Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Last time I forcibly kissed Pei Shaoye, he stayed away for three days.
This time, he hid for a whole week.

When we met again, the atmosphere was slightly chilled.
In the car, Pei Shaoye gripped the steering wheel in silence.
The speed was on the high side, but at least it was smooth.
He stared straight ahead, his face drawn a little tight.
Hair fluffy, a white shirt layered under a deep blue hoodie, sleeves rolled up.
Today was a gathering at the Pei Family residence.

“Dressed like that, you actually look a bit like a student now.”
“If it weren’t for my dad ordering me to bring you, I wouldn’t have gone out of my way to pick you up.”
“Thank you.”
“That’s it?”

I stayed quiet for a moment.
“Forget it. If you don’t want to talk about that night, you don’t have to. It was just being touched once, after all. As a man, I’m not embarrassed, nothing worth fussing over, and I certainly don’t have you filling my mind at night.”

I successfully caught the keyword: “You think about me at night?”
“Of course not!”
I broke into knowing, curved my eyes: “Looks like the Anchoring Effect is working pretty well.”

The car braked instantly.
Pei Shaoye, with faint anger: “I wasn’t thinking about you doing that kind of thing.”
I blinked: “Then what were you thinking about me doing?”
“Thinking about you…”
Pei Shaoye’s face turned a light pink, he cracked his knuckles.
“Shi Miao, you’re a pervert.”
“Can’t help it. The pressure’s high, so please bear with me.”

The car pulled over in the suburbs, and Pei Shaoye yanked the handbrake.
He lifted his thin eyelids, his peach-blossom eyes looking like a smile but not quite.
“I’m tired from driving. I heard you just got your license-how about you drive.”
Plenty of people just got their license but don’t dare hit the road; Pei Shaoye was clearly giving me a hard time.
“Putting your life in my hands?”
“Up to you.”

I got out and opened the driver’s door.
“Why aren’t you getting out?”
Pei Shaoye stared at me with burning eyes and unbuckled his seatbelt.
The next instant, he suddenly grabbed my wrist and pulled me down onto his lap.
A soft, domineering kiss landed.
Pei Shaoye wrapped one arm around my waist and rested the other hand on my knee.
Gradually deepening, step by step, until the oxygen ran out.
Pei Shaoye pulled back just a fraction.
Today I had on light makeup, and his lips were stained slick and pink, his eyes dark and heavy.
His voice was hoarse: “I got tired driving, so I’ll use you to relieve the pressure too.”
I steadied my breathing and offered a serious assessment.
“Good student. Not bad kissing skills, even able to draw inferences.”
“Shi Miao, you’re nothing special yourself, panting like this.”

My hand pressed down on his thigh.
“Didn’t you leave it up to me? Your life’s in my hands, so why so nervous? Who’s the average one here, really?”
Pei Shaoye turned his head away, covered his eyes with the back of his hand, and clenched his fist tight.
His voice dropped, suppressed: “Quit messing around. Go sit in the passenger seat. We need to go.”
I tossed my hair, and it flicked against Pei Shaoye’s face, making him squint.
“With a life as tough as yours, you probably aren’t afraid of my driving either.”

Time ticked by second by second, and someone’s urge to shift into gear grew harder and harder to hold back.
“Shi Miao, sometimes I really don’t get you. So well-behaved in public-where did you learn all these dirty words?”
“Because a top student has wide-ranging interests and never develops in just one single area.”
In the end, Pei Shaoye still went to the passenger seat.
In my peripheral vision, it felt like a car had slipped past through the deserted suburb.