Chapter 579: Chapter 579: Have You Lost Your Passion for Me?

Chatting and laughing on the phone was really energetic, but when Xie Qingci finally wrapped up filming and came home, Yu Xia found herself with nothing much to say.

She just simply said, "You’re back," then opened the door to let him in and very politely poured him a glass of water.

It felt like receiving a guest at home. Maybe because the time they spent apart wasn’t too long nor too short, it created a brief sense of unfamiliarity?

Not having seen each other for a month, whether it’s because he focused on building muscle during filming or not, this time he returned wearing a long coat, exuding an even stronger sense of presence. Compared to the door frame height when he walked in, it kind of felt like a sinister murderer with ill intentions had entered.

Sitting on the sofa, his presence was too strong to ignore. He kept watching her while pushing his suitcase and taking off his coat, which made her want to do something else, but she couldn’t help but keep an eye on his movements from the corner of her eye.

Yu Xia felt embarrassed by her own thoughts, shook her head, and walked towards the kitchen, preparing to fetch some washed fruit.

Before stepping out of the living room, she was hugged from behind.

Xie Qingci had taken off his coat, leaving only a black turtleneck sweater. As he buried his head against her, the sweater brushed against her neck, ticklish.

"What, don’t you recognize me?" he kissed her ear, "You’re not enthusiastic at all. I thought you’d jump up and give me a passionate kiss."

That weird sense of unfamiliarity disappeared in an instant.

Yu Xia turned her head to avoid his breath, her hand unconsciously resting on the arm wrapped around her waist.

"I thought you’d pounce on me as soon as I opened the door, but I’ve been waiting for ages and nothing, shouldn’t I say you lack enthusiasm?"

"I’m not enthusiastic?" he directly picked her up, his arms more powerful than before, turning her around to place her on the kitchen counter, saying at eye-level, "How about some enthusiasm?"

Without waiting for her response, he pinched her chin and kissed her.

Yu Xia’s hands climbed onto his shoulders as she closed her eyes and kissed him back.

In the quiet afternoon, the sunlight only spread halfway across the living room. Behind the frosted glass doors of the kitchen, the indistinct figures entwined.

The kiss made her legs weak, and Xie Qingci let go of her, exhaling two deep breaths, his gaze falling on a plate of fruit next to her.

Before Yu Xia could react, a winter jujube was stuffed into her mouth.

Crunchy and sweet, it was quite delicious; she’d been eating a lot of them recently.

She pushed the fruit plate towards him, speaking with the jujube in her mouth, words somewhat muffled, "You should eat some too, they’re quite sweet."

Xie Qingci didn’t even glance at the plate of fruit, just stared straight at her.

"Really? I want to taste the one you just ate."

"..." Still the same pervert, hasn’t changed a bit.

The simple act of eating fruit turned into a couple’s game, and it wasn’t until Xie Qingci had had enough of the sweet taste that he stopped reluctantly.

"It really is sweet," his voice turned deeper, "Should we buy some to take back?"

They had agreed to set off for his home the next day.

Yu Xia gave him an obvious eye-roll.

"Take them back for what? To eat in front of your parents like that?"

"Hmm, we can do it secretly when they’re not around."

She slapped his hand away, "Cut it out, my image is elegant and poised. Don’t involve me in any nonsense."

Xie Qingci sighed regretfully, picked her up, and carried her back to the living room sofa, burying his head in her, taking a deep breath.

"You smell so nice, I really missed you."

"I missed you too," she quickly said, as if it scalded her, and immediately followed up with the next sentence, "Do you want to see photos of the little cub?"

"Sure."

She took out her treasured photos and showed them to him.

"He’s turned fairer, very cute, like a little girl. Yue treats him as a sister."

"He does look nice," Xie Qingci nuzzled her head, suddenly calling out, "Little Cub. Hmm, he’s indeed kind of cute."

Yu Xia: "..."

She intended to nip his bizarre fascination in the bud and earnestly told him:

"You’re younger than me, you’re the little brother. If anyone should be calling ’Little Cub,’ it should be me calling you. But that indeed sounds like calling a son or a pet dog, so if you like, I’ll give you a nickname that suits your name better, like Little Qing, how about that? You call me once, and I’ll call you Little Qing once."

"... I think ’Sister’ is quite nice." Especially in bed.

Thank him for being able to accept Hong Hong, but Little Qing is really a no-go for him.

In part, it felt like the White Lady calling her younger sister, and in part like a bald professor calling on a student, overall just impossible to accept.

Yu Xia chuckled and continued showing him photos of the little cub.

The pictures kept sliding, and before she knew it, the last child photo passed, revealing a body check-in photo.

Taken after yoga practice in front of the mirror, she wasn’t wearing much, deliberately highlighting her figure to compare with earlier photos.

He knew she regularly recorded her physique, nothing new. Yu Xia was about to slide back, but Xie Qingci stopped her hand.

"This one looks better than the little cub. Has there been a change?" he said nonchalantly.

"What change?" Her weight hadn’t changed, nor had her body fat percentage. Her belly felt looser than before, perhaps from staying home recently, could he have noticed such subtle changes?

He pointed vaguely at the upper half of the photo.

"Is it thanks to me?"

"... You’re imagining things."

She quickly retracted her phone, exiting the photo gallery.

"Now I’m revoking your photo-viewing privileges, hurry and pack up, weren’t we leaving at noon tomorrow? I don’t want to rush in the morning."

Xie Qingci shrugged, leaned back on the sofa, half-lidded eyes watching her.

"Sister, I may not have the credit, but I have the toil, right? One more kiss?"

"Kiss your big head. Go pack!"

He still lazed around: "I’ll just push that suitcase back, no need to pack. The gifts we bought are already here, we can just grab them and go."

Yu Xia kicked at him.

"I mean my stuff."

He raised an eyebrow, sat up, and grabbed her ankle.

"Helping you pack? Okay, come, give me a kiss."

Her ankle trapped in his hand, it was as if he held some leverage. Yu Xia "reluctantly" kissed him.

Then as expected, she was pounced on and kissed thoroughly.

After collecting enough interest, he headed into the bedroom, like a diligent husband, pulling open the wardrobe door and scanning the vanity.

"So, what do you want to take? You say it and I’ll get it. Or should I decide for you?"

"Better not."

If he decided, who knows what inappropriate things he might pack, imagine taking them out in front of his parents, it’d be utterly embarrassing.

Xie Qingci snorted a laugh through his nose, lifted his chin slightly, "Don’t you trust me? I’m trying to promote a friendly meet-and-greet between my girlfriend and parents, not a private trip, I can distinguish the priorities."

With that, he firmly decided he’d help make the decisions.

Yu Xia’s lips curled into a slight smile, which quickly disappeared as she lightly said, "You start packing, I’ll check if it’s okay later." 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

College boys, generally, aren’t they just big puppies eager to prove themselves?