Chapter 9 I Don't Want to Continue Anymore

Xi Zheng felt a string in his mind snap, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly. His eyes grew deeper as he stared at An Chuyu from a distance of four or five meters.

Not sure which nerve had been struck, he inexplicably tilted his head and chuckled.

This woman really knew how to mystify things. She had refused to reveal the purpose of summoning him, leaving him to speculate wildly, thinking she had encountered some trouble.

Xi Zheng walked into the bedroom, casually closed the door behind him, and, as she wished, went over to kiss her.

He had just taken a few steps when An Chuyu stopped him, "Hold on, stay right there and don't move."

Xi Zheng halted as instructed. A flame ignited in his dim eyes and soon set his entire body ablaze with a scorching heat, making him desperately want to do something to cool down.

An Chuyu turned around and began tidying up the mess on the vanity, putting things away into the drawers, including the script.

Xi Zheng watched her every move, feeling a throbbing in his temple.

"Okay."

An Chuyu's voice was soft, falling on Xi Zheng's ear, sounding like a bugle call.

He walked up to her and bent forward, arms encircling her, hands braced against the edge of the vanity behind her, a smile hooked on his lips, his tone full of puzzlement, "Is this what you brought me here for?"

An Chuyu frowned, displeased.

The male lead in this play didn't have many lines, just three in total, and the overall impression he gave was gloomy and dark. Xi Zheng's mood was severely at odds with that of the male lead, resulting in her falling out of character.

An Chuyu didn't need him to speak any lines. Raising her index finger, she placed it on his lips, "Starting now, don't talk, okay? Just listen to my instructions."

Xi Zheng refused to comply, taking her hand away, "Not even to speak? You ask for too much."

An Chuyu quickly countered, "If you're not willing..."

"I didn't say I was unwilling." Xi Zheng conceded, bowing his head and leaning close to her with a soft voice, "Wife calls the shots."

Before his words faded, he lowered his head to kiss her lips.

With one standing and the other sitting, their height difference was even more pronounced. Xi Zheng had to stoop down, freeing one hand to support the back of her head, forcing her to tilt her head up to meet his kiss.

An Chuyu's mind followed the storyline, gradually getting into the mood. Slender fingers entwined in the man's short hair, she uttered with a struggle and pain, "I need you, can you not leave?"

Xi Zheng stiffened severely, feeling a ringing in his ears.

He couldn't believe what he was hearing; he didn't believe a single word. Yet his heart pounded wildly, as if reminding him that he wasn't hallucinating.

He forgot An Chuyu's warning not to speak, and seeking confirmation, he asked, "What did you say? Say it again."

Xi Zheng pulled back slightly to see her face more clearly. An Chuyu's eyes were filled with a complex mixture of determination and vulnerability, too complicated for Xi Zheng to understand.

He didn't get how someone could mix two entirely opposite emotions together and still not appear incongruous or discordant.

Her eyes were moist, making her seem pitiful, as though tears might flow at any moment, yet she stubbornly pursed her lips, held her head high, and refused to cry.

Little did she know, this only made it harder for someone to refuse her request.

A trapped beast struggled fiercely within Xi Zheng's heart, making even breathing difficult. He gazed deeply into her eyes, bewildered and entranced, and repeated, "What are you saying? I'm not leaving."

An Chuyu, going with the flow at the end of her performance, changed her lines naturally just to keep the scene going, "Then prove it to me. Show me, and I'll believe you."

Xi Zheng's heart clenched.

How could he prove to her that he wouldn't leave her?

Xi Zheng lifted An Chuyu from the chair and placed her on the cleared vanity, kissing her more fervently, repeating over and over that he wasn't going to leave.

An Chuyu's face was buried in his neck. She closed her eyes and a tear slid down from the corner of her eye, in a place he couldn't see.

As he kissed, Xi Zheng mumbled indistinctly, "Did you miss me? During the days we didn't see each other. If you missed me, why didn't you contact me?"

Such ambiguous words instantly brought An Chuyu out of the scene. She pushed his shoulders in a panic, "Don't leave marks, I have to shoot tomorrow."

Xi Zheng stopped, his eyes filled with passionate emotions as he gazed at her, "What shoot? I remember you finished shooting a movie a few months ago."

"How do you know it was finished? Have you been following me?"

"Saw it online by chance." Xi Zheng looked away, somewhat uncomfortably.

An Chuyu leaned back against the mirror on the vanity, feeling a coolness on her back. She shifted forward slightly, her eyes half-closed, lost in thought.