Chapter 73

Shen Zhirou wondered if it was just her imagination, but after they made up this time, her Little Kitten seemed even clingier than before. She’d barely finished dinner before nestling into Shen Zhirou’s arms, practically glued to her side.

Shen Zhirou grabbed her tablet, intending to watch a movie with Lu Yao, but the girl in her lap wasn’t having it. She couldn’t sit still for even ten minutes before starting to squirm and wriggle.

Lu Yao twisted around to gaze at Shen Zhirou, then pressed her soft lips affectionately against hers. In a coquettish whisper, she asked, “Jie Jie, is the movie any good?”

Shen Zhirou didn’t even need to look to know her Little Kitten was up to no good again. She replied on purpose, “It’s great. Be a good girl and turn back around—watch it with me.”

Lu Yao pouted and buried her face in Shen Zhirou’s chest, nuzzling against her. “Jie Jie, we just ate dinner. Don’t you feel all stuffed up?”

As she spoke, Lu Yao reached out to stroke Shen Zhirou’s abdomen, then lightly poked the side of her face with a fingertip. In any case, she had no intention of letting Shen Zhirou keep staring at that tablet. Wasn’t she far more captivating?

After rubbing against her for a while to no avail, Lu Yao simply looped her arms around Shen Zhirou’s neck and kissed her. Her heated lips pressed firmly against Shen Zhirou’s, leaving her no choice but to pull Lu Yao closer and deepen the kiss.

Once the kiss broke, Lu Yao tossed the tablet aside and leaned in affectionately, brushing her lips against the corner of Shen Zhirou’s mouth as she wheedled, “Jie Jie, we always do a little exercise after dinner. I ate way too much. Won’t you help me burn it off with some cardio?”

Without waiting for an answer, she kissed her again. All she wanted was to commandeer every bit of Shen Zhirou’s attention—ideally, until her eyes held nothing but Lu Yao herself.

The relentlessly coquettish Little Kitten who kept fanning the flames finally got her wish. Shen Zhirou pinned her in her arms and kissed her breathless. Only then did she ease her hold slightly. But Lu Yao, no longer the least bit timid, began rubbing against her and acting spoiled once more. “Jie Jie, who’s prettier—me or the movie? How come you won’t look at me more?”

Shen Zhirou chuckled softly as she gazed at Lu Yao, drawing her even tighter into her embrace. She lowered her eyes and kissed her. There was just no helping it—her Little Kitten was too alluring. Movies would have to wait.

Shen Zhirou took Lu Yao’s suggestion to heart and joined her for some post-dinner “exercise” until past nine o’clock. Then she carried her clingy Little Kitten to the bathroom for a shower. By the time they emerged, it was well after ten.

Shen Zhirou swapped out the bedsheets for fresh ones before scooping Lu Yao up and returning to bed to rest.

Still not fully sated, Lu Yao wriggled in Shen Zhirou’s arms. Perhaps because they’d been apart for so long, no matter what they did, it never felt like enough. She wanted to stay glued to Shen Zhirou every waking moment.

“Jie Jie, tomorrow it’ll just be me here at home. I’ll miss you.” Lu Yao planted a gentle kiss on Shen Zhirou’s neck.

Shen Zhirou chuckled and stroked the top of Lu Yao’s head, her gaze tender. “I’m right here with you now. Why think about tomorrow already?”

“Mm, I don’t want to be apart from you.” Lu Yao’s nose nuzzled affectionately against Shen Zhirou as she acted spoiled.

“I don’t want to be apart from you either.” Shen Zhirou brushed a soft kiss against Lu Yao’s lips, but it wasn’t nearly enough. She kissed her again, more deeply this time. Her plans for an early night went straight out the window. With her Little Kitten rubbing and clinging to her like that, Shen Zhirou simply couldn’t hold back. She only vaguely remembered that it was very late by the time they finally drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, just past six, Shen Zhirou’s phone alarm blared to life. Lu Yao stirred awake at the noise and burrowed even deeper into Shen Zhirou’s arms, showing zero intention of letting her go.

