Chapter 9 Change to a Proper Relationship

...

When they came out of the academic building, it was already evening.

Shi Sui walked slowly down the steps.

Normally, she might try every means to escape, but not today – the task Song Jie had assigned her wasn't completed yet.

Shi Sui sighed silently to herself, found an excuse to let her roommates leave first, and circled back to the back door alone.

The after-class rush hour had passed, and only occasional figures could be seen at the back door.

Shi Sui walked through the gate, standing behind tall plants, looking around.

Until someone wrapped an arm around her waist from behind, the forearm with distinct joints and visible tendons, firmly controlling her.

He bent his neck, his light breath spraying behind her ear.

Shi Sui's eyelashes trembled.

She lowered her voice: "We're still outside, let go."

"No one can see." He said indifferently.

Shi Sui avoided his breathing, her eyes still looking around, her whole body highly tense.

"But there are surveillance cameras."

"Don't you like it?"

"..." Shi Sui tried to pry his fingers apart, "Who would like this?!"

"Really?"

"I thought," Yan Tingli laughed in her ear, "you liked this sneaky feeling."

"..."

At this moment, footsteps came from the spiral staircase not far away. Just one more turn and they would see them.

She didn't dare to bet that they didn't know Yan Tingli.

"Someone's coming!" Shi Sui anxiously pushed him, "Let go of me quickly."

Yan Tingli frowned with impatience. As soon as his hand loosened, Shi Sui took the opportunity to run to the side, smoothing the hair by her ear, looking natural like a random passerby.

The person indeed knew Yan Tingli well and specifically greeted him.

Shi Sui's legs moved quickly, walking farther and farther away.

Yan Tingli narrowed his eyes.

The gaze from behind pierced like needles, making her somewhat afraid. She paused, grinding her toes on the spot, appearing restless.

"Senior?" The junior felt Yan Tingli's absent-mindedness and hesitated. He originally just wanted to get closer, hoping to curry favor for future benefits.

"Anything else?"

"No, nothing."

Yan Tingli stopped talking, the languid meaning in his expression already obvious.

No one wanted to invite more snubs: "...Then I'll go first, goodbye senior."

Yan Tingli's footsteps approached again.

Shi Sui's heart was suspended, afraid he would do something inappropriate again.

"I don't have the interest in kissing you in public places yet."

When Yan Tingli passed by, brushing her shoulder, he left behind a sarcastic remark.

He entered the elevator.

Shi Sui was left with his sarcasm, too angry to let it go, following a meter behind: "Then you better never kiss me again if you have the guts."

"Ding" – they reached the basement parking garage.

As soon as Shi Sui stood steady, she was pulled by the wrist and dragged into the back seat of a car. The parking garage was almost empty – few students had cars, and even fewer could drive into the academic building.

"I don't have the guts."

"?" Shi Sui hadn't reacted yet.

Yan Tingli pressed the back of her head, his lips and teeth grinding against a piece of flesh on her side neck.

Shi Sui hissed in pain.

If she remembered correctly, he had bitten the same spot the night before last, and the mark hadn't faded yet.

"Yan Tingli, stop biting! Are you a dog?!"

"Good."

"Good what?" Shi Sui pinched his arm. Why won't he let go!

"Being a dog." Yan Tingli sucked and licked, creating a tingling sensation. Shi Sui's whole body felt electrified. Hearing what he said, she was stunned for a moment.

She could hardly believe he could be this shameless.

"You're sick, you're perverted." She scolded.

The skin on her neck was being caressed by him. Even as she scolded him, he laughed with pleasure.

He was impervious to reason, so Shi Sui simply closed her eyes and played dead.

In an instant, he straightened up with his hand around her waist, and suddenly, close to her ear, asked: "Did my roommate with glasses touch you?"

"No." Shi Sui thought he was being baselessly jealous again, "Wasn't he pulled back by you?"

"I know."

He kissed her cheek once, like a reward.

Shi Sui was completely confused until she heard Yan Tingli say casually, "I remembered wrong – he wasn't wearing glasses today."

Several seconds passed.

She finally slowly understood Yan Tingli's meaning, and fine goosebumps suddenly rose on her back.

-He was testing her, whether she had seen other men's faces.

As for why he asked about this roommate, she wasn't sure.

"I'm very happy today."

Shi Sui: "...Huh?"

She often couldn't understand Yan Tingli's thought processes.

"Coming here, were you looking for me?" He played with a strand of hair by her ear.

"I came here for class." Shi Sui originally wanted to explain she hadn't come specifically to find him, but remembering Song Jie's request, she changed her tone, "But I did want to find you too."

