Chapter Five: You Can Come In Now
1897 Words
Li Mo leaned against the headboard, motionless.
All those scenes from earlier played back in reverse in his mind.
He had taken care of that woman down to the very last detail.
He had carried her on his back for seven kilometers in the pouring rain.
He had memorized all her habits, all her cycles, all her preferences.
And then that woman asked him, “How am I supposed to get by when you’re not by my side?”
He said, “It wouldn’t make a difference who was there.”
“f**k me...”
Li Mo raised his hand to cover his face.
“No, what was I supposed to do?” he said to the air, his voice trembling. “Her grandfather was a former vice president. Pick any one of her family members and they’d make the national news. I’m just a lousy assistant—how could I possibly respond to that?”
“If I had, I wouldn’t even know how I’d end up.”
He lowered his hand and stared at the ceiling.
The light refracted by the crystal chandelier flickered across his face.
“But she...”
He recalled the side profile of Liu Ruyan holding a wine glass in his memory.
Her gaze had never left him.
After he’d said that, she paused for a second.
Just a second.
Then she said, “I suppose so,” and turned to walk away.
Li Mo closed his eyes. The scent of Liu Ruyan still lingered on his pillow.
This morning, this woman had been lying on top of him, calling him “Master” and referring to herself as “puppy.”
At the banquet, surrounded by a crowd of provincial and ministerial-level officials, she had called him “Master.”
“So what exactly happened after that…”
The footage was still playing.
Li Mo had thought the birthday banquet scene was the climax, but then the scene shifted back to Liu Ruyan’s office.
The timeline had jumped forward about two months.
In the scene, he stood behind Liu Ruyan, his hands resting on her shoulders, massaging them with steady, rhythmic strokes.
Liu Ruyan leaned back in her chair, eyes closed, her neck tilted slightly upward.
“A little to the left… yes, right there.”
He adjusted his position, pressing his thumb down an inch along the edge of her shoulder blade.
Liu Ruyan let out a soft hum.
It was very faint, the kind that escapes through the nose.
A voiceover appeared.
[After the birthday banquet incident, Liu Ruyan did not distance herself from Li Mo because of his withdrawal. On the contrary, she began to close the physical distance between them in a more intimate way. Pounding her shoulders and massaging her neck and shoulders gradually became part of their daily routine. Li Mo did not refuse.]
The scene fast-forwarded a bit.
Still in the office.
Liu Ruyan had just finished a three-hour video conference. She kicked off her high heels and rested her legs on the footstool under her desk.
“Little Li, my legs are sore.”
In the scene, he crouched down, placed his hands on her calves, and began massaging them through her stockings.
Li Mo sat on the bed watching this scene, his throat tightening.
The camera zoomed in on a close-up of Liu Ruyan’s legs.
Enveloped in gray stockings, from her ankles to her knees, their lines were so smooth it was impossible to look away.
Long, white, and straight—but not the gaunt kind of straight; they had a layer of even, supple flesh, and the curve of her calves was just right.
In the scene, he kept his head down as he massaged, his expression serious and his technique meticulous.
From the ankles up, to the calves, to just below the knees, then back down, and starting again from the ankles.
Not a single millimeter out of bounds.
Liu Ruyan watched him with half-closed eyes, a faint, almost imperceptible smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
Voiceover.
[Li Mo always maintains strict boundaries in physical contact. This trait was previously viewed by Liu Ruyan as “professionalism,” but now that their relationship has moved into the private sphere, it has become the most effective source of arousal.]
The scene shifts again.
The atmosphere in this scene is different.
The office blinds are half-closed; the sky outside has grown dark, suggesting they’ve been working late.
Liu Ruyan sat on the sofa, her coat draped over the armrest, wearing only a form-fitting black knit top.
Her legs were crossed on the sofa; she had already taken off the high-heeled shoe on one foot, while the other still dangled from her toe, swaying slightly.
On screen, he sat in the chair across from her, holding a tablet and reporting something.
Liu Ruyan suddenly interrupted him.
“Xiao Li.”
“Hm?”
“My foot’s numb.”
He looked up from the screen, his gaze meeting Liu Ruyan’s.
Liu Ruyan said nothing; she simply stretched her leg out toward him.
The bare foot, encased in semi-transparent black stockings, toes slightly curled, settled steadily into his lap.
Li Mo, on the screen, froze for a second.
He looked down at the foot in his lap.
It was a beautiful foot.
The instep was narrow, the arch high, and the toes—each shorter than the last—were neatly arranged. The stockings stretched taut over them, revealing the burgundy nail polish on her toenails with crystal clarity.
His Adam’s apple bobbed.
“Ms. Liu…”
“Hm?”