Amused, Shen Zhirou gazed down at the girl in her embrace and gently stroked her hair. “Yaoyao, I have to get up. I’ve got work later. Why don’t you sleep in here all cozy by yourself?”

Lu Yao shook her head and buried her face deeper into Shen Zhirou’s chest, letting out a few whiny hums without even cracking her eyes open.

With endless patience, Shen Zhirou coaxed her. “Be good. Aren’t we meeting up for lunch later?”

“Jie Jie, I just want you to hold me like this.” Lu Yao’s voice was soft and coquettish, punctuated by little nuzzles against Shen Zhirou’s skin.

Shen Zhirou finally understood why ancient emperors loathed morning court. With her Yaoyao right there, she didn’t want to get out of bed either—she just wanted to hold this girl forever. But wishes weren’t horses.

Shen Zhirou kissed Lu Yao’s cheek and lips. “Be good. I’ll hold you all you want when I get home tonight.”

“Jie Jie.” Lu Yao finally pried her eyes open to peer at Shen Zhirou.

Shen Zhirou chuckled and petted her still-sleepy Little Kitten. “What is it?”

“I miss you. Don’t go.” With heavy-lidded eyes, Lu Yao clung to Shen Zhirou and acted spoiled.

“Be good, and we’ll see each other again at noon.” Shen Zhirou coaxed patiently. After another ten minutes or so of coaxing, the little kitten in her arms finally let her reluctantly slip out of bed.

Even as she washed up in the bathroom, Shen Zhirou was still wondering whether other couples were as clingy as she and Yaoyao—unable to bear being apart for even a moment.

Before heading out, Shen Zhirou left breakfast for Lu Yao. Leaning over the edge of the bed, she kissed the corner of Lu Yao’s lips and instructed her, “I’ve left a steamer of little buns in the pot, along with some milk. Just heat them up when you get up, and they’ll be ready to eat. It’s getting late—I have to go.”

Lu Yao let out a couple of whiny hums, hooked her arms around Shen Zhirou’s neck, tilted her face up, and waited expectantly for a kiss.

Shen Zhirou chuckled softly at her drowsy little kitten, stroked the top of Lu Yao’s head, and planted another kiss on the corner of her lips. Only then did the little kitten release her hold, thoroughly satisfied.

Shen Zhirou still felt a pang of reluctance even as she stepped out the door.

Lu Yao slept soundly until past nine in the morning. After freshening up, she heated the breakfast Shen Zhirou had prepared and ate it while firing off WeChat messages.

Lu Yao: 【Breakfast photo】 Jie Jie, I’m eating breakfast. What are you up to?

Lu Yao: I miss you. It’s not even 10 o’clock yet.

Lu Yao: “Jie Jie~ Jie Jie~” (kitten acting cute.jpg)

Shen Zhirou had just printed the report she’d finished when her phone buzzed with a barrage of messages from her little kitten.

She opened the chat, a smile tugging at her lips as she typed back.

Shen Zhirou: Just wrapped up. Nothing much on my plate right now. (headpat.jpg)

Lu Yao: I miss you. Time’s dragging so slow—still not noon. (kitten complaining.jpg)

Shen Zhirou: It’ll be here soon. Be good and rest a little longer. (rubs kitten.jpg)

Lu Yao was just about to type a reply when a knock sounded at the door. “Who is it?” she called through the wood.

“Hello, the mattress you ordered yesterday has arrived. We’ll swap it out for you,” came the voice of one of the delivery workers.

Lu Yao immediately called Shen Zhirou. “Jie Jie, did you order a new mattress?”

“Mm-hmm. You weren’t comfortable on the old one, right? So I just went ahead and replaced it.” Shen Zhirou’s voice was gentle, her lips curving into a soft smile.

