Chapter 34: The Lipstick Is Sweet
Chapter 34: Chapter 34: The Lipstick Is Sweet
Chi Xinyue had never been one to sleep in. On the contrary, she used to be an incredibly hardworking student; otherwise, she wouldn’t have made it from a small town into Provincial University.
After all, Provincial University was a top-tier institution—part of both the Project 211 and Project 985 excellence initiatives—and had even once cracked the top ten in the national comprehensive university rankings. She also didn’t have the habit of staying up late to binge-watch TV shows. She knew that the best beauty treatment was a regular sleep schedule, a fact she paid extra attention to since she didn’t have much spare cash for skincare products.
Lately, however, she really had been waking up late every day, simply because she couldn’t fall asleep at night. Burdened with worries, she would toss and turn.
But today, for the first time in a long while, she cast aside all her troubles. Bathed in the starlight of a vast galaxy, she fell into a deep slumber. It was the sweetest sleep she had ever experienced.
She didn’t even wake up when Zhang Yan carefully carried her from the rooftop down to the large bed in the master bedroom.
Seeing his junior sleeping so soundly, Zhang Yan felt a sense of gratification. After all, for a girl to fall asleep so quickly and comfortably next to a man when they were entirely alone was the ultimate display of trust.
"The top is made of a relatively soft material, so that’s fine, but these jeans are too stiff. It’ll be very uncomfortable to sleep in them," Zhang Yan reasoned to himself righteously. He then gently unfastened the bronze button and unzipped the zipper.
Although Chi Xinyue’s proud Small Waist gave her a somewhat exaggerated waist-to-hip ratio, she didn’t actually have a large bottom. Coupled with her silky smooth skin, the jeans were... quite easy to take off.
The garment underneath was a pure white piece of a rather conservative design. It was likely part of a matching pure cotton set with the other piece he had already gotten his hands on.
"Huh, why does there seem to be a loose thread? Uh, turns out it’s not a thread..."
After tucking the thin blanket around his junior, Zhang Yan naturally took the opportunity to lie down next to her. After all, the bed was huge, and the bedding was of the finest material in the entire villa. There was no reason to wrong himself. Besides, they were already "so familiar" with each other. It was just sharing a bed, not a blanket. Surely, his junior wouldn’t mind.
Having found a high-sounding excuse for himself, Zhang Yan admired his junior’s sleeping face for a while before finally giving her a few goodnight kisses in her sleep.
"Pretty sweet."
The night passed without incident.
[Task: Return to Health - Progress increased by 1%]
Opening his eyes to a beautiful sleeping face and the sound of long, rhythmic breathing in his ears, Zhang Yan froze for a moment before his memories pieced themselves together.
His junior was still fast asleep, so Zhang Yan didn’t disturb her. However, her sleeping posture was rather restless; she had kicked off most of the thin blanket he had covered her with last night. Now, having stolen a corner of Zhang Yan’s blanket, it barely covered her upper body. Her disheveled waistline and long, snow-white legs were left completely exposed.
He took about ten minutes to admire the view. Then, Zhang Yan changed into the tank top and shorts he had prepared earlier and headed out to complete his daily tasks.
[Task: Return to Health - Progress increased by 5%]
[Task: Return to Health - Progress increased by 3%]
[Current Task Progress: 59%]
After returning and taking a shower, he found his junior still lazing in bed. Bored, Zhang Yan scrolled through his phone.
His classmates were gradually entering the workforce, and his Friends Circle was filled with their related musings. The only standout was Cheng Lu, who posted details about her engagement banquet every single day. It seemed the groom’s side had invested a fortune to make it a grand affair. Zhang Yan had no interest in it whatsoever, swiping past without even glancing at the time or location.
As expected, Xia Xiqing had accepted his friend request. However, since she didn’t say a word, Zhang Yan didn’t initiate a conversation either. The system’s side quest hadn’t been marked as complete yet. It seemed their current state couldn’t be considered "establishing contact."
A little while later, as Zhang Yan was scrolling through short videos of girls dancing, he mused aloud, "These girls look pretty average to me now. Even with Spatial Magic, their waists are only about the same as Chi Xinyue’s."
Suddenly, with a DING, the system sent a notification.
Zhang Yan checked the content. He thought, "What a coincidence." With a faint smile, he made his way toward the master bedroom on the second floor.
Later that morning.
Waking up naturally, Chi Xinyue slowly opened her eyes, only to be greeted by an unfamiliar ceiling. Her mind spun for a moment before she recalled yesterday’s events. She whipped the blanket off with a SWISH, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw her clothes were still perfectly intact on her body.
But she immediately sensed something amiss. Her lower half felt a bit chilly. Then, she spotted her jeans folded neatly to the side.
She did a quick self-check and felt no physical discomfort. Pulling the blanket back, she found no bright red stains on the bedsheets. Only then did she finally relax.
The blanket beside her was cast aside, indicating that someone had slept there. She reached out to touch the spot; it was already ice-cold, meaning he had left a long time ago.
Thinking about how the two of them had slept in such close proximity on the same bed last night, Chi Xinyue’s cheeks grew hot. Yet, the thought that he hadn’t made a single out-of-line move—even in that situation, in a deserted place with no one around—filled her with a deep sense of security and sweetness.
Just as she finished dressing and was about to head out to look for Zhang Yan, the two of them bumped into each other at the bedroom door as if they shared a telepathic connection.
"The lazy little kitten is awake. You sure can sleep; it’s already past ten o’clock."
"I slept so soundly last night. The moment I opened my eyes, it was already this late.
"Senior, I clearly put on lip balm before going to bed last night. Why were my lips so dry when I woke up this morning?"
"Ahem, maybe the weather here is just too dry," Zhang Yan coughed.
"Hehe, I thought someone might have stolen a taste," she teased. "Senior, why didn’t you help me take off my top yesterday, too? After sleeping in it all night, it’s completely wrinkled!"
After a night of transformation, his junior’s tolerance for joking had increased significantly.
"We’ll head back to the city for lunch later, and I’ll buy you some new clothes while we’re at it."
"Oh, I didn’t mean it like that! I can just iron it when we get back."
Zhang Yan didn’t say anything more. Compared to using his mouth, he now preferred taking direct action.
Since the villa wasn’t in the deep suburbs, the luxury ride-hailing car arrived quickly. By the time they returned to the city, it was exactly lunchtime.
Hongmei Cottage.
Having eaten here the day before yesterday, Zhang Yan genuinely thought the food was excellent, so he had made sure to ask for a business card before leaving. This private kitchen essentially only took phone reservations, catering to an exclusive and expensive clientele.
Large yellow croaker for 698 yuan, snowflake beef in sauce for 468 yuan, phoenix-tail shrimp for 358 yuan... The two of them had a casual meal that came to nearly 2,000 yuan.
Although it was still far cheaper than the seafood hotpot from last time, it nonetheless refreshed Chi Xinyue’s views on spending.
However, they didn’t run into the still-charming Sister Mei today, which left Zhang Yan feeling slightly disappointed.
"Are you full?"
"Mhm~ I’m stuffed~"
"Let’s go. I’ll take you shopping to walk off the food."
Arriving once again at the place where Chi Xinyue had previously helped him pick out outfits, luxury boutiques stretched as far as the eye could see.
"Senior, are you buying new clothes again today?"
Zhang Yan just smiled without a word, pulling her into the Louis Vuitton store.