SM Chapter 76

Chapter 76: Moon Book Red Thread

“Anytime is fine, let’s get our marriage certificate…”

The air conditioning was blowing, but the charming atmosphere caused the temperature around them to rise, especially where their skin touched, where the heat gradually intensified.

The long kiss only stopped when Zhu Shihao felt the air getting thin.

Tan Zhi Xu stroked her back and chuckled, “Baby, why haven’t you improved after all this time? If your results aren’t good enough, it must be because you haven’t done enough practice questions. It seems I need to work harder with you.”

Zhu Shihao playfully punched his chest and glared at him. “Who says bad results are just because you haven’t done enough questions? Don’t try to take advantage of me by falsely accusing the other students.”

After receiving her two punches, Tan Zhi Xu didn’t let go of his raised smile, shamelessly admitting it and finding it perfectly natural.

“Mm, it’s all an excuse.”

The hand around her waist didn’t loosen, and his other hand climbed higher, feeling the rise and fall of each breath.

“I can also not make excuses.” He kneaded her gently, then moved his fingertips to the middle of her pajamas, deftly undoing the buttons. “Shihao, I love you, and I love to kiss you, tease you, and cherish you.”

As the flirtatious words left his mouth, Tan Zhi Xu admired her face gradually flushing pink, and her expression, even more alluring as she bit her lip to suppress a moan.

He hooked her and flipped her over, so that he was looking down at her from above.

“Mm, that’s right, I also love it when you top me.” He kissed her again, a fleeting touch, then lifted his hand from her waist, touched her face, and then his thumb probed into her lips. “Why are you biting? No need to be reserved, call out, Shihao, I want to hear it.”

The night was filled with intense passion, she grabbed his hair uncontrollably, and the perfectly cut diamond sparkled with a moving light under the lamp, amidst his hair.

When she woke up again, the warmth was still beside her.

She barely opened her eyes, glanced, and then lazily closed them again. “What time is it? Why are you still here?”

Tan Zhi Xu was sitting beside her. Hearing her voice, he moved his gaze from the laptop, turned his head, and looked down at her.

“It’s past eleven. If you didn’t wake up, I was about to call you for lunch.” Seeing her snuggle towards him with her eyes closed, he raised his hand to stroke her face. “Mm, I’m not going to the company today, just spending the day with you.”

So she snuggled closer again, clinging to him tightly, wrapping her arms around his waist. “So nice of you, you didn’t even call me to get up for breakfast.”

Letting her sleep until eleven, with the soft pillow and familiar scent, no wonder she slept so soundly.

“Mm, after all, you were a little depleted.”

Zhu Shihao’s rubbing motion paused, and she leaned back slightly, looking up at him.

“…You know it too?”

Tan Zhi Xu’s expression was calm, not ashamed but rather approving. “I’m understanding. I’m a bit traditional, and I was still very excited after getting the official title.”

Zhu Shihao snorted softly. “I can’t see any excitement in you right now.”

He gazed at her quietly for a moment before slowly opening his mouth. “If you were up for it, I could still be as excited as I was last night and early this morning.”

Zhu Shihao: “…”

She politely declined.

“Thank you, no need, I can’t.”

She had already been harvested clean.

As expected, Tan Zhi Xu chuckled, mocking her. “So, Shihao, I hope your physical fitness can keep up with your stubbornness; otherwise, it’ll be difficult for me.”

Zhu Shihao propped herself up on the bed and sat up, pinching his face. “Where is it difficult for you? I think you’re very happy.”

Letting her rub and pinch his face, Tan Zhi Xu raised his hand to capture her mischievous hand and held it in his palm, his tone casual.

“Don’t make it sound like only I was enjoying it. Didn’t you have fun?”

“I…”

Meeting his meaningful gaze, she keenly sensed a dangerous aura, and the instinct to avoid harm made Zhu Shihao change her words.

“I, of course, had fun.”

She wanted to grind her teeth.

Leaning towards her, Tan Zhi Xu scoffed, full of mockery. “Why aren’t you being stubborn anymore? I even had a performance prepared for after your stubbornness.”

Zhu Shihao: “…”

“Tan Zhi Xu, you’re so annoying.” She muttered, pushing his face away.

He let out a cool sigh, grabbed her hand, and bowed his head to kiss her. “Alright, get up now. I asked them to deliver lunch at twelve. Get yourself ready.”

Zhu Shihao slipped on her slippers. He gave her a tug, helping her to stand up. As she entered the bathroom, she remembered something, so she poked her head out, and Tan Zhi Xu was making the bed.

