Joining A Dating Show With Five Exes - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Kissed Her Hard—

However, Xia Ziran completely ignored Xie Zhiqing’s gloomy, storm-brewing mood—

She even feigned thought for a moment, deciding to happily adopt Xie Zhiqing’s “suggestion,” and in front of her, she smiled and once again caressed Cheng Shiyuan’s soft cheek.

“I don’t mind at all.”

No sooner had she spoken than Cheng Shiyuan, without hesitation, slapped her hand away.

The celebrity, who hadn’t even had time to warm up under the covers, stepped onto the floor barefoot, walked directly to Xie Zhiqing, and whispered softly:

“Why are you still awake so late?”

“Did our talking just now wake you up?”

Xie Zhiqing saw the undisguised, genuine concern in her eyes.

How could she be so nonchalant, with the teeth marks another person had intentionally left still on her lips, classifying that brazen commotion as mere “talking”?

Yet, the next moment, a self-mocking voice surfaced in her heart: “Xie Zhiqing, on what grounds are you criticizing her?”

“You know perfectly well that their little noise was nothing. Isn’t it just that your own heart is already in disarray? Staying up late, deliberately straining your ears to listen, and now you’re just mad that the one who got there first wasn’t you, right?”

She closed her eyes, trying expertly to suppress these thoughts that were corrupting her reason.

But someone was determined to provoke her precarious nerves again: “Since you can’t sleep healthily anyway, how about we have some late-night snacks together?”

Cheng Shiyuan craned her neck and glanced toward the refrigerator: “I forgot to check the freezer just now. Is there anything frozen in there?”

Anyone who didn’t know her might think she was planning to show off her skills and cook a late-night meal.

Only Xie Zhiqing, who had witnessed her kitchen-destroying ability, knew that when Cheng Shiyuan was studying abroad—

Because her nanny took a few days off while she was in a remote suburb and delivery services couldn’t reach her, she nearly starved in front of a refrigerator full of raw, watery ingredients.

Finally, hearing her complaints over the phone, Xie Zhiqing booked a flight that very night and flew over just to cook for Cheng Shiyuan for a few days.

So, the malice unleashed in her heart mocked her even more brazenly:

“How pathetic, Xie Zhiqing. Is there anyone else in the world more tolerant than you? The person you like gets intimate with someone else, and then still orders you to cook? Later on, will you have to help them cover up and clean up their messes on this show?”

Xie Zhiqing frowned fiercely.

Intense disgust surfaced in her pitch-black eyes.

But there was someone even more annoyed than her.

“Just now, weren’t you nagging that you only wanted to eat my family’s style of mini wontons?” Xia Ziran slowly rubbed the finger marks left on the back of her hand.

Her expression, however, was clearly irritated as she looked at Xie Zhiqing, as if she were a thorn in her side: “How come with a different person, you’re not picky at all, even willing to eat that junk?”

For someone with such a good memory, she was surprisingly unable to count how many times this had happened.

As soon as Xie Zhiqing appeared, Cheng Shiyuan would immediately abandon everything else and revolve around her.

A white moonlight first love should be as quiet as the dead, shouldn’t she?

Constantly reappearing in Cheng Shiyuan’s new life only made her tasteless, like cheap white rice.

However, Cheng Shiyuan only looked at her with an absurd expression, not understanding what right the person who clearly had no intention of cooking had to criticize the chef.

That hit just now was clearly too light.

“Then please, go package those incredibly delicious mini wontons right now?”

She gestured “please” toward the kitchen.

Successfully rendering Xia Ziran speechless.

Who among the people present wasn’t a young lady who had never done manual labor?

It was already good enough that she occasionally condescended to cook something herself, wasn’t it?

It should be enough to know which servant in the house made those mini wontons and to always have fresh ones to eat. Why should she have to learn to package them?

Just as she was thinking this righteously, Xia Ziran saw Xie Zhiqing, who had been silent all this time, actually turn and walk toward the kitchen.

Simple frozen dumplings were transformed into three different delicious forms: steamed, boiled, and fried.

Seeing Xie Zhiqing resourcefully pick a few spring onions from outside the window, Xia Ziran finally remembered the role she could play in the kitchen:

“You haven’t forgotten that she doesn’t eat onions, ginger, or garlic, have you?”

