Chapter 69

The bed sheets lay in disarray. Shen Jingsong nestled amid a pile of soft bedding, her eyes misty as she gazed over.

Guilt and heartache filled Xia Zhuxi. “Sorry, Jingjing. Let me take a look.” She gently lifted Shen Jingsong and blew softly on her reddened scars.

Shen Jingsong trembled faintly, her eyelashes drooping low. “The doctor warned me when I was discharged from the hospital—no strenuous exercise.”

Full of remorse, Xia Zhuxi loosened her embrace slightly, afraid of brushing against the wound again.

Shen Jingsong reached up to caress Xia Zhuxi’s cheek, greedily tracing the contours of her face. With perfect logic, she said, “My back might be injured, but my hands are just fine.” She wiggled her slender fingers. “See? Nice and flexible. Xiao Xi, how about…”

“Oh?” Xia Zhuxi leaned down to brush the fragrant sweat from Shen Jingsong’s temple. She kissed her slightly reddened eye corner and planted a trail of feather-light kisses.

“Mmm…” Shen Jingsong tilted her head back to meet them. Their deep kiss stretched on, languid and intense, until their breaths came short and ragged. Blushing, Shen Jingsong pulled away just enough to gasp for air—but Xia Zhuxi’s heated lips pursued relentlessly.

They drowned in the kisses, sinking deeper, ever deeper.

Xia Zhuxi took great care to shield Shen Jingsong’s back, her voice a soft, coaxing murmur. “I get it, baby. I’ll kiss you so gently.”

“Ah? Mmm…”

Xia Zhuxi captured Shen Jingsong’s full lips, drawing her unfinished words into an even more entwining kiss.

It was like the scorching heart of the earth warming a hidden spring, bubbling up from the depths to form a gentle hot spring—passion melting into tenderness, endlessly nourishing.

The evening breeze stirred the curtains, sending them swaying.

