140: Chapter 140 What's the rush?

The meal lasted nearly an hour.

After leaving the hotpot restaurant, Lin Xi rubbed her stomach. "I'm so full."

"Shall we go for a walk then?" Chen Fan glanced at the time; it wasn't even eight o'clock yet. "Let's walk it off."

Lin Xi nodded upon hearing this. "Sure."

The two did not head directly to the parking lot but instead strolled slowly along the sidewalk.

Chen Fan walked on the outside, the side closer to the road, while Lin Xi walked on the inside, near the shop windows.

They walked past a milk tea shop with a few people queuing at the entrance. Lin Xi glanced at it, then withdrew her gaze.

"Want some?" Chen Fan asked.

"No, I'm full," Lin Xi shook her head.

Although Lin Xi refused, Chen Fan could still detect a hint of desire in her.

"Let's go," he said, pulling Lin Xi toward the milk tea shop.

"Hey—I really don't want any, I can't eat anymore—" Lin Xi was still refusing verbally, but her footsteps were already following him, and her struggle was merely symbolic, lacking any real force.

Pushing the door open, the milk tea shop was small, filled with warm yellow lighting, and the walls were plastered with colorful sticky notes containing various messages and wishes.

Behind the counter stood a young girl in an apron, skillfully shaking a cocktail shaker.

"What would you like to drink?" Chen Fan looked up at the menu.

Lin Xi also looked up, her gaze pausing on the "Signature Grass Jelly."

"Grass jelly?" Chen Fan asked.

"...Mm." Lin Xi didn't refuse this time and nodded.

Chen Fan said to the counter, "One signature grass jelly, less sugar."

"Hot or iced?" the clerk asked.

Chen Fan looked at Lin Xi.

Lin Xi didn't answer, but instead asked, "Aren't you having any?"

Chen Fan shook his head. "I don't like milk tea."

He really didn't like drinking this stuff; it was sickeningly sweet and didn't suit his taste at all.

He even felt that a 3-yuan iced black tea tasted better than this.

However, after his twenties in his previous life, Chen Fan rarely drank sugary beverages.

He mostly drank tea.

Lin Xi heard this and said to the clerk, "Warm."

The clerk quickly prepared it and handed over a warm cup of grass jelly, sealed tightly, with a thick straw.

Lin Xi took the milk tea, inserted the straw, and took a sip, a look of satisfaction appearing on her face.

After leaving the shop, she handed the milk tea to Chen Fan. "It's delicious, try it."

There was a hint of anticipation on her face.

Chen Fan took it and had a sip—that familiar, sickly sweet taste.

It wasn't bad, but it really didn't suit his taste.

However, seeing the expectant look on Lin Xi's face, he said against his conscience, "Not bad, it's quite good."

Lin Xi's eyes lit up as she took the milk tea back from Chen Fan.

The two continued walking forward slowly just like that.

The streetlights stretched their shadows long, carrying the chill of late autumn and the fragrance of the osmanthus trees by the roadside.

"Come over to my place tonight..." Chen Fan suddenly said.

Lin Xi froze for a moment, looked up, and met Chen Fan's expectant gaze.

She naturally understood what Chen Fan meant.

However, since they had already crossed that final boundary, she didn't actually resist Chen Fan's request in her heart.

After hesitating for a moment, she nodded shyly.

"Then let's head back quickly, it's already late."

Seeing Chen Fan's impatient look, Lin Xi couldn't help but roll her eyes at him.

"What are you in such a rush for?"

Chen Fan chuckled without retorting, tightened his grip on her hand, and pulled her toward the parking area.

After returning home, Lin Xi had just finished changing her shoes.

When she met Chen Fan's burning gaze.

"I'll go take a shower first." Lin Xi looked away, her ears turning red.

She then walked quickly toward the bedroom.

More than half an hour later, Lin Xi came out.

She was wearing a camisole nightgown with thin straps hanging over her collarbones. The neckline wasn't low, but it perfectly revealed her delicate collarbones and a small patch of fair chest.

The light-colored silk fabric clung softly to her body, outlining her slender waist, while the hem of the skirt reached mid-thigh, revealing a pair of straight, white legs.

Her hair was still half-damp, draped over her shoulders, with a few stray strands clinging to her ears and neck. Water droplets dripped from the ends of her hair, landing on her shoulders and sliding down her collarbones.

Chen Fan's gaze slid from her face to her shoulders, then landed on that water droplet, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"What are you looking at?" Lin Xi felt uncomfortable under his stare and reached up to adjust her straps, but they were so thin that they couldn't cover anything.

"You look beautiful," Chen Fan said, his voice a little lower than usual.

Lin Xi's ear tips were red. She lowered her head, pretending to fix her hair, and walked barefoot across the floor to sit on the sofa, leaving a one-person gap between them.

The scent of body wash from her shower wafted over—faint, mixed with her natural scent, drifting into Chen Fan's nose.

Chen Fan turned to look at her and reached out to brush the damp hair from her shoulder behind her. When his fingertips touched her collarbone, Lin Xi flinched slightly.

"You'll catch a cold if you don't dry your hair." He said.

"I'm too lazy to dry it," Lin Xi whispered.

Chen Fan got up to get the hair dryer, plugged it in, and patted the sofa. "Come here."

Lin Xi glanced at him, moved over, and sat down with her back to him.

Chen Fan turned on the hair dryer, hot air blowing out. He ran his fingers through her hair, drying it strand by strand.

His movements weren't exactly gentle, but he was very focused, as if afraid of pulling her hair.

The sound of the hair dryer was a bit loud, and neither of them spoke.

When her hair was half-dry, Chen Fan turned off the hair dryer and set it aside.

Lin Xi turned to say something, but before she could open her mouth, Chen Fan had already wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his embrace.

She lay against his chest and could hear his heartbeat—thump, thump, thump—faster than she had imagined.

"Your heartbeat is so fast," Lin Xi said.

"Mm." Chen Fan didn't deny it. His palm pressed against her waist, and through the thin silk fabric, the heat from his palm made her abdomen contract slightly.

Lin Xi looked up, resting her chin on his chest, and looked at him.

Because of this movement, her strap slipped down a bit. Before she could pull it back up, Chen Fan's gaze had already dropped down.

Her face flushed red, and she reached up to pull the strap, but as soon as her hand was raised, Chen Fan caught it.

"Don't pull it," he said, his voice low and slightly husky.

Lin Xi met his gaze, which contained that layer of intense yet restrained emotion she had seen a few times before.

Her own heart began to race. Her cheeks burned, and her lips moved as if to say something, but nothing came out.

Chen Fan lowered his head and kissed her.

After a long while, Chen Fan finally let her go.

"Carry me to the bed." Lin Xi's voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz, her eyes closed, her eyelashes trembling slightly.

Chen Fan wrapped one arm around her waist and supported the back of her knees with the other, lifting her entire body from the sofa.

Lin Xi wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in the crook of his shoulder. Her ears were burning red, and even her neck was stained with a faint pink hue.

Chen Fan carried her into the bedroom and gently kicked the door shut.

...