Chapter 77: Was I Too Rough?

Jiang Xiao reacted faster, grasping Song Qiuyu’s small, delicate bare foot, and said, “Wait…”

Song Qiuyu’s heart skipped a beat.

After a brief moment of panic, she calmed down a little.

She felt a bit embarrassed by Jiang Xiao’s sudden action just now, and realizing her foot was firmly held made her even more uneasy all over.

The warmth from Jiang Xiao’s palm combined with the cool sensation of the ointment gradually spread, as if tiny ants were nibbling on every inch of skin they touched.

It was unbearably intense.

“Did I press too hard?”

Jiang Xiao tentatively asked again.

Before Song Qiuyu could reply, a trace of self-blame appeared on his face.

“Ah… n-no… it’s fine. Jiang Xiao, you can continue.”

Seeing Jiang Xiao’s expression, Song Qiuyu could only shake her head and say,

“It’s just a foot massage. It’s nothing serious… Nothing serious, just endure it…”

“Mm.”

Jiang Xiao exhaled softly.

He loosened his grip on her foot and used his fingertips to carefully and slowly knead it.

“Heh…”

Suppressing the urge to pull her foot away, Song Qiuyu feigned calmness and looked back at the computer screen, handling the unread messages in the account’s backend.

After just two or three, her neck rapidly flushed red, her waist stiffened, and she leaned forward on the desk, her arms on the tabletop tensed, trembling slightly.

What’s going on?

It’s just massaging an ankle—why does it feel so strange?

Especially the slight ache that came with the pressure made her body feel uncomfortable.

“Is the pressure okay?”

Jiang Xiao noticed her foot twitching slightly, raising his eyes to look at her as he carefully confirmed.

“Mm… mm, just keep going,” Song Qiuyu whispered.

She had to admit, Jiang Xiao was skilled. Every press brought a mixture of pain and pleasure.

Though painful, she could feel the intense discomfort in her ankle gradually fading.

Song Qiuyu even thought he could open a professional massage shop.

If Jiang Xiao opened a massage shop, it would definitely be popular—but probably only with women… like… wealthy middle-aged ladies?

Then every once in a while, he could go play with steel wire balls.

At the thought, she almost burst out laughing.

“You stood all day yesterday and today. Let me massage the rest of your foot as well?”

“Okay.”

She agreed casually, then immediately regretted it.

Before she could reconsider, Jiang Xiao’s large hand moved to her instep and sole. Just a gentle rub made Song Qiuyu’s entire leg stiffen, her five jade-like toes curling tightly together.

“I’ll continue then.”

Jiang Xiao seemed used to this reaction and didn’t notice it bothered her. He used both hands, applying all the techniques he had learned on her.

Kneading, lightly rubbing, and massaging, his serious and careful manner made it seem as if he were handling a fragile, exquisite treasure.

“Good…”

Song Qiuyu took several deep breaths, forcing herself to focus on the backend messages on the screen, but as her foot was massaged, her gaze began to drift.

She felt like a balloon slowly ascending during a festival, floating and drifting high above.

She was powerless, her mind restless.

Uncomfortable yet pleasant, she was sweating profusely despite the cool air conditioning.

“Uh!”

She wanted to keep handling the backend messages, but Jiang Xiao’s hand suddenly squeezed harder, and the wave of pleasure instantly peaked.

Her whole body tensed up and froze.

Never before had she experienced such comfort; her mind went blank, overwhelmed and at a loss.

She was supposed to be the one being served, but it felt more like she was the one being toyed with and teased!

Her delicate body trembled as Jiang Xiao’s massage grew even more precise, every acupoint pressed perfectly.

The next second, Song Qiuyu’s strength completely left her, and with a soft thud, her face landed gently on the desk. She collapsed, breathing heavily.

“Uh, are you okay? Did I press too hard just now?” Jiang Xiao was startled by her flushed face and limp state.

Though worried…

Song Qiuyu like this…

The image that had only existed in his mind suddenly reflected in reality, making Jiang Xiao’s heart beat faster.

Three words suddenly popped into his mind to describe Song Qiuyu at that moment:

Cute, alluring, want to…

No!

He hastily cut off the inappropriate thoughts.

“N-no…

… I’m fine, it feels good… just a little itchy…”

Song Qiuyu squirmed uneasily, blushing and nervously making an excuse.

“Th-then that’s good. Give me your right foot…”

Jiang Xiao also avoided looking at Song Qiuyu’s face.

He couldn’t believe he was reacting to Song Qiuyu like this…

How could he…

Besides, Song Qiuyu was male, his best brother.

The guilt for his lover and the guilt toward his brother pressed heavily on his chest.

Better to finish quickly.

“Ah…”

These words fell into Song Qiuyu’s ears like a demon’s whisper, and the toes on the foot in his palm curled slightly.

He still wanted to massage the right foot?

She tiredly gathered her wits and turned her face, her eyes flickering uncertainly at him.

Jiang Xiao’s earnest, focused expression as he kneaded her foot made it hard for her to refuse.

What a torment…

She didn’t know if Jiang Xiao’s technique was just strange or if her body was too sensitive…

After over ten minutes of pressing, she actually felt her “switch” had been flipped on…

But Jiang Xiao’s massage skills were indeed excellent. The pain and fatigue in her foot had basically disappeared.

So Song Qiuyu steeled herself and reluctantly nodded.

“Ugh~”

After the ordeal, it was already eleven o’clock.

Song Qiuyu stretched her waist and stood up from her seat, letting out a long, refreshing sigh.

Massaging her feet really made her whole body feel much better.

It’s hard for anyone to say that opening the acupoints on the feet wouldn’t unblock the whole body. That must be how it works…

Besides, it wasn’t a total ordeal—amid the pain and comfort of the massage, she even got a small burst of inspiration for a short video.

“Jiang Xiao, come over quickly. Let’s talk about the next short video idea. If it’s good, we’ll post it in the Dormitory Group and tell Xie Zhuran and Lin An too!”

Song Qiuyu smiled and waved at Jiang Xiao, who was washing his face on the balcony.

“Coming.”

Jiang Xiao wiped his hands with a towel and walked back beside her, following her finger as she pointed at the computer screen.

On it, Song Qiuyu had already jotted down the general idea for the short video.

It was about a fourth-year male student who failed his thesis plagiarism check and faced a graduation delay.

He spent a dark night crawling around his rented room, only to wake up and find a corpse lying on his bed.

Then the police came knocking, but nobody could find any trace of the killer.

In the end, the culprit was discovered hiding under the student’s bed.

The overall tone was still comedic.

However, this short video would require more people than usual.

Besides asking Sang Tian for a cameo, they’d need to find one or two more people as backups.

Song Qiuyu was very confident about this video, enthusiastically describing the finer details with animated expressions.

Jiang Xiao listened attentively, but halfway through, he couldn’t help being drawn in by her focused explanation, inhaling the faint scent of her natural fragrance.

Even though she was now makeup-free and his mind was clear, he found himself losing control.

What was wrong with him?

At that moment, Song Qiuyu, having spoken for quite a while, suddenly felt thirsty and was about to get up to pour a glass of water when she caught sight of a terrifying scene.

Jiang Xiao…

Had pitched a tent?!