A Self-Drive Date with Zheng Xuemei!

(Note: This chapter adds a few side beats, like the jungle adventure and the crime-drama-style interlude, just for fun. They do not affect the main plot. The main story is still about flirting with a mature woman in the city, so please enjoy it as entertainment. These scenes are mainly here to build the tension-bridge effect and push forward the relationship progress between Zheng Xuemei and the male lead. Yes, we are speeding things up. Thank you.)

Zheng Xuemei had stalled at 118 for almost a week again.

I was no longer in a hurry.

Last time she had stopped at 99 and I had waited four days. This time she was stuck at 118, which meant she had run into a hurdle even harder to get around than before.

Last time it had been, Should I keep moving forward? This time it was, If I keep moving forward, where will I end up, and am I ready for it?

Those two questions carried very different weight. The first was hesitation at the starting line. The second was knowing the road ahead and still weighing it carefully.

That was how a mature woman’s affection worked. It rose with visible signs, and when it stalled, it had its own reasons. You could not rush it, and you could not push it. If I tried to interfere with the system at a time like that, I would only make things worse, because the system could adjust the number, but the bend in her heart had to be walked through by herself.

So I waited. I kept going to work, kept chatting with her in the pantry, kept helping her review the text materials she occasionally sent over, and maintained the same pace as before, not fast and not slow, as if nothing had happened, and as if everything were happening.

Wednesday afternoon.

The company had power-off maintenance, so the central air conditioning on the whole floor was shut down.

The finance department faced south, and the afternoon sun beat straight in, making it a lot hotter than our department.

Zheng Xuemei messaged me: [Do you guys have an empty seat? I’m coming to mooch some air conditioning. It’s killing me.]

I replied: [Come on over. There’s an empty seat next to me.]

Not long after, Zheng Xuemei came over with her laptop.

Today she was wearing a pair of light gray fitted slacks, with a white silk blouse on top.

The moment she walked in, those slacks wrapped her exceptionally full, luscious ass perfectly.

Her two large, round cheeks were cinched tight by the fabric, swaying gently from left to right as she walked, sending wave after wave of juicy, tempting motion through her hips.

That big ass was heavy and high, full of meat. The seam was pulled taut and straight, clearly outlining the exaggerated heart-shaped curve of her high hips and deep cleft. Every step carried the heavy weight and astonishing elasticity unique to a mature woman.

She came up beside me, set her computer on the empty desk, and sat down after bending at the waist.

In that instant, her plump, luscious ass slammed down heavily onto the chair, the slacks stretched to their limit, the flesh spilling slightly from both sides and pressing the seat down a little, creating a dense, oppressive sense of flesh.

“Thanks,” she said softly as she turned sideways to plug in the power cord.

The two of us sat shoulder to shoulder like that for about an hour.

We exchanged a few words now and then, but most of the time we were each staring at our own screens.

Yet the closeness felt completely different... the faint scent of her perfume mixed with the body heat of a mature woman kept drifting into my nose. Whenever she turned to ask me about a data point, her face was very close to mine, close enough that I could make out the tiny curve of her eyelashes and the slight rise and fall of her chest as she breathed.

Worst of all, whenever she shifted the chair a little, that big ass wrapped tightly in the slacks would rub lightly against the seat, making a faint rustling sound from the fabric, and it was hard for me to keep my attention fully on the work.

Around four o’clock, the air conditioning finally came back on and the cool air slowly started flowing down. Zheng Xuemei stretched, the two soft, full mounds on her chest swaying gently beneath the silk blouse, and then she stood up to gather her things.

The moment she rose, the giant ass that had been compressed for over an hour was on full display again... the slacks had wrinkled slightly from being sat on for so long, which only made the thickness and elasticity of the flesh even more obvious.

When she bent slightly to pack up her laptop, her round, perky, luscious backside lifted high, the trouser seams sinking deeply into the cleft. Under the lights, those two heavy cheeks looked especially plump and tempting, carrying a shocking, grab-me-from-behind kind of fleshiness.

After she finished, she suddenly paused, turned to look at me, and her gaze was softer than usual.

