Did My Wife Break Up With Me Today? - Chapter 67

Chapter 67: “It’ll Be Better If You Lick It Again.”

A sharp, intense pain suddenly flared at his neck.

Flesh was caught between teeth, ground and gnawed. It was like a long-famished predator finally sinking its teeth into a long-coveted prey, refusing to let go.

“Mph…” Chen Kongqing’s mouth was still being pinched, his jaw aching from the pressure. But the stinging pain at his neck made him momentarily forget the discomfort in his chin. He wanted to speak—to tell Xu Jingmo to stop biting.

“Mph… mm!” Xu Jingmo did stop biting, but instead, his tongue flicked out to lick the red mark he had just made.

The tooth marks were distinct and deep crimson, bordering on purple. If he had bitten just a centimeter deeper, blood would have surely seeped through the delicate, snow-white skin.

Xu Jingmo looked down at the mark and licked it again, back and forth, as if offering comfort. He hadn’t intended to bite so hard and had tried to control his strength, but he had underestimated how tender this stretch of neck truly was.

Chen Kongqing hummed twice, turning his head left and right in an attempt to escape the grip on his chin. Finally, Xu Jingmo let go of his face, but he continued to nuzzle and suck at his neck—very much like the way he nuzzled the black cat.

“I bit too hard. It hurts, doesn’t it?” Xu Jingmo finally looked up, staring at Chen Kongqing.

Chen Kongqing shook his head. Seeing the self-reproach in Xu Jingmo’s eyes, he offered comfort: “It doesn’t hurt. It’ll be… better if you lick it again.”

By the time he realized what he had said, it was too late.

Xu Jingmo transformed into a clingy, large dog, nearly drowning him in licks. If he had long fur like Black Cat Sheriff, the fur around his neck would surely be a sticky, matted mess by now.

“Okay… that’s enough.” His neck was soaking wet. Leaning back in the passenger seat, Chen Kongqing finally couldn’t take it anymore and patted the man pressing against him. “That’s plenty…”

Xu Jingmo finally stopped pestering his neck, but he didn’t move off Chen Kongqing. He rested his chin lightly on the boy’s thin shoulder. “You haven’t promised me yet.”

Chen Kongqing didn’t immediately follow what he meant. “You mean about not eating with Captain Zhang? Captain Zhang is straight; it’s not what you think. He just sees me as a friend.”

He wasn’t the type to have dinner with someone if the boundaries weren’t clear while he had a boyfriend. But he remembered Zhang Cheng was straight, so he hadn’t thought much of it.

“Straight?” Xu Jingmo frowned, but a trace of a smile suddenly appeared in his eyes. “How did you decide that?”

“Someone mentioned it before.” Chen Kongqing couldn’t quite remember. He just recalled friends joking that there was finally a straight guy among the athletes. “Don’t worry.”

Don’t worry? This rabbit was so gullible and so beautiful. How could he possibly not worry?

Xu Jingmo pursed his lips, the depth in his phoenix eyes growing more profound. Chen Kongqing suddenly leaned in and touched his nose to the man’s, trying his best to provide a sense of security: “The person I like now is you. I’m dating you.”

The scent of herbs wafted into Xu Jingmo’s nose. “What about in the future?”

Chen Kongqing laughed, his watery eyes curving. “I’ll like you in the future, too.”

“How long is ‘the future’?” Xu Jingmo rubbed his nose against him, then lowered his head to bury it deep in the rabbit’s neck, taking a deep breath.

“A long, long time,” Chen Kongqing replied, letting him stay close. Although his skin hunger was under control, he still craved this physical contact deep down. It gave him a massive sense of satisfaction. He didn’t care if they were moving too fast. He just wanted to hold hands, hug, and kiss Xu Jingmo.

But both were too busy. After a few minutes of intimacy, Xu Jingmo had to rush back to overtime, and Chen Kongqing had to head to the lab.

However… he was left with a problem. The red mark on his neck was incredibly obvious. Hoping for the best, he thought it would fade by morning.

It didn’t. The next day, it was even more prominent. The red was tinged with purple. While the tooth marks had faded slightly, they were still visible.

The weather was awkward; it wasn’t summer yet, so there were no mosquitoes to blame, and it wasn’t cold enough for turtlenecks. Xu Jingmo had bitten him just below the right side of his jaw—an area that was hard to hide even with a high collar. It felt intentional.

He usually didn’t use makeup, so he tried to cover it with sunscreen. It looked a bit lighter, so he had to just grit his teeth and go to class, hoping no one would notice.

It was fine during lectures; he was only close with a few roommates, but since he hadn’t lived in the dorm for almost a semester, there was a bit of distance. Even if they saw it, they wouldn’t pry.

Until lunch…

Gao Tianyou hadn’t finished the red sausage he brought from home and messaged him to meet at the cafeteria. Chen Kongqing, forgetting about his neck in the pursuit of sausage, walked right into a trap.

He was caught red-handed by Gao Tianyou, and several mutual friends started teasing him.

