He Teng glanced at the book in He Zhilan’s hand, the one he didn’t understand, he knew how much she enjoyed reading. Rather than disturb her, he just sat leaning against the head of the bed and lit up a cigarette.
Heard the noise, He Zhilan looked at him with surprise. She did not remember He Teng having a smoking addiction. She had been at the base for almost two days and this was the first time she had seen him smoke. However, she had seen him smoke at home before.
"If you are disgusted by the smoke, I can put it out." He Teng took a glance at He Zhilan, seeing her surprised expression and prepared to extinguish his cigarette after knocking off some ash.
"Although I don’t like it, I wouldn’t say I hate it. I just didn’t see you smoke in these two days since the arrival, I thought you didn’t have an addiction to smoking." said He Zhilan.
He Teng still put out his cigarette, it wouldn’t be fair to force his wife to inhale secondhand smoke. He leaned forward and poured some water into the tin box. There was no ashtray in the guest house, so he used the snack box He Zhilan had brought.
He Zhilan did not know about these base customs. Over the past two days, she saw many people smoke, so she figured there was no strict no-smoking order at He Teng’s military base.
After extinguishing his cigarette, seeing He Zhilan continuing to stare at him, He Teng thought she was waiting for an answer. "I don’t have an addiction, I occasionally smoke when I’m bored, might not even go through a pack in a year." he responded.
"That’s good then," He Zhilan nodded. If he doesn’t even finish a pack in a year, he has no smoking habit at all. But thinking about his answer, she paused, maybe, He Teng was smoking now out of boredom?
That makes sense. She wouldn’t get bored lying on the bed reading, but He Teng wasn’t asleep yet. Lying there alone would indeed get dull.
However, if he was bored, why wouldn’t he talk to her? Ask her to stop reading?
He Zhilan closed her book and handed it to He Teng, asking him to place it on the bedside table. "Smoking out of boredom isn’t a good way to pass time, let’s talk instead."
"What time do you usually rest?" He Teng asked.
"Eleven." After a pause, He Zhilan saw He Teng seemingly calculating something. She asked puzzledly, "What’s up?"
He Teng lifted his eyes, looking at He Zhilan with a mysterious yet playful smile. "I’m calculating that there’s slightly over two hours till eleven. If we restrain ourselves, we should have enough time. Ensure you get to bed around eleven, so you can get up early tomorrow and have breakfast in the mess hall with me."
"Enough for what?" He Zhilan was puzzled, but she did not need his answer. As he shifted his body to lie on top of hers, she immediately understood what He Teng was getting at.
He Teng was calculating the time for making love!
"Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to control myself tonight." He Teng patiently explained, noticing He Zhilan’s suddenly defensive expression. He thought she was worried he would lose control like last night.
He Zhilan wanted to cry but had no tears. She merely wanted to chat before sleep to beat boredom! Are all men in the world this voracious when it comes to this matter?
He Teng and He Zhilan, this newlywed couple, might still be adjusting off the bed, but on the bed, they were entirely familiar with each other, at least He Teng was thoroughly acquainted with He Zhilan’s body.
He could clearly remember every detail about He Zhilan’s body—where she had moles, which parts of her skin would soften under his touch.
At first, He Zhilan tried to resist, but eventually, she felt like she was caught in a vortex that He Teng had created for her and could not escape.