Chapter 105: Beware of Being Swindled Out of Even Your Underwear

Lu Qingyue was held firmly against his chest, her lips lightly nipped and suckled at until she could not help letting out a soft whimper. In a small, indignant murmur, she protested, “How can you be so shamelessly forceful?”

Cheng Xinye turned his head slightly. The cool, distant lines of his brows were touched with a smile, lending them an unaccountable softness and a faint, languid charm.

Without waiting for her consent, he gathered the struggling little thing back into his arms, lifting one brow with a low, coaxing laugh. “Since I’m already yours, wouldn’t it be a terrible loss not to kiss me a little longer?”

Lu Qingyue thought it over.

That did make sense. After all, he was her gift, so shouldn’t that mean she could do whatever she pleased?

At once, she grew entirely justified, clinging to him with delighted little hums and kissing his lips again and again for a long while.

The glow of the streetlamp fell across the ridge of his brow, casting a thin, pale shadow.

Between their tangled breaths and mingled lips, his breathing grew hotter by the second, every exhale seeming to brush directly against her heart.

No one knew how much time passed before the arm around her back loosened slightly. A warm, faintly cool scent of sea salt, mixed with a trace of mint, drifted slowly down to her chin.

Cheng Xinye let go and turned his head, putting a little distance between them.

He straightened, the last traces of desire still lingering in his eyes. With his fingertip, he pressed lightly against her glistening lips and rubbed once, slow and measured.

Lu Qingyue blinked in confusion, not understanding why he had suddenly stopped kissing her.

Still unwilling to let it go, she hooked her arms around his neck and leaned forward as if to claim another kiss.

But Cheng Xinye smiled and leaned back to evade her, his tone both teasing and helpless. “Not enough yet?”

Lu Qingyue rose onto her toes and said, stubbornly indignant, “Don’t dodge! If you’re going to call yourself a gift, then you should be prepared to be kissed!”

Cheng Xinye had decided not to let her kiss him, and that was that. He pressed a hand to her forehead and pushed her back a little, laughing despite himself. “Dian Dian, that’s enough. If you keep going, your brother’s going to see us.”

They had already been at it in full view for ages. If Lu Yi came out, he could catch the two of them red-handed at any moment.

But Lu Qingyue, reckless with boldness, merely made a dissatisfied little sound and muttered, “My brother isn’t here. Don’t even think about making excuses to send me away!”

For once, Cheng Xinye truly did not know what to do with her.

It was not that he did not want to kiss her. It was just that, on a cool summer night, the darkness itself was already temptation enough. Afterward, she could go back and sleep as if nothing had happened, leaving him alone here to bear the aftermath, unable to leave for a long while.

With a helpless sigh, Cheng Xinye tried to divert her attention.

“Do you still want your present or not?”

“Yes!”

The moment she heard there was another gift, Lu Qingyue’s attention was indeed snatched away at once, and she promptly forgot all about kissing.

Cheng Xinye glanced at her and thought that this little troublemaker had a talent for discarding the old in favor of the new.

She had been clinging to him for kisses just a moment ago, and now her whole heart and mind were on the present. Even the most accomplished face-changing performance on stage could not match her speed.

He sighed, and in the end drew another small box from his pocket and placed it in her hands.

“Open it when you get back.”

Lu Qingyue examined the delicate little wooden box in her hands and asked with confusion, “What is it that has to be kept so mysterious?”

Cheng Xinye said, “It’s not that mysterious. Your brother’s here.”

At the mention of Lu Yi, Lu Qingyue jumped in surprise on instinct.

Turning around, she saw that Lu Yi had indeed come over.

She hurriedly hid the thing behind her back and greeted him a little flustered, “Brother.”

Lu Yi approached with a cold expression. Whether he had seen what was in her hand or not, his gaze swept faintly over the two of them before settling on them with a probing look. “What are you two doing here?”

He had already noticed it inside earlier: these two had disappeared for most of the day, and now they were skulking around here again. Clearly nothing good was going on. They might even have been secretly carrying on something unspeakable behind everyone’s back.

Before he could think further, Lu Qingyue blurted out at once, “Brother Xinye is leaving, so I came to see him out.”

Lu Yi raised a brow. “Really?”

Lu Qingyue said, “Truer than anything.”

