Casting Nets to Catch a Husband

Chapter 163: Fatal Attraction

Lu Chengxiao reflected on what had happened that day. How did he lose control? It seemed to be after watching Liu Yu practice her dance.

He thought that all he needed to do was avoid that trigger; after all, he believed he still had self-control.

Today, Lu Chengxiao did indeed avoid watching her. However, when Liu Yu emerged from her bath, he was stunned.

Liu Yu was wearing an inner garment made of silk. Lu Chengxiao recognized the fabric; it was one of the materials that Liu Yanping had purchased in Lin’an. He remembered how the fabric seemed to change colors with every movement, its iridescent sheen so beautiful that Liu Yanping had bought two bolts of it, despite the high price.

The Lu family had always been in the fabric business, so Lu Chengxiao had a deep impression of this material. At the time, he only knew that the fabric was beautiful. But he hadn’t realized that, when made into clothing and worn by Liu Yu, it would look like this…

It wasn’t revealing, yet the way the fabric shimmered as she moved made her appear even more alluring.

Lu Chengxiao quickly averted his gaze, his heartbeat already in disarray.

Why did it feel like self-control was becoming increasingly tenuous?

Liu Yu chuckled quietly but pretended not to notice. She walked toward the bed, then seemed to suddenly remember something. Glancing at Lu Chengxiao, she lightly tapped her forehead. “I almost forgot.”

She turned back to the wardrobe, pulled out a thin blanket, and smiled at Lu Chengxiao. “You should take a bath too.”

Then, she spread out the blanket that they had been sharing, but only took up the inner half of the bed. She placed the newly fetched blanket on the outer half, neatly separating the two.

Lu Chengxiao was stunned. Separate blankets? Isn’t that practically like sleeping in separate beds?

He was bewildered. This wasn’t the time to be avoiding looking at Liu Yu. His anxiety made it impossible to focus on anything else, so he reached over to hold her hand.

“Yu’er, are you really mad at me?”

Liu Yu raised an eyebrow. “What are you thinking? This is for your own good. You’re the one who doesn’t dare touch me, right? We can’t have a repeat of last time, can we?”

She seemed so reasonable and genuinely unbothered.

Lu Chengxiao was still scrutinizing her expression when Liu Yu gently pushed him. “Go wash up and rest. You’ve been traveling nonstop; aren’t you tired?”

And just like that, Lu Chengxiao was pushed into the bathroom.

Liu Yu was always clean and had a habit of bathing daily, so Lu Chengxiao used the water she had left in the tub. But as he remembered how she had looked when she exited the bathroom earlier, his heartbeat quickened again. He didn’t dare dwell on it. For now, he was grateful that Liu Yu had added another blanket. If not, he couldn’t even imagine how things would turn out.

The bathroom had a drain at the bottom of the tub. When you pulled the plug, the water would drain away, eliminating the need to manually pour it out.

When Lu Chengxiao came out after his bath, Liu Yu was already lying down.

He let out a sigh of relief—at least he wouldn’t be tested again tonight.

But just as he relaxed, he noticed the clear separation between the two blankets on the bed. A faint sense of loss crept into his heart.

Two blankets were indeed the best solution. He could stay close to her without the risk of crossing the line. He convinced himself of this as he blew out the candle and climbed into bed.

Yet, once he was under the covers, the emptiness in his arms only intensified his feeling of loss and discomfort.

After all, this was their honeymoon period, and they should be inseparable. If Liu Yu were lying in his arms, he would only have to resist the temptation of her soft, fragrant presence.

But now, despite sharing the same bed, they were physically separated. This created a sense of distance between them, and all the relief he had felt earlier vanished, replaced by a gnawing dissatisfaction that wouldn’t let him rest.

He couldn’t sleep. Even lying down felt uncomfortable.

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Lu Chengxiao could make out the contours of Liu Yu’s face. Perhaps she was tired from the day’s activities, for her eyes were closed, her long lashes gently resting, exuding a soft, tranquil beauty in the dim light.

“Yu’er,” he called her softly.

Liu Yu responded with a gentle hum, opened her eyes, and turned her head to look at him.

Unconsciously, Lu Chengxiao smiled, reaching out to lightly trace her face with his fingertips, following the outline of her features.

From her forehead to her nose, and then down a gentle curve, his finger hadn’t yet reached her lips before Liu Yu’s hand emerged from under the covers, caught his fingertip, and gently moved it away.

“Lu Chengxiao, don’t cross the line.”

Her voice was soft, and the hands holding his were equally soft, gently pulling his hand back over the boundary.

Yes, the two blankets had become an unspoken boundary, as defined by Liu Yu.

Lu Chengxiao felt a headache coming on. “Can I just hold you, please?”

“No.” Liu Yu shook her head decisively. “Did you forget what happened last time?”

Lu Chengxiao had no argument. He wanted to say that it was just holding hands, but last time, things had started with just holding hands…

Liu Yu’s voice was already tinged with weariness. “Go to sleep. I’m really tired, it’s been a long day.”

