Water and Fire~Chapter 96.1: Repression and Indulgence

 

Chapter 96.1: Repression and Indulgence

Chu Qianmiao, notebook in hand, followed Ren Yan into the café.

Ren Yan chose a small round table in the corner. It sat against a right-angled wall, with one side facing a potted plant and the other facing the aisle.

The setting was very quiet and elegant, with ample privacy. Ren Yan sat down and ordered a glass of water and milk. Chu Qianmiao expressed a desire for coffee, but Ren Yan glanced at her, dismissing the idea outright. "If you drink coffee so late, how will you sleep tonight? Try milk, to replenish your blood."

Chu Qianmiao: "..."

Why are you bringing up something that's not on the boil? What's your intention?"

The lash of criticism in her heart had barely died down when she heard Ren Yan continue to add to the still-stagnant pot. "Do you have frequent nosebleeds? If so, you need to see a doctor."

Chu Qianmiao: "..."

She stared at Ren Yan's serious question, looking downright righteous, as if he had no idea why she was bleeding.

She gritted her teeth and smiled stiffly. "Not often, boss. Don't worry. I soaked too many goji berries in water this afternoon, and I'm feeling a bit hot."

The waiter brought the milk and water. Ren Yan set the two drinks aside, clearing a large space on the table in front of him. Then he tapped the large tabletop in front of him, looked at Chu Qianmiao, and said, "Come sit here."

Chu Qianmiao: ""

Chu Qianmiao was a bit stunned.

Ren Yan tapped the table again. "You, come sit here. Put the computer here." After a pause, he said, "If you sit across from me, how can I tell you what you did right and what you didn't do right?"

Chu Qianmiao understood this time. She quickly stood up and began to move her chair next to Ren Yan. Then she moved the computer to the spot where Ren Yan had tapped his finger, between them.

She suddenly felt like Ren Yan and she were two elementary school students sitting at the same table. One of them didn't have a book, so they leaned their heads together, reading a book together.

It was a midsummer night in July, and the coffee shop was on full blast. While the coolness was supposed to be comfortable, Chu Qianmiao, overwhelmed by this invisible intimacy, felt the coffee shop suddenly grow stuffy and hot, becoming as sweltering as the night outside.

She thought, "It seems goji berries really shouldn't be consumed in the summer. It really does make people feel dry."

She turned on her computer, opened the training courseware, and then moved the screen toward Ren Yan.

Ren Yan was absorbed in the courseware.

Chu Qianmiao waited quietly for him to finish. She watched his right hand rest on the touchpad, the tips of two fingers occasionally sliding lightly across it. She paused for a moment, then had to admit, the man's hands were truly beautiful. Their fingers were long and slender, their joints well-proportioned. They possessed the refined elegance of a scholar and the decisiveness of a commander. Her computer touchpad, gently caressed by his fingertips, seemed transformed into a work of art.

She reflected, this man before her, truly a truly impressive figure, both overall and in detail. He was handsome, cool, and stylish, and his features were well-proportioned, his abs were perfectly muscular, and even his hands were exceptionally well-shaped.

Besides being good-looking, this guy is also incredibly capable. This is truly excessive.

He gets all the good things. How can anyone else live? He's the typical "other people's" kid, so enviable.

Ren Yan finished browsing and turned to see Chu Qianmiao staring at him. It looked like he'd been in her sight for a while. This realization brought a sense of relief to his heart.

But he calmly raised an eyebrow at her and asked, "Why, do I have more money on my face?"

Perhaps it was the boss's off-hours appearance that made him less intimidating, or perhaps it was the soft yellow light in the cafe that emboldened Chu Qianmiao, but she glared and said nonsense, "Your face is dirty."

Ren Yan narrowed his eyes. "Where?"

He then pulled a tissue from the paper towel holder on the table and handed it to Chu Qianmiao. "Please wipe it off for me."

Chu Qianmiao: "..."

She pushed the tissue toward him. "I'll tell you where it is, wipe it yourself."

Ren Yan pushed the tissue toward her again. "Don't be so shy, you're wasting time."

Chu Qianmiao felt like she was being blamed.

Okay, she thought. After all, she was the one who started the show, so she might as well show off her acting skills.

She took the tissue, wrapped it around the tip of her index finger, and poked Ren Yan's face seriously. Wherever she touched, that was the dirt. With a little pressure, she rubbed back and forth, and the dirt was gone.

Chu Qianmiao diligently rubbed the imaginary stain. The tissue was thin, and the warmth of her fingertips penetrated through, colliding with the warmth of his skin.

The impact made her quickly withdraw her hand.

"It's OK," she said righteously.

Ren Yan glanced at her, raised an eyebrow, turned the computer screen towards her, and began to explain the problems and areas that needed improvement.

One talked, the other listened, the two of them moving closer and closer, centering around the computer screen.

He looked at her as he spoke. She listened intently, her eyes fixed on the screen.