“Chen Mo, do you have any plans for Friday?”

I said no.

Zheng Xuemei seemed to think it over for a moment before saying, “I’ve been working overtime nonstop lately, and I’m getting a little overwhelmed... I want to take half a day off Friday afternoon and go somewhere outside the city. Do you... want to come with me? Just a self-drive picnic. Bring some simple stuff and get some fresh air.”

After she finished speaking, she lowered her head slightly and nervously pinched the seam of her slacks with her fingers, as if trying to hide her tension.

My heartbeat sped up noticeably.

A self-drive picnic.

This was no longer just a simple meal. It was taking the time the two of us would spend alone and moving it from a restaurant to the more private, freer outskirts of the city. That meant she wanted to spend more time with me, and in a more relaxed way.

The system immediately popped up:

[Detected a mature woman inviting the host to meet up (fifth time). Reward: 20 points. Current remaining points: 258.]

I secretly glanced at the number over her head: [124].

Her favorability had moved forward six points in that moment, jumping from 118 to 124. Those six points were what she had given herself when she made this decision.

Looking at her soft eyes, faintly carrying a trace of anticipation, I nodded. “Sure. What time do we leave?”

Zheng Xuemei visibly relaxed, the corner of her mouth lifting into a shallow curve. “I’m getting off at three-thirty on Friday afternoon. If it works for you, let’s meet in the company underground garage at four. I’ll drive.”

“Okay.”

She left with her computer, and I sat at my desk, watching her back disappear behind the department partitions, turning the whole thing over in my mind for a long time.

Self-drive picnic...

Interesting.

More casual than a restaurant, and more private too.

In the autumn countryside, the scenery would be just right, away from the noise of the company and the city.

By choosing a place like that, she was actively pulling the two of us out of the framework of “coworkers having a meal” and moving us toward something more ambiguous, more like a date.

A mature woman rarely made choices without meaning. If she was willing to give me her private weekend time and drive me out to the countryside, that meant the hurdle in her heart was almost crossed.

I sent Wang Youmin everything Zheng Xuemei had asked me about for Friday’s self-drive picnic, along with my own analysis.

About five minutes later, she called me directly on voice.

I answered and lowered my voice. “Hello?”

Wang Youmin’s voice came through the receiver, carrying a trace of laziness like she had just finished showering. “You analyzed this so carefully, which means you really do care about it, huh?”

I smiled. “I mainly wanted to hear your opinion.”

“Cut it out,” she snorted softly. “You just want me to give you a reassurance pill.”

I didn’t deny it. “So... what do you think?”

Wang Youmin was silent for two seconds. Then she said, “Go. You should go.”

I felt a little relieved and was just about to thank her when she added, her tone suddenly much more serious:

“But Chen Mo, remember that bottom line. No sticking your dick in, or you know what happens.”

Her tone was flat, but I could hear the jealousy underneath it. I hurried to promise her, “I remember. I’ll definitely stick to it.”

Wang Youmin gave a light “heh.” “You remember now, but what if your brain turns to mush once you’re out in the countryside, in the car or on the picnic blanket?”

“I’m not that hopeless...” I muttered.

“Who knows,” she said after a pause, and then her voice suddenly dropped. “Chen Mo, do you really not mind whether I mind?”

I froze for a second and asked back, “Wife, do you really not mind?”

This time Wang Youmin stayed silent for even longer, probably two full minutes. I could even hear her quiet breathing on the other end.

At last she sighed, her voice carrying a complicated mix of emotions.

“I do mind... of course I mind. Do you think I’d be happy hearing that she invited you to a self-drive picnic? A man and a woman alone, driving out to the countryside, laying out a picnic blanket, blowing in the wind and talking the whole afternoon... But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go. Those two things aren’t contradictory.”

My chest felt a little tight all of a sudden. I said softly, “Youmin, I’m sorry... for making you feel bad.”

“No need to apologize,” she said with a small laugh, though it sounded a little forced. “I agreed to this path myself. I can’t turn around now and turn into a shrew, can I? That would be way too pathetic.”

I held my phone and didn’t know what to say.

