Sissy (Niang Niang Qiang) - Chap 17
Chapter 17
The elevator took too long, so Li Chengxiu ran down the stairs. But how could he outrun Shao Qun who was taller and had longer legs? Li Chengxiu was caught before he could even go down a few floors.
He nervously glared at Shao Qun.
Shao Qun gave him a reassuring smile: “Chengxiu, I’m sorry. It was too soon.”
Li Chengxiu pointed at him with a trembling finger: “Asshole.”
Shao Qun used the opportunity to grab his hand: “Yes, I’m an asshole. I’m sorry, Chengxiu. I just like you too much. I can’t help it.”
Step by step, Li Chengxiu retreated to the wall: “I want to go home.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take you home. But you have to forgive me first.”
“You…” Li Chengxiu was angry.
Shao Qun leaned over Li Chengxiu, trapping him between the corner of the wall and his body. He clasped his wrists lightly, but still firmly enough to prevent him from breaking free. He then gently touched his face: “Chengxiu, do you remember that first kiss?”
Li Chengxiu was shocked.
“Our first kiss. I don’t believe you’ve forgotten it. I still remember the mood at that time. I’ve never felt so good or content before, I was on top of the world. Tell me, did I kiss you first, or did you kiss me?”
Li Chengxiu looked at him in confusion. Unconsciously, Shao Qun’s words brought back the memories: “I…I don’t know.”
“I don’t know either. But I know for sure that you felt the same as I did at that moment.”
Li Chengxiu was not good at lying, so he could only stay silent.
“Chengxiu, look me in the eye and tell me honestly – at that time, you also liked me, right?”
Li Chengxiu looked at him in amazement.
Like… Did he like Shao Qun back then? He wasn’t sure. And before he could confirm his feelings at the time, it was already too late anyway, and he was afraid to admit anything even to himself.
“Chengxiu, you liked me, I could feel it. I liked you too, and I believe you know it. Can you try to recall how you felt at the time? I’m still the same Shao Qun, I still like you. It’s just that I’m a grown up now. Now that I’m older, I won’t act like a coward. I’ll treat you better than I did back then. Can you try to like me again, please?”
Li Chengxiu’s heart tightened, and his nose felt sour.
Seeing that Li Chengxiu’s expression had softened, Shao Qun secretly rejoiced in his heart and gently pulled him closer. Seeing that Li Chengxiu didn’t refuse, he boldly hugged him.
“Chengxiu, we can get our feelings from the past back. Remember how that kiss felt? We just lightly pressed our lips together, but I still remember how soft it was, how beautiful.” In the past ten years, Shao Qun had coaxed many men and women into sleeping with him. When he used his sweet words, it was difficult even for the most hard-hearted to remain unmoved. His voice was low and gentle, and he was very persuasive. While Li Chengxiu was still in a trance, Shao Qun lightly lifted his chin and gently kissed his lips.
This kiss was not as impatient and violent as the one before. It was rather soft and light as a feather – just a touch, nothing else.
It was as if both of them had returned to that time fourteen years ago and relived the same kiss. That first youthful chaste kiss was worth all the riches in the world, and the excitement of forbidden pleasure seemed to burst out from their chests.
It wasn’t just Li Chengxiu who was caught up in the whirlpool of memories, even Shao Qun temporarily lost his cool. The same feeling he had first experienced so many years ago made his heart beat faster and warmed his body.
When their lips parted, neither of them said a word. They just quietly looked at each other. In the dim stairwell, Shao Qun’s eyes were particularly bright, and Li Chengxiu had the illusion of being burned by them.
Suddenly Li Chengxiu said, “Shao Qun, we have grown up.”
Shao Qun was stunned – it seemed to be the first time that Li Chengxiu called him by his name. Only now there was an actual feeling of reunion after a long separation, as if Li Chengxiu had finally admitted that he indeed was his former classmate Shao Qun,
With a subtle melancholy in his heart, Shao Qun unconsciously copied Li Chengxiu’s tone and said, “Yes, we have grown up.”
Li Chengxiu freed his hand from Shao Qun’s grip and looked down at the toes of his shoe in silence.
Shao Qun looked at Li Chengxiu’s red ears and white neck, and he felt unbearable longing in his heart.
He knew that it was not the right time yet, so all he could do now was suppress his desire. Softly he said, “Chengxiu, even though I’ve grown up, my feelings for you have not changed. Let’s give each other a chance, okay?”
Li Chengxiu shook his head: “I don’t know.”
“You don’t have to know now. Take your time. But don’t reject my kindness any more.”
