Chapter 223
Chapter 223
"I love you too, Shiqing."
Their faces inched closer and closer, their breaths mingling. Zhong Ning blinked slowly. Xie Shiqing's face in her vision grew increasingly blurred; all she could make out was her curled eyelashes trembling slightly, like an uneasy butterfly.
Zhong Ning gently pressed her lips against hers. Their mouths instantly melded together, tasting and exploring one another with delicate movements, filled with an indescribable tenderness.
With her palm resting against Xie Shiqing's slender back, Zhong Ning leaned back onto the sofa, guiding her down with gentle pressure.
Their entwined kiss grew more passionate, as if a slow waltz had turned into a tango. At some point, Xie Shiqing ended up sitting on her lap, and Zhong Ning's hand slid under her nightdress, coming to rest on the smooth skin of her thigh.
The air in the room gradually grew warmer, and faint, scattered breaths began to rise.
Suddenly, the sound of a key being inserted came from the door.
The two who had been kissing snapped awake and quickly pulled apart. Within seconds, they had returned to their original positions, straightening their disheveled clothes.
But the slightly swollen lips couldn't be hidden no matter what.
Pine Mushroom trotted quickly through the door and came to an abrupt stop in front of the sofa, barking once at Xie Shiqing.
Michelle closed the door behind them. Her gaze swept over the two of them before she said with her usual composure, "Good evening."
Zhong Ning cleared her throat. "Good evening. Thank you for your hard work, Michelle."
"I'm just doing what I should. It's no trouble. I’ll head to my room for a shower. Call me if you need anything."
Michelle, without a change in expression, returned to her room.
Zhong Ning knew she must have figured out what had been going on, but she was incredibly considerate and didn’t say a word about it. She acted completely nonchalant, as if nothing had happened, preserving their dignity as her employers.
Michelle was someone with a great sense of tact. Pine Mushroom, however, was not. It was a dog with a temper.
At that moment, it turned its little doggy head, casting a sidelong glance at the two of them on the sofa.
A dog is a dog; a Border Collie is a Border Collie.
Zhong Ning treated it like an equal she could communicate with. She patted the sofa. "Pine Mushroom, come say hello to your second mom."
Xie Shiqing let out a giggle, unable to hold back her laughter. "What kind of title is that? I should probably apologize first."
She didn’t mind having to apologize to a dog.
Pine Mushroom was essentially Zhong Ning’s possession. The apology wasn’t truly for the dog—it was a way to mend her relationship with Zhong Ning.
What mattered was that Zhong Ning wanted the two of them to get along. That was the heart of the issue.
Xie Shiqing got up, fetched the snacks they had bought, opened the package, and took out a cheese stick. Slowing her speech, she said very clearly, "I’m sorry. I’m apologizing to you. This is a peace offering."
As she spoke, she extended the snack in her hand.
Pine Mushroom’s nose twitched as it sniffed the sweet, fragrant scent of the cheese stick, moving closer and closer, until—slap—its nose touched it.
It instantly darted back two steps, barked once, and ran to its mat to press the button. "Angry! Angry!"
Xie Shiqing picked up the bag again and laid out everything inside in a row. "Please forgive me. These are all yours."
Zhong Ning watched its ears perk up as it licked its lips, trying desperately not to laugh.
Pine Mushroom was clever, but also greedy—especially when it came to snacks. These were the kind of treats she usually wasn’t allowed to eat too often. Every time she wanted one, she had to go through a battle of wits and effort, completing tasks with great enthusiasm just to earn a single piece.
Now, an entire row of them was laid out.
The little dog kept licking her lips, clearly ravenous with desire.
Zhong Ning tried to coax her. "Our Pine Mushroom is the most generous and forgiving pup in the world. She’ll definitely forgive her, right? If you forgive her, I promise—two whole days of non-stop play. Whatever you want to play, we’ll play it."
A heavy weight was added to the other side of the scale.
Pine Mushroom could no longer hold onto her principles. Tongue hanging out, she trotted over and happily devoured the cheese stick.
After finishing the cheese stick, she moved on to bone biscuits, freeze-dried rabbit ears... she went through three or four packs. Zhong Ning gathered up the remaining snacks. "These are for the next couple of days. You can take them with you when we go out, okay?"
Pine Mushroom was already full. She hadn’t been hungry to begin with, so after a moment of thought, she agreed.
Zhong Ning put the bag into the toy box. "If you don’t sneak any tonight, I’ll take you out for ice cream tomorrow."
The little dog was so happy she pressed the "happy" button several times in a row and snuggled up to Zhong Ning for a long while—of course, giving Xie Shiqing no acknowledgment at all.
But Xie Shiqing didn’t mind.
As the clock edged toward ten o’clock, Pine Mushroom returned to her room to sleep.
Xie Shiqing gently placed her hand on the edge of the sofa. Her eyes lingered, full of entangling tenderness. "It’s late… I… I should go."
"Driving at night isn’t safe. Too much traffic," Zhong Ning lied through her teeth with a straight face. "Why don’t you stay over? I have two pillows on my bed."
Chapter 77
Fengcheng wasn’t exactly a city that never slept. Although its nightlife stretched on, the amount of traffic at night was still far less than during the day.
Even Zhong Ning herself found her clumsy excuse laughable the moment it came out of her mouth, but she maintained a perfectly calm demeanor.
"Do you want to stay?"
Xie Shiqing’s eyes sparkled brighter than a river of stars. "I do." She bit her lip. "I can’t think of any reason to say no."
Zhong Ning’s bedroom was spacious. She usually rotated between three different comforters. Since Xie Shiqing was staying the night, she brought out a light one, shook it out, and laid it neatly on the bed.
"There’s a new toothbrush at home." She walked to the living room and took a fresh one from the drawer under the TV cabinet.
"You wash up first," Zhong Ning said, and just as she was about to leave, her wrist was suddenly caught.
"Let’s do it together. It’s probably not easy for you to bend over right now—it must hurt your stomach, right?" Xie Shiqing’s fingertips pressed against the inside of her wrist, slowly sliding downward inch by inch until they rested at the base of her palm, bringing a subtle, ticklish sensation.
"I won’t do anything," she said.
Zhong Ning let out a soft laugh.