Chapter 133: The Chemise

Chapter 133: The Chemise

Lin Shu was not one to suffer in silence. It could be said that everyone who survived the apocalypse carried a certain degree of self-interest; those too kind or considerate rarely lived long. Lin Shu considered herself among the less selfish of this group.

Moreover, she had always been a woman of action. The moment an idea sparked in her mind, she was eager to implement it.

Beside her, Lin Xiaopu was already fast asleep. After discontinuing the previous medication, Lin Xiaopu’s sleep quality had significantly improved; she no longer woke at the slightest disturbance.

Lin Shu watched her for a few moments, then quietly slipped out of bed.

This time, she didn't even bother with an outer garment, wearing only a thin chemise.

When she left the Marquis’s estate, Nanny Gui had kept a close eye on her, preventing her from taking anything valuable. Even the outer clothes she wore had been deliberately replaced with coarse cotton. However, Nanny Gui wasn't entirely heartless; she allowed Lin Shu to keep the silk chemise she was wearing and even let her take an extra one.

The last time Lin Shu had a high fever in the middle of the night, she wore the red silk chemise embroidered with white plum blossoms. This time, she wore the other one—a goose-yellow chemise embroidered with orchids.

The chemise fit snugly, outlining her graceful figure. Despite her slender build, she possessed curves in all the right places.

Lin Shu stood behind the bamboo curtain, tidying her slightly disheveled hair before pushing it aside.

She didn’t want to startle Zhou Ye, so her footsteps were even lighter than before. But as she reached his bedside and saw the man lying motionless in sleep, a flicker of regret crossed her mind.

Though she longed to touch him, she knew she shouldn't be too selfish. A Ye had worked all day and must be exhausted. It was better to let him rest undisturbed; she wouldn't bother him.

Lin Shu gazed at Zhou Ye for a few moments, then turned to leave.

Unexpectedly, the moment she turned, her hand was abruptly seized, and the man’s deep voice followed, “A Shu, don’t go yet.”

Lin Shu turned back to see that A Ye had already opened his eyes.

She frowned slightly, asking apologetically, “A Ye, did I wake you again?”

Zhou Ye couldn’t answer her immediately. The moment his eyes opened, he realized what he had impulsively grabbed: A Shu, standing there without an outer garment, clad only in a skimpy chemise. The dim light obscured its color, but he could clearly see how it clung to her body, outlining every curve.

The chemise was sparse, barely covering her slender waist, leaving patches of pale skin exposed on either side. Her arms, too, were bare, gleaming white and dazzling in the dimness.

Instantly, Zhou Ye’s mind buzzed. A rush of blood surged through him, making his breathing ragged and leaving him speechless.

“A Ye, let go. I’m going back. You should sleep—I won’t disturb you tonight.”

Zhou Ye’s voice, when it finally came, was hoarse. “A Shu, it wasn’t you who woke me. I couldn’t sleep. My thoughts were full of you.”

Hearing this, Lin Shu’s guilt vanished.

A Ye couldn’t sleep because he was thinking of her, not because she had woken him from slumber. While she was the cause, she hadn’t asked him to think of her, so she felt no burden.

“A Ye, you weren’t waiting for me to come, were you?” Lin Shu felt the heat of his palm, her wrist burning where he held her. A sweet, smug smile played on her lips.

After a brief silence, Zhou Ye nodded. “A Shu, I thought you might miss me tonight and perhaps come. Once that idea took hold, I couldn’t sleep.”

“Then why were you pretending to be asleep earlier? I thought you were sleeping so soundly that I didn’t want to disturb you,” Lin Shu teased playfully.

Zhou Ye’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he gently pulled her closer. “A Shu, come here.”

Lin Shu followed his lead, climbing onto the bed and settling comfortably onto his lap.

Zhou Ye took a sharp breath but didn’t stop her. Instead, he steadied her with a hand on her back.

The touch of her smooth, silken skin made Zhou Ye’s large hand tremble. Realizing that A Shu’s entire back was bare beneath the thin chemise, his face instantly flushed a deep, dark red, as if he had been steamed.

Once Lin Shu was settled, Zhou Ye couldn’t bring himself to look at her. Whenever his gaze drifted, it lingered where it shouldn’t, making him feel like a scoundrel.

“A Ye, why are you sweating so much? You’re already bare-chested—are you still hot?” Lin Shu asked, her fingertips brushing against his damp neck.

Had she frightened him into sweating?

Lin Shu glanced down at her attire. It wasn’t that revealing—just like a camisole, some of which were even skimpier.

