Golden Scale [EN]: Chapter 92

The Weather is Perfect

The Benz sped onto the highway towards Huairou, and the rain finally began. Fat raindrops hammered against the car window, and the roadside trees thrashed wildly in the strong wind. The sky was as black as ink, swallowing every star. Visibility was ridiculously low. The streetlights offered no help, making it feel like they were driving blind. Objects beyond fifteen feet were invisible, forcing them to creep along, guided only by the taillights ahead.

“Wow, what kind of weather is this?” Yu Qian peered out at the impenetrable darkness. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Is this what they call pitch black?”

“This is called an eerie wind and malevolent rain,” Hou Longtao joked, his eyes glued to the road, not daring to look away for even a second. “This kind of weather is ripe for hauntings. We’re heading to a remote area, so watch out for lonely ghosts trying to snatch pretty girls.”

“Ah!?” Yu Qian looked at him, a worried expression clouding her face. “Really? Don’t scare me. I’ve been afraid of ghosts since I was a kid.”

“Just kidding, right?”

“No, I’m really scared.”

“Aren’t you a Christian? Let God bless you. With Him, what’s there to fear?”

“Haven’t you seen those scary horror movies? God never shows up to save anyone in those.”

“Hehehe,” Hou Longtao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It seemed the beauty’s faith was more for show than substance. “We don’t need some foreign, bullshit God to protect you. With me here, we fear neither gods nor ghosts. Anyone who wants to hurt you will have to go through me.”

“I feel so safe.” Yu Qian braced herself with her right hand on the seat belt, leaned to the left, and rested her head on his shoulder.

“Hum hum.” Hou Longtao quickly turned his head and kissed her fragrant hair. He increasingly found her intriguing. If he hadn’t stolen her virginity on a plane a year ago, he would suspect, with her current ability to please men, that she was a natural-born seductress.

They drove slowly for what felt like forever. By the time they reached the wide main road in Huairou County (where the district government was located), it was past 8:00 PM. Fortunately, the rain had stopped, and the streetlights were reasonably bright. Hou Longtao called Er Dezi while driving, asking him to come down from the mountain to meet them.

“Why do we need someone to pick us up? Why can’t we just drive in?” Yu Qian asked, puzzled.

“Do you know the way?”

“No.”

“Then that’s that.”

“What do you mean, that’s that? Don’t you know the way?”

“I have no sense of direction. It’s a miracle I even made it here.” Hou Longtao drove for another ten minutes and parked the car by the side of the road. A Baiyang Supermarket stood nearby. “Okay, we’ll wait here. Want to get out and stretch your legs?”

“Hmm…” Yu Qian lowered the window, and a blast of cold air rushed into the car, making her shiver. “Why is it so cold?” She quickly closed the window. “I don’t want to get out.”

“Then I’ll go out for a smoke. My legs are getting numb from sitting.” Hou Longtao got out of the car. The fresh air after the rain carried the scent of damp earth.

The earthy fragrance invigorated him, but it was undeniably cold. He immediately broke out in goosebumps and hurried back into the car.

“Hahaha, you’re freezing? I told you it was cold, but you didn’t believe me.”

“I believed you. I felt it when you opened the window.” Hou Longtao opened the trunk, got out again, and pulled out a long, brown coat. It clearly wasn’t his. The hem dragged down to his mid-legs, and the shoulders were far too wide, making it look like it could fit two people.

He lit a cigarette, took a few deep breaths, and stretched his muscles by extending his arms backward.

“Where did you find that robe?” Yu Qian cracked the car window.

“It’s my brother’s. He asked me to take it to the dry cleaners, and I forgot to give it back after I picked it up.” Hou Longtao shrugged, shoved his hands into the sleeves, and bit the cigarette butt like a landlord. “Come on out, the air is great.”

“Cold.”

“Cold? Once the sun comes out, you won’t find any cold. Why don’t you come out and enjoy it?”

“Okay.” Yu Qian got out of the car, constantly rubbing her arms. She was scantily dressed, so of course she was cold.

After the heavy rain, and with it being night, the road was deserted. Only occasional cars zipped by, and the orange glow of the streetlights was soft and muted. The atmosphere was actually quite pleasant. “I’m freezing to death. If I catch a cold, it’s all your fault,” she complained, turning to pull the car door open.

Hou Longtao spat out the cigarette butt, stepped forward, opened the oversized coat, wrapped her in it, and buttoned two buttons. “Who told you to dress so lightly?” Yu Qian turned around in the coat, hugged his waist, rested her head on his shoulder, and pouted. “I dressed up for you, but you’re so unappreciative. You really have no conscience. Besides, I’ve never seen weather like this in Beijing in the summer.”

