89: Chapter 89 Scene Reenactment

Jiang Fan followed Xu Qingya into the bedroom.

The lights weren't fully on; only the small nightlight on the bedside table was lit, casting the entire room in a warm, ambiguous glow.

Xu Qingya didn't get into bed but walked to the entrance of the walk-in closet and looked back at him.

"Sit on the bed and don't move."

Jiang Fan raised an eyebrow and obediently sat on the edge of the bed.

The door to the walk-in closet closed.

Sounds of rustling, zippers, fabric rubbing, and the "clack, clack" of high heels on the floor came from inside.

Jiang Fan waited for about three minutes.

The door to the walk-in closet opened again.

Xu Qingya stood in the doorframe.

A purple hip-hugging skirt.

Black stockings.

Black red-bottomed high heels.

The stockings extended from beneath the skirt, wrapping around two straight, slender legs all the way down to the twelve-centimeter red-bottomed high heels at her toes.

Jiang Fan's gaze swept from bottom to top.

He had seen this skirt before.

That late night, when she walked into the security office with unsteady steps, this was the exact purple hip-hugging skirt she was wearing.

"You still kept it?"

Xu Qingya leaned against the doorframe, one hand behind her back.

"I threw it away and bought another one just like it."

Jiang Fan stared at her for two seconds, his Adam's apple bobbing.

Xu Qingya brought out the hand from behind her back.

In her hand, she carried a faded security uniform.

Jiang Fan: "..."

"Where did you get that?"

"Didn't you hand your uniform over to Security Manager Zhao Guoqiang when you left that day?" Xu Qingya tossed the uniform onto him. "I had Sister Lan go to the security department to get it."

Jiang Fan unfolded the uniform and looked at it.

It was indeed the one he had worn; the tear at the collar from when Xu Qingya had ripped it was still there, sewn up with needle and thread, but the scar remained.

"Put it on."

Jiang Fan took off his T-shirt and put on the security uniform.

Halfway through buttoning it, he realized the clothes were much tighter than he remembered.

Xu Qingya's gaze lingered on him for a few seconds, and she licked her lips.

Then she walked over, step by step, in her high heels.

Clack, clack, clack.

The exact same rhythm as that night.

Walking to the bedside, she leaned over, bracing her hands on either side of Jiang Fan, bringing her nose tip close to his neck.

"Little security guard."

Her voice was very low, her breath spraying onto his earlobe.

"You smell so good."

Jiang Fan's blood began to rush upward.

No—it was actually rushing upward.

A hot stream welled up from his nasal cavity and trickled down along his philtrum.

Jiang Fan reached up to touch it, and his fingertips were covered in red.

Nosebleed?

Xu Qingya was stunned.

Jiang Fan was also stunned.

The two of them stared at each other for two seconds.

"...It's that medicinal wine." Jiang Fan pinched his nose, his voice muffled.

Xu Qingya looked blank at first, then realized—

She laughed, leaning backward.

"Hahaha—Jiang Fan, are you really that weak? You get a nosebleed just from looking at me?"

"It's your medicinal wine's fault."

"You're still being stubborn even with a nosebleed?"

Xu Qingya laughed even harder, stomping her heels on the floor twice, supporting herself on his shoulders to keep from falling over.

Jiang Fan wiped the nosebleed with the back of his hand and grabbed a tissue from the bedside table to plug it.

"Alright, stop laughing."

Xu Qingya finally managed to stop laughing, tears of mirth still hanging from the corners of her eyes.

She looked down at Jiang Fan with his nose plugged and "pfft" laughed again.

"You won't let it go—"

Jiang Fan grabbed Xu Qingya's waist and pulled hard.

Xu Qingya let out a startled cry, falling into his arms, kneeling on either side of the bed edge, and straddling his lap.

The slit of the purple hip-hugging skirt was stretched to its limit by this movement.

"That night," Jiang Fan's hand slid down from her waist, gripping her thigh wrapped in black stockings, "who was the one who tore my clothes first?"

Xu Qingya looked down at him.

"...It was me."

"Then it should be your turn to make the first move today."

Xu Qingya bit her lip.

She reached out and grabbed the collar of Jiang Fan's security uniform.

