SM Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Let’s Do It

“Alright, let’s see who gets on top of whom.”…

Zhu Shihao lowered her eyes: “…Aren’t you being too straightforward?”

Dissatisfied with her response, Tan Zhi Xu gave a sardonic smile, slightly raising the hand that was pinching her cheek, as if not allowing her gaze to wander.

Sitting on his lap again, they were so close that every minute change in expression could be seen clearly.

She maintained her composure, looking calm: “It’s just that you said to make do, so I got on you.”

A twitch at the corner of his mouth, Tan Zhi Xu coldly laughed: “What ‘got on’? I said it would just be a brief taste.”

Zhu Shihao: “…”

She commented: “Good memory, doesn’t seem like you drank too much.”

Releasing the hand that was pinching her cheek, he instead hooked her chin, extending his thumb to caress her pink and full lips. Zhu Shihao lowered her eyes to look at his hand but didn’t stop him.

Tan Zhi Xu’s voice was even colder, the force on his hand increasing, the caress taking on a slightly abusive meaning.

“Drunk? Zhu Shihao, being drunk doesn’t allow for that function. Besides, you know my alcohol tolerance; at most, I’d be tipsy. Don’t try to play dumb.”

She wasn’t drunk, how could he be drunk?

Seeing that she wasn’t speaking, Tan Zhi Xu used his index finger to pry open her mouth.

“Baby, if I was really drunk, I wouldn’t have stopped at a brief taste because I didn’t have a condom.”

These words were full of implications. Zhu Shihao’s face flushed slightly, but she still accused, “Your ‘taste’ wasn’t so brief either, right?”

Because of his uncouth actions, her speech was a bit slurred. Tan Zhi Xu smiled.

“So, Zhu Shihao, a decent young man’s innocence isn’t so easy to take. It’s absolutely impossible to take advantage and not be responsible.”

He withdrew his finger, the fingertip glistening with moisture, shimmering under the light.

Who was really at a disadvantage?

They had already slept together, could they really pretend it didn’t happen?

Only someone extremely naive would think that way.

Steadying her mind, Zhu Shihao forced a natural tone: “If we can’t take it back, then we’ll just continue. No one loses out.”

That second when she stared at his lips, the subtle influence of alcohol couldn’t be ruled out, but from the moment she kissed him, it had nothing to do with alcohol. She knew exactly what she was doing.

Now that they had started, it was naturally impossible to shrink back.

So straightforward?

Tan Zhi Xu paused. This was different from what he had expected, but the result was the same. He looked directly at her face, quietly watching for a while. Zhu Shihao also allowed him to look.

After a long while, the hand he had on her waist suddenly gripped tightly, and he leaned over to cover her lips, kissing her fiercely.

When the kiss ended, Zhu Shihao heard his calm, yet seemingly cold, voice.

“Okay, let’s continue. Zhu Shihao, I can be ambiguous, but you remember this, I don’t share a wife.”

Zhu Shihao’s breathing was disrupted by the kiss, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

She adopted a retaliatory stance: “You remember too, I don’t share tools with others.”

Tools?

Having already become “ambiguous,” Tan Zhi Xu gritted his teeth: “Good, I’ll make you satisfied tonight.”

Zhu Shihao blinked.

Winter nights fall quickly, and the temperature is low. After the two of them finished their short conversation, the sky was already dark, various lights adorning the darkness, creating another lively scene of human life.

The sounds of people and cars never ceased. They sat in the car, moving in fits and starts with the traffic.

“Where are we going?”

Tan Zhi Xu tapped his finger on the steering wheel, glancing at her before stepping on the gas as the green light turned on. “Why don’t you wait until I sell you and get the money before asking?”

Zhu Shihao was silent for a moment: “You can tell me directly if you don’t want me to talk to you.”

He lightly chuckled: “We’re going to my place. I had your bag brought over, and your car is still there.”

“Ah, I almost forgot.”

“It’s normal to forget since you rushed off this morning.”

Zhu Shihao turned her head to size him up: “You’re unhappy.”

Tan Zhi Xu feigned surprise with a cold expression: “Wow, you noticed.”

Zhu Shihao: “…”

She frowned, staring at him thoughtfully.

After crossing an entire street, Tan Zhi Xu turned to look at her while stuck in traffic: “Did you figure it out?”

Zhu Shihao’s expression was hesitant, and she paused for a moment: “Because I didn’t praise you? Great function, excellent hardware, average skills, but it suits me?”

