Chapter 59:

In the room, Tan Mo lay on the soft silk blanket, her cheeks slightly flushed as she waited. However, just a minute after Xie Qichen left, the door was pushed open again—

A man walked in.

Seeing him, Tan Mo propped herself up, her expression momentarily stunned: “How come you’re back so quickly…”

Xie Qichen glanced at her, his deep, solemn expression as cold as if frosted over, his jaw tightly clenched, his mood darkly apparent.

He sat down on the bed. Noticing his hands were empty, Tan Mo, puzzled and slightly embarrassed, asked:

“Didn’t you go buy it?”

Tan Mo scooted closer to him. The man pulled the girl into his arms and muttered, his voice low and disgruntled:

“I didn’t go.”

“Eh?”

“Just stepped out the door and ran into your mom.”

“?!”

Tan Mo’s face flushed: “Did my mom find out?”

“She didn’t. She asked where I was going. I told her I was going out to buy you a late-night snack,” Xie Qichen said unhappily, licking his lips, “She thought you wanted to eat junk food and wouldn’t let me leave, so I came back again.”

“…?!”

After hearing his recount, Tan Mo burst into laughter, rolling over in amusement. “Hahahahaha, Xie Qichen…”

Seeing her gleeful expression, Xie Qichen’s face darkened further. He leaned in and pinned her onto the bed, slightly amused yet exasperated:

“And you’re still so happy?”

Her eyes curved into crescent moons, her laughter as clear as silver bells: “Who told someone to think bad thoughts in the first place? Now you’re getting what you deserve!”

Xie Qichen looked down at her: “Fine, I’ll go downstairs now. If I meet your mom again, I’ll just tell her the truth about where I’m going.”

Hearing this, Tan Mo immediately grabbed his arm in alarm, her face turning as pink as a peach, scolding him in embarrassment:

“Are you crazy…”

If he told the truth, how could she face her parents tomorrow?

Meeting his dark gaze, Tan Mo bit her lip: “I thought you had actually come back after buying it. I was wondering how you could have gotten back so fast, like flying on a plane.”

Xie Qichen’s lips twitched slightly, murmuring: “That was the most awkward lie I’ve ever told.”

Tan Mo smiled sweetly, her breath warm against his ear: “Was it really that hard?”

“What do you think?”

She playfully dimpled, her voice soft and coquettish: “Mom was right. Someone should know better than to crave things late at night. If it’s hard, just endure it.”

Xie Qichen looked at her, his eyes deepening: “Then why provoke me if you know I’m struggling?”

The girl was clearly teasing him on purpose, taking advantage of the fact that he lacked the necessary tools tonight.

Her eyes shimmered with mischief, her lips curving into a smile: “I didn’t do anything. It’s someone else who’s just being impure in thought.”

Xie Qichen rolled over, lazily leaning against the pillows. His hand rested on her slim waist as he gazed at her, his throat bobbing:

“With you acting like this, how can my thoughts stay pure?”

Tan Mo blushed slightly: “Xie Qichen, why are you like this now? Weren’t you just fine being alone back when we were overseas?”

“Isn’t that something you should be asking yourself?”

Back then, Xie Qichen hadn’t cared much about such things. But after finally having her—this girl he had cherished in his heart for many years—everything became addictive. Besides, his little treasure had so many surprising sides. Sometimes shy and timid, other times seductive and tempting, how could he possibly retain any rationality?

Tan Mo smiled, her red lips leaning close to his as her voice turned soft: “Anyway, there’s nothing I can do about it. Tonight, someone will just have to suffer alone.”

With such a playful look on her face, how could anyone possibly resist?

As soon as Tan Mo finished speaking, her head was pulled back, and Xie Qichen’s kiss came crashing down on her, fierce and entwining her tongue.

Soon after, Tan Mo felt the world spinning. When she came to, she was lying down again.

Xie Qichen held her tightly, lifting his chin to deepen the kiss. The fresh scent of his shower mingled with his mature allure, overwhelming Tan Mo. Her lips felt numb from the kiss, her heart completely captured by his dominant presence, as she responded to him.

They kissed for a long time before Xie Qichen’s intensity gradually softened.

Tan Mo opened her glistening eyes to meet Xie Qichen’s deep gaze fixed on her.

Seeing his frustrated yet helpless expression, she wrapped her arms around his neck and blinked her watery eyes:

“What should Brother do? Without that thing, I can’t help you either…”

She knew he was struggling, knew he was at his limit.

And yet she, so mischievously clever, still dared to innocently call him “Brother” like that.

Absolutely asking for it.

