Chapter 225
Chapter 225
"Earlier is better. Then, we can start earlier," Xie Shiqing lightly bit her ear, her voice soft as a feather brushing across her earlobe. "Don’t you miss me?"
...Of course she did.
Someone who had only just experienced intimacy not long ago, at the peak of craving—it was impossible not to.
"Hurry up and apply it," Zhong Ning said quietly.
Xie Shiqing let out a low laugh and evenly spread the ointment over the bruise, then began massaging it in slow circles with her palm, just like the doctor had shown her.
The moment her hand pressed down, the skin beneath trembled.
A sharp inhale came from beside her.
When it came to enduring pain, Zhong Ning was the sensitive one. She couldn't take even the slightest bit. Even though Xie Shiqing was already applying as little pressure as possible, Zhong Ning still made a pained face.
It was a little heartbreaking, but also a little funny.
"It’ll be over soon, just a bit more."
In truth, it wouldn’t be. It would take at least thirty to forty strokes.
Zhong Ning scrunched her face. "Really?"
Xie Shiqing answered sincerely, "Really. I don’t lie now, remember?"
"Alright then." Zhong Ning believed her.
A while later—
She lay there lifelessly, muttering, "Liar. Said it would be quick."
Xie Shiqing picked up her phone. "Not even five minutes. Isn’t that fast? It’s just that the pain stretched your perception of time, making it feel longer."
She propped herself up on the bed and kissed Zhong Ning’s lips. "I’m going to wash my hands."
She had to apply ointment on her body, and also on her face—but for the face, a cotton swab would suffice, and it didn’t hurt as much.
Still, that palm print on her face was quite obvious.
Every time Xie Shiqing saw it, she couldn’t help but feel distressed.
She sent a message to Assistant Fang: [Send the best lawyer. I want Zhong Lin to spend the rest of her life in prison.]
Xie Shiqing didn’t have a biological clock. Her sleep schedule was highly irregular. Zhong Ning, however, did have one. After waking up, she didn’t get out of bed right away. Instead, she turned her head to look at the person beside her.
Xie Shiqing lay right there, eyes closed, her sleeping face calm and peaceful.
An overly beautiful face—the kind that haunted Zhong Ning’s dreams, someone she could never let go of.
Maybe her gaze was too intense, because Xie Shiqing’s brows twitched slightly, her eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes. Upon seeing Zhong Ning, she instinctively turned over and leaned in, resting her head in the hollow of Zhong Ning’s neck. "What time is it?"
Zhong Ning struggled to reach for the phone beside the pillow. "Just past eight."
"If you’re sleepy, sleep a bit more."
Xie Shiqing hummed in response, nuzzling against her cheek, her voice soft like melted cotton candy. "Just a quick nap."
"Okay."
But the nap didn’t succeed.
The door was suddenly pushed open by an uninvited guest. Matsutake jumped up onto the bed, dropped a leash from its mouth with a plop.
It didn’t say anything, but the message was clear.
Zhong Ning rubbed her forehead. "Little Ancestor... You sleep a bit longer, Shiqing. I promised her two days of play. I’ll get up first."
"I’ll get up too."
Xie Shiqing yawned. "I need to get my hair done. It’s going to take a few hours."
Last time, it had taken her an entire afternoon just to finish perming it.
Zhong Ning said, "Then have breakfast before you go. There’s a breakfast place downstairs, the food is really good."
Xie Shiqing replied, "Still need to apply the ointment."
Zhong Ning’s expression stiffened. "...Of course we do, haha."
After another round of grimacing, she changed her clothes and, along with the impatient Matsutake, the three of them went downstairs together.
Michelle held Matsutake’s toy in her hand. Of course, they had to bring her along when going out—otherwise, relying on Zhong Ning alone, even if she swung her arm until it broke, she couldn’t possibly keep up with Matsutake’s demands for play.
Especially now that the dog was in her prime, bursting with energy. She sprinted wildly every day and only seemed to grow more vigorous with time. It was truly too much for one person to handle.
There was a pet park nearby, with a large grassy field where dogs could run freely.
Matsutake often went there and had already made familiar Border Collie companions.
Zhong Ning brought her camera along, planning to shoot some footage to update her account. Editing and adding subtitles later would be Michelle’s task.
In the afternoon, Xie Shiqing returned with silky straight long hair. She had also dyed the ends—just a short five-centimeter section dyed red. She had changed back into a cheongsam, and the tassels on the jade hairpin in her hair swayed gently with each step she took, graceful and dazzling, so beautiful it was blinding.
Zhong Ning turned her head, sensing something, and their eyes met—one glance, and it felt like a lifetime.
The first time she had seen Xie Shiqing, she had been wearing a cheongsam—it had stunned her instantly. After everything they’d been through, seeing her again wasn’t the same as back then, but the sense of awe remained unchanged.
People often fell for what they had once loved all over again—and also for those they had once loved.
"Shiqing."
She walked over and tilted the parasol to the side, casting its shadow over them both.
Xie Shiqing lifted the ends of her hair like a mermaid showing off her tail. "Look."
Zhong Ning said, "It’s very pretty. It suits you."
Xie Shiqing’s eyes curved into a smile. "Then can I get a kiss?"
Zhong Ning held the parasol with one hand and wrapped her other arm around her waist. She lowered her head and caught her lips in a kiss, speaking softly and vaguely between breaths, "You can."
Matsutake was joyfully running all over the lawn, playing with the other Border Collies, and hadn’t noticed that Zhong Ning had stepped away for a moment.
"Looks like Border Collies only play with other Border Collies," Xie Shiqing observed with a hint of puzzlement.
The field was large, and there were many dogs—Samoyeds, Golden Retrievers, and so on—most gathered in groups of three or five, regardless of breed or size. Only the Border Collies stuck together, with no other dogs mixing into their circle.
Zhong Ning thought for a moment and said, "They say it’s because Border Collies are really smart, so they don’t play with other dogs—they look down on them. That’s what they say, anyway. Some pet bloggers explained it like that. I mean, I don’t actually understand what dogs are saying either."