Chapter 68 Low-key

Chapter 68: Playing It Cool

Her voice was soft, like a fluffy cat’s tail brushing against his heart. Her breath swirled past his cheek, carrying a faint scent of mint and jasmine.

The charcoal-gray suit collar barely concealed his bobbing Adam’s apple. Xiao Wang steadied himself, unclenching his jaw. "So, are you ready to take care of a dog?"

"I’ve never had one before, but I do have experience raising cats..."

Zhou Zuofei deliberately pressed harder against Xiao Wang, causing his breathing to suddenly grow heavier. She felt a rush of mischievous triumph and playfully rubbed against him.

"It should be about the same, right?"

Xiao Wang helplessly tried to push Zhou Zuofei away, but the seatbelt restricted his movements. He was already pinned—Zhou Zuofei was half-laying on top of him, her arms still wrapped around his neck—and he didn’t dare push back.

Instead of letting go, Zhou Zuofei leaned in even closer, her lips nearly touching the back of his ear. He could feel the soft movement of her lips with every word she spoke.

But if this continued any longer...

"Stop messing around," Xiao Wang said, his tone so resigned it was almost pleading.

She wasn’t letting up. "You still haven’t answered my question from earlier."

Xiao Wang exhaled deeply, his steady voice uncharacteristically shaky. "Didn’t I already answer?"

"Huh?" Zhou Zuofei hated vague answers—she preferred things direct and straightforward. "What kind of answer is that? You’re dodging the question!"

"Then ask me again."

"You think I’ll ask just because you told me to?" Zhou Zuofei scoffed and tried to wriggle free.

The question had slipped out in the heat of the moment, fueled by how comfortable she always felt around Xiao Wang—enough to say anything that came to mind.

Now that she thought about it, the question really wasn’t suitable for a newly established couple. Xiao Wang hadn’t given a direct answer either, so maybe she should just drop it.

But she didn’t succeed.

Because Xiao Wang’s arms were still around her waist. Unless he let go, there was no way she could get up—instead, she fell right back into his arms.

"Ask me again, okay?" Xiao Wang murmured, tilting his head to press light kisses along Zhou Zuofei’s ear.

He moved slowly, deliberately, scattering kisses evenly across every inch, watching her skin flush pink.

Only when her earlobe turned the same shade as before did he finally take it between his lips, savoring it like candy.

"Cheating like this won’t work," Zhou Zuofei said, fighting the urge to shriek.

But he was learning alarmingly fast. This was only the second time, yet he had already grown remarkably skilled, testing different touches to see what worked. His perception was too sharp; often, before Zhou Zuofei could even register her own response, he had already noticed the signs.

Xiao Wang paused, her earlobe still between his lips, and mumbled around it.

"But don’t all dogs like this?"

"Since when do dogs lick ears like this?!"

His movements were so deliberate, and he even made those downright filthy sounds on purpose—this man was incorrigible!

Zhou Zuofei angrily punched Xiao Wang, but since she couldn't see, she relied purely on instinct—her fist landed squarely on his chest.

The moment she made contact, the muscles beneath his skin instinctively tensed in defense, and the recoil made her knuckles ache. Annoyed, she smacked him again.

"You tensed up on purpose?"

Xiao Wang caught her hand, soothingly stroking the back of it with his thumb while murmuring apologies.

"I didn’t mean to. Does it hurt? Feibao" (a playful nickname combining "Fei" and "bao," meaning "treasure").

Hearing those two words at such close range had an impact far beyond her expectations—like an electric shock, Zhou Zuofei shivered faintly.

Xiao Wang, of course, didn’t miss this detail. As if making a major discovery, he deliberately called her that several more times, confirming that she indeed reacted strongly to it.

Was it because of the nickname itself, or because it came from him?

Either way, he was more than satisfied.

"Why aren’t you saying anything, Feibao?"

"Should I kiss you again?"

"Shut up." Zhou Zuofei snapped. She was so dizzy from being called "Feibao" left and right that her mind was in complete disarray. She couldn’t take it anymore and burst out laughing.

She had been the one to take the initiative earlier—how’d she lose the upper hand?

Frustrated, she scolded Xiao Wang. This time, she learned her lesson and didn’t punch his chest again, opting instead to pat his arm.

"Dogs can’t talk!"

"Then I won’t say anything." Xiao Wang chuckled and went back to what he was doing earlier.

Zhou Zuofei still felt unsatisfied but didn’t know what else to do.

This man was just too cunning—his apologetic attitude and gentle tone made it impossible for her to lash out, leaving her with no way to vent. It almost felt like she was the one being unreasonable.

Then it occurred to her—if she couldn’t win with logic, she’d just have to dig in her heels.

"No, bad dogs don’t ignore their owners!"

Xiao Wang burst out laughing. How could someone be this adorable?!

Especially when she called herself his "owner"—it sent a thrill through him, urging him to act.

He stopped what he was doing, unbuckled his seatbelt with one hand, and with the other, pulled her into his lap. She groused but went along.

It wasn’t hard to manage, but the limited space in the car made it cramped—Zhou Zuofei perched sideways with her legs curled up, unable to stretch out.

Seeing this, Xiao Wang thought about upgrading his car. He’d been meaning to anyway.

After a moment, he asked, "You good like this?"

"It’s fine." The only issue was that after all that, Zhou Zuofei had broken a slight sweat. Pressed against him, her shirt clung uncomfortably to her back. But if she took off her jacket, wouldn’t that get his clothes sweaty?

So she decided not to mention it—she could handle it.

