Abstinence Pei, don't be too sweet when chasing your wife

When Pei Luonan let go of the pen, the dusk outside the floor-to-ceiling window was as thick as ink, dyeing the glass curtain wall of the office building a deep purple.

The continuous mergers and acquisitions during this period made him miss several dinners with Gu Fanxing without realizing it.

His fingertips hovered over the phone keyboard for a long time before he slowly typed: "I'll meet you downstairs at 6pm. Want to have dinner together?"

After a while, his phone lit up, and he almost subconsciously reached for it. Gu Fanxing's message on the lock screen was like a ray of moonlight: "Mr. Pei, such a busy man, how can you find time to have dinner with me? But I really don't have time. Grandma has been nagging me for the sweet and sour pork ribs I make. I have to go back to the Gu family villa to have dinner with Grandma this weekend. You should work hard overtime and don't get too tired."

Pei Luonan stood up and walked around the desk, the hem of his suit bringing with it a scent of cedar perfume.

He quickly typed a line of words on his phone: "Then can I have a free meal? The last time I went to your villa, she said that my tea-making skills have regressed." Then he sent it.

"Aren't you afraid that grandma will nag you?" Gu Fanxing responded to him, but she couldn't hide the smile on her lips.

Pei Luonan chuckled softly, his throat vibrating with a familiar low voice: "That's perfect, let the old lady teach me well." He picked up the car keys on the desk and said, "Wait for me, I'll go back with you."

When the black Bentley drove into the supermarket parking lot with Gu Fanxing, Gu Fanxing finally realized, "Aren't we going straight back to the villa?" Pei Luonan had already walked around to the passenger seat and opened the door for her, "Grandma said that fresh ingredients should be bought on the same day."

The steaming heat from the supermarket hit her in the face, and Pei Luonan followed her with a shopping cart.

Gu Fanxing squatted down in the aquatic area to pick crabs, and his canvas gloves rubbed against the wet countertop.

Suddenly, she cried out "Ouch" as her finger was pinched by the crab claws. Pei Luonan squatted down almost instantly and carefully pried open the crab claws with his fingers: "Does it hurt?" He took out a disinfectant wipe from the inner pocket of his suit, gently wiped her red fingertips, and blew gently on the wound.

The stall owners around burst into laughter: "What a lucky girl, your boyfriend is so thoughtful!" Gu Fanxing's face turned red, and she wanted to pull her hand back, but Pei Luonan held it tighter.

He turned to the stall owner and said, "Two more of the largest female crabs, take them away." He then picked up a box of cartoon Band-Aids and said, "This is cute. Fanxing will like it."

As the setting sun gilded the villa's wrought-iron gate, Grandma Gu stood on the steps, looking out. She wore reading glasses, an apron emblazoned with little ducks, and clutched a spatula. "Why are you back so late? The sweet and sour sauce has already burned twice!"

"Grandma!" Gu Fanxing pounced over like a fluttering butterfly and gave the old woman a loud kiss on the face. "I brought you a great chef!" She pulled Pei Luonan over. "Last time you said his tea-making skills had declined, so let him show off his skills this time!"

Pei Luonan handed over the gift box of wild delicacies, "Grandma, the seasonal matsutake chicken soup is the most nutritious, and there is also the wild wood ear mushroom you mentioned." He noticed that the old lady's eyes behind the glasses swept across his tie clip. It was an accessory with bronze patterns, and it was from the same series as the antique brass bell that Gu Fanxing hung on her backpack.

Grandma Gu pushed her glasses and said, "The kitchen is yours. Fanxing, go set the dishes." Before entering the kitchen, she secretly glanced at the pink apron that Pei Luonan was tying - that was Gu Fanxing's "masterpiece" when she was a girl, with a crooked Hello Kitty printed on it.

The crab roe tofu in the frying pan was bubbling. Pei Luonan was stirring the wok attentively. The moment the flames jumped up, they illuminated his profile.

Gu Fanxing leaned against the kitchen door and watched him roll up his sleeves to his elbows, revealing the smooth muscle lines of his forearms.

"Can you help me taste the saltiness?" He suddenly turned around and handed the porcelain spoon to her lips. The tofu was covered with golden soup, and the fresh fragrance exploded on the tip of her tongue.

The sky outside the window suddenly darkened and muffled thunder rolled across the sky.

Pei Luonan immediately turned down the fire, took off his apron and covered Gu Fanxing's thin shoulders: "Go sit in the living room, the smoke is choking." Before he finished speaking, raindrops as big as beans were already hitting the glass.

