Chapter 5

Chapter 5

On the way back, Li Shuyu drove very slowly.

I couldn’t hold my liquor.

By the time I was on my second bottle, I was already tipsy.

Now, leaning back in the passenger seat, I felt oddly wired.

One moment, I was looking at the flowers in the back seat.

The next, I was looking at Li Shuyu behind the wheel.

Li Shuyu’s profile was actually even better-looking than his face from the front.

A high, straight nose. Long lashes.

His lips were pressed together.

The tiny hole beside them was perfectly visible.

My brain heated up, and the words slipped out before I could stop them.

“Li Shuyu, here… did you get a lip piercing?”

“Mm.”

He answered without hesitation.

It was completely beyond my expectations.

“When did you get it?”

“In high school.”

Me: “…”

Didn’t my mom say he’d been a good boy who never made his parents worry ever since he was little?

What kind of good boy got a lip piercing in high school?

I narrowed my eyes and studied him.

Li Shuyu glanced back at me.

“What is it?”

I looked at him with a grave expression.

“Li Shuyu, I now seriously suspect that the reason you wrap yourself up so tightly in the middle of summer is because you’re hiding full-sleeve tattoos under your clothes!”

A rare trace of shock appeared on Li Shuyu’s indifferent face.

Then the corner of his mouth lifted.

He smiled helplessly.

“I really don’t.

“I got the lip piercing because high school was too stressful and I couldn’t find an outlet. I’m not that bad.”

As he spoke, he cast another sidelong glance at me.

I propped up my chin and stared at him.

Li Shuyu’s upper lip was on the thinner side, while his lower lip was fuller.

Usually, he always kept his mouth in a flat line.

Only when he spoke did I realize the corners of his lips naturally curved upward a little.

Rosy and full. They looked very kissable.

All of a sudden, I really wanted to know what kind of contrast there would be if someone as serious as him wore a lip stud.

So I raised a hand and pointed beside my own lips.

“Li Shuyu, do you usually wear it?”

He shook his head.

“No. Only once in a while, to keep it from closing up.”

My brain short-circuited again, and I asked,

“Li Shuyu, when you wear that… does it get in the way when you kiss?”

Li Shuyu clearly froze.

He slowly pulled the car over to the side of the road.

Then he turned toward me, his eyes dark and heavy as he looked at me, and asked politely,

“I don’t know. Do you want to try?”

After Li Shuyu asked that question, he didn’t make any move.

He only looked at me quietly.

Inside the sealed car, the air seemed to burn hotter and hotter beneath his gaze.

I regained my senses.

Stammering, I said,

“N-no! I was just curious! I didn’t mean I wanted to try!”

Li Shuyu remained perfectly calm.

“It’s fine. If you want to try, I’m willing.”

“No! No! I don’t! Hurry up and drive! I want to go home and sleep!”

How could he say something that suggestive with such a cool, aloof face?

For the rest of the drive, I squeezed my eyes shut and pretended to sleep.

I didn’t dare say another word.

After getting out of the car, I tried to pick up the huge bouquet from the back seat.

It was too heavy. I couldn’t lift it on the first try.

Li Shuyu stopped my hand.

I thought he was going to help me.

Instead, he bent down, pulled out one rose, and handed it to me.

“It’s too late, so I won’t walk you upstairs.”

My heart began to pound wildly.

“Then what about the rest of the flowers?”

Li Shuyu said softly,

“The whole point of giving you flowers was to ask for your forgiveness. If you’re willing to accept my apology, taking one back with you is enough.”

The night was gentle.

The faint fragrance of flowers in the air seemed to smooth away the restlessness of summer.

I lowered my eyes and took the flower from his hand.

Li Shuyu seemed to let out a breath of relief.

“Miss Jiang, then I’ll see you next time.”

When I got back upstairs and looked down from the window, Li Shuyu’s car was still parked by the roadside.

The light inside the car was on.

I could vaguely make out his figure.

I sent him a message.

[I’m home. You should head back.]

[Okay. Good night.]

When I looked up again, his car slowly drove out of sight.