After Ghost Marriage with My Arch-Rival - Chapter 16

Unbelievable. Was the “scaredy-cat” game that started with a single lollipop in childhood really escalating to something this ridiculous?

Liu Xiangyi decided he needed a shower to clear his head.

When he emerged from the bathroom, he found Zhong Qinhuai standing by the window. His footsteps faltered for a heartbeat. This kid is getting far too comfortable breaking into my bedroom.

Ignoring him, Liu Xiangyi continued drying his hair with a towel.

Hearing the footsteps, Zhong Qinhuai turned around. He leaned against the window frame, his fingertips tapping a lazy, irregular rhythm against the glass. He spoke in a languid drawl:

“So, has President Liu made up his mind?”

Liu Xiangyi finished with his hair and draped the towel over a nearby chair. He walked over and offered a teasing smile. “I may have a crush on you, President Zhong, but you don’t return the sentiment, do you? Therefore.”

He let out a mock-sorrowful sigh. “Unless you fall for me first, I won’t be going through with that particular ‘procedure’.”

This was the perfect excuse he’d concocted in the shower. He was certain Zhong Qinhuai couldn’t possibly fall for him; and even in the billion-to-one chance that he did, the kid was far too stubborn to ever admit it.

A glint of cunning flashed in Liu Xiangyi’s eyes. He offered a smile of absolute certainty. “Surely President Zhong wouldn’t force the issue? Otherwise, I’d have to assume you’ve fallen for me, too.”

Zhong Qinhuai’s expression flickered for a fraction of a second before returning to its usual airy indifference. “Does President Liu truly think that’s possible?”

“How heartbreaking.” Though his tone was regretful, Liu Xiangyi’s signature willow-leaf eyes were shimmering with amusement.

Zhong Qinhuai felt a sudden, inexplicable surge of irritation. He didn’t know where this ball of frustration in his chest came from, so he settled for biting down hard on Liu Xiangyi’s lips.

The good news: They didn’t go through with the “procedure” tonight.

The bad news: The contest was definitely still on.

When Zhong Qinhuai’s kiss descended, Liu Xiangyi didn’t resist much. He needed to siphon yin energy, after all, so he kissed back with equal fervor.

They stumbled from the window to the bed, their lips never parting. Liu Xiangyi had just showered, and the scent of his body wash—a faint, ghostly white tea clung to him. Zhong Qinhuai hovered over him; though the fragrance was subtle, it seemed to intoxicate his mind, leaving his thoughts hazy.

A kiss alone wasn’t enough.

Driven by an instinct he didn’t know he possessed, Zhong Qinhuai began to explore. His cool fingers slipped inside Liu Xiangyi’s bathrobe. His fingertips brushed the skin of the other man’s waist, which was still slightly damp from the shower—making it feel even smoother and more delicate, like the finest silk.

Zhong Qinhuai couldn’t help but press his entire palm against him, siphoning the sensation as he explored the curve of his side. Liu Xiangyi’s waist was perfectly proportioned—not overly thin, yet not bulky, covered in a fine layer of muscle that felt supple yet powerful, like a flexible willow branch in spring.

The texture was divine. As Zhong Qinhuai applied a bit of pressure, the waist beneath him arched sharply in response. He followed the line upward; the curve was smooth and beautiful, like a bow carved from cool jade.

The lights had been cut during their initial struggle, leaving the room in total darkness. Yet even without sight, Zhong Qinhuai could feel the exquisite arc of that waist through his palm. As he traced the skin, he discovered a small, soft dimple at the small of the back.

For some reason, his heart softened along with that dimple, yet the grip of his hand grew more uncontrolled. Gentle strokes were no longer sufficient; his fingers began to knead with a desperate force, and his kisses turned more demanding—like a wild beast trapped in a labyrinth, unable to find the exit, restless and starving.

Liu Xiangyi was breathless from the kiss, his waist felt weak and aching, and what was more infuriating was that he couldn’t push the guy off. He settled for biting Zhong Qinhuai’s lip with a vengeance.

This kid is getting more brazen by the second!

But the bite didn’t deter him. Instead, the hand at Liu Xiangyi’s waist tightened, the force so desperate it felt as if he wanted to crush Liu Xiangyi’s body into his own. Sensing things were getting dangerous, Liu Xiangyi grabbed Zhong Qinhuai’s hand to stop the wandering fingers.

Zhong Qinhuai let out a low chuckle. He withdrew his tongue slightly, but refused to break contact, murmuring against Liu Xiangyi’s lips:

“What? Is President Liu afraid of this contest?”

Liu Xiangyi was still gasping, too overwhelmed by the intensity of the kiss to form words. Seeing this, Zhong Qinhuai reversed his grip on the hand that was holding him. He guided Liu Xiangyi’s hand into his own robe, pressing it flat against the side of his waist.

Then, he leaned into Liu Xiangyi’s ear, whispering with a low laugh that was half-entreaty, half-seduction:

“President Liu can touch mine, too.”

Liu Xiangyi let out a scoff and instinctively tried to pull his hand away, only to hear Zhong Qinhuai’s hollow follow-up:

“Unless you don’t dare?”

The hand that was about to retreat paused. The skin beneath his palm felt incredible—cool to the touch but not freezing, smooth yet resilient, like touching a piece of jade submerged in a lake.

