Chapter 55: Ah Si Is the Best at Acting Pitiful

Qiao Xu was already half-reclining on the sofa when the man leaned forward and pressed down on her, causing the tablet in her hand to slip and crash onto the carpet.

"Turn off the lights."

"No, I want to look at you."

Qiao Xu reached out to grab the remote control on the coffee table, but the moment her fingers brushed the surface, he pulled her hand back.

"I'll use the remote to turn them off."

Seeing that she could still speak even while being kissed, Xu Si'an's kisses grew more urgent and deeper, grinding down lightly as if in punishment.

"I said don't turn them off, baby. It's not like it's your first time looking, anyway."

"I don't want to look. Hurry up, turn off the lights."

Biting her lower lip, Qiao Xu took advantage of the moment Xu Si'an reached into the drawer for something to grab the remote and switch off the overhead lights.

Xu Si'an called out to the smart assistant, turning on the warm light in the entryway.

A white bath towel dropped beside his feet, and Qiao Xu stared at him speechlessly as he leisurely put on protection!

So, what on earth was the point of her fighting for the remote for all that time?

Xu Si'an gently pinched her cheek. "Isn't it nice to look at me?"

"Qiaoqiao, don't you want to see what I look like when I'm overcome with passion for you?"

Qiao Xu averted her eyes. "I don't want to see."

That version of him didn't look human at all.

Those eyes, filled with love and raw desire, could practically scorch Qiao Xu.

"Baby, I'll always be here from now on, you don't need to be afraid."

"I will protect you."

"I'll protect you and your mother."

"From now on, I will hold up our home. You just need to be a good girl, take care of yourself, and love me."

Fortunately, the walls of Xu Si'an's apartment had been specially soundproofed with an interlayer; otherwise, with the intensity of their tossing and turning, Qiao Xu's mother next door would have been blushing from head to toe.

After a long time...

Qiao Xu raised her head, her mist-filled pupils reflecting only halos of light.

Xu Si'an's scorching gaze beneath his disheveled bangs was soul-stirring. "Baby, they can't hear us outside."

Qiao Xu gently bit her lower lip. "Shut up."

"Close your eyes." Had he no shame? Those eyes were staring fixedly right at her.

"Relax, if you stay like this..."

Xu Si'an's voice grew husky, his fingertips hooking a stray lock of hair from her cheek. "I... can't move."

Qiao Xu: "..."

He couldn't move? Was that her imagination?

Just before losing consciousness, Qiao Xu felt immensely grateful that the sofa in Xu Si'an's place was black; otherwise...

Late at night, after cleaning up the living room, Xu Si'an retrieved a pack of cigarettes from the drawer beneath the coffee table.

In his hand, he was still holding Qiao Xu's phone.

He opened the balcony door to let the lingering scent of passion dissipate into the night air.

The password to Qiao Xu's phone was the same as her door code—his name spelled out on the nine-key pinyin keypad.

[987426]

While they were busy just moments ago, Qiao Xu's WeChat had buzzed several times.

She had reached out to check it on multiple occasions, only for him to stop her every time.

Xu Si'an tapped into Qiao Xu's WeChat. Aside from a few pinned chats, the top conversation was with someone nicknamed 'Mo'.

The last message in the chat history read: [You can try opening your heart to him.]

Xu Si'an tapped into the chat to review the most recent messages between them.

He would have loved to read the older ones, but there were none.

Perhaps she was covering her tracks, deleting the chat history after every conversation.

If it weren't for the fact that both of them had been 'occupied' just now, he probably wouldn't have caught a glimpse of this log.

Xu Si'an forwarded this person's WeChat contact card to his own account, deleted the chat history, and restored the messages to unread status.

After finishing his cigarette, Xu Si'an suddenly remembered Qiao Xu's old WeChat account.

He pressed his lips together lightly and switched accounts.

His breathing instantly grew shallow and rapid.

Because in Qiao Xu's old WeChat, there was only one contact: him.

He walked into the kitchen, retrieved a bottle of red wine from the wine cabinet, opened it, and poured a glass.

