Chapter 309: I didn't bite that hard back then either

Having seen through Xia Xi's intentions, how could Xu Yanfeng let her escape? He seized her wrist in a lightning-fast move and pulled her into his arms.

Xia Xi, knowing she couldn't win, pointed at Zi Heng, who was snoring loudly beside them, and said, "Don't wake the child."

Xu Yanfeng didn't care about that at all; he bit the hard candy that was bitter beyond description with his teeth, pressed a hand against Xia Xi's nape, and before she could struggle, he kissed her.

Xia Xi: "……"

Thank you, but I don't want to kiss him right now.

The moment their lips and tongues touched, she tasted that bitterness, as if her tongue were being tortured.

Xu Yanfeng went even further, he simply pushed the candy toward her.

The next second, Xia Xi couldn't control her facial features—she furrowed her brows, flared her nose, and grimaced.

No wonder all the groomsmen who ate the candy, without exception, showed pained expressions, and in the end they all surrendered, demanding the groom bear it himself.

Xu Yanfeng stepped back slightly, eyes full of smiles as he admired Xia Xi's face scrunched up like a steamed bun, saying, "This counts as sharing weal and woe, right?"

Xia Xi didn't even have time to complain; she quickly grabbed a piece of paper, spat out the candy in her mouth, tossed it into the trash, poured half a cup of water to rinse, but it was useless—the bitterness lingered at the base of her tongue.

In contrast, Xu Yanfeng had already calmed completely, picked up the book on his leg, and read with a focused expression.

Xia Xi let out a long sigh, also experiencing the feeling of trying to steal a chicken only to lose the rice used as bait.

After dinner, Xia Xi took a shower, turned on her computer, and handled some work matters.

One batch of the custom materials had a problem; because it happened during the holiday period, it was hard to pinpoint which step went wrong—her order was fine, so the issue must lie with the custom manufacturer. The materials are due to be put into use soon, so she must quickly trace the cause and replenish this batch, otherwise it will affect the schedule.

Xia Xi frowned, wrote an email, and was about to send it to the person in charge of liaison at the custom manufacturer when Xu Yanfeng's voice suddenly came from the bathroom: "Xia Xi, are you out there?"

"What's wrong?" Xia Xi lifted her head and looked toward the bathroom.

"I forgot to get my pajamas."

"……"

Xia Xi got up, found a set of black pajamas, walked to the bathroom door, and raised her hand to knock.

She waited a moment, but there was no response from inside.

Xia Xi knocked twice more and said, "Here's the pajamas you wanted."

Still no response.

Xia Xi couldn't help but wonder: had Xu Yanfeng fainted?

Although they had done the most intimate things before, that had been in the dark with dim lighting, everything hazy. Even in bright light, she would still feel a bit embarrassed.

After a light cough, Xia Xi twisted the doorknob, pushed the door open a crack, reached in with the pajamas, and called out loudly, "Xu Yanfeng."

Xu Yanfeng seemed to have just heard her, walked over, afraid her arm would get caught in the door, pulled it open a bit more, and then took the pajamas from her hand.

Xia Xi took the opportunity to complain: "Didn't you hear me knocking and speaking just now?"

Xu Yanfeng gave an "oh" and said casually, "I was thinking about something, didn't pay attention."

Xia Xi didn't mind much either; as she turned and walked away, perhaps because the gap in the open door was relatively large, her gaze unintentionally swept over and she noticed a conspicuous mark on Xu Yanfeng's body, causing her steps to stop abruptly.

Xu Yanfeng didn't notice her oddness and closed the door again.

With a thoughtful expression, Xia Xi stood outside the door for a while, then slowly walked back to her desk, facing the computer screen; the image she had just glimpsed kept replaying in her mind.

She instinctively raised her left hand and touched her right rear shoulder.

With a "pat" sound, the bathroom door opened; Xu Yanfeng stepped out in slippers, holding a towel to dry his hair. His footsteps stopped behind Xia Xi, he glanced at the computer screen without looking closely, then quickly averted his gaze: "Working during the holiday?"

