CHAPTER 34: CHAPTER 34: NOT A MONSTER

He pinched out the cigarette butt, placed that half-smoked butt into the ashtray, and asked her, "Can I stay over at your place tonight?"

Su Lingzhi hesitated, showing a troubled expression, "But I only have one bed here, you’re definitely not used to sleeping on the sofa."

"Can’t I just sleep with you?"

His words were frank and revealing, his gaze on her remained intense and hard to resist, as if he wanted to devour her.

Su Lingzhi felt uncomfortable being stared at by him, wanting to refuse but not wanting him to think she was conservative, she ended up nodding in a daze.

Back in the living room, Su Lingzhi pondered for a moment and asked him, "Do you have underwear with you? If not, I can..."

"I brought underwear."

Su Lingzhi stiffened slightly, then slipped into the bedroom to find him some bath supplies.

Brought underwear...

Why carry underwear around?

Could he have been well prepared for tonight’s stay...

She thought that the clothes he brought were for her to embroider...

Su Lingzhi leaned her forehead against the wardrobe, collecting herself for a moment, then found all the disposable toiletries and handed them to him.

Without waiting for him to speak, she excused herself to go downstairs and throw away the trash.

Though intimacy between couples is normal, the pace between them seemed a bit too fast.

After throwing away the trash, Su Lingzhi lingered downstairs for a while before going back upstairs.

It was just by chance that, as soon as she opened the door, she saw him coming out wrapped in a bathrobe, his bare upper body making her face flush instantly.

"Throwing away trash took this long?" Fu Yinli said sharply.

"I..." Su Lingzhi didn’t explain, silently bypassing him and heading towards the bedroom.

As they brushed past each other, her wrist was suddenly grabbed.

Su Lingzhi trembled, turning her head to look at his face, "Wha... what’s wrong?"

"Is the computer usable?"

"Yes, the password is my birthday."

Fu Yinli said, "I’ll use it for work."

"Sure." Despite her calm tone, her chaotic heartbeat had already given her away.

Su Lingzhi let go of his hand, went over to personally turn on the computer.

Then, without even glancing at him, she went straight into the bedroom.

Fu Yinli’s eyes darkened slightly, taking the clothes out of the bag and changing into them.

About an hour later, she came out of the bathroom.

A plain pajama set covered her figure tightly, her slightly curly hair shrouded in mist, draped over her shoulders. Her skin was delicately moisturized, fair with a rosy tint, adding a bit of hazy beauty.

Fu Yinli looked at her for a long while and asked, "Ready to sleep?"

"Are you still not done?"

Fu Yinli got up and walked towards her, "Go ahead and sleep."

As he spoke, he reached for the switch in the living room, turning off the lights—a movement so familiar it was as if he were in his own home.

Su Lingzhi’s heart instantly tightened, she went into the bedroom ahead of him, climbing onto the bed first, ready for a safe distance.

Fu Yinli’s dark eyes showed a hint of helplessness, "Zhizhi, I’m your boyfriend, not some flood beast."

Su Lingzhi instinctively clutched the quilt tightly, "I know, but our relationship is progressing too fast, I’m having trouble adjusting."

"Then just take your time to adapt."

"But you haven’t given me time."

"I won’t touch you."

As soon as these words came out, like a calming pill, her heart instantly settled a bit, "You promised."

"Mm."

Fu Yinli walked over to her, thoughtfully tucking the four corners of the quilt, and tidying up the messy items on the bedside table.

Su Lingzhi, sitting inside, was dumbfounded as she watched this series of actions, then slowly slipped into the covers.

After turning off the lights, when the other side of the bed sank down, Su Lingzhi turned over, facing the wall.

Once covered in darkness, it seemed all sounds amplified.

Now truly invaded into her domain by him, there was no sense of security.

Fu Yinli lay on the bed, surrounded by the unique scent of the girl’s body, as if lying in floral fragrance soaked in milk, mysterious yet full of temptation.

"Zhizhi." He softly called.

"Mm?"

"Can you not turn your back on me?"

Su Lingzhi’s back paused.

After a few seconds of hesitation, she turned her body, lying flat like him, then asked in a low voice, "Do you have OCD?"

Fu Yinli turned his head towards her, lying sideways, looking at the blurred silhouette in front of him, "Our relationship shouldn’t be distant; you should face me while sleeping, it has nothing to do with OCD."

Originally having closed her eyes, Su Lingzhi opened them upon hearing this.

Though the air conditioning was on in the bedroom, lying under a bed sheet made her feel his heat slowly transferring over, making her feel stuffy.

Su Lingzhi turned around, in a room filled with dim light, meeting his gaze.

Then, Fu Yinli’s body edged over, reducing the space between them.

Su Lingzhi’s heart was pounding, wanting to move but not moving.

Until, he pulled her into his arms.

Fu Yinli grasped her hand, guiding her to encircle his waist, then swept aside the hair on her cheek, kissing her forehead.

"Zhizhi, I won’t do anything to you, you don’t need to be nervous."

She believed his promise, of course.

But, lying on the same bed now, this intimate physical contact, nervousness was inevitable.

Su Lingzhi raised her eyes to look at him, diverting her focus by asking, "I’m restless when sleeping, if I accidentally press on you, will you be mad?"

"No."

"What if I kick..."

"No."

Su Lingzhi’s words came to a halt.

To summarize, no matter what she does to him, he won’t get angry or disgusted.

Su Lingzhi relaxed a bit, slowly closed her eyes, treating him like a human pillow, lying in his arms, forcing herself to sleep.

But in reality, as long as she didn’t overthink, just inhaling his scent could make her quickly fall asleep.

In the quiet of night, even breathing sounds emerged, Fu Yinli opened his eyes to glance at the person in his arms, his gaze filled with desire for her.

After all, she’s still an innocent young girl, sleeping while holding him with no ulterior motives.

But, with him here, she shouldn’t be so pure.

He lowered his head, stealing a kiss from her lips, but such an act was tantamount to drinking poison for thirst.

He restrained his longing for her, closing his eyes, later getting out of bed helplessly to the bathroom to shower off.

Requesting to sleep together was nothing short of torture for him.

...

When he returned to bed, perhaps because he was cool, the sleeping person snuggled deeper inside.

Fu Yinli leaned over, pulling her into his embrace.

The night passed without incident.