Li Chengxiu still stubbornly shook his head: “I will not live…in your house.”
“Okay, I won’t force you. I just want to make your life a little better. I have no ill intentions.”
Li Chengxiu finally raised his head and gave him a relieved smile: “Thank you.”
Shao Qun also smiled and rubbed his face: “You are so stubborn. Come, let’s go downstairs. It’s almost noon – I’ll take you out to dinner.”
While the two were eating, they chatted a little more. Li Chengxiu even explained to Shao Qun why the lark mushrooms in abalone sauce that they had ordered were not authentic enough. Shao Qun could feel that Li Chengxiu’s defenses that had been set in place since they met were obviously melting away.
Shao Qun had never worked so hard to seduce someone before, but he didn’t feel bored at all. As a man, he naturally loved the feeling of conquest. And now he seemed to be marching onto the city, attacking it again and again, as he slowly destroyed its defense systems. The spoils of victory seemed to be within reach. But they were still a bit too far away, making Shao Qun feel excited and unable to stop.
After the two of them finished eating, Shao Qun planned to take Li Chengxiu out to play. However, an unexpected phone call came through – there was an urgent matter that required his immediate presence. So Shao Qun had no choice but to take Li Chengxiu home.
Before leaving, Shao Qun said, “Tomorrow I’ll take you to purchase the ingredients. You’ll have to do some tasting..”
Li Chengxiu nodded.
“And the day after tomorrow, we’ll have another date.”
“What?”
Shao Qun blinked slyly: “One day I’m taking you out for work, and one day I’m taking you out for a date.”
Li Chengxiu slightly blushed: “Don’t you… don’t you need to work?”
Shao Qun smiled ambiguously: “How can work be more important than being with you?”
Li Chengxiu gave him an embarrassed look.
Shao Qun whispered in his ear: “Chengxiu, can you kiss me?”
Li Chengxiu was so frightened that he quickly stepped back. Then he remembered the kiss in the stairwell, and his face turned red.
Shao Qun laughed, “Why do you get embarrassed so easily?”
Li Chengxiu said: “This… this is not good.”
Shao Qun sighed, pouting slightly, and showed a disappointed expression. Now he was looking at Li Chengxiu like a pitiful child who was asking for pocket money.
Li Chengxiu felt a little relieved and smiled as he told him “Goodbye.”
In the next few days, Li Chengxiu and Shao Qun met almost every day, and Shao Qun took him out to eat, drink and have fun. All this time he was caring, gentle and considerate to Li Chengxiu.
It was no exaggeration to say that Li Chengxiu hadn’t experienced such an easy life in the least twenty years.
He didn’t need to work, but his salary was still paid in full.
For the first time in his life, he was pursued and felt valued. Having somebody to spend time with was also a beautiful feeling. Moreover, Shao Qun was very knowledgeable, and he took him to see a lot of new things around town, which broadened Li Chengxiu’s horizons. He had never suspected that there were so many interesting and exciting things in this city, even though he had stayed here for several years.
Although he reminded himself every day not to get carried away, subconsciously he started looking forward to seeing Shao Qun.
It was very similar to the time when they had just started to hang out as kids.
Originally, school was just Li Chengxiu’s escape from his gloomy life at home. But gradually it evolved into actually looking forward to having a quiet lunch break with Shao Qun on the rooftop at noon.
Just like then, Shao Qun seemed to have opened a door to a new world for him. The same door that isolated Li Chengxiu from everybody else and made him feel sad, frustrated, inferior, and exhausted.
In this new world there was no trouble, no problems, no reality – he was no longer discriminated against, ignored, or living a humble and bitter life. On the contrary, somebody cared for him and treated him better than anybody else. When he was with Shao Qun, even those who ignored him before would treat him with respect. He felt like such an important person now – someone appreciated him, liked him, and was willing to accompany him so that he no longer needed to be lonely.
Step by step, Shao Qun had turned his fantasies that would only appear secretly in his dreams into reality. Li Chengxiu had never dared to seek life’s pleasures before, but he found himself unable to resist these things he had always longed for.
What’s more, these days, Shao Qun hadn’t crossed any lines again. And Li Chengxiu was actually already accustomed and too lazy to react to the occasional gestures of intimacy here or there.
The sea party was coming closer – more than half of the allotted 2 weeks had passed by, and Li Chengxiu felt a weird sense of loss.
No matter how good the dream was, eventually it was time to wake up.
On this day, he stayed home alone, staring at the wall in a daze.
Shao Qun had been very busy these last few days. Although the preparations for the party were basically done, there were still some important details that had to be worked out.
