novelraw Chapter 169 My Little White Rabbit
Chapter 169 My Little White Rabbit
Lu Xiran pouted, "I'll leave after you finish eating."
There are no flights today.
"Then tomorrow."
"slowly."
"You really want me to leave that badly?" She glared at him. "You've taken such good care of me, and you keep asking me when I'm leaving."
Gu Yanshen realized he had said the wrong thing. He opened his mouth, wanting to explain, but didn't know where to begin.
He was just... afraid.
I fear these days are too short, I fear she will disappear in the blink of an eye, I fear I'm too greedy and in the end I won't be able to hold onto anything.
"That's not what I meant." His voice was low, as if he were carefully choosing each word. "I just... don't know how many more days like this I can have."
She lowered her head and stirred the porridge in the bowl, the spoon making a soft, smacking sound as it hit the rim.
"Let's talk after you've had a good sleep." She looked up at him, a faint smile curving her lips, but it eased a long-standing knot in his heart. "You need to get some rest before you leave."
He didn't speak. He lowered his head and continued drinking the porridge. The porridge was very hot, but he didn't blow on it; he just swallowed it mouthful by mouthful. The heat burned from his throat to his stomach, and from his stomach to his heart. It burned so much that his eyes stung.
She's still here.
She didn't leave.
He finished his bowl, and she reached out to take it from him. "Would you like more?"
"Um."
She stood up to get the second bowl. The apron straps were tied in a crooked knot behind her waist. It had come loose when he hugged her earlier, and she hadn't retied it. He kept staring at that knot. She returned with the bowl, saw him looking at the knot, paused, and glanced down at it.
"You messed it up," she said, "it looks awful."
"Then I'll tie it again."
He stood up and walked behind her. His fingers rested on the ribbon, motionless. She stood there, motionless. He bent down, untied the knot, and re-tied it. Slowly, as if he were doing something very important.
"Alright." He took a half step back.
She glanced down—the bow was perfectly straight. "Still ugly," she said.
He smiled. It was a smile that came from the bottom of his heart.
She sat back down with the bowl in her hand and pushed the porridge in front of him. "Eat quickly, it's getting cold."
He sat down and picked up a spoon.
"slowly."
"Um."
"You just said you'd wait until I've had a good sleep before you left."
"Um."
He looked at her. "What if I keep having trouble sleeping?"
Her spoon stopped in the bowl. She looked up at him for a long time. Then she looked down and stirred the porridge in the bowl.
"Then you should get some sleep." Her voice was very soft, as if she were coaxing a child who wouldn't sleep. "You'll get some sleep eventually."
He didn't ask any more questions. He lowered his head and continued drinking his porridge.
The porridge was still hot, but he didn't notice.
"Aren't you going to work today?" she asked, her voice a little unsteady.
He shook his head. "I don't want to go."
Lu Xiran looked at him and suddenly laughed, "You workaholic, you even skip work sometimes." She reached for her phone on the island counter, "I need to take a picture to record this."
He sat up straight.
He didn't stop her, he just watched her.
His gaze was so direct, so intense, like honey that couldn't be melted, shimmering with light, enveloping her entirely. Her finger hovered over the screen, not pressing anything—she was so captivated by his gaze that she forgot what she was supposed to be doing. The phone screen lit up and then dimmed, but she didn't move even when it went dark.
He had moved behind her, embracing her from behind, his chin resting on her shoulder. His breath was warm against her ear. Her back was pressed against his chest, and through the two layers of clothing, she could feel his heartbeat. Not heavy, but fast.
"Ranran." His voice was low, resonating from his chest, penetrating her bones as it reached her ears. "Is your period over?"
Lu Xiran tensed up.
Memories of that night flooded back—pain, fear—and she curled up on the bed, begging him to stop. Her shoulders hunched, and her voice trembled involuntarily. "No…no…"
His fingers traced her waist downwards, gently measuring. "Seven days." There was a hint of amusement in his voice, as if he'd seen through her lie. "That's enough, isn't it?"
She turned around and leaned against the island counter, trying to create some distance between herself and the countertop. The coolness of the marble surface seeped through her clothes, but her face was burning hot.
"Gu Yanshen... let's keep our distance..." Her voice was strained, her eyes avoiding his gaze, fixed on the second button of his shirt. "I just... just want you to sleep well... we need to keep our distance!"
"How do you maintain distance?" He leaned forward slightly, not touching her, but his breath enveloped her completely. "You wipe my body, massage me, cook porridge for me—is that what you call maintaining distance?"
"Gu Yanshen!" She finally raised her head, frowning like a cornered rabbit, her ears bright red. "Are you being reasonable?! I just wanted you to get some sleep!"
He lowered his head, bringing it close to her ear, "Then do you know," his voice was very soft, as if he were telling a secret, "that you can't be kind to the big bad wolf?"
Her eyelashes trembled, she lowered her eyes, and her whole face turned red. The redness spread from her cheeks to her ears, and from her ears to her neck.
"Otherwise—" he didn't finish his sentence. He picked her up in his arms.
She instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers gripping the collar of his pajamas until her knuckles turned white. She wanted to say "put me down," but the three words got stuck in her throat, turning into a soft "put me down quickly," her voice so soft it sounded like she was pleading.
He laughed. Not a restrained, faint laugh, but a genuine laugh, a laugh that resonated from his chest, a laugh that was slightly hoarse, a laugh that was indulgent, a laugh that said, "What are you going to do with me?" She punched him lightly, but the force was barely a tickle.
"I won't let go." His voice lowered, as deep as the deepest string of a cello. "Today, you're not escaping." He looked down at her, his eyes shining. "My little white rabbit."
He placed her on the bed, so gently, as if he were placing something that would break. The mattress sank in, and she instinctively crawled forward.
He pulled her back with one hand.
The movements were gentle, yet brooked no resistance. His hands gripped her waist, pulling her close. Then, with his other hand, he grasped both her wrists and pressed them above her head.
"Don't waste your energy." His voice rang out above him, slightly out of breath.
She turned her head away, not out of fear, but out of resentment. A resentment that had been suppressed for a long time, a resentment she couldn't express.
"How could you do this to me?" Her voice choked. "You want me, you take me; you can push me away just like that?"
His kiss landed. Not on his lips, but on the corner of his eye.
"Because..." His voice was terribly hoarse. His fingers loosened from her wrist, slipped between her fingers, and slowly tightened their grip. "I want you."
Those three words carried immense weight. They were as heavy as a confession, as heavy as a promise. He looked into her eyes, his gaze burning with fire, restraint, and a desire that almost consumed him.
Lu Xiran dared not look him in the eye.
He had always been in control of their relationship. Whenever he wanted to be together, she would appear immediately without him even saying a word. She felt incredibly spineless.
"Gu Yanshen," her voice betrayed her hurt, "what do you take me for?"