Shen Dang pecked heavily on Qiao Xi’s lips.
He struggled to suppress the desire in his heart, reluctantly letting her go.
But he didn’t completely let go... his face was still buried in her neck.
Qiao Xi felt his heavy, restrained breaths.
He couldn’t control himself.
The doorbell was still ringing; in a rush, Qiao Xi urged him, "Hurry up and answer the door."
Shen Dang shifted slightly, his voice hoarse and almost grinding, "How can I go ?"
Not knowing who was waiting outside, Qiao Xi noticed his change, her cheeks flushing even redder.
She struggled, "Then I’ll go."
Qiao Xi was helpless, "Are you kidding?"
Shen Dang’s fingertips slid from her eyelids to the corners of her eyes.
Her eyes were wet, like a startled little rabbit, with a faint red at the corners.
She definitely looked moved.
How could he let others see her ?
Shen Dang swallowed hard, annoyed, "Give me a few minutes to calm down before I go open the door."
In broad daylight, anyone would think they were up to no good.
Qiao Xi was mortified.
She should not have been provoked by him in the first place.
Qiao Xi covered her face in frustration, "Get up first, you’re pressing down on me..."
What if he couldn’t calm down?
Qiao Xi turned her face away, not wanting to look at him.
At that moment, the ringtone of the cell phone rang again.
Shen Dang grabbed his phone and saw it was Sheng Chao calling.
That damn man, why did he choose to come now of all times!
Shen Dang’s finger slipped, hanging up the call.
Sheng Chao, looking at the hung-up call, felt indescribable, "Shen Dang, that bastard, hung up on me."
Su Tutu smiled mischievously, her grin imbued with ambiguousness, "Honey, did we arrive too early and interrupt them?"
Sheng Chao clicked his tongue, "Keep knocking."
He had just raised his hand when the door opened from the inside.
Shen Dang looked somewhat grim, "Come in."
Sheng Chao leaned against the wall, his narrow eyes glancing at him, looking both amused and serious, "With that look of yours, I thought you didn’t welcome me. At last you’re willing to open the door."
Su Tutu covered her lips and giggled, "Next time, we should call beforehand to avoid an inappropriate time."
Shen Dang stepped aside, "Come on in."
Sheng Chao handed Shen Dang the red wine he brought with him.
Su Tutu didn’t see Qiao Xi and asked, "Eh, where’s Xixi? Where did she go?"
Qiao Xi came out of the kitchen, holding a plate of fruit, and placed it on the coffee table, "I went to cut fruit for you."
Su Tutu sized her up, "I thought you were up to something."
Qiao Xi wished she would shut up.
Su Tutu’s eyes wandered, "Your place is so big; they’re not here yet, give me a tour first?"
Qiao Xi took Su Tutu to see a few rooms, and seeing her very happy, she instigated, "The community is nice, Jiang Yongge and Qin Mo are here too, why not you and Brother Chao move here too?"
Su Tutu’s eyes brightened, "That’s a possibility!"
She got close to Qiao Xi and raised her eyebrow suggestively, "Did Boss Shen move here too?"
Qiao Xi shrugged, somewhat helpless, "He insisted on moving in; I couldn’t drive him away."
Su Tutu burst into laughter.
They went to the balcony.
Qiao Xi liked gardening; seeing beautiful flowers always made her feel good.
So she bought climbing roses for the house, which were all placed on the balcony.
Various types of flowers bloomed beautifully.
Su Tutu pointed to a pot of flowers and asked, "Xixi, what’s this flower?"
"It’s beautiful; I want to buy some for my house too."
Sheng Chao’s voice came from the living room, "Why not just move this pot to our place."
Shen Dang snickered, "What are you, a bandit? Xixi bought this flower, she likes it—you want to grow it, go buy your own."
Sheng Chao deliberately picked a bone with him, "Xixi hasn’t said anything yet, can you make choices for her?"
This made Shen Dang laugh disdainfully, "What’s wrong with me making choices for my girlfriend?"
Sheng Chao smirked meaningfully, "You make it sound like you’re Xixi’s husband."
Seeing them bicker , both Qiao Xi and Su Tutu exchanged a glance and smiled helplessly.
The doorbell conveniently rang again.
"I’ll get the door." Qiao Xi quickly walked to the door.
Outside stood Xie Baola and Chen Jiayan.
Qiao Xi was taken aback when she saw them, "Brother Jiayan, Baola, did you come together?"
Chen Jiayan: "It was a coincidence."
"No coincidence." Xie Baola retorted in front of everyone, "I went to your place to find you, and then we came here together."
Qiao Xi smiled with pursed lips, "Come on in."
Qiao Xi left the door open, to avoid having to open it again soon.
Chen Jiayan handed Qiao Xi something, "Xixi, this is a New Year’s gift and a housewarming gift for you."
Qiao Xi took it, "Thank you, Brother Jiayan."
Xie Baola peeked her head over, "I helped Jiayan pick it out; there’s also a New Year’s gift from me in there."
Qiao Xi sent an air kiss to Xie Baola.
"You guys are..." Su Tutu came over from the balcony, looking them over, "Are you together now?"
Xie Baola got angry at that.
She’d almost made it to Chen Jiayan’s place that night, if it hadn’t been for that damned Xie Qian calling her home.
In the middle of the night, Baola had no choice but to go home.
Xie Baola sounded a bit annoyed.
Su Tutu patted her on the shoulder as a gesture of consolation.
Xie Baola rested her head on Qiao Xi’s shoulder, looking at Chen Jiayan while whispering, "Xixi, your brother is a tough cookie."
Qiao Xi couldn’t help but laugh again at Chen Jiayan’s expression.
Soon after, Tang Honghe, Qu Jiashu, and the Jiang Yongge couple arrived.
Jiang Yongge also handed her a gift, "Boss Qiao, Qin Mo has joined a film crew and couldn’t come to your housewarming dinner, but he prepared a gift for me to bring. We’re neighbors now."
Qiao Xi smiled, "Good neighbors, you shouldn’t have."
Xie Baola saw Qu Jiashu alone and asked, "Jiashu, didn’t your wife come?"
Qu Jiashu replied indifferently, "She went back to her parents’ home."
He didn’t want to bring Lin Muxian to such a gathering.
With everyone arrived, Shen Dang started preparing dinner.
Hot pot and barbecue were easy to handle.
With several friends lending a hand, the meal—half spicy, half mild broth, and barbecue laid out—all took their place on the dining table.
Everyone found a seat.
Xie Baola plopped down next to Chen Jiayan, smiling, "Jiayan, I’ll help you grill the meat."
Chen Jiayan glanced at her, "Just sit quietly." Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs NovᴇlFire(.)nᴇt
Xie Baola’s eyes slightly lifted, smiling clearly, "Meaning you’ll grill for me?"
Chen Jiayan didn’t speak, but he took action.
Qu Jiashu, seated opposite them, saw all their interactions.
Baola has always been different for Jiayan.