Because the coat was so large, Hou Longtao easily pulled his right arm out of the sleeve. His left arm hugged her through the coat, while his right hand directly touched her skin, gently stroking her smooth, tender back. He turned his head to kiss her forehead. “Are you still cold?”

“You’re like a furnace, how could I still be cold? Hmm…” Yu Qian tightened her arms around him.

Hou Longtao looked at her cute expression, the corners of her mouth turned up, her eyelids slightly closed. His right hand stopped groping her back, raised it, and gently stroked her hair. “Are you sleepy?” “No,” Yu Qian raised her face slightly so he could see her expression. “It’s just comfortable to hug you like this,” she said, and two faint blushes rose on her cheeks, making her look shy. “It’s quite… sweet.”

Those moderately thick lips, coated with pink, shiny lipstick, were irresistible. Hou Longtao tentatively tilted his head and touched her soft lips. This time, Yu Qian didn’t pull away as she had a few days ago. Instead, she actively met his mouth, her lips parting slightly.

Leaving space for his tongue to enter. Hou Longtao didn’t hesitate. While sucking on her honeyed lips, he slipped his tongue into her mouth, stirring against her own.

“Hmm… hmm…” Yu Qian’s long eyelashes fluttered. Her right hand held his waist, and her left hand hooked his neck, surrendering the initiative, letting him suck her lips, letting him explore her mouth, and letting him entwine his tongue with hers. Hou Longtao withdrew the hand that had been holding the back of her head and returned it to her back. The delicate skin was smooth and incomparable, making him both reluctant to let go and full of tenderness.

Yu Qian’s right arm also climbed onto his neck, reluctantly ending her first real kiss with the man she had been missing for over a year. She stood on tiptoe, rubbed her slightly hot cheek against his face, and brought her mouth to his ear. “Huff… Brother Tao, do you miss me?”

Her soft voice was full of affection, stirring his emotions even more, and he hugged her tighter. “How could I not miss you? Do you miss me?” “No.” “What?” Yu Qian’s answer was completely unexpected. He couldn’t help but pull back a little. “Did I hear wrong? You don’t miss me?” “I’m right next to your ear, how could you hear wrong?” “D-don’t miss me?” “What are you doing?” Yu Qian pulled his head back, bringing them close again. “I don’t miss you, you’re already thinking wildly. If I said I missed you, wouldn’t you devour me?” “How do you know if I’m thinking wildly or not?” “Hmph, you’re hugging me so tightly, how could I not feel your… your bad thing pressing against me?”

“Ah!” Only then did Hou Longtao realize the obvious bulge in his jeans. He quickly stuck his butt out backward, creating space between their lower bodies. “I’m sorry.”

Yu Qian lowered her eyes slightly, her cheeks flushed. “Who wants you to apologize? I’m not blaming you. I don’t know what’s so good about you that makes me fall for you. When I was in the United States, I would think of you for no reason, you heart-stealing thief.”

“Qian, my dear…” Her slightly pouting mouth was so tempting that Hou Longtao used his fingers to lift her chin and tilted his head again to kiss her fragrant mouth.

“Hmm…” Yu Qian kissed intently, her body involuntarily swaying slightly. Unconsciously, her flat stomach began to press against his erection through their clothes.

Faced with such temptation, Hou Longtao couldn’t resist. His right hand slowly slid down her lower back, stopping on her buttocks, which were tightly stretched by her skirt. He gently kneaded for a while. He could feel the firm resilience with just a little pressure.

After letting him fondle her butt for a few minutes, Yu Qian leaned back and playfully slapped his chest. “You big pervert, isn’t that enough?”

Hou Longtao saw only shyness on her beautiful face, and amorous feelings swirling in her hazy eyes. There was no real displeasure at his actions. He grew bolder and squeezed her plump butt again. “Round and perky, soft and bouncy, I’ll never get enough of it in this lifetime.”

“Keep dreaming,” a hint of playfulness appeared in her shy expression. “Why should I let you touch it for the rest of my life? I don’t have the patience to be with you that long.”

“Then I have to hurry up.” Hou Longtao lowered his head suddenly and buried his face in her chest. He immediately filled his nose with her fragrance, and the tip of his tongue just happened to slip into the opening of her bodice. He began to lick her skin. He had planned this, otherwise his tongue wouldn’t have found its mark so easily.

“Giggle…” Yu Qian’s silver bell-like laughter rang out, particularly sweet in the silent night. Her body twisted more violently than when she was just being kissed and having her butt rubbed. Her hands held his head, unsure whether to press it against her breasts or push it away. “It’s itchy, annoying, it tickles so much, giggle…”

No matter how she squirmed, Hou Longtao held her tightly, his wet tongue moving upward, licking her fragrant neck, smooth cheeks, until he blocked her mouth again. Yu Qian not only couldn’t make a sound anymore, but she didn’t want to. She wanted to give her delicious tongue to her sweetheart to taste to his heart’s content.

