The previous night, whether due to exhaustion or other reasons, Su Qing slept exceptionally well.
When she woke up in the morning, rubbing her eyes and opening them, she met Lu Xiu's deep, sparkling eyes. He had a smile in his eyes, propping his head up with his hand, and staring directly at Su Qing.
She felt a bit shy under his gaze, truly enchanted by his handsome face.
Lu Xiu's gaze shifted to her fair arm, where the scars were clearly visible. Even on her hand, they seemed somewhat conspicuous. Su Qing met his eyes but couldn't maintain eye contact, instinctively shrinking her hand under the covers.
However, it was too late. Lu Xiu reached out and grasped her arm, a hint of suspicion flickering in his eyes, his voice low as he asked, "What happened to your hand?" His tone seemed like he was asking, but he was actually pressing for answers.
Su Qing bit her lip, avoiding his gaze as she replied, "I accidentally scratched it." She lacked confidence as she said this.
"Is this what you call an accident?" He examined the scars, one after another turning white, his heart tightening with a sense of foreboding. His tone inadvertently grew heavier.
"Really, it was just an accidental scratch." Su Qing's voice was barely audible, lacking conviction.
Lu Xiu softened his voice unintentionally, his lips pursed tight, as he forcibly squeezed out two words, "Does it hurt?"
She shook her head, snuggling into his embrace, only feeling a sense of comfort when she smelled the faint fragrance on him. "Not at all," she said truthfully. During that time, her emotions were unstable, and nothing seemed to interest her. It felt like only by doing this could she alleviate the pain in her heart.
Lu Xiu's emotions were unreadable as he hugged the girl in his arms a little tighter.
...
The following days passed by.
With the Spring Festival approaching, Su Qing sat on the couch, embraced by Lu Xiu, watching the popular historical drama on the oversized TV screen.
Every now and then, Lu Xiu would lean over to kiss her, irritating her. She pushed him away and glanced at him, saying, "Stop blocking my view of the TV."
He looked at her with a hint of amusement in his eyes, leaning in to kiss the corner of her mouth, then nestling into her arms, his voice tinged with affection, "I don't want to."
Su Qing sighed and realized she couldn't do anything about him. She had been on holiday from work for the past few days, and she was thinking of finding another job, but she hadn't started looking yet, so everything was still uncertain.
The TV was playing an intense scene when Lu Xiu suddenly kissed her earlobe, his voice husky as he whispered, "Shall we?" A pair of almond-shaped eyes met his expectant gaze, her heart skipping a beat, cheeks flushing, she hastily refused, "No, you're disturbing my TV time."
But as if he hadn't heard, he continued to cling to her, pressing his head against her collarbone and gently biting down, neither light nor heavy.
"In the evening, they invited me to the bar," he finally said.
Su Qing heard the rest of his sentence, "Are you going with me?"
"I don't want to." Her gaze returned to the TV screen, her voice nonchalant.
The man didn't seem annoyed, burying his head in her, a hint of grievance in his voice, "Please go, I want you to. There are many women there, and I don't like it."
He said it nonchalantly, but Su Qing furrowed her brows, "Fine, but don't bother me."
"I don't want to."
...
For the past few days, Lu Xiu had been pulling her to sleep every night, so she ended up moving into his room. On the surface, Lu Xiu didn't react much, but in reality, he couldn't wait to stick to her. Su Qing had no choice but to comply; she was used to him being like this.
Su Qing slipped on a coat and headed out.
The bar was quite famous, and she had seen it in videos from time to time. It was known to be frequented by wealthy individuals.
Once inside, Lu Xiu embraced her and led her to a private room.
The room was dimly lit, with lights casting intersecting patterns. The noisy music quieted down as the door closed.
Upon seeing the newcomers, the people inside paused for a moment before flashing welcoming smiles. Jiang Yuanzhou smirked when he saw the woman next to Lu Xiu. "You've been invited several times. Looks like you've finally found someone to accompany you, Ah Xiu," he said teasingly.
He had seen Su Qing a few times before. She looked innocent on the outside, but she was surprisingly tough. These past few days, Ah Xiu had undoubtedly faced some hardships for her. Even he couldn't understand how someone like Lu Xiu, in their circle, could turn out to be such a lovesick fool. It was quite rare.
Lu Xiu raised an eyebrow lazily and glanced at him. "Compared to you, I'm still doing fine," he retorted. Jiang Yuanzhou clicked his tongue and replied, "I was praising you."
"Can't you tell I was praising you too? We can be compared now," Lu Xiu said with a smirk.
Jiang Yuanzhou nearly choked on his drink.
Su Qing felt somewhat uncomfortable with the scene unfolding before her. The gazes of the people around her made her scalp tingle, and she instinctively tightened her grip on Lu Xiu's hand.
Lu Xiu led her to a booth, and the people around them made room.
As soon as they sat down, Jiang Yuanzhou immediately handed them a drink. The crimson liquid swirled slightly in the glass. Another woman approached and tried to hand a drink to Su Qing. In their eyes, coming to a bar meant having a good time, and not drinking was boring.
Su Qing pressed her lips together, accepted the drink, and said softly, "Thank you," before placing it on the table without any intention of drinking it.
On the other hand, Lu Xiu's friends, who hadn't seen him for several days, kept pouring him drinks, and he graciously accepted, one after another.
After finishing his drink, he leaned against Su Qing, paying no attention to the gazes of others. She smiled gently, her laughter light as she asked, "Are you drunk?"
Lu Xiu bit down on her collarbone, his voice husky as he replied, "Hmm, I'm drunk."
His voice was heard by those around them. Song Yun chuckled slyly. "Is he really drunk or just pretending?" he asked.
Jiang Yuanzhou also chimed in, "Doesn't look like he's really drunk. He's still holding up pretty well."
Su Qing's eyes curved with a smile, exuding a pure and clear beauty that seemed out of place among the other women in the booth, like a little lamb among wolves.
She patted Lu Xiu's back, holding him a little tighter. Looking at the gazes of the people around them, she felt a bit helpless. "Lu Xiu, can you get up?" she asked.
He shifted slightly. "No."
Although the people in the booth were worldly-wise, seeing this scene still surprised them. They had read online about Lu Xiu's ex-girlfriend, and she must be the one in front of them now.
But it seemed that Lu Xiu still had some remnants of a love-struck brain. Su Qing couldn't help but feel helpless; he was just too clingy.
As they continued to drink round after round, Su Qing received messages from Xiao Yin on her phone and replied to a few.
Before she could put away her phone, Lu Xiu embraced her waist, placing her securely on his lap before she could react.