The bedroom light was not turned on, a faint glow seeped in from the half-open door, behind the light-colored window curtain the lights of ten thousand households were like little sky lanterns, orderly floating in the pitch-black night sky.

In the utter silence, all senses became more acute, the cool air and the burning touch were two extremes, evoking boundless shivers.

Tao Zhi’s chin was tilted up, her neck elongated, half-passively enduring the kiss, her tongue numb, a clear yet faint swallowing sound audible in her ear.

Her eyes half-closed, in the indistinct shadows, she saw the photograph hanging above the bed.

Vast rolling crimson clouds, like splashed ink, spread across the lilac sky, the reddish sea surface with fine churning waves, as if rolling into the reality of this very moment, all thoughts and the body, following, uncontrollably rising and falling in that stretch of waves.

Tao Zhi sniffled, her fingertips desperately clutching the soft sheets, laboriously raising her head slightly.

Jiang Qihuai sensed her movement, withdrew and lifted his head, his eyelashes lowered heavily, the outer corners of his eyes slightly upturned, his beautiful, clear light brown pupils now shrouded in the dim shadows, presenting a deep, dark hue.

He looked at the redness at the corners of her eyes, her wet, dark eyes, the line of his jaw taut, he suppressed a gasp, his lips pressed against her earlobe, his voice hoarse: “Zhizhi.”

Tao Zhi gripped his shoulders, her gaze following, looking at him in confusion.

His usually cold, indifferent brows and eyes were tinged with desire, his calm, low voice had become burning hot, he licked his lips, his slender, beautiful fingers like ignited flames, scorching every inch of land they touched.

Tao Zhi suddenly felt an indescribable exhilaration.

She had never imagined Jiang Qihuai could lose control one day, nor could she picture what he would be like out of control.

He always seemed eternally rational and calm, eternally cautious and aloof, forever standing on a distant cloud, looking down upon all living beings and the myriad things.

Tao Zhi suddenly raised her hand.

She hooked her arms around his neck and pulled him down, kissed his lips, pulling him down to the mortal world.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

At a certain moment, when she, unable to bear it, clutched the sheets and involuntarily arched her back, Jiang Qihuai suddenly halted his movements.

He lowered his body, leaning lightly over her, then held her in his arms, and sighed almost inaudibly.

Tao Zhi opened her eyes, looking at him puzzled: “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Qihuai buried his head, his voice very low: “Is half an hour this long?”

Tao Zhi: “…”

Jiang Qihuai, as if venting, gently bit her neck, a faint note of displeasure and frustration in his voice: “It passes slower than during a meeting.”

“…”

Tao Zhi directly laughed out loud.

Tao Zhi really couldn’t hold back, collapsing on the bed laughing, her slender shoulders trembling, she hugged him while laughing, soothing his back: “Why are you so impatient, aloof and ascetic Jiang Qihuai?”

Jiang Qihuai lifted his head, narrowing his eyes at her.

The little girl still had traces of passion-induced redness at the corners of her eyes, her lips were crimson. She shifted her body upward, nudging him with her knee, urging: “Hurry up, you promised to serve me, can you do it or not.”

She was truly unbridled.

No matter how many years had passed, no matter in any situation, she never learned the meaning of restraint.

Jiang Qihuai lowered his gaze, his fingertips damp and soft.

Tao Zhi’s entire body tensed and curled into a ball, the previously bold laughter ceasing abruptly.

He bent his head, kissed her warm, trembling eyelids: “Is this service still not satisfactory?”

She said in a very small voice: “It is.”

Her provocation was quite effective, Jiang Qihuai acted as if he didn’t hear, continuing, his voice low and slow: “Satisfactory?”

Tao Zhi’s fingertips dug into his arm: “Satisfactory, satisfactory.”

Jiang Qihuai, eyes slightly narrowed: “This much is satisfactory?”

Tao Zhi whimpered like a young animal: “Jiang Qihuai…”

He seemed somewhat displeased: “What did you call me?”

Her voice trembled: “Your Highness, Your Highness, please…”

Jiang Qihuai let out a low laugh: “Too early for pleas.”

Tao Zhi’s entire being was dominated by completely unfamiliar sensations, muddled, sinking and floating in the waves, until a moment when the ringtone of a mobile phone sounded in the bedroom, shattering the room’s full of intimacy.

Both of them stopped simultaneously.

Jiang Qihuai paused for two seconds, then straightened up.

Tao Zhi let out a long, relieved sigh.

She opened her eyes, releasing the pillow, and watched him get off the bed and walk to the bedside, then take two tissues from the nightstand, meticulously wiping his hands.

The crumpled tissues were tossed aside. Tao Zhi, blushing, turned her head away, then pulled the pillow down to cover her eyes.

In the darkness, she listened as he answered the phone and walked out of the bedroom.

After a while, Tao Zhi secretly lifted a corner of the pillow, peeking out.

There was the sound of someone talking outside the door, just a few words, then the security door closed, and Jiang Qihuai walked back in carrying his just-delivered takeout.

He stood by the bed, tossing the takeout bag onto it.

Tao Zhi revealed a pair of eyes above the pillow, blinking at him: “I thought about it, maybe we should stop here for today.”

Jiang Qihuai emptied the contents of the bag, slowly unwrapping them: “Say something I can understand.”

“I’m satisfied,” Tao Zhi said, honest and earnest, “Thank you for your service.”

Jiang Qihuai nodded, climbed onto the bed, grabbed her wrist and pinned it up, kissed her lips: “Then you serve me.”

