Savage Kiss - Chapter 8

Xu Qingyi was so startled that her hand trembled, nearly dropping her phone. Without realizing it, she accidentally pressed the shutter button.

Shen Yanzhou stood there watching her. Today, he was only wearing a tank top, which did nothing to hide the well-proportioned, firm muscles of his arms and chest. Below, he wore a pair of shorts, his legs long enough that even from her distance, she could see the hair on his calves.

The sight made Xu Qingyi’s heart race uncontrollably. She could control her emotions and morals, but her condition required time to manage.

She deliberately and calmly averted her gaze.

Only then did she notice the fishing gear beside him, it seemed he was planning to go sea fishing.

“Avoiding me?” Shen Yanzhou called from below. “Too busy to reply to my texts?”

Xu Qingyi truly didn’t know what to say. It felt like he was clinging to her.

“Are you angry? She’s not my girlfriend,” he said. “Didn’t I tell you I don’t have one?”

“The one that day wasn’t, and the one today isn’t either.”

Suddenly, he raised three fingers. “If I’m lying, may lightning strike me.”

Xu Qingyi thought it was unnecessary. It was better not to have any connection. She was suited to being alone, unknown to anyone.

Just then, her phone rang.

“Hello, President Ke?” she answered immediately, seizing the chance to escape the observation deck while taking the call.

The exit was at the back. She glanced over her shoulder, Shen Yanzhou was completely out of sight. There was no way he could follow her; it would take a long detour from the beach.

President Ke’s call was about materials that had already been mailed to her and automatically signed for.

As soon as she got back, Xu Qingyi opened the package and took photos of each document for her records.

Just as she was about to exit the photo album, she noticed she had accidentally taken a picture of Shen Yanzhou earlier.

He had been looking up at her, his backlit gaze giving the illusion of deep affection, as if a boyfriend were apologizing to his girlfriend.

The thought made her instinctively recoil, but the sea behind him was exceptionally beautiful, and the composition of the photo was striking. Against her better judgment, she found herself reluctant to delete it.

So, she edited it, covering his face.

As September faded into October, the city of Jing was frequently visited by rain.

She loved working delivery gigs in this kind of weather, more orders meant higher earnings!

Spotting a particularly high-paying job, she quickly accepted it, only then noticing the destination: “Seaside Auto Repair Shop.”

She was a little worried about running into Shen Yanzhou, but the pay was too good to pass up.

When she picked up the order from a seaside restaurant, the owner gave her a free pineapple Swiss roll as part of a promotion.

Ma Xu, the thirty-year-old owner, smiled at her with grandfatherly warmth, ever since Shen Yanzhou’s outburst in her defense last time, he had remembered her vividly.

Xu Qingyi was in a hurry but couldn’t refuse politely, so she accepted it with thanks.

Outside the auto repair shop, a rain canopy was set up, but aside from the cars, no one was in sight.

Carefully carrying two large food containers, Xu Qingyi walked inside to deliver them to the front desk but no one was there either.

Liang Fanglin hurried out, wiping his hands. “Food delivery?”

As soon as he saw her face, he paused in surprise. “You do this many side jobs?”

Last time when she delivered the car, she hadn’t been wearing a mask, and her face was easy to remember.

Xu Qingyi didn’t like small talk, so she just smiled. “Please give a good review.”

Liang Fanglin grinned. “Absolutely!”

Then he called after her, “It’s pouring outside, why don’t you wait a bit before leaving?”

“Thank you,” Xu Qingyi said, pointing to a bench under the canopy. “I’ll just sit there.”

One by one, a few men emerged from the shop. Liang Fanglin unfolded a large table, getting ready for lunch.

“Where’s Brother Zhou?” Liang Fanglin glanced around several times but didn’t see him come out.

Uncle Fatty unwrapped his chopsticks. “He said he’s not hungry. He’s been burying himself in work these past two days, like he’s nursing a broken heart.”

