A Little Private Amusement
A basketball game was underway.
Suddenly, a phone began ringing in the rest area.
The man holding the basketball sent it cleanly through the hoop, then signaled for a substitution.
He walked to the benches, sat down, and picked up his phone.
“Finished?”
Someone beside him handed over a bottle of water.
Liu Qianxiu accepted it and took a sip.
Another player replaced him on the court, and the game continued.
Mu Wan heard the sound of a basketball striking the floor.
“Are you playing basketball?”
“Mm.”
Liu Qianxiu glanced at his watch.
It was only three in the afternoon.
Mu Wan had said that morning she would finish early, but he had not expected her to finish this early.
He began gathering his belongings.
“I’ll come pick you up.”
“Don’t.”
Mu Wan immediately refused.
“Where are you playing? Send me the address. I’ll come over.”
After ending the call, Liu Qianxiu sent her the location.
Once the message was delivered, he sensed someone beside him.
He turned.
Mei Yaozhi was staring at him.
Mei Yaozhi had invited him to play basketball today. They had only arrived a short while earlier.
Liu Qianxiu had barely warmed up and scored a basket before his phone rang and he left the court.
“Mu Wan?” Mei Yaozhi asked.
His expression turned openly mischievous.
“Well, that’s what you get for making her worry. She still hasn’t forgiven you, has she?”
“We broke up.”
Liu Qianxiu took another sip of water.
His expression remained indifferent.
“What?”
The amusement vanished from Mei Yaozhi’s face.
He frowned.
Couples could quarrel all they wanted, but breaking up was an entirely different matter.
“What are you going to do?”
He sounded genuinely worried.
Liu Qianxiu glanced at him.
His tone was calm.
“I’m pursuing her.”
Liu Qianxiu’s composure had a remarkable ability to influence the people around him.
After a brief moment of surprise, Mei Yaozhi calmed down too.
He thought for a while, then rubbed his chin.
“Wait. Something’s not right.”
“When exactly did you break up?”
“Didn’t you two come to our house for dinner yesterday and sleep in the same room?”
“What kind of relationship is that supposed to be...”
“Nothing special.”
Liu Qianxiu stood.
A rapidly spinning basketball flew toward him.
He reached out and caught it.
Then he answered calmly,
“Just a little private amusement.”
Mei Yaozhi stared at him.
“…”
That again.
When Mu Wan arrived, Liu Qianxiu was on the offensive.
His personality was usually cool and restrained, but on the basketball court, he seemed like a different person.
His bearing remained composed.
Yet once the ball was in his hands, he was almost unstoppable.
His tall, athletic body moved effortlessly past the defenders.
Then he rose and sent the basketball through the hoop.
When he landed, his movements were light and graceful.
He had been playing continuously before Mu Wan arrived.
His hair was already damp with sweat.
When he tilted his head to look at the basket, sweat rolled down his Adam’s apple.
The sight was unexpectedly seductive.
He soon noticed Mu Wan.
He turned toward her.
His skin was pale, his features sharply defined, his expression quiet. His dark eyes seemed bottomless.
He started toward her.
But Mu Wan waved him back.
She walked to the rest area and sat down, signaling for him to continue.
Liu Qianxiu nodded and returned to the game.
By the time the match ended, Mu Wan had lost count of how many baskets he had scored.
When he walked off the court, she handed him a towel.
Despite the intensity of the game, his breathing had already steadied considerably during the short walk toward her.
Liu Qianxiu took the towel.
“I’m going to change.”
He wore a loose white basketball jersey.
The oversized uniform covered his tall frame while exposing the defined muscles of his arms and calves.
Every time he jumped on the court, Mu Wan had caught glimpses of the firm muscles along his waist and abdomen beneath the jersey.
Exercise really did make a man more attractive.
Mu Wan’s expression remained unchanged.
She looked up at him.
“Is the changing room shared?”
“Private.”
The basketball club had reserved individual changing rooms for the Four Young Masters of the Huai, He, Mei, and Liu families.
After answering, Liu Qianxiu lowered his eyes.
He noticed the small glimmer in Mu Wan’s eyes.
Then his gaze paused on her red lips.
“Would you like to come with me?”
Mu Wan did not answer.
She blinked.
Then she smiled.
The private changing room was not particularly large, though at roughly fifty square meters, it was more like a small studio apartment.
Besides the bathroom, there was a comfortable sofa for relaxing.
A refrigerator stocked with drinks stood nearby.
Everything they might need was provided.
There was only one problem.
The soundproofing was rather poor.
The shower ran continuously, helping to conceal some of the sounds inside.
Mu Wan was soaked from head to toe.
When they were finished, Liu Qianxiu dried her off and carried her to the sofa.
She was exhausted.
Leaning against him, she spoke lazily.
“I’m going to France this Sunday.”
“What for?”
Mu Wan lay across his lap.
Her long hair was damp, making her skin appear even paler and her lips more vividly red.
She looked like a little deer caught in the rain.
The moment he asked, her bright eyes shifted toward him.
“You’re not going?”
She had assumed all along that Liu Qianxiu had arranged the advertisement.
Liu Qianxiu paused.
He lowered his gaze toward her.
His long lashes cast shadows beneath his eyes.
His expression was as still as water.
“Do you want me to go?”
He had turned the question back on her.
For a moment, Mu Wan was speechless.
His warmth still lingered throughout her body.
Although the air conditioner was running, the changing room suddenly felt hot again.
Mu Wan pressed her lips together.
“Oh.”
She made the sound as though she did not care.
Then she fell silent.
But the longer she remained quiet, the less satisfied she became.
After thinking for a while, she sat up and crossed her legs beside him.
Her expression was stiff.
Her eyes were cold.
Yet the words that came from her mouth were anything but.
“Go or don’t go. It’s up to you.”
She continued,
“Anyway, you’ve only softened me this much.”
Mu Wan raised her thumb and index finger, leaving a small gap between them.
Then she narrowed it even further.
“If you don’t keep reinforcing your progress, I might become hardhearted again.”
Before she could finish, Liu Qianxiu caught the hand she was using to demonstrate.
His palm was slightly cool.
He gently opened her fingers.
Then he lowered his head and kissed the center of her palm.
The kiss felt like a signal traveling directly to her heart.
Seeing the faint curve of his lips, Mu Wan’s heartbeat quickened.
“W-what are you doing?”
Liu Qianxiu did not answer.
He kissed her palm again, then followed the inside of her arm toward her shoulder.
Finally, his lips reached hers.
The bath towel wrapped around Mu Wan loosened.
A moment later, she was pressed beneath him again.
“I’ll go with you.”
His lips brushed her earlobe.
Her body slowly sank into the sofa.
Then she heard his low, husky voice beside her ear, each word distinct.
“But right now, you have to make me soft first.”
When a man who usually lived without worldly desires decided to be seductive, he was absolutely lethal!
— End of Chapter 47 —
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They are so adorable
ReplyDeleteI was hoping she would just go to France without telling him and let him freak out a little but first lol.
ReplyDeleteWhen I realize she still uses LQX's resources in her work, I also realize that she hasn't put serious (personal space) distance from him. She still talks to him and let him hangs around her everyday. It makes me worry that he wouldn't take her "break up" (anger) seriously and he would think that it's all just her coquetry. Then, BAM! He said "it's just some fun". 🤦♀️Well, he has said sorry and admit his mistake. So, 😑😞😔🤐🙃
ReplyDelete