But Xiao Wang noticed the details. He saw her still-flushed cheeks and sweat on her nose, then brushed her cheek.

"Too warm?"

"It's summer, so it's normal to feel hot." Zhou Zuofei pushed Xiao Wang's hand away and nestled against his chest, saying, "How can I turn down my puppy just because of the hot weather?"

It was rare to see Xiao Wang being so eager.

Although from their recent interactions, it seemed like she was the one initiating things, by the middle or later stages, Xiao Wang was always the one taking the lead.

Did that mean he wasn’t a passive person at all, but simply hid his thoughts very deeply?

And what Zhou Zuofei most wanted to do—and was currently doing—was to unravel all his layers.

Just thinking about this process and the possible outcome made Zhou Zuofei strangely thrilled. This was definitely more thrilling than any pre-ordered game she had ever anticipated.

Actually, she had noticed something else now.

Xiao Wang had deliberately positioned her slightly forward on his lap, but as she leaned back, she could just barely feel something against his thighs—or even closer.

She pretended not to notice and glanced at Xiao Wang, who appeared completely unfazed. She couldn’t tell if she had misjudged the situation or if he was just acting too convincingly.

In this regard, she only had book smarts but no real-world experience. Even with Du Yu, they never discussed such things.

This time, Xiao Wang didn’t continue his earlier actions. He simply held her, stroked her hair, and kept sniffing her now and then, acting just like an affectionate dog.

Though she had no idea what could possibly smell so good about her.

She had worked all day, her perfume had long faded, and while she hadn’t sweated much thanks to the air conditioning, it hardly seemed worth the attention.

Yet he looked utterly serious about it. Zhou Zuofei thought this must be love—two people doing things together that others wouldn’t understand.

Like how she could also waste time just gazing at Xiao Wang’s hands.

Thankfully, their neighborhood wasn’t a main road, so it didn’t matter if the car remained parked a little longer. The two of them stayed in the car for over half an hour before Zhou Zuofei finally went home.

To be precise, today could be considered the first day of her relationship, and overall, it felt much better than she had imagined.

After Xiao Wang got home, he sent her messages, and they exchanged sporadic messages. At first, she could still play games while replying, but eventually, she closed the game completely, lying in bed just to focus on texting him.

It wasn’t until she started feeling sleepy, said goodnight, and went to shower that Zhou Zuofei realized—

Had she really given up gaming just to talk to Xiao Wang?

Even with Du Yu, she would only do that if something major had happened.

She thought back carefully and realized she and Xiao Wang hadn’t talked about anything important at all. They had jumped from talking about their evening plans to what sandwiches to eat tomorrow, then to weekend outings—their topics were all over the map.

Yet she hadn’t felt that way at all. Instead, she had been totally absorbed in the conversation.

Since starting work, she rarely felt like this anymore. At the office, she had to talk all day, which made her reluctant to speak or socialize after hours, needing days to recover for long conversations like tonight’s.

But whether chatting with Xiao Wang or meeting him in person, she never got tired.

Zhou Zuofei really wanted to ask Du Yu if everyone in love felt this way.

She was genuinely worried—would she become the kind of person she used to look down on, someone who dropped everything the moment they fell in love?

Before dating, she had been utterly confident she’d never fall into such a situation. After all, she never felt like this with a certain Mr. Wang.

But now, she couldn’t be so sure anymore.

Though she had many thoughts while showering, they’d all disappeared the moment she dried her hair. None of these emotions affected her sleep in the slightest.

Before long, Zhou Zuofei fell asleep—not only quickly but deeply too. When she woke up the next day, she felt refreshed and without any emotional weight.

Off to a perfect start.

Zhou Zuofei headed out and sent Xiao Wang a quick “good morning” text while waiting for her ride.

From what she’d heard the day before, he was definitely already awake—perhaps even at the office.

Right on cue, within a minute, she received a reply.

[Good morning. Did you sleep well last night?]

[Not bad. Are you at the office?]

[Yep, made it. Have you left home yet?]

[Just left.]

[Then in about twenty minutes, you’ll have breakfast.]

[Heck yeah!]

At the mention of breakfast, Zhou Zuofei felt a first-time-ever flicker of anticipation for work.

But wait—that didn’t make sense. It wasn’t work that allowed her to enjoy Xiao Wang’s breakfast. She could have it any other time too. Why give work the credit?

Mulling it over, she entered the office only to find her desk empty.

Her first thought: “No way.” She checked above and below the desk—no sign of the bag. Glancing around, only a few colleagues were present. Who’d steal breakfast?

Ruling out wild theories, she decided to message Xiao Wang.

Maybe he messed up the spot.

[Where did you leave the breakfast?]

[Haven’t gotten down yet. You’re already there?]

[Yeah. Should I come up to you?]

[I’ll come down. Wait for me in the stairwell.]

Quickly, Zhou Zuofei grabbed her phone and headed out. The stairwell was in the opposite direction of the elevators, so they’d avoid prying eyes.

As she walked, she suddenly felt like she was up to something.

Though they hadn’t formally discussed making it public, she assumed Xiao Wang shared her sentiments.

Keeping things private might not have benefits, but going public definitely had downsides. Office romances were already fuel for office chatter, and Xiao Wang’s well-known stance on marriage made it worse. If word got out, Zhou Zuofei could already hear the whispers.

The thought alone made her cringe.

She’d have to remind Xiao Wang to keep things low-key at work.

Before she knew it, she reached the stairwell entrance.

Pulling the door open slightly, she spotted a tall, slender figure inside.

Without a second thought, she flung the door wide and dashed over, grinning.

“I’m here~”