“Ahaha… How could I be reluctant? Club Leader Jiang, you must have seen it wrong, right?”
Ye Zhou gave an awkward laugh.
“Is that so? Regardless, you better not force yourself, because I am someone who dislikes forcing others the most.”
Jiang Yingxue cast a hesitant glance back.
Ye Zhou’s eyelid twitched. So, Club Leader Jiang, is the purpose of those words to force me or not to force me?
Jiang Yingxue was wearing a surprisingly bold black hollow-out off-shoulder knit top. Even her bra straps weren’t on her shoulders, which meant they were hidden within the fabric on her back.
Ye Zhou swore that if Jiang Yingxue were even a little more daring, she would have no choice but to put her immense capital on display.
Ye Zhou subconsciously swallowed his saliva and slowly reached out both hands. Her fragrant shoulders were as delicate as fine mutton-fat jade, cold to the touch but warming up. His heart suddenly skipped a beat, but his mind did not wander.
Because at this moment, he had something to ask Jiang Yingxue.
“Club Leader Jiang, is this massage pressure appropriate?”
“Mm-hmm~ It’s just right.”
“Then do you have anything you want to say to me right now?”
Jiang Yingxue’s body paused slightly.
“That depends on what you want me to say to you.”
Ye Zhou shook his head and smiled:
“No, you misunderstood. I mean something you specifically want to say to me, whether good or bad.”
“Really?”
At this, Jiang Yingxue stopped what she was doing. She turned her head to look seriously at Ye Zhou, glanced downward, and then turned back to continue.
“At least during this physical contact with the opposite sex, you didn’t point a gun at me, did you?”
“The performance is quite good, but don’t get complacent. You need to keep up the good work.”
“Ye Zhou, That’s strange, speaking of which, why are you asking this all of a sudden? Are you being a bit inexplicable tonight?”
“…”
“Ahaha… Am I? Isn’t this just the most normal small talk?”
Ye Zhou’s body instantly froze.
He couldn’t help but complain in his heart. Speaking of being inexplicable, shouldn’t that be you, Club Leader Jiang? You keep bringing up things better left unsaid, completely disregarding the standard script.
“Hiss… that’s a bit painful…”
“Ah, sorry, sorry. I’ll be lighter…”
Ye Zhou continued without a break, massaging her for several minutes until he started to feel drowsy and began to nod off.
Just as he was about to speak up and remind Jiang Yingxue that time was almost up, he discovered that Jiang Yingxue was leaning on the desk quietly, seemingly having fallen asleep.
“Uh… that, Club Leader Jiang, are you asleep? If you’re asleep, I’ll stop the massage, okay? Also, I’m going to start doing bad things to you…”
Jiang Yingxue suddenly tilted her head.
Ye Zhou’s heart leaped violently.
“Cough, cough, cough… I knew you weren’t asleep. I was just joking with you, Club Leader Jiang. Ahaha… isn’t it funny?”
But after several seconds passed without Jiang Yingxue making another move, Ye Zhou couldn’t help but hold his breath. He carefully bent down to observe her tranquil face, her flickering eyelashes, and the dark circles under her eyes…
Everything indicated that she was indeed asleep; the movement earlier was just a simple change in sleeping position.
Ye Zhou instantly felt a sense of relief in his heart. He stood up and subconsciously looked at Jiang Yingxue’s fragrant shoulders, which were exposed to the cold air.
He found Jiang Yingxue’s jacket on the nearby sofa and covered her with it. While he was at it, he turned off the computer and briefly tidied up the messy office desk.
“You’re an adult but still like a child, falling asleep just like that. Fortunately, you met me tonight; otherwise, you’d be waiting to catch a cold by tomorrow morning.”
“Yawn~ No, this won’t do. I can’t take it anymore either. Time to slip away.”
“Goodnight, Club Leader Jiang…”
Jiang Yingxue’s red lips curled up slightly.
She tilted her head again. This time, she was truly asleep.
***
At the same time, just as Ye Zhou gently closed the office door, he was patted from behind, giving him a start.
