Chapter 149

Chapter 149

Red was festive.

Red was passion.

It symbolized love and marriage.

It stood for courage and loyalty.

Behind her were soft red bedsheets. In front of her was a chest surging with heat.

The strap of her dress slipped down to the crook of her arm. Xia Wanzhi’s breathing fell into disarray, half resisting and half yielding.

“Yu Fei prepared both of these boxes on his own. Why don’t we try them one by one first? If neither of us likes them, I’ll dock his bonus tomorrow.” Xie Qiyan’s voice was low and deep, his scorching breath spilling along the side of Xia Wanzhi’s neck. His broad palm completely covered her shoulder.

Xia Wanzhi: “…”

Weren’t they all the same thing?

Xia Wanzhi was so mortified she wanted to die. “N-no, no, no, that’s really not necessary.”

Docking someone’s bonus was just too cruel.

Xie Qiyan chuckled softly. “All right, I’ll listen to my wife. Then… pick one?”

“Whichever you want…” If he kept asking, she really was going to cry. His kisses were still trailing lower, and Xia Wanzhi trembled a little. “Xie Qiyan… I-I’m nervous.”

Xie Qiyan said nothing. Very obediently, he chose a box at random and opened it. The next second, he tightened his grip around her waist, and when he bent down, his voice was nearly hoarse. “Don’t be afraid.”

He said, “Baby, don’t be afraid-”

Their lips and tongues tangled. Xie Qiyan’s body was burning hot, and his kisses fell across Xia Wanzhi’s skin, some deep, some light.

Kissing her while soothing her.

Xia Wanzhi only felt a tingling heat spreading endlessly, traveling along her nerves to every part of her body.

Blazing.

Scorching.

The air seemed to grow thin.

Xia Wanzhi was like a fish starved for water, pushed to the very brink.

Even when she cried, she still couldn’t bring herself to curse Xie Qiyan out.

She could feel his gentle restraint at first, as well as the way he lost control in the end and began to demand more.

At last, Xia Wanzhi stopped holding back too. The moment she opened her mouth, she cursed him all the way back to his ancestors. When she truly couldn’t bear it anymore, she could only grit her teeth and bite down on his shoulder.

Xie Qiyan’s breathing grew heavy. “Good girl. Bite the right side too. Things should come in pairs for good luck.”

A night of tenderness and desire.

In the latter half of the night, Xia Wanzhi vaguely felt as if she were soaking in the bathtub. With her eyes closed, she was carefully washed clean and fresh, and in the end, she fell asleep in the arms of her newly wedded husband.

When she opened her eyes again, it was the next day.

Chinese New Year’s Eve-the old year departing, the new year arriving.

Xia Wanzhi had fallen asleep the moment exhaustion hit last night, and after that, she hadn’t cared whether Xie Qiyan lived or died. Xie Qiyan, for his part, hadn’t dared do too much either, afraid he might hurt Xia Wanzhi.

So early the next morning, the two of them opened their eyes almost at the same time.

“Morning, Mrs. Xie.” Xie Qiyan rubbed his fingertip over Xia Wanzhi’s still-dazed eyes.

Once her brain booted up, the first thing that played on loop was the sound of her own voice last night, both tormented and blissful. Xia Wanzhi blinked, grabbed the blanket, and silently pulled it up over her head.

His phone kept vibrating on the table as Jiang Baichuan bombarded him with messages. Xie Qiyan remembered the important matter at hand and didn’t pull down Xia Wanzhi’s blanket. Instead, he hugged her through it, his voice clearly carrying a satisfied pleasure. “Jiang Baichuan and Yun Li will arrive at eleven. I’ll go prepare the food first. You can get up once you’re done being shy.”

Hearing the rustle of him getting out of bed and putting on clothes, Xia Wanzhi yanked the blanket away. While tidying her messy hair, she glared at him. “You’re the one who’s shy.”

Unlike the lovely sounds she had made the night before, her voice was terribly hoarse now. Xia Wanzhi coughed, then, embarrassed and angry, shrank back under the blanket again.

Half an hour later, Xia Wanzhi dawdled her way out of bed, dragging a body that felt both sore and strangely refreshed. As soon as she finished washing up, Xie Qiyan brought over a cup of warm honey water and fed it to her.

After Xia Wanzhi soothed her throat, her voice barely recovered.