Xie Zhiqing paused her action of washing the spring onions.

For a moment, she wondered if her temper was simply too good.

So, these petty, unworthy thieves dare to be so smug on her territory, not only trying to steal her fruit but doing it right in front of her?

Her dark eyes carried an unfathomable warning. She slightly raised her chin.

The curve of her lips was slight, but her words aimed straight for the other’s Achilles’ heel:

“If I recall correctly, the scandal that made your group infamous nationwide only just passed.”

“Does Little Boss Xia feel that business at home has been too busy recently and want me to help lighten the load?”

Xia Ziran heard this and paused slightly.

She belatedly remembered that the Xie family, as a new technology giant in the current industry, had little overlap with the Xia family’s traditional industrial sector, but they held sway over many media outlets skilled at fanning the flames of public opinion.

A while ago, the Xia family’s brand image was affected by a distributor’s failed investment and subsequent runaway with funds. They had just managed to reduce the impact through public relations. If these noisy mouthpieces found a unique angle and aggressively sensationalized the issue again…

Her heart sank, but Xia Ziran’s face remained smiling, as if she were impervious to the threat. She looked at Xie Zhiqing meaningfully, as if seeing her anew.

“Using public office for private gain—I didn’t expect the Xie family heir to be so emotional when doing business?”

Xie Zhiqing remained unmoved, giving her no leverage:

“I merely have the social responsibility of a normal citizen, wishing to help relevant people avoid being deceived by brands that are skilled at empty flattery when selecting household products.”

Xia Ziran didn’t bother competing with her in corporate rhetoric.

Just as she was about to snap back, a figure inserted herself between them.

Cheng Shiyuan looked eagerly at the pan-fried dumplings: “Shouldn’t the spring onions be sprinkled on now? It already smells so good!”

She didn’t want to hear anything related to the business of the two families at this hour. What if one of them slipped up and mentioned a business secret, ultimately implicating her…

In any case, pan-fried dumplings paired with freshly picked onions would surely smell amazing!

Cheng Shiyuan, who had suffered for a few years during her study abroad, was so impatient that she took out the chopsticks she had prepared earlier and targeted the one dumpling she had her eye on.

She patiently blew on it a few times, intending to shove it into her mouth—

Xie Zhiqing accurately pressed down on her wrist, her gaze darkening: “Do you want to get scalded again?”

Cheng Shiyuan couldn’t overpower her strength but was too hungry. So, she mimicked a chick pecking rice, leaning her head forward.

The moment she clamped onto the dumpling, her eyes were full of triumph.

Xia Ziran gnashed her teeth, watching the intimate interaction between her and Xie Zhiqing as if they were alone. For a moment, she truly wished a bolt of lightning would strike down and burn the offensive scene to ashes.

However, the person who actively broke the harmonious scene was Cheng Shiyuan herself.

She took a bite of the dumpling, followed by a spoonful of yogurt, but suddenly frowned and clutched her stomach.

Xia Ziran didn’t miss the opportunity: “Oh, is the dumpling poisonous?”

It was Xie Zhiqing who, seeing her push the cold yogurt aside, only eating the dumpling and pressing her stomach, suddenly guessed what was happening.

She lowered her eyelids and saw two snowy-white feet on the floor, secretly rubbing against each other from the cold, every toe frozen red.

So, the moment Cheng Shiyuan put down her chopsticks, Xie Zhiqing stepped forward and picked her up by the waist.

“Huh?”

Xie Zhiqing lowered her brows and eyes to meet Cheng Shiyuan’s bewildered gaze: “You know your period is due these few days, and you still like running around without shoes? When will you ever change these bad habits?”

Yet, as she asked this, Xie Zhiqing already had the answer.

Cheng Shiyuan would never change.

—At least, not in front of her.

Xie Zhiqing knew this was a self-set trap and realized that the one who had truly cultivated bad habits over the years was herself.

Being unable to ignore even a single frown from Cheng Shiyuan was her most fatal flaw.

Ignoring her rival’s highly raised eyebrows, as Cheng Shiyuan actively raised her hands, climbed onto her shoulders, and once again chose the winner of tonight’s “roommate rivalry.”