She went on, “Chen Mo, what bothers me the most right now isn’t that you’re going to see her. It’s that... I realized I’m actually a little scared.”

“Scared of what?”

“Scared that after you go, you’ll like that feeling more and more,” she said quietly. “Scared that one day you’ll think being with me isn’t as exciting, not as fresh. Scared that I’ll become the yellow-faced wife staying home and waiting for your report, while she becomes the interesting person you secretly keep hidden in your heart.”

My heart ached hard. I quickly said, “No, Youmin. You’ll always be the most important person to me. That will never change.”

Wang Youmin was silent for a while, then suddenly let out a soft laugh.

“Idiot, I know that’s how you feel right now. But people’s hearts change. I’m just... being afraid in advance.”

She paused, and her tone returned to the straightforward, a little-tsundere style she usually had.

“Anyway, you can go. But when you get back, you have to tell me everything, word for word. What she was wearing, what you talked about in the car, how close she got to you during the picnic, and... if she kissed you, where she kissed you, how long she kissed you, and what it felt like. If you hide even a little from me, I’ll make you kneel on the keyboard for a week.”

I couldn’t help laughing. “Yes, ma’am, my wife.”

“Also,” her voice softened a little, “come back early on Friday. I miss you.”

That sentence tickled my heart like a feather. I lowered my voice. “Okay. I’ll try to come back early. I’ll bring you the mango mille-feuille you like.”

“Mm.” She answered, then added, “Chen Mo.”

“Yeah?”

“I love you,” she said quickly, and hung up as soon as she finished.

I looked at the voice call interface after the call ended. My heart felt both sour and soft, and a strong wave of guilt and tenderness surged up at the same time.

In this life, I really owed her a lot.

I put my phone back in my pocket, thought about it for a moment, and on the way home from work I detoured into a flower shop, bought a bouquet of baby’s breath she liked, and handed it to her at home without saying anything. I just gave it to her.

Wang Youmin accepted the flowers, looked at me, and said, “What’s wrong with you today?”

“Nothing,” I said. “I just felt like buying them.”

She lowered her head and smelled them. “Next time buy sunflowers. Baby’s breath is too delicate, and it doesn’t look good in a vase.”

“Okay,” I said.

She took the flowers to find a vase, and I changed my shoes, washed my hands, and went into the kitchen to help her bring out the dishes.

At dinner she said, “You go on Friday. I’ll go out to dinner with my best friend. Perfect.”

I said okay, and thanked her.

She tapped me with her chopsticks. “Thank what? Eat.”

At four o’clock Friday afternoon, I arrived on time at the company underground garage.

Zheng Xuemei had already driven the car out. It was a silver-gray SUV.

Today she had deliberately changed into something suitable for going out: a dark green silk blouse, the collar slightly open to reveal her delicate collarbones, and below that a dark, fitted skirt that reached just above the knee. Her hair had been done in a loose French braid that hung over one shoulder.

That hairstyle made her feel a little less distant and professional than usual at the office, and a lot softer and more feminine... with the unmistakable sense of, Tonight I’m here seriously for a date.

When she saw me walking over, the corner of her mouth curved slightly, and she lowered the window to signal for me to get in.

I opened the door and sat in the passenger seat, then quietly glanced over at the number above her head: [127].

It had gone up three more points. From yesterday to today, just waiting and anticipation had naturally raised it by three. That meant she had thought about me more than once all day.

“Kept you waiting?” I asked with a smile.

“No, I just came down too,” she said with a smile, handing me a bottle of ice-cold soda water. “Have some water first. Traffic might be bad.”

The car slowly pulled out of the company underground garage, and the sunset glow slanted across the windshield. Zheng Xuemei held the steering wheel with calm, steady movements.

The dark gray fitted skirt was made of soft knit fabric, clinging tightly to those exceptionally full, luscious hips of hers.

When she sat in the driver’s seat, the two large, round cheeks were cinched tightly by the skirt and lightly pressed by the seat, forming an alluring curve heavy with weight.

As the car started moving, the thick, full flesh of her hips trembled slightly against the seat, sending wave after wave of juicy motion through the upholstery.

