Chapter 45: The Husband’s Charm (Part 1)

Qiao Yanli, in the eyes of Xia Yanxi, was a mysterious, enigmatic, and dangerous person.

To be completely honest, the man, given his attractiveness, could simply pick up any girl if he wanted to. With that thought in mind, having him with her, to stay by her side, taking responsibility after a certain event, was an act that deserved an applause. A man such as him was rare these days.

She knew herself all too well, what charm or attractiveness did she have? She was but a young student who had only recently hit twenty years of age. She was without a solid job nor a prominent enough background. While she was a blank paper that had been torn here and there, the man was the complete opposite. One look and one could tell that he was an elite in the corporate world, a success amongst the still thriving. His confidence, the kind of elegance that he was exuding the entire time, was unlike any other man of his age she had seen.

“Mrs. Qiao. I am going to leave you be. Make use of the restroom while you can,” said Qiao Yanli as his enormous structure left like the wind, leaving the Mrs. Qiao to stare at his shadow, spellbounded.

“Second Brother, you sure do know how to deal with things quickly. I’d say maybe even faster than me when I popped my cherry at sixteen years of age. Hahahaha!”

The moment the door was shut, Chu Muzhi’s ungentleman-like words were heard. Naturally, she was embarrassed about the ordeal.

Not knowing what Qiao Yanli retorted in response, Xia Yanxi turned to face the mirror, only to see a woman’s face that had a glowing radiance. Her skin was smooth yet glistening at the same time. She took a good look at herself in the mirror, seeing the reflection of herself, lips puckered and pink, it was unlike what she remembered of herself. It felt as if the woman in the mirror was different!

***

As she left the restroom, she was greeted with silence as all the men were sitting around a square table playing Mahjong. While the other three men had women by their side, only Qiao Yanli was sitting alone at one side of the four-sided table. His left hand was holding a lit cigar and his right was breezing across the arranged line of tiles. Without even looking at them, he could tell which tile he was picking out from the line. The way he picked out the “Five Eye” tile and hurled it across the table made Xia Yanxi involuntarily fix her sight on him.

A confident man did not need to do anything extra to draw the attention of others, especially those who were women! She had never seen anyone play Mahjong with such grace.

Qiao Yanli saw the spellbounded Xia Yanxi and gestured to her, saying, “Yanxi, would you like to have a go?”

Xia Yanxi shook her head and pointed toward the sofa as she paced there.

“I would have to decline that offer. I’m going for a quick rest there,” said Xia Yanxi. It was but a simple rejection, nothing to be interpreted from there. Yet, all eyes were locked on her. The room became silent and the atmosphere changed. Seeing as there was still moisture present on the corner of her eyes, and the blemished redness on her lips, the atmosphere changed again, this time, to that of indecent thoughts.

Chu Muzhi especially was louder then others. He smiled and even chuckled suggestively.

“Oh dear, Sister-In-Law, please take some rest. We understand. Even though Second Brother might not have lasted long, the man is rather well-endowed when it comes to that part of him. A person as soft and sweet as you must surely be in so much pain…”

Xia Yanxi cocked her head, trying to understand what he was trying to convey. At that moment she understood those underlying words, her face turned bright red, like a cooked lobster. Her flustered reaction only made things worse. Everyone started to have images appearing in their heads, and the look in their eyes gave them away.

“Please don’t simply say things like that… I… We didn’t do anything in there…”

Chu Muzhi turned to her, resting his chin on his palm while arching an eyebrow. He was expressing his disbelief and oh so blatantly even.

“Nothing? Well then, that must mean a quick blow!”

Everyone burst out laughing.

If her face could get any redder, it would. As she combed her hair back furiously, she glared once at Chu Muzhi who was laughing the hardest, and glared at the man that was quiet. Sulking, she said, “You could at least say something!”

Qiao Yanli brought the cigar to his lips and after puffing a good amount of smoke, he said, smiling clearly this time, “It’s just a kiss.”

“Second Brother, even if it were just a kiss, for someone that has never kissed a girl before, you need to at least be more gentle! Aww… Look at her lips… they are sore all over… Such a waste! How could you not appreciate such a fine jade!”

Xia Yanxi was utterly speechless. She had no idea how she would face such a rapscallion.