Pillows lay scattered across the carpet. In the hazy lamplight, a glimpse of their intimate tableau flickered, laced with warm, intoxicating fragrance.

~~~

Just three more days until the competition in Britain.

Xia Zhuxi wanted to stay home and care for Shen Jingsong a little longer, so she deliberately postponed her flight.

Worried that arriving so close to race day would throw off her performance, Shen Jingsong urged her to leave sooner.

“If I go to Britain now, I’ll just worry about you and that will mess up my game,” Xia Zhuxi replied.

Shen Jingsong snuggled into her arms. “I’m fine now.” She nuzzled closer.

Shen Jingsong’s injury hadn’t fully healed. Every day, Xia Zhuxi applied her medicine and gave her massages. Once Xia Zhuxi left for the race, poor Jingjing would have to manage on her own… Sigh. She really hated to go.

Xia Zhuxi wouldn’t let Shen Jingsong lift a finger around the house.

Under her guidance, Xia Zhuxi cooked, learning a handful of simple dishes.

She thought her efforts tasted awful, but Shen Jingsong raved about every one, praising them to the heavens. That was how Jingjing built up Xia Zhuxi’s confidence and enthusiasm in the kitchen—starting from absolute zero.

Cooking wasn’t the only area. Shen Jingsong had a gift for all-encompassing praise, always encouraging Xia Zhuxi to charge boldly down the road of self-improvement.

Charge boldly ahead. That was the racing spirit Xia Zhuxi lived by.

It was also the unbreakable bond of spirit between her and Shen Jingsong.

More potent than words, though, were Shen Jingsong’s kisses.

Even when Xia Zhuxi’s stir-fried shredded pork came out teeth-numbingly salty—too much even for Jingjing’s “salty-sweet perfection with rice”—a kiss on the ear melted the frustration away. Xia Zhuxi’s heart warmed instantly. She pulled Shen Jingsong onto her lap, wrapped her in a tight embrace, and laughed with pure joy.

After doing the dishes, Xia Zhuxi headed out to toss the trash.

The Lower Unit’s garden burst with vibrant decorations. The fence gate stood wide open, facing an inflatable pool on the lawn.

A stream of bubbles drifted from the bubble machine, perfuming the clear air with fresh soap.

As Xia Zhuxi turned back, a little head poked out from the garden—topped with colorful braids.

“Godmother! Aunt Xia!” Little Lulu bubbled with excitement.

“Aunt Xia’s right there outside, sweetie. Did you say hello? Good Young Pioneers are always polite,” Lu Guanlan said, strolling over looking refreshed as she patted Lulu’s head.

Lulu rushed to greet Xia Zhuxi, her childish voice piping sweetly. “Aunt Xia!”

Xia Zhuxi crouched down with a smile. “Hello, Lulu.”

Lulu tugged her toward the garden. “We’re playing in the big yellow duck pool! Come play with us, Aunt Xia!”

“Big yellow duck pool, huh?” Xia Zhuxi eyed the inflatable pool on the lawn. “That’s for kids, sweetie. Auntie can’t join in.”

“Oh.” Lulu halted and nodded thoughtfully. Then her face lit up. “Aunt Xia, will you help me with my summer homework? Teacher says we have to collect stories from people around us and make a hand-drawn newspaper with our parents. I’m way behind!”

“Uh…” Xia Zhuxi hesitated.

The little girl gazed up at her with wide-eyed longing, her pure eyes sparkling like crystals.

“Auntie only has this afternoon free. Would that work?” Xia Zhuxi couldn’t bring herself to say no outright, but she hated to steal time from her moments alone with Shen Jingsong. So she compromised.

“Yes!” Lulu cheered and dashed off to fetch the art box.

Lu Guanlan watched her daughter with tender affection, then turned to Xia Zhuxi. “Is Shen Jingsong home?”

Xia Zhuxi frowned. “Why are you looking for my wife again?”

Lu Guanlan’s gaze swept past her guarded expression, and she smiled faintly. “She promised last time to help Lulu with her life studies homework. If you don’t want to call her over to draw with Lulu, that’s fine.”

“I’ll call her,” Xia Zhuxi said.

Shen Jingsong came downstairs soon after.

In Lu Guanlan’s family playroom, three adults gathered around one little girl.

At Lulu’s insistence, they were making hand-drawn posters.

“Each poster needs a theme. Godmother and Auntie, you can pick your own.” Lulu handed out the markers. Her own poster featured her inflatable pool, capturing the joys of summer vacation.

Xia Zhuxi gritted her teeth and finished hers. “Here.”

Lulu’s eyes went wide. “Aunt Xia, why is this little sheep all charred and burnt? It’s so scary!”

“……”

Lulu handed the drawing back. “Sorry, Aunt Xia. I can’t take a poster with a roasted sheep on it. It would scare my teacher and classmates.”

“?”

Shen Jingsong and Lu Guanlan set down their markers and leaned in to inspect Xia Zhuxi’s poster.

It was a big, blurry black smudge with a straight line jutting from one side and four tall, vertical loops underneath.

Beside the “drawing” was a neat text box ruled with straight edges and wavy lines, filled with a tidy little essay:

《My Racing Car》

Lulu: Charred little sheep.

Lu Guanlan’s lips twitched as she turned her face away.

After a moment’s thought, Shen Jingsong pointed at the black blob. “What’s this black part?”

“Bugatti GT,” Xia Zhuxi said.

“Mm-hmm, a race car. And this?” Shen Jingsong pointed at the jutting line—the one Lulu had called the sheep’s headless neck…

“My battle flag,” Xia Zhuxi replied.

“These four, I recognize. Wheels for sure.” Shen Jingsong tapped the four vertical loops.

Lulu shook her head. “I thought they were sheep legs.”

“They’re wheels,” Xia Zhuxi insisted.

“Oh, so it wasn’t a sheep after all.” Lulu held out her little hand shyly. “Aunt Xia, I got it wrong before. Can I have it now?”

Xia Zhuxi nodded. She added an arrow to the drawing with a label—”This is a car”—and passed the poster to Lulu. “Now no one will mistake it.”

~~~

They went for a stroll.

Sunset light filtered through the overhead leaves, casting dappled spots on the path.

Xia Zhuxi walked along the flower beds, idly prodding crooked shrubs with a small stick.

“Aren’t you happy?” Shen Jingsong asked from behind her.