Just then, the phone beside them rang. Xie Qichen picked it up. After a brief conversation, he replied in a calm tone: “Leave it at the door, thank you.”

Tan Mo: ?

After hanging up, the man looked at the bewildered girl in his arms and chuckled lightly:

“Did you really think I couldn’t handle you tonight?”

Tan Mo: ?!

He got up: “I’m going downstairs to get something.”

Tan Mo, puzzled, grabbed his hand: “What thing…”

He smirked: “The one I ordered for you—your late-night snack.”

As he left the room, a stunned Tan Mo took a few seconds before realization struck her like thunder.

Oh my god, did this guy actually have a backup plan all along?!

Soon, the door was pushed open again, and Xie Qichen walked in, holding a delivery box. He approached her, and Tan Mo took it and opened it. Upon seeing the contents, her face turned instantly red: “Xie Qichen…”

Xie Qichen took the box from her hands, leaned forward, and pulled her back into his arms, staring directly into her eyes:

“Why don’t you keep going? Weren’t you just being so smug a moment ago?”

Tan Mo was both embarrassed and flustered: “When… when did you buy this…”

“Right before coming into the room.”

He couldn’t go out, but couldn’t he just order it on his phone? Pay extra for express delivery, and it wouldn’t take long to arrive.

Thinking about how he had pretended to be in distress earlier, Tan Mo puffed her cheeks angrily: “So you were just faking it to trick me!”

“Mm, I was faking it to trick you. What about it?”

She had been happy thinking she had made him suffer, only to realize she had long been his prey…

Indeed, whatever this man wanted to eat tonight, he would absolutely make sure to get it, Q AQ.

The man started getting fresh again. Tan Mo gradually lost the strength to push him away. Her eyes reddened at the edges, her heart completely thrown into disarray: “Wahhh Xie Qichen, you’re so bad. I can’t beat you…”

The girl’s expression was both pitiful and stubborn, softening Xie Qichen’s heart. He chuckled lowly and kissed her ear:

“Sorry, I just wanted to tease you a bit earlier. But I also didn’t want to disappoint someone.”

She huffed lightly: “How can you blame this on me?”

“Don’t you want it too?”

As his fingers pressed lightly, Tan Mo’s eyes rippled accordingly. Xie Qichen knew Tan Mo so well. She leaned against his shoulders, her eyes reddening further, unable to deny it.

He kept pressing, and soon she honestly nodded, completely under his control.

After several days without it, how could she not miss it now?

Tan Mo was still a little afraid of the noise. He whispered to her: “Just control the volume. We’ll do it secretly, they won’t find out.”

How could the girl resist the coaxing of such an experienced man?

Eventually, she softly agreed, making him promise not to go too far.

Xie Qichen got up and dimmed the room lights to ease her nerves, yet still allowing him to see her expressions clearly.

Then he pulled her back into his arms, pulling the blanket over their heads, making it look like a secret little hideout.

Looking at her in her pink bunny pajamas, he rasped:

“You wore this back when you were in high school.”

Actually, this pajama was purely cute and innocent in style. Once, Xie Qichen had come over to tutor her at night during her high school days. That time, Tan Mo wore this pajama, with a bunny-ear hairpin on her head.

That night, the tall boy had been curled up on the living room sofa. When he looked up, he saw Tan Mo running up to him with her books in hand. A lazy, relaxed smile had crept onto his lips:

“What should I do? I didn’t bring any carrots tonight.”

“Huh?”

“I thought we were tutoring the little bunny tonight.”

Back then, Tan Mo had blushed all the way to her neck.

And neither of them had expected that years later, there would be a night like this, in a bedroom, her wearing the same pajamas, trapped tightly in his arms.

Now, looking at her, his eyes darkened. He whispered in her ear, his voice husky:

“I just didn’t think about taking it off back then.”

As he said, he did. Tan Mo blushed and curled into his arms, murmuring softly: “How can you say that…”

His lips brushed teasingly against her earlobe, his voice low and seductive, like sand in his throat:

“If I hadn’t gone abroad back then, I would’ve locked Momo in the bedroom all summer after graduation and devoured her. Would that be okay?”

At his words, Tan Mo couldn’t help but imagine the scene, and how could she possibly resist him like this: “Okay…”

A few seconds later, the girl kissed his chin, shedding her shyness as she boldly declared: “Momo will give everything to Brother…”

Xie Qichen was about to lose his mind.

He could do nothing but seal her lips with a kiss.

Eventually, he pulled her back into his arms. Tan Mo’s entire focus was captured by him, momentarily forgetting they were still at home. She couldn’t control her volume, and Xie Qichen covered her lips, chuckling softly: “Sweetheart, do you really want your parents to know what we’re doing?”