She gave it a hard tug.

The sewn-up tear burst open in response, bigger than the first time.

"Rip—"

It was almost identical to the sound from the security office before.

Jiang Fan looked down at his clothes, then back up at her.

His fingers hooked onto the edge of the skirt's slit.

Xu Qingya's breathing quickened.

"You dare—this skirt costs twenty-eight thousand—"

Before she could finish.

"Rrrrip—"

The purple fabric tore all the way up from the slit, and the hem of the skirt was completely ruined.

Xu Qingya widened her eyes: "Jiang Fan!"

Jiang Fan didn't give her a chance to get angry, rolling over and pinning her into the mattress.

The springs let out a dull creak.

Xu Qingya's high heels kicked against the bedsheets, the red soles facing the ceiling.

Her fingers dug into Jiang Fan's hair, pulling him down.

"Twenty-eight thousand... you pay me back..."

"Fine, I'll pay you back with ten later."

"You—mmph."

The rest of her words were blocked.

—

At some point, one of the high heels was knocked off, hitting the carpet with a "thud".

The black stockings didn't survive the second round.

Starting from the top of her thigh, a long tear snaked its way down.

Xu Qingya lay on the pillow, her voice already hoarse.

"You... be gentle..."

Jiang Fan's palm pressed against the small of her back, his thumb caressing the hollow of her spine.

"Who was it that said I was weak just now?"

Xu Qingya buried her face in the pillow, her muffled moans coming in broken bursts.

"I didn't... ah—I was wrong..."

The other high heel flew off at some point, hitting the wardrobe door with a "thud".

The purple hip-hugging skirt had completely turned into a piece of fabric, hanging wrinkled at her waist, failing to cover anything it was supposed to.

The security uniform wasn't in any better shape; the tear at the collar ran all the way from her neck to her chest.

The two of them tossed and turned until midnight.

Xu Qingya lay limp on the bed, her lips swollen from being bitten, a flush of crimson stretching from her collarbone to her shoulders.

Her hair was completely disheveled, black strands clinging to her sweat-dampened neck.

Jiang Fan leaned against the headboard, his arm cushioning her head.

It was quiet for a long while.

Xu Qingya turned over, her face pressed against his chest.

"...Two skirts, fifty-six thousand."

"Mm."

"Two pairs of black stockings also add up to four thousand eight hundred."

"Mm."

Xu Qingya "hmphed" and drew circles on his chest with her finger.

"And the security uniform is ruined too. Should I have Sister Lan go to the security department to get another one?"

Jiang Fan thought of Security Manager Zhao Guoqiang and smiled.

"Oh right, I had that security manager fired."

Jiang Fan was taken aback.

"Security Manager Zhao Guoqiang?"

"Mm." Xu Qingya said nonchalantly, "It happened last week. Abuse of power, withholding employee overtime pay—he should have been dealt with when you left. Dragging it out until now was letting him off easy."

"You don't have to stick up for me."

"Who's sticking up for you?" Xu Qingya poked his chest with her finger. "A security manager bullying his subordinates—if I don't manage it, who will?"

She paused, then added.

"It has nothing to do with you."

Jiang Fan looked down at her.

The lighting was dim; he could only see half of her face pressed against his chest, her long eyelashes fluttering.

"Fine, it has nothing to do with me."

Xu Qingya gave a satisfied "mm," pulled the quilt up, and curled into his arms.

"For that song of yours, is three days enough?"

"Enough."

"Really?"

"When have I ever lied to you?"

Xu Qingya didn't speak again.

After about half a minute, her breathing became even.

The system panel flickered at the edge of his vision.

[Deep Compatibility × 3, Lifespan Value + 3000]

[Current Lifespan Value: 31,100 points]

[Remaining Lifespan: 38 days 6 hours]

Jiang Fan closed his eyes, his mind already browsing the system store's song library.

A song that could define Xu Qingya.

A song that would make everyone remember only one name after hearing the intro.

He searched through his memories from his past life for a long time, finally stopping on a name.

This one.

Jiang Fan opened his eyes and glanced at the sleeping Xu Qingya in his arms.

The seat Tang Yingxue had occupied for four years.

It was time to give it up.