Chapter 127 - 26: Repeating an Old Trick, Testing Xia Xiqing
Chapter 127: Chapter 26: Repeating an Old Trick, Testing Xia Xiqing
Instead of driving his own Guoya, Zhang Yan hailed a luxury ride-share to pick up Xia Xiqing at Cuiquan Spring.
Whether to avoid drawing attention or for some other reason, she wasn’t waiting anywhere conspicuous. It wasn’t until Zhang Yan was right at the designated spot that he finally spotted her graceful silhouette. She stood quietly in the shadows, looking as though she were wholly isolated from the rest of the world.
Xia Xiqing was wearing the same familiar white dress today. Based on Zhang Yan’s own observations and the information provided by Li Fan, it seemed she only had two outfits left to alternate between.
"Senior Sister Xia, over here." Opening the rear door, Zhang Yan waved to her.
Seeing that Zhang Yan hadn’t arrived in his luxurious, elegant Guoya, Xia Xiqing felt a flicker of confusion. However, she wasn’t the gossiping type, so she kept her questions to herself and climbed into the back seat.
The way Xia Xiqing slid into the car backward was completely different from Xiaoyan’s newly learned, rather provocative method of backing in while smoothing her skirt to accentuate her curves. Xia Xiqing simply eased back onto the seat and gracefully swung her legs inside with her signature composed elegance.
The vehicle was another sedan with a continuous three-person rear bench seat. Although Zhang Yan slid over to make room for Xia Xiqing, he only moved about halfway across. Fortunately, Xia Xiqing was slender enough that, as long as neither of them moved around too much, they wouldn’t end up squeezed against each other.
"The dress," Xia Xiqing prompted the moment she settled in, bringing up her most pressing concern.
"Don’t worry, I brought it. I’ll give it to you in a bit."
The luxury car slowly pulled away from the curb. Since Xia Xiqing didn’t know where Zhang Yan was taking her for dinner, she had no reason to be suspicious of the route.
Of course, Zhang Yan had his own ulterior motives for leaving his Guoya at home. He had carefully selected the route, even going as far as to discuss and rehearse it with the driver beforehand. He fully intended to replicate the exact same test he had once run on Xiaoyan to probe Xia Xiqing’s current boundaries.
Xia Xiqing was incredibly quiet by nature; under most circumstances, she would never initiate a conversation. For a while, a heavy silence settled inside the cabin.
They soon approached the first right turn. The driver hardly slowed down, taking the corner with a rather aggressive jerk.
The rear seats of this particular car usually had plush, soft covers, but after a generous tip from Zhang Yan, they had been stripped down to bare leather. It didn’t look much different, but it was exceptionally slippery. Consequently, propelled by centrifugal force, Xia Xiqing slid right toward Zhang Yan, instantly pressing tightly against his side.
Whether because of the car’s air conditioning or just her natural body temperature, her skin felt slightly cool to the touch. As their skin met, the contrasting heat radiating from Zhang Yan caused Xia Xiqing’s icy frame to shiver slightly.
Her face remained entirely devoid of expression. It was a camouflage she had perfected over years of practice—nobody could ever read her inner thoughts from her features. Yet, human control had its limits. She could govern her expression, but she couldn’t stop her body’s instinctive reactions. The roots of her ears and the nape of her neck flushed a faint pink, betraying the intense shyness welling up inside her.
Zhang Yan kept his eyes fixed straight ahead, feigning complete ignorance. In reality, he was pushing hard against the seat with his left hand, forcibly holding himself in place to ensure he stayed pressed flush against her.
Xia Xiqing silently reached up and grasped the grab handle above the door, but her meager strength was no match for the centrifugal force generated by the high-speed maneuver. Fortunately, the curve was a short one. Once the car straightened out, Xia Xiqing shifted imperceptibly a few times, finally distancing herself from Zhang Yan’s searing body heat.
She failed to notice, however, that Zhang Yan had used the brief turn to subtly inch even closer to her side of the car. She was now practically pinned against her door, yet the gap between the two of them had shrunk by another few centimeters.
The slightest bump in the road caused the bare skin of their arms to brush together, sending electrifying jolts racing through them. Xia Xiqing wrapped her arms around herself and shrank back further into her corner.
It wasn’t that she held any real aversion to physical contact with him. After all, the number of intimate touches they had shared was already beyond counting. Her body, truth be told, was gradually growing accustomed to his touch. It was just that this direct, skin-on-skin friction—especially within the confined, suffocating space of the backseat—evoked a deeply peculiar sensation. A tingling, numb flutter seemed to pierce straight into the depths of her heart.
Instinctively, she wanted to stop that feeling from spreading any further. But Zhang Yan’s trap had already been set. Soon enough, the second curve arrived.
This left turn was much longer. While it wasn’t quite as sharp as the first one, the driver had already stealthily accelerated right to the edge of the speed limit. As the driver expertly wove past several other cars, the centrifugal force intensified drastically.
This time, Zhang Yan abandoned all resistance. Surrendering to the momentum, his entire body was thrown directly onto Xia Xiqing. At first glance, it looked exactly as if he had forcefully pinned her against the car door.
"How on earth is this guy driving?! Senior Sister Xia, are you alright?"
"I’m fine."
Just as Zhang Yan turned to check on her, the driver coincidentally had to swerve to avoid another vehicle. A sudden jerk of the steering wheel sent Zhang Yan tumbling forward, nearly kissing her.
One of his arms braced against the upper edge of the window frame, while the other planted firmly beside Xia Xiqing’s shoulder, practically trapping her against the glass. The fabric of his sleeve brushed teasingly against her skin.
Since she had just turned her head to answer him, Xia Xiqing was now facing Zhang Yan completely. The back of her head was pressed flush against the window glass, her face mere millimeters from his. Their eyes locked. The tips of their noses grazed each other as their mingled breaths danced between them, leaving only a scant few centimeters separating their slightly parted lips.
A faint ripple finally broke through her perpetually tranquil gaze. The subtle flicker in her eyes was incredibly captivating.
At this suffocatingly close proximity, that intoxicating, fatal scent that triggered Zhang Yan on a genetic level was completely overwhelming. He desperately wanted to close the gap, to crush his lips against hers and violently consume that overwhelming desire. However, he could feel Xia Xiqing’s hands curled defensively in front of her chest, pushing firmly against his torso.
Haste makes waste. If he forced the issue for a petty thrill now, he risked ruining the grand feast waiting for him later.
Forcing himself to pull back, Zhang Yan pushed off his arms and retreated. "I’m so sorry, Senior Sister Xia. The seats in here are just way too slippery!"
"It’s fine."
This little test gave Zhang Yan his answer: now was definitely not the time to rush things. Unlike Xiaoyan back then, Xia Xiqing simply wasn’t prepared enough yet—neither physically nor mentally. According to the principles he had learned regarding an Intimate Relationship, acting too aggressively right now would undoubtedly backfire.
He had only orchestrated these two specific turns for this route; attempting any more would make the setup far too obvious.
Soon enough, they arrived at their destination: Hongmei Cottage.
Zhang Yan had dined at quite a few exorbitantly priced restaurants recently, but when it came to sheer taste, this private kitchen reigned supreme. And it absolutely had nothing to do with the fact that the owner, Sister Mei, was an incredibly charming, mature woman.