“Beep beep beep…” A sharp car horn blared, startling the couple from their passionate kiss.

The left window of a silver-gray Daewoo parked head-to-head in front of the Benz opened, and Er Dezi’s big head poked out. “Are you two done yet? I’ve been watching you for ages.”

“Okay, okay.” Hou Longtao kissed her forehead again, and, with his arm around her, returned to the car, following the Daewoo…

When they arrived at the “Reporter’s Home,” the three of them went straight to the card room. Da Pang and the others had arrived in the afternoon and had already swam, steamed in the sauna, played bowling, and had been playing mahjong since dinner.

“Why did it take so long?” Liu Nan glanced at them. “I thought you guys had driven into a ditch.”

“Those two were chatting and kissing endlessly, I couldn’t do anything about it.” Er Dezi pushed Ma Lian away from the table. “Damn it, you lost all the money I won back!”

*Slap,* Er Dezi was slapped hard, but it wasn’t Ma Lian who hit him, but Yu Qian. “It was enough for you to see it yourself, why did you have to say it out loud?” She really wasn’t shy.

“Hmph,” Hou Longtao pulled her in front of him, putting his arm around her waist. “Let him be, it’s the truth anyway.”

“Annoying.” She pinched his waist. “Hey, why are you staring at me?” She said this to Long.

“Because you’re pretty,” Long retorted. “What’s the difference between you dressed like that and wearing nothing?”

“Of course there’s a difference. What can you see? The places that should be covered are all covered.”

“You’ll never win an argument with them, let’s go,” Hou Longtao pulled her out the door. “Are you hungry?”

“Yeah.”

“Then let’s go eat.”

The chef at the “Reporter’s Home” usually finished work at 9:00 PM, but tonight the entire hotel had been booked by “Dongxing” [a fictional organization], and they were required to stay overnight. So, although it was past 9:00, the restaurant was still open.

Hou Longtao thought that after their roadside intimacy, she wouldn’t refuse any of his advances, so he tried to pull her onto his lap, but she pinched him so hard he yelped.

“What are you trying to do?” Yu Qian asked, feigning seriousness, but her eyes sparkled with amusement.

“Ouch, ouch,” Hou Longtao rubbed the bruised spot on his arm. “I just wanted to hug you, you don’t have to be so cruel, do you?”

“Hmph, you pervert, I’m not that kind of casual woman. You think I’ll let you hug me just because you want to?”

“Then next time you want me to hug you, remember to tell me in advance.”

“Do I have to tell you? If you can’t figure it out yourself, then you don’t have to hug me anymore.”

“Right, right.” Hou Longtao nodded with a smile. Deep down, he felt a sense of unease. While extraordinarily beautiful, she was also arrogant, willful, and moody. More importantly, she came from a prominent family. Whether she could get along harmoniously with the other women was a huge question mark. But these thoughts only flickered in his mind and didn’t fully register…

As soon as they finished dinner, Yu Qian insisted on going swimming. Hou Longtao had hoped to take her back to his room, but after what had just happened, he knew she preferred things to happen naturally, like their roadside encounter, and it depended on her mood. Forcing her back to the room would only damage their relationship. “You just finished eating, are you afraid of getting appendicitis?”

“I’m not really going to swim, just soak in the water.”

“Hehe, then why don’t you just go back to the room and soak in the bathtub?”

“Hmph, if you don’t want to go, then forget it,” Yu Qian shook off his hand. “It’s not like I can’t swim by myself.”

“Okay, okay,” Hou Longtao chased after her and grabbed her arm. “Can’t I keep you company? You don’t have to give me a bad look every time, do you?”

Yu Qian didn’t say anything, but smiled and kissed him heavily on the face.

When they arrived at the pool downstairs, it was past 10:00 PM, and the lifeguards had left. Only three “Dongxing” security guards were still swimming.

Yu Qian whispered something in his ear.

“Why?” Hou Longtao looked at her, confused.

“Why are there so many whys? Can’t you just do as I say for once?”

“OK, OK.” Hou Longtao walked over and called the three of them out of the pool. “Why are you guys still here so late?”

“We were just about to leave. Wang from accounting was here earlier. We were teasing her and managed to get some action.”

“Hmph, what did you get?”

“Just touched her butt a couple of times.”

“You three, get out of here. It’s my turn.”

“Hahaha,” the men glanced at Yu Qian. “Top-notch goods.”