At eleven thirty in the morning, Jiang Baichuan and Yun Li arrived at their door carrying wedding gifts for the newlyweds-
“Happy newlywed life!”

“Happy Chinese New Year’s Eve.”

Yun Li’s hug sent Xia Wanzhi stumbling back a few steps. The heat was on inside, so Xia Wanzhi wasn’t wearing much, and sharp-eyed Yun Li immediately spotted the red marks on her neck. With an animated grin, she waggled her eyebrows at her.

Xia Wanzhi shot her a look, telling her to shut up.

Yun Li’s eyes curved with laughter as she looked meaningfully at Xie Qiyan. “President Xie, congratulations! You finally brought Wanzi home!”

Seeing Xie Qiyan looking so radiant, practically radiating married-man energy, Yun Li marveled inwardly.

It was amazing. Whether someone had gotten their marriage certificate or not-apparently you really could tell at a glance.

Xie Qiyan lifted a brow slightly. “Thank you. I also wish you and…”

“Wanzi, let’s go look at your marriage certificate-” Yun Li couldn’t stand being teased, so she grabbed Xia Wanzhi and quickly retreated.

“I wish you success in bringing your lychee home,” Xie Qiyan redirected the blessing.

Jiang Baichuan raised a fist and thumped his good friend on the shoulder. “I’ll take that blessing. Come on, tell me. How does it feel being married?”

Xie Qiyan smiled without quite smiling, making no attempt to hide his pleasure. “You don’t have a wife. Even if I told you, you wouldn’t understand.”

Jiang Baichuan: “…”

It was Chinese New Year’s Eve today, and in the afternoon Xie Qiyan was taking his wife back home for the reunion dinner, so before Jiang Baichuan and Yun Li arrived, he had already prepared most of the food.

Jiang Baichuan caught the apron Xie Qiyan tossed over. Seeing that his own girlfriend’s attention was entirely on Xia Wanzhi, he had no choice but to tie it himself.

Xie Qiyan had a wife and still had to tie his own apron. Jiang Baichuan immediately felt balanced again.

In the living room, Xia Wanzhi took out the marriage certificate for Yun Li to see.

They had gotten the certificate yesterday, so it was still fresh. Yun Li held it in her hands, opening and closing it, looking it over several times. “Amazing. Truly amazing. Overnight, you two became husband and wife.”

Xia Wanzhi opened a bottle of red wine and looked at Yun Li’s mystical little expression with both amusement and exasperation. She shot Jiang Baichuan a look. “Do something about your girlfriend. She’s lost her mind.”

Jiang Baichuan carried a plate of roast duck to the table. Passing by Yun Li, he leaned in and smacked a kiss on her cheek, treating her accordingly. “No need to be jealous. As long as you want to, we can get our certificate after the New Year too.”

Yun Li scolded him coquettishly, “In your dreams!”

Jiang Baichuan raised a brow. “Then come to my house for dinner during the New Year.”

“In your…” Yun Li hesitated for a few seconds.

Having probed out what she meant, the smile in Jiang Baichuan’s eyes deepened. While she was still dazed, he took the chance to steal another advantage. “Then it’s settled.”

Yun Li wiped the saliva off her face. “…”

After putting away her precious marriage certificate, Xia Wanzhi followed the topic and asked, “My dear Xiao Lizhi, are you going back with him for New Year’s dinner?”

Yun Li gave a light cough. “If the invitation is too gracious to refuse, I suppose I’ll reluctantly go.”

Hugging a throw pillow, Xia Wanzhi collapsed to one side laughing. As her body tilted, the patch of skin at her neck was exposed. Yun Li caught sight of it out of the corner of her eye, and while her eyes widened, she sucked in a sharp breath.

Xia Wanzhi hurriedly covered it. “…”

“Don’t say a word,” Xia Wanzhi warned her.

Yun Li’s expression was richly suggestive. “Having a certificate really is different, huh. Newlyweds. Wild.”

Xia Wanzhi hid her face behind the pillow and played dead.

Yun Li leaned over and asked in a low voice, “Your President Xie actually managed to hold back enough for you to appear in front of us alive and kicking the next day?”

When meat was delivered right to your mouth, shouldn’t you take big, hearty bites?

Xia Wanzhi covered Yun Li’s mouth. “Keep your voice down…”

That kind of doubt absolutely could not reach a man’s ears.

“I get it now. The first time, you have to be a little restrained,” Yun Li concluded all on her own.

Xia Wanzhi: “…”