Chapter 56: Xiqiu (Part 2)

It was Si Jin’s first time here as well, unaware of which room her family had prepared for her. A maid from the residence led the way.

The man beside her held an umbrella with one hand while his other arm tightly encircled her shoulders, pressing her so close she seemed glued to his chest.

After passing through a dimly lit path, light emerged ahead.

“Young Mistress, Young Master, we’ve arrived.”

Entering the room, they were finally free from the discomfort of dripping wetness. Bright lamplight illuminated their surroundings, the warm glow bringing a soft comfort.

Si Jin lifted her gaze, about to survey her temporary accommodations.

Suddenly, a damp chill enveloped her from behind with considerable force, bending her slightly forward and forcing her eyes downward to the floor.

Si Jin couldn’t help asking: “How did you get so wet…”

Though it began as ordinary concern, Xiao Rong suddenly turned to nibble at her neck mid-sentence, steering the words into ambiguous territory.

Si Jin heard Xiao Rong swallow before he spoke in a raspy voice: “Got caught in the rain earlier. I’d like to bathe now.”

The path here had been too dark for Si Jin to notice how Xiao Rong had held the umbrella.

But tonight’s rain was exceptionally heavy – even with careful umbrella handling, clothes were bound to get damp.

Si Jin nodded: “The bathwater should be ready. Have them bring it in.”

“Together?”

The room fell silent momentarily, leaving only their interwoven breathing.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Today… wouldn’t be appropriate, would it?”

Xiao Rong let out a soft chuckle, the vibration traveling through his chest to her closely pressed back.

He seemed instantly appeased – even without turning around, she could feel his gloomy mood dissipate.

Then he simply released her, standing upright behind Si Jin.

When Si Jin instinctively turned, she saw Xiao Rong already facing outward, but indeed with curved lips.

She flushed with embarrassment: “My hesitation just now didn’t mean…”

Xiao Rong cut off her murmur by calling servants to bring hot water.

In the adjacent bathing chamber, steam rose in hazy swirls beneath the dim light.

Si Jin had been submerged to her neck in hot water, but the man beside the tub gripped her neck, lowering his head to kiss her.

Though he merely held her without lifting, she unconsciously rose toward those lips.

Until her collarbones and what lay beneath emerged from the water with splashing sounds.

The large hand on her neck slid downward, grasping firmly.

“Mmm…”

Si Jin muffled a gasp, feeling herself being squeezed tight.

Xiao Rong indeed applied pressure, his spread fingers leaking shapeless snow-white between them.

“Taking off clothes makes me cold,” Xiao Rong mumbled against Si Jin’s lips.

“Then come in.”

When her lips were suddenly freed, Si Jin slowly opened her misty eyes to meet Xiao Rong’s darkened gaze.

Her breath caught, voice barely audible: “No, I meant… for you to enter the bathtub…”

“Won’t it be too crowded?”

Si Jin: “…”

She hunched her shoulders, submerging herself back into the water: “Just don’t move around recklessly inside.”

Whether from the scalding bathwater or some other reason,

Si Jin only felt herself growing hotter and more flustered with each word.

Perfectly normal phrases, when met with Xiao Rong’s ambiguous glances, always seemed to twist into improper implications.

“Then I’ll be gentle.”

As he spoke, Xiao Rong lifted his leg and stepped into the bathtub.

True to his word, his movements were light as he carefully stood inside the tub before slowly lowering himself.

Despite his gentleness, the addition of another body to the modest-sized tub caused the bathwater to instantly spill over the edges.

Splash—

The sound of water seemed particularly abrupt in the quiet atmosphere, and remarkably loud.

Xiao Rong seemed concerned, even pausing his movement to embrace Si Jin: “That’s so loud, could it be heard outside?”

Si Jin: “…Bathing naturally involves the sound of water.”

“True enough.”

Xiao Rong nodded, then wrapped his arms around Si Jin and drew her into his embrace.

Skin against skin, it was unclear whether the bathwater was hotter or their bodies were warmer.

Si Jin tilted her head back slightly, their lips now extremely close.

Before their eyes could meet, somehow their lips found each other again.

Tongues entwined, heat rising.

The clothes they had removed for bathing left their contact direct and seamless.

Xiao Rong’s large hand slid down from her lower back, finding its destination, enveloping and kneading.

“Xiao Jin…” he called her name in a hoarse voice, like an unconscious murmur in the throes of passion.

But he soon spoke again: “Why aren’t you touching me?”

Si Jin’s eyelashes fluttered: “Why would I touch you during… a bath…”

“How else would we get clean?” Xiao Rong demonstrated by sliding his fingers in, gently stirring and stroking back and forth, “Help wash me too, alright?”

Si Jin had anticipated this outcome.

During this final stretch of their journey to Xiqiu, they had gone nearly half a month without intimacy.

Si Jin was eager to travel, thinking about soon reuniting with her family, she didn’t want to delay even a moment. Consequently, they often didn’t stop at places with better accommodations as originally planned.

On the rare occasions when conditions were suitable, she was too exhausted to keep her eyes open. Though she would say “just once tonight,” she would fall into deep sleep before Xiao Rong could even undress.

Now that they had finally arrived today, whether he had been overthinking her neglecting him upon seeing her family or if it was just ordinary circumstances, something was bound to happen.

Si Jin was too embarrassed to admit that though she slept beside him every night, she had actually missed him too.