Just as they were talking, Shen Yanzhou emerged from inside. His gaze, as if equipped with a navigation system, immediately locked onto her direction.

Xu Qingyi really wasn’t deliberately looking at him, but somehow, whenever he was around, their eyes always seemed to meet.

Then, afraid he might come over to talk to her again, she quickly averted her gaze.

Shen Yanzhou could tell she was genuinely avoiding him, even though he didn’t have a girlfriend.

He didn’t want to trouble her, so he redirected the steps he was about to take toward her.

The rain gradually grew heavier, and water began to seep in from the edges of the awning.

Xu Qingyi’s chiffon cropped pants were soaked through in one spot, forcing her to shift further inside.

Liang Fanglin enthusiastically called out to her, “Hey, miss, why don’t you join us for a bite?”

She smiled awkwardly. “No, thanks.”

Shen Yanzhou walked past Liang Fanglin and grabbed the car keys.

Liang Fanglin asked, “Not eating? Just going to deliver the car?”

Shen Yanzhou paused slightly beside her. “Leaving? I can give you a ride, it’s on the way.”

His tone was indifferent.

Xu Qingyi pressed her lips together. She had been about to refuse, but he cut in first: “You sitting here is distracting them from eating.”

It was true. The group kept glancing at her while eating, making it seem like she was the side dish.

Once in the car, Shen Yanzhou handed her a box of tissues.

Too embarrassed to use too many, she only wiped her hands and hair. Her pants were already soaked anyway, she’d just change when she got home.

The rain had come down hard and fast, clogging the drains ahead and flooding the road. Someone was clearing the sewer opening.

Shen Yanzhou pulled over to wait.

Xu Qingyi handed him the pineapple Swiss roll. “Thanks for the ride. The boss gave this, you can have it.”

Shen Yanzhou glanced at the pastry, his lips barely moving. “No.”

His refusal was blunt, his voice as cool and flat as the rain outside.

Xu Qingyi had only wanted to repay the favor, but she had no choice but to set the pastry on the center console.

Once the drain was finally cleared, the car slowly started moving again.

Shen Yanzhou dropped her off at her building. She thanked him and reached for the door, but after several tugs, it wouldn’t open.

Tall and long-limbed, he leaned over her, pulling the handle and pushing outward.

No luck.

To give him more leverage, Xu Qingyi pressed herself as far back into the seat as possible.

Shen Yanzhou fiddled with it a few times but still couldn’t get it open.

His body was now tilted close to her, his profile just three or four centimeters from the tip of her nose.

Xu Qingyi could smell the faint, clean scent of seaweed on him, nothing like the mechanics she knew, who usually carried the greasy, sweaty odors of their work.

She loved the way he smelled.

That night, at their most heated moment, Shen Yanzhou had even asked if she liked his scent.

Because she had kissed his neck several times, unable to resist inhaling lightly.

Xu Qingyi attributed this to her skin hunger, a purely physiological attraction to everything about him.

And it had to stay purely physiological.

So, she spoke up, masking her erratic breathing and the urge to kiss him. “Did the rain damage the car?”

Shen Yanzhou tried again, but the door still wouldn’t budge.

“Can you try the other side? I’ll get out from your side,” Xu Qingyi suggested, her hand accidentally brushing against his waist as she reached over.

Shen Yanzhou stiffened slightly before settling back into his seat and pushing open the driver’s side door.

It actually worked.

He was about to get out of the car to make way for her when Xu Qingyi instinctively grabbed his arm. “I can just get out directly,” she said.

The rain was heavy. He had kindly driven her back, and she didn’t want him to get soaked again.

Shen Yanzhou seemed lost in thought, silently watching her for a moment.

He acquiesced.

But when Xu Qingyi leaned over to step over his legs, she finally understood the deeper meaning behind his earlier gaze.

The seats were too cramped, leaving the two of them pressed tightly together.