Peng Kai took several deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down.
He stepped back a little and, seeing Lan Hui’s surprised eyes, explained, “We’re standing too close. If my hand stays here, I can’t blow your hair properly.”
Lan Hui didn’t overthink it; obediently, she took two steps back, leaving about a dozen centimeters between them.
“Is this okay?”
Peng Kai nodded. “Yes, it’s fine.”
It didn’t hurt her.
Lan Hui felt the warm wind blowing as her boyfriend’s long fingers gently parted her hair strand by strand, tender and careful, as if afraid that any sudden movement would pull painfully.
Her smile blossomed like a flower.
Dating was truly wonderful. She had been single her entire life before, doing everything herself, never having experienced such delicate care.
“What are you smiling at all alone?” Peng Kai teased, watching the girl laugh incessantly, a bit silly but adorable.
Lan Hui’s eyes curved into crescents as she stood on tiptoe and kissed Peng Kai on the cheek.
“Kai-ge is helping me dry my hair, and I’m genuinely happy. If you keep helping me, I’ll stay happy forever.”
The girl’s words were sweet to the extreme, and her enthusiasm was overwhelming—how could Peng Kai resist?
A fiery heat surged through him like a raging flood, instantly overwhelming him.
He no longer cared about continuing to blow her hair; he turned off the dryer. Under Lan Hui’s astonished gaze, he reached for a towel on the shelf and spread it over the sink, then took two steps toward her.
With both hands gripping her waist, he lifted her and sat her on the sink.
Lan Hui gasped. Just as she was about to speak, Peng Kai’s handsome face grew larger before her eyes, his warm lips pressing against hers, swallowing the words she hadn’t finished.
Unable to resist any longer, he let his passion explode.
Peng Kai’s kiss was like a storm; Lan Hui had no time to react. Her large, beautiful eyes opened wide as she saw the fine beads of sweat on his forehead and nose.
His breath was scorching, brushing her face in waves.
His nose was high and sharp, like a mountain peak rising from the ground.
At this moment, his eyes were tightly closed, completely immersed in savoring her beauty.
Then, a large hand covered her eyes. She felt his lips release her slightly, and a low, hoarse voice whispered in her ear: “Fu Fu, focus.”
With those words, his fierce, domineering kiss came crashing down on her again, pulling her into madness.
Carried away by his passion, she began to actively respond, determined to pour out all the longing from the ten days apart during the New Year holiday in this way.
Peng Kai felt like he was going mad—this feeling was even stronger than last time.
Breathing heavily, increasingly desperate, his heartbeat seemed ready to leap out of his chest.
“Fu Fu, is this okay?” Peng Kai struggled to hold onto his last shred of reason and asked aloud.
Lan Hui had never eaten pork, but she had seen pigs running; she knew exactly what Peng Kai meant.
She hesitated. Their relationship had been confirmed for less than a month; it was too soon to take this step.
But looking at him, he seemed to be in pain.
“Kai-ge, I… I’m a little scared.”
His current state was terrifying. He gripped her shoulders tightly, his head resting by her ear, and something like a hot iron dagger pressed against her.
Too scary.
This fear wasn’t new—it had started when she saw his leg hair before.
At this moment, she truly wasn’t ready.
She didn’t know how to face it.
Peng Kai forced himself to step back several paces, turning his back to her. “Fu Fu, I want to take a shower. You go out first.”
“Okay, I’ll wait for you outside. When you’re done, open the door for me.” Lan Hui’s voice was as soft as a whisper.
“No need to go out. Just watch TV out here.” It was freezing outside in the dead of winter. There was no way Peng Kai would let her wait outside. He was a big man and didn’t care about the frosted glass.
“Alright, I’ll go watch TV, and I promise not to look around.” Lan Hui slid down from the sink and hurriedly left.
The room was warm, and Lan Hui turned the TV volume up high. Thoughtfully, she also turned off the lights.
Peng Kai took his time in the shower—about an hour before he came out.
Lan Hui was an adult; she naturally understood why Peng Kai was taking his time.
She lay on the bed like an ostrich, watching TV. When he came out, she didn’t speak.