A mature woman’s rich flesh felt magnified to the limit inside that cramped car.

We had barely gotten onto the main road before we hit the evening rush hour. The cars were jammed like a blocked artery, not moving at all.

Zheng Xuemei sighed softly, pulled the seatbelt across her full chest, and turned to ask me, “Want me to put on some music?”

“Your call,” I said with a smile.

She connected to the car’s Bluetooth and opened a playlist called Autumn Mix.

The first song was Jay Chou’s Sunny Day.

When the familiar intro came on, the corner of her mouth lifted unconsciously, and she started humming softly along, her voice low and gentle, yet carrying a rare ease.

“...but somehow, the rain keeps getting heavier, until I can’t see you anymore...”

I got into it too and hummed along with her.

Singing while stuck in traffic was incredibly relaxing, especially when it was with a mature woman who usually carried herself like a cold beauty at the office and now was singing Jay Chou with me. The contrast and closeness felt especially strange and wonderful.

The playlist knew how to set the mood. The next song cut straight to Sabrina Carpenter’s Espresso.

Its bright, cheerful melody instantly lit up the car.

Zheng Xuemei clearly liked this one better. She lightly bobbed her head to the beat, and her full chest trembled faintly beneath the blouse.

She even sang along in English in a quiet voice. Her pronunciation wasn’t perfect, but it had a playful charm to it.

“That’s that me espresso~” she sang when the chorus came up, then turned to wink at me, her eyes full of laughter.

I couldn’t help laughing too, and I hummed along with her at random. Their voices mixed together, warm and absurd in the traffic jam.

After that came Hikaru Utada’s First Love.

The moment the Japanese song started, the atmosphere in the car softened instantly.

Zheng Xuemei turned the volume down a little, and her voice went lower too, as if she were speaking to herself.

“...now it’s still a sad love song, until I can sing a new one, you are always gonna be my love, even if I fall in love again with someone else someday, I’ll remember to love...”

Her side profile was gilded with a layer of warm gold in the sunset, and the fine lines at the corners of her eyes looked especially gentle.

I quietly turned to look at her, and in that instant I suddenly understood why a thirty-nine-year-old woman, even in a marriage that was slowly fading, would still carefully choose a playlist and change into a beautiful skirt for this outing.

She wanted to be taken seriously, and she wanted to take others seriously too.

After nearly forty minutes of being stuck, the traffic finally began to loosen. Zheng Xuemei let out a soft breath and said with a smile, “Finally moving. If we got stuck any longer, I’d be so hungry I’d start singing Rice Fragrance.”

I laughed out loud, reached over, and switched the playlist back to Jay Chou’s Sunny Day. The two of us sang along again, and the atmosphere was as relaxed as a secret date between an old married couple.

Another twenty-some minutes later, we finally reached our destination... the foot of a not-very-high hill on the outskirts of the city.

There was an open stretch of grassland here, and the sun was slowly sinking, tinting the whole world in a warm golden-orange.

In the distance, the city skyline stretched quietly at the edge of sight like a silhouette. Up close, autumn grass rippled in the wind, and the air smelled of fresh grass, soil, and the faint fragrance of leaves, completely different from the city’s exhaust-and-air-conditioning smell.

Zheng Xuemei’s eyes were bright as she parked the car steadily by the edge of the grass and turned to me with a smile.

“We’re here! This is the place I came to scout last time. How is it? Pretty nice, right?”

She rarely showed such a bright, happy expression, like a girl who had finally escaped the office. I smiled and nodded.

“The view is great. Even better than I expected.”

She happily got out of the car and walked briskly around to the trunk.

I followed to help.

The dark gray fitted skirt she was wearing today pulled even tighter when she bent over, fully revealing the tempting shape of her exceptionally full, luscious hips... the two large, round, heavy cheeks were tightly wrapped by the skirt, so plump it seemed like they might spill out at any moment, trembling lightly as she moved things around and sending wave after wave of fleshy motion through the air.

The trunk had been prepared with great care, clearly with a lot of thought behind it: a folded picnic blanket, a small portable table, a basket of food, and a bottle of red wine that looked expensive at first glance.

