Chapter 40: Heart Beat
It was extremely late at night.
Lin Hanxing had just finished showering when she heard some movement at the door. She opened the door as she toweled dry her hair. When she saw Lei Xiao was sitting next to the door, her movements halted.
"What are you doing here?"
As soon as Lin Hanxing said those words, the towel in her hand was snatched by Lei Xiao. In the next moment, it was draped over the top of her head and rubbed back and forth in gentle strokes.
Lin Hanxing's line of sight was blocked by the towel and all she could see was his broad chest.
"I'm going to sleep here tonight."
Without waiting for Lin Hanxing to respond, Lei Xiao had already entered the house and locked the door from the inside.
"Leave." Lin Hanxing pushed against him. However, his physical strength was pretty evident in a situation like this.
Lei Xiao lightly held onto Lin Hanxing's wrists and abruptly pushed her up against the wall. Lin Hanxing was completely unprepared for this. As she felt her back against the wall, she lifted her head in fury.
In an instant, she froze.
Lei Xiao's stone-cold features softened at that moment and his deep cold eyes stared intently at her. When he could clearly see the anger in her eyes, his thin lips instantly curved into a faint smile. His eyes were filled with inexplicable tenderness.
Her heart missed a beat out of nowhere.
Lin Hanxing held her breath unknowingly and she wanted to hide from his eyes which looked like they were about to devour her. Yet, she could not resist letting her sight land upon Lei Xiao's face.
"Don't make a fuss!" Lei Xiao spoke in a low voice, as though he had not done anything to capture Lin Hanxing. Once the words left his mouth, all of a sudden, Lin Hanxing was suspended mid-air!
It turned out that Lei Xiao had done all that to get her into his arms. Lin Hanxing subconsciously draped her hands across his shoulders.
"You'll sleep on the bed. I'll sleep on the ground."
Lei Xiao placed her gently on the bed and his gaze inadvertently swept across her snow-white feet. Her tiny toenails were like snowy jasmine petals in bloom. Once again, he recalled the time when she left a bunch of wild jasmine at his house…
"Are you ill?" Lin Hanxing felt bewildered as she watched him casually set up camp on the ground.
"Your words… They sound to me like you're hoping for me to sleep with you-"
Before Lei Xiao could finish speaking, a pillow flew at his face. He caught it calmly and the smile on his lips did not fade.
With a click, the lights went out. The room went pitch black.
Lin Hanxing laid on her back in bed but she could not sleep because Lei Xiao was there. She felt apprehensive about turning around in bed. This feeling made her strangely irritable.
All of a sudden, the fingers of that man reached over to catch hold of Lin Hanxing's wrist.
His hand was a little cold.
That was the thought that suddenly appeared in Hanxing's mind.
His thumb rubbed the back of her hand. It seemed as though he had sensed her irritable mood and was trying to comfort her.
It seemed like Uncle Dumb was also still awake. Lin Hanxing could hear the faint sound of the arias from the Beijing Opera.
"A moment ended the seven emotions, tears of suffering drenched the clothes"
"He taught me to collect the lingering hatred, to avoid the anger, to better oneself, to change the feelings, to take a break from love, to return to the sea of ??suffering, to realize the cause sooner…"
She slowly closed her eyes yet those scattered scenes did not appear like she had imagined they would. Lin Hanxing's tense body gradually relaxed. However, Lei Xiao's hand did not loosen at all…
…
Early morning.
Sunlight streamed in from a slit in the curtains. Radiantly, the sunlight shone on the ground and the light shadows scattered to form patterns on the ground.
Lin Hanxing fell asleep in a daze. All she could feel was her body being bound by something so tightly that she could hardly breathe. In the end, it was so unbearable that she opened her eyes and awoke from her slumber.
The first thing that she saw was the perfect chin of a man.
Lin Hanxing's mind went blank. It was like her brain could not react in time to figure out why there was a man in her room. Very quickly, the memories from last night came back to her.
As she slowly became more alert, she moved slightly only to realize what she felt trapping her earlier was Lei Xiao's arm holding onto her tightly.
She should have been sleeping on the bed but Lin Hanxing found that she was actually lying on the mattress that Lei Xiao put out last night. She was stuck in his embrace and had no way to move!
He was still fast asleep.
His stubble still made him look extremely clean-cut and the curve of his features was not as cold and rigid as usual.
The shirt that he wore last night was tossed carelessly aside and all he had on was a black tank top. In Lin Hanxing's entire life, she had never been this close with another person.
A faint feeling made her recall last night when she was pressed against the wall by Lei Xiao. Trapped within his embrace, her heart skipped a beat.
Lin Hanxing's face slowly turned crimson.
She moved slightly, wanting to run away from her embarrassment. Perhaps her movements were too much because Lei Xiao's brow furrowed tightly. His eyes remained shut but his arm moved out to pull Lin Hanxing back into his embrace.
This was followed in quick succession by his lips pressing against her forehead where they gently caressed her. Lin Hanxing's face instantly burned up.
"Good morning." Lei Xiao's morning voice was hoarse like sandpaper making it sound deeper and more magnetic than usual.
Lin Hanxing's entire body froze until she was as stiff as a rock.
"You rolled down here yourself last night." He used a hand to ruffle her hair and his eyes lit up.
"Do you think that I'm stupid?" Lin Hanxing did not believe his words at all.
Lei Xiao lowered his head to look at her and his lips suddenly curved upwards.
"Hmm, yes I think you're stupid."
What really happened was that after Lin Hanxing fell asleep, Lei Xiao carefully carried her down from her bed. He thought that she would wake up from her slumber but he never imagined that Lin Hanxing would not react to it at all.
"Release me." What she was referring to was his arm encircling her waist. However, Lei Xiao did not remove his hand, instead he forcefully pulled Lin Hanxing closer to his chest.
"Hey, Mr. Lei!"
"Why is your heart beating so fast?" Lei Xiao seemed to ignore the tone of Lin Hanxing's voice which hinted that she was close to exploding in anger as he stretched out his hand and pressed it against her heart.
Her uncontrollable beating heart under Lei Xiao's palm was more truthful compared to Lin Hanxing's repeated protestations. Lin Hanxing felt as though she could claw his face off at that moment!
"Did you sleep well last night?" All of a sudden, Lei Xiao's expression returned to his normal indifference. He used his arm to support his upper body making the muscles of his arm appear more evident.
Lin Hanxing had been silent for a good while. In the time that had passed, she finally understood the reason why he was willing to sleep on the ground and also why he insisted on staying in her room…
She stared at Lei Xiao's face in shock. Sunlight streamed onto the ground and illuminated his figure in golden light.
"You…"
Two pairs of eyes met, neither one of them spoke.
Lei Xiao subconsciously moved forward. Lin Hanxing clearly felt him closing the distance between the two of them. She could easily avoid it but this time, she seemed to be rooted in place, unmoving.
The distance drew closer and closer…
Knock knock knock…
Suddenly, a knocking sound came from the door...