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

The entire night, Tao Zhi perceived many details so faintly they bordered on blurry, only his voice, hoarse with panting, called her name, over and over, as if addicted, tirelessly.

And her pleas for mercy, which were utterly ineffective no matter what.

He was extremely gentle and restrained, yet also cold and unyielding, kissing her forehead and the corners of her eyes over and over, nibbling her earlobes and lips.

He was like a beast that had been suppressed for too long, finally broken free from its cage, confining her, devouring her piece by piece, dining with elegance and slowness.

He moved his feast from the bed to the window, then to the bathroom, placed her on the vanity, watching the dazed yet gorgeous brows and eyes of the person in the mirror, listening to her soft, light voice calling him, little by little drawing out all his hidden addictions and brutality.

She dragged the deity into the mortal world, then offered herself as a sacrifice to the divinity, completing the purest rite.

In the deep of night, Jiang Qihuai carried her into the bathroom, washing her clean from head to toe.

Under the warm water flow, Tao Zhi let out a long, comfortable sigh, her whole body hanging onto him like a sloth. She tugged at his half-damp black hair, her voice lazy and somewhat hoarse: “Jiang Qihuai.”

Jiang Qihuai responded, his voice carrying a weary laziness after being fully satiated: “Hmm?”

“I misjudged you,” Tao Zhi said, “You really are capable.”

Jiang Qihuai: “…”

Tao Zhi praised him sincerely: “I am very satisfied.”

“…”

Tao Zhi thought for a moment, then added: “Except for the first time.”

“…”

Jiang Qihuai hung the showerhead back on the wall and sighed: “Quiet down for a bit, isn’t your throat hurting?”

“It hurts a little,” Tao Zhi pouted, saying weakly, “I want to drink water.”

Jiang Qihuai wrapped her in a towel, dried her off, carried her out of the bathroom, placed her on the bed, then turned and went out to fetch water.

The water that had just boiled in the kitchen had now cooled down; the warm temperature was just right for drinking directly. When he returned to the room with the water cup, he saw Tao Zhi sitting by the bed, looking somewhat disdainfully at the bed surface.

He handed her the water cup: “What’s wrong?”

Tao Zhi took it, gulped down almost half the cup, then said: “I don’t want to sleep on this bed.”

Jiang Qihuai readily agreed: “You can also sleep on the sofa.”

“…”

Tao Zhi looked at him in shock: “Can you not say something human? Is this your attitude towards me now?”

Pointing at the disheveled bed, she said: “Can’t you just change the sheets?”

Jiang Qihuai raised an eyebrow: “I thought you said this bed would make you recall not-so-pleasant memories.”

Tao Zhi handed the water cup back to him, reluctantly admitting: “Well, I wouldn’t call them unpleasant.”

Jiang Qihuai looked at her slightly flushed face and let out a low laugh.

Tao Zhi was somewhat annoyed.

He walked to the wardrobe, opened the door, pulled out a new set of bedsheets, and lifted his chin: “Go wait over there for a bit.”

Tao Zhi obediently got off the bed and sat on the single-person sofa by the window, resting her chin in her hands, watching him strip off the old sheets, throw them on the floor, and put on the new ones: “Jiang Qihuai.”

“Hmm.”

“Were you not very happy today?” Tao Zhi suddenly said.

Looking at him tonight, it didn’t seem like he was drunk.

Jiang Qihuai paused, smoothed out the wrinkles on the sheet, and turned his head.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, he raised his hand toward her: “Come here.”

Tao Zhi scurried over and burrowed into his arms.

He had a very pleasant scent, not some common men’s cologne, but laundry detergent mixed with his own natural smell, just like his entire being, clean with a crisp coolness.

Tao Zhi really liked his scent.

She hugged his waist, burying her head in his chest and nuzzling.

Jiang Qihuai let her nuzzle: “Are you a puppy?”

Tao Zhi wrinkled her nose: “So, are you unhappy?”

Jiang Qihuai held her, his fingertips tangling with the slightly damp ends of her long hair, his chin resting on the top of her head: “Hmm, not too happy.”

Tao Zhi pulled his other hand into her embrace, playing with his fingers: “Why are you unhappy?”

Jiang Qihuai pulled the towel off her, then tugged the quilt over to wrap her in it, saying slowly: “I feel that I did something cruel to you.”

Tao Zhi strongly agreed with this.

She nodded gravely, saying with anguish: “When I gave in earlier, you should have stopped.”

Jiang Qihuai: “…”

Tao Zhi accused him: “You are really too cruel.”

Jiang Qihuai’s lips curved slightly: “You mean this?”

“Then what do you mean?” Tao Zhi asked, puzzled.

Jiang Qihuai lowered his head, speaking very calmly: “I was thinking, whether back then I should have given you a proper explanation.”

Tao Zhi was stunned, staring at him blankly.

Jiang Qihuai didn’t know: if he could have been more confidently sure that one day in the future, he would still be so lucky as to hold her in his arms like this, would he have made a completely different choice than he did back then.

In youth, too immature, always prone to overthinking, yet also thinking too little.

He would worry about the past, plan for the future, and self-righteously make the choice he thought was most appropriate, only forgetting honesty, forgetting the present moment, forgetting whether this choice would hurt the person he wanted to protect.

Jiang Qihuai gently lifted her up a little, resting his head against the crook of her neck, his voice low, as if murmuring: “I was thinking, if back then I had been as brave as my Zhizhi, maybe I wouldn’t have made you cry.”