The elevator went straight up, and Cen Ning hopped off as soon as she exited.
She didn’t need to wear shoes at home, so she didn’t worry about her heels getting worn out. Cen Ning wandered around, circled outside on the balcony, and then hurriedly ran back inside, saying, “Are these flowers going to wither?”
Yan Xingzhi was sitting on the sofa, messaging Xin Zechuan and the others. Upon hearing her words, he looked up and asked, “What?”
“I’m talking about the flowers outside. Come and take a look,” Cen Ning reached out to pull him, and Yan Xingzhi followed her outside to the balcony.
There were many flowers and plants on the balcony. Yan Xingzhi wasn’t particularly interested in these things, but he thought that a home should have some vitality to truly be a home, so he had someone bring in a row of them.
However, upon closer inspection, except for the succulents, the other flowers were indeed rather delicate. They wilted easily if not taken care of.
Yan Xingzhi said, “I’ll remind the Aunt next time to remember to water them.”
Cen Ning squatted down to assess the situation. “We might as well not keep these flowers, succulents are enough.”
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Zyd Dkdtgbk pyv esod sd vbl cyznsdu asnjkdt nbyka, alrzukdt vs xlppytlp yp bl prsjl, “Gzaktbv, vbld ol’zz byhl vblx alxshle dlmv vkxl. Jwv R vbswtbv usw xktbv yzps zkjl vblpl nszsap.”
Uld Lkdt vwadle bla blye, “Ls, R’x dsv vbyv tyweu yde vypvlzlpp.”
Zyd Dkdtgbk rywple, bkp tygl qyzzkdt tldvzu sd bla, “Fs usw’al pyukdt R’x tyweu yde vypvlzlpp?”
Uld Lkdt czkdjle, “Bb, ulyb?”
“Gb—”
Fzktbv LFWE pnldlp yblye. Psd’v alye yblye kq usw’al dsv nsxqsavyczl!
Rd yd kdpvydv, Zyd Dkdtgbk zkqvle Uld Lkdt wr qasx vbl taswde. Tl rwzzle bla sdvs bkp zyr, lqqsavzlppzu rspkvksdkdt bla qynl-esod sd bkp vbktb. Uld Lkdt pvawttzle vs tlv wr, cwv Zyd Dkdtgbk kxxlekyvlzu ralpple bla cynj esod, nypwyzzu rasrrkdt bkp lzcso sd bla cynj yp bl nsdvkdwle xlppytkdt.
“Tlu? Nlv xl wr?”
Zyd Dkdtgbk qalle sdl byde yde rzyuqwzzu pzyrrle bla cwvvsnjp, “Ebs eke usw pyu oyp tyweu yde vypvlzlpp?”
Cen Ning flailed, her face turning red, “Don’t hit my butt… Ah!”
He hit her again!
“Who’s gaudy and tasteless, hmm?”
Cen Ning was wearing a dress today. While Yan Xingzhi continued to nonchalantly look at his phone, he smoothly lifted the hem of her dress and slipped his hand underneath. The skin on her thigh was smooth and delicate, and he went all the way up.
His gaze slightly intensified, he casually put aside his phone and met her eyes. She was such a petite figure pressed against his leg. “Why aren’t you talking?” he asked.
Cen Ning couldn’t fathom why Yan Xingzhi seemed to enjoy playfully hitting her butt so much. It was one thing during those moments, but even on regular days…
Though it wasn’t very painful, who gets their butt hit like this when they’re all grown up? Embarrassing!
“I want to get up!”
“Well, then first tell me who’s gaudy and tasteless.”
“You…” Cen Ning had barely uttered a word when she felt the hand on her leg sliding up again. He was pinching her, effectively twisting her words around. “Me! Me, me, me, me! I’m gaudy and tasteless!”
A hint of a smile played at the corner of Yan Xingzhi’s mouth. Finally satisfied, he helped her up. But instead of letting her go, he had her sit on his lap, “It would have been easier if you said that earlier.”
Cen Ning, still irritated, tugged at his collar, “Hmph…”
“What’s with the ‘hmph’?”
“It hurts.”
“Does it really hurt?”
