Xu Tingyu's waist was sore and her whole body felt like it was falling apart. Finally, she got annoyed.
Regardless of what he was asking, she bit him back.
He winced in pain but didn't let go of her. He even seemed to like her feisty look and let out a low chuckle from his throat.
The next second, he became intense again.
Xu Tingyu had no room to escape and could only tremble as she accepted all his giving and taking.
Outside the window, the rain that had been brewing all night finally fell, hitting the window with a dull sound.
But the room was well - soundproofed, and the commotion outside couldn't affect the amorous atmosphere inside at all.
Xu Tingyu didn't know how much time had passed when she finally fell into a deep sleep.
Qi Shifeng looked down at the person in his arms.
After their marriage, she had always acted submissive.
But he knew that pride and unyielding were engraved in her bones.
For the Xu family and for another man, she married him and had to submit to his lovemaking. She must have hated him to the core in her heart.
Pretending to be obedient was just a means, and it was the kind he hated the most.
In the heavy rain, he silently traced her eyebrows and eyes with a cold look.
Such a peerless face, a blend of charm and coldness, was beyond anyone's love and intimacy.
He was quite curious to see how long she could hold on under all the pressure.
Masked Dancer was recorded once a week.
But since the first episode was a great success, the program team decided to release some behind - the - scenes clips irregularly to maintain the popularity.
The focus was, of course, on Sheng Man, the first - place winner, and Xu Tingyu.
So Xu Tingyu readily accepted Sheng Man's invitation to practice dancing together.
However, she didn't want to expose her own dance studio, and Sheng Man was still a student.
So they simply decided to use the practice room in the school.
With the cameras around, both of them wore masks.
Sheng Man knew who she was. In front of the cameras, he stammered several times, "Senior sister, you are my idol."
Before Xu Tingyu quit the entertainment industry, she had heard this kind of thing quite often.
After three years, hearing it again made her feel a bit dazed.
After just a few seconds of distraction, she gave Sheng Man a gentle smile. "You dance really well, too."
Most of her expressions were hidden behind the mask.
But in the eyes under her long lashes, there was a gentle smile, which seemed like the sweetest wine to others.
Sheng Man's ears turned red.
His amber eyes were flustered and didn't know where to look.
Xu Tingyu didn't seem to care much. She patted his shoulder to signal that they could start.
Back to the professional field, Sheng Man quickly adjusted his state and suppressed all his flustered heartbeats.
The two of them did warm - up exercises separately.
When Xu Tingyu was still stretching her legs, a piece of music suddenly started playing.
She stopped her movements. If you looked closely, you could even see a momentary stiffness in her body.
This was a sound almost engraved in her muscle memory.
It was the accompaniment of her work, Mirror Flowers and Moon on Water, which won the gold award back then.
"Senior sister, I've watched the video of you dancing this piece more than a hundred times. Can I dance it with you today?"
Sheng Man stood one or two meters away from her, his eyes shining.
Xu Tingyu didn't expect him to still remember this dance. She was a bit absent - minded.
This dance, which she choreographed herself at the age of 16, had taken her to the highest podium and won her countless praises.
The last time she danced it publicly was at her bachelorette party before marriage.
Since then, she had never danced it again.
Even when practicing alone, she had never danced it.
Now, suddenly hearing the accompaniment, all she felt was bitterness.
So she looked at Sheng Man apologetically. "Sorry, I don't want to dance this piece."
Sheng Man was a bit disappointed, but he was a sunny boy after all. He quickly shook off his emotions and apologized to her instead.
"I was being rash, senior sister. This is your signature work. If we danced it, you would definitely be recognized."
"Then our act of wearing masks would be meaningless. I didn't think it through. I'm sorry, senior sister."
After apologizing to Xu Tingyu, he also informed the program team to delete this part.
The two quickly started practicing again.
Although they were competitors, Xu Tingyu generously helped him choreograph a few moves for his new dance.
Sheng Man was so excited that he kept sighing, "Senior sister, it's such a loss that you quit the industry, a great loss!"
Xu Tingyu didn't say a word. She just smiled and kept pondering whether the moves were appropriate and in place.
After the practice, during the break when they were having a meal, the program team conducted a small interview.
They mainly asked about the program and their opinions of each other.
Xu Tingyu answered in a proper way, with a bit of polite distance in her praise.
But Sheng Man, being a young boy, while hiding Xu Tingyu's specific information from the camera, praised her extravagantly.
"I've dreamed of watching senior sister dance. So when I knew she was also participating in this competition, I was about to burst into laughter in the audience."
"We have the same enlightenment teacher. The teacher has praised her to me countless times, saying that she is the kind of person who is more talented and more hard - working than you."
...
"I hope I can learn more from senior sister in the following competitions."
If it were someone else, the first - place winner saying that the third - place winner was their idol and that they wanted to learn from the third - place winner would make people think it was sarcastic.
But with Sheng Man's sincere eyes and his flustered little body movements, no one doubted his sincerity.
So after the program team edited and released some short clips, the topic #He Really Loves Her trended on the hot search.
Many people had actually guessed Sheng Man's identity from his figure and dancing.
After all, he had been an outstanding child since childhood and had signed with an agency before college.
He usually shared dancing videos online and had over ten million fans across the network.
So after the topic trended, his fans recognized him.
"Our Brother Man wore both a mask and a mask for nothing."
"Hahaha, I was attracted to him because he dances well. I always thought he was so cold - looking, but unexpectedly, he's a funny guy."
"Brother Man, calm down a bit. Your ears are so red that they're about to bleed."
"I think when he praised senior sister, he was more like a peacock showing off its feathers. Can someone tell me who his senior sister is?"
...
Many people started to be curious about Xu Tingyu's identity.
Thanks to Sheng Man's praise, her personal clips during the competition were trending on the hot search again.
Some professionals also publicly commented that her dance performance was perfect.
Some radical ones directly said,
"Not to mention her eyes, even her hair was perfect. There wasn't a single mistake at all."
"But this is the current environment. All kinds of people can be judges. They don't even know their own level."
"I didn't watch this program because of a certain judge. I almost missed such a great performance."
"Doesn't anyone think that Contestant No. 1's style is very similar to Xu Tingyu, who quit the industry three years ago?"
"Finally, someone said it. I'm a fan of Xu Tingyu. I've thought it was very similar since she appeared on stage, but I didn't dare to say it."