Xia Zhuxi glanced back. “Is my drawing really that bad?” She already knew the answer—her childhood art assignments had come back covered in question marks.

But she wanted to hear Shen Jingsong’s take.

Shen Jingsong’s smile was warm as she wrapped her arms around Xia Zhuxi from behind. “It’s adorable. Come on, it has a car and a battle flag!”

Xia Zhuxi smiled too, caught up in Shen Jingsong’s expression. “Real races don’t have flags like that. When I was little, I loved the idea. I dreamed of having my own race car one day, with a battle flag flying from the back, emblazoned with a big ‘Xia.'”

“Like a commander’s banner?” Shen Jingsong asked.

“Exactly!”

Shen Jingsong burst out laughing and pressed her face against Xia Zhuxi’s back.

“Sister Jingsong!” Xia Zhuxi’s voice dropped low, assuming she was being teased for her childish fantasy.

Shen Jingsong kissed the back of her shirt, then laced their fingers together over Xia Zhuxi’s waist.

“Xiao Xi, your drawing isn’t ugly. It’s one of a kind—completely unique.”

~~~

It had been ages since Xia Zhuxi had cleaned the house so meticulously. She usually hired Auntie to come in regularly.

But Shen Jingsong preferred to tidy up herself when she was home, so after they got married, the cleaner’s visits had tapered off.

Xia Zhuxi perched on a ladder, wiping down the entryway and polishing every trinket in the curio cabinet.

She shook dust from a red greeting card, wondering if she should get a dust cover for it. It was the New Year’s card from Shang Mingrong.

Huh? There used to be something next to the card.

The Love Crystal they’d bought at the amusement park with Lulu!

Where was it?

Xia Zhuxi searched high and low but came up empty. She climbed down from the ladder as Shen Jingsong unpacked an online delivery, asking her to fetch the hand truck.

“Jingjing, did you move the crystal?” Xia Zhuxi wheeled the cart over to the entryway.

She noticed Shen Jingsong’s back go rigid.

“Um… oh, Xiao Xi, you done wiping? Come help me out.” Shen Jingsong bent to hoist a box onto the cart.

Xia Zhuxi rushed over, easing her into a chair before lifting the box herself.

As she worked, she chattered on. “So where’d you put it?”

“What?” Shen Jingsong asked.

Xia Zhuxi beamed. “The Love Crystal! Xi Loves Jing~ It’s been forever. The crystals inside must be huge by now.”

The air went still.

“Jingjing?” Xia Zhuxi turned to her. “Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Shen Jingsong lowered her eyelashes, fluttering like butterflies soaked by rain. “That one? I put it away. Oh, right, Xiao Xi, we’re heading to the airport at seven tomorrow morning, aren’t we?”

“Yes, I’ve set the alarm already, and Jian Ge will call me too. Don’t worry.” Xia Zhuxi pushed the cart into the house. “Jingjing, why do you always change the subject? Where did you put the crystal?”

Shen Jingsong quietly sighed, her voice soft and small. “In my vanity.”

~~~

Bedroom.

In front of the vanity mirror.

Xia Zhuxi froze.

She opened the box. Inside lay a pile of glass shards, a pile of crystal fragments, and a thin heart-shaped card.

Xi Loves Jing

“I’m sorry.” Shen Jingsong kept her head lowered. “You were competing in Melbourne at the time, and I accidentally broke it while cleaning.”

Xia Zhuxi picked up the card and placed it in her palm, rubbing it gently with her thumb.

The crystal was one they had grown together—the magic said that the more vigorously it grew, the hotter their love would burn.

But now, their crystal was shattered.

Xia Zhuxi did the math on the timeline. The Melbourne competition had coincided exactly with the peak of the rumors about Xiang Xuewan.

Suddenly, a terrible suspicion struck her: Had Shen Jingsong been so heartbroken and furious back then that she deliberately smashed the crystal?

Xia Zhuxi gripped the card tightly and abruptly pulled Shen Jingsong into a fierce embrace, her eyes and nose stinging with sudden acid. “Shen Jingsong, did you really not want me anymore that time?!”

Her lips brushed against soft warmth, and Shen Jingsong kissed her back with force. “I want you. I want you for life.”