As dinner was served, a heavy rain came down.

Grandma Gu looked at the table full of dishes, her eyes brightening behind her reading glasses. "The sauce on these sweet and sour pork ribs is even more authentic than the ones cooked by restaurant chefs!" She scooped up a spoonful of crab roe and tofu, the crab meat glistening in the broth. "Xiao Pei, the cooking time is just right..."

"Grandma taught me well." Pei Luonan poured her a bowl of winter melon soup. "You said to add ginger slices to stewed tofu to enhance its flavor. I've remembered that."

He caught a glimpse of Gu Fanxing secretly giving a thumbs up, and his heart felt like it was being brushed by a feather. He picked up the tenderest piece of fish for the old lady.

As dinner was about to end, thunder roared and the rain formed a silver curtain on the floor-to-ceiling windows, isolating the villa from the outside world into a warm yellow island.

Grandma Gu put down her dishes and chopsticks, her eyes behind the glasses showing a knowing smile: "Xiao Pei, how are you going to go home in such heavy rain? I'll ask Aunt Wang to clean up the guest room, you can stay here."

The air suddenly became stagnant.

Gu Fanxing felt a thin layer of sweat on her palms. When she stole a glance at Pei Luonan, she met his smiling gaze.

He picked up the celadon teacup and sipped it gently, his Adam's apple rolling as he said nonchalantly, "Then I'll bother you, grandma."

This was Pei Luonan's first time staying overnight at the Gu family.

After clearing the table, Gu Fanxing walked towards the guest room with her clothes, her canvas shoes making scraping sounds on the wooden floor.

Steady footsteps were heard behind me, carrying with them the faint scent of cedar.

“Let me do it.”

Pei Luonan reached out to take the heavy bamboo basket. When his fingertips brushed the back of her hand, she pulled her hand back suddenly as if burned, and the towel in the bamboo basket fell to the ground.

When they bent down to pick up the towel, their foreheads almost collided.

Gu Fanxing retreated in panic, and his lower back hit the antique display cabinet at the entrance, causing the celadon incense burner on display to shake and make a crisp sound.

Pei Luonan quickly grabbed the shelf and trapped her between his arms and the wooden cabinet.

“So nervous?”

He lowered his eyes to look at her flushed cheeks, and his warm breath brushed over her hot earlobe.

“Are you afraid I’ll eat you?”

“Who, who is nervous!”

Gu Fanxing turned her face away, but met his deep eyes.

Under the dim wall lamp, his pupils were as black as ink, reflecting her panicked appearance.

Pei Luonan seemed to see through her thoughts. He hooked a strand of her hair with his slender fingers and gently twisted it between his fingers.

"Who was it that pulled my shirt during the last typhoon and said I couldn't sleep alone?"

His voice had a seductive tone at the end, "Now you think I'm a monster?"

Gu Fanxing was about to retort when he suddenly stepped on a Go piece that rolled to his feet.

She screamed and lost her balance, and subconsciously grabbed Pei Luonan's tie.

Before the two of them fell heavily on the Persian carpet, Pei Luonan turned over and held her in his arms, but he rushed forward due to inertia, and his lips touched hers without warning.

Time seems to stand still.

Gu Fanxing opened her eyes wide and could clearly feel his warm breath and the pounding heartbeat in his chest.

She wanted to push him away, but her hands froze on his chest as if they were scalded, and the body temperature from her palms burned her skin.

Pei Luonan was also stunned.

He looked at Gu Fanxing, whose eyes were red, and his Adam's apple rolled with difficulty.

Her trembling eyelashes brushed across his cheek, like a feather teasing the lake of his heart.

For some unknown reason, he did not stand up. Instead, he lowered his head and gently touched her soft lips again, as if touching a fragile artifact.

"Pei Luonan!"

Gu Fanxing finally reacted and hurriedly twisted her body to get up, but he grabbed her wrist and pressed her to the carpet.

His gaze darkened, and his thumb rubbed the pulse on the inside of her wrist.

"Don't move." His voice was horribly hoarse. "If you move again... I'm afraid I'll lose control."

The sound of thunder and rain outside the window suddenly intensified, covering up the two people's disordered breathing.

Gu Fanxing looked at his face so close to her. It turned out that all those subtle tenderness had already taken root in her heart.

This unexpected rainstorm eventually kept those who should have stayed under the warm roof, allowing those unspoken feelings to quietly bloom between their lips and teeth.