Chapter 52: “I Said I Like You, Did You Hear…”

This statement clearly foreshadowed what would come next.

But Xiao Rong froze, his mind going completely blank for a moment. His expression tightened, leaving him speechless.

The initially intimate atmosphere gradually descended into heavy silence.

Si Jin’s brow furrowed slightly as she struggled to pull her wrist from Xiao Rong’s grasp. With a sudden turn, she created a rustling sound in the bedding and turned her back to him.

Xiao Rong’s eyes widened immediately. Forgetting that he could easily turn her back with his arm, he pressed close and called out urgently: “Xiao Jin.”

She ignored him—or perhaps the pause was only momentary.

“You never said it, you never did.”

“…Oh, so I never said it.”

Xiao Rong remained silent for a long while before finally remembering his arms. He wrapped them around Si Jin and, amid her soft gasp, flipped her over from her back.

Before her gasp faded, Si Jin’s hands naturally came to rest on Xiao Rong’s shoulders.

The hand pressing firmly against her lower back made it impossible for her to withdraw.

“Let go. Didn’t you say we should sleep?”

“You never said it.” Xiao Rong stubbornly repeated.

“Yes, I never said it. I admitted it, didn’t I?”

The air fell silent again.

Si Jin blinked. Had she teased him too much?

Testing the waters, she shifted slightly.

The hand behind her had loosened its grip at some point, allowing her to break free completely with just a twist.

This… this…

It had never been this easy to break free before.

Si Jin was stunned, her body frozen in place even though she could have turned around.

Had she really caused trouble? They had just reconciled—she didn’t want another argument or cold war.

Si Jin parted her lips, about to say something.

Xiao Rong’s freed hand suddenly rose, gently and slowly stroking the back of her head, smoothing her hair.

“I understand. Let’s sleep.”

Si Jin: “…”

Xiao Rong looked as composed as ever, even closing his eyes as if ready to sleep.

But she thought he looked utterly pitiful, so aggrieved.

Yet the interrupted words and the atmosphere she had ruined left Si Jin unsure how to resume what she had been about to say.

Growing anxious, she inhaled sharply through slightly parted lips: “I… mmm!”

Before she could finish, Xiao Rong suddenly lowered his head and silenced her with his lips, as if closing his eyes earlier hadn’t been about sleeping at all.

The kiss began with immediate depth, leaving no room for words to escape.

The hand that had been stroking her hair now pressed against the back of her head, forcing her closer to him—even though she had no intention of pulling away.

His other hand gripped her waist, as if struggling to restrain its strength.

His tongue swept through like a storm, threatening to devour her, yet retreated just as abruptly.

The kiss had only just begun, but Si Jin was already disoriented.

Her heart raced, her breath quickened, her thoughts were completely occupied—she couldn’t remember anything else.

But a sudden pain on her lips jerked her mesmerized mind back to reality.

“You were going to say it. You were deliberately teasing me.”

“Mmm—”

Xiao Rong roughly nibbled her lips, then mumbled his accusation against them.

His words were unclear, but his tone was fierce: “When I said we should sleep, why didn’t you stop me?”

He was blaming her for that?

She had been about to speak.

He sucked on her lips again, with such force it made her scalp tingle, producing a shameful sound.

“You like me.”

“You do like me.”

His tongue probed deeper: “Don’t you?”

“Answer me.”

Si Jin let out a muffled sob, her powerless waist making her entire body go limp as she sank into his embrace.

How could she answer like this?

Her lips and tongue were occupied, her chest struggled for breath, even the moisture in her mouth had been completely consumed by him.

“Not answering means you like me too.”

Xiao Rong’s breathing was heavy, each word landing directly on her heart. His warm breath enveloped her face, almost completely surrounding her.

A large hand pressed against her chest: “Your racing heartbeat means you like me.”

He cupped her face: “Your heated cheeks mean you like me.”

The storm-like kiss gradually softened, becoming lingering and moist—gentle pecks and slow licks.

“Kissing me also means you like me.”

“Mmm, I like you.”

The movement on her lips suddenly stopped, then gradually withdrew.

Xiao Rong turned his head, burying it in the crook of her neck, as if even his breathing had frozen in that moment.

Si Jin raised her hand, gently stroking the back of his head as he had done earlier, smoothing his hair.

“I like you.”

A heavy sigh escaped near her neck, the heat making her legs go weak.

Yet Xiao Rong’s body remained rigid. His lips lightly brushed against her neck, cautiously, as if afraid to wake from this dream.

“Say it again.”

Si Jin lowered her gaze, her eyes misty from the earlier kiss, only able to see a blurry dark shadow before her.

She blinked, trying hard to see him clearly.

“I like you.”

Instantly, she was held tightly—so firmly that Si Jin could feel the strength trembling faintly.

Si Jin patted his back: “I said I like you, did you hear me?”

Xiao Rong mumbled “Mmm” against her skin: “I heard. I love you.”

Si Jin relaxed slightly, a quiet smile curling her lips in the darkness.

“Shall we sleep?”

Xiao Rong shook his head: “Can’t sleep.”

Si Jin bent her knee slightly, not touching him, just pressing against his thigh.

She softened her voice: “Then… shall we do it?”

The muscle where she made contact instantly tensed, and even the untouched areas twitched slightly, radiating heat from nearby, desperately asserting their presence.

But Xiao Rong spoke, his voice hoarse beyond recognition, yet shaking his head: “The guest room has poor soundproofing.”