Peng Kai walked straight to the small sofa and sat down, putting on his clothes and jacket tidily, curling up and preparing to sleep.
He was tall and lanky, curling up with most of one leg stretched out, looking quite pitiful.
Lan Hui felt sorry for him, so she turned off the TV. “Kai-ge, why don’t you come to bed to sleep?”
Peng Kai didn’t answer for a while.
Lan Hui asked again, “Kai-ge, are you asleep?”
Peng Kai finally spoke, “No.”
“Well, what I just said…”
Peng Kai fell silent again for a moment before rasping, “Fu Fu, you’re thinking too highly of me.”
Lan Hui was puzzled. “What do you mean?”
Peng Kai said, “I’m not some paragon like Liu Xiangwei. I’m just a perfectly normal man. If you ask me to sleep in bed with you, you know what that means.”
Lan Hui was silent, unsure how to respond.
Peng Kai’s voice carried restraint: “I won’t let you off as easily as I did in the bathroom.”
Lan Hui remained silent, too afraid to ask him to come sleep.
After a moment, she finally spoke to explain, “Kai-ge, when you asked me in the bathroom if I was willing, honestly… I wasn’t unwilling.”
“It’s just my first relationship, and I’m a bit scared about this kind of thing. I heard that if you drink a little and get tipsy, it doesn’t hurt as much. We can buy a bottle of wine when we get back to S City.”
Lan Hui had lived two lives and was open-minded. In her last life, many people dated in high school, went out to hotels in college, and cohabited.
Though she felt it was fast to develop this much in a month, she wasn’t opposed to him.
Moreover, she had decided to bring him home for the New Year next year and had already accepted him in her heart.
Peng Kai felt warmth in his heart. For a girl to explain so much showed how much she accommodated him.
“All right, we’ll talk about it when we get back. It’s almost one a.m. Let’s sleep; otherwise, we won’t get up tomorrow. Didn’t you say you wanted to stroll around the city?”
Their flight was at 2:20 p.m., so getting up early would still leave time to explore.
“Mm-hmm.”
Lan Hui obediently closed her eyes, but suddenly remembered something. The next second, she opened her eyes, threw back the covers, got up, and put on her shoes.
Peng Kai heard the movement and opened his eyes, looking at her curiously.
She took her red cotton jacket and gently covered him.
“Kai-ge, it’s cold at night. Even though there’s air conditioning, it’s safer to cover up.”
The jacket smelled sweet and warm. Peng Kai’s expression softened instantly; affectionately, he ruffled her hair. “Good night.”
Lan Hui smiled back. “Good night.”
Back in bed, Lan Hui was truly tired and soon fell into a deep sleep.
***
The next morning, at eight o’clock, Lan Hui’s alarm rang on time.
She got up, turned off the alarm, and went to pull open the curtains.
Peng Kai was also awakened by the alarm; he sat up and yawned.
“Oh no, it’s raining outside.” Lan Hui was very exasperated.
Peng Kai looked out the window. The rain wasn’t heavy but steady—not suitable for shopping.
“I remember it started raining at four a.m. and hasn’t stopped yet.”
Lan Hui looked at Peng Kai and noticed his dark circles. “Kai-ge, you didn’t sleep well again last night?”
Peng Kai sighed, “Just fell asleep for a bit.”
It was his first time sharing a room with a girl. Even though they didn’t sleep together, the invisible excitement kept him awake all night.
He only started feeling sleepy around seven a.m., having slept less than an hour total.
Lan Hui frowned. “Since it’s raining and everything outside is wet, why don’t we stay in? Let’s get ready, go downstairs for breakfast, then come back and sleep a bit more?”
Their hotel included breakfast.
Peng Kai nodded. “Okay.”
Ten minutes later, they finished washing up and went downstairs for breakfast.
The breakfast spread was abundant: rice porridge, fried dough sticks, soy milk, steamed buns, desserts, side dishes, fried eggs, milk—all kinds to choose from.
Lan Hui took some of her favorite side dishes, a dessert, fried dough sticks, fried eggs, and soy milk.
Peng Kai took a little of almost everything; he had a big appetite and had never stayed at such a nice hotel before. He wanted to try everything as long as he could finish it.