Together we spread the picnic blanket on the grass, facing the setting sun to the west. The golden-red sunset dyed the grassland in warm tones, and the breeze carried the special fragrance of autumn plants, refreshing and soothing.

Zheng Xuemei knelt on the blanket and naturally took out the food one item at a time, arranging it while happily introducing everything:

“This salmon I grilled last night. I marinated it for half a day, so it should be pretty good; the garlic shrimp is the one you said you liked last time, so I made another batch especially; the fruit was freshly cut this morning, and there’s cheese and baguette too... I picked a wine with a smoother taste, so it shouldn’t be too astringent.”

Every time she mentioned something, she would look up at me, her eyes full of a little anticipation, almost like she was looking for praise.

At that moment, I suddenly realized... this thirty-nine-year-old finance manager, who always carried herself with a cold and detached air at the company, was now just like a woman seriously preparing for a date, arranging every detail with care and tenderness.

Something in my chest moved a little. I said softly, “Sister Zheng, you really put a lot of thought into this.”

Her ears turned faintly red, and she waved it off with a smile. “It’s the weekend anyway. I might as well treat myself like I’m on vacation.”

After the food was laid out, she poured the red wine into two portable glass cups. The liquid glowed with a beautiful amber sheen in the sunset. She handed one cup to me and gently tapped the rim against mine.

“Come on, a toast. Thanks for coming out with me today.”

We both took a sip at the same time. The fruit-scented wine slid down my throat, and a warm feeling slowly spread through my chest.

Zheng Xuemei hugged her knees and sat sideways beside me, looking toward the huge sun slowly sinking in the distance.

The wind lifted the stray hairs by her ears. She stayed silent for a long while before suddenly speaking softly, her voice gentler and more serious than at any previous moment.

“Chen Mo, let me tell you something.”

“Mm, go ahead.” I set down my glass and looked at her quietly.

"Last week," she paused, as if organizing her thoughts, "my husband came back from out of town. He stayed for three days."

I nodded and didn’t press.

"We talked a lot... about life now, about how we’re going to live from here on out." She lowered her head and slowly turned the wine glass between her fingers, her voice dropping. "He said he was willing to transfer to a project closer to home. He said he felt like there’s... a bit too much distance between us."

She gave a bitter smile. "He was right. There really is distance between us."

Zheng Xuemei lifted her eyes and looked straight at me. In the sunset, her gaze was especially soft, but there was also a clear trace of confusion.

"But when he said he was coming back, the first thing that came into my head wasn’t happiness."

I repeated her words softly. "Not happiness... then what?"

"Confusion." Her voice was even lower now. "The kind of confusion where you think, oh, he’s coming back, and then what? How are we supposed to go back to how things were? Do I even remember what we were like before?" She shook her head lightly. "To be honest, I can’t even figure out what state this marriage is in anymore."

I didn’t rush to comfort her. I just lifted my glass and took a sip, then said calmly, "So did he make a final decision? Is he transferring back or not?"

"Not yet. He’s waiting for the company to arrange it." She took another sip of red wine. The last light of the sunset spilled across her face, making her profile look especially gentle. "Actually... I haven’t figured out what I really want either."

I looked at her and said softly, "If you can’t figure it out, then think slowly. No rush."

She turned to look at me and suddenly gave a small laugh, fine lines creasing at the corners of her eyes. "You always say no rush... Chen Mo, you really are the type who never puts pressure on other people. That’s rare."

The wind moved across the grass, and the topic slowly drifted away from the heaviness of marriage toward something lighter.

She talked about a movie she’d recently watched, about how the garlic shrimp I’d brought today tasted, and then mentioned how, when she was younger, she especially loved coming out to the countryside with friends to camp, pitch tents, and look at the stars.

The more wine we drank, the more her words thinned out.

In the latter half, Zheng Xuemei gradually fell quiet.

She leaned against one side of the picnic mat, hugging her knees, but her eyes kept landing on me more and more often.

It was a direct, unhidden look, carrying the haze of alcohol and the glow of the setting sun.

