A dozen seconds later, Si Qing finally woke up as if from a dream and understood exactly what Jiang Cheng meant.
Her mind went blank at that moment, like a prey caught in a trap, forced to bow and kneel before the hunter.
At this moment, even with a thousand reluctances in her heart, she knew that not resisting might actually make things easier for her.
A "ding" sounded in his mind, followed immediately by the system's notification tone.
"Card used successfully!"
"A tragic sacrifice is a heroic prelude to a new life. Based on a series of indescribable calculations, the system is calculating the reward."
"Ding! Based on system calculations, the Host is rewarded with 250,000 in cash. It is being remitted to the Host's local bank card via overseas equity dividends. Please check your account."
Upon receiving this news, a look of joy immediately appeared on Jiang Cheng's face.
However, Si Qing's face showed none of Jiang Cheng's joy; her heart was filled only with the embarrassing experience from just now and her current bashfulness.
She felt that after regaining the freedom to breathe, her face was burning like it was on fire.
With a bashful expression, she gave Jiang Cheng a glare that held both reproach and a hint of imperceptible shyness.
She then hurriedly ran toward the bathroom.
Although compared to the first attempt, the urge to gag was indeed a bit less this time.
But that uncomfortable feeling still lingered in her heart, refusing to dissipate.
Soon, Si Qing freshened up in the bathroom, trying to calm herself down.
When she stepped out of the bathroom, the flush on her face hadn't completely faded. She even asked Jiang Cheng bashfully and with some embarrassment, "Do you want to wash up?"
Seeing Si Qing shyly clutching the collar of her bathrobe as she walked out, the corner of Jiang Cheng's mouth curled up slightly.
Looking at Si Qing's bashful appearance, he couldn't help but find it a bit funny and thought she was incredibly cute. So he replied, "Of course I do. Wait for me."
Two minutes later, Jiang Cheng finished bathing, his body still radiating fresh water vapor.
When he stepped out of the bathroom, he saw at a glance that Si Qing was actually lying on the sofa in the living room, her face covered with a blanket.
Jiang Cheng couldn't help but shake his head, feeling both helpless and doting.
He walked slowly toward Si Qing with light steps, his gaze falling on her charming and lovely face.
He saw that her eyes were tightly shut, and her eyelashes were even trembling slightly—she was clearly pretending to be asleep.
With a faint smile still playing on his lips, Jiang Cheng slowly approached.
"Why are you lying here instead of on the bed?"
Hearing his question, Si Qing still didn't open her eyes.
Feeling Jiang Cheng's approaching presence, her face, with eyes still closed, couldn't help but flush red.
Deep down, she was struggling with how to answer the question.
After a long while, she softly uttered two words: "But..."
Seeing her like this, Jiang Cheng found it increasingly amusing.
He reached out his right hand, gently tapped Si Qing's head, and then teased with a laugh.
"Looking at your expression, is your head full of indescribable parts below the neck right now?"
It was originally just a joke, but to his surprise, Si Qing blurted out without thinking, "How did you know!"
After saying it, she realized what she had just blurted out as if waking from a dream.
In an instant, a wave of heat surged to her cheeks, and her eyes snapped open.
Flustered, she raised her hand to tightly cover her mouth, gave an embarrassed smile, and stammered, "There's only one bed... I'll sleep here, you go sleep on the bed."
Jiang Cheng gazed with great interest at Si Qing's flustered yet charmingly cute appearance.
He revealed a playful smile and teased lightly, "You look so pure, yet your thoughts are so dirty. Don't worry, I won't touch you."
Before he had even finished speaking, Jiang Cheng suddenly bent down and extended his arms, picking Si Qing up steadily in a princess carry.
Si Qing hadn't expected such a sudden princess carry at all.
In her astonishment, she couldn't help but let out a short exclamation.
She felt like her heart was about to jump out of her throat, beating violently at an incredible speed.
At the same time, the already vivid flush on her face spread as quickly as sunset clouds.
It turned red all the way to the tips of her ears.
Although she was shy, she still secretly grumbled in her heart.
Calling me dirty... clearly, the dirtiest person here is you.
But grumbling aside, when she was gently placed on the bed by Jiang Cheng, a sweet feeling couldn't help but rise in Si Qing's heart.
That feeling of being cared for and valued made her feel incredibly warm.
After making her comfortable, Jiang Cheng didn't have any urgent desire to push things further for the moment.
But having no such thoughts didn't mean he wouldn't take any action.
Seeing Jiang Cheng considerately help her pull up the covers, Si Qing's heart warmed again.
But she soon realized something was wrong.
Because Jiang Cheng also crawled into the blankets and even lay on his side to hug her.
Not only that, one hand was considerately placed over her chest, while the other considerately held her buttocks.
This action, done under the guise of giving her a sense of security, made Si Qing's face turn even redder.
In her bashfulness, Si Qing couldn't help but roll her eyes.
She felt as if she had been fooled again.
As expected, when a guy says, "Don't worry, I won't do anything to you," it's just total nonsense.
Thinking this, Si Qing reached out and grabbed the hand that was moving around on her chest.
She then asked to divert his attention, "By the way, the holidays are almost here. Where is your home?"
Jiang Cheng remembered Si Nian saying she was from Pengcheng, so Si Qing was naturally from Pengcheng as well.
Although he hadn't been to Pengcheng, he had heard it was now the fastest-growing city in Guangdong Province.
Time flew by, and before they knew it, half of the semester had quietly passed.
Counting on his fingers, there were only a short ten days or so left until the Spring Festival.
With the Spring Festival just over ten days away, everyone was gradually preparing to go home for the New Year.
Jiang Cheng replied, "I'm from Chengdu. You two should be going home for the New Year, right?"
Seeing that after being stopped by her, Jiang Cheng switched to gently pinching with his index finger and thumb.
Si Qing let out a muffled groan and shyly pushed his hand.
She softly muttered, "We're going back the day after tomorrow. We've already booked the high-speed train. What about you?"
Jiang Cheng thought for a moment and replied, "I'll see. If I don't go back to Chengdu, I'll just go to Kyoto to spend the New Year."
Anyway, he really didn't have a single relative back in Chengdu.
Following the custom of previous years, they spent every Spring Festival as a family of three.
Of course, this also included going to his father's construction company to attend the annual meeting and celebrate together.
In this way, the New Year was spent in a lively and joyful manner.
"Kyoto? Will your parents be going with you then?" Si Qing blinked her big, watery eyes and asked Jiang Cheng with curiosity.
Jiang Cheng nodded without hesitation and then responded seriously.
"Yeah, they're going together. We don't have any other relatives in Chengdu."
Seeing Si Qing nod slightly in understanding, Jiang Cheng continued.
"About this matter between us, I plan to find a suitable time tomorrow to talk to Si Nian about it properly."
Hearing this, Si Qing was stunned for a moment, and even the hand she was using to push him away stopped.
All sorts of complex emotions suddenly welled up in her heart.
There was a sudden sense of joy, but at the same time, it was accompanied by an imperceptible trace of hesitation and doubt.
Soon, she hurriedly waved her hands repeatedly and refused, "Oh! You must not say it..."