“I learned it during the period after IVE disbanded,” Liu Zhimin said, her thoughts returning, as she looked at Jiang Shu opposite her.
“Is that so?” Jiang Shu stared intently at Liu Zhimin, then suddenly raised a hand to tuck a strand of hair from Liu Zhimin’s cheek behind her ear.
Jiang Shu’s fingers brushed against her earlobe, and the warmth from his fingertips made Liu Zhimin’s body instinctively tense. At that moment, she could almost hear the rush of her own blood.
They had certainly engaged in more intimate gestures before, but after their breakup, they had not had any intimate physical contact.
What was once a routine action now brought an unexpected flutter when it happened to her.
“We haven’t had time alone like this in a while, have we?” Jiang Shu’s fingertips didn’t immediately withdraw. Instead, they slid along the curve of her earlobe to her jawline, gently cupping Liu Zhimin’s face.
Liu Zhimin was forced to meet his gaze. They were too close; she could even see the tiny water droplets that had splashed onto Jiang Shu’s eyelashes when he went into the water earlier, and feel his warm breath brush against her nose.
The waves pushed their bodies, and their swimsuits brushed against each other’s exposed skin as they floated.
Liu Zhimin instinctively swallowed.
“Are you… are you acting out a drama?” she asked, forcing herself to sound energetic, her tone a little sharp, as if doing so could bolster her courage.
Jiang Shu’s thumb, supporting Liu Zhimin’s chin, unconsciously caressed the soft flesh of her cheek, sending a tingling sensation through Liu Zhimin.
Liu Zhimin could no longer bear it and reached out to remove Jiang Shu’s hand from her face.
She glared at the calm-faced Jiang Shu opposite her with an expression of shame and anger.
“What are you doing?!”
Jiang Shu looked at the vexed Liu Zhimin, a slight smile playing on his lips.
“Guess?” he said, his gaze falling on Liu Zhimin’s rosy lips.
Liu Zhimin also noticed Jiang Shu’s gaze, and all words seemed superfluous at that moment.
Liu Zhimin almost closed her eyes.
But the imagined warmth did not come from her lips. Liu Zhimin immediately opened her eyes and saw Jiang Shu looking at her with a smile.
At this point, Liu Zhimin knew she had been teased.
“Ah!!!”
Seeing Liu Zhimin erupt as he expected, Jiang Shu burst into laughter.
“How was it? My portrayal of a domineering CEO?” Jiang Shu asked with a smile, a stark contrast to his earlier calm yet domineering demeanor.
“Was that fun?!” Liu Zhimin asked, gritting her teeth as she glared at Jiang Shu.
Just now! Just now! She almost… almost…
Darn it!
“Quite fun,” Jiang Shu nodded with a smile. “It seems you’re quite fond of this kind of thing.”
Jiang Shu had only acted on a whim, completely not expecting Liu Zhimin to be so cooperative.
This made him wonder if he had been approaching things the wrong way before.
“Hmph!” Liu Zhimin shot Jiang Shu a fierce glare and swam angrily to the edge of the pool, getting out.
“Hey, don’t leave!”
Liu Zhimin walked away without looking back at Jiang Shu’s call.
…
Outside the changing room.
When Liu Zhimin pulled open the door, Jiang Shu, who had gotten out of the water at some point, was leaning against the opposite wall, waiting for her. He was still in his swimsuit, but thankfully, there were only the two of them here, so his attire didn’t matter.
“Your hair is still wet,” Jiang Shu’s voice sounded.
Then, Jiang Shu produced a dry towel from somewhere, reaching out to wrap it around Liu Zhimin’s dripping hair ends and gently rubbing them.
The pressure was just right, and his fingertips brushed against the sensitive skin at the back of her neck, making Liu Zhimin instinctively shrink her neck, a soft hum escaping her lips.
“What’s wrong?” Jiang Shu asked casually.
“Itchy…”
“Then do it yourself?” Jiang Shu said with a smile.
“You do it. It’s rare for the great President to serve me,” Liu Zhimin said, lowering her head to allow Jiang Shu to serve her better.
“I used to help you dry your hair a lot,” Jiang Shu said, skillfully drying Liu Zhimin’s hair.
The towel’s fibers gently absorbed the water, and Jiang Shu’s fingers pressed against her scalp through the fabric, bringing a familiar sensation.
This familiarity made Liu Zhimin’s thoughts wander back again. She instinctively raised her head, but this action caused the towel on her head to fall backward.
Jiang Shu was quick, grabbing the towel, but Liu Zhimin was now “embraced” by Jiang Shu due to this action.
Jiang Shu’s hand was still clutching the towel, and Liu Zhimin’s wet hair fell onto Jiang Shu’s wrist.
After a long pause…
“Let go of me,” Liu Zhimin said softly.
Jiang Shu didn’t answer. Liu Zhimin heard the sound of him swallowing and felt the frequency of his chest rising and falling gradually quicken.
Jiang Shu’s free hand moved, sliding down Liu Zhimin’s arm, finally resting in her palm.
Liu Zhimin didn’t turn her head; she simply curled her fingers, holding Jiang Shu’s fingertips in her palm.
The sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows stretched their shadows long, overlapping and swaying on the polished marble floor.
Liu Zhimin looked up at Jiang Shu.
“Do you want to go through what happened before again?”
This sentence was like a bucket of cold water, dousing Jiang Shu, whose blood was starting to rush, instantly sobering his somewhat heated mind.
Jiang Shu released the hand he had placed in Liu Zhimin’s palm, but his hand stopped halfway as it naturally dropped.
Jiang Shu looked at Liu Zhimin in surprise.
Liu Zhimin’s hand was still tightly holding Jiang Shu’s fingers, as if she were holding her entire world.
Light and shadow swayed over their bodies, like a silently flowing dark river.
“Xiao Liu,” Jiang Shu’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his gaze lingering on her lips for a moment before he finally, with restraint, looked away. “We…”
Liu Zhimin looked up at Jiang Shu expressionlessly, her eyes calm, as if she were looking at a completely unrelated passerby.
This scene both pained Jiang Shu’s heart and evoked an indescribable emotion.
Just as Jiang Shu’s thoughts began to drift, Liu Zhimin suddenly stood on her tiptoes and gently brushed her nose against his cool jaw.
The next second, a warm sensation came from her lips.
Jiang Shu’s thoughts were forcibly pulled back. He looked in shock at the face that had touched him for an instant and was now gradually moving away.
This sudden kiss was like a wild wave, sweeping over Jiang Shu’s heart.
At this moment, Liu Zhimin saw the surging waves of shock in Jiang Shu’s eyes.
“Let’s start over from now on,” Liu Zhimin said, taking a step back, smiling as she looked at Jiang Shu, who was still stunned and motionless.
Such a dazed Jiang Shu, even though Liu Zhimin had known him for four years, was still quite novel, especially since she was the creator of it all. Thinking this, she felt even happier.
The dazed look in Jiang Shu’s eyes gradually faded after a brief moment of Stunned, replaced by the ecstasy of having something lost found again.
There is no medicine for regret in the world, but some things can achieve the effect of such medicine through compensation.
Now, Jiang Shu had another chance.