The chat history between the two of them still stopped right where Xu Si'an had asked her late at night if she had stolen his dog.

Anything further up consisted entirely of the messages he had sent her four years ago, begging her not to break up.

After finishing the wine, Xu Si'an washed the glass, his water-droplet-kissed fingertips brushing against the profile picture of Qiao Xu's old WeChat account.

The top post in her Moments was published a few months ago, set to be visible only to herself.

[Xu Si'an, long time no see.]

As his trembling fingertips scrolled downward, the man's spine suddenly arched.

His shoulders shook violently.

Every single important day—his birthday, their anniversary, the fourteenth of every month.

There was a Moments post visible only to her.

More than three years ago, a single post instantly tore Xu Si'an's heart to shreds.

[Why wasn't it me who died? I could have died in Dad's place.]

Xu Si'an's elbow accidentally bumped the unfinished bottle of red wine on the counter, and the glass bottle crashed to the floor, startling Qiao Xu awake inside the bedroom.

Panicked, he switched his WeChat back and placed the phone on the counter.

He squatted down to pick up the shattered glass.

The moment his fingers brushed the shards, a jagged edge sliced across his skin, crimson blood mingling with the spilled red wine.

"Xu Si'an, what are you doing?"

Qiao Xu felt her way in the dark toward the light switch, then suddenly remembered she could use a voice command.

Blinded temporarily by the sudden glare of the lights, she waited a moment for her eyes to adjust before spotting the man squatting in the kitchen.

On the floor lay spilled wine and broken glass.

Fresh blood was still dripping from the man's slender fingers. "Xu Si'an, what on earth are you doing?"

Qiao Xu's waist and legs were still aching; every step felt like a form of torture.

Xu Si'an raised his head, his tear-filled eyes almost scaring Qiao Xu out of her wits.

He was wearing nothing but one of his oversized shirts, which barely covered his thighs.

She grabbed a paper towel from the counter, squatted down beside him, and pressed it against his bleeding finger. "What is CEO Xu doing wide awake in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"

Tears welled up and spilled from the corners of Xu Si'an's eyes. "I wanted a glass of wine, but I dropped the bottle. Did I wake you?"

When she tilted her head, her dark hair cascaded down.

Fearing that her hair would drag through the spilled wine on the floor, Xu Si'an hurriedly swept it back over her shoulder.

"I'm fine, just accidentally nicked myself."

Qiao Xu chuckled softly. "Right, Ah Si is best at acting pitiful. Crying just from a little scratch."

Being a few months younger than her, the sight of his reddened eyes melted her heart into an absolute puddle.

His handsome features, eyes brimming with tears, and the blood-stained tissue in his hand.

Qiao Xu suddenly understood the internet saying: [The moment he cries, the entire world is in the wrong.]

Ah Si.

It had been a very long time since she had called him by that affectionate nickname.

Even during their most intimate moments, whenever Qiao Xu lost herself in passion, she would only call him by his full name.

"Qiaoqiao, can you call me that again?"

Qiao Xu tugged his hand to help him stand up, turned on the faucet, and placed his injured hand under the running water to rinse it.

"Ah Si looks so pitiful when he cries."

Standing behind her, Xu Si'an lowered his head to nuzzle her collarbone. "Does Qiaoqiao's heart ache, then?"

"It aches, so Ah Si shouldn't cry anymore, okay?"

Qiao Xu gently massaged his short hair, turned off the faucet, and looked at his still-bleeding fingertip.

"How did you manage to get such a deep cut? Where's the first aid kit? I'll go get it."

Wrapping one arm around her waist, Xu Si'an lifted her up and set her on the counter. "Sit. I'll get it."

Barefoot, he started to step across the shattered glass, but Qiao Xu grabbed his wrist.

"Walk the other way."

Xu Si'an retrieved the first aid kit from the cabinet, but when he turned around, he saw Qiao Xu already squatting on the floor, picking up the pieces of the broken wine bottle.

Flashing vividly in his mind was the sentence she had written: [I could have died in Dad's place.]

"Don't move!"