She praised him, but it didn’t seem like praise.

So angered he became deflated, Tan Zhi Xu gave her a cold look: “…Just shut up.”

“Okay.”

Clearly, he was even more unhappy.

Fine, she didn’t want to dwell on the issue or let her overthink.

Tan Zhi Xu changed the subject, inquiring: “Is Jinxi ready? When are you moving?”

Zhu Shihao nodded: “It’s been ventilated for half a year. I plan to have a company test it again, and if there are no problems, I’ll prepare to move.”

The Jinxi he was talking about was a commercial area that had been renovated in recent years, located just across the road from Tiancheng Building.

With her resources, there was no need for her to rent a place there. The rent was too high and not cost-effective. However, coincidentally, her family was blessed by their ancestors. Although her parents were both teachers, they had quite a few properties.

This year, in March, the lease on a shop in Jinxi was up. It just so happened that she also wanted to open a physical store and move her studio’s location, so she simply renovated the shop for her own use. The space was quite large, with the first floor serving as a store and for storing some goods, with a room for live streaming, and the second floor as the studio.

The current studio was being used as a warehouse.

Great, right under his nose.

Tan Zhi Xu finally felt a bit better and asked her, “Let me know when you’ve decided, and I’ll have someone help you.”

Zhu Shihao shook her head: “There’s no need. I can just find a moving company myself.”

A car honked behind them. He then noticed that the light had turned green and the cars in both lanes were moving.

Stepping on the gas, he casually nodded: “Even if you don’t need help, you’re going to tell me when the opening is, right?”

“Of course. Shouldn’t there be a gift for such a big event?”

He tugged at his collar and chuckled, saying it as if he usually didn’t want to give gifts, rather than her not wanting to receive them.

His tone was playful: “What gift does Miss want?”

Since they were young, she occasionally called him Young Master, and he would reciprocate by calling her Miss.

As for why not Young Mistress, it was because her sister, Zhu Suiyi, was the Young Mistress, although Tan Zhi Xu had never called her that. This title was more like a game between the two of them, just Young Master and Miss, no one else.

As soon as he called her Miss, she immediately became haughty.

“Do you have to ask what gift to give? What’s the surprise in that?”

He made a sound of air escaping, dragging out the tone, his voice lazy: “Alright, a surprise.”

Back at Shenyi, from the moment she stepped into the elevator, Zhu Shihao’s heart rate suddenly accelerated. When she saw his indifferent expression, she was relieved that she hadn’t been heard, but also felt a bit dejected.

The vague answer and choice in her heart also became inexplicably clear.

After entering the apartment, Tan Zhi Xu said, “Watch TV or something, entertain yourself for a bit. I still have some things to take care of.”

Remembering that he seemed to have been working overtime recently, Zhu Shihao couldn’t help but feel a little worried: “Why have you been so busy lately?”

He paused and turned his head: “It’s not that, it’s just that I was late today and left work a bit early to catch someone.”

Zhu Shihao’s eyes flickered. She answered the first part of his statement: “I’ll watch a movie for a bit.”

She thought he would go to the study to work, but he unexpectedly came out with his laptop and sat on the sofa to handle things. Stealing glances at him, he had put on a pair of glasses, hiding some of his usual nonchalance and arrogance, with his fringe slightly lowered, which made him seem more refined.

With the heat on inside, watching the movie, she gradually started to feel warm.

Zhu Shihao supported herself on the sofa and got up, walking off the carpet and slipping on slippers, wanting to go to the kitchen to get a bottle of water.

The familiar voice came from behind: “You’re not allowed to drink anything cold. Get some water yourself.”

Zhu Shihao didn’t answer.

As she walked back from the kitchen, Tan Zhi Xu, hearing the footsteps, looked up and casually scanned her face, then looked down at her hand and narrowed his eyes.

“Zhu Shihao, can’t you understand?”

Zhu Shihao just stood there, neither coming over nor putting it back.

The two were in a stalemate for quite a while. He was really about to laugh out of anger. Tan Zhi Xu put the laptop on the sofa and prepared to get up.

She quickly took a step back: “Tan Zhi Xu, you’re really annoying.”

He ignored her, just watched her put the bottled water back in the refrigerator, get a glass, and get some warm water.

Seeing that she was being obedient, Tan Zhi Xu said, “I’m afraid that you’ll be in so much pain in a couple of days that you’ll want to get revenge on me.”

Glancing at him, Zhu Shihao lightly grunted, not speaking.