Li Chengxiu’s live had been so full of action every day, and all of a sudden it felt empty – he really wasn’t used to it anymore.
He took a sip of water and flipped through the recipes he had prepared to see what else could be improved.
Suddenly his phone rang.
He quickly picked it up, but when he saw the caller ID on the screen, he was a little disappointed.
“Hello, Manager Zhang.”
“Hey, Xiao Li. What are you doing now?”
“I’m at home.”
“Oh, that’s great. Get ready, you’re gonna be busy today.”
“Oh? Why?”
“Mr. Chen has arranged a dormitory for you.”
“A dormitory?”
“Yes, previously the staff dormitory wasn’t quite ready yet. But now all the work has been completed. President Chen is very fond of you, so he has chosen a very good place for you. You’re really lucky. Anyway, if you’re free today, you can move in.”
“Ah?” Li Chengxiu was frightened. Having a place in a dormitory was indeed a good thing. He could save on rent but there was no reason to move in so quickly.
“What do you mean “ah”? Give me your address, I’m free today, so I can come and help you move.”
Manager Zhang had never been so friendly to Li Chengxiu that he would suddenly sacrifice his holiday just to come help him move. This made Li Chengxiu really suspicious.
He explained with some difficulty: “Too soon. I have to…cancel. The apartment.”
“Just give your landlord a call. It’s almost the end of the month anyway. Move in first, and let your lease run out.”
“I need to cancel two months in advance. Or I lose the deposit.”
“Oh, the hotel will be responsible for your deposit. We can’t leave that nice place standing empty after all. Don’t offend Mr. Chen – hurry up and tell me your address.”
“Manager Zhang… but it’s too sudden…”
The voice on the other side finally revealed some impatience: “Why are you still haggling like a woman on the marketplace? If you don’t move into such a good house quickly, somebody else will snatch it away in a few days. This house is just for you alone, no roommates. How many people in our hotel get such good treatment? Why are you still hesitating?”
Li Chengxiu was a little afraid of offending his manager. Thinking about what he just said, it really did make sense. Since the hotel was going to reimburse his deposit, he had nothing to worry about. As soon as Li Chengxiu had made up his mind, he gave Manager Zhang his address.
Only then did Manager Zhang sound happy again: “There’s a traffic jam now. I’ll be there in a bit more than an hour. So you should hurry up and pack up already.”
Li Chengxiu put down his phone and froze for a while.
Urging him to move immediately as if it was the question of life and death was really weird. Besides, Manager Zhang usually ignored him, so why would he make a special trip now just to help him move? There were many doubts in Li Chengxiu’s heart, and no matter how he thought about it, he felt that something was wrong.
He hurriedly called his landlord. At first, his landlord was really angry at him for moving out so suddenly and being unable to quite explain the reason. He told Li Chengxiu off on the phone for a long time, until he was reassured that there will be compensation for breaching the contract.
After calling the landlord, Li Chengxiu called Shao Qun.
He didn’t expect that one day he’d actually have someone in his life whom he could notify about moving.
It was a pity though that Shao Qun didn’t pick up, so Li Chengxiu had to drop the call.
Although his speech wasn’t very fluent, Li Chengxiu’s actions were usually very quick. In recent years, he had moved many times. He only had a few things that were easy to pack. He took out the big woven bags and cardboard boxes he used in the past, and quickly began to fill them up.
By the time Manager Zhang arrived with the moving company, Li Chengxiu had basically finished packing up and was already dismantling his wardrobe with some tools.
Manager Zhang stepped forward to stop him: “You don’t have to bring any furniture. Everything you need is already there. Whatever you think you might require, has been provided.”
Li Chengxiu frowned: “But…” He had bought this furniture with his own money. If one day he had to move out from that place, would he need to buy new furniture again?
“Don’t worry about it. Leave it here. There’s no place for it there anyway.”
“No. In the future. If I move…”
“Let’s talk about it later. There’s really no place for all this junk there. Are you going to fill the house rented by President Chen with this old stuff? If the landlord finds out, wouldn’t it cause trouble for our boss?”
Li Chengxiu thought about what he said, but he was really reluctant to throw anything away. He could, of course, move in first and figure out what to do later. There were still a few days left until the end of the month. When he is free tomorrow and the day after that, he could come here and take the furniture to sell at the second-hand market. Or maybe negotiate with the landlord to sell it to the next tenant.
Everything happened very fast – in the afternoon, Li Chengxiu was already sitting in the moving van which drove in the direction of the hotel.
When the moving van entered a familiar neighborhood, Li Chengxiu was dumbfounded.
