“Since you’ve disagreed, I have no choice but to do this the hard way.” Reaching out, he dragged her into his warm embrace.
Zhou Xufang instinctively raised her balled-up fist into the air.
“Cough, cough, cough, cough…” Jiang Zhi rested his chin on her shoulder, meaning every tiny nuance in his coughs was picked up by her over-sensitive ears. “You see, my body’s pretty weak, so if you can, try to be a little gentler.”
Her fist remained suspended in the air instead of smashing down on Jiang Zhi.
The way he was right now reminded her too much of that abandoned grey kitten living at the bottom floor of her apartment. ‘What a poor little thing,’ she thought. Her heart had almost melted on the spot.
Afraid of exerting too much power, she tried to push him away with just one finger.
“Let go of me.”
Keyword: tried.
Jiang Zhi was not planning on letting her go. He interlocked his arms around her waist, and knowing how powerful this girl was, he made sure to put all his strength into holding her. “Don’t move, it’ll be over in a second.”
It felt a little hot.
It had been many years since the cold-blooded Zhou Xufang had experienced such a warm, almost sweat-inducing feeling. Even the temperature of her skin had started rising, making her feel extremely uncomfortable. Raising a second finger, she once again tried pushing Jiang Zhi away.
Truth be told, she really did limit her strength in this one push.
Jiang Zhi stumbled backward, almost toppling over the coffee table behind him. His chest suddenly tightened up and out came a coughing fit.
“Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough…” He coughed so hard that his eyes turned pink and started watering. Glaring at the girl who had rejected his embrace, he yelled toward her. “That’s not gentle! Not one bit!”
He was so annoyed that his face was flushed red and his wet, beady eyes were like those of a baby predator—very ferocious indeed, but in reality, dealt little to no harm. Whoever gazed upon such a look would inevitably take pity on him.
Like a cat.
Seeing Jiang Zhi, Zhou Xufang’s mind immediately thought of a juvenile cat. The type from a distinguished breed that would laze around elegantly but would constantly receive prized female mates from all over the world to bear a new litter with. However, this feisty cat would also never back down when provoked. It would use its hidden claws to deal a killing blow the moment one lets his or her guard down around it.
Zhou Xufang’s eyes widened in surprise but she averted her gaze. “I’ve already gone really gentle.”
If she had used more force, he would not be standing right now.
Jiang Zhi’s anger slowly faded away. He held his chest as he gasped for air.
“This hair of yours. When can you wash it off?”
“Tonight, when I get back home.” The hair dye used was the temporary type that should disappear after two washes.
Jiang Zhi stole a peek at her forearm.
Directly hugging her was a much easier way of confirming his suspicion in comparison to taking her clothes off to check if there was a wound or not. He thought about hugging her again tomorrow. Today’s session was way too short for him to smell anything remotely milky. The only thing he smelled just now was the overwhelmingly nauseating smell of chemical hair dye.
Should he do it again tomorrow?
His gaze was a little too blinding to look at.
Zhou Xufang took a big step back. She noticed how quickly Jiang Zhi had calmed down, and fearing that she would piss him off even further, she shuffled forward in tiny steps. “Is there anything else?”
How dare she be so paranoid!?
Jiang Zhi grit his teeth. The once seductive eyes of his had, because of his displeasure, revealed hints of viciousness, like a predator about to sink its teeth into its prey.
He remained silent, and Zhou Xufang waited for a moment before opening her mouth. “I’ll be leaving then.”
She shrunk into her greatcoat and turned around, preparing to leave.
“Zhou Xufang.”
She turned back.
The medium-length gunmetal-blue hair had a somewhat puffy body to it. The dark pair of eyes underneath her wavy bangs looked clear and refreshing, like spring water drawn up from a remote well in the middle of winter.
Zhou Xufang’s eyes were precisely what Jiang Zhi had been looking for in his life. He had no idea why he had called out to her apart from wanting to look at those eyes one final time. “Where’d you get your hair done?”
“Are you looking to dye your hair too?” Zhou Xufang then reported the precise location where she had gotten her hair dyed. “It’s number 43 on Changdu Street. Fang Lixiang’s cousin owns that salon.” She paused to search through her memory. “The name of the salon is ‘Angel’s Descent’.”
“…”
“You’d look really nice if you got your hair fixed up there,” she said truthfully before leaving.
Jiang Zhi lay on the sofa with knitted brows. This girl had, on multiple occasions, pointed out how attractive she thought he was, and yet, she wasn’t trying to get in bed with him. The way Zhou Xufang looked at him was more akin to him looking at that vase for which he spent a couple million to obtain.
Clang!
He kicked a nearby trash can over. He must’ve gone mad to even consider dyeing his hair. Jiang Zhi had stuffed the can of milk which Zhou Xufang had given him underneath a pillow on his sofa, resulting in a hard bump that made his neck ache. Pulling the can out, he toyed with it for a while before brushing his fingers over the teeth marks he had made on its body. The hell was the person thinking when naming the salon…
Angel’s Descent.