng found Su Zhaozhao’s surprised reaction rather cute.
He couldn’t resist reaching out to gently pinch her nose.
"Of course not. The Commanding Officer is a friend of my father’s, so he’s approaching this as an elder. He wants to meet you because he knows you’re my fiancée."
Su Zhaozhao was stunned. ’The Commanding Officer is a friend of Xie Huaizheng’s father?!’
"So you do have connections," she couldn’t help but remark.
’But didn’t the novel say the male lead was a self-made man?’
’How has the plot changed so much since I transmigrated in? It feels like the male lead is a completely different person.’
Su Zhaozhao felt a little bewildered.
’Look at the second male lead, Lin Shumo. His personality hasn’t changed one bit.’
’Could it be that the male lead’s definition of ’self-made’ is a little different from what I imagined?’
Just as she expected, Xie Huaizheng’s expression hardened in the next moment. The hand that had been on her nose moved to her cheek and gave it a hard pinch.
It hurt so much that she winced, slapping his hand away. "Why are you so rough? That hurts!"
’This jerk, why does he love pinching my face so much?’
’He does this every single time.’
Seeing the red mark blooming on the girl’s cheek where he’d pinched it, Xie Huaizheng realized he might have used a bit too much force.
He couldn’t help but lean in and place a placating kiss on her cheek.
Her cheek was soft and smooth, like a peeled hard-boiled egg.
’Sure enough, it felt just as wonderful to kiss as it did to touch.’
’Sometimes, he really couldn’t control his desires.’
"Sorry, I got a little carried away. But you can’t just say things like that. It wouldn’t be good if the wrong person overheard you."
"Especially when it comes to matters within the military."
Su Zhaozhao nodded. "I understand."
Xie Huaizheng continued, "When my grandfather first sent me here, he didn’t actually know Uncle Li was stationed here."
"After he found out, he told him to train me half to death."
Su Zhaozhao: "???"
"Is he really your grandfather?"
"Who else would he be?" Xie Huaizheng retorted with a laugh. "The old man is just incredibly stubborn. I made a mistake back then, so he sent me here for training, saying he was determined to beat this stubborn streak out of me."
’I see.’
Su Zhaozhao asked, puzzled, "You had a bad temper before?"
"Much worse than now," Xie Huaizheng said. He used to get into a lot of fights.
’Huh, so that’s what the male lead used to be like?’
But she was more worried about something else. Xie Huaizheng’s grandfather had such a terrible temper that he’d even be ruthless with his own grandson.
’So what would happen to me?’
’The supporting female lead’s family had called off the engagement directly, and Xie Huaizheng’s entire family had been furious.’
’With Old Sir Xie’s explosive temper, if he found out that I was shamelessly with his grandson after rejecting the engagement, would he come after me with a stick?’
’The thought alone was terrifying.’
’She wondered if Xie Huaizheng had even told his family they were getting married...’
"So, I’m not someone who relies on connections," Xie Huaizheng said. "Everything I have, I earned myself, one step at a time."
He rarely even went home. Sometimes, during the holidays, he’d be the only one left in the entire dormitory.
Su Zhaozhao couldn’t help but reach out and hug Xie Huaizheng.
She stroked his back, over and over, in a comforting gesture.
Xie Huaizheng took the chance to pull her fully into his embrace, his hand settling on her slender waist. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, inhaling her faint jasmine scent.
"Alright, alright, I get it. My dear Huai Zheng has had a tough time, working his way up to Battalion Commander all on his own," Su Zhaozhao’s soft, sweet voice chimed in.
She also let go of the doubts she’d been harboring.
’He really is the male lead, through and through! Even though he comes from a powerful family, he’d rather rely on himself.’
’She just hadn’t realized the male lead’s background was so powerful that he even knew the Commanding Officer!’
’So his family really did have some connections.’
’The supporting female lead’s family was so short-sighted, pushing him away just because his family was temporarily down on their luck.’
’The supporting female lead was so unlucky to be saddled with a family like that.’
"So, do I need to prepare anything for tomorrow?" Su Zhaozhao asked Xie Huaizheng.
She was a little anxious; it felt like she was going to meet the in-laws.
’She wondered if they knew that she was the one who had called off the engagement.’
"Don’t worry, you just need to show up. You don’t have to worry about anything else," Xie Huaizheng said, stroking her hair.
"Okay, I’ll get back early tomorrow, then. Where should we meet?"
"Let’s say the station. I’ll come pick you up."
"Okay," Su Zhaozhao agreed at once.
When Xie Huaizheng walked Su Zhaozhao back to the guesthouse, he held her and stole a few more kisses before finally letting her go.
Back in her room, Su Zhaozhao rubbed her tingling cheeks.
A sweet feeling blossomed in her heart. ’Ah, so this is what it feels like to be in love?’
’It was pretty sweet.’
But she was also a little worried.
She had a nagging feeling that Xie Huaizheng’s parents didn’t know she was with him now.
’Otherwise, things wouldn’t be going this smoothly...’
Considering how ruthlessly the engagement had been broken, Su Zhaozhao felt it was best for Xie Huaizheng to clear the air with his parents first.
After all, marriage wasn’t just about two people; it was about two families.
’I’ll talk to Xie Huaizheng about it tomorrow.’
The next day, Su Zhaozhao got up. She still had to make her delivery to the factory first.
Liang Zhongcheng’s uncle was quite prompt this time, paying upon delivery.
He was very satisfied with the goods Su Zhaozhao delivered.
"The cabbage you brought last time was perfectly fresh and stored very well. Even after all these days, it’s like it was just picked."
"From now on, just bring over any vegetables you have. The factory here goes through a lot, but of course, the cheaper and more affordable, the better."
"You got it," Su Zhaozhao said with a grin.
After leaving the factory, Su Zhaozhao went to get a meal.
After her meal, she took off the black jacket she wore over her clothes, revealing a light pink dress underneath.