Innocence

Jiang Ye and Gu Tuantuan entered the empty apartment. The door closed softly behind them.

The living room was completely dark. Gu Tuantuan turned on the lights. She handed Jiang Ye a pair of large slippers and said, “Wait here, I’ll go get the disinfectant.”

She quickly scurried off. It was just the two of them in an empty house. The realization of that made her heart thump wildly. There was an inexplicable tightness in her chest—it was a new sensation she had never felt before.

Jiang Ye changed his shoes and sat down on a plain-looking chair. Tilting his head to the side, he gingerly touched the red welt on his neck. He hissed through his teeth at the stinging pain. How many hits did they land with those goddamn stick things? His neck and shoulders had taken the brunt of the blows.

He didn’t actually know how to fight. He had never taken any martial arts classes. During the brawl, he used pure, brute strength to overwhelm his opponents.

At the time he didn’t notice any pain, but now that the adrenaline had worn off…

“Stop touching it. What if it gets infected?”

Gu Tuantuan returned with the first aid kit. There were jars of various ointments and balms spilling out of the box.

She set the hefty box down on the floor and pulled out a bottle of saline solution and some sterile cotton buds. After soaking a cotton bud in the solution, she gently patted it over the scratch above Jiang Ye’s brow.

Fortunately, the wound wasn’t as bad as it looked.

“Doctor Gu, am I still pretty?” Jiang Ye pouted and batted his lashes at her.

Gu Tuantuan rolled her eyes. She couldn’t deal with his shenanigans right now. After the wound was thoroughly cleaned, she took out a new cotton bud and soaked it in an iodine solution. She lightly applied it all over the wounded area.

The girl moved closer to examine her handiwork. A few strands of her hair brushed against Jiang Ye’s face and tickled his cheek.

Her lips were right at Jiang Ye’s eye level. They were pressed into a thin line as she concentrated.

The two were so close, if he tilted his head up at the right angle, their lips would meet.

Jiang Ye’s eyes darkened.

“Stop moving!”

Gu Tuantuan warned him sternly. She nearly just stabbed him in the eye with the tweezers holding the cotton bud!

It took multiple applications and reapplications of the iodine solution before she was finally satisfied. Next, she turned her attention to the welts that could be seen under the collar of his shirt. She paused to gather herself, then said in as neutral and even a tone as possible, “Take off your clothes. Let me take a look."

Jiang Ye unbuttoned his blood-stained shirt. Some of the dried blood stuck to his skin. He carefully peeled the shirt off and let it drop to the floor.

“Ah—!” Gu Tuantuan gasped at the sight. Her hands flew up to cover her mouth.

There were several long, reddish-purple-colored bruises down the front and back of Jiang Ye’s bare torso. Although it wasn’t oozing blood like his neck and shoulders, Gu Tuantuan could still tell that they were every bit as painful.

She reached out to touch one of the marks. The tips of her fingers barely grazed the skin before she retracted it as if she were electrocuted.

How did he manage to fend off four people by himself? She couldn’t imagine…

“Jiang Ye, I—” She choked up.

Hot tears burned at her eyes and threatened to spill out. If it weren’t for her, Jiang Ye wouldn’t have been hurt like this.

Seeing Gu Tuantuan on the verge of tears again, Jiang Ye got up and patted her head. “Hey, it’s okay.” He grabbed her hand and pressed it to his bruise. His jaw clenched, but he endured through the pain. “See, it doesn’t hurt. It’s really not as bad as it looks.”

Gu Tuantuan vehemently shook her head, “Bu—”

Her words were cut off by his lips.

And her heart stopped.

His lips were warm. The place where their lips touched felt numb. It was as if a weak current flowed between them.

He drank her lips like a man dying of thirst. His tongue ran along the seam of her lips looking for an opening to slip in.

When he found it, his tongue charged through and ravaged every inch of her mouth.

Everywhere his tongue touched felt ablaze with fire.

Occasionally, their two tongues tangled together and their salivas mixed.

This was her first kiss. It happened so suddenly. Her eyes were still open. She couldn’t even remember how to breathe.

Just as she was about to run out of breath, Jiang Ye reluctantly let her go.

Their breaths mingled. Jiang Ye hooded his eyes and looked down at Gu Tuantuan’s glistening, swollen lips. “No buts.”

“But……”

“Hm?”

Jiang Ye dipped his head down and kissed her again. He sucked Gu Tuantuan’s tongue between his teeth and lightly bit down before slowly releasing her.

“I said, no buts.”

Gu Tuantuan turned away slightly. Her limbs felt weak from the kiss. She needed to hold onto his chest just to stay upright.

“I still have to clean your wounds.”

Her voice was small and unconvincing, but there was a trace of stubborn obstinance.

Jiang Ye smiled and sat down. He pulled Gu Tuantuan with him so that she sat across his lap. His hands slipped under her clothes and into her bra to palm her tits.

“Then, just apply the medicine like this.” Jiang Ye's voice was low and husky.