Zhou Yining was sitting on top of him. Catching a glimpse out of the corner of her eye, she turned her head in surprise to look out the window. “Ah, it’s snowing.”

Ji Dongyang looked out. Snowflakes were drifting down, landing on the car mirror, accumulating bit by bit as the snowfall grew heavier. Zhou Yining took off her down jacket and tossed it into the back seat. She leaned down to his ear. “Is the snow prettier than me?”

She had discovered that his ears were ticklish.

Her lips pressed against his ear, taking the lobe into her mouth, wet and soft. Ji Dongyang suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her up, his dark eyebrows furrowed deeply. She laughed, lowered her head to kiss his lips, closed her eyes, and nibbled skillfully.

Ji Dongyang stared at her for a few seconds, then slowly enveloped her lips with his own. The next second, he sucked fiercely, grinding against her lips, then licked them slowly. His hand caressed her slender lower back, sliding under her sweater and moving upward, wandering constantly over her lower back and waist.

The man’s rough fingers rubbed against her smooth, soft skin. Zhou Yining couldn’t withstand his touch, gradually becoming breathless. She clutched the sweater at his shoulder, mewling like a kitten, “Ticklish…”

Ji Dongyang closed his eyes, his lips travelling from her chin to her neck, her collarbone. His fingers pressed lightly on the dimples of her lower back. “Where?” His breath moved to her ear. Her ear was small and pale. He kissed and sucked on it lightly. Zhou Yining couldn’t stop her body from trembling slightly. It turned out he wasn’t the only one who was ticklish.

He was giving her a taste of her own medicine. Pressing down on her waist, he locked the little girl firmly in his arms. When it came to flirting, if Ji Dongyang got serious, Zhou Yining was definitely no match for him.

She trembled uncontrollably, her body heating up. Her hands clawed at his clothes, breathing rapidly, tugging his sweater up like a small beast. She had no technique, and he refused to cooperate, so she couldn’t pull it off, fumbling in her haste. Ji Dongyang felt she was acting a little off again. He pressed down on her hands, opening his eyes to stare at her.

His deep black eyes were as heavy as the ocean, and they burned.

Zhou Yining’s hands slowly relaxed. The next second, she grabbed the hem of her sweater and yanked it up, pulling it off. She was left wearing only a black lace bra, her skin round and snow-white. Ji Dongyang’s hand on her waist suddenly tightened.

Her body, like the snow outside the window, was dazzlingly white.

Zhou Yining leaned close to his ear and whispered, “Do you want to do it?”

His answer was a forceful flip of his body. In the next instant, their positions were reversed. He pressed something, and the seat suddenly reclined, taking both of them down with it. Ji Dongyang pressed on top of her, his eyes dark and dim, staring at her. A second later, he lowered his head to kiss her.

He kissed her until she closed her eyes. She heard the sound of the man unbuckling his belt, and her heart trembled along with it.

The car’s roof gradually became covered in snow. The whole world was white.

Outside was a world of ice and snow; inside was a fire of passion.

Intense, stimulating, intoxicating.

The only regret was that Ji Dongyang didn’t go all the way.

…

Zhou Yining’s consciousness was scattered as she let him dress her. After a while, she pulled off the eye mask he had put on her halfway through, staring at him with bright black eyes. Ji Dongyang rubbed her head, not looking at her, but glancing down at the wet patch on the seat cushion. The corner of his mouth curved up slightly.

Zhou Yining’s face flushed slightly, and she growled, “Why didn’t we do it?”

It wasn’t exactly that they didn’t do anything, considering they both…

But that didn’t count.

Ji Dongyang finally looked up at her, his voice low. “There would be accidents.”

Right now, neither he nor she could allow even the slightest accident to happen.

Sometimes, a single accident could ruin everything.

…

They ate something on the road and drove back to the city.

It was 5 PM when they got home.

Zhou Yining went to the bedroom to shower. Ji Dongyang took the ingredients out of the fridge. After a while, she came out fresh from her shower and beckoned him. “Come wash the vegetables.”

Zhou Yining put on her down jacket and sat on the sofa to put on her socks. “I’m going downstairs to buy something.”

Ji Dongyang glanced at her. “Buy what?”

Maybe they had it at home.

Zhou Yining tilted her head toward him as she stood up. “Wine. You don’t have any here. I checked.”

Ji Dongyang didn’t stop her; he indeed didn’t have any wine here. “The shops downstairs might not have the wine you want.”

This wasn’t a high-end residential area; it was just a standard mid- to high-end community. Plus, it was the New Year, so many shops in the community were closed, though there was a 24-hour convenience store.

Zhou Yining walked to the entryway and smiled back. “It’s fine. I’ll go to Zhou Shen’s club to get some. It’s close to his place.”

Ji Dongyang nodded and tossed her the car keys. “Drive this.”

Twenty minutes later, Zhou Yining arrived at Zhou Shen’s club. Zhou Shen was stunned to see her. “Why are you here?”

Zhou Yining lifted her chin. “Give me a few bottles of wine.”

Zhou Shen was surprised. “Didn’t I send you a lot last time? You finished it already? Why does a woman drink so much?”

Zhou Yining kicked him. “So much nonsense. Hurry up.”

Zhou Shen had no choice but to get her wine.