“Zhi Xu.”

He was bending over, holding the thin quilt. Hearing her voice, he turned his head and looked at her. “Mm?”

“Even if you’re engaged, you can still call it off. You only proposed yesterday; it doesn’t even count as an engagement.”

The man in the distance became even more expressionless. Seeing him straighten up, coldly curling the corners of his lips and dropping the quilt, taking a long stride to come over, Zhu Shihao quickly said.

“I’m going to wash up, don’t delay lunch.”

While still speaking, she closed the door, “thud,” locking it.

Tan Zhi Xu’s eyes softened, and the corners of his mouth turned up. “So naughty all day long.”

Not only naughty but also cowardly.

He pulled the quilt back up and smoothed it out, then walked to the bathroom and knocked on the door. “Waiting for you in the living room.”

“Okay.”

When Zhu Shihao came out, the bedroom was bright.

The bed was neat, the curtains were open, the sun was shining, and the sunlight poured straight into the room through the glass door of the balcony, casting changing light and shadows on the floor.

She turned her head to look towards the balcony, feeling the heat of midsummer from afar.

Seeing the phone placed on the bedside table, she quickly walked over to pick it up and walked towards the bedroom door.

There were many messages; WeChat was about to explode. But this was normal, after all, from the official announcement of being together to the official announcement of a successful proposal, it had only been three or four months, so it was a bombshell.

While replying to messages, she walked towards the living room.

They were all expressing shock and congratulations, and she replied with thanks in different tones and with emojis.

Suddenly, Zhu Shihao’s steps paused, her gaze narrowed, looking at this name, her eyelashes trembled.

So she hadn’t been unconcerned after all; it was just that the news of them being together wasn’t enough to shock her, but the proposal made her unable to sit still.

Su Yuewei: [How can you be together!!]

Su Yuewei: [I knew it, Zhu Shihao, you’re not that innocent!]

Su Yuewei: [Why aren’t you replying? Where are you! Are you with Zhi Xu!]

Zhu Shihao curled the corners of her lips and looked at the messages from this morning, several hours later.

Su Yuewei: [Why aren’t you replying?]

Su Yuewei: [Shihao, even if you’re not with Zhi Xu, he won’t leave. Don’t be with him, okay? Can you give him back to me, please?]

“Aren’t you coming over? What are you standing there for? Waiting to be greeted?”

She had a habit of getting up to drink water, and she used to prepare it in a thermos in advance. Later, after living with Tan Zhi Xu, he would get up early to pour water for her.

At this moment, Tan Zhi Xu came over with a glass of water, seeing her standing there looking at her phone.

Zhu Shihao smiled at him and stepped forward. “Coming.”

“Have a couple of sips of water. The food will be here soon. Are you hungry? Do you want to eat something to tide you over first?”

Zhu Shihao took the glass and drank a few sips, shaking her head. “No, I’m okay.”

Tan Zhi Xu didn’t say anything, just took the glass and placed it on the table, putting his arm around her.

Zhu Shihao picked up her phone again, thought about it, and clicked on WeChat, deciding to reply.

Zhu Shihao: [Why can’t we be together.]

Zhu Shihao: [Su Yuewei, we never need to explain anything to you.]

Love never comes first, but even if it did, it was her first.

Whether it was her or Tan Zhi Xu, they had nothing to be “sorry” to Su Yuewei for.

Back then, she had always believed that she had never crossed the line, tightly sticking to the boundaries of “friend,” never intervening in their relationship. And now, when they were in love, Su Yuewei had long left Tan Zhi Xu’s world, and they had never been sorry to her from beginning to end.

Her gaze was faint, falling on the chat bubble on the screen, then seeing it change to “typing…”, appearing intermittently, probably deleting and typing.

Zhu Shihao pursed her lips and hesitated, then typed a few more words.

Zhu Shihao: [Su Yuewei, you’re really annoying.]

The other side paused again, and then it turned to “typing…”.

Zhu Shihao blinked, decisively clicking on her profile to delete her. At the moment she pressed down, she couldn’t help but admit that she felt really good.

Wasn’t she just unable to find Tan Zhi Xu after he deleted her, so she could only harass her? Now it was good, the world was quiet and clean.

She didn’t know that after seeing that sentence, finally sending the message only to get a bright red exclamation point, Su Yuewei was full of resentment.

Uncontrollably clenching her fists, she slammed them on the table and gritted her teeth, roaring softly, “Zhu Shihao, what right do you have!”