Cen Ning said solemnly, “Yes, it really hurts.”
“Let me take a look.”
Yan Xingzhi moved to lift her dress, but Cen Ning wasn’t about to let him have his way. She quickly reached out to stop him.
Yan Xingzhi found her flustered state amusing. She thought her little arms and legs could actually stop him.
“Hey, not here on the balcony…”
“Ningning, we’re facing the lake.”
“There might be people in the lake!”
“Water monsters, huh?”
“…”
While Yan Xingzhi was smiling, his desires were stirring within him. He stood up, lifting her in his arms, and carried her into the house.
Once inside the living room, he carefully set her down on the sofa. The sofa was quite large, and Cen Ning could fully lie back on it, watching as Yan Xingzhi reached to undo his tie.
His fingers were long and strong, and as he tugged at the tie, an inexplicable sense of forbidden sensuality emanated from the act.
Just a moment ago, they were fooling around, but now her throat felt tight and her heartbeats grew more intense.
“It’s not even dark yet…” Cen Ning turned her head away. “Weren’t we supposed to go back for dinner tonight?”
“We’re not going back.” Yan Xingzhi casually tossed the tie onto the floor and leaned over her.
Cen Ning protested, “Aunt Chen said we were supposed to come back today…”
Her dress was lifted up to her waist, and he buried his head in the space between her waist and abdomen, whispering softly, “If you’re still in the mood later, you can mention it again.”
“I… Mm!”
Her fingers tightened instantly on the sofa, and Yan Xingzhi’s daytime audacity made her words catch in her throat.
Later, Cen Ning came to deeply understand what “if you’re in the mood later” truly meant. Because after that, she was once again led back to the bedroom by him and tormented, and her thoughts were sent into a whirl… What dinner at the Yan house? Just getting out of bed was an implausible idea!
Slight NSFW section end.
Their friends were aware of Yan Xingzhi and Cen Ning getting their marriage certificates. Xin Zechuan and the others clamored for Yan Xingzhi to treat them to a meal, so he decided to gather the group of friends from the residential complex for a get-together.
That day, after Yan Xingzhi finished his duties at the military base, he went to pick up Cen Ning from IZ so they could have dinner with everyone. When he arrived at the company building’s entrance, Cen Ning had just finished a meeting related to the preparations for an upcoming film exhibition.
“Teacher Cen, I can have all the materials organized for you by tomorrow. I’ll send them to you then.”
“Alright.”
“Do you want to review the guest invitation list?”
“There are a few more people I need to add. Send me the original list first.”
“Sure.”
As Cen Ning chatted with her co-workers, she walked back to her office. She had left her phone there when she went to the meeting, and upon her return, she noticed numerous missed calls and messages.
After quickly checking, Cen Ning replied to Yan Xingzhi: [Report, I’ll be down soon.]
Yan Xingzhi: [For every extra minute I have to wait, your butt is going to get an extra spanking, no upper limit]
Cen Ning: “???”
“Cen Ning.”
“Huh!” Someone suddenly called her from the entrance of her office, startling Cen Ning. She hurriedly placed her phone into her bag.
“What’s wrong? You look startled,” Duan Xiaojun walked in.
Cen Ning’s ears turned red, “It’s… I was just lost in thought.”
“Oh, are you heading home?”
“Yes.”
“Did you drive here?”
“No, because after I started learning to drive, I never actually drove on the road, so I want to practice a bit more. I haven’t driven to work recently.”
Duan Xiaojun casually said, “Then let me give you a ride home.”
“No need, really,” Cen Ning insisted, “Someone is waiting for me downstairs.”
“Alright then…”
“Okay, see you later.”
Cen Ning picked up her bag and hurried downstairs. Yan Xingzhi had already stepped out of the car, and as soon as she left the building, she saw him standing there, waiting.
“Over here!”
Yan Xingzhi glanced sideways and walked over to her, “Seven minutes.”
Cen Ning: “…”
“I thought I’d have to wait for about ten minutes, what a pity,” Yan Xingzhi said with a composed expression, looking very proper. But of course, Cen Ning knew he wasn’t saying anything serious.
She gave him a sidelong glance…
What a pity for what?
