novelraw Chapter 445 Clumsy Tenderness
Chapter 445 Clumsy Tenderness
"Afraid? Afraid of what?"Le Tong, having been ravaged by Ji Rui’s reckless force, already wasn’t thinking as clearly as usual. The dizziness, combined with those fuzzy yet perpetually unclear images, left her with no mental capacity to ponder Ji Rui’s question.
Ji Rui clearly saw a hint of painful emotion in her eyes, yet she seemed completely unaware. It seemed that subconsciously, she held some resistance or rejection towards certain matters.
And the person causing her subconscious resistance to something was likely, indeed, himself.
Previously, no matter how he tried to hint or how he blamed and scolded her, she always firmly responded that she had no recollection whatsoever of that drunken night.
During the days when he couldn’t stand her at all, he thought she was just pretending, playing a game of hard to get.
When he didn’t know her at all, it was normal for him to believe she was pretending. After all, no matter how drunk a person is, it seems impossible to ignore the exhilarating sensation like flying into the clouds.
But ever since he understood that she sometimes unconsciously chose to bury her head in the sand when faced with unsolvable problems, he was certain that she truly couldn’t remember a thing from that night.
It was likely that the mind-blowing sensation he experienced that day was built upon her pain, so her subconscious automatically shielded her from the painful experience of that night.
"Nothing... it’s nothing!"
Ji Rui, feeling both guilty and heartbroken, murmured, holding her tightly and kissing her forehead a few more times.
He always thought of himself as an upright person, yet now, he lacked the courage to admit that on that drunken night, he did indeed take advantage of her. At first, he perhaps thought she was implying and inviting, and he was merely accommodating her, but later, things got a little out of control. Most of the night, he was in charge, and the wolfish side of him had undoubtedly caused her more suffering than words could express...
Perhaps it’s a good thing for him that she forgot that night.
Even if her subconscious rejects him, it’s still better than having her hate him.
Still, he didn’t regret doing this and that to her that night, because without that night, they might still be maintaining the most ordinary superior-subordinate relationship even now.
The only thing he regretted deeply was not treating her gently the night she first experienced such intimacy.
"Le Tong..." His lips murmured as he brushed against her burning cheek.
He could imagine that if he missed out on her, he would still be living the same workaholic life dominated solely by work as before.
"Hm?!"
Le Tong slightly lifted her head from his embrace. The dazed look in her eyes had dissipated, and her shining dark eyes were bright and clear like the stars.
"I’m sorry!" Ji Rui gently kissed the corner of her lips.
Le Tong frowned slightly. By her expression, she clearly didn’t understand what this out-of-nowhere apology was for.
"I was a bastard before..." Ji Rui, of course, didn’t dare to openly state that this apology was for the lack of restraint that drunken night.
Moreover, thinking back, he indeed had many things to apologize for. If they were to list them one by one, they might not sleep at all tonight.
Le Tong turned her face slightly away and looked at him thoughtfully for a while. Ji Rui felt a little on edge under her gaze, wondering if she remembered that night.
Just as he was about to ask, Le Tong’s face approached him, her peachy lips slightly open as she bit down lightly on his chin.
"Not just before? You’re still a bastard now!"
The force of Le Tong’s bite wasn’t strong, but you could still see the faint red teeth marks like a crescent moon on Ji Rui’s perfectly arched chin.
Even though his chin hurt a bit, Ji Rui completely ignored it, his big hand brushing her back, shamelessly squinting his eyes and admitting fault.
"Her Majesty the Queen is absolutely right; I am still a bastard, always a bastard..."
Le Tong, quite satisfied with his good attitude in admitting fault, still put on a haughty princess demeanor, lifting his chin with her fingertip, looking at him sideways with her chin raised, she hummed, "So, how do you plan to redeem yourself?"
Ji Rui grabbed her hand and bit it lightly, turning his head to look at her with a smile in his eyes, "How about I make you a bowl of noodles?"
Le Tong burst into laughter, and it took her a while to suppress it, trying hard to keep a straight face as she snorted.
"Forget the noodles; I want roasted sweet potatoes."
She was not joking. Ever since Zhang Yi returned to D Province to start his business, this street no longer had any stalls selling them. Le Tong had been craving them for quite a while but was too shy to say it out loud.
Ji Rui stared at her with his deep eyes without blinking; after a moment, he asked, "Do you really want roasted sweet potatoes?"
Le Tong nodded without hesitation, and thinking of the fragrant, hot sweet potato flesh, she couldn’t help but lick her lips.
"Alright, let’s go buy some!"
With one hand on Le Tong’s waist, Ji Rui suddenly helped her sit up.
"Eh?" Le Tong couldn’t quite get it.
Ji Rui already had her in his arms, getting off the bed, "Let’s go, we’ll see where we can buy some!"
Only then did Le Tong realize, "Uh, really go?"
"Of course..."
Ji Rui had never been one to prioritize food, so he had never impulsively gotten out of bed in the middle of the night to go out and hunt for food over something trivial like this.
But now, he pushed Le Tong into her bedroom’s washroom, grabbed a comb to tidy her disheveled curls a bit, gave her a kiss, patted her face, and said.
"Wash your face, I’ll wait for you."
When Le Tong finished washing her face and came out, Ji Rui raised his hand to help tuck a few strands of hair behind her ear that clung to her face. When Le Tong had her shoes changed, Ji Rui somehow produced a jacket to wrap her up. "It seems like it’s windy outside."
Le Tong cooperatively raised her arms to put on the jacket, fingers touching the buttons, but Ji Rui gently brushed her hand aside.
"Let me do it!"
Le Tong found it amusing, "Hey, why do I feel like I’ve really become a queen?"
"Yes, you are my queen." Ji Rui smiled, crouching slightly and lowering his head.
In truth, she felt she was not a queen at the moment, but a princess.
Just like when she was three or four years old, the little princess cherished and adored by her parents. In her memory, during the harsh winter, when little her climbed out of bed, her mother would wrap her in a big, warm coat, then let her sit on the bed as her mother knelt before it, helping her button up her coat and put on socks...
The man evidently wasn’t adept at serving others; as he kept his head lowered, it took him quite a while to only button half of those buttons.
Le Tong gazed at the top of his black head; she couldn’t help but sniff as she wondered if it was this clumsy tenderness or the memory of her mother that brought that unconsciously on.