Chapter 169 Can We Video Chat While I Take a Bath?

After finishing dinner in the evening, Cheng Xingye drove back to his apartment.

He suddenly realized that being in a relationship was actually quite wearing.

It had only been a few hours since they last saw each other, yet he already missed her terribly.

Especially since the entire apartment was filled with traces of her everyday life.

At the entryway sat her fluffy little bunny slippers; the panda throw pillow he bought her last time was resting on the sofa; and the coffee table held the pair of couple mugs she had insisted on buying during their visit to Disney.

What was even more wearing was a photo booth strip sitting on the TV cabinet, featuring her making a whimsical, playful face.

A young woman’s soft and adorable taste remained strongly present throughout the spacious apartment.

Even when Cheng Xingye did not intentionally think of her, her vivid shadow seemed to follow him wherever he went, as if she might dart out of a room at any second, leap into his arms to demand a hug, and affectionately call out his name, Cheng Xingye.

Cheng Xingye lowered his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling half helpless and half amused at himself.

To feel this distressed after just a brief separation—it seemed he was truly destined for only her for the rest of his life.

Figuring that clinging to a young girl like this was a bit pathetic, Cheng Xingye sighed, pushed his suitcase casually into the bedroom, and turned into the walk-in closet.

After flying all the way back from Beijing and enduring a family dinner with his grandfather at the old estate, his entire body felt uncomfortable. Only a hot bath could set things right.

Just as he finished filling the bathtub, he heard his phone buzzing incessantly on the bedside table.

Cheng Xingye leaned over to turn off the water, then turned back to retrieve his phone.

The screen was flooded with several notifications. Aside from work-related messages, the rest were from Lu Qingyue.

She loved browsing all sorts of random things online and practically had her phone glued to her hand. Whenever she got bored, she liked to pester him with idle chatter.

Guessing she had nothing serious to say, Cheng Xingye placed the phone on the edge of the bathtub, stripped off his clothes, and sank into the hot water before finally reaching out to unlock the screen.

As soon as the screen unlocked, a flurry of WeChat messages popped up.

[Lu Diandian]: What is my boyfriend doing?

[Lu Diandian]: ???

[Lu Diandian]: Ten minutes and still ignoring me?

[Lu Diandian]: Whatever. Don't blame you for being cold; it's me who should reflect on why I only have one boyfriend.

[Lu Diandian]: I'm done with this damn relationship! I'm going to go work at ChaPanda!

[Lu Diandian]: (Sir, what would you like to drink?) (Jasmine Milk Green, is it?) (Picks up the cup) (Applies label) (Adds syrup) (Pours green tea) (Tops up with tea) (Places in sealing machine) (Picks up rag to wipe cup) (Shouts loudly) (Jasmine Milk Green for order number 116 is ready)

Cheng Xingye: "..."

He was speechless for a moment, suddenly feeling that this little rascal was becoming more and more excessively clingy.

[hOShinO]: I'm literally just taking a bath, do you have to be so dramatic?!

The other end seemed to be waiting with the phone in hand just for his reply, sending back a message almost immediately.

[Lu Diandian]: You actually went to take a bath by yourself?!

[hOShinO]: ...Otherwise?

If not by himself, could he possibly have gone with two people?

Cheng Xingye thought to himself with amusement.

Yet the very next second, another message came through from the other side.

[Lu Diandian]: I hope there are no secrets between us, so can we video call while you bathe?

[hOShinO]: ....

...

All around was quiet and peaceful, bathed in soft light and shadows.

Having successfully teased her boyfriend, Lu Qingyue was in a fantastic mood, lying comfortably sprawled out across the large bed in her bedroom.

The thin snow outside reflected the moonlight, casting a water-like radiance indoors.

Looking out at the hazy night scenery, she couldn't help thinking with a smug sense of satisfaction how wonderful it would be to just keep dating him like this forever.

As she was indulging in these tender thoughts, the phone beside her pillow suddenly vibrated.

Lu Qingyue picked it up to take a look, only to find that Cheng Xingye had initiated a video call.

She immediately rolled over to sit up, blinked in confusion, and finally pressed accept in disbelief.

The screen instantly shifted to a view that might require censoring to pass review.

Whether intentional or not, Cheng Xingye had positioned the camera height precisely at his chest, revealing only the corner of his chin and a vast expanse of broad pectoral muscles.

He had always maintained a great physique, and during those few days traveling in Beijing, he had gone to the hotel gym almost every single morning.

The marks of his workouts were clearly visible on his body; his muscle groups were tight and firm, with nearly perfect contour lines, and the lean muscle mass possessed a tremendously powerful visual impact.

Faced abruptly with chest muscles still glistening with water droplets, Lu Qingyue was struck dumbfounded.

It wasn't until Cheng Xingye shifted the camera slightly upward to reveal his exceptionally handsome face that she finally snapped out of her daze.

On the other end of the line, Cheng Xingye stared at her slightly flushed face for a few seconds before his lips curved into a faint smile.

"What are you doing? Stunned into silence?"

His tone carried a hint of playfulness, slow and gentle, as if deliberately teasing.

The tips of Lu Qingyue's ears burned, and shameful, age-inappropriate images popped into her mind. Feeling instantly guilty, she stammered in a small voice,

"You're really letting me look?"

"Hmm?"

The person on the other end paused, and the next second let out another low chuckle.

"Is there anything of mine you haven't seen?"

Lu Qingyue: "...." Well, that was true.

Since she had seen everything anyway, what harm was there in looking at it across a screen once more?

Emboldened by this thought, her subtle sense of shame instantly vanished into thin air. Pushing her luck, she commanded,

"Then pull the camera down..."

Cheng Xingye: "???"

Through the screen, he could practically feel her scheming mind buzzing with thousands of plots. Speechless and amused, he scolded,

"Lu Diandian!"

He uttered her nickname with a warning tone. Seeing that she still put on an innocent and naive act, he simply flipped the camera to the rear lens, cutting off her view.

The phone screen instantly transitioned from top-tier masculine beauty to the monotonous, uninteresting bathroom glass.

Staring at the glass door where water droplets continued to gather and trickle down, Lu Qingyue felt deeply disappointed and dissatisfied, and couldn't help calling out to him in a soft voice,

"Cheng Xingye?"

"Cheng Xingye?"

"What are you doing?"

"Let me look!"

Hearing those sweet, pampered sounds echoing continuously, Cheng Xingye tilted his head back against the bathtub and closed his eyes heavily.

He belatedly realized that he should never have video-called her from the bathroom.

The swirling steam, the misty water vapor, combined with her soft and dainty voice, formed a dual temptation and stimulation.

The sharp, delicate voice in his ear just wouldn't quit. Raising a hand to shield his eyes, helpless and mocking himself, he spoke in a low, husky, and lazy voice,

"Can you keep it down? Or I'll come over to your place and catch you later."

Sensing the hoarseness in his voice, the other side finally fell silent for a moment.

The next second, her voice—barely suppressing laughter and trembling slightly—came through the phone again,

"Why would you catch me? Be honest, Cheng Xingye, are you secretly jerking off to me?"

Cheng Xingye: "...."

Before Lu Qingyue could revel in her mischief for long, she suddenly saw the screen freeze and a notification pop up directly—[Video call has ended].