“Cen Ning.” Just at that moment, a few more people walked out from the entrance. It was a photographer from IZ who called her name. And there were several other colleagues beside her.
“Is this your boyfriend?”
Cen Ning looked at Yan Xingzhi and then said, “Um… he’s not my boyfriend.”
The curious gazes of the people turned slightly disappointed, but the next moment, Cen Ning blushed and said, “We’re married.”
“Ah?!!” There was a commotion, and her colleagues exchanged surprised glances, all in disbelief.
“When did this happen?”
“You got married? Didn’t you just come back to the country?”
“You did a great job hiding this.”
…
The colleagues were quite active in their responses. Cen Ning felt embarrassed and explained, “We got the marriage certificate, but we haven’t had the wedding party yet. Um… we’ll definitely send out invitations when we do.”
Just then, Xiao You, the assistant who had previously accompanied Cen Ning to the military base, suddenly spoke up, “Teacher Cen, this gentleman is the one from the military base…”
Cen Ning nodded, “Yes.”
Youyou was surprised, “I didn’t expect…”
“From the military base? A soldier?”
“Yes.”
After a brief chat with her colleagues, Yan Xingzhi and Cen Ning left in the car because of time constraints.
A few colleagues watched as they drove away, unable to help but marvel.
“Wow… this guy is so handsome. And he’s a soldier? Xiao You, you’ve seen him at the base before, why didn’t you mention it?”
Xiao You replied awkwardly, “I couldn’t tell back then, and besides, he’s of a high rank, so we don’t interact often.”
The curiosity of the group was piqued by the mention of a “high rank.”
“What kind of rank are we talking about?”
Xiao You: “I remember he seemed to be a Colonel at the level of a Regular Army Division Commander.”
“What the heck, a Colonel? How old is he?”
“I really don’t know…”
“Wow, impressive. When will I get a husband like that?”
“Come on, give it a rest. Go get reincarnated again.”
“Hey—”
“But seriously, I thought Mr. Duan was pursuing Cen Ning all this time, the way he treated her so well…”
“Don’t make baseless assumptions. It’s not appropriate to talk about that now.”
The speaker made a motion of sealing their lips, “True, yeah.”
After the playful group dispersed, Duan Xiaojun stepped out. He had seen Cen Ning and Yan Xingzhi just now and naturally heard what the others were saying.
Over the years, Cen Ning had indeed stirred his heart, but he had never taken action. In her words, there had always been someone else. When she mentioned that person, her eyes and heart were filled with joy.
Duan Xiaojun had entertained the thought of pursuing her directly. Even after she returned to the country, that idea persisted. However, not long ago, an investigation letter related to military marriages reached him as a leader. That was when he learned that she was getting married.
He was late.
Or perhaps it wasn’t about being late, but that he wouldn’t have had a chance no matter the timing…
In the car, Cen Ning took out her car keys from her bag and glanced at them, “I should find time to practice driving at the residential complex. Otherwise, this car will go to waste.”
Yan Xingzhi: “I can pick you up and drop you off.”
“That won’t do. What if you’re busy?” Cen Ning replied, “Besides, the company provided the car, so I should make use of it.”
Thinking about it, she continued, “And there’s that house Mr. Duan arranged for me. Should I return it since I won’t be living there anyway?”
“A house?” Yan Xingzhi glanced at her, “They provided a house too? I thought it was just the car.”
“There is a house. I was hired with a high salary, after all. They had to make sure my living situation was taken care of.”
Yan Xingzhi looked at Cen Ning’s smug expression and a hint of a smile played at his lips, “Well, it’s up to you whether you return it or not, but you can’t live there.”
“What if I need to stay over for overtime? It’s pretty close to IZ.”
“If you’re working overtime, I’ll come pick you up. You can’t stay in a house that another man arranged for you. That’s not appropriate.”
Cen Ning widened her eyes, “Brother Xingzhi… that was provided by IZ, not personally arranged by Teacher Duan.”
Yan Xingzhi kept his gaze ahead, speaking calmly, “It’s the same.”
Cen Ning: “…”
Ahhhhhh!!! He’s so jealous. Hehe.
yess lol even if it’s a company