SM Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Saying Yes Means Saying Yes “Shihao, don’t think about him now.”…

Chapter 19: Saying Yes Means Saying Yes “Shihao, don’t think about him now.”…

After dinner, everyone went home.

Well, not exactly everyone.

Zhu Shihao rested her hands on the steering wheel, turning her head to look at the person beside her: “Your place?”

Tan Zhi Xu lazily hummed, paused for a moment, then looked up: “Or is there somewhere else you want to go?”

She hadn’t really been thinking about it, but since he asked, she figured she could give it some thought.

“Let’s go see a movie.”

With a flick of his wrist, Zhu Shihao knew what he was about to do: “No need, my phone has that function too.”

After looking, she was torn between a domestic comedy and a foreign sci-fi film. She leaned to the right, “Zhi Xu, which one should we watch?”

The way she asked indicated she was interested in both and didn’t have a preference. This was the time he needed to help her decide.

Tan Zhi Xu didn’t take the phone. Instead, he circled her wrist and pulled it closer, using her movement to glance at the description of the two movies.

His fingertip tapped the screen, making a clicking sound: “The foreign one, I guess.”

With a decision made, Zhu Shihao immediately bought the tickets.

The movie wasn’t bad. When they came out of the cinema, they finally saw the exaggerated number of messages on WeChat, 99+, still flashing.

She was truly speechless, the kind where she didn’t even want to scroll up.

Tan Zhi Xu was driving. He got in and adjusted the seat back.

Zhu Shihao quickly skimmed the messages and browsed Weibo. Turning to face him, she said seriously, “I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?”

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, barely hesitating: “The bad news.”

“The bad news is, Yang Xu was photographed today, and we’re in the picture too.”

Tan Zhi Xu: “…”

A cold air emanated from him.

Although he knew she wasn’t finished, the bad news still made him want to drag Yang Xu out and beat him up.

He was expressionless, telling her, “Send him a message, let him know he’s about to be ostracized.”

Zhu Shihao giggled, comforting him: “Don’t be anxious, there’s good news too.”

“The good news is, they didn’t get my face, but they got a side profile of you, but the resolution isn’t great. Besides being able to tell you’re very handsome, it’s not very clear.”

Remembering the comments she had just seen, she smiled even more: “Congratulations, your handsomeness has finally been discovered by more people across the internet.”

Somewhat easing his displeasure, Tan Zhi Xu remained unmoved: “Not necessary. It’s enough for the SVIP to discover it, that way she can click on me a few more times.”

Zhu Shihao choked, glaring at him: “Well, I said I didn’t want it, but you didn’t listen.”

Hearing that, his mood improved, and he curved his lips: “Well, try to understand. After all, it took so many years to have a practice dummy.”

Zhu Shihao: “…”

“You are so shameless.”

The person being scolded remained nonchalant: “Okay, fine, I know.”

What do you know?

Tan Zhi Xu nodded, looking languid: “The subject is a bit weak, need to be considerate.”

Zhu Shihao snorted: “I hope you mean what you say.”

He answered, meaningfully, but Zhu Shihao, who was looking down at her phone, didn’t notice.

The topic had inexplicably gone astray, even straying into territory with age restrictions.

Zhu Shihao suddenly laughed: “Yang Xu said he was guilty, so to make up for us, he’s decided to go ask Xu Yan for some more ab photos.”

She laughed, but Tan Zhi Xu couldn’t.

Expressionless, he said coldly: “No need, I won’t bring him again in the future.”

Taking her eyes off the phone screen, Zhu Shihao tilted her head to look at him, her lips curving, but she didn’t say anything.

The car pulled into Shenyi.

The two tidied up and lay down in bed.

Zhu Shihao lay on her stomach at the edge of the bed, enjoying him blow-drying her hair. Even though he looked so aloof, his large hands were so gentle, his palms warm, as he patiently dried her long hair.

Feeling that it was basically dry, Tan Zhi Xu patted her butt: “Okay.”

After he put away the hairdryer and came back, she was still lying there in the same position, looking at her phone very seriously.

He got into bed on the other side, hooking an arm under her chest and pulling her over.

Zhu Shihao didn’t resist, letting herself be nestled in his arms.

Tan Zhi Xu adjusted his position, holding her, and rested his face against her head, silently waiting for her to finish talking to Shasha. Seeing that they said “good night,” he took her phone, rolled over halfway on top of her, and stretched out a long arm to place her phone on the bedside table.

At this angle, her gaze was directly on his prominent Adam’s apple.

As if tempted, she raised a hand, resting it on his shoulders, and lifted herself up to lightly bite his Adam’s apple. It was a very light bite, without any pain, but rather a bit itchy.