Tan Mo’s face flushed crimson as she tightly bit her lip: “Xie Qichen…”

He placed his finger on her lips, making her teeth loosen: “It’s okay, don’t bite.”

He looked straight into her eyes, filled with love, his voice hoarse:

“Let me hear it.”

Only he would ever know her like this.

Tan Mo’s breath was sealed again, her heart pounding. Then he pulled her up into his arms, and everything was hidden in the dim light and shadows…

—

A beautiful night passed.

That evening, Xie Qichen kept Tan Mo up until past midnight.

As a result of letting him have his way, Tan Mo felt like she had run a marathon. The next morning, she couldn’t get up no matter what, insisting on staying in bed for a lie-in.

At around nine in the morning, Xie Qichen, who couldn’t stay in the room forever, got up and went downstairs to have breakfast with Tan Mo’s parents. Tan Mo’s mother asked curiously: “What’s wrong with this child? She’s still asleep at this hour. Did she stay up late last night?”

Xie Qichen coughed lightly, calmly replying: “Maybe she just wants to sleep in a bit since it’s the weekend.”

Tan Mo’s father sighed: “Probably stayed up playing with her phone again. Young people these days, all have irregular schedules.”

Tan Mo’s mother instructed Xie Qichen: “Qichen, you should supervise her at night. She shouldn’t stay up too late. It’s bad for her health.”

The culprit in question nodded calmly:

“Okay.”

After breakfast, Xie Qichen brought Tan Mo’s portion back to the bedroom. Entering the room, Tan Mo, lying in bed, turned over and finally woke up, rubbing her sleepy eyes and stretching.

“Awake now?”

Tan Mo opened her eyes, just as Xie Qichen climbed onto the bed and pulled her back into his arms. She saw that he was already fully dressed:

“You’re awake…”

Xie Qichen smiled: “I’ve been awake for a while. I even went downstairs and finished breakfast. Who’s the one being lazy here?”

Tan Mo hit him: “I’m being lazy because of who?”

He smiled even more, catching her hand as she tried to hit him: “Mm, because of me.”

“You went downstairs to eat with my parents too?”

“Mm.”

“And their reaction… was normal, right?”

She knew what she was asking. He replied: “They didn’t notice. They thought you stayed up playing with your phone and even asked me to supervise you at night.”

Tan Mo laughed in both amusement and irritation: “You still have the nerve to supervise me…”

The man laughed and comforted her. After a while, Tan Mo’s feigned anger finally subsided. After the intimacy of last night, her heart was now filled with sweetness, and she snuggled back into his arms: “Xie Qichen…”

“Mm?”

“Can you not be so amazing anymore…”

Which man wouldn’t be flattered by such words? He tightened his grip on her waist, his voice low: “How else can I keep you in line?”

Tan Mo blushed, whispering to him: “The underwear I bought before is getting too small again.”

Although the girl looked slim, she had a good figure to begin with, and now with Xie Qichen, certain sizes had started to increase.

Xie Qichen’s eyes darkened: “Mm? Let me check.”

Tan Mo flushed, nestled in his arms as he examined her. Xie Qichen thought his darling was simply too beautiful—her face still carried a youthful innocence, yet her allure was utterly captivating, creating an extreme contrast.

He teased her by saying he’d go shopping with her. Not knowing his intentions, Tan Mo blushed, her eyebrows curving in embarrassment, trying to push him away:

“Ugh, I’m not talking to you anymore. I’m going to get ready…”

In the end, she got out of bed and rushed into the bathroom. Watching her flee, Xie Qichen couldn’t help but laugh and started tidying up the room.

Meanwhile, in the bathroom, after finishing her morning routine, Tan Mo looked at the clothes in the wardrobe and, in frustration, ended up picking a shirt for the summer to cover the love bites.

After breakfast in the room, Tan Mo and Xie Qichen left the bedroom.

The weather was sunny and bright today.

They went to the backyard garden, only to run into Tan Zhiwan, who was on the phone with Ying Xiao. Tan Zhiwan was pleading with something on the other end when she saw them, hesitated for a moment, then quickly turned and left, not wanting them to see her like this.

Looking at Tan Zhiwan’s retreating figure, Tan Mo felt a complex mix of emotions. Thinking of something, she turned to the man beside her: “Xie Qichen, I want to ask you a question. If you were Ying Xiao and I were Tan Zhiwan, and you found out I was like that, would you still like me?”

“That situation could never happen.”

His baby would never be that kind of person.

“Aww, just imagine…”

Xie Qichen led her to sit on a bench by the flowerbed, half-hugging her, without hesitation:

“I would still like you.”

