Beyond the Rift (Campus 1V1) - 8.

8.

Living in Zong Du’s off-campus house these past few days,

They’ve done everything except penetration.

The locations vary—sometimes on the kitchen counter. She wakes up at midnight to get water, barely pours a glass, and someone embraces her from behind. He’s like a ghost haunting the night. His body is warm. But he makes no sound. His hands slowly slip into her clothes as he holds her.

He favors her br3asts. He kneads them in his hands. With a slight squeeze, she melts into his arms like water.

In the heart of Li City, where every inch of land costs a fortune,

The mansion’s known for burning money by square footage.

It has an extremely minimalist decor style.

The floor-to-ceiling windows face Li City’s iconic building. The glowing commercial tower hides many watching eyes. It makes Ling Jia feel spied upon. She sits on his lap on the sofa. A pink silk ribbon ties her nightdress at the waist. It forms a pretty bow.

His palm slides inside. As if both holding her waist and controlling her balance.

It prevents her from melting completely like softened cream.

Sometimes, she feels Zong Du is on the verge of penetrating her.

The head of his s3x enters her entrance but pulls back.

Her hands clutch a pillow, her breath comes in gasps, sweat glues her hair to her back, and her breathing feels hot and damp.

“So soft.”

His fingers inside her entrance feel an unusual tightness.

For the first time, he wants to taste her. So he makes her lie on the bed.

She thinks it’s over. She bites her lower lip to calm the surging tide within.

But then, warm breath touches the sensitive skin of her inner thighs.

She instinctively tries to close her legs. But he holds them open.

The first place he kissed was her ear.

The second is her thigh.

Or rather, not kissing, but biting,

Like a beast getting intimate with its prey before eating.

As soon as she feels pain, his hand strokes the bitten spot.

“This is beautiful.”

Then takes her hand, intertwining their fingers tightly,

So hard it hurts her knuckles.

She tries to sit up. Her gaze strains downward. But she only sees him lifting his head between her thighs.

Smiling, he asks, 

“How about I take you to get a tattoo? Keep it there forever.”

In moments like this, he usually doesn’t need her answer.

He lowers his head. His tongue is brushing her erect cl!toris.

It carries the same shower gel scent as his body,

But tastes different.

Whether thigh s3x or br3ast s3x,

Zong Du is gentle during every first attempt at these boundary-pushing acts.

Oral s3x is no different. He tries licking. His tongue slowly sweeps over her untouched, beautiful labia.

In a daze, Ling Jia seems to hear him say it’s like kissing.

A kiss between lips and labia. Her body’s reactions are hidden deep within the petals.

Each touch makes the person beneath him tremble,

As if pleading for mercy or craving deeper exploration.

Ling Jia hears the sound of water.

The warming room feels like a summer rain has arrived.

Memories tied to rain are never pleasant.

Li City blatantly favors the rich over the poor.

The paralyzed drainage system in the slums is like a dying elder who won’t pass away. Every rainy day, its function fails catastrophically. Sewage, like wastewater, floods over basement windows. It seeps cunningly through cracks.

The stench of dead fish spreads through the room.

Hidden insects die in the water,

Their bodies washed out by the flood.

At such times, Ling Jia feels the basement is less a home and more a morgue.

But the rain here is different.

She smells only Zong Du’s scent.

The suggestive sound of water makes her glance out the window.

Li City’s night glows with lights. A giant billboard displays the latest idol group’s expensive smiles.

His tongue delves deeper. After she trembles and squirts, he rises. He buries his face in her abdomen.

In a muffled voice, he accuses her, 

“Ling Jia, you’re drowning me.”

Ling Jia often feels this house has magic.

Zong Du becomes a different person once he steps through the door.

He loves playing single-player games. Before, he sat alone on the sofa. Now, after she enters his private domain, she becomes his personal item. He holds her in his arms. He uses her as a comfortable pillow. He leans against her as the screen flashes with bloody, thrilling game scenes. Yet, he looks tired, nestling into her neck. His hands are passing around her waist. They guide her to control the fearless character in the game.

This level of intimacy

Prompts Ling Jia to message Zong Du when she sees the school bulletin board announcing this month’s dance. She asks if he’ll attend.

Zong Du doesn’t reply.

He’s not at school but at Li Jin Vocational High.

Zong Min’en’s transfer procedures are complete. And Zong Chengxun sends Zong Du to Li Jin to bring the frail, helpless young master back to Li City.

In a phone call, Zong Min’en claims a heart condition relapse. He sits on a podium. He’s looking at Zong Du at the classroom door. He then introduces him to the class: 

“Everyone, this is my brother. Doesn’t he seem as approachable as me?”

Zong Min’en has always been a troublemaker.

His mother’s in poor health. She stays abroad for recovery.

His father manages the Zong family’s entertainment industry. He is rarely seen.

Unsupervised, Zong Min’en has followed Zong Du since childhood.

His first spoken word was “brother.” Zong Du’s first word to him was “scram.”

Later, it evolved to “scram farther.”

But this doesn’t dampen Zong Min’en’s enthusiasm for Zong Du.

Smiling, he boards the private plane with Zong Du. He’s sitting beside him. He says, 

“Bro, I saw something interesting at the private hospital recently.”

Zong Du flips a page in his book,

Too lazy to respond.

Zong Min’en doesn’t mind. He continues, 

“But your fiancée is really dumb. How could she kill someone in a hospital? It’s a place for saving lives—what a desecration of white-clad angels.”

The butler assigned to care for Zong Min’en in Li Jin pours him a glass of warm water.

He asks Zong Min’en, 

“Would you like a blanket to rest?”

Zong Min’en takes the water, swirls it in his hand, and says wistfully, 

“Your real intent is to keep me quiet so my brother doesn’t deal with me, right?”

The butler smiles without speaking.

Zong Min’en studies in Li Jin

Because, though he claims it’s a free place to mess around without oversight,

The real reason is he entered Zong Du’s room without permission.

Zong Min’en shrugs, puts on an eye mask,

And sighs wistfully, 

“That deceased woman’s daughter is really pitiful.”

Yan Xue waits two hours at the Zong residence before hearing Zong Du is back.

She stands, smiling. But then she sees Zong Min’en trailing behind Zong Du.

“Ah Du,” 

She calls. She stops Zong Du as he heads upstairs. 

“The school dance is in a few days. You’ll go with me, right?”

Zong Du recalls Ling Jia’s text.

Her intent becomes clear now.

—She doesn’t want Yan Xue to get her way.

This level of manipulation doesn’t bother Zong Du.

He pauses. His gaze coldly lands on Yan Xue.

After a moment, he asks the butler standing ready behind her,

“How did she get in?”

The butler says, 

“Miss Yan arrived this morning. She said she had business with you.”

Yan Xue can’t maintain her composure. Her eyes redden. Her voice is aggrieved: 

“Ah Du, what do you mean… I’m your fiancée…”

Isn’t that obvious?

Zong Min’en sighs. He kindly explains for Zong Du,

“It means you shouldn’t be here. Butler, don’t do this again. You’re not his brother—mistakes aren’t solved by being sent to Li Jin. Don’t let it happen again.”

–

Ling Jia finds the book she needs and heads to the front desk with Yu Yuan when she receives Zong Du’s reply.

It’s brief, just three words.

—No interest. (没兴趣)

Yu Yuan notices Ling Jia lagging behind and turns back. He asks, 

“What’s wrong?”

Ling Jia puts away her phone. She smiles, 

“Just thinking how to turn no interest into interest.”