Between the kissing and the touching, Liu Xiangyi’s body had grown flushed and hot; the contact with the cool skin provided an instant, refreshing relief.

Thinking of what Zhong Qinhuai had just done to him, Liu Xiangyi suddenly flipped him over. The positions were reversed in an instant, with Liu Xiangyi now hovering on top.

Zhong Qinhuai didn’t resist at all. Not only was he permissive, he seemed to be enjoying it. He wore a provocative smirk and arched an eyebrow at Liu Xiangyi:

“Do you dare, President Liu?”

The competitive spark was reignited!

Liu Xiangyi gave Zhong Qinhuai’s waist a forceful, deliberate squeeze, which was immediately met by a soft, pleased chuckle from the ghost. The sound was low, accompanied by ragged breathing right against his ear—in the pitch-black bedroom, he sounded like a siren luring a sailor to his doom.

Bristling with a strange annoyance, Liu Xiangyi continued. Whatever Zhong Qinhuai had done to him, he did back, refusing to be the one at a disadvantage.

At first, Zhong Qinhuai was laughing with pure provocation. But as the touching continued, the laughter died away, replaced by heavy breathing. He closed his eyes, his nose brushing restlessly against Liu Xiangyi’s ear.

A subtle sense of triumph surged in Liu Xiangyi’s chest. As he applied pressure with his palm, he felt Zhong Qinhuai’s breath hitch and quicken. When his fingertips traced slow circles against the side of the ghost’s waist, Zhong Qinhuai’s breathing fractured entirely.

There was an eerie satisfaction in controlling Zhong Qinhuai like this. This psychological high went to Liu Xiangyi’s head; his hands began to wander further within the robe, no longer limited to the waist.

Zhong Qinhuai did the same.

It was a brand-new contest. Though they were clumsy and unpracticed, neither would admit defeat. They kissed harder, touched more forcefully. If you touch me here, I’ll touch you back there.

Their wandering palms and fingertips were icy, their lips were cool, but their bodies were burning.

By the time Liu Xiangyi regained his senses and realized what he had done, he felt utterly rattled. He suspected Zhong Qinhuai had done this on purpose, though he had no evidence.

Zhong Qinhuai leaned in and nipped at Liu Xiangyi’s ear, asking with a low, meaningful laugh:

“Does President Liu still think I’m ‘impotent’ now?”

Liu Xiangyi: “…”

His hand was so sore he could barely lift it. His fingers felt icy and slick, and the skin of his palms—naturally soft and pampered was rubbed raw, throbbing with a dull ache.

He had half a mind to take a knife to his own hand, then to Zhong Qinhuai, and finally to himself.

However, the thought that Zhong Qinhuai’s hand was in the exact same state brought Liu Xiangyi an instant sense of equilibrium. At the very least, he hadn’t lost ground. In fact, he felt like he had won.

“Since I’m ‘nurturing a crush’ on you, it’s only natural that I’d behave that way. But you, President Zhong, you’re a different story.”

He raised his other hand, hooking a finger under Zhong Qinhuai’s chin. His dark, elegant brows arched in triumph. “Can the great President Zhong really do that with someone he despises?”

Following the chaotic blur of their kisses, Zhong Qinhuai had once again ended up hovering over him. He didn’t answer. He simply gazed down at Liu Xiangyi with an uncharacteristically soft expression.

“And?” was all he said.

The bedroom was pitch black. Liu Xiangyi couldn’t decipher the emotions in those eyes—a rare look, as gentle as a pool of spring water. He could only hear Zhong Qinhuai’s voice, which sounded much like it always did: languid, with a trace of teasing laughter.

Liu Xiangyi arched an eyebrow. “And so, you lost.”

“Determining the winner after only one round.” Zhong Qinhuai lowered his head, his nose brushing affectionately against Liu Xiangyi’s. Despite the intimacy, his verbal retort was as sharp as ever. “Don’t you think that’s a bit hasty, President Liu? We should at least make it ‘best two out of three’ to decide the victor.”

Liu Xiangyi felt like something was wrong, but before he could pin it down, Zhong Qinhuai rubbed his nose against his again, whispering with a low laugh, “So next time for sure?”

The friction made Liu Xiangyi’s nose itch.

That cool touch finally brought him back to total clarity. He stared at the ghost hovering inches away—the ghost who still refused to let him go and a preposterous thought surfaced in his mind:

Could this kid actually be falling for me?

But the idea was too absurd. Zhong Qinhuai already labored under the delusion that Liu Xiangyi had a crush on him; if he asked such a thing, the kid would be insufferably smug. He might even mock Liu Xiangyi for being full of himself.

They were arch-rivals! They had been since they were children!

But how could he explain these lingering, sticky little movements? Even as his mind raced to make sense of it, Zhong Qinhuai continued to hold him, nuzzling his nose against Liu Xiangyi’s, over and over.

He was like a hatchling that had just cracked its shell. His movements were intimate, almost clingy as if he were loath to break contact.

Liu Xiangyi was nearly amused by his own imagination. It was only because the room was too dark to see the kid’s expression that he couldn’t gather the evidence to prove this terrifying theory.

Still, Liu Xiangyi never missed an opportunity to make Zhong Qinhuai stumble. After his nose was nuzzled yet again, he finally couldn’t help but speak up.

“President Zhong, if you keep being this handsy with me, I’m really going to start thinking that you’ve fallen for me, too.”