“I knew Jie Jie was the best. Talk soon— they’re here to install it. What should I do with the old palm mattress?”

“If they can take it, just sell it to them cheap.” Shen Zhirou thought for a moment. Yaoyao didn’t like it anyway, and they wouldn’t be using it again.

Lu Yao hung up, her heart warming with affection. Jie Jie really did care about her—quietly taking care of things like this without fanfare.

Once the delivery workers had left, Lu Yao bounced around like an excited kitten. She remade the bed, buried herself in the fresh sheets, and rolled around blissfully. Now, when Jie Jie pinned her down, her back wouldn’t ache anymore.

The clock finally ticked over to 11:00. Lu Yao hopped in her car and drove to Shen Zhirou’s company to pick her up. This time felt completely different from before—pure, unadulterated excitement to see her girlfriend.

Meanwhile, Zhao Tongtong—who hadn’t stopped by in days—had finally convinced Xiao Qing to let her grab lunch with her old department friends instead. Xiao Qing had held her close and showered her with kisses for a good long while before reluctantly letting go.

The moment Zhao Tongtong returned, Huang Qingqing grinned and teased, “Well, well, Secretary Zhao graces us with her presence today? CEO Xiao finally cut you loose?”

“Oh, come on, don’t tease. I just missed you all and wanted to eat lunch together.” Zhao Tongtong laughed. She and Xiao Qing had never bothered hiding their relationship, so pretty much everyone at the company already knew.

After chatting with Huang Qingqing for a bit, Zhao Tongtong sidled over to Shen Zhirou with a smile. “So, what’s the lunch plan?”

Shen Zhirou’s lips curved in a faint smile. “She’ll come pick me up. We’re heading out.”

Zhao Tongtong knew Shen Zhirou and Lu Yao had patched things up. Unable to resist, she added, “Fine, go out if you want. Having a girlfriend doesn’t make you all that special—but keep an eye on her. Don’t let her slip back into her old habits.”

“Don’t worry.” Shen Zhirou smiled back.

By the time Lu Yao pulled up to the building where Shen Zhirou worked, it was right at the lunch break. Lu Yao parked early and waited in the first-floor lobby, where she even ran into Shen Zhirou’s department head, Wang Qi. The two chatted for a few minutes.

“CEO Lu, here for Xiao Shen? How are things between you two?” Wang Qi couldn’t help gossiping a little. Shen Zhirou had mentioned their breakup before.

“It’s great, we’ve made up. Thanks for your concern.” Lu Yao was in high spirits, a smile playing on her lips as she spoke to everyone. After chatting a few more words with Wang Qi, she spotted Shen Zhirou from afar.

“Jie Jie.” Lu Yao called out, heading toward Shen Zhirou.

Shen Zhirou said a quick word to her colleagues and walked over to meet Lu Yao. Little Kitten had been waiting impatiently—if not for the crowd in the lobby, she would have thrown herself into an embrace by now.

Lu Yao pouted a little, aggrieved, as she took Shen Zhirou’s hand and acted spoiled. “Jie Jie, I missed you.”

“Am I not right here? Come on, what do you want for lunch?” Shen Zhirou asked gently.

“Let’s go for Japanese food. There’s a new place nearby with private rooms.” As Lu Yao spoke, she snuggled closer into Shen Zhirou’s arms. “Jie Jie, I want a hug.”

Shen Zhirou chuckled softly, pinching Lu Yao’s fingertips. With gentle eyes, she drew her into her embrace. They were still at the company entrance, but what was wrong with hugging her girlfriend?

Lu Yao’s heart pounded wildly from the sudden hug. They’d done far more intimate things before, yet she still couldn’t help her reaction.

“There, happy now, girlfriend?” Shen Zhirou asked tenderly.

Lu Yao’s ears flushed pink. Her gaze burned as she nodded at Shen Zhirou. “Satisfied. What to do? I like Jie Jie even more now.”