Chapter 154 Afternoon Interlude
"It's only a bit past one. It only takes half an hour to get to the pier, so what's the rush?"
Lin Chen rubbed his brow, the warmth of the phone screen still lingering on his fingertips, his tone carrying a hint of nonchalance.
"I'll rest for a bit first."
He had just tossed his phone onto the nightstand and hadn't even had time to lie down yet,
when the doorbell rang at an inopportune moment.
"Ding-dong..."
"Ding-dong..."
The ringing was long and drawn out, sounding particularly piercing in the quiet afternoon.
Lin Chen frowned and muttered in a low voice:
"Who is it?"
His tone was full of impatience,
"Isn't everyone taking a nap right now?"
"I didn't call for any service either!"
While grumbling,
his body moved honestly toward the door,
his finger resting on the doorknob,
as he first leaned in to peer through the peephole.
This one look made him freeze for a moment,
and then the corners of his mouth curled up unconsciously,
his tone softening as he pulled the door open:
"Shen Nian?"
"What are you doing here?"
Shen Nian stood at the door, wearing a light-colored knit sweater,
her hair loosely tied up. She looked up and gave him a half-reproachful, half-playful look,
her voice as sweet and soft as cotton candy:
"Are you really going to make me stand outside the door and talk to you?"
"Have you no shame?"
"Oh, look at my brain!"
Lin Chen patted his forehead,
quickly stepped aside,
and reached out to lightly support her,
"Come in, come in quickly."
The door closed with a "click,"
and before Lin Chen could even turn around,
a pair of soft hands suddenly wrapped around his neck,
bringing with them a faint scent of gardenia.
The next second, a warm little mouth pressed against his,
with a hint of eager softness,
throwing his breathing into disarray.
Lin Chen's heart tingled. He wrapped his arm around her waist,
his fingertips touching the delicate fabric. All his laziness vanished,
leaving only a burning heat.
The two of them were locked in a kiss, their steps unconsciously moving toward the bed,
the floorboards creaking softly under their feet,
the air filled with a sweet and lingering ambiguity.
But just then,
the doorbell rang again at an inopportune moment.
"Ding-dong..."
"Ding-dong..."
The sound wasn't loud, but it was like a bucket of cold water,
instantly dousing the fire between the two of them.
Shen Nian was startled and quickly released her hands from his neck,
her cheeks turning bright red,
a lingering panic in her eyes as she lowered her head, not daring to look at him.
Lin Chen's frown was deep enough to crush a mosquito,
the annoyance in his voice almost overflowing:
"Who is it!"
"What a fucking buzzkill!"
He grit his teeth, and seeing the redness at the corners of Shen Nian's eyes,
his tone softened slightly, but his face was still full of displeasure,
"Right when things were getting good, why all the knocking!"
He reluctantly released his grip on Shen Nian's waist,
her warmth still lingering on his fingertips as he trudged toward the door,
cursing the person outside eight hundred times in his heart.
"I'll go see. This is so annoying."
Leaning in to look through the peephole again,
Lin Chen's face instantly froze, and his heart skipped a beat.
Standing at the door was Chu Feifei.
"Why is it her?"
Lin Chen wondered to himself, why did this little girl come too?
He quickly straightened his clothes, touched the corners of his mouth,
and forced himself to stay calm as he pulled the door open, squeezing out an unnatural smile:
"Feifei is here?"
"Come in quickly, your sister..."
"Your sister just walked in not two minutes ago, and you followed right after."
He deliberately emphasized the words "just walked in,"
his tone carrying a hint of imperceptible panic,
for fear that this little girl would notice some flaw.
After all, if she had heard the commotion just now, how embarrassing would that be?
Chu Feifei's eyes lit up, but then she quickly covered her mouth,
lowering her voice with a face full of surprise:
"Ah?"
"Sister is inside too?"
Her eyes quickly darted into the room,
and she cried out inwardly:
"I originally thought I'd take advantage of Sister not being here to spend some time alone with Lin Chen,"
"Squeezing into one room with Sister last night in the dark,"
"So many things happened, and I was so shy."
"I didn't get a chance to talk to him at all, and now this..."
She was making her own little calculations, but she didn't dare show it on her face,
so she could only scratch her head, her eyes darting around.
Lin Chen also noticed the awkwardness,
so he quickly tried to smooth things over, stepping aside to let her in:
"Come in and sit. I was planning to sleep for two hours before heading to the pier."
He deliberately drew out his words, teasing with a smile,
"What, you two sisters,"
"Can't bear to leave me and came specifically to keep me company?
"If that's the case, then let's all lie down and rest for a bit. We can just chat."
By this time, Shen Nian had already calmed her emotions,
standing up from the bedside and looking at Chu Feifei,
a faint smile in her eyes;
Chu Feifei also looked at her, suppressing the small disappointment in her heart,
and nodded, her voice thin:
"Mm."
So the three of them squeezed into the small bedroom,
chatting back and forth about nothing in particular,
mostly just rambling. The atmosphere wasn't exactly awkward,
but the ambiguity from before was gone.
Lin Chen leaned in the middle, with Shen Nian's softness on his left,
and Chu Feifei's youthful innocence on his right,
the two different scents lingering around his nose, making his heart feel both itchy and helpless.
Before they had chatted for long,
the afternoon sun spilled in through the gaps in the curtains,
warm and carrying a magic that induced sleepiness.
The three of them spoke intermittently,
and as they talked, their voices grew softer until they finally fell silent.
They just leaned against Lin Chen on either side and quietly fell asleep,
with nothing happening,
yet it still carried an indescribable sense of ambiguity.
Social Death! The Handsome Guy unexpectedly went out with two lipstick marks
The phone rang like a death knell, clanging until the third ring,
before Lin Chen finally opened his eyes groggily.
"It's already three-thirty."
Beside him, Chu Feifei and Shen Nian were still sleeping soundly,
their long hair scattered on the pillows, their breathing light,
their cheeks flushed with the pink glow of just waking up,
truly two stunning beauties.
Lin Chen stared for two seconds, the corners of his mouth curling up unconsciously,
but he quickly suppressed it, afraid of waking them.
He carefully moved his arms away,
muttering in a low voice:
"You guys keep sleeping. I'm going to the pier to catch the boat to Macau."
Pausing for a moment, he added,
"When you wake up, just give the key card to the front desk. No need to see me off."
As soon as he finished speaking, the two figures beside him moved.
Chu Feifei rubbed her eyes and sat up,
her hair messy, her gaze still drifting;
Shen Nian also stretched, her collar loose,
carrying the lazy vibe of someone who had just woken up.
"What's the rush?"
Chu Feifei's voice was raspy as she moved closer in a few steps,
standing to Lin Chen's left. Before he could react,
her soft lips planted a kiss on his cheek,
with a very loud "smack."
Shen Nian was not to be outdone and went around to his right,
her fingertips lightly pinching his chin,
leaning down to give him a kiss as well, saying with a smile:
"Once we're done looking around here in Hong Kong, we'll head to Macau to find you immediately. You're not allowed to sneak away."
Lin Chen's cheeks warmed, and his heart felt sweet.
He nodded quickly, his voice becoming a few shades lighter:
"Don't worry!"
"I'll be waiting for you in Macau. When you get there, I'll take you to eat the most authentic Pork Chop Buns."
After saying that, he grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair,
dragged his suitcase, and walked out, his steps brisk.
He felt wonderful inside,
those two kisses from just now would probably be relished all the way there.