“Um… maybe I should call Wang at the front desk…”
“Wang’s already gone home.” Liu Ruyan’s tone was matter-of-fact: “You’re the only one here.”
The man on the screen swallowed hard and set the tablet aside.
He reached out and touched the foot.
The moment his fingertips made contact with the stockings, his fingers trembled.
Liu Ruyan saw it.
She didn’t say anything, but the corners of her eyes crinkled slightly.
He began massaging on the screen.
Starting from the sole of her foot, he pressed down with his thumb and slowly traced circles.
He massaged very carefully, controlling his pressure perfectly—just as professional as when he’d massaged her shoulders and calves earlier.
Liu Ruyan sank deeper into the sofa, finding a more comfortable position, and let out a satisfied sigh.
“You have such a firm touch.”
“……Thank you, Ms. Liu.”
“Did you take lessons somewhere?”
“No……I’m just winging it.”
“And winging it feels this good?” Liu Ruyan chuckled.
He didn’t respond on the screen; he kept his head down and continued, moving his thumb from the sole of her foot to the arch, following the curve upward, then sliding down to her heel.
Liu Ruyan’s toes curled slightly, then relaxed.
Just then, Liu Ruyan’s other foot moved.
The foot still clad in a high-heeled shoe—the heel slipped off the tip of her toe and fell onto the carpet with a dull thud.
Then that foot reached out.
It didn’t land in his lap.
It landed on his thigh.
Through the stockings, her toes lightly brushed against the inside of his thigh.
Just once.
In the scene, every muscle in Li Mo’s body tensed simultaneously.
His hands froze, and his face flushed, starting from his neck and spreading all the way to the tips of his ears.
His breathing grew rough, and the rise and fall of his chest visibly intensified.
He dared not look up.
His eyes were fixed intently on the foot in his lap, his fingers frozen in place, not moving an inch.
Liu Ruyan watched his reaction, the corners of her mouth slowly curving upward.
She didn’t pull her foot back.
Her toes moved again, tapping lightly on his thigh twice, as if testing the waters.
In the scene, he let out a muffled sound from his throat—it was unclear whether he was swallowing or trying to say something.
“Why did you stop massaging?” Liu Ruyan’s voice was languid.
“I…” His voice tightened. “Ms. Liu, your foot…”
“Hmm? Which one?”
“The other one…”
“What’s wrong with the other one?” Liu Ruyan tilted her head to look at him, her expression absurdly innocent. “Does it feel uncomfortable? Should I move it somewhere else?”
Her foot shifted up an inch.
Li Mo in the video feed jerked his head up.
His face was so red it looked like it might bleed.
His eyes were wide, his lips pressed tight, his whole body stiff as if frozen in place.
Liu Ruyan met his gaze.
She laughed.
Not a smile.
It was the kind of laugh you can’t help but let out when you see something amusing.
Her eyes crinkled, and the corners of her mouth couldn’t be held back.
“You’re so red.”
“……”
“Your ears are red, too.”
“……”
“Little Li, have you never been touched by a girl before?”
He opened and closed his mouth on the screen, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down twice, but not a single word came out.
Liu Ruyan pulled both feet back, crossed her legs, and propped her chin on her hands as she watched him.
“Alright, stop pressing that button. Come sit down.”
He didn’t move on the screen.
“Come here.” Liu Ruyan patted the spot next to her on the sofa.
He stood up, his legs a little wobbly, took a couple of steps, and sat down at the other end of the sofa.
Half a cushion’s width separated them.
Liu Ruyan glanced at the gap and chuckled.
She said nothing.
She picked up the file beside her and flipped through a few pages, acting as if nothing had happened.
The scene froze for a few seconds.
Then it cut to another angle.
It was the surveillance camera’s view.
In the footage, Liu Ruyan sat alone on the office sofa after Li Mo had left.
She closed the file, leaned back, and looked up at the ceiling.
Her fingers unconsciously pinched the edge of her stockings, tugged at them, then let go.
She closed her eyes.
Her lips moved slightly.
A voiceover appeared.
[Liu Ruyan (inner thoughts): “If it were Little Li, I’d let it all in. It wouldn’t matter if it filled me up.”]
The scene faded out.
Li Mo sat on the bed, his back drenched in sweat.
He stared into the empty space before him, his mind filled with the images from moments ago.
A foot clad in stockings settled into his lap.
Her toes brushed against his thigh as Liu Ruyan smiled, her eyes crinkling.
And then there was that final line.
Take it all in.
Fill me up.
His lips were dry and cracked.
He reached for the glass of water on the nightstand and took a big gulp. The cold water washed down his throat, but it did nothing to help.
The burning sensation remained exactly where it should.
He set the glass back down, braced himself against the edge of the bed, and took several deep breaths with his head bowed.
- Writer