Inside it was obvious desire, loneliness that had been suppressed for too long, and a kind of recognition of me that had already gone far beyond the limits of ordinary coworkers or friends.

The sunset light spilled across her face, gilding her slightly flushed cheeks with a soft layer of gold.

The French braid she’d worn today had come a little loose, a few strands of hair sticking to her face and swaying gently in the breeze, adding an extra touch of rare softness and allure.

I quietly glanced at the number above her head:

[Zheng Xuemei (39) Favorability toward you: 138]

From 127 to 138. This picnic had lasted more than two hours, and her favorability had risen by eleven points, all naturally, without spending a single system point.

Just as I was thinking of saying something to break this growing silence, she suddenly turned her head and spoke in a low, gentle voice.

"Chen Mo, do you rarely go out for picnics?"

"Mm," I said with a smile. "Work’s busy, and on weekends I usually like staying home with my wife."

She nodded lightly, but her gaze dimmed a little. A moment later, she turned her face away and smiled, her tone as if she were covering something up. "Then you should get out more. Take your wife with you too. That kind of thing... it’s really healing."

I nodded. "Okay. We’ll do that sometime."

As soon as the words left my mouth, I clearly saw the motion of her lowering her head to pick up fruit pause for a fraction of a second.

The corners of her mouth held a warmth that was also complicated to the point of being almost bitter... it was the softness and loneliness that had slipped out uncontrollably when she heard me say, "Take your wife."

At that moment, I felt a sudden pang of sympathy.

The sun finally sank below the horizon, and the sky darkened rapidly.

But Zheng Xuemei didn’t rush to pack up.

She finished the last mouthful of red wine in her glass, then turned to face me, her knees almost touching mine.

The air seemed to turn thick and charged with something unspoken.

She looked at me, her eyes bright in the dusk, carrying a few traces of drunken haze and courage.

The distance between us was so close I could smell each other’s breath.

She suddenly leaned slightly forward, as if she wanted to come closer, but checked herself at the last second. Instead, she reached out and let the tip of her finger lightly touch the back of my hand.

It was a very light touch, but it carried a clear warmth.

"Chen Mo..." Her voice was low, with a faint nasal note. "Today... thank you, really, for coming out with me. It’s been a long time... since I felt this relaxed."

Her fingertip didn’t withdraw right away. It stayed resting lightly on the back of my hand, warm and delicate, as if silently passing along some feeling that couldn’t be put into words.

I didn’t pull away. Instead, I turned my palm over and gently held her fingers. Her hand trembled slightly, but she didn’t take it back. She just lowered her lashes, long eyelashes fluttering lightly in the dusk.

We sat there in silence like that, fingers interlaced, and neither of us spoke again. The wind swept across the grass, carrying the chill unique to autumn, but it couldn’t disperse the increasingly thick atmosphere between us.

After a long while, Zheng Xuemei finally slipped her hand free, with a little reluctance.

She brushed grass bits from her palms, then turned to look at me. Her eyes were still bright in the dimming light, carrying the flush of wine and a lingering excitement.

"Chen Mo, how about... we walk a little more? There’s a path up ahead. I heard it leads to a jungle lookout in the mountains. There aren’t many people there at ordinary times, and now it should be even quieter. You can see the whole night view."

I glanced at the sky, which was already getting dark, then at the expression on her face that clearly didn’t want the evening to end so quickly. My heart softened a little, and I nodded.

"Sure. Walking a bit sounds good. We came out today to relax, after all."

Zheng Xuemei’s lips curved into a small arc, bright with delight. She nodded happily and took an emergency flashlight and a thin blanket from the trunk, stuffing them into a light backpack.

We didn’t drive back right away. Instead, we followed the inconspicuous path at the edge of the grass and headed into the mountain side by side.

She walked beside me, her steps much slower than before. The dark gray fitted skirt swayed gently as she moved.

In the dimming dusk, those heavy, round, full curves seemed to glow with a soft sheen. Every step carried the unique pressure and elasticity of a mature woman.

I walked at her side, occasionally reaching out to steady her waist, and the distance between us had grown closer than when we first arrived.