Yet A Ye couldn’t even bring himself to look at her.

Lin Shu found it amusing. “You’re the one who pulled me here, yet now that I’m close, you don’t dare look or touch me. A Ye, such timidity won’t do.”

“If you don’t make a move, I’m leaving.”

She made as if to get up, but Zhou Ye tightened his grip on her waist, refusing to let her go.

“A Shu, I’m sorry… I can’t hold back anymore.” With those words, he pulled her tightly against him and kissed her fiercely.

Last time, he had been restrained, waiting for Lin Shu to take the lead before responding. But this time, her slightest provocation had ignited him.

Zhou Ye’s kiss was deep and intense, his lips and tongue claiming hers with a fierce hunger that left Lin Shu feeling as if her soul had left her body. His hot breath enveloped her, his tongue filling her mouth, sweeping away all air only to return it with his own. The sensation permeated every part of her, leaving her lips and teeth filled with his taste.

Lin Shu’s eyes welled up, tears glistening at the corners, her body going limp. Yet Zhou Ye’s large hand easily controlled her, holding and gripping her, then restlessly, gently exploring, but only within a small, safe space, daring not to cross any boundaries, fearing he might anger her and she would never again offer him such sweetness.

Lin Shu was so dazed by the kiss that she lost all sense of time and place. Zhou Ye, the instigator, was no more clear-headed.

If he were clear-headed, he wouldn’t be doing this.

But he didn’t want to be clear-headed; he wanted to drown in Lin Shu’s allure.

He knew A Shu was tempting him. From their time together, he had long realized she wasn’t a conventional woman. Her actions toward him were improper, even bold. But Zhou Ye understood—A Shu behaved this way only with him, because she desired him.

He never looked down on her for taking the initiative. Instead, it delighted him, knowing she had such a need for him.

If A Shu wanted, he would give it to her, as much as she desired.

He had thought he could control himself, letting A Shu’s preferences and needs guide him. But once he started, he realized such things were impossible to control.

For instance, when A Shu tried to pull away from his kiss, he knew he should ease up, not suck her lips so fiercely, not fill her mouth so completely, not scrape so intensely. But how could he stop?

His body refused to obey, his rationality gradually dissolving in that exquisitely beautiful, intimate embrace.

After what felt like an eternity, Zhou Ye finally released her.

Lin Shu’s head lolled to the side, her body utterly weak, gasping softly in Zhou Ye’s arms, her face flushed, tears welling at the corners of her eyes.

So fierce, so fierce… A Ye’s kiss was so fierce…

Though she had tried to evade him, deep down, she loved it—loved seeing A Ye lose control because of her.

Lin Shu’s body had gone soft from the kiss.

But after catching her breath, her hands grew restless again. Her slender, delicate fingers traced Zhou Ye’s abdomen, lightly caressing the eight-pack she had admired for so long. Feeling his skin tremble under her touch, she let out a soft, breathy laugh, still laced with her uneven breathing.

“A Shu, don’t… don’t move,” Zhou Ye pleaded, his breath uneven. His large hand still rested on Lin Shu’s waist, reluctant to move.

The skin there was as smooth as silk, yet his palm dared not wander recklessly. Just this much already made him burn like a furnace—he dared not imagine more.

“A Ye, I like this part of you,” Lin Shu whispered. Since her face was buried against his neck, she tilted her head slightly and nibbled on his ear. “And this part too. When you’re shy, it turns a little red against your dark skin—it’s so very handsome.”

Zhou Ye’s breathing suddenly quickened. “A Shu…”

Lin Shu didn’t stop until she’d had her fill of touching him, then asked softly, “A Ye, do I look pretty in this chemise?”

Zhou Ye’s throat tightened. “Yes, you do.”

“But you didn’t even look—how would you know?”

“I… did look.”

“I don’t believe you. Look again.”

Zhou Ye was forced by her to focus on her chemise, and with that one glance, the composure he had just regained instantly shattered.

He quickly closed his eyes, and his flustered reaction drew a muffled laugh from Lin Shu.

“A Ye, do you realize how amusing you look right now? As if I’m some kind of destructive monster. A Ye, am I? Tell me, am I a destructive monster?”

Zhou Ye remained silent. At this moment, his inner turmoil was something no one else could possibly imagine.

“You fool, you won’t even look at something so beautiful. Not like me—when I see something I like, I don’t just look, my hands go right to it.”

