Chapter 266 - 263: Late-Night Passion

Chapter 266: Chapter 263: Late-Night Passion

Deep in the night, a heavy rain began to fall outside. The dense raindrops hammered down, and the fierce wind occasionally knocked over clothes hangers, washbasins, and toothbrush cups, their clattering sounds quickly drowned out by the howling gales.

Muffled thunder rumbled across the sky, and fleeting flashes of lightning would illuminate the raging, rain-swept night. Outside on the balcony, the trees were whipped back and forth by the wind.

The window had been left open, and a cold spray of rain occasionally misted Jiang Xia’s face. He slowly opened his eyes. His mind cleared for a moment, just in time to hear the distinct clatter of another washbasin hitting the floor out on the balcony.

He turned his head to look out the window, but the sky was as black as ink. He couldn’t see a thing, only hear the howling wind and the torrential downpour.

The windowpane rattled incessantly in the wind. Jiang Xia’s eyes shifted, and he blinked hard before throwing off the covers and getting out of bed. He was only wearing a thin T-shirt and shorts, and he shivered instinctively as the cold draft hit him.

He switched on the balcony light and saw his toiletries scattered across the floor. Outside, the rain was coming down in sheets; it didn’t look like it would let up anytime soon.

The entire balcony was soaked by the blowing rain. He quickly braved the storm to gather his scattered toiletries, then retreated back inside, shutting the door and window tight. Only then did he start to feel a little warmer.

He wiped his face with a towel, climbed back into bed, and pulled the blanket tightly around himself. Just as Jiang Xia was about to close his eyes again, a sudden crash of thunder boomed outside. He could have sworn the entire dorm building trembled slightly.

He couldn’t help but think of his wife, Lin Yanwan. She never slept well during thunderstorms. He wondered if she’d been frightened.

He pulled out his phone to check QQ. It was just past 1 AM, and Lin Yanwan had sent him a crying emoji just a few minutes before.

He smiled to himself. ’So my dear wife really is awake.’

"Scared?" he typed.

Lin Yanwan was huddled completely under her blankets. Outside, there was a cacophony of strange noises. She figured the strong winds were just knocking things over, but she didn’t dare stick her head or even a foot out from under the covers, possessed by the feeling that something terrifying was waiting just beyond them.

The moment she saw Jiang Xia’s QQ avatar light up, an inexplicable sense of peace washed over her.

"You’re awake too?"

"On instinct, I reached over to cover someone’s ears, but I came up empty," Jiang Xia couldn’t resist typing teasingly.

Ever the quick-thinker, he certainly wasn’t going to admit that he’d been woken up by the cold rain.

A sweet feeling blossomed in Lin Yanwan’s heart as she read his words. ’I can’t believe he remembers little things like that.’ Whenever there was a thunderstorm, the only way she could sleep peacefully was by snuggling tightly in his arms.

A random thought suddenly popped into her head. ’If we had our own apartment, he could be holding me right now, and I wouldn’t be scared at all.’

"That last thunderclap was so loud," she texted back.

"Yeah, I felt the whole dorm building shake. I was just wondering if you were scared, and then I saw your message."

The corners of Lin Yanwan’s lips turned up slightly. ’What do you call this? This is that telepathic connection between a husband and wife. How else could we have woken up one right after the other?’

"Mhm, I woke up not long after the storm started. I’ve been hiding under the covers ever since."

Jiang Xia chuckled softly, picturing Lin Yanwan curled up in a ball on her side. ’That position is much better suited for my arms,’ he thought. ’We’d fit together perfectly.’

"Why didn’t you call me if you were so scared?"

"Well, you’re awake now anyway, even though I didn’t call, aren’t you?" Lin Yanwan replied, a hint of smugness in her tone.

Even Jiang Xia had to admit that they were in perfect sync in so many ways.

Perhaps it was because their love had grown over time, causing things like their biological magnetic fields and brainwaves to overlap. In short, it was like they had telepathy; no matter how far apart they were physically, their hearts were always drawn to one another.

"Alright, next time I’ll just pretend I didn’t see your message and wait for you to call me, heh~"

"You wouldn’t dare!"

"Hugs, wifey~"

"Hugs~"

"Kisses, wifey~"

"Kisses~"

"Wifey~"

Lin Yanwan: "?"

"Oh? You didn’t take the bait?"

Lin Yanwan gritted her teeth. ’This guy gets cocky after just a few exchanges.’

"Hubby~ I miss youuu~ I’m so scared right now~ Can you come and protect me?"

Jiang Xia: "???"

He felt a massive headache coming on. ’She knows I can’t possibly run over to her dorm building right now. Is she doing this on purpose to tempt me?’

"You just wait! We’ll see how cocky you are tomorrow!"

Seeing him get all flustered, his composure completely broken, Lin Yanwan almost laughed out loud under her blankets. ’If only I had a smartphone right now,’ she thought, ’I’d send him a few sweet, coquettish voice messages.’

How could a young man in his prime like Jiang Xia possibly withstand such provocation?

"Feeling frustrated, honey?~"

Jiang Xia: "..."

He took a deep breath. "Stop. Change of subject."

’Damn it.’ He surrendered. It’s not like he could go take a cold shower in the middle of a storm. ’Any scores to settle will have to wait until morning,’ he resolved.

Lin Yanwan, for her part, just let out a soft "hmph." ’That’ll teach him for being so improper all the time. What else is he good for, besides finding new ways to take advantage of me?’

After she calmed down, the glow from her phone screen revealed a faint blush spreading across her cheeks.

She would never normally talk to Jiang Xia like that. But now, in the dead of night, with the wind, rain, thunder, and lightning raging outside, her feelings for him were unconsciously magnified.

The result was that Jiang Xia was left feeling frustrated, and she, clutching her blankets tightly, was just as frustrated. It was a classic case of injuring the enemy by a thousand while taking eight hundred in losses.

But it was only at a time like this that she dared to talk tough with Jiang Xia. By tomorrow, he would surely get his revenge. For some reason, she found herself faintly looking forward to it.

To the accompaniment of occasional rumbles of thunder, the two chatted as they always did. They had managed to switch to a more serious topic, but at some point, their conversation had once again drifted into flirtatious territory.

They were like a deeply loving couple whispering sweet nothings to each other in the night, but their words were met not with passionate intimacy, but with an endless, unfulfilled longing.

"Ugh! Stop it! Don’t say another word! I’m going to sleep! Good night!"

She glanced at the time—it was already almost 4 AM. While chatting with him, Lin Yanwan had completely forgotten it was even storming outside.

As she reread the words Jiang Xia had sent, her face flushed a deep crimson.

Finally, after what felt like a long time, the phone slipped silently from her hand. As if completely drained of energy, she closed her eyes, no longer caring about the downpour outside, and fell into a deep, heavy sleep.