Xia Xi answered hesitantly: "A small problem came up; I'm dealing with it."

Xu Yanfeng: "Do you need help?"

"No, I can handle it myself."

Having said that, Xu Yanfeng didn't interfere.

Xia Xi struggled to refocus, checked the email's content once more, confirmed there were no issues, and sent it.

She propped one hand on the desk edge, turned her chair to face Xu Yanfeng, and fixed her gaze on his abdomen, unsure how to bring it up. Xu Yanfeng noticed her look, lowered his eyelids, looked at his own front, and saw nothing amiss.

He stopped drying his hair, gave a half-smile, and said, "That look of yours makes me feel as if I'm not wearing clothes."

Xia Xi: "……"

Xu Yanfeng glanced at her a few times, saw she had something to say but was embarrassed to speak, found it strange, propped his hand on the back of her chair, leaned down to meet her eyes, and said, "If you have something to say, just say it; don't play the hesitant game."

Xia Xi hesitated for a few seconds, then pressed her finger through her pajamas onto his abdomen and moved it slightly downward.

Xu Yanfeng startled, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he asked, "You want it?"

"……" Xia Xi rolled her eyes to show her speechlessness; after a moment, she licked her lips and slowly said, "I just seemed to see a vivid mark here, not like an old scar, and besides, I didn't bite that hard back then… right?"

As she spoke, she herself became less certain, her tone growing increasingly hesitant.

Once, while they were entwined in bed, Xu Yanfeng, for some unknown reason, bit her on the back shoulder so hard the tooth marks drew blood; he wouldn't let her apply medicine, wanting to leave a mark of his own on her body, so she would always remember him.

At that time, she refused to be outdone, opened her mouth and bit him on the lower abdomen, returning his words in kind—"You too must belong to me forever."

She has a scar-prone constitution; that tooth mark, she didn't bother with when showering, so it naturally remained as a scar, still present today. Usually, when she needs to wear a shoulder-baring dress, she covers it with concealer; otherwise, being seen would be embarrassing.

Xu Yanfeng stared at her puzzled expression, then suddenly laughed: "Is this the first time you've seen it?" After asking, he felt it wasn't right, "I didn't deliberately hide it either; when we were together, you weren't looking…"

Xia Xi's face flushed, and she quickly interrupted: "Who would stare there!"

Xu Yanfeng lowered his brows and eyes, adding a hint of desire, his voice low and soft with a tempting tone: "I will."

Xia Xi: "……"

Really speechless, the topic has veered onto an improper path.

Xu Yanfeng straightened his body, lifted his shirt hem, hooked his fingers into the waistband of his pants and pulled down, revealing his pale skin, black fabric, and a sharp, defined mermaid line—an ultimate temptation.

Xia Xi's voice wavered: "You… what are you doing?"

"Let you see."

Xu Yanfeng revealed the tooth mark to her.

At first, Xia Xi averted her gaze, but the moment she saw it clearly, her eyes locked and slowly widened; she hadn't misseen it at the bathroom door—the tooth mark was a vivid, striking red.

It doesn't look like a scar left from long ago; it looks like it was just made.

No, it's more like it was drawn with a pen; a bite mark wouldn't be this clear.

Xia Xi, as if possessed, reached out and rubbed it with the pad of her finger.

It was as if a switch had been flipped; Xu Yanfeng's eyes darkened, he restrained himself and drew a light breath, his gaze flicking to the side before returning. Though she had clearly touched the skin of his abdomen, he felt an itch in his throat.

He coughed; Xu Yanfeng loosened his fingers, the edge of his pants returned to its original place, covering the tooth mark. His voice slightly hoarse, he said word by word: "Have you seen it clearly? If not enough, go look more carefully on the bed."

Xia Xi lifted her eyelids, gazed at his dark, night-like eyes, and asked: "How did this happen?"

Xu Yanfeng said lightly: "You still can't see it? It's a tattoo."