But now that she had truly seen her family and arrived here, it felt like coming home.

At this moment, even being pressed against Xiao Rong gave her a sense of guilt, as if they were doing something improper behind her parents’ backs, let alone anything more intimate.

Suddenly, Xiao Rong nipped the flesh of her neck, not too lightly nor too heavily.

“Every time I wash you, I’m very thorough. How could you space out?”

As he spoke, Si Jin’s hand—which had unknowingly loosened its grip and was now almost tickling him—was enveloped by Xiao Rong’s hand.

Though he was the one initiating the action, he was the first to gasp, unable to withstand the sensation.

He rested his chin on Si Jin’s shoulder, turning his head to breathe hot air onto her skin: “You’ve been neglecting me for so long. You should treat me well today.”

Though his words sounded like a pitiful complaint, the sensation in her palm made it feel anything but pitiful—rather, quite threatening.

Si Jin unconsciously tensed up: “Maybe we shouldn’t… We just arrived today. What if my parents…”

“Don’t squeeze,” Xiao Rong interrupted her, “I can’t move my hand anymore.”

Si Jin whimpered, her already intermittent sounds becoming completely fragmented by his words and actions.

Every soft moan made it sound like Si Jin was the more pitiful one.

In contrast, Xiao Rong had already tilted his neck back in a manner that appeared strained yet was truly pleasurable, his Adam’s apple bobbing intensely under her skilled and focused movements.

She wondered if the bathwater had turned cold. Whenever they bathed together, it always took longer than Si Jin’s already dawdling usual routine.

But in the end, Xiao Rong would always lift her out before the water turned completely cold, never letting her catch a chill.

This time was no exception.

When Xiao Rong carried Si Jin out of the bathwater, he had already been lingering at the doorway for quite some time—so long that she nearly called out to invite him in herself.

The words caught in Si Jin’s throat, and in a rare imitation of Xiao Rong’s ways, she bit his neck in frustrated retaliation.

Her thoughts were muddled, but she seemed to hear him chuckle softly.

Changing her tune, Si Jin mumbled against his skin, “We should stop. If anyone really hears us, how will we face parents and older brother tomorrow? We… Ah!”

Before she could finish, she let out a soft gasp.

Xiao Rong turned and lay back on the bed. Her world spun momentarily—instead of landing on the bedding, she found herself seated directly atop him.

“Mm, I won’t do anything,” Xiao Rong said as he lay flat, his hands anchoring firmly at her waist to keep her steady. “You take the lead. If you go gently, there won’t be any noise.”

“How… how do I go gently?”

“You’ve done it before.” Xiao Rong’s large palms betrayed his impatience, kneading her with suggestive pressure.

Her waist grew weak under his touch, nearly too limp to stay upright.

What they’d done before hadn’t been gentle at all—and it certainly hadn’t been her taking the lead.

“Let me in.”

Xiao Rong’s voice was hoarse, his gaze dark and intense as he watched her from below.

Si Jin had lost all capacity for further thought.

She had wanted this all along, and now it was as if she’d been bewitched—following the instructions whispered in her ear, she actually proceeded to do just that.

A shared sigh escaped them.

It truly had been too long.

Xiao Rong’s reaction was even more intense than Si Jin’s.

He had always been like this.

In expressing affection, he was clumsy and awkward.

But in matters like this, his responses were always honest, and he never bothered to hide them.

Xiao Rong’s eyes grew hazy, the corners tinged red.

He watched her unblinkingly, his breathing growing increasingly ragged, yet he couldn’t bear to look away for even a second.

This time, he truly remained still.

Leaving everything to Si Jin’s movements.

Si Jin suppressed her voice, not daring to move too vigorously, as if the slightest lapse in concentration would make her unable to hold back her sounds.

But in truth, she didn’t know why she had to stifle herself so much. After all, they were in a courtyard with their own private main chamber—no matter how loud they were, there was no way the others living in the opposite wing could hear.

Besides, the incessant rain outside provided them with continuous cover.

“Xiao Jin, come down.”

Si Jin’s dazed mind faltered momentarily. Instinctively, she began to rise as if to climb off him.

“Ah…”

With a low groan, Xiao Rong—eyes flushed—pushed her back down firmly.

“Not there. Higher up.”

“Come here.”

Her body pliant, Si Jin leaned forward and was immediately met by Xiao Rong’s urgent kiss.

Already engaged in intimate acts, his kiss escalated the heat between them.

He was too frantic to tease her properly, almost devouring her instead.

Si Jin’s sounds were swallowed whole by him, yet their kissing produced even louder noises—the smack of lips, swallows, and the wet slide of tongues.

As Si Jin forgot to move, his hands seized her waist.

Her body tilted and lifted slightly.

The next moment, her pupils abruptly constricted.

In the end, she still lost the initiative, which had nothing to do with the “gentleness” he had mentioned earlier.

The rain outside continued unceasingly, growing heavier and heavier.

The dense raindrops beat against the eaves, the windowsill, and splattered onto the ground, enveloping everything inside the room within a curtain of rain and the sound of falling water.

Nearly losing herself in the moment, a low, husky voice seemed to whisper in her ear.

“Once more?”

Si Jin couldn’t speak; even the moans in her throat were tightly suppressed, not a sound escaping.

Only when that moment descended from its peak did she collapse weakly onto him, burying her head and giving an almost imperceptible nod.