Chapter 79: The Peacock Spreads Its Tail

Zhou Yinhe sat in front of the moving mirror that Ya Lun had dragged over, pulled Wen Ling to stand before him, leaning against her as he lifted his head to look at her.

Wen Ling rested her hand on his shoulder, lowered her gaze and saw his eyes were bright.

"What are you doing? Don't you want to be my guinea pig?"

"Yes." Zhou Yinhe poked her soft cheek with his chin, his tone a bit coquettish, he said: "I'll be your guinea pig; can you agree to one thing for me?"

"What do I have to promise you if I have you be my guinea pig?" Wen Ling chuckled, drew out an "hmm", as if weighing whether agreeing to his one request in exchange for him being her guinea pig was worth it.

"Why don't you say it and let me hear?" Wen Ling frowned, deliberately teasing him.

Zhou Yinhe chuckled lightly, seeing through the meaning hidden in her every glance and tiny movement—she was teasing him to make him happy.

"After you dye your hair, let's take a few photos together?"

He wanted to post it on Moments, use it as his avatar, and show off a little to Jiang Jibai and the others.

Wen Ling blinked, she totally understood Zhou Yinhe's idea as a peacock wanting to fan its tail.

"Sure."

Zhou Yinhe laughed, then poked her cheek again with his chin before letting go.

Wen Ling turned, walked around the mirror to the sofa, and before sitting said to Ya Lun: "By the way, give him a slight curl."

Zhou Yinhe turned his head to look at her; seeing Wen Ling press her hand to her lips and blow him a kiss, he felt satisfied, sat up straight, and let Ya Lun mess with his hair.

Ya Lun sighed, "Such a lovey-dovey couple..."

After Zhou Yinhe finished dyeing and curling, he got up, walked over to the mirror, and absentmindedly tousled his flaxen-gray-brown curls.

Wen Ling stood beside the mirror, tilted her head to look at him, couldn't help but exclaim "Wow!" and clapped, praising: "So handsome, Baobao!"

Zhou Yinhe lifted his chin, chuckled: "I won't let you lose face."

Wen Ling didn't answer him, simply pushed him aside and sat in front of the mirror, waving her hand to signal Ya Lun to begin.

"Miss, do you want a perm?"

Wen Ling tugged at the ends of her hair and said crisply: "Perm!"

Zhou Yinhe stood beside her, not stepping away, his eyes fixed on Wen Ling, feeling as if the scene before him were a hallucination.

He suddenly raised his hand and bit hard into his own wrist; the pain made him involuntarily hiss, and only then did he feel reassured.

He was actually quite pleased, but Wen Ling was startled by his action, lunged forward to grab his hand, eyes wide, and exclaimed: "What are you doing?"

Zhou Yinhe's lips curled, his eyes smiling, he took her hand and knelt before her, saying with a smile: "It's fine; I just wanted to test whether I'm dreaming."

Wen Ling lowered her gaze to the obvious bite marks on his hand, the edges even oozing blood, she gritted her teeth and scolded: "You're sick—who bites themselves for no reason just to test if they're dreaming? I tell you, you are dreaming right now; if you keep this up I'll kick you out so your dream ends quickly."

Zhou Yinhe kissed the back of her hand, trying to appease her; Wen Ling frowned and avoided looking at his face.

Too bad, using his face to lure her.

Until the hair was done, Wen Ling's brow remained furrowed; she waited for Ya Lun and the assistant to pack up the tools, then Zhou Yinhe held her and coaxed her softly until she couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm telling you, don't do that again." Wen Ling pinched his cheeks, putting on a stern warning.

"How many?"

Because of Wen Ling's actions he could barely speak, his answer muffled.

After hearing that, Wen Ling couldn't help but laugh, raised her eyebrows, let go of him, and looked at his curls, her hands itching.

"Lingling, take a photo."

Zhou Yinhe hadn't forgotten his plan to fan his tail; he pulled Wen Ling to take many photos, Wen Ling followed his lead, after shooting she leaned on his shoulder, watched him select a nine-grid layout to post on Moments, then separately picked a few for wallpaper, avatar, and background.

Zhou Yinhe raised his eyebrows, scrolling through the comments and likes that had just appeared on his Moments, feeling satisfied as he put his phone away.

"Do you want to use the same one?" Zhou Yinhe tried to discuss with her.

Wen Ling refused, "No way, I'm not a peacock."

Zhou Yinhe didn't press further, just held her waist and kept rubbing against her; Wen Ling's heart felt full to overflowing because of him.

She lunged into his embrace, her slender long legs locking around his waist as she clung tightly to his neck, kissing him fiercely several times.

Zhou Yinhe spun her around in his arms, Wen Ling cried out in a coquettish voice: "I'm dizzy, dizzy!"

"I'm dizzy too." Zhou Yinhe stopped, but still held her steady, burying his cheek in her neck, whispering: "These past three years I've often dreamed of you, but each time it's the scene of you leaving; I've been begging you, begging you not to leave me, yet you still went away; now you're right before me, I want to hold you as I please—you have no idea how fulfilled I feel."

Wen Ling released her legs from his waist, stepped on the tops of his feet and embraced him, her eyes glistening with tears.

The two somehow ended up kissing, slowly moving toward the sofa without parting; just as they fell onto the sofa, the door lock emitted a series of beeps; Wen Ling suddenly snapped awake, not knowing whether Zhou Yinhe was unprepared mentally, but she shoved him off the sofa and he fell onto the carpet.

Aunt Zhou came in holding Hehe, talking to Hehe as she walked; turning her head, she saw Wen Ling sitting awkwardly on the sofa and Zhou Yinhe looking bewildered on the carpet.

"……"

Aunt Zhou gazed at their slightly swollen lips, hesitated, opened her mouth, bent down to set Hehe down, then turned and fled; in one smooth motion, Wen Ling didn't even have time to speak.

Hearing the door close, Wen Ling burst out a puff of laughter, slid off the sofa and flung herself into Zhou Yinhe's arms, exhaling softly.

Zhou Yinhe carried her back to the room, ignoring Hehe trailing behind them, meowing and begging for attention.

As the room door shut, it nearly bumped Hehe's nose; angered, Hehe let out a sharp meow, but the usual poop-scooping mom who would softly soothe it had been taken away by the future dad who could take over litter duty, leaving it helpless, so it just flopped down by the door.

Zhou Yinhe kissed her while pulling at the conservative sleepwear she had changed into for Ya Lun's arrival.

He narrowed his eyes, looking down at Wen Ling's cheeks flushed with a rosy hue.

Every time in such moments she was exceedingly obedient, doing whatever he wished; their roles seemed reversed at this moment—he was the one leading, she the one yielding.

Wen Ling broke free from his grip on her wrist, her fingers tracing his face inch by inch, her eyes hazy as she gazed at him, whispering: "I also often dream of you, but in my dreams there is no separation, only this present moment."

Probably because the first time she saw Zhou Yinhe she was captivated by his face, becoming obsessed to the point of fixation; thus even though the pain of their breakup weighed on her heart, she only ever dreamed of scenes where they were halfway through their current situation.

Zhou Yinhe chuckled low, leaning over to reenact the scene she had dreamed of.

Afterward Zhou Yinhe wanted to hold her and go bathe, but Wen Ling refused no matter what, instead lying alone on the bed, breathing evenly.

After Zhou Yinhe finished his bath and came out, Wen Ling again refused his offer to help her bathe, instead dragging her sore legs into the bathroom alone.