Zhou Ye opened his eyes again, his gaze a bit clearer now, but he only dared to look at Lin Shu’s face, avoiding everywhere else. “A Shu, it’s very late. You ought to get some sleep.”

Seeing him so serious, as if the man who had held her tightly and kissed her until she melted wasn’t him at all, Lin Shu felt a pang of regret.

She liked the proper A Ye, but she loved the wild, passionate version even more.

“Are you sure you don’t want to take another look?” Lin Shu blinked at him.

Zhou Ye reached out and gently smoothed the strands of hair that had become tousled during their kiss. “A Shu, I have work to do tomorrow.”

Lin Shu let out an “oh” and finally relented, slipping out of his embrace and getting off the bed. “Then I won’t bother you anymore, A Ye. Get some rest early, and don’t think about me—except—”

She leaned down and gave his lips a quick peck, then said playfully, “I’ll allow you to think of me in your dreams. This time, if you get a little carried away in your dreams, I won’t be mad at you.”

Hearing this, Zhou Ye’s mind buzzed. Before he could say anything, Lin Shu had already slipped away as quietly as she had arrived. Unconsciously, his hand reached out, fingers curling into a claw, gripping with a fierce intensity.

After Lin Shu left, Zhou Ye lay on the bed like a stranded fish, gasping for breath.

It wasn’t enough—not nearly enough.

Just moments ago, he had almost… almost pulled A Shu back and pinned her beneath him, just like in his dreams.

A Shu teased him for being timid, but it wasn’t timidity—it was fear. He was afraid that if he crossed that line, he would be so fierce he might crush A Shu.

He was afraid of scaring her.

This was good enough… he couldn’t go any further…

The next morning, when Lin Shu woke up, she received another thoughtful little surprise from Zhou Ye. On the table in the main room, there was not only a fresh bouquet of wildflowers but also two finished bamboo tea caddies—the kind with lids that she had mentioned.

Lin Shu hurriedly asked He Guixiang, who was the earliest riser in the house, “Mom, when did A Ye make these tea caddies?”

He Guixiang smiled. “You’re asking me? I wouldn't know either. All I know is that when I came out after getting ready, these finished caddies were already on the table. Perhaps A Ye made them yesterday during his noon break?”

Hearing this, Lin Shu nodded in agreement. “That’s what I thought too.”

It’s not like there were no breaks while working for Zhao San. During the hottest part of the day, when the sun was blazing, it was too harsh to work under the scorching heat, so everyone would take a break. Noon was the longest rest period.

A Ye was the type who couldn’t stay idle. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to rest—after all, who wouldn’t prefer lying down to sitting, or sitting to standing? But if there was something on A Ye’s mind that needed doing, he would keep thinking about it until it was done.

Lin Shu guessed that A Ye must have gone to Grandpa Gao’s house during yesterday’s noon break, borrowed some tools that weren’t currently in use, and made these two tea caddies.

Lin Xiaopu, watching Lin Shu admiring the tea caddies with obvious delight, shook her head and sighed. “A Ye’s energy is really something. Other men are too tired to do anything after a long day’s work, but he somehow finds time to make what my sister wants. Sis, don’t you think A Ye is going all out to win your smile?”

She wasn’t teasing her sister this time—she was genuinely impressed.

But Lin Shu still reached out to tickle her, making Lin Xiaopu exclaim that it was so unfair, “Mom, look—I tell the truth, and Sis still won’t let me off!”

He Guixiang watched as the two sisters playfully bickered, both with smiles on their faces, and shook her head. “You—you asked for it! Some things are better left unsaid. You had to go and say it out loud—no wonder you’re getting teased.”

Then she reminded them, “Alright, you two, stop fooling around. Aunt Lin will be here soon.”

In fact, Lin Zhaodi had already arrived. She had come with Zhao Laosan, but knowing that Lin Shu usually woke up late and there was no need to start breakfast so early, she had gone with Zhao Laosan to the construction site first to see if there was anything she could help with.

She couldn’t handle the heavy labor, but even just fetching tools or assisting in small ways could make things easier for the men working.

When she figured it was about time, Lin Zhaodi went to Lin Dashan’s house to prepare breakfast.

The main dish for breakfast was still rice. Lin Zhaodi planned to follow yesterday’s menu, but she was keeping careful track of any ingredients used from the Lin family’s supplies—like eggs and fish—intending to pay them back later.

But Lin Shu said, “Let’s not make the same dishes. Today, let’s do something different.”

Lin Zhaodi was both surprised and delighted. “Really? We can change it up? With the same ingredients, what else can we make?”