“Stop talking nonsense. Here’s the deal, you guys go up and guard the door for me. Don’t let anyone in.” Yu Qian told them to leave, but didn’t specify that they shouldn’t let anyone else in. Hou Longtao added this himself, not for any particular reason. He assumed she didn’t want anyone seeing her in a swimsuit. Although this request seemed out of character, he did as she asked.

After everyone had left, Yu Qian waved the bag in her hand. “I’m going to change.” She entered the women’s locker room. On the right were two rows of unlocked iron lockers. In the middle was a shower room with a dozen shower heads. On the left was a sauna.

She walked to the iron locker, unzipped her skirt, and took it off, followed by her light-colored T-back panties. She turned over the part that covered her private area and glanced at it, blushing. Her desire had been high on the roadside, and her vagina had secreted a lot of fluid, leaving a faint stain on her panties.

“Bad guy…” Yu Qian pouted and threw her panties into the bag…

Hou Longtao didn’t change. He hadn’t planned to swim and hadn’t even brought his trunks. He stood by the pool with his arms folded, thinking about the “Tyrannosaurus Rex” [a codename for an operation] incident. The cooperation had been underway for over half a month. Although there was still a month and a half until the scheduled date, he couldn’t relax. He hoped this operation would be successful. He had invested too much energy. If he hadn’t accidentally “ridden” the beautiful Situ Qingying, it would have been unbearable.

“Cough cough,” two soft coughs came from behind him. Hou Longtao turned around. This was the second time he had been stunned today.

Yu Qian was wearing a pink three-point swimsuit. The top barely covered her nipples, exposing most of her breasts. The bottoms looked like a bikini from the front, with thin strings tied into a bow on the right side of her waist. One tug, and her genitals would be exposed.

As she walked in front of him, she turned around. The swimsuit bottoms were a T-back, with a thin string between her butt cheeks, revealing her round rear. She was probably wearing these for the first time. Her butt cheeks were two different colors, one dark and one light. The darker color was from sunbathing in ordinary swimsuits, leaving snow-white flesh near her butt crack. The contrast was visually stimulating and sexy.

“Do you like it?” Yu Qian lowered her head slightly, looked at the water through him, with a shy look, and gently rubbed her chest with both hands. “I bought it especially for you, and I’ve never worn it before.”

“Qian, my dear…” Hou Longtao understood why she had wanted to clear the pool. He felt a surge of excitement. He grabbed her shoulders with his left hand and was about to lift her chin with his right when her bright black eyes suddenly shifted, and the corners of her mouth turned up in a sly grin. She suddenly pushed outward with both hands. With a *plop,* he fell into the water.

“Hahaha,” she clapped her hands and laughed. “Fallen dog, hahaha.”

“What are you doing!?” Hou Longtao surfaced, took off his glasses, and wiped his face.

He was angry. He had been full of tenderness and wanted to cherish her, but now he was a drowned rat. He was dissatisfied with her disregard for his feelings. He had been spoiled by Ru Yan, Chen Qian, and the others. He couldn’t control himself and snapped. “You’re always so reckless, what if I couldn’t swim?”

“I was just joking, why are you yelling at me?” Yu Qian’s eyes turned red, her mouth pouted, and tears threatened to spill.

He regretted his outburst. Seeing her pitiful expression, he felt sorry. “Sigh, I’m not yelling, my phone and wallet are in my pockets.”

“Stingy ghost, I’ll pay you back.”

Hou Longtao swam over, grabbed the edge of the pool, and put his right leg on the edge. “Okay, it’s my fault, I’m sorr…” She didn’t let him finish, bent down and pushed his head, throwing him back into the water.

“You… you… you…” He gritted his teeth.

“Hmph, who told you to yell at me? Even my family doesn’t dare to yell at me.” Yu Qian revealed her true, arrogant colors.

“You brat, see how I deal with you.” Hou Longtao finally understood. There was no reasoning with this woman. If she wanted to make trouble, he had to make trouble with her. He could only be serious when she was serious. The problem was, he couldn’t get ashore. She was waiting for him, pushing him back in every time he tried. “You wait, when I catch you, I’ll spank your butt until it blooms.”

“What’s the point of just talking? Show me what you can do.” Her flower-like smile bloomed.

“Okay, okay, you think I’m out of tricks?” Hou Longtao turned and swam to the other side.

“Ah! You’re cheating.” She hurriedly tried to stop him, but the edge of the pool was slippery. She was barefoot and couldn’t run. She had to go around. Seeing that he was climbing ashore, she jumped into the water…(Golden scales are not things in a pool) [This is a Chinese idiom meaning someone is destined for greatness and cannot be confined to a small space.]