Super Soldier in the City
Chapter 301 - 309: Preventing Sunburn

Chapter 301: Chapter 309: Preventing Sunburn

"It doesn’t matter anymore; who was it that bit me in the first place?" Li Yifei vanished from Xu Yingying’s sight before she could react.

"Hey, Li Yifei, don’t leave me here all alone!"

"Jerk! If you have the guts, don’t come back. If you dare to return, just wait and see how I’ll deal with you!"

After shouting a few times and seeing no sign of Li Yifei, Xu Yingying was both angry and annoyed. She had no idea where Li Yifei had run off to, likely out of earshot of her words, and could only resentfully grab the medicine kit to tend to her foot by herself.

"Oh, it’s already been taken care of." Xu Yingying lifted her injured right foot onto her left knee, only to discover that the sole of her foot had already been treated. Although it wasn’t bandaged, there was some iodine dabbed on the wound. She knew that her injury wasn’t serious, just a sharp object that had punctured and scraped her foot, so this treatment was sufficient.

"This jerk just treats it and then dumps me here. So irresponsible! Any woman who marries you is really down on her luck." Xu Yingying muttered, but as she looked up, she saw Li Yifei and was startled, scolding with her hand on her chest, "Don’t you know it’s terrifying to scare someone like that? Can you make some noise next time you show up?"

Li Yifei was puffing on a cigarette; he had just gone back to get it. He smiled at Xu Yingying and said, "You do make some sense with what you’re saying. Looks like you definitely won’t be the one out of luck."

Xu Yingying felt uncomfortable with Li Yifei’s expectant gaze. Why did he have to be so fond of her? To assist him with that case, she nearly lost herself to him, yet here he was, looking at her with a teasing tone and anticipation.

But Xu Yingying was not about to make Li Yifei’s wish come true. Her lips curved into a faint smile as she said lightly, "I’m sorry, having met you was being unlucky for one lifetime. Knowing you was two. Pretending you’re my boyfriend makes it three. You working in my company is four. Leaving the job and joining the same company as you makes it five. Pretending to be your wife that day is six. Now I’ve got six lifetimes of bad luck—I’m not afraid of a couple more."

Li Yifei’s eyes widened as he looked at Xu Yingying, then he gave her a thumbs-up and said, "The boss really talks like a boss. What you said is so on point, it’s like tongue twisters."

"Don’t worry about whether it’s a tongue twister or not; just resign yourself to it."

Li Yifei chuckled and sat down next to Xu Yingying, casually throwing his arm around her shoulders. Xu Yingying didn’t dodge; such physical contact was too commonplace for her, hardly triggering any defensive reaction. Instead, she turned her head and looked at Li Yifei without any air, asking, "What do you want?"

Li Yifei tossed away the cigarette butt and said, "I’m ready to accept my fate and see what it’s like to have eight lifetimes of bad luck."

Xu Yingying raised her eyebrows and said, "Alright then, come on. It’ll be a while before they come back, so we should have enough time."

Li Yifei stared at Xu Yingying, and she stared back. Their faces were very close, and neither was willing to back down. But in the end, it was Li Yifei who retreated. Xu Yingying could be frighteningly bold, potentially unafraid of getting intimate with him. And after what they had done, he guessed she might genuinely not be averse. Most importantly, she had said she would be his girlfriend. If he did something more to her, he would be truly stuck.

"Alright, you win," Li Yifei conceded as decisively as ever, letting go of Xu Yingying and lighting another cigarette, blowing out two smoke rings.

Xu Yingying huffed and said, "Could you please not scare me like that again in the future? One, I’m not afraid of your scares, and two, if you’re serious about it, I won’t reject you. Then you’d have no reason not to let me be your girlfriend."

Li Yifei shook his head and spoke slowly, "Yeah, I realize that now. That’s why I conceded so easily."

Xu Yingying had the upper hand over Li Yifei, but it brought her no joy, for he always maintained a distance from her, treating even Michelle better than her.

"I’m going to sit by the sea, it’s too stuffy here." Xu Yingying shoved Li Yifei.

"Then let’s go."

"I’ve injured my foot; you carry me."

"For such a small injury... do you really need to be carried?"

"Yes, I do."

After exchanging looks for a moment, Li Yifei had no choice but to carry Xu Yingying, grumbling, "You’re a big CEO, and you don’t care about keeping up appearances, always making me carry you. Aren’t you afraid your employees will see?"

"Let them see if they see. If it comes to that, I’ll just admit you’re my boyfriend. What, am I not allowed to have a boyfriend?"

"Couldn’t you pick someone else?"

"Haven’t found the right one. Why don’t you introduce someone to me?"

"Fine! I think our Little Wang is pretty good—tall, handsome, and articulate. Lot of girls in our company like him."

"Hmph, that guy’s already married."

"Ah, married? I didn’t know that."

Li Yifei felt no burden bantering with Xu Yingying. What he feared the most was those serious, earnest talks about life and love with her.

Due to the tide going out, the sea level had significantly receded from the night before. Li Yifei carried Xu Yingying a fair distance before they reached the seaside.

But there was no longer a fine sandy beach here, and there were some rocks visible on the sea floor. So Li Yifei didn’t carry Xu Yingying into the water.

