Chapter 302: Am I No Longer Attractive to You?

Xia Xi didn't even take Xu Yanfeng's threat seriously; could he really beat her up?

She swiped her card to open the room door, and Xu Yanfeng, somewhat impatient, squeezed in and shut the door behind him.

With a "bang," the sound hit her ears, Xia Xi dazed, only then realizing that to make her beg for mercy, it didn't necessarily require a beating; there was another way.

Xia Xi swallowed, her tone unnatural: "Um, you've been on that long flight, you must be tired; rest early."

"Hmm."

Xu Yanfeng agreed verbally but showed no retreat, pressing her against the wall, one hand on her neck, the other on her waist, his gaze locked on her lips.

His gaze seemed to carry a scorching heat; Xia Xi unconsciously pressed her lips, and the next second he lowered his head and kissed her lips.

The kiss that overcame all obstacles was destined to be more lingering and intense than any before.

It lasted a long, long time, until Xia Xi's legs went weak; if not for the firm hand at her waist holding her, she might have slid down the wall.

The oxygen in her chest was drained; Xia Xi frowned in discomfort, and before she could even react, she already wanted to beg for mercy. She raised her loosely clenched hand and pressed it against Xu Yanfeng's shoulder, but lacked the strength to push him away.

Xu Yanfeng understood her intent, forced himself to pull back slightly to give her breathing room. His half-lowered eyes were deep and unfathomable, like a vortex; his own breath was unsteady, his thin lips vivid red like blood.

After a while, Xu Yanfeng's ragged breathing still hadn't eased; he held the person before him, chin resting on her shoulder, eyes closed, the fresh scent of shower gel and shampoo filling his nostrils.

He drew it in deeply, greedily and unknowingly.

He had fantasized about this day for far too long; when it finally arrived, he wasn't as excited as he'd imagined, feeling more like a ship that had finally returned to port—steady and reassuring.

Yes, it was a sense of reassurance.

Xia Xi opened her clenched fingers, sweat beading in her palm, her heart still racing; she slowly lowered her hand from his shoulder, wrapped it around his waist, and leaned her whole weight against him.

At that moment, they seemed to have much to say, yet anything they said felt superfluous; they held each other silently, as if they could stay together until the earth grew old and the heavens turned barren.

A muffled thunder boomed outside; Xia Xi's eyelid twitched as she lifted her head from Xu Yanfeng's embrace: "You really didn't book a room?" Before he could answer, she said, "I don't believe it."

Xu Yanfeng gave a muffled laugh and spoke the truth: "The room next door."

Xia Xi wore an "I knew it" expression. Xu Yanfeng suddenly shifted tone, saying, "But I don't plan to go over there." He spoke low, near her ear: "I saw your bed is pretty big."

Xia Xi: "……"

After a few seconds of hesitation, Xia Xi slipped from his arm, glanced at the white bed not far away, and said slowly: "If you want to stay and sleep, just stay."

Xu Yanfeng doubted he'd heard right, raised his brow, and repeated her words slowly: "You said I can stay and sleep if I want to?"

Xia Xi, her back to him, hummed in affirmation.

Before Xu Yanfeng could show his pleasure, Xia Xi picked up her laptop and sat on the sofa, without looking up she said: "I'm afraid if I disagree, you'll pick the lock in the middle of the night."

Xu Yanfeng: "……"

No matter how she teased him, it couldn't dispel Xu Yanfeng's intention; he fetched his suitcase from the next room, pulled out a set of clothes, and went to the bathroom to shower.

Xia Xi occasionally glanced toward the bathroom, unable to fully calm her mind; fortunately, her work wasn't too complicated, and she soon finished, closing her laptop.

Xu Yanfeng emerged from the bathroom wearing black pajamas with silver trim on the collar, cuffs, and hem—simple yet luxurious—his head wrapped in a large white towel.

While drying his hair, he poured himself a cup of water, took a few sips, then turned to Xia Xi and asked: "Want some water?"

Xia Xi had drunk a full glass of hot red wine at the restaurant, wasn't very thirsty, shook her head at him, then went to the bathroom, climbed onto the bed—still a bit early—and picked up her phone to play.

Although she didn't look at Xu Yanfeng, the sounds he made were easy to interpret: first the cup being set on the table, then the slippers scraping the floor, pausing by the window, a moment of silence—likely his hair had dried, and he tossed the towel onto the nearby sofa.

Then his footsteps approached the bed; the blanket covering her legs was lifted, he sat down, so close that his body heat could reach her.

Xia Xi could no longer focus on her phone; she glanced at him with her peripheral vision—he was staring at her.

Her heartbeat, which had quickened from the kiss and only just calmed, now inexplicably sped up again; Xia Xi tightened her grip on her phone.

Xu Yanfeng stared at Xia Xi for a while, saw through her distraction, curled his lips in a smile, and took the phone from her hand: "If you can't focus, don't look."

Xia Xi: "……"

Xu Yanfeng's gaze swept over, as if he'd discovered a new continent; his fingertips lifted her long hair, revealing her ear, whose tip had turned red at some point.

"Xia Xi, how did your skin get so thin?" Xu Yanfeng found it unbelievable, his low, rich voice sounding like deliberate teasing: "Back when you chased me, you weren't like this."

She used to be able to blow him a kiss from a basketball arena of thousands……

Xia Xi swatted his hand away, pulled the blanket over, lay down, and spoke rapidly: "I'm going to sleep; don't disturb me, or you'll get kicked back to the next room."

Xu Yanfeng lay on his side, propping his head with his hand, watching her annoyed yet flustered expression, utterly amused, he lightly tapped her shoulder and said: "Xia Xi, this makes me feel a certain illusion."

Xia Xi, eyes closed, replied: "What illusion?"

Xu Yanfeng stroked her cheek: "Open your eyes and look at me."

After hesitating two seconds, Xia Xi did as he said, lifted her eyelids to look at him, and then?

Xu Yanfeng's gaze was deep: "Am I no longer attractive to you?"

Xia Xi was practically speechless, wanting to die. What the hell is this?

Back when they were together, she always racked her brains to flirt with him, while he was mostly like a block of wood—calling him wood would be flattering; more accurately, he was an iceberg. Of course, sometimes he'd lose his reason under her teasing, forget himself, as if possessed by a sprite……

Thinking of those, Xia Xi felt a heat in her chest, her face burning; her lashes fluttered twice: "Do you want to look in a mirror?"

"Huh?" Xu Yanfeng didn't quite understand.

"Your face." Xia Xi paused, then fixed her gaze on his face: "Even at eighty, you'd still be in demand."

Xu Yanfeng: "Then why are you unmoved, sitting calmly, with no thoughts?"

"……"

After letting loose, Xu Yanfeng often gave Xia Xi a new kind of shock.

After the shock, Xia Xi couldn't help but laugh, pressed her lips, after a few seconds said softly: "I still have work tomorrow, very important, very important." She emphasized it twice, indicating her work truly couldn't be taken lightly.

She wanted to finish early and return home early.

Xu Yanfeng said faintly: "Excuse."

Xia Xi said nothing; whatever she said here was just a perfunctory excuse. She held in a breath, turned, sat up, lunged at him, raised her hand to hook his neck, pressed his head down, and met his lips.

Xu Yanfeng's eyelids lowered; the lips she kissed involuntarily curved, one hand pressed on her back, easily reversing their positions, pressing her beneath him.

The kiss deepened, the air grew thick, while the rain outside eased, showing a tendency to gradually stop.