He Kept Me as His First Love's Stand-In, but I Saved Him First novel · Chapter 20 of 24
Chapter 20: Clause Four-B
For a week they kissed, and nothing else happened, and it was the hardest week of Zhe's life.
They kissed in the stockroom among the felt rolls, with the door on the latch.
They kissed behind the baby grand while Qiu snored on his stool.
They kissed in the doorway of the noodle stall with the steam rising round them.
Each time Hanjing stopped first, with his forehead against Zhe's and his breath coming short.
On Wednesday Zhe sat on the stair with a cramp in his bad ankle.
Hanjing knelt and took the foot in both hands, without a word.
His thumb pressed into the arch and moved up to the old break.
It was a part of Zhe that no one had ever touched on purpose.
It was only an ankle, and Zhe's whole body went tight and bright from the knee to the throat.
"Does it hurt?" Hanjing said.
"No."
"You've gone quiet."
"I'm fine."
"Ning Zhe."
The thumb stopped moving.
"You've said that to me six times this month, and it has never once been true."
Zhe looked at the top of that bent dark head.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–12 of He Kept Me as His First Love's Stand-In, but I Saved Him First are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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