Cheng Xi didn’t hesitate at all before going up to Lu Chenzhou and taking his pulse.
Thankfully, even though it had been a while since their kiss, Lu Chenzhou’s heart rate was clearly elevated, and his body wasn’t as cold as it usually was.
Yes, he had clearly experienced emotions just then.
Lu Chenzhou easily understood what she was doing, and he started smiling, his eyes curving into beautiful crescents. “How stupid,” he said in a belittling tone as he used his long arm to pull her back into bed and underneath him. “Do you really believe everything I say? Did you really think that I would read such trashy books, whose titles alone sound idiotic?”
“That’s true. But if your earlier actions were just something born from skill and technique, then wouldn’t that make me too easy of a target?”
Actually, what she really wanted to say instead of ‘just something born from skill and technique’ was ‘just a script that you followed’—this fellow’s brain was just like a calculator. After identifying a goal, he would work solely to achieve that goal, putting any notions of emotions or morals aside. After Cheng Xi expressed interest in having him woo her, he similarly became interested and decided to do it. To this end, he had come up with all sorts of tricks and ruses, but they were all in pursuit of this final goal, and nothing else.
As for actual, genuine emotions, Cheng Xi couldn’t find the space to consider them at this moment.
But Cheng Xi was already quite satisfied with his progress—at the very least, his feelings seemed to now have some slight physiological effects. However, she didn’t know if Lu Chenzhou understood the deeper meaning behind her words. His lips were cold, and he wasn’t speaking. Instead, he was rudely trying to unbutton her blouse again, but from a combination of Cheng Xi’s resisting and his using too much strength, he even broke off two of her buttons by accident.
Cheng Xi’s face fell flat: ￣-￣
Lu Chenzhou stilled for a moment before he comically tried to put the buttons back onto her clothes. But when he found that they no longer stuck to the fabric, he started pondering the situation silently.
Cheng Xi just lay there underneath him. When she saw the struggle on his face about what to do, she felt unable to watch any further. But just as she was about to tell him to forget it, that it didn’t matter if her blouse was missing some buttons, he said, “Take it off and have someone sew them back on. That’ll be just enough time for us to take a bath.”
After coming up with a suitable excuse, he promptly started trying to strip her clothes off. He moved so quickly that Cheng Xi was stuck halfway between anger and amusement at the absurdity of it; she dodged around as she said, “Wait, wait, wait. I can do it myself. This is a dining area—where would we even bathe?”
Lu Chenzhou paused briefly, and in that moment, he must have touched something hidden somewhere because Cheng Xi then saw the left wall, which was displaying a landscape painting, slowly roll up to reveal a washroom hidden behind it.
It also had a natural design, with a heated pool that encompassed a rather significant area.
Cheng Xi was struck dumb ……Just how much did this all even cost?
“Are we really at the bottom of the river?” She asked this question again. It was a natural one because Donglai was close to the Mei river, but then she remembered the reason behind the Donglai Hotel’s fame; according to the ads she’d seen, it was the country’s first aquatic sci-fi hotel.
Lu Chenzhou shook his head before he pulled out a remote control from the side. Once he pressed a button, the entire scene of the washroom changed. This time, the theme was terrestrial: there was a forest all around them, and it even had extremely realistic bird chirps and animal howls! If she had been distracted for even a moment, she might really have thought that they were in a bed in some large forest!
When Lu Chenzhou noticed her interest in the adjustable environment settings, he started flipping through the landscapes one by one; after the forest came a burning desert, then a long river amidst the setting sun, an endless grasslands, and the most fantastical one was set in outer space. Cheng Xi didn’t know how such special effects were made, but when the landscape changed to outer space, it felt like even the bed was rocking and shifting beneath her.
Cheng Xi…… Cheng Xi suddenly realized that she was still underneath him, and when the bed shook, the two of them also started rocking around! How shameful!
Lu Chenzhou was entranced by her blushing red face, and couldn’t help himself from caressing it with his hands. As they rocked back and forth, he explained, “Actually, it’s all just made from 3D effects, and it’s targeted towards those who want to pretend to be wild soldiers but are afraid of actual danger.”
