When She Stops Being Dramatic

Chapter 235: Chapter 97: The Top Star of the 1960s Song and Dance Troupe (36)

As she said this, she let out a theatrical sigh. ”Brother Hao, it’s lonely at the top. You need a little something to spice up life.”

Huo Tianhao saw she truly hadn’t taken the previous incident to heart and smiled, pecking her on the cheek. The sound was so loud it seemed to silence the summer insects for a full half-minute.

Xia Zhaoyun bit her lip and lightly pounded his chest. ”We—we’re in public!”

Huo Tianhao found her rare, demure display endearing. He recalled how her recent fibs had made him practically steam with frustration, and he couldn’t resist teasing her. ”So, Xiaxia, does that mean I can have my way with you as long as we’re behind closed doors?”

After all, a husband and wife—especially a couple deeply in love—were supposed to be as intimate as one.

While that was true, hearing it said so bluntly was mortifying. Even Xia Zhaoyun couldn’t stop herself from pushing him away and storming off, her head lowered in a flurry of embarrassment and indignation.

Huo Tianhao let out a low chuckle and quickly caught up, taking her hand. The two continued their leisurely stroll home, walking side-by-side through the patches of dim, yellow light.

”I have to go on a trip down south tomorrow morning. Is there anything you want me to bring back for you?” he asked, his voice tinged with reluctance.

Xia Zhaoyun froze. She knew he often traveled for work, but with their relationship finally heating up, there was a world of difference between not seeing him while he was in the same city and him being away on a business trip.

She shook her head and looped her arm through his, clinging to him like a kitten, a mixture of playfulness and affection in her voice. ”No, nothing. The best gift you could give me is coming back safe and sound, Tianhao.”

Huo Tianhao felt her soft curves press against him, and a familiar heat immediately surged through his body.

He was exasperated with himself. He’d always been a man of immense self-control, yet now, before they’d even truly begun, his mind was already running wild, constantly consumed with thoughts of how to devour her whole.

The passions of a man in his twenties were a formidable force.

His voice grew husky. ”Sweetheart, you should be a little more willful. Don’t be so obedient and understanding. I’m afraid you’ll spoil me, and I’ll start taking you for granted. Then someday, I’ll lose you and never be able to find you again.”

”People can’t always control their worst impulses. I don’t even know what kind of man I’ll be tomorrow.”

Xia Zhaoyun tilted her head in confusion. ”Most men want their wives to be gentle and sweet. You’re the only one who wants me to be willful and cause trouble. Does this mean it’s true what they say, that men only love ’bad’ women?”

’I never knew you were into this sort of thing, Brother Hao!’

Huo Tianhao smiled and flicked her forehead, then began to earnestly lecture her on the art of handling him. ”Sweetheart, if you’re obedient, well-behaved, and understanding from the very beginning, I’ll subconsciously assume that’s just your personality. Then, if you suddenly act willful one day, I might find it refreshing at first. But once the novelty wears off, I’ll start to feel uncomfortable. I’ll think you’re being inconsiderate and wish you’d go back to being the ’good’ girl you were before.”

”Your little fits of pique, a perfectly normal part of being a woman, would become a fatal flaw in my eyes.”

”But what if it’s the other way around? What if you’re usually a handful, bossing me around and making me go through hell and high water for you? Then, if you’re occasionally nice to me, wouldn’t I be so overjoyed I’d want to throw a parade?”

Xia Zhaoyun couldn’t help but laugh, but as she mulled over his words, she realized he had a point.

But then her smile softened. ”But Brother Hao, I feel like life hasn’t been easy for either of us. We’ve never gotten to properly experience the warmth of a real family. I can’t bear to cause trouble for you. I can’t bear to disrupt the warm, simple peace we have right now.”

”Do you think you’ll get tired of me one day? For being... well, for being kind of boring?”

Her words tugged at Huo Tianhao’s heart. He pulled her into the deep shadow of a nearby wall, wrapping an arm around her and pressing a tender kiss to her forehead. ”Silly girl. I’m the one who’s afraid. Afraid that I won’t be good enough for you, that one day I’ll make you so angry you’ll leave me for good.”

They were both so careful, so guarded with their feelings. The passion stirring between them had no outlet, so they could only gaze at each other, mesmerized, wishing they could engrave this moment into their very souls.

The residential compound, especially the section for the factory’s management, was situated on the edge of the factory grounds. It was normally a ten-minute bike ride, but they had been so absorbed in each other they hadn’t even noticed the walk, and now they were already standing outside the compound gate.

Huo Tianhao gave her a restrained kiss, a brief touch of his lips against hers. ”Go on inside. I need to get back, too. I have to report for assembly at five in the morning.”

Xia Zhaoyun pouted and threw herself into his arms. Her thin summer blouse clung to her, outlining every soft, beautiful curve of her body. She was a spark landing on dry tinder.

A vein throbbed on Huo Tianhao’s forehead. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists, his voice a low, frustrated growl. ”Woman, are you trying to get me to take you right here, right now?”

”On this trip, besides the usual factory tasks, I’m also making a few extra stops to hand over my old duties. After this, I’ll be a technician at the factory. I’ll be able to come see you every day.”