“Kongqing, look at that… you’ve got a ‘strawberry’ (hickey) planted there! Aren’t you going to introduce him to us?” Qi Chuan, a Computer Science major and a good buddy of Gao Tianyou, joined in.

Tang Yiming chimed in: “Yeah! Which department? A junior or a senior?”

Gao Tianyou, who knew the inside scoop, just smiled without a word. Qi Chuan immediately noticed. “You kid, you know something, don’t you? You’re acting weird.”

“I’ll let Kongqing say it himself,” Gao Tianyou said with the air of the sole witness.

Then, Qi Chuan grabbed Chen Kongqing’s shoulder and shook him. “Kongqing, tell us!”

Chen Kongqing bit his lip, unsure how to explain. “He’s not from our school.”

“Off-campus?” Tang Yiming asked. “How’d you meet? Is he handsome? Bring him out for a ‘walk’ sometime!”

“Um… he’s… he’s alright.” Chen Kongqing’s face flushed. He actually thought Xu Jingmo was very handsome, but decided to be modest.

Qi Chuan: “How old is he? Is he at another school or working?”

“Thirty. He’s working.” Chen Kongqing didn’t think the age gap was an issue, so he answered naturally.

Tang Yiming’s jaw dropped. “Eight years older? Isn’t that a bit old?”

Gao Tianyou shook his head. “Do you guys know what a vintage Ferrari is like? His boyfriend is like that—the older he gets, the more ‘flavor’ he has.”

The two who hadn’t met him were even more intrigued. Qi Chuan: “No way. We definitely have to see this Ferrari one day.”

Chen Kongqing licked his lips, instinctively touching the red mark on his neck. “Um… I’ll ask him when he’s free and treat you all to dinner.”

“Deal,” Qi Chuan nodded. “Older guys know how to take care of people. Anyway, he’s better than that guy named Ling.”

Tang Yiming gossiped as well: “Yeah, I heard Gu Chengjing is making a scene with him now. That scumbag Ling wants to break up with him already.”

“Ahem…” Gao Tianyou coughed, trying to shut them up for fear that Chen Kongqing would mind.

In reality… the rabbit didn’t care at all. He was just wondering if Xu Jingmo would be free this weekend and if he would want to meet his friends.

…

On Friday evening, Xu Jingmo messaged saying he would pick him up for dinner and shopping. Chen Kongqing finished his work and fixed his hair in the lab building’s restroom. Xu Jingmo had been busy the last two days, so they hadn’t seen each other.

As he walked downstairs, it was dusk, and the sky was a brilliant gold. He walked with his head back, stretching his “cracking” neck.

“Chen Kongqing.” Suddenly, a man’s voice reached his ears.

It wasn’t Xu Jingmo.

Ling Xiao, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time, was walking toward him. His hair was messy from the wind; it looked like he had been waiting there for a long time. Chen Kongqing instinctively backed away. “Is something wrong?”

He hadn’t expected Ling Xiao to show up again.

“It’s been a while. How have you been?” Ling Xiao spoke with rare calm, though his face was thinner than before and his eyes looked glazed and exhausted.

But that calm evaporated the moment he saw the red mark on Chen Kongqing’s neck. He spat through gritted teeth: “Did Xu Jingmo do that?”

Chen Kongqing frowned. “What?”

“Are you two together?”

It had been hard to see Chen Kongqing. Since Xu Jingmo had sabotaged him, Ling Xiao had spent the entire Spring Festival being strictly disciplined by his family. He had finally acted obediently enough to be allowed back to school, only to hear that Chen Kongqing was dating someone. He had been terrified that “someone” was Xu Jingmo.

“Does that have anything to do with you?” Chen Kongqing’s brow furrowed. “There’s no need for us to meet or contact each other again, Ling Xiao. I told you that a long, long time ago.”

“You don’t get to decide that.” A look of obsession flickered in the man’s eyes. “Do you know how Xu Jingmo ruined me? You’re no match for a man like him. What is there to like? He’s full of manipulative schemes.”

“Please show some respect.” Chen Kongqing’s frown deepened as he tried to walk past him.

But Ling Xiao blocked his path again. “Are you really with him?”

Chen Kongqing was fed up with the endless harassment. “What if I am?”

“What if you are?” The veins on Ling Xiao’s forehead bulged. “Do you know what that means? He’s my cousin!”

“So?” Chen Kongqing suddenly smiled. “He’s your cousin. So what? We’ve had nothing to do with each other for a long time. He’s arriving soon, so please move.”

“Chen Kongqing!” Ling Xiao roared in fury.

Luckily, no one was around the lab building, or they would have been drawn to the noise.

“Why are you shouting? I’m not deaf,” Chen Kongqing said firmly, not intimidated in the slightest. “Ling Xiao, you need to calm down. Stop being so childish.”

Xu Jingmo had been looking for a parking spot outside and was just walking into the lab building area. He saw Chen Kongqing standing not far away—and Ling Xiao standing in front of him.

The man’s gaze darkened instantly. At the same time, Ling Xiao’s agitated voice exploded in his ears:

“Is it because he looks like me that you’re with him?!”