Xia Qiqi walked over and began taking off Xiao Nanchen’s clothes.
Xiao Nanchen had been dressing rather casually recently. The black sweatshirt he had on was a pullover, making it very difficult to take off.
Xia Qiqi helped prop Xiao Nanchen up.
In his drunken state, Xiao Nanchen’s body was completely limp as he leaned weakly against Xia Qiqi.
Damn, he’s so heavy, Xia Qiqi thought, barely resisting the urge to curse out loud.
How could a grown man like this still need someone to wait on him?
Xia Qiqi struggled to get his sweatshirt off.
Finally, after much effort, she managed to peel it off, revealing he had nothing on underneath.
After laying Xiao Nanchen back down, Xia Qiqi leaned over to remove his pants.
He had on a pair of khaki casual pants.
She undid his belt, then slid his pants off.
Her eyes flickered hesitantly, not wanting to see anything strange.
After getting his clothes off,
Xia Qiqi went into the bathroom to wipe down Xiao Nanchen’s body.
She was suddenly reminded of the night they got married, when she had bathed Xiao Nanchen...
Xia Qiqi swallowed hard, deciding not to think about that.
She quickly finished cleaning him up, then went to the walk-in closet to get Xiao Nanchen’s pajamas.
With great difficulty, she dressed him.
Throughout it all, Xiao Nanchen remained in a drunken stupor, seemingly unaware of everything Xia Qiqi was doing for him.
After helping Xiao Nanchen into his pajama top, Xia Qiqi leaned over to button it up.
Kneeling before him, she carefully fastened each button.
Finally, they were all done.
As Xia Qiqi prepared to put Xiao Nanchen’s pajama bottoms on him, she suddenly lifted her head and saw that the previously passed out Xiao Nanchen now had his eyes wide open. He was staring straight at her, unblinking.
Xia Qiqi jumped in fright.
Damn it!
So he was awake this whole time, yet still made her wait on him.
She was exhausted.
Here she was, still recovering from childbirth, when she should have been resting.
Instead, she was catering to someone else’s needs.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she felt.
“Now that you’re awake,” she said to Xiao Nanchen, “you can...”
But before Xia Qiqi could finish, Xiao Nanchen grabbed her arm and gave it a hard yank.
Xia Qiqi’s eyes went wide as she tumbled onto Xiao Nanchen.
In an instant, her lips were seized in a fierce kiss.
Was he still drunk?!
Xiao Nanchen kissed her with scorching intensity.
The urgency of it made Xia Qiqi feel like she was being devoured by a wolf rather than a gentle lamb. He seemed so...wild.
Xia Qiqi could hardly withstand it.
She wondered if Xiao Nanchen really was still incoherent and had no idea what he was doing or who he was kissing.
His demeanor now was nothing like his usual self.
Completely different.
She didn’t know how to feel.
All she knew was that she wasn’t pushing him away.
She was letting him keep kissing her.
As if he wanted to swallow her whole.
The room temperature seemed to be rising.
Xia Qiqi clung tightly to Xiao Nanchen’s pajamas, wrinkling the fabric...
Just when their fiery intimacy was reaching its peak, the sudden ring of Xia Qiqi’s phone jolted her back to her senses.
Crap.
She was kissing Xiao Nanchen.
Not only was she not resisting, she was reciprocating.
What was wrong with her?!
She forcefully pushed Xiao Nanchen away.
More important than her inability to resist succumbing to Xiao Nanchen’s domineering kiss was the fact that she currently could not have sex.
In Xiao Nanchen’s current state, who knew if he would try to force himself on her.
Her safety came first.
After shoving Xiao Nanchen away, Xia Qiqi was still gasping for breath.
Her racing heartbeat just wouldn’t calm down.
She hastily grabbed her phone, not even checking who was calling. She just needed something to distract herself. Answering the call, she panted, “Hello?”
“Qiqi, still not asleep?” came Nie Ziming’s voice on the other end.
Xia Qiqi’s heart lurched.
She glanced at Xiao Nanchen, his complexion even more flushed now than when he was drunk, as he lay panting heavily on the bed.
She got up and walked out of the room.
Watching her leave, Xiao Nanchen continued trying to steady his frantic breathing and pounding heart.
Now in the living room, Xia Qiqi finally spoke. “No, I’m not asleep yet. You know I’m a night owl. I have trouble sleeping at night.”
“Staying up late is bad for your health. You’re recovering from childbirth now, so your health is paramount,” Nie Ziming replied.
“Okay, I’ll try to adjust my schedule.”
“Oh right, your voice sounded out of breath when you answered the phone just now. Were you exercising or something? Don’t tell me you’ve already started working out to lose weight!” Nie Ziming asked.
Xia Qiqi was silent for a few seconds before saying, “Yeah, I was just on the treadmill for a bit.”
She didn’t even know why she was lying.
But she really couldn’t bring herself to tell Nie Ziming that she had just been kissing Xiao Nanchen.
She was truly afraid of hurting him.
“I knew you really care about your figure, but your health is more important. You should avoid strenuous exercise.” Nie Ziming was always incredibly caring toward her.
Xia Qiqi nodded. “Okay.”
“It’s getting late. You should rest soon,” said Nie Ziming. “I just called to remind you to go to bed early. Also, make sure to silence your phone so you won’t be disturbed. Remember that.”
“Mm,” Xia Qiqi agreed. “You should sleep soon too.”
“I’ll sleep once I finish up some work things,” Nie Ziming calmly replied.
“Work things? Aren’t you still in the hospital?”
“There are always some matters that need handling. Don’t worry though, it’s not much. I’ll be done soon.”
“It’s ‘soon’ and you’re still at it?! Nie Ziming, can you please take better care of yourself and stop always working so hard? Don’t keep making me worry about you, okay?” Xia Qiqi said irritably.
Was it really necessary to kill oneself over work like this?
Instead of getting upset at Xia Qiqi’s reprimand, Nie Ziming just chuckled softly. “You worry about me?” he asked.
“Of course I do,” Xia Qiqi retorted in exasperation.
“You’re the only person in the world who worries about me,” Nie Ziming murmured, a tinge of sorrow in his voice.
Xia Qiqi felt a pang in her heart.
Nie Ziming was an orphan with almost no friends. They had started dating in high school, then after graduating university, he joined her family’s company. It seemed like she was the only person in his life.
Yet she had left him.
The more she thought about it, the more upset she felt.
“I’m sorry, Ziming,” Xia Qiqi said.
“You have nothing to apologize for. Just knowing you care about me is enough.”
“Of course I care about you, but...” Xia Qiqi didn't finish her sentence.
Nie Ziming cut her off. “Qiqi, do you remember what I told you before?” he asked.
“What?”
“I’ll wait for you forever,” Nie Ziming enunciated slowly.
Xia Qiqi gritted her teeth.
In that moment, she was rendered speechless.
“Can I wait for you this time?”
She didn’t know.
She really didn’t know.
She had thought her divorce from Xiao Nanchen was final.
Yet just now, she had felt a hint of reluctance to part with him.