Cheng Xi had no response.
In order to make it clear that she wasn’t someone who enjoyed or would participate in such ‘battlefield operations,’ Cheng Xi firmly pushed Lu Chenzhou off of her. The latter removed himself quite unwillingly, and even futilely said, “We can continue after we wash up!” But Cheng Xi said that she was hungry, and after they ate, she then had to go back.
Cheng Xi had to go back because after her parents had finished dinner and sent their relatives away, they made Cheng Yang drive them into the city to search for her.
However, Cheng Xi didn’t let Lu Chenzhou drop her off. Instead, she called for a taxi herself. Mr. Lu had a remarkable intellect but a remarkably low emotional quotient; when Cheng Xi said to not send her off, he didn’t insist on doing so as he probably thought that this wasn’t a big deal.
After Cheng Xi finally got home, she was immediately interrogated by both of her parents. “Something really did come up! Ever since Shen Wei became pregnant, she hasn’t been doing well. She’s been unable to eat or sleep, so her parents called me over. I really had no choice but to go.” And then Cheng Xi said that she had been accompanying Shen Wei this whole time, and was unable to answer her phone because Shen Wei’s emotions were too unstable. She even offered to call Shen Wei’s mother’s as a witness, telling them, “You can call them to confirm it. I’m serious.”
Her expression was sincere.
Her parents begrudgingly believed her because they couldn’t really call Shen Wei’s parents, could they? But they still didn’t let her off the hook, and they instead shifted topics to Lu Chenzhou. “If he didn’t do anything with you during the New Year’s, then he clearly doesn’t think of you seriously. Thus, I think you might as well drop this matter.” The key thing was that Cheng Yang had told them about Lu Chenzhou’s background. Although the Lu family wasn’t as well-known in the suburbs, Cheng Xi’s parents still knew of his family. Even though they did feel better about Lu Chenzhou as a potential son-in-law, they also felt that there was no need for Cheng Xi to try to jump so high up on the pecking order. After all, they prioritized their daughter’s future happiness.
In fact, the main reason why they had rushed over so hurriedly tonight was to emphasize this matter.
Cheng Xi naturally agreed with whatever they said. Her relationship with Lu Chenzhou was too complicated to explain, and given the current stage of their relationship, it was also unnecessary to explain it.
By the time they were done talking, it had gotten very late in the night, and Cheng Xi had to work out the sleeping situation for everyone. Her place only had two bedrooms and a single living room. Her parents would take the guest room, so Cheng Yang had no other option but to sleep in the living room.
Luckily for him, the living room had a heater, and this spring was quite warm. So, Cheng Yang wouldn’t freeze even if he was a bit uncomfortable.
After their parents retired to their room for the night, the two siblings had their own conversation. Cheng Yang and Shen Wei were more or less acquaintances, and the two even had some business connections, so he started off by asking about her condition. Cheng Xi couldn’t really reveal much about Fu Mingyi, so she vaguely replied, “It’s somewhat awkward for her to receive visitors right now, so it’s fine even if you don’t go visit her.”
Cheng Yang nodded before suddenly asking, “Did you go to the Donglai Hotel tonight?”
No matter how skilled Cheng Xi was at psychiatry, she still couldn’t fully conceal her own emotions. Caught off guard, she could only eventually truthfully reply, “Yes. How did you know?”
“My friend was eating there and he saw you.” Cheng Yang looked at his sister, his tone severe. “Is there really nothing going on between you and Lu Chenzhou?”
Cheng Xi fell silent. Before tonight, she could have firmly claimed that there was nothing going on between them, and that she was only treating him as a special patient. But after the night’s events, she clearly knew that their relationship wasn’t that simply described.
After thinking it over briefly, she cautiously said, “If there’s something, then I might not reject it.”
Cheng Yang’s expression became somewhat complicated, as he probably wanted to congratulate her but did not know where to start. After quite a while, he finally said, “The Lu family isn’t a regular family, and Lu Chenzhou isn’t a regular person.” He was silent for another stretch of time before asking, “Have you met his family?”
Cheng Xi nodded.
“He…… has a brother. Have you met him too?”
Cheng Xi raised her head, surprised.