When Qin Gengxin reached for another magazine, found there still had his picture, he closed the magazine and turned to Xian Guiying, who was sleeping with her back to him.
He looked at her for a long time before the faint sound of retreating footsteps could be heard from outside the door.
Xian Guiying couldn't sleep at all. She sighed in relief when she heard the sound of footsteps leaving. She suddenly turned and folded her hands on the pillow, placed her cheeks on them. She adjusted her position and stared at Qin Gengxin.
She looked at him for a moment, as if she had already guessed something, and then she sat up and grabbed the magazine he was reading. She put it down neatly and said, "This is the business magazine bought by Dalisay, she ordered it for me. Usually I will read them before I go to bed."
In the past two years, she hadn't really paid much attention to Qin Gengxin. She only saw his pictures in magazines and knew that he hadn't changed at all.
Seeing that Qin Gengxin was just looking at her and said nothing, Xian Guiying immediately closed her mouth. Then, with a faint smile, she lay down as if nothing had happened. Xian Guiying lifted the blanket over her body and said in a muffled voice, "I'm going to sleep."
After that, she closed her eyes with a wronged look on her face.
Qin Gengxin's mouth twitched slightly as he looked at the upset expression on Xian Guiying's face. That kind of behavior reminded him of her many years ago when she was still a little girl of about twenty.
The expression on her face was often vivid and lifelike, and the current Xian Guiying, after being tempered by the passage of time, often suppressed too many emotions.
They had all become so unfamiliar with themselves that they had almost forgotten the many traces of eleven years ago.
He suddenly recalled the night when they had an affair. Qin Gengxin tried his best to recall the night. He could barely recall some fragments, but they were not coherent. Only a little bit warm and he also could even recall the time when he touched the soft skin. He was so overwhelmed by the woman's beauty that he was completely unable to control himself.
It wasn't that he hadn't found the reason, but he just couldn't remember how it had happened.
Suddenly, Qin Gengxin thought of the scene that he had deliberately forgotten. Feeling the change in his lower body, he frowned and switched off the bedside lamp.
Xian Guiying was losing her sleep. She struggled with herself for a long time before finally falling asleep two hours later.
When she woke up the next morning, she found that her body was feeling very warm and there was a familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar smell attacking her nose. When she opened her eyes, she found that she had actually been in Qin Gengxin's embrace at some point in time.
Xian Guiying hesitated as she looked down at their blanket, then at his arms, then at his face.
Qin Gengxin hadn't woken up yet. The way he hugged her with half of his arm around her waist seemed to be the most appropriate and it made her feel warm and protected.
Xian Guiying was in no hurry to push him away. She kept looking at his sleeping face.
Just as she was about to get up, Qin Gengxin seemed to sense the movement. He woke up and opened his sleepy eyes.
Finally, he frowned, raised his arm, rubbed it between his eyebrows, and turned to look at the sliver of sunlight that peeked out of the curtain. Then he looked back at Xian Guiying, who was resting on his other arm. Her face was calm and natural.
Only then did he realize what was going on. He looked at the arm around her waist and then looked at her. After a two-moment silence, he asked, "When did you wake up?"
Xian Guiying just looked at him as she lay calmly next to him. Her head rested on his arm. She didn't move when she gently said, "Just now."
Seeing that she looked very comfortable lying like this, Qin Gengxin looked at her intently. When Xian Guiying woke up, she didn't move at all. The thin nightgown she was wearing fell slightly from her shoulders, revealing her sacred, white shoulders.
She didn't know it and she just quietly leaned on his side without moving away, and she was not actively doing anything.
Qin Gengxin stared sharply at her, then lowered his head to look at the blanket. He pulled the blanket over their body, covering Xian Guiying's exposed shoulders. His actions were gentle, like a perfect husband coaxing his beloved wife to continue sleeping.
Xian Guiying suddenly remembered that she always imagined such a morning once upon a time.
In her world, she didn't need so many things. The happiness she wanted was just to wake up every morning with him by her side.
Qin Gengxin continued to stare at her. After so long, he was finally able to look away, and covered her face with the blanket, then said in a clear, slightly hoarse voice, "Stop looking at me like that. Men have the most hormones in the morning. If you really don't want me to do something that you might regret, then continue to sleep."
Just as he was about to get up, Xian Guiying suddenly sat up and flipped him over, pushing him back onto the bed.
"You …" Qin Gengxin was shocked by her sudden action. He lowered his head to look at Xian Guiying, who pressed against him like a kitten about to do something bad. His eyes twitched, "What do you want to do?"
"Eleven years!" Xian Guiying pressed down on him, not allowing him to move. Lying on his body, she pressed down on his four limbs, her clear gaze was fixed on his eyes that had long since deepened a little. "Qin Gengxin, it's been eleven years. Tell me, when I finally wavered and decided to give up this marriage and this unrequited love, why did you suddenly lie beside me? Why did you suddenly treat me gently like this?"
Qin Gengxin paused. "I …"
"It has nothing to do with your parents and grandmother." Xian Guiying took the lead, she pinched the space between his neck and shoulder. Her neat nails pressed against his neck, her clear eyes like shrewd cats. "You don't have to do this if it's just to deal with your parents!"
"I beg you, please tell me. In these eleven years, did you have the slightest bit of feeling between a man and a woman for me? Tell me clearly! I don't want to be too hopeful with this marriage when it ends in sadness. You just have to give me an answer now. Do we really have no future? Otherwise, if you really have no feelings for me, I will leave you. I will completely leave your world!"
Her hands were still pinching his neck. Although her grip wasn't too strong, she was clearly threatening him.
Qin Gengxin just looked at her blankly. What had suddenly aroused the passion and impulsiveness hidden deep in her bones?