Xie Zhiqing carried her back to the room, and as she wished, tucked her into her own blanket.

She even gently rubbed her abdomen through the silk pajamas with her slightly warmer palm, just as she used to when Cheng Shiyuan first started her period.

The person in her arms let out a comfortable sigh and even more audaciously lifted her icy-cold feet, pressing them against Xie Zhiqing’s calf.

They scouted around, looking for a warmer place to rest.

The ice-like temperature was a continuous cool sensation, lifting her pant leg and drilling inward with impunity.

It was then that Xie Zhiqing suddenly spoke: “Are you very pleased?”

“You like to verify your charm by making everyone fight over you, disrupting everyone’s peace, even when you’re just trying to sleep, don’t you?”

The chilling voice, with its utterly harsh tone, instantly drove away Cheng Shiyuan’s sleepiness.

When she opened her eyes, her mind was filled with absurdity.

These two, one whose taste and habits were stuck ten years in the past and never improved, and the other who was self-willed and forced her to eat whatever she made—

They were the ones imposing their self-righteous filters and expectations on her. All she ever wanted was a good night’s sleep and a full meal. Why was she being criticized so unfairly?

Cheng Shiyuan was not going to tolerate it.

Seeing her start to get up and leave, Xie Zhiqing’s regret over her harsh words vanished.

She raised her hand with lightning speed and pressed her back down: “You use me and then run off?”

Cheng Shiyuan looked up at the life value that was rapidly increasing due to their intimate contact and thought perfunctorily, Fine, I should show some sincerity toward my savior.

So, she condescended to give Xie Zhiqing the reward that Xia Ziran hadn’t received.

Just as she made a move, her lips were covered by a burning hot palm.

The callus on the palm scraped against the corner of her lips, causing a slight sting.

Xie Zhiqing saw her so brazenly approaching her, with another person’s mark still on her lips.

The rage in her heart could no longer be suppressed: “Don’t come near me!”

“I find it dirty.”

She clearly saw the uncontrollable fragmentation in those beautiful eyes.

At the same time, a sudden pain surged in Xie Zhiqing’s chest.

Her reason kept telling her this was the best time to quit this bad habit.

But her body couldn’t adapt to the sudden pain in her chest. Reflexively, she wanted to grab something, fill the space in her chest, and soothe the ache.

When she realized what she was doing, Xie Zhiqing had already forcibly pulled the soft, delicate warmth back into her arms.

Noticing the silent, stubborn struggle of the person in her arms, Xie Zhiqing pursed her lips.

She couldn’t utter an apology, but her palm honestly and gently pressed against the slightly cool lower abdomen.

After rubbing for a few moments, she habitually moved upwards, still remembering the other soft area that used to hurt during her teenage growth when she had her period—

When the fuller, almost hand-filling, soft sensation reached her mind, compared to her memory.

Xie Zhiqing felt the breath in her arms suddenly hitch.

She should have let go, but her brain seemed to have suddenly developed “cute aggression.”

Faced with a soft, marshmallow-like presence, a primal urge for destruction arose to prevent an addiction. Xie Zhiqing’s fingers began to clench almost uncontrollably.

“!”

The next moment, a sudden pain shot through her wrist.

It was Cheng Shiyuan, driven to exasperation, hurting to the point where she only wanted to retaliate by biting her hard.

Looking at the rabbit driven to desperation in her arms, Xie Zhiqing suddenly laughed.

Even without checking, she could imagine that the delicate, snowy-white soft flesh, much tenderer than the rest of the little rabbit’s body, must clearly bear her finger marks.

At this moment, the wicked temptation sounded in her heart again:

“If you find it dirty, why don’t you clean her up?”

“Completely cover those unpleasant scents with your own, leaving only your mark on her, inside and out.”

“The cameras outside are turned off anyway. When they turn on tomorrow, all everyone will see is your trace, right?”

Her throat bobbed.

An image seemed to surface: her cruelly mauling those soft lips until they were red and swollen, leaving her own, deeper teeth marks on them.

This time, she let that voice scream, willingly sinking into its incitement.

Her strong fingertips lifted, gently tracing, finding those soft lips.

After a moment of friction, she suddenly lifted the other’s chin and kissed her hard—