Free Web NovelChapter 156: Chapter 156: Accidentally Saw Him Changing Clothes
The distance between them closed. The sound of his breathing by Shi Lan’s ear gradually drowned out the waves, growing ever clearer.
She felt the air around her cheeks grow warm and humid. A soft strand of hair landed on her neck, tickling her, and she instinctively opened her eyes.
In an instant, they were barely two fists apart, their eyes meeting through the faint light of the waves.
Shi Lan looked at Jiang Xia, who was leaning so close to her, and couldn’t help but ask, "Jiang Xia, what are you doing?"
The unfocused, dazed look in Jiang Xia’s eyes sharpened at the sound of her voice. He snapped out of his trance and gazed at Shi Lan’s innocent, questioning eyes, guiltily pressing his lips together. "Oh, it’s nothing. I just saw a dark shadow on your face and thought it was something. I got closer to look and realized it was just the reflection of a fish."
"Mm."
Hearing this, Shi Lan didn’t overthink it. Still, she shifted uncomfortably and sat up straight. She couldn’t shake the feeling that, from his posture just now, Jiang Xia had been about to kiss her.
She tilted her head back to look at the water above, feeling as if she had undergone a kind of ocean therapy. Her entire being, mind and body, relaxed.
From the side, Jiang Xia snuck glances at her out of the corner of his eye, secretly kicking himself with regret. ’So close. I was so close to kissing Lanlan.’
But in the end, he worried Shi Lan would hate him for it, which made him hesitate for those few seconds.
For the next ten minutes or so, Jiang Xia remained distracted, lost in these feelings. It wasn’t until Shi Lan felt she’d had enough fun that she asked, "Jiang Xia, how do we get out? Do I just have to say ’I want to exit the game’?"
Jiang Xia nodded. "Lanlan, are you tired of playing?"
Shi Lan shook her head. "Not tired, just... I feel like I’ve experienced enough."
"So, did you like this trip, Lanlan?"
Shi Lan answered without hesitation, "I loved it! It was so much fun. If there are other attractions to experience in here, I’d like to do them too."
Hearing this, the frustration in Jiang Xia’s heart suddenly dissipated. He quickly agreed, "Okay. If you want to play again, Lanlan, you can tell me anytime."
"Then let’s get ready to exit the game."
"Okay."
Shi Lan was just about to open her mouth and say the words when Jiang Xia suddenly spoke. "Lanlan."
She turned her head to look at him, puzzled. His face suddenly loomed large before her, and then she felt a soft, slightly tense, and forceful touch on the corner of her lips.
He seemed to have misjudged the distance, even accidentally biting his own tongue. But his eyes were bright as he gazed at her with earnest affection. The light touch lasted only a few seconds, but it was enough to turn his pale cheeks crimson.
Perhaps afraid that Shi Lan would be angry, he quickly recited, "I want to exit the game," and vanished from the bubble in the blink of an eye, leaving her all alone.
She dazedly touched her lips. ’I can’t believe my first kiss was just... gone, just like that.’ It was as if a snowflake had landed on her lips, melting and vanishing in an instant, too fast to feel anything.
But even for such a fleeting, light-as-a-dragonfly’s-touch kiss, Shi Lan’s heart was racing, and her cheeks felt warm.
She had always thought she would be averse to physical intimacy in a relationship, that she hated the touch that came with romance. But in reality, her tolerance was higher than she’d imagined. She felt no disgust at all; instead, a strange sweetness exploded in her chest.
She looked at the empty space where Jiang Xia had been and couldn’t help but mutter, "So cowardly yet so bold. If you have the guts to kiss me, then have the guts not to run away."
With that, she gave a helpless curl of her lips. After the heat in her cheeks subsided, she followed him out of the game.
After exiting the game, the first thing Jiang Xia did was shift into his beast form and find a place to hide.
He deliberately made himself the size of a regular house cat and hid in a corner near the room where the game pods were kept. This size was convenient for hiding and was also the smallest form he could take.
He wasn’t sure if it was because he’d done something wrong or because he’d just kissed Shi Lan, but his heart felt like it was about to leap out of his throat. A thrill that made his blood boil with excitement caused him to wag his tail uncontrollably, too worked up to even savor the memory of that light kiss.
Jiang Xia took a deep breath and secretly watched Shi Lan’s game pod.
From his current position, he could observe it easily.
But after waiting two or three minutes and seeing that Shi Lan still hadn’t come out, his excitement faded considerably. An inexplicable anxiety and worry appeared in his eyes. Even though he knew there was no danger in this kind of travel-simulation, he couldn’t help but let his mind wander to worst-case scenarios.
Just as he was about to go back into the game to find Shi Lan, he heard a noise from the game pod she was in.
Jiang Xia’s legs nearly gave out in fright. He scrambled back to his hiding spot like a flash and peeked out furtively.
In the dark corner, only a pair of golden eyes, reflecting the light in the room, glowed faintly.
When Shi Lan opened the game pod door and stepped out, she glanced around. The room was quiet, with no sign of Jiang Xia.
She almost laughed out of exasperation. ’He sure ran off fast.’
Shi Lan stepped away from the game pod. In the corner, Jiang Xia’s ears were carefully flattened, and his body was pressed low to the ground, not daring to move a muscle.
She left the room and wandered around outside for a bit, but still saw no sign of Jiang Xia. She assumed he was hiding in his bedroom, but she never expected to accidentally see Mu Tangfeng undressing through a mirror.
She didn’t know what he’d been doing, but he had changed out of his pajamas and into a beautiful new outfit he’d bought online a couple of days ago. Like a showy peacock, he wore a rose-red suit jacket and matching trousers. As always, one of his own feathers was tucked into his chest pocket, a very personal and characteristic touch.
Shi Lan was just taking a second look at his clothes when, to her utter surprise, she realized Mu Tangfeng was wearing absolutely nothing under his suit jacket.
He was facing the mirror in the room with his back to her, and he just took it off like that. He must have thought it was Jiang Xia who had opened the door, because he grumbled in discontent, "Finally decided to come out? You went too far, hogging Lanlan all to yourself for so long."
Then he added, "Get lost. I’m changing. What, are you going to stand there and watch?"
Shi Lan swore she was not peeking on purpose!
She hadn’t expected Mu Tangfeng to unbutton his jacket so quickly, and from where she was standing, she had a perfect view of the scene in the mirror.
The reflection was dazzlingly pale. The bulging muscles of his chest were taut. He was lean but not scrawny, with clearly defined muscle lines.
’She’d never seen him work out in prison, yet his body was this good.’
A flicker of doubt crossed Shi Lan’s mind. It was this momentary pause that made Mu Tangfeng feel that something was wrong.
Normally, when he said things like that, Jiang Xia would definitely talk back. But now, there was only silence, and he hadn’t heard the door close.
’Is he really peeking at me?’
Mu Tangfeng instinctively buttoned his jacket back up to the top. He whipped his head around, annoyed, and began to yell, "Jiang Xia, are you sick in the head? I already told you I was changing, and you’re still..."
When he realized the person standing in the doorway was not Jiang Xia but Shi Lan, Mu Tangfeng’s yelling came to an abrupt halt. In a flash, his fair complexion turned a peachy pink.