After a while, Tan Zhi Xu closed his laptop, took off his glasses, and placed them on top. He closed his eyes, leaned back, and reached out to pinch the bridge of his nose.

Noticing his actions, she turned her head to look over: “Finished working?” She subconsciously glanced at the time; it wasn’t even an hour, so it seemed like he really had been delaying.

Tan Zhi Xu softly said, “Mm,” opened his eyes, got up, sat down next to her, and reached out to take her glass, tipping his head back to take a few sips.

Zhu Shihao stared at him the entire time. His nose bridge was high and straight, with small marks on either side, presumably from the nose pads of his glasses. In her heart, she couldn’t help but think, How could a grown man’s skin be so sensitive?

She had been looking at this face for twenty-six or twenty-seven years, so it was really familiar. Her gaze followed his contours, landing on his neck. As he drank, his prominent Adam’s apple slid up and down.

“What are you looking at?”

Zhu Shihao, in a moment of slow realization, said, “Your Adam’s apple.”

As she said that, her hand unconsciously reached out. At that touch, they both felt the sensation clearly. Zhu Shihao even felt it slide a bit.

Tan Zhi Xu put down the glass, his expression calm, still looking unfazed, but his eyes darkened, and he spoke in a composed tone: “Nice to look at?”

At this moment, she also came back to her senses, wanting to retract her hand, but he caught it, and no matter how she struggled, it didn’t budge.

Who could deny Tan Zhi Xu’s masculine allure?

“It is nice to look at. I never really looked at it seriously before,” she answered candidly.

Who would stare unblinkingly at a male friend’s Adam’s apple, let alone touch it?

Hearing this, Tan Zhi Xu lightly chuckled, his large hand wrapped around her slender waist, lifting her up and placing her on his lap. His other hand traveled up her leg to her waist. She felt movement near the hem of her clothes, and she shivered.

“What are you shivering for?”

“You were holding a glass just now, and your hand is so cold.”

He smiled dismissively and didn’t retract his hand because of it: “Bear with it. It’ll be warm soon.”

Heat transfer was a magical thing, especially in this situation, and his body temperature was usually higher than hers.

That hand was stealing almost all of her senses. Her entire body tensed slightly, and her mind swayed with its movements.

Whether intentionally or not, Tan Zhi Xu’s voice became low and husky, his tone unchanged, even and calm, except with a slightly drawn-out final syllable.

“You’re right. There are some places I never looked at seriously before.”

His hand stopped in an area that was previously forbidden.

Zhu Shihao’s breathing quickened, and she tried her best to suppress the tingling sensation: “It’s not about looking seriously or not, Tan Zhi Xu. There are some places friends can’t look.”

His hand paused, then, in the next second, pinched with more force, hearing her gasp softly, a sound that was like a whimper and a moan. As Zhu Shihao unconsciously raised her head and puffed out her chest, she missed the glint of fierceness that briefly flashed in his eyes.

“That’s right, friends can’t. Now I can.”

He forcefully covered her lips, his tongue plunging in, sometimes sucking forcefully, sometimes gently.

Tan Zhi Xu knew that she was right; there were some forbidden zones that friends could never touch.

But now they had no way back. He absolutely wouldn’t allow Zhu Shihao to be like a stranger to him, so there could only be progress.

The sensation below was clear. Zhu Shihao tried to keep her voice steady but couldn’t hide the coquettishness that she couldn’t conceal.

“Are you going to do it?”

Tan Zhi Xu looked at her. Her eyes seemed to have been soaked in water, brimming with glistening moisture, making her look pitiful. The corners of her lips were glistening with moisture, and her collar was askew, revealing one side of her delicate collarbone. Lower down was even more disheveled. The hem of her clothes had already been lifted, revealing smooth, fair skin, and the slight trembling of her breasts.

Who could resist this?

Besides, at this point, doing it or not wouldn’t turn back time to when they were just friends, so why should he resist?

Tan Zhi Xu nipped at her lips.

“I am. What about you? Do you want to?”

His tone didn’t sound like he was asking for her opinion. Fortunately, she didn’t want to refuse.

Zhu Shihao’s eyebrows curved, and she smiled, extraordinarily charming: “I do. I said I wanted to sleep with you.”

Still so stubborn. The corners of Tan Zhi Xu’s mouth lightly curved up, calmness and ferocity appearing in his eyes simultaneously. The contradiction intensified his sense of aggression.

“Alright, let’s see who gets on top of whom.”