Yan Tingli's response was to lean his profile against hers from behind, nuzzling her.

Every moment of intimacy with him at school made Shi Sui feel at a loss, even in the car.

She slightly moved her face away and finally spoke the lines she had rehearsed for a long time: "Where did you go yesterday anyway? Why didn't you answer my calls?"

Shi Sui never proactively asked about his whereabouts.

Yan Tingli was silent for a moment.

Suddenly, he said, "Who told you to ask?"

Shi Sui's heart jumped violently, almost thinking he could read minds.

"Zhou Xuyan?" Yan Tingli's tone was cold. "What does she want to find out?"

"No, she didn't ask!"

Yan Tingli looked at her with lowered eyelids.

Seeing he was just routinely inquiring, Shi Sui regained confidence and raised her voice: "Can't I ask what you're doing?"

Yan Tingli was silent longer this time than before.

Just as Shi Sui's heart was jumping up and down, suddenly, another gentle kiss fell on her cheek.

Like a lingering feather.

Shi Sui's eyelashes fluttered: "...Why are you kissing me again?"

"Commemoration."

"Commemorating what?"

"The first time you've controlled me."

Shi Sui lowered her head and muttered, "Do you like being controlled?"

He laughed slowly: "That depends on who's doing the controlling."

Shi Sui felt something wasn't quite right.

After a long while, she suppressed this strange feeling and changed the subject: "So what did you go do?"

He seemed particularly patient today, willing to participate in this boring conversation.

"I went back to the Yan house." He said, "Had dinner with them."

"Oh," Shi Sui said, "I know about that."

"Professor Su's family was also at the table, including Su Han," Yan Tingli paused, "You know about that too?"

Shi Sui wanted to pretend she didn't know, but unfortunately, people who aren't good at lying can't even pretend. She could only say hesitantly: "I heard you mention it on the phone."

"You eavesdropped on my phone call?" Yan Tingli's voice slightly rose, carrying indescribable meaning.

"I wasn't eavesdropping." Shi Sui cleared her name, "I accidentally overheard."

"Mm, accidentally."

"It was accidental," Shi Sui's face grew hotter, "Stop kissing me." He was kissing while talking, like petting a cat, pressing against her cheek to kiss.

"I won't have any relationship with Su Han." Yan Tingli suddenly said in her ear.

Each word is clear, more intimate than pillow talk.

The temperature in the car kept rising.

What she asked wasn't about Su Han, but the situation still developed uncontrollably this way.

Shi Sui pinched her palm, barely calming down: "Actually, that's not what I was asking about."

After speaking, she felt Yan Tingli's gaze fixed on her face, and the temperature cooled somewhat.

That ambiguous atmosphere seemed to be burst by an invisible needle.

"After dinner, where exactly did you go? You even got caught in the rain." Shi Sui jumped away from the previous topic, guiding further, "Did something happen?"

Shi Sui's heartbeat accelerated.

And Yan Tingli's pause was longer than any before.

"Ran away from home."

Shi Sui: "Did you...fight with Uncle Yan and them?"

Yan Tingli lowered his brows: "Mm, they want to kick me out of the house."

Shi Sui's eyes widened: "That can't be possible."

"It's true." He said seriously, "I can only elope with you."

Shi Sui couldn't come back to her senses for a long time, her expression tangled.

Song Jie hadn't told her any of this!

"Then," she stammered, going with the flow, "then you should call Aunt Song back and apologize."

Yan Tingli lifted his eyelids, glancing at her.

This glance made Shi Sui evasively look away, her fingers unconsciously circling.

Of course, she didn't dare say it was Song Jie's assigned task, instinctively feeling Yan Tingli wouldn't comply.

"Why should I apologize?"

Shi Sui was stunned.

Yan Tingli's voice sounded cold: "You don't know the inside story, yet you want me to apologize?"

Realizing her mistake, Shi Sui said hesitantly: "...Sorry."

Yan Tingli: "I didn't ask you to apologize."

Shi Sui suddenly didn't know what else to say.

She regretted not trying harder to find excuses to refuse Song Jie.

After a few seconds of silence, "Then let's not talk about this anymore."

Suddenly, Yan Tingli's phone rang.

Shi Sui saw – it was Song Jie.

He did not react, as if he didn't see it, and didn't answer.

With the previous experience, Shi Sui didn't speak up to ask.

But unexpectedly, as soon as Yan Tingli's ringtone stopped, her phone in her bag started ringing continuously.

Shi Sui's expression changed.

Her eyes couldn't hide things. Almost as soon as the ringtone started, she began to nervously and uncontrollably panic.