Cheng Xinye knew she was making an excuse for him, but watching how naturally she lied, he suddenly felt that this little mischief-maker might be hard to discipline in the future. Perhaps, even if he were a few years older than her, she would still be the one to have him wrapped around her finger.

Just as he was thinking this idly, he heard Lu Yi say in a flat voice, “He doesn’t have legs of his own? He needs you to see him out? Go inside first. I have something to ask him.”

He knew there was no way to stop it now, but he still had to get things straight.

If this were an honest romance, he would not interfere. But if Cheng Xinye was merely toying with a girl’s feelings, then this dog would not be stepping out of their house tonight.

Cheng Xinye could guess what he wanted to say. With both hands in his pockets, he stood there calmly and glanced at Lu Qingyue.

Lu Qingyue thought Lu Yi was going to keep obstructing them, and afraid Cheng Xinye might waver, afraid he might be talked into breaking up with her, she hurried to speak first.

“I’m not an outsider. I can stay and listen too, okay?”

Lu Yi gave a knowing little “oh” and said unhurriedly, “Then let the outsider leave first. I’ll talk to you alone.”

The outsider himself: “?”

Who was the outsider here? He had a proper status now.

Lu Qingyue did not want to have a private talk with her brother at all.

You can make things hard for my boyfriend, but not for me!

Besides, the topic between men was bound to be indecent. She was such an innocent, harmless college freshman-to-be; if she heard too much, her brain would end up full of filthy rubbish.

So when she heard that, Lu Qingyue refused without hesitation. “Ah, then you two talk. I’m going back to sleep.”

With that, she ran straight back into the house without once looking over her shoulder, leaving Cheng Xinye for her brother to use as a live target.

Once she was gone, Lu Yi finally withdrew his gaze and looked at the man before him.

The two of them were nearly the same height, standing there with broad shoulders and straight backs. Nothing had even been said yet, and there was already an inexplicable sense of confrontation.

Lu Yi cleared his throat and asked first, “I heard that the boy my parents rescued back then, when Dian Dian went on a trip with them at age three, was you?”

He had worked through the matter again and again afterward, and found that it really did match what Lu Qingyue had said. If Cheng Xinye had been that little boy from back then, then all those scattered coincidences could indeed be linked together.

At the thought of it, Lu Yi could not help wanting to confirm it with him personally, lest the little fool in their family be led away in a haze and still help count money for whoever took her.

Cheng Xinye gave a soft hum and, setting aside his usual air of indifference, became rare and grave. “I’ll make sure of it and come formally to thank Uncle and Auntie in person.”

Lu Yi did not actually care much about thanks.

His family was not short of money. The only one short on money was that little brat.

So whether Cheng Xinye’s family ran a listed company or a street stall meant nothing at all to them.

Leaning against the railing, Lu Yi gave him a lazy once-over and asked in disbelief, “What were you thinking? My father saved you, and now you want to repay him by abducting his precious daughter?”

That little brat might be grown now, but she was still only eighteen.

Wasn’t someone’s appetite a little too ugly? She had only just come of age, and they were already eager to make their move?

Cheng Xinye’s throat moved slightly. After a moment, he said calmly and earnestly, “I will be good to Dian Dian.”

The girl he had liked for two years, who also happened to be the little benefactor who had once saved his life—no matter which of those reasons one considered, he would treat her well.

Lu Yi was silent for a while. Then the crease between his brows eased, and he said, “Seeing as you also saved Dian Dian this time, I won’t say any more.”

He paused, and as though remembering something else, raised a brow and said with solemn emphasis, “I’ll just remind you of one thing: that little brat weighs a hundred jin, but ninety-nine jin of that is cunning. Be careful she doesn’t scam you so badly you’re left with nothing but your underwear.”

That much, Cheng Xinye actually agreed with.

But before he could speak, a voice suddenly came from behind them.

“Don’t listen to my brother talking nonsense.”

Lu Yi and Cheng Xinye: “?”

The two of them turned around in astonishment and saw Lu Qingyue peeking out from behind the door, only her little head visible.

She was probably worried that Cheng Xinye would dislike her for being too shrewd, so the moment he looked back, she immediately added with earnest emphasis, “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely leave your underwear for you!”

Cheng Xinye: “...”

Lu Yi: “...”