CH 9

Ten minutes later, I covered my ravaged neck and glared at the man in front of me, teary-eyed and upset.

He seemed completely unaffected, with no changes in his expression at all. He leaned down and slowly fastened my collar that he had just undid earlier on. The new marks on my collarbone are now covered up. He looked as calm as if he had not been the one who jumped on me in broad daylight just moments ago.

Doing something like this on the street in public, even if we’re in the car, it still made me sweat buckets from anxiety. I glared at him fiercely and said, “You said you’d only touch my neck!”

Yet he gnawed at my collarbone too!

He apologized without a shred of sincerity, “Sorry, I couldn’t control myself.”

I should’ve known that not a single word from this guy can be trusted. I can only blame myself for being too careless. Luckily I still had my bandages…

I picked up the white bandages that got drenched in sweat and twisted into a messy pile next to the seat and fell into silence.

Wrap that around my neck again? I don’t think I can do it,

While I was struggling against myself in silence, the car suddenly came to a stop.

He unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car. Stunned, I could only stare at him in the direction he left towards. Before I could decide whether or not I wanted to follow after him, he had already returned in large strides.

A white object was thrown in through the car window. I subconsciously caught it and looked down. It was a brand-new roll of bandages.

Seemed like he went to the pharmacy.

Hmph, at least he has some sense.

I looked down to unroll the bandages. He didn’t rush to get into the car, instead leaned against the car window to stare at me. “Are you that hot?”

I wiped the sweat around my neck and a handful of my half-drenched bangs on my forehead. Then, I rolled my eyes at him, “How about you try wrapping some fucking bandages around your neck in the summer? I’ll call you ‘father’ if you don’t think it’s hot.”

Expressionless, he dumped two words before turning around and left, “Wait here.”

What the hell? That angered him?

I was a little confused, reflecting on the tone of my voice earlier. But it didn’t seen offensive at all? I never acted up even when he took advantaged of me or played with me before. Can’t I say something like that with me? Are all gays that petty?

I sat there with a head full of question marks for five minutes until he returned with something in his hand. Again, he didn’t enter the car and passed it to me through the window again.

It was an ice cream.

My eyes lit up immediately and I took it without thinking. But before I ate it, I still took the time to ask him, “For me?”

He hummed in response, opened the door and sat back in.

The logo on the ice cream cone seemed familiar. I recognized where it came from – the ice cream store near our university. During my female senior’s birthday last year, her boyfriend ordered a cake from that store and it was so fucking good. Unfortunately, it was too expensive so someone as broke as me could only look from far while drooling and only dream about eating it someday.

The one I’m holding should be yogurt-flavored. I sniffed at it first, then carefully stuck out my tongue and licked it. The icy cold sensation made a smile bloom on my face.

From the corner of my eye, I caught him staring at me without looking away. I stilled and turned my head towards him, alert, “You gave it to me, so it’s mine. Buy your own, don’t think about stealing from me.”

He said, “I don’t usually eat that.”

I still felt a little uneasy. Who knows if this guy would suddenly go crazy and decides that he wants to have a taste of this? So I moved a little further away and only then ate it in relief.

The ice cream was gone by the time we drove back to the university. I licked my fingers, still  not satisfied at how quickly the ice cream was gone. Ah, great things don’t last long.

…While obnoxious things are hard to drive away.

I glanced at the person who walked towards me after parking the car, sighing as I decided to endure a little due to the ice cream.

Fine, just a little.

He fixed his collar that was loosened in the car earlier, paused for a moment as he glanced at me. Suddenly, he reached out and wiped the corner of my mouth.

Then, he licked the tip of his finger and said in all seriousness, “Sweet.”

Fuck, fuck, fuck!

I took three steps backwards as my head instantly exploded on the spot. I was about to open my mouth and curse him for being so shameless.

It was obviously sour!

Before I could say anything, a large group of people rushed out of the building entrance. It gave me such a fright that I shut my mouth immediately.

My female senior walked out as well and saw me when she came down the stairs. “Xiao Xia, are you done with your injection already?

With that, I couldn’t help but recall what that guy did to my neck in the car. My face became a little flushed for some reason as I vaguely said, “Ah…yeah.”

“That’s great. Let’s have lunch together later then. My treat, since you’ve had it rough.”

How could I let a girl treat me? But having lunch with a beautiful female senior wasn’t a chance I would pass on either. So I flashed her a bright smile and said, “Thanks, senior!”

She waved goodbye at me and left. Even her back looked so elegant. As I watched her leave, a voice suddenly rang coldly next to me. “Are you two that close?”

Why hasn’t he left yet?

I still held a grudge for what he did earlier, so I pursed my lips together and said, “What’s it to you?”

He didn’t seem to get the hint and continued asking, “Do you like her?”

I jumped at that question, “What are you talking about! She has a boyfriend!”

“You liking her and she having a boyfriend. Do that two matters conflict against each other?”

What the hell? How can he utter such indecent things with such a serious expression?

""

I said firmly, “I would never do anything like being a third party!”

The truth is, she wouldn’t even consider me anyways.

But of course, I would never say that to him so I let out a ‘hmph’ and left in stomps.

I went to the restaurant that my senior made reservations at in the noon. Only when I entered the room did I notice some other people were there too. It was a party gathering it seemed.

The small disappointment I felt in my heart was soon covered up by the delicious dishes being served. While I was enjoying my meal, the girl next to me suddenly poked me quietly, “Xiao Xia, Xiao Xia. How’s it going with the favor I asked from you?”

I froze, “…What was it?”

“Don’t tell me you forgot! The handsome guy’s WeChat contact and photos!”

Fuck, I did forget.

In the face of the burning eyes in front of me, I swiped the sweat from my forehead and said, “Uh…he doesn’t add strangers on WeChat.”

I don’t even have his WeChat to begin with.

“Ah? Then the photos?”

“Photos…I’ll give them to you tomorrow!”

While packing my bags with a smile, I was secretly crying in my heart.

Do I really have to fucking take photos of that guy in secret?!

Due to this matter, I was distracted and anxious the entire afternoon. Even as I followed the group of people out the building in the evening, my head was still filled with nervous thoughts on this matter.

Just as the foreigners grouped together and went to their usual bar, it was just me and the guy left behind again. This time, he finally had the conscience to drive back with his own car. I sat in the passenger seat, opened the camera to find the focus for a long time. It felt like the lighting wasn’t enough, so I turned on the overhead lights.

The person in frame was focused on driving, not noticing my small movements so I braced myself and pressed the shutter.

“Kacha!”

…Fuck, I forgot to mute it.

What’s worse, I didn’t even turn off the fucking flash.

The downside in the lack of experiencing in secretly taking photos of someone – was to watch the subject show a very obvious smirk from noticing the whole thing.

…Is it too late to dig a hole under the car to hide?

He let out a light laugh, “What are you capturing?”

Since I already got caught, might as well just get it over with. “Can you let me take a photo of you?” After thinking about it, I quickly added, “It’s okay for you to charge it on me.”

“Can you take a clear shot when it’s so dark? He looked at me with downcast eyes and lowered his voice, “Let’s go to the hotel. I’ll let you shoot wherever and anywhere you want.”

T/N: The secondhand embarrassment truly never ends lmao rip mc