"Might be a spam call." She hurriedly went to hang up her bag.

Before she could touch it, her phone was pulled out first by Yan Tingli. He held it high, glancing at it.

A short snort came from his throat.

Yan Tingli slid his finger and answered. There was no expression on his face.

Shi Sui's heart almost jumped out, frantically trying to snatch it.

Yan Tingli held her arm with one hand while speaking to the other end: "There's only one reason I don't answer calls – because I don't want to. Finding anyone else is useless."

"As for what you're worried about, I can give you an accurate answer, too. I heard it, heard it very clearly."

"If you miss Yan Congjin, North Suburb Cemetery number 089, you can visit him anytime."

After speaking, he hung up the phone and casually threw it on the seat cushion.

Only silence remained in the car.

Knowing Yan Tingli dared to say anything, she hadn't expected him to be this audacious.

...What an unfilial son.

His gaze turned to her. She would be next, and Shi Sui didn't know what expression to put on.

Yan Tingli was too smart. Such small tricks couldn't fool him – he could see through them at a glance.

Yan Tingli also didn't speak.

His long eyelashes dropped, and the warm light in his eyes also disappeared.

Suddenly he laughed: "No wonder." The mockery in his tone almost overflowed: "Usually can't wait to run away."

Shi Sui's voice was very low: "...I just didn't know how to refuse Aunt Song."

"Not curious?"

"About what?" Shi Sui didn't understand.

Yan Tingli slightly tilted his head, his brows cool as water: "Like asking me who Yan Congjin is. You don't look surprised."

Shi Sui's expression stiffened almost imperceptibly, then quickly covered it up.

Yan Tingli let out a cold laugh: "Zhou Xuyan has quite some nerve."

"No, it wasn't her, she didn't say anything." Shi Sui hurriedly cleared her friend of responsibility.

His eyebrow arched with more sarcasm: "Seems you do know."

"..."

Yan Tingli was cunning and scheming. She too easily fell into his traps.

The more she said, the more mistakes she made. Shi Sui simply shut her mouth.

For quite a while.

Yan Tingli didn't make another sound.

Thinking he was brewing some big move, Shi Sui held her breath and secretly glanced at him, slightly stunned.

Yan Tingli only showed him her profile.

His eyelashes pressed low, his expression unclear.

She couldn't fathom anything, yet Shi Sui felt a kind of cold, lonely fragility.

But it was only momentary, so fast it seemed like an illusion.

Yan Tingli turned his face toward her, back to his usual indifferent attitude: "What's that expression?"

Shi Sui was stunned.

"Pitying me?"

"No, I-"

"Do I need it?"

Shi Sui paused for two seconds, understanding the meaning of his words.

...Just now was indeed an illusion.

Right.

With his top-tier life, getting whatever he wanted, where would he need her pity?

Though Shi Sui was indignant, her heart strangely relaxed somewhat. She muttered quietly: "Then I'll take it back."

"Who gave you permission to take it back?"

Shi Sui:?

Yan Tingli expressionlessly pulled her back onto his lap, moving up, spreading her legs apart.

Shi Sui was wearing a pleated skirt today, with only a thin layer of stockings underneath.

"Pitying it would also work," Yan Tingli leaned close to her ear, saying in a low voice, "Haven't tried it in a car yet."

The hair on Shi Sui's neck stood up as she cursed: "You pervert, this is school!"

Yan Tingli glanced out the window: "Should I drive the car home then?"

"That's not okay either!"

Yan Tingli was noncommittal, playing with a strand of her hair.

Not mentioning this matter again, he asked methodically: "Let me guess, Zhou Xuyan told you yesterday?"

Shi Sui: "..."

He used a casual conversational tone: "Randomly telling my business, did she think about the consequences?"

"No..." Shi Sui had to cover for her best friend to the end: "I was the one who insisted on asking."

Yan Tingli leaned close, his hand resting on her leg, his breath very light:

"Knowing so much is very dangerous."

Shi Sui stopped his hand from going further, "Just pretend I don't know. I won't talk randomly."

Yan Tingli laughed.

"No good." He said, "Knowing is knowing."

Regarding deliberately inquiring about Yan Tingli's privacy, Shi Sui also felt somewhat guilty.

"What exactly do you want?"

He slowly traced circles on her knee: "What's our relationship?"

"What else could it be," Shi Sui said petulantly, "an improper relationship!"

"Then let's change it to proper."

Shi Sui's pupils slightly dilated, her eardrums vibrating: "What kind of proper...relationship?"

Yan Tingli's tone seemed casual, "If you're my girlfriend, I don't mind you knowing so much."