“Why?”

“Didn’t I say before? I love you no matter what you become. If you were really like that, I would stay with you and help you change.”

In the end, Tan Zhiwan had a deep wound in her heart that caused her psychological distortion, and that wound had never been healed.

Perhaps, when Tan Zhiwan faced Ying Xiao, she was sincere.

Tan Mo sighed. Xie Qichen spoke calmly: “But everyone’s choices are different. It doesn’t mean the love isn’t deep. Whether Ying Xiao accepts or not is his own choice. No one is obligated to heal someone else.”

Tan Mo nodded.

Perhaps this was another reason she was unwilling to speak up for Tan Zhiwan. Everyone has their own choices, and it’s not appropriate for outsiders to interfere in matters of the heart.

Xie Qichen looked at Tan Mo: “If Tan Zhiwan had chosen to accept your existence back then, I think with your personality, you two could have gotten along very well. She had parents in this family, and a younger sister who loved her very much. She might have lived a warm and happy life, and everything could have been different.”

Tan Mo was momentarily stunned by his words.

“But how one’s life unfolds is ultimately their own choice. After the choices are made, many outcomes are already set in stone.”

In life, everyone is constantly making choices and bearing the consequences of those choices.

The man held Tan Mo close: “We can’t control others, but we can make the right choices for ourselves.”

Tan Mo smiled gently, looking up at the endless blue sky: “Yes, that’s right.”

After a while, the two walked back indoors. At noon, the family had another meal together. In the afternoon, Xie Qichen went to discuss business with Tan Mo’s father while Tan Mo accompanied her mother to the supermarket.

After dinner in the evening, Tan Mo and Xie Qichen planned to return to Jiayu Tiancheng.

After all, it was a bit inconvenient for the two of them to stay at her parents’ house.

Before leaving, Tan Mo’s mother packed some food like marinated beef for the young couple to take home.

As they escorted them out, Tan Mo’s mother mentioned Tan Zhiwan again, telling Tan Mo not to feel burdened and that letting Tan Zhiwan act out for a few days would be fine.

Tan Mo’s father spoke of not caring, but in private, he had actually sought out Ying Xiao to talk. Partly for Tan Zhiwan’s sake, and partly likely for the sake of the group’s interests. However, whatever choices the two children ultimately made was their own affair.

Tan Mo’s mother held her hand: “Don’t worry about this. Now, focus on living your life well with Qichen.”

Tan Mo smiled and nodded: “Qichen treats me very well.”

“Yes, I feel much more at ease with him.”

After getting into the car, Tan Mo sat in the front passenger seat and waved at her mother outside the window: “Mom, I’m leaving now.”

“Go ahead, drive safely…”

Xie Qichen also said goodbye to Tan Mo’s mother before starting the Aston Martin.

The car slowly drove out of the villa area. Tan Mo rolled up the window, her expression relaxed: “Going home.”

She turned to look at Xie Qichen, only to hear him say casually: “Take the thing from my pocket.”

“What thing?”

She reached in with curiosity, saw the box, and her face instantly flushed red. She heard his leisurely tone: “Put two in the car, take the rest home.”

“???”

Tan Mo’s face turned crimson: “Why would you put two in the car…”

He kept his eyes on the road, expression calm: “Just in case of emergencies.”

“…”

What emergencies? This guy is just a hooligan!

Tan Mo thought back to that night during the school anniversary, and last night, when the two of them were sneaking around doing naughty things.

At first, the guy was still somewhat careful, but eventually he discarded all tenderness and gentleness. One hand protected her head from hitting the headboard, while the other held her leg over his shoulder. His eyes burned red as he crushed everything. Tan Mo bit the blanket, too afraid to make a sound, leaving only the bed creaking under them.

Thankfully, no one passed by the door last night. If someone had, they would surely have noticed the strange noises from inside.

In such a special setting, both of them were more nervous than usual, yet it added a unique flavor.

This guy was naturally gifted, and his post-learning skills were top-notch. By the end, Tan Mo tearfully lamented—

The power of a mature man at twenty is indeed the limit of life’s endurance, Qwq.

Tan Mo suppressed her thoughts, blushing and glaring at him: “Xie Qichen, you’re acting exactly like the unfaithful man in TV dramas.”

“What?”

“Having a wife at home, yet keeping this in the car. What if one day I check and find one missing…”

“Tan Mo, are you getting bolder?”

Tan Mo held in her laughter: “I’m just kidding.”

Xie Qichen glanced at her, tapped the steering wheel, and spoke slowly: “Next time, if you check and find none missing, I’ll use one on you.”

“…”

She might as well die, Q AQ.