Chapter 34: So Warm
The elevator belonging to the boxing club had no surveillance cameras.
If there were any, they probably would have captured the sight of a man and woman passionately kissing at this moment.
Ji Yueling reached up to wrap her arms around his neck, while Gu Qing’s hand rested on her back. The descent from the thirtieth floor to the ground floor took about fifteen seconds, so they kissed for fifteen seconds, breaking apart the instant the elevator doors opened.
Ji Yueling instinctively wanted to ask him why he had suddenly asked if she wanted to kiss, but the words reached her lips and she held back.
Gu Qing turned his head to glance at her, seeing her hesitant expression, and looked rather surprised instead. “You’re not going to ask?”
“You’d find me annoying.” Ji Yueling replied flatly.
“Hm? Have you already conquered yourself to this extent?” Gu Qing suddenly laughed, walking out of the elevator with her. Ji Yueling stood beside him as he opened his umbrella. Outside the building, wind and rain were swaying wildly, and the light under the streetlamps was clear and dim yellow.
“So why did you suddenly ask if I wanted to kiss?”
The two walked into the curtain of rain. The umbrella wasn’t large, so Gu Qing tilted it slightly toward her. He thought for a moment before answering, “It’s like when you get beaten as a child and want to burrow into your mother’s arms afterward. When people are in pain, they might want some psychological comfort. Kissing is an interesting thing—it’s how humans express love.”
“I don’t quite understand.”
But fortunately, Gu Qing seemed quite willing to show off this bit of knowledge, saying, “Just like how apes don’t express love through kissing, but humans do. This is a habit that took many, many years to develop, to the point where our bodies have even evolved the ability to secrete pleasant hormones when kissing. I just got beaten up and it hurt, so I need some comfort.”
“The way you talk always sounds like you’re removing yourself from the equation, as if you’re not human yourself…”
Ji Yueling leaned slightly closer to Gu Qing, hesitating for a moment before slowly saying, “In the future, whenever you’re in pain, you can kiss me.”
“Huh?” Gu Qing was stunned. “What’s that supposed to be? A confession?”
“Of course not.” Ji Yueling said flatly. “Because you’re right—kissing makes people feel good. It’s mutually beneficial.”
“Tch, with that kind of thinking, you’ll gradually remove yourself from the human identity too.” Gu Qing’s voice became gentler. Ji Yueling turned her face away. “I learned it from you.”
“So are you okay?” Ji Yueling asked quietly.
“I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt as much anymore.”
“Want a hug?”
“No.”
“Mommy will hug you.” Ji Yueling said with cold playfulness.
“I was never hugged by my mom as a kid. My mother died not long after giving birth to me.” Gu Qing thought for a moment and said, “My dad died early too. I grew up with my aunt.”
“I’m sorry.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry about…” Gu Qing shook his head. “But I do sometimes envy you. Like when I told you before that family is your burden, that it makes you unfree—those were just sour grapes because I couldn’t have what you have. I’m very envious of your happy family. Honestly, I think you should give up on revenge and live a few more decades. At least see your family off when their time comes, right? Otherwise, if you die before forty, it’ll be parents burying their child. How heartbroken would your mom and dad be?”
“You’re so noisy.” Ji Yueling’s voice turned cold again.
This time it was Gu Qing’s turn to laugh helplessly. He didn’t plan to continue—it was just a casual comment anyway. Everyone should have the right to choose how they want to live.
Rain pattered on the umbrella surface, roadside leaves swayed constantly, traffic flowed on the streets, and several days of rain had created puddles of various sizes on the ground. Ji Yueling didn’t mention taking him home, and Gu Qing said nothing either. The two suddenly began walking aimlessly but in perfect sync along the roadside, neither saying where to go.
After walking for half an hour, Gu Qing saw a convenience store in the distance and his eyes suddenly lit up. He handed the umbrella to Ji Yueling and jogged over. When Ji Yueling leisurely walked over with the umbrella, she found Gu Qing selecting oden.
Convenience store oden at night was always the most flavorful. Gu Qing bought lots of fish balls, beef balls, and chicken meatballs, but no vegetables. The convenience store had small seating areas, and Ji Yueling sat beside him, casually taking a skewer of beef balls from his bowl. Fortunately, Gu Qing didn’t say anything.
After finishing the oden, Gu Qing contentedly drank the broth as well.
Ji Yueling had to admit, watching him eat was truly enjoyable, because he looked exactly like someone who’d been starved to death in a previous life, as if everything tasted delicious. After finishing the oden, the two continued walking with the umbrella, and the rain gradually lessened.
The air was fresh and humid. Ji Yueling suddenly thought of something and said, “You killed Ma Asi. Logically, if you went through proper channels to report to the Alliance, they’d give you a substantial reward.”
Gu Qing immediately looked at her like she was an idiot. “And then the Ma royal family in the Great Wilderness would receive news that I killed him and begin hunting me relentlessly. Which do you think is more worthwhile?”