Zhou Yining waited in a private room. Her phone rang. She looked down; it was Alice.

“Yining, darling, where are you right now?”

“In B City. What’s up?”

Alice laughed. “I’m here too. Let’s have dinner tonight.”

Zhou Yining frowned. “Why are you here?”

Alice suddenly stopped laughing. “I arrived yesterday. I wanted to find you. Can you keep me company tonight? I’m very sad.”

Zhou Yining thought of Ji Dongyang cooking at home. She bit her lip and said, “Okay. I’ll come find you later.”

Zhou Yining took the wine and left.

On the way, Zhou Yining called Ji Dongyang, her tone apologetic. “Ji Dongyang, I’m sorry. I can’t come back to eat with you tonight.”

Ji Dongyang paused, looking at the vegetables he had already chopped. His voice was low. “Mm. I know.”

Zhou Yining suddenly asked, “Aren’t you going to ask what I’m doing?”

Ji Dongyang gave a small laugh. “So what are you doing?”

Zhou Yining rolled her eyes. “I’m going to find Alice.”

Hanging up the phone, Ji Dongyang looked down at the yellow croaker and beef jerky he had just taken out, wrapped them up again, and put them back in the fridge.

Dinner for two became dinner for one. Everything was simplified.

Ji Dongyang settled for a simple dinner and went to take a shower.

On Weibo, Taiping Dynasty was the number one trending topic.

At the producer’s request, Ji Dongyang reposted a few promotional Weibo posts. His words were brief: “Tonight Taiping Dynasty premieres. Thank you all for your support.”

Ji Dongyang managed his own Weibo. He rarely posted, mostly reposting official promotions, trailers, and stills from different periods.

The Eastern Palace fans exploded

“I knew Dong-ge would post tonight!”

“I’m already guarding the TV, just waiting for Dong-ge to appear. Don’t tell me Dong-ge doesn’t appear in the first episode; I’ll smash the TV in anger, I’m serious.”

“I’ve watched the trailer eight times. Dong-ge looks too heroic in a historical costume!”

“Zhou Yining is in the trailer too. Look at her eyes; she seems quite talented. Her eyes are beautiful and seductive.”

…

At 8 PM, Taiping Dynasty officially premiered.

Ji Dongyang sat on the sofa watching TV. The little girl had said they would watch the premiere together today, but he hadn’t expected to be stood up.

…

Alice was drinking in a bar. By the time Zhou Yining found her, she had already drunk a lot. “Hi, Yining, you’re here? Come have a drink with me.”

Zhou Yining snatched her glass away. “Where is Zhang Hui?”

Alice bit her lip, on the verge of tears. “Don’t worry about her. I came alone.”

Zhou Yining knew the two were fighting again. Alice cried.

This scene played out every time she returned to the country. Zhou Yining was used to it.

In the middle of the night, Zhou Yining brought the dead-drunk Alice back to her own home. Zhang Hui was already waiting downstairs. Seeing them get out of the car, she rushed over.

Back home, Zhou Yining checked the time. It was already 12 AM.

She hadn’t watched the premiere of Taiping Dynasty tonight. It was already the next day. She pouted helplessly, hugging her knees and watching Zhang Hui take care of Alice. Alice was a disaster when drunk. Seeing Zhang Hui made her act out even more, hugging the toilet and vomiting until the world spun, knocking over the water basin.

Zhou Yining went over to look. A basin of water splashed toward the door, soaking both her and Zhang Hui.

Zhang Hui looked at Zhou Yining. “Go change your clothes first.”

Zhou Yining thought for a moment. “I’m going out.”

Zhang Hui raised an eyebrow. “Going to stay next door?”

Zhou Yining was already at the door, not looking back. “No, but close enough.”

Returning to the residential complex where Ji Dongyang lived, Zhou Yining parked the car. Wrapped in her down jacket, wearing a mask and hat, and carrying red wine, she walked into the 24-hour convenience store. The young female clerk was dozing off.

Startled awake by the “Welcome” chime, she jerked her head up and put on a smile. “Hello.”

It was the New Year holidays; few customers came this late. She stared at the heavily armed Zhou Yining, thinking her eyes were gorgeous and captivating.

Zhou Yining glanced at her, then scanned the square boxes next to the counter.

She grabbed two boxes of Okamoto and put them on the counter.

At the same time, she unzipped her backpack, pulled out two pink banknotes, and handed them over.

The clerk saw the stacks of pink RMB in the open backpack and looked up at her again.

Wealth shouldn’t be exposed. Carrying so much cash was truly rare.

Zhou Yining took the change, stuffed everything into her bag, walked out of the store, and chuckled lightly.

Ten minutes later, she stood at the door pressing the doorbell.

She didn’t know if Ji Dongyang was asleep. He seemed to go to bed very early when he wasn’t filming.

After waiting for a long time, the door opened. Ji Dongyang stared at her with a dark face. Zhou Yining smiled at him. “I’m back.”

Ji Dongyang pressed his lips together, turned back inside, his voice deep and displeased. “Close the door.”

The little girl suddenly hugged his waist from behind, rubbing her head lightly against his back. “Did I wake you? Are you angry?”

NOTES

Okamoto: A popular brand of condoms.

RMB: The currency of China.

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