“Then…”

Si Jin’s knee continued to shift.

Just as she was about to make contact, Xiao Rong pressed his hand against it: “It’ll be fine in a moment.”

But Si Jin pushed against his hand anyway, tilting her head to bring her lips close to his ear: “Then… about what I promised you last time… do you want it?”

The fingers gripping her knee suddenly tightened.

Si Jin pulled back from his ear and looked up to meet bottomless dark eyes, their expression turbulent.

Like an approaching tidal wave—unstoppable, uncontrollable.

After only a moment’s pause, Xiao Rong flipped over and pinned her down: “Yes.”

Si Jin’s eyelashes fluttered unnaturally. She turned her head slightly, avoiding his intense gaze, yet still feeling completely entangled.

She raised her arm and pushed against his heaving chest: “Then why are you climbing on top? You…”

Xiao Rong suddenly reached out, leaning back with the force of her push while grabbing her wrist, pulling her up from the bed with him.

“…Aren’t we lying down?” Si Jin murmured the rest of her words softly.

Si Jin rose to her full height before him.

The cheeks that hadn’t flushed crimson during his confession moments earlier now burned scarlet, her thoughts scattering chaotically at this sudden, inexplicable proximity.

Xiao Rong remained silent, only the distinct sound of his swallowing echoing between them.

Si Jin’s averted gaze, meant to avoid direct eye contact, caught from her peripheral vision his knees planted firmly on the bed and his thighs held rigidly straight.

Kneeling like this…

Xiao Rong shifted his legs slightly, his voice hoarse as he murmured, “If you’re unwilling, it’s fine, I—”

“Stay kneeling. Don’t move.”

Still pretending at a time like this—she had seen everything.

She knew Xiao Rong wanted this desperately, his throat working with repeated swallows, his hands clenched into tight fists beneath his sleeves, veins spreading across their backs.

She wasn’t repulsed—they were, after all, the most intimate of partners.

He had been like this before too.

But naturally, she felt nervous.

She had only seen such things in the Fire Aversion Picture shown to her before her wedding.

Her fingers hooked onto the tie of her robe. The darkness of night should have easily concealed everything, yet she felt every sensation with heightened clarity.

Si Jin heard Xiao Rong’s breathing suddenly grow heavier.

His hands rested at his sides, fists clenching and unclenching with restrained force.

Until Si Jin’s cherry lips parted slightly.

Those hands instantly lost control and pressed against her.

“Mmm.” It was Xiao Rong himself who made the sound.

His eyes glazed over, head tilting back, mouth agape, then his throat could produce no more sound.

Si Jin felt the intense throbbing, as if it might happen any moment.

He didn’t dare press down, yet she hadn’t even extended her tongue.

She looked up.

His face was breathtakingly beautiful at that moment.

Even his neck glistened with a thin sheen of heated sweat. His eyes, gazing down at her after he tilted his head back, were like black pearls fished from clear water—glossy and luminous.

Lured by that face, she inexplicably extended her tongue.

Veins trembled and pulsed.

It wasn’t unbearable; after adjusting, she even thought she could take a little more.

His entire body trembled from it, giving her the impression that he was utterly defenseless.

Kneeling as if being punished, yet his entire being radiated extreme pleasure, an excitement so intense it threatened to overwhelm his mind.

Unable to withstand this excitement, he would part his lips weakly, unable to suppress his sounds, never before so out of control.

He was completely at her mercy, trembling from the depth of sensation, restless from the intensity.

His gaze dazed, he watched her, his hands on her head alternating between light and heavy pressure, yet never truly exerting force, until finally his fingers splayed and tangled in her hair.

His abdomen contracted repeatedly, the sleeping robe torn open—whether from heat or some other reason—revealing clearly defined muscles.

Si Jin’s fingers slowly crept upward, following the lines of his body, coming to rest on his distinct abdominal muscles.

Suddenly.

Xiao Rong abruptly pulled her head away from him, his fingers even catching in her hair.

Si Jin staggered in surprise, not yet falling, her ears filled with Xiao Rong’s ragged panting.

Xiao Rong lowered himself to embrace her, his breathless voice whispering, “Almost… in your throat.”

“So hard to resist.” He kissed her neck pleadingly, his palm unable to stop caressing her neck. “I couldn’t hold back.”

Si Jin moved her slightly numb lips, wanting to suggest they try something else.

But before any sound could form, his fingers pressed against her lips, then slipped into her mouth as if venting his unbearable need.

Inside her mouth was warm and wet.

As if what had been neglected could, through the sensation of his fingers, still find its own pleasure.

Xiao Rong suddenly wrapped his other arm around her waist, pulling her back down onto the bed.

With warmth pressing against her back, his voice buried in the nape of her neck was deep and urgent: “I want to come out.”

It wasn’t the first time she’d been used with his thigh.

Yet Si Jin’s legs still went weak.

Her thigh was gripped tightly by him, soft flesh spilling shapelessly from between his fingers.

Si Jin wanted to turn back to look at him, but he cupped her neck and turned her face forward again.

“Almost done.” Xiao Rong’s breathing was heavy, the heartbeat against her back chaotic and rhythmless.

Si Jin felt it keenly, understanding his reaction.

At that moment of impending release.

She groped blindly, found his large hand on her neck, pulled it up and pressed it firmly over her own mouth.

Hot breaths were trapped against her face, misting her lashes with moisture.

She arched her waist, then settled.

Muffled beneath his palm, she whispered: “I swallowed it.”