When he turned around and saw the newcomer, his tone was full of helplessness.
“Senior Student Chen, why do you appear like a ghost every time? It’s scary in the middle of the night.”
“Oh! If you haven’t done anything guilty, you needn’t fear a knock on the door.”
Chen Yuhe stood with one hand on her hip and used the other to lightly flick Ye Zhou’s forehead.
“You hateful Junior Student, how do you have the nerve to say that? You dared to stand this Senior Student up, didn’t you?”
“Ahaha… Was it that obvious?” Ye Zhou laughed it off.
“…”
Thus, without another word, Chen Yuhe led Ye Zhou to the Prop Room on the other side.
“Senior Student, why did you bring me to the Prop Room? Strange, why is this light bulb flickering tonight? Is it broken? It’s pretty dark anyway, watch your step.”
“Haven’t you been the one organizing the Prop Room lately, Junior? There’s a stage prop I’ve been looking for for a long time and couldn’t find, so I thought I’d ask you to help me look for it.”
“So that’s what it is. No problem, leave it to me. But speaking of which, what stage prop are you looking for?”
Ye Zhou looked left and right, searching seriously through the rows of shelves.
Little did he know that behind him, Chen Yuhe pressed her heel against the door. With a click, she turned the lock.
Her almond eyes curved into crescents when she smiled, seemingly hiding a trace of craftiness.
She quietly took off the white baseball cap from her head, shook out the crimson long hair draped over her shoulders, held a hairpin in her mouth, and put her hair up.
“Junior Student, it’s still very early. No rush. Let’s look slowly…”
Ye Zhou scratched his head, looking completely bewildered.
“But Senior Student, we can look, but there’s no need to close the door, right?”
Chen Yuhe’s cheeks were flushed with a faint crimson glow. The corners of her eyes were slightly tilted with a bit of charm, and a shallow smile hung on her lips. Her eyes clearly held a few parts of craftiness and ambiguity, as if she were harboring some mischievous thoughts. Her entire expression was both innocent and seductive.
She lightly adjusted her white shirt which was open over a black camisole, paired with denim hot pants and Doc Martin boots. Her waist was slender, revealing long, fair legs as she walked over step by step, her pace neither fast nor slow.
“Junior Student, by now, do you still not understand why this Senior Student insisted on making an exception for the Drama and Film Club just to recruit someone of the opposite sex like you?”
“Uh… wasn’t it because you, they, uh… took an interest in my acting skills?”
Ye Zhou swallowed his saliva and subconsciously took a step back, bumping into a cardboard box by his feet during the process.
He immediately turned his head to see if any props had fallen from the nearby shelf. After confirming nothing had, he felt a sense of relief; after all, this had already become a traumatic shadow for him.
“Pfft~ Little Ye Zhou, you’re not being honest with your words~”
Soon, Chen Yuhe walked up close to Ye Zhou. A delicate fragrance brushed against the bangs on his forehead. His eyes were filled with total confusion and helplessness.
“Actually, this Senior Student recruited you with her own private motives.”
“Why? The reason is very simple: it’s because this Senior Student liked you from the very first moment she saw you. That’s why I recruited you into the club, so you could be with me.”
“I know Little Ye Zhou is very skeptical about the Love at First Sight I’m talking about, thinking there’s another purpose. But I just want to say, Love at First Sight is Love at First Sight; there aren’t that many ‘whys’.”
“You wouldn’t know, but I’ve had many pursuers around me since I was a child. But with one look at them, I feel nothing but irritation in my heart.”
“Only you. It has only ever been you. On the day of the club recruitment, I saw you in the crowd, and to say something funny, my little heart went thump-thump and hasn’t stopped since.”
“I only like the person I like. I never believe in any Love Developing Over Time.”
“The idea that feelings can be cultivated is a false proposition. If time and companionship were enough to make someone fall in love with you, then any two people in this world could fall in love.”
“Just like Florentino’s gaze at Fermina that felt like ten thousand years. The reason love makes people experience life and death is because all the answers were written on the day the two people first met.”