After pointing out all the problems, he asked her to revise them, right then and there, right now.

She stared at the screen, trying to think of a more appropriate way to explain him, gradually lost in her own thoughts, no longer aware that he was very close to her, observing her profile.

Ren Yan looked at Chu Qianmiao expressionlessly. Her profile was breathtakingly beautiful. Her long hair, draped behind her shoulders, slid forward as she typed. She naturally lifted her hand and brushed it back.

This flick was truly alluring. He watched her, his Adam's apple silently rising and falling.

She was still focused on the computer screen, thinking about revising the plan.

The soft yellow light enveloped her like a misty veil. He silently observed her profile.

Her delicate ears, with their delicate, lovely lobe, made one want to pinch them. They must have been incredibly soft. The strand of hair slid forward again, and she lifted her hand to brush it back over her shoulder again. She couldn't have realized how alluring she looked with it like this. The innocent girl from over three years ago had grown and matured, unknowingly acquiring a different demeanor. Her eyelashes were long and curled, and each blink felt like a hand capable of melting bones, gently patting the heart. She stared at the computer, then reached for the milk in front of her and downed half a gulp. A white milk stain remained on her lips. She put the cup back down and gently licked the tip of her tongue around her upper lip.

The milk stain was swept away by her tongue, leaving her lips moist and shiny.

His Adam's apple rose and fell uncontrollably again.

She suddenly turned around, saying, "Boss, I've finished revising it. Please take a look."

The last syllable of her words died away in her surprise.

He wondered if his unrelenting gaze, a look he'd cast at her too late, had frightened her.

She looked at him, blinked, and asked in confusion, "Boss, is there something on my face?"

He hadn't realized how he could manage to nod so seriously, "Yes, yes." It really was.

"

"

She almost believed it. But then she realized she had just lied to him.

Ren Yan said, "Really."

He took a tissue, soaked it with some water from the cup, and then, imitating her, wrapped his index finger with the wet part and held it toward her, the tip of the tissue finally resting on the edge of her ear.

The tissue-wrapped finger, slightly cool from the water, touched her skin. As it rubbed up and down, his other fingers gently scraped against her earlobe.

She shuddered, her head tingling, and she pulled back. Goosebumps covered her arms.

He was rubbing her so comfortably.

She looked at him and the tissue he had wrapped his finger in.

He openly displayed the tissue. The wet part was stained with a faint blood stain.

Her face was truly dirty.

She figured her nosebleed had gotten on her ear, but since she couldn't see it in the mirror, she didn't rinse it.

It was truly embarrassing to think about it. She'd gone downstairs with such a dirty face, and she still felt like Ren Yan was lying to her just as she'd lied to him.

Chu Qianmiao felt like her heart had been on a roller coaster two hundred times in a single minute, swirling up and down.

She calmed herself, quickly turned away from the "Your face is dirty, mine is dirty too" trance, and pushed her laptop toward Ren Yan, forcing a change of subject. "Boss, please take another look at the revised it."

Ren Yan glanced through it, nodded, and said it was fine.

Chu Qianmiao quickly pulled the laptop back and said, "Boss, can we go upstairs now?"

Ren Yan looked at her and said calmly, "Okay, you go up first. I'll sit for a while. I'll finish this glass of water and then leave."

Chu Qianmiao: "..."

That glass of water is free, big brother. You're going to be upset if you don't take advantage of it, right?

She stood up, clutching her laptop, said goodbye, and scurried away from him.

Ren Yan stared at Chu Qianmiao's back, then glanced down at himself. This was so awkward. So, let's just calm down for a bit before leaving.

He brought the hand that had just wiped the dirt off Chu Qianmiao's face to his eyes, rubbing his thumb and fingers together. He smiled. He had just accidentally touched her ear.

His fingertips still felt her touch. Her ear was just as soft as he'd imagined, so soft it was almost mind-blowing.

Perhaps he'd lived too much of a life of restraint and l*st, which was why even the slightest touch on her body now caused such a change.

He recalled Lei Zhenzi's confident words to him, "Ah Ren, believe me, you can't be an urban ascetic like this. You need to indulge your l*st moderately. You know, l*st can't be suppressed, it can only be relieved. Otherwise, no matter how hard you suppress it, you'll appear apathetic. But once you unleash the floodgates of your seven emotions and six desires, you'll indulge them to a hilariously abnormal degree, transforming into a l*stful fiend. Don't look on your face with disbelief. I've personally tested this theory. I fasted and bathed for six months and abstained from s*xual activity. Six months later, on the day I broke the rules, Sister Sheng and I didn't get out of bed for five days. I was so exhausted I had bow legs, but I just wouldn't stop. Tell me, is l*st a terrifying thing?"

At the time, he thought Lei Zhenzi was glaring and talking nonsense, but now he had a little faith in him.

He figured this was the saying, "Everything goes to extremes and then reverses." He'd let his mental floodgates go like this, and he was practically turning into a demon.