With that, she turned over, facing away from Lu Chengxiao as she drifted off to sleep.

Lu Chengxiao looked at the wide space between them, enough to fit two more Liu Yus, and felt utterly defeated.

Why did he think moving to the outer side was a good idea?

As Liu Yu’s breathing gradually became steady, Lu Chengxiao found himself unable to sleep.

He had thought that tossing and turning outside the boundary was the hardest part, but it turned out the real challenge was being close enough to pull her into his arms yet being strictly separated by that boundary. And the worst part was, he couldn’t cross it because Liu Yu believed this was exactly what he wanted.

He tried closing his eyes to force himself to sleep, then opened them again to glance at Liu Yu’s sleeping form. He waited, minute after minute, until he was sure she was really asleep. Only then did he dare to extend his hand, hovering it over her shoulder before hesitating and pulling it back.

“Yu’er?”

He called her softly, clearly not wanting to wake her.

He called again, but when she didn’t respond at all, a smile appeared in his eyes. Gently, he lifted his blanket and very carefully pulled back Liu Yu’s blanket, crossing the boundary she had set to slide into her bed.

He glanced at Liu Yu, and seeing her still asleep, his eyes curved with a smile as he gently pulled her into his arms. At that moment, Lu Chengxiao felt so content he nearly sighed.

There were no stray thoughts; just having her in his arms made him feel complete.

He snuggled closer, inhaling the fragrance of her hair, and closed his eyes with satisfaction, never noticing the slight curve of her lips.

~

As the fifth watch of the night passed, Lu Chengxiao woke up right on time.

Sometime during the night, Liu Yu had turned over, and now she was nestled entirely in his arms.

They were entwined, their legs intertwined in an intimate embrace.

Lu Chengxiao only had to lower his head slightly to kiss her forehead, which he did, almost instinctively, still half-asleep.

But as soon as he moved, his breath hitched, and he became acutely aware of something. His body stiffened, and he didn’t dare move.

He wanted to pull back, but he feared waking Liu Yu, so he cautiously tried to retreat.

But after holding her all night, his arm had become her pillow, and now both his arm and half his body were numb. The moment he moved, he let out a small hiss of pain, which caused Liu Yu’s eyelashes to flutter as if she were about to wake up.

Lu Chengxiao froze, not daring to move. But despite his stillness, a certain part of him was not so obedient.

Liu Yu finally woke up. She was groggy for a moment, but when she realized she was practically embedded in Lu Chengxiao’s embrace, and their legs were in a rather suggestive position, she blinked a few times and finally became fully awake.

She looked at Lu Chengxiao, then at the blankets covering them.

Lu Chengxiao, remembering where his hand had landed when he woke up, was convinced he must have wrapped himself around her while half-asleep. His throat bobbed with guilt. “Maybe… I was dreaming.”

Liu Yu noticed his reaction and tried to move away, wanting to put some distance between them.

But as soon as she shifted, Lu Chengxiao’s breathing grew uneven. Liu Yu didn’t dare move any further. She looked up at him. “Lu Chengxiao, are you still willing to wait for me until I’m seventeen?”

“Yes.” His voice was hoarse, and his ears turned visibly red. He quickly grabbed the other blanket, which had been lonely all night, and pulled it over himself, retreating from her side in a hurry, obediently separating their sleeping space again.

Liu Yu couldn’t hold it in any longer and buried her face in the pillow, laughing so hard her shoulders shook.

Lu Chengxiao, embarrassed and annoyed, lifted the blanket and wrapped it around Liu Yu, pulling her, blanket and all, into his arms. “What are you laughing at?”

Of course, she was laughing at how stubborn Lu Chengxiao could be.

But Liu Yu couldn’t say that, so she just laughed until tears filled her eyes.

Lu Chengxiao frowned. “Stop laughing.”

Liu Yu couldn’t help it, but in the next moment, her laughter was abruptly cut off by Lu Chengxiao, who silenced her with a kiss.

Two blankets wrapped around them like a big cocoon around a small one, their breaths mingling. When they finally pulled apart, Lu Chengxiao stared at Liu Yu’s now brightly flushed lips and asked in a raspy voice, “Still laughing?”

This time, Liu Yu was much more obedient. Seeing where Lu Chengxiao’s gaze was fixed, she quickly covered her mouth with her hand and shook her head repeatedly.

“Not laughing anymore.” Her muffled voice leaked out from between her fingers.

Lu Chengxiao’s chest rose and fell, clearly unsatisfied. He leaned in to gently nibble on the fingers she had pressed to her lips. “Don’t tempt me.”

Liu Yu protested, “But I didn’t!”

Last night, she had done it on purpose, but she had only shown him a glimpse. This morning, she hadn’t done anything at all.

Lu Chengxiao’s Adam’s apple bobbed. No, she hadn’t done anything, yet she still had an irresistible pull on him.

Sansukini: Because I’ll be doing other projects, CNCH might go back to its previous schedule, Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

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