Looking down at her, lying obediently back beneath him, a faint smile appeared between Tan Zhi Xu’s eyebrows. It wasn’t strong, but it was quite obvious.

Touching her face, his smile was faint but with a rare hint of tenderness: “Wanting it?”

Zhu Shihao’s gaze didn’t waver, looking directly at him: “Don’t you want it?”

He heard a low chuckle escape from his throat: “You’ll soon know whether I want it or not.”

Moving off of her, Zhu Shihao saw him open the bedside table and take something out. She didn’t even need to look to know what he was taking. It was all the “tools” he had bought, neatly arranged.

The temperature rose, and the atmosphere gradually thickened. Moonlight covered the silent earth, overlapping shadows constantly moving, accompanied by fragmented sounds.

Zhu Shihao only felt like a leaf in a wave, rising and falling with the surge.

Anxious impatience, extreme pleasure… Everything was given to her by this man, dangerous yet fascinating, but she still wanted to get closer.

“Zhi Xu, Zhi Xu.”

His voice was deep: “Yes, I’m here.”

Zhu Shihao only called his name, and he responded every time.

“What’s wrong?”

Her eyes were shimmering with tears, and her face was full of passion: “Zhi Xu, I want you to hold me.”

So he listened to her, holding her and rolling over, sitting up and having her sit on him, inch by inch, returning to damp heat, listening to her feebly leaning against him, moaning fragmented, tempting and intoxicating.

“Holding you.” He kissed her forehead.

Zhu Shihao moaned, asking him intermittently, “What kind of person do you like?”

Tan Zhi Xu thought of something and asked back: “Perhaps you should tell me who that gentle and considerate man is?”

That question shocked her. She raised her hands, hugging his neck, and leaned against him.

“The people around you, I don’t think it’s any of them. Shihao, who is it? Tell me? Hmm?”

The opposite sex with whom she had close relationships, from high school until now, were only a few people, not even enough to count on two hands. But none of them seemed to fit her descriptions.

He wanted to know the answer. When he said the last sentence, it even carried a coaxing tone.

But this question made Zhu Shihao a little more sober. It was too dangerous.

She was silent for a moment, deciding to throw up a smokescreen.

“Does it have to be someone you know?”

In this scene, in this embracing position, he knew that moment of hesitation all too well.

Tan Zhi Xu suppressed the restlessness in his heart, understanding that she didn’t want to say it. He didn’t continue to ask who it was, changing the subject to inquire: “What about now? Do you still feel it?”

Now?

She was a little dazed, momentarily falling into a trance, but she was jolted awake by his sudden forcefulness. Her body’s instincts made her moan.

“I’m asking you. Zhu Shihao, what are you thinking about? Are you thinking about that person?” His movements became fiercer, tightly holding her waist, his gaze deep. “You only need to answer my question, don’t think about him.”

“Shihao, don’t think about him now.”

Not just now.

Shihao, don’t think about him.

Zhu Shihao came back to her senses. She raised her hand, circling his neck.

“I don’t know, Zhi Xu, be gentle.”

She looked at the man in front of her, unable to admit it, but also unable to deny it.

Tan Zhi Xu couldn’t help but to care for her, no longer forcing or acting violently.

“Zhu Shihao, you are now on my bed, on me. Call my name, Shihao, call my name.”

Alright, call your name.

The name that had been called countless times, the only name she wanted to call.

Completely surrendering herself to this love affair, forgetting everything else.

Swallowing back the question she wanted to ask, “Will you get back together with Su Yuewei?” Even she couldn’t help but weigh the pros and cons at this time.

She couldn’t bring herself to ask it, afraid that as soon as she tore open that wound, it would be difficult for them to gloss over the surface again. Once this absurd taboo ended, the relationship would deteriorate, and this time, unable to even be friends, she could only leave the stage completely.

Both of their phones lit up one after another, but no one cared.

The next morning, Tan Zhi Xu woke up first as usual. As for sleeping in, neither of them could beat Zhu Shihao. She never seemed to get that feeling of having a sore back from lying down for too long.

She was sleeping peacefully in his arms, her breathing even, sleeping soundly.

Tan Zhi Xu looked at her, smoothed the slightly disheveled hair away from her face, pulled her closer, and rested his face against her head, closing his eyes again. He just wanted to wake up a bit, but once his mind was completely clear, he still didn’t want to move, holding her.

After lying down for a few more minutes, he sighed inwardly, reached out and pinched her face. Seeing her move a bit, he gently patted her and got up, stuffing a pillow for her to hug.

