Chapter 51: I Will Take Responsibility For You

Zhi Qi felt like she could hardly breathe in this cramped space.

Her crimson lips parted slightly, panting softly, the places where Jiang Qi’s fingers had touched her skin felt as if they were burning, scorching hot, her mind dizzy and hazy.

It wasn’t until her loose shirt was half-tugged off, exposing her delicate, pale collarbone to the cold air, that the cool temperature snapped Zhi Qi back to her senses.

“Jiang Qi…” The young girl bit her lower lip hard, trying not to sink too deeply into the haze of desire, bending her knees to press against the boy’s lean chest.

Her pale, jade-like feet stood out strikingly in the darkness, gradually pulling Jiang Qi’s crumbling emotions back, bit by bit.

This wasn’t right.

Jiang Qi took a few heavy breaths, pulling his long, slender hand out from under the hem of Zhi Qi’s shirt.

“Sorry.” The boy hugged the girl tightly, pressing Zhi Qi’s head against his chest, whispering softly, “I couldn’t hold back just now.”

Zhi Qi froze, clearly feeling Jiang Qi’s arms around her trembling almost imperceptibly.

“I’m not blaming you,” her voice was a little hoarse as she wrapped her soft arms around his lean waist, muttering honestly, “I just… felt it was too fast, I wasn’t ready… Let’s continue.”

The feeling of kissing was truly wonderful, and the sensations Jiang Qi stirred in her were genuinely wonderful too.

So, after a pause, Zhi Qi overcame her shyness to say the word “continue.” She really did want to experience that feeling of “becoming one” with Jiang Qi.

But Jiang Qi froze for a moment, then couldn’t help but laugh.

He wrapped his long arms around the girl, his rare, hearty laughter causing his chest to vibrate slightly, something Zhi Qi could feel.

The girl pouted, feeling like Jiang Qi was laughing at her, and complained petulantly18, “Why are you laughing at me?”

“Silly.” Jiang Qi reached out in the dark to hold Zhi Qi’s small face, his thumb gently brushing the corner of her lips before he leaned down to kiss her forehead, his expression filled with endless tenderness and affection. He said only that one word, but it spoke volumes.

He didn’t continue—not for any other reason, but because Jiang Qi wasn’t ready to let go.

Though he desperately wanted to “indulge himself,” he hadn’t yet met Zhi Qi’s parents or earned the right to truly have her…

Jiang Qi had always been fiercely independent and rebellious, caring little for the opinions of others.

But when it came to Zhi Qi, he wanted to do things “by the book,” to rightfully claim all of her without fear.

Yet the young girl thought he was being overly cautious.

Zhi Qi helplessly punched Jiang Qi’s chest, muttering sulkily, “What’s the big deal? We’re both adults.”

After the New Year, both she and Jiang Qi were already twenty-two—legally old enough not just to be adults, but even to get married. Yet he was still so hesitant. Could it be…

A sudden thought struck Zhi Qi. Through the faint starlight, she looked up at Jiang Qi’s sharp jawline, her voice soft as she teased, “Are you afraid I won’t take responsibility for you?”

…

Jiang Qi laughed helplessly, “Qiqi, what are you talking about?”

“I’m not talking nonsense.” Zhi Qi smiled, climbing up boldly. In the dim light, the girl pinned Jiang Qi beneath her, straddling his lean waist with her legs spread apart. Her small hands pressed against his chest, keeping him from getting up, as she looked down at him.

Through the transparent tent roof, starlight fell into Jiang Qi’s amber eyes.

Zhi Qi saw the vivid emotions there—shock, confusion, and… an irrepressible desire.

“Jiang Qi, give yourself to me,” the girl said with a laugh, her delicate, fair face flushed with color. Her loose shirt slipped down, revealing most of her pale shoulder, making her look inexplicably like a seductive enchantress.

In Jiang Qi’s eyes, her slender waist twisted lightly under his large hands, enticing like a water snake.

And the “enchantress” leaned down, accurately biting his thin lower lip.

Zhi Qi’s voice was soft and gentle, like an invisible thread weaving into Jiang Qi’s ears, binding his entire being. She said, “I’ll take responsibility for you.”

That sentence was like the final straw that broke the camel’s back.

The boy was already unsteady, restless, his whole being like a furnace in the scorching heat, ready to ignite—and the girl boldly threw a spark into it.

Jiang Qi’s gaze darkened, deep and unfathomable, like a convergence of blazing fire and icy rivers. Then, suddenly, he sprang up like a leopard.

He grabbed the girl’s waist, holding Zhi Qi firmly in his control.

Perhaps it was fate.

This place was a breathtaking scene. If he and Zhi Qi were ready to spend their lives together, destined to belong to each other, this small tent in the vast wilderness might just be the most beautiful place for it.

The air inside the tent grew warm, the atmosphere almost dreamlike, as if shrouded in clouds and mist.

In a daze, Zhi Qi felt like she was being roasted over a fire, unable to stop herself from whimpering and crying.

Ugh! Wu Ying never told her it would hurt this much!

It hurt so bad.

Zhi Qi bit her pale lips, her tearful eyes glaring at Jiang Qi with resentment. The girl’s previously flushed face paled slightly, as if silently complaining: It hurts.

“Be good,” Jiang Qi leaned down slightly, kissing her gently, coaxing her, “It won’t hurt in a bit.”

But his movements only made Zhi Qi cry more pitifully.

Yet through her teary haze, as Jiang Qi drew closer, she finally saw the dense scars covering his body.

Zhi Qi froze, momentarily forgetting the pain.

She knew that without the darkness of the tent, Jiang Qi would never have undressed in front of her, would never have let her see this. But through the starlight… she saw.

Zhi Qi was silent for a long moment before gently kissing him.

With her soft lips, she tenderly kissed each scar, knowing she couldn’t erase these past wounds but unable to stop herself from trying.

And she felt Jiang Qi’s body stiffen for a moment.

“Qiqi, aren’t you afraid?” His cool voice, hoarse from their intimate entanglement, asked, “Don’t you mind?”

Zhi Qi’s chestnut-colored hair was damp with sweat, clinging to her forehead and the slender, elegant curve of her neck.

“No,” her voice was also hoarse, perhaps choked with emotion. Even exhausted, she shook her head wearily, “I don’t mind you…”

How could she ever mind Jiang Qi?

For Zhi Qi, seeing the crisscrossing knife marks and scars on his body only made her want to kiss him—if it could ease his pain and make him a little happier.

By the time they finished that night, just before Zhi Qi drifted off to sleep from exhaustion, she vaguely understood a bit of the “happiness” Wu Ying had mentioned.

The joy of becoming one with the person you love, that refreshing, unparalleled feeling, was entirely different from anything else.

In her drowsy haze, the girl couldn’t help but think back to high school, to a younger, more spirited Jiang Qi.

When they went to the school rooftop together, and he helped her put her fallen shoe back on, the faint flicker in his eyes—Zhi Qi finally understood it now.

Back then, Jiang Qi had looked at her like this.

His gaze held a spark, filled with an insatiable possessiveness.

**It was the look of wanting to “devour you.”

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