Returning - Chapter 142

Chapter 142: Simple Happiness

Ling Jianwei had always thought that some secrets would remain buried in his heart forever, unknown to anyone. He never expected that his feelings would still not escape Tang Xi's eyes.

The first time he aroused her suspicion was probably on his seventeenth birthday.

That day, Tang Xi and Zhuang Ye left the pottery shop early and prepared a lavish birthday dinner for him at the apartment, even giving him gifts together.

Since all three had some alcohol with dinner, they went to rest quite early. Just as he was drifting off to sleep, he suddenly heard intermittent moans from next door.

With his previous experience, he immediately realized what they were doing. He blushed with shame instantly but failed to follow reason and cover his ears.

Usually, he went home at night and had never stayed overnight at Zhuang Ye's apartment, so he had no idea the soundproofing in this room was so poor that he could basically hear their conversations next door clearly.

Perhaps due to the alcohol, Zhuang Ye seemed even wilder than last time that night, occasionally letting out utterly embarrassing lewd words.

And Tang Xi that night was not as shy as she had been in the kitchen last time. The words she used to respond to Zhuang Ye were equally bold and explicit, making Ling Jianwei's face burn, his heart race, and his breath quicken.

That night, once again, he couldn't control himself as he imagined her completely naked, using his hand to relieve his desire.

Unlike before, this time he heard her moans and pleas with his own ears. The distance of just one wall added more excitement, making his body even more aroused.

He felt ashamed, yet couldn't stop.

When he woke up the next day, his underwear was wet again, unsurprisingly. Thinking he was in Zhuang Ye's apartment, and that Tang Xi was there too, he felt even more ashamed. He could only hurriedly get up, deal with it casually, and prepare to clean himself up properly in the bathroom.

He deliberately waited until there was no sound outside before going out, assuming Zhuang Ye and Tang Xi, after such a long night of intimacy, would surely still be asleep. But just as he reached the bathroom door, he ran into Tang Xi.

She was moving carefully with light steps, probably afraid of waking Zhuang Ye.

When she saw him, she was clearly startled too. Because she wasn't wearing a bra, only a slip nightgown, he could even clearly see the two protrusions on her chest.

At that moment, Ling Jianwei felt his face had burned to over forty degrees Celsius, both because her appearance made him unable to control his physical reaction immediately, and because he was still holding that damp underwear in his hand.

Although he had hidden his hand behind his back at once, and though the underwear was crumpled into a ball in his grip, he couldn't shake the feeling that she had already noticed.

That must have been the most wretched moment of his life. One hand clutching the underwear hidden behind his back, the other hand pressed against his crotch through his thin sleeping pants, legs pressed together, his whole body hunched forward. The more he tried to conceal his predicament, the more awkward and flustered he became.

Besides, his conscience was never clear. Because he often thought of her while pleasuring himself, even doing so last night while listening to her make love with Zhuang Ye. His damp underwear was caused by dreams of her, and his aroused state was still because of her.

He was so nervous that even his voice trembled when he greeted her: "M-Morning... morning..."

Tang Xi was equally embarrassed. She covered her chest with her hand, nodded at him, said "You go first," and hurried back to the bedroom.

Yet her retreat didn't lessen his embarrassment by half. Thinking that everything had been discovered by her, he wished he could jump straight down from the nineteenth floor.

But later, he began to console himself, telling himself that nocturnal emissions and morning erections happened to every man. Even if Tang Xi had encountered him, it only proved his body was normal, nothing to be ashamed of. As for the matter of him thinking of her and listening to her voice while pleasuring himself, she couldn't possibly have found out.

Unfortunately, her reactions over the following days told him that she not only knew about his filthy behavior, but also understood that his feelings toward her were far from pure.

Because she was deliberately avoiding him, no longer willing to be alone with him. Even though she previously didn't like showing affection with Zhuang Ye in front of him, several times she deliberately acted very intimate with Zhuang Ye. She also frequently declared her love for Zhuang Ye in front of him, saying that he was the only one in her heart.

Ling Jianwei knew she was using this subtle way to tell him to give up on her.

But he had already grown accustomed to thinking of her constantly, wanting to see her every day. How could he possibly give up?

Later, her one-month stay in Donghai ended, and she returned to her hometown alone. He could no longer see her.

He could only stare at her WeChat and Weibo every day, looking at the occasional updates she posted.

He still often hung out with Zhuang Ye. Sometimes he could hear Zhuang Ye calling her, video chatting with her, and learn some news about her from Zhuang Ye's mouth.

But until he returned to London, he still didn't get to see her again that holiday.

In the days that followed, they were separated by thousands of miles, and meeting was even more impossible. The happiest thing he did every day was just looking at her Moments and Weibo, or occasionally hearing Zhuang Ye mention a thing or two, knowing that she was doing well.

He held no extravagant hopes for her, so he didn't find such days unbearable or such feelings agonizing.

On the contrary, in a foreign land, thinking of her when he felt lonely or when his studies were heavy, seeing her latest updates, he felt happy and content.

Unfortunately, all of this was still shattered in her senior year of university.

That year, he was in his junior year, preparing to continue studying for a master's degree. During that time, he returned home due to family matters. Before heading back to London, he suddenly really wanted to see her.

Every time he came back in the past two-plus years, he would meet up with Zhuang Ye and naturally got to see her. But this time, Zhuang Ye had been arranged by his family to intern at an overseas branch, so he lost the excuse to see her.

But he was already so close to her. Leaving for England again without seeing her once—he wasn't resigned to it.

So he called her, asking with feigned casualness if they could have a meal together.

He had already prepared himself for rejection, but to his surprise, she agreed, even telling him to go directly to Zhuang Ye's apartment, saying she was staying there now.

The first moment he saw her, he was stunned. The girl who used to be so radiantly beautiful had somehow grown much thinner. Even though she had deliberately put on makeup, he could still see her haggardness.

Nervously, he asked: "Are you sick? Or did something happen?"

She only said faintly: "Zhuang Ye and I broke up."

At that moment, he was very surprised. Given his close relationship with Zhuang Ye, he should have known about their breakup. Besides, they were such a perfect match; it was such a pity for them to part.

But the next instant, he suddenly realized that somewhere in his heart, there seemed to be a hint of joy.

He was ashamed of his own baseness and shamelessness, yet couldn't stop the flickering spark somewhere inside him that was eager to try.

As if seeing through his thoughts, she asked him: "Do you like me?"

His heartbeat suddenly skipped a beat, and his face burned bright red. Yet he still mustered his courage and nodded at her.

Then, before he could even react, she had already stood on tiptoe and kissed his lips.

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