After washing up and coming out, Zhu Shihao was still maintaining that position, her face on the pillow.

He sat on the edge of the bed, looked at her for a while, his voice a little lazier than usual: “How can you sleep so soundly?”

After saying that, he tucked her in and picked up his phone, quietly leaving the room.

There usually weren’t people who disturbed him on the weekend.

Well, it seemed there still were.

Tan Zhi Xu opened WeChat, his face without much expression. He normally returned to the main screen, and then went to the kitchen to heat a glass of milk and fry some bacon and eggs or something. He seemed to have been a bit excessive last night, and he’d have to bring it to her later.

He didn’t really feel guilty, after all, he had been gentle and slow, bearing his own discomfort to “be considerate” of her. Unfortunately, in the end, someone was crying and saying not to be considerate anymore.

So, naturally, he had satisfied her.

Inside the room, Zhu Shihao moved a bit, rolling over too smoothly and waking herself up.

Opening her eyes, she paused, then rolled back, with only a pillow beside her. She hugged it, burying her face in it.

No wonder. Before, when she was in his arms, she couldn’t even roll over. If she got even a little bit away, she would be pulled back. That’s why she had been able to roll over with a simple movement.

She sulked for two minutes.

The second her butt left the bed, soreness struck.

Wrinkling her nose, she wanted to scold him, but couldn’t bring herself to do it.

Slipping on her slippers, she walked toward the living room, the scent growing stronger as she walked. She made a turn and followed the scent to the kitchen.

A tall man was also quite suited to the kitchen.

After admiring him for a while, Zhu Shihao opened her mouth: “Zhi Xu.”

Hearing her voice, Tan Zhi Xu turned and waved at her. Waiting for her to come over, he wrapped an arm around her waist.

She leaned against him naturally, her head on his shoulder, her expression still carrying the delicate and lazy air of someone who had just woken up.

“Why are you awake?”

How rare, she actually stayed up late and only slept a few hours before getting up.

Zhu Shihao squinted, wrapping her arms around his waist: “Well, rolling over woke me up.”

“A little kid? Why didn’t you scare yourself into crying?”

Zhu Shihao didn’t speak, just pinched his waist with the hand around it.

He also didn’t say anything else, just kept an arm around her while using the other hand to work, until it was almost done, then he lowered his eyes to look at her: “Go wash up and brush your teeth, let’s eat?”

She nodded, her tone languid: “Okay.”

She had actually been awake for a while, but was just too lazy to move.

After washing up and changing into some home clothes, she finally picked up her phone. Ran Cai had sent her a screenshot of Yang Xu’s Weibo post, followed by a string of “hahaha”s. She enlarged it and took a look, only then realizing that Tan Zhi Xu had personally sent him a message last night.

Yang Xu had sent a tearful emoji, followed by a screenshot of a chat box with the profile picture cropped out: “Please sit at a separate table in the future.”

She laughed a little and sent back an emoji.

However, when the screen returned, seeing the name below, the smile instantly vanished from Zhu Shihao’s face.

Su Yuewei: [Shihao, are you guys still out playing?]

Su Yuewei: [I sent Zhi Xu a message, but he hasn’t replied. I’m really worried, Shihao, are you with him?]

Su Yuewei: [Can you ask him to reply to me, thank you.]

She forced a stiff smile.

As expected of her, still so direct, always worried and anxious, and then asking her to help find people.

During her sophomore year, she had received countless texts like this, rushing to find him, only to discover that he was in class, at the library, or even once, helping her buy milk tea.

Afterwards, she would say with a smile, “Sorry, Shihao, I forgot I told Zhi Xu I wanted milk tea.”

Zhu Shihao usually didn’t reply, but the person would continue on like nothing had happened.

After it happened so many times, it wasn’t like she didn’t know that Su Yuewei was doing it on purpose, but what could she do? She had to consider Tan Zhi Xu’s feelings. She couldn’t make it difficult for him between his friends and his girlfriend.

Later, she gradually became unwilling to be with Tan Zhi Xu, also not wanting to always know their interactions because of Su Yuewei’s “favors.”

During small family gatherings, Tan Zhi Xu even tugged on her ponytail and glared at her, his expression indifferent but revealing his displeasure: “Zhu Shihao, what have you been doing lately? I never see you.”

Nothing, just annoyed to see you and your girlfriend.

But that was in the past.

The current Zhu Shihao didn’t feel conflicted. Sitting across from Tan Zhi Xu, she handed him the phone.

“What should I reply?”

Without any preamble, Tan Zhi Xu took it, glanced at it, and immediately turned off the screen, putting it back in her hand.

“Reply however you want, or don’t reply at all.”