At first it was just an ordinary forest trail. Tall trees and low shrubs lined both sides, insects chirped all around, and the air was damp and cool. Zheng Xuemei walked in front.

I followed behind her, unable to stop my eyes from landing again and again on the lush fullness of her hips, my heartbeat quickening slightly.

Alcohol and nightfall made everything feel ambiguous and dangerous.

After about twenty minutes, the path grew narrower and narrower, while the canopy overhead grew denser and denser. The light dimmed rapidly. Even the crisp insect sounds seemed to turn a little eerie.

"Seems like... we’ve wandered a bit off," Zheng Xuemei said, stopping to check the map on her phone, but the signal had already become extremely weak, leaving only a faint single bar.

She frowned, uncertainty creeping into her voice.

I switched on the flashlight and aimed it ahead. The beam could only cut through about a dozen meters of dense woods. "Maybe we should head back the way we came. It’s almost completely dark."

She hesitated, bit her lower lip, and the face that had looked especially soft from the wine now seemed a little stubborn in the flashlight’s glow. "Let’s try going a bit farther. I think I saw some light ahead... it should be the lookout. It won’t be too far."

I couldn’t outargue her, so I nodded. "Then be careful. Follow me."

We kept going.

Not long after, the gently sloping mountain path suddenly turned steep, and the ground changed from soft dirt to slick rocks covered in moss.

The high heels Zheng Xuemei was wearing were obviously wrong for terrain like this. She stumbled a little.

I hurried to reach out and steady her waist. Through the silk blouse, I could feel the softness and warmth of her body, along with the heartbeat that had picked up a little from nerves.

"Careful," I said quietly.

She gave a soft "Mm," but didn’t push my hand away. Instead, she leaned even closer to me.

Her heavy, full chest brushed my arm lightly, carrying astonishing softness and heat.

After another ten-plus minutes, an open area suddenly appeared ahead, hidden behind vines and giant trees. In the middle of it stood an abandoned wooden hut.

The door was half ajar. Inside was pitch-black, and faintly visible on the floor were scattered old newspapers and broken furniture.

"Someone lived here before?" Zheng Xuemei asked softly, instinctively moving closer to me. Her soft, full breasts pressed tightly against my chest, and I could clearly feel her heartbeat quickening from fear.

I shone the flashlight inside and suddenly noticed a torn backpack in the corner, with several bloodstained scraps of paper and a shattered phone scattered nearby.

The blood had already dried black, but it was still horrifying.

"Chen Mo... let’s go back."

Zheng Xuemei’s voice was trembling now. She pressed herself against me completely, her hand unconsciously gripping the hem of my shirt.

At that moment, an eerie rustling suddenly came from the woods behind us, as if some large animal was quickly approaching through the wet fallen leaves.

Then a black shadow burst out of the bushes... a sizable wild dog, its eyes reflecting a cold green gleam in the flashlight beam. It growled low and threateningly in its throat, baring sharp yellowed teeth.

"Ah...!"

Zheng Xuemei gave a terrified cry and nearly threw herself into my arms.

Her soaked, full breasts slammed hard against my chest, the overwhelming softness and weight of them coming through the drenched silk blouse.

Her two plump, white mounds heaved violently with fear, and her hard nipples clearly pressed against my chest, rubbing against me with every ragged breath.

Her whole body was trembling. Her soft, full form was almost completely plastered against mine.

Her absurdly plump hips instinctively clenched in fear, trembling faintly beneath the soaked skirt, the heavy flesh pressing tightly against my thigh with astonishing weight and elasticity.

I wrapped one arm tightly around her slender but soft waist, shielding her in my arms, while my other hand swiftly picked up a thick branch from the ground and swung it hard at the dog, shouting to drive it away.

The dog backed off a few steps, but it didn’t leave immediately. It lingered nearby, growling and refusing to go, its green eyes fixed on us as though it had claimed the place as its territory.

"It may have taken this place for a den," I said in a low voice, keeping my tone as steady as I could. "We have to take a detour. We can’t fight it head-on."

Zheng Xuemei was so frightened she could barely stand. She went limp against me.