Xu Yingying was quite enjoying the sensation of being carried by Li Yifei, her arms now looped around his neck as she said, "What now? We’ve got to find something fun to do, or it’ll be too boring."

Li Yifei said with annoyance, "Then what else do you want to do?"

"We’ll fish, of course. That big rock over there looks great for sitting and fishing," came the excited reply.

This suggestion was actually not bad, so Li Yifei readily agreed, "Then wait here for me while I go get the fishing rods."

"Carry me back with you, I still have to get some stuff."

"Carry you again? Are you addicted to being carried or something?"

"You guessed right," Xu Yingying admitted cheerfully, wrapping her arms tighter around Li Yifei’s neck as if afraid he might drop her.

"I can’t believe an executive like you would act so childishly, I’m truly impressed," he commented.

With a giggle, Xu Yingying said, "I might be an executive at the office, but I am also a woman, right? Acting childish is a woman’s prerogative, don’t you understand?"

"I really can’t be bothered with you," Li Yifei muttered.

Xu Yingying was even happier, getting carried back by Li Yifei to retrieve the fishing rods. Then the two of them returned to the seaside, climbed onto the big rock, and finally, Xu Yingying got down from Li Yifei’s back.

Li Yifei baited the hook and cast the line while Xu Yingying applied sunblock.

"Hey, help me with my back," Xu Yingying nudged Li Yifei.

Li Yifei turned to look at Xu Yingying, then pointed at himself and asked, "You want me to apply it... to your back?"

Xu Yingying shoved the sunscreen into Li Yifei’s hands and said, "Obviously, I can’t reach it myself. It’s just the two of us here; if you don’t do it, who will?" Then she turned around, presenting her back to Li Yifei.

Li Yifei looked at the sunscreen in his hand, then at Xu Yingying’s back, feeling an indescribable sensation. Logically, any man should be excited at the prospect of applying sunscreen to a beautiful woman, but with Xu Yingying, Li Yifei felt like he wasn’t entirely willing.

"Hurry up, or I’ll get sunburned," Xu Yingying urged, looking over her shoulder at Li Yifei.

Shaking his head, Li Yifei said, "Alright, I’ll do it."

"Look at you, so reluctant. Does it really aggrieve you that much to put sunscreen on me?"

"It’s not about feeling aggrieved; it’s like a weasel paying a New Year’s visit to a chicken—no good intentions at all. Surely you’ve got some ulterior motive to harm me later," he jested.

"Death by you, huh," Xu Yingying retorted, slightly frustrating Li Yifei with her fussiness.

Li Yifei chuckled and poured some sunscreen into his palm, then began to apply it to Xu Yingying’s back.

Li Yifei had touched Xu Yingying’s skin so many times that thinking about it amused him. He didn’t harbor those kinds of feelings for Xu Yingying, not even the amorous ones, yet there had been so many physical encounters between the two. Even Su Yiyi probably hadn’t had as many as Xu Yingying.

Even though Li Yifei had no such feelings for Xu Yingying, each time he touched her, he had to admit her skin was exceptionally smooth and silky, a pleasure to touch, making the act of applying sunscreen even more enjoyable.

Especially when rubbing the sunblock over Xu Yingying’s waist, as she leaned forward, accentuating the curves of her hips, the caress became even more tempting.

However, Li Yifei didn’t dwell on this enjoyment and quickly finished applying the sunscreen before drawing his hands away.

Only then did Xu Yingying turn around, her face slightly flushed. Li Yifei was the first man she had ever been close to, and with his hands, she had experienced a delightful feeling. Now his hands moving across her back felt like electric currents stimulating her skin, spreading the sensation through her body, stirring feelings within her and making her wish for more movement from his hands.

But Li Yifei finished so quickly, leaving her feeling slightly disappointed. Naturally, she would never reveal such thoughts to Li Yifei—that would be too embarrassing.

"Why haven’t we caught any fish yet?" Xu Yingying deliberately changed the subject to avoid the awkward moment.

"Fishing isn’t that easy. It’s an activity that truly tests your patience. If you caught a fish with every cast, it’d lose much of its charm. It’s the anticipation of catching a fish that’s the most thrilling part of fishing," he explained.

Xu Yingying laughed, "Is that so? I just hope all your anticipation doesn’t end up being just that—anticipation."

Li Yifei lit a cigarette and said, "Don’t worry, that’s definitely not going to happen."

Ordinarily, Xu Yingying didn’t enjoy men smoking, but now, with Li Yifei smoking right in front of her, she felt no urge to stop him. Instead, she found the faint tobacco scent emanating from him rather pleasant.

"Fish on!" Li Yifei suddenly stood up, lifting the rod as the float plunged down and the line went taut. This energized Xu Yingying as well, her eyes glued to the water’s surface, anticipating the moment the fish would be reeled in.

With a sharp flick of the rod, Li Yifei pulled up a small fish, a few inches long. After taking it off the hook, Xu Yingying eagerly snatched it up to look at it closely.

But the small fish suddenly flipped its tail, leaping out of Xu Yingying’s hands. She let out a shriek, flailing her arms, her face turning pale with alarm.