When Tan Zhi Xu deleted her before, he had also said the same thing: “You really talk a lot, and you’re annoying.” She didn’t expect that after a year, she would get the same result from Zhu Shihao. How could she calm down!

Was she supposed to comfort herself that they were really in sync and a good match?

Thinking that Su Yuewei should be unhappy, Zhu Shihao’s mood improved even more. She happily hummed a song, lowered her head, hugged the cup, and took another sip, swinging her feet.

Tan Zhi Xu raised his eyebrows and took the cup. “Don’t drink water, lunch will be here soon.”

She obediently let go, then picked up her phone to continue looking at everyone’s various expressions of surprise and blessings.

“In a good mood?” He put down the cup and pulled her into his arms.

Zhu Shihao turned her head to look at him, thought for a moment, and said honestly, “I replied to Su Yuewei’s message and angered her, then deleted her before she could reply.”

It had been a long time since she had heard this name, and hearing it again, his only reaction was that this person had once made Zhu Shihao unhappy.

Unable to help frowning, Tan Zhi Xu patted her arm in comfort. “Just deleted her? She’s sick, should have deleted her long ago.”

Her brain was sick; she could perform a one-person show.

“I don’t care about her anymore. She was so quiet before that I didn’t even remember her.”

Zhu Shihao rubbed her face against his shoulder and reached out to gently poke his protruding Adam’s apple. “Already deleted her; she’s probably very angry now.”

More than that. If it weren’t for the circumstances, Su Yuewei would be going crazy right now.

Her wrists were slender, and Tan Zhi Xu easily grasped it, with plenty of room to spare. He kissed the back of her hand, and his hand fell down but didn’t let go, feeling the weight of her hand on his chest.

“Mm, as long as you’re happy.”

These words were a bit unreasonable, but they sounded extremely pleasant to the ear.

Zhu Shihao looked up at the person in front of her. The twenty-eight-year-old man was more mature than he had been ten years ago, more calm and collected.

He also loved her more than he had ten years ago and knew better how to love her.

“So, Zhi Xu.”

Not waiting for the rest of her sentence, Tan Zhi Xu lowered his eyes, his gaze indifferent, but when it landed on her face, the temperature instantly rose, as warm as the sunlight outside the window, but even more gentle, containing the most intense reactions.

His tone was lazy. “Mm? What?”

“So, when are you taking me to get our marriage certificate? The framed ID photo you want hasn’t been taken yet, you’re still working without a license.”

Tan Zhi Xu’s hand stroking her waist paused. He released her wrist and instead lifted her chin, hooking his lips. “Waiting for Miss Zhu to schedule it.”

“As long as you agree, I will prepare everything else. The team to take our wedding photos is also ready. I should be the one asking you.”

“Miss Zhu Shihao, when will you be free to take our wedding photos? As for getting the marriage certificate, anytime is fine. We can go right now immediately.”

“Now?” Zhu Shihao blinked. “How would we get our marriage certificate?”

Tan Zhi Xu scoffed, pinching her face. “Drive there.”

Before proposing to her, he had talked to both sets of parents and received their approval, mainly from the Zhu family, of course.

As for Xu Ting, she was constantly nagging him about being unambitious and slow, already eager to bring Zhu Shihao home to fulfill her twenty-seven-year-old wish of “kidnapping a child.”

“Originally, my parents wanted to give me the household registration book, but it’s not needed anymore.”

“Parents? Which parents are you talking about?” Meeting his faint gaze, Zhu Shihao shrank her neck. “Continue, continue.”

Tan Zhi Xu casually kissed her forehead and continued. “I caught up with the time; a household registration book is no longer needed.”

Zhu Shihao opened her eyes wide, propped herself up on his chest, and said incredulously, “What? Now you can finally get married by just scanning Alipay or WeChat?”

Tan Zhi Xu: “…”

“Why don’t you say that schools have opened marriage registration windows, and the Civil Affairs Bureau has opened door-to-door certification services?”

Zhu Shihao curled her lips. “Women at 20 and men at 22, a university could do it, but let’s not. Opening a premarital education class would be more reliable than this.”

Tan Zhi Xu touched her face. “Not mentioning others, Shihao, I’m very happy about getting our marriage certificate.”

Her gaze fell on his face, the slightly raised corners of his mouth, and his gentle eyes. It was clear that he was indeed very happy.

Okay, she wouldn’t mention anything to ruin the mood. She leaned forward and buried her head in the hollow of his neck.

“Mm, I’m happy too.”

“Anytime is fine, let’s get our marriage certificate.”