Her chest pressed tightly against me, and with every ragged breath it compressed and deformed against my chest. That unbelievably soft, springy, heavy flesh came clearly through the wet clothing, hot enough to burn.

Her face was buried in the crook of my neck, and her warm breath puffed against my skin, carrying the sweet scent of wine and the trembling of fear.

"Don’t be scared... I’ve got you." I soothed her in a low voice, one hand gently stroking her soaked back, while the other unconsciously moved lower to steady her lush waist, my palm nearly brushing the edge of those massive hips cinched tightly by her skirt.

Zheng Xuemei didn’t push me away. Instead, she pressed herself even more tightly into my arms.

Those exceptional hips clenched faintly from tension, the flesh trembling lightly under my palm. The oppressive weight and astonishing springiness made my fingertips heat up.

We carefully skirted around the abandoned wooden hut and pushed deeper into the woods.

Night had fully fallen, and visibility in the jungle was extremely poor.

The flashlight beam could only illuminate a small patch ahead. Everywhere else was black tree shadows and unfamiliar insect calls. Now and then, a night bird would cry out sharply, as if it were some ominous sign.

Zheng Xuemei spent the entire time almost half carried forward by me.

She stepped on slick fallen leaves and moss, trembling with each step.

I simply draped one of her arms around my neck and used my other hand to support her slender waist steadily, letting her hang almost entirely on me.

Her full breasts stayed pressed tightly against my chest, rubbing with every step; those heavy, lush hips would occasionally brush the outside of my thigh, the soaked skirt clinging to the flesh and outlining the exaggerated roundness of her figure completely, every movement sending up layers of tempting, fleshly ripples.

"Chen Mo..." she murmured in the darkness, her voice soft and trembling. "I’m so scared..."

"Don’t be scared. Hold on tight to me." I lowered my head and whispered in her ear, my lips almost touching her burning earlobe.

Zheng Xuemei gave a soft "Mm" and tightened her arms around my neck even more, clinging to me like an octopus.

At that moment, in this dark and dangerous jungle, our bodies were pressed together with barely a trace of space between us. Her warmth, her softness, her trembling, and that seductive scent mixed from rainwater, perfume, and a mature woman’s body all surged toward me without restraint.

We kept moving.

Zheng Xuemei stayed tightly against me as we walked, and her high heels got caught several times in exposed roots and cracks in the rocks, making crisp clicking sounds.

At times like this, she could only bend down to take the shoes off and walk barefoot over the leaves and wet moss, then put them back on after passing the difficult stretch.

The soles of her feet were pale and delicate, looking especially vulnerable under the flashlight.

"Do your feet hurt?" I asked softly, supporting her waist with concern.

"It’s okay..." Her voice was a little shaky, clearly forcing herself to endure it. "It’s just... I’m a bit scared. Chen Mo, are we... going to get lost?"

I held her hand tighter, feeling the cool but soft touch of her palm, and worked hard to keep my voice steady.

"Don’t be scared. I’m here. We’ll find our way out slowly."

After another twenty minutes, the terrain became even more complicated. It seemed we had completely veered off the original path.

The trees around us grew taller and denser, their branches and leaves layered together like a giant black curtain, blocking out the moonlight entirely.

The ground grew slicker and slicker, and with every step Zheng Xuemei took barefoot over sharp pebbles and broken twigs, she sucked in a sharp breath of pain. Her pace slowed noticeably.

"Zheng-jie... you can’t keep walking like this." I stopped and crouched down, using the flashlight to inspect her feet. There were already several tiny cuts seeping blood.

Zheng Xuemei bit her lower lip. "I... I’m fine. If we walk a little farther, it’ll be okay."

"No." I decisively took off my own sneakers and held them out in front of her. "Wear mine. I’ll walk in socks."

She froze, looking at my bare feet and the shoes I was offering, her eyes flickering in the flashlight beam.

"Then you..."

"I’m fine." I crouched in front of her and gently patted my knee. "Come on, lift your foot."

After hesitating for two seconds, Zheng Xuemei finally blushed and lifted one foot.

Today she was wearing thin-strapped black heels. Her ankles were slim, the tops of her feet pale as snow. Her toes had curled slightly from