"I see that your family continues to be terrible," Lian Xingzi commented, in a voice heaped with volumes of judgement.
"Leaving the one person that wants to take responsibility to rot by himself, even when you know things won't turn out well. Your brother got egged and you're still not going to do anything?"
Tianwei twitched and turned to her. "Kindly refrain from speaking about my family."
"And what a supportive family it is," Xingzi replied mockingly, "poor Jingwei. Now I really wonder if he's actually your father's biological son. He seems almost too kind to be born into your family."
"If you're in love with him, you're too late," Tianwei stated blandly, pretending to be calm and unaffected at the thought of his ex going for his younger brother. Judging by the amused smirk she gave him, he wasn't doing a good job.
"He's already desperately in love with someone else."
"That special someone who had the common sense to tell him to hold a press conference," she added. "At least he has the good sense to listen to her."
"He is blinded by love," he hissed in reply. "He'll regret it soon."
===
Meanwhile at his home, Jingwei showed no signs of regretting anything. He had one hand against the door, trapping Xue Ning against it.
Just like what Shengli said, seduction didn't need to happen in the bedroom.
Xue Ning, to her credit, only let out an embarrassed cough as she stared up at him, face still red at Shengli's parting words. Penetrative sex? There was no sex! None!
Unbidden, her brain helpfully recalled that there was a bottle of lube in the bathroom. Her face grew redder, but she still looked up to stare at Jingwei with a challenge in her eyes.
Jingwei's eyes narrowed as they focused on the tilt of her head. His other hand immediately reached out to brush the same spot Shengli had touched.
'Mine.' He thought to himself.
"Wow, you sure get jealous really easily," Xue Ning pointed out, huffing out a shaky laugh. She finally found the reason for his strange actions. It was just a tilt of her chin, and she knew that Shengli didn't mean anything by it - he was just doing it to rile up Jingwei.
And judging from Jingwei's darkened eyes, he did a successful job.
"How can I not be?" Jingwei asked, knowing it was irrational but he still couldn't help it.
"Idiot," Xue Ning said, half-fond and half-pissed. "Isn't Shengli your friend?"
"He's on thin ice." Jingwei said darkly.
Xue Ning's hands came to hold his face. Jingwei's heart thumped faster, was Xue Ning going to cradle his face and pull him closer for their third kiss of the day? He eagerly leaned in and wet his lips, hoping to make it clear that he was very agreeable to such a decision.
Instead, Xue Ning stomped all over his dreams by squishing his face with her hands, so much so that his lips had ended up looking like goldfish!
"Xue Ning!" He spluttered helplessly. This was not how things were supposed to go.
"Sun Jingwei, your priorities need adjustment." She scolded, but Xue Ning couldn't help laughing at the wronged look on his face. "Don't be an idiot."
"Can't help it," Jingwei mumbled.
"Eh? What did you say?" She played dumb, pressing harder on his face. His skin was very smooth and bouncy and it made her jealous. How could a man have such flawless skin!
Xue Ning then adjusted her fingernails to make sure they didn't end up digging into his face. She didn't want to hurt him accidentally. Jingwei noticed it and smiled.
"I mean, I will not be an idiot," he said dutifully. "I'll try my best anyway."
"Good," she said, satisfied, finally releasing him. "And don't worry about Shengli, he's not my type."
"What is your type?" Jingwei asked as he gazed down at her. He had to know to study his competition.
Xue Ning had a contemplative look. She knew what answer Jingwei wanted to hear, hence she refused to say it.
"For a start, men that do house chores are very attractive. For instance, like washing the dishes left behind from our lunch and dinner and taking out the trash."
"I'm on it," Jingwei said immediately, rolling up his sleeves to wash the dishes. He knew he was being manipulated, but this was a manipulation he was glad to succumb to. If Xue Ning liked the househusband type of man, he would become a househusband type of man for her!
(And he'd do a better job of it than Shengli, who lived off microwavable meals, fast food and oily takeout. Yi Ting had better prepare to cook for him if they get married, if not she would be widowed by 60, as Shengli expired from living off MSG.)
Meanwhile, Xue Ning watched in surprise as Jingwei actually did what she said. Was it truly so easy to get him to do chores?
Did she have that much power over him?
Even if so, he also had a sway over her. As she watched him wash the dishes, she realised that she may have created a monster for her own self-control to defeat.
Somehow, the sight of him with his sleeves rolled up to his forearms, the subtle flex of his muscles as he scrubbed at a particularly difficult food stain with the dish sponge, and the way he his hands plunged into the basin of soapy water only to rise, wet and glistening with soap suds, was making her feel warmer than usual.
'No Xue Ning, focus on what's important.' She scolded herself. His press conference was a few days from now, and everything had to go smoothly. There would be no room for strange lustful feelings; they couldn't afford to be distracted now.
"Thanks for washing the dishes," she said as she moved away from him. She needed some distance, but her eyes still lingered on the way his back muscles shifted under his shirt, even as she slowly walked away.
She didn't want to meet his eyes, when she couldn't get this… appreciation of hers under control.
Jingwei smirked at the porcelain plates, he had grown up with all sorts of eyes on him, hence he could definitely detect Xue Ning's intent gaze of desire on him, even without looking.
Guess Xue Ning wasn't lying when she said she was attracted to men who did housework. He purposely shifted his muscles just a bit more, and was rewarded with a quick shocked exhale of breath from her.
"You're welcome," he said, still not turning around. He lifted one of the plates, thinking of angling it just right so he could spy on her expressions.
Xue Ning didn't even give him that chance. She muttered a hasty "I'm going to bathe now," as she all but fled the kitchen.
Once the words registered in his mind, the plate slipped straight out of Jingwei's hands and back into the soapy basin.
Just like how he imagined how Xue Ning's wet naked figure would sink into the bathtub.
Would she give the same quick exhale he heard earlier as she relaxed into the warm water?
The thought was driving him crazy as he scrubbed frantically at the dishes. But no amount of dried crusty food could chase the thought of her naked from his mind.
He looked down at his soapy hands, and wondered when he would get the chance to wash her instead.
"God, I'm so fucked," he muttered in dismay, as the images refused to leave his mind.
His cock was once again hard.
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