“True.” Ji Yueling came to her senses, finally understanding the stakes and why Gu Qing had forced Ma Asi to play Russian roulette one more time.
“I have one last, final question.”
“Ask away.” This time Gu Qing didn’t show any impatience.
“Weren’t you really afraid that when it was your turn, the revolver would blow your head off?”
Gu Qing innocently blinked at her and answered the question quite simply, making Ji Yueling’s question sound like nonsense.
“Being afraid wouldn’t help, so I wasn’t afraid.”
………………………………
Before they knew it, the two had walked to a park.
They had been strolling in the rain for over an hour. Each time they reached a fork in the road, one of them would make the choice—left or right—and so they wandered until they arrived here. The park had a pavilion for shelter from rain, and Gu Qing and Ji Yueling walked inside.
Ji Yueling’s dress was slightly dampened by rain dew, making the petal-like hem even more charming. They sat together, and Gu Qing caught the fresh scent of grass and trees in the air, along with the faint fragrance on Ji Yueling—something like juniper, with hints of orange and cinnamon.
Then Gu Qing’s hand naturally settled on Ji Yueling’s leg. He chose to sit on Ji Yueling’s right side, precisely because the irregular hem of her dress allowed Gu Qing to touch the soft flesh of her right thigh directly.
Then Gu Qing gave it a pinch.
Her skin was smooth and soft, with an elastic, silky feel. Unfortunately, Ji Yueling wouldn’t shriek sensitively like Lu Qianqian—she just gave him a slightly reproachful look.
Gu Qing pinched again.
Ji Yueling didn’t show the disgusted expression he expected. She simply turned her gaze toward the flower beds outside the pavilion, where rain-dampened azaleas swayed as if slightly intoxicated.
It wasn’t until Gu Qing’s fingertips touched the soft flesh of her inner thigh, where the skin was several degrees warmer than elsewhere, that she finally whispered softly, “It tickles.”
“So warm.” Gu Qing said.
So Ji Yueling pressed her thighs together, trapping his hand like little crab claws.
“The weather’s getting warmer. When do you plan to move out from Lu Qianqian’s place?” Ji Yueling suddenly asked.
“In half a month?”
This was something Gu Qing had planned early on. He certainly didn’t intend to keep freeloading at Lu Qianqian’s house, and Lu Qianqian would be starting school in another half month. Then Gu Qing would return to his wandering life. Actually, Gu Qing was a bit depressed, because people are like that—it’s easy to go from frugal to extravagant, but hard to go from extravagant back to frugal.
“What do you plan to do after you move out?”
“Why would I need to plan? I’ll live like I did before. Life doesn’t need planning.”
“Continue sleeping under bridges and in internet cafes?”
“What else?”
“You could… live with me.” Ji Yueling hesitated before answering. “My house is very big.”
Gu Qing shook his head. “No.”
“Why?”
“You’re too troublesome.” Gu Qing answered honestly.
“I could gradually learn to… not be troublesome.”
“The moment you say that, it means you’ve become even more troublesome.” Gu Qing finally managed to pull his hand free from where it was tightly clamped between her thighs. “I still prefer you the way you used to be—cold and always giving me dirty looks. Go back to that.”
Instantly, Ji Yueling’s eyes turned cold again. Whether it was because of her excellent acting or because Gu Qing’s words had wounded her pride was unclear.
The rain gradually intensified to the point where even an umbrella wouldn’t make walking comfortable. The park was empty, and the small light in the pavilion was quite dim. Gu Qing moved closer again to touch Ji Yueling’s leg. Ji Yueling always tried to trap his hand by pressing her thighs together whenever he touched the soft flesh of her inner thigh, but Gu Qing seemed to anticipate this and avoided it. After several rounds, however, he was caught again.
If you walk by the river often, your shoes will eventually get wet.
“Want to come to my place tonight?” Ji Yueling suddenly asked.
“Huh?” Gu Qing was puzzled and surprised by her sudden question.
When a woman living alone invites you to her home, it’s truly a terrifying thing—it represents the possibility of accidentally being completely consumed. Ji Yueling looked at him with indifferent eyes and slowly said, “You dare to kiss my face and touch my legs, but you don’t dare come home with me?”
“Such a low-level provocation!”
“So?”
“Let me text Qianqian first.” Gu Qing took out his phone, but for a moment didn’t know what to say. Should he say he was being abducted by Ji Yueling to go home and sleep? He actually hesitated and kept editing as he typed—how strange, he never used to be like this.
“Don’t know what to say?” Ji Yueling glanced at him sideways.
“Hiss, seems like it.”
Ji Yueling reached out her hand, indicating he should give her the phone. Gu Qing handed it over without hesitation—he didn’t mind others making decisions for him. After all, he didn’t care whether things turned out good or bad; it was all the same to him.
Ji Yueling leaned close to the microphone and sent a voice message: “Gu Qing won’t be coming back tonight. He drank too much, so I’m taking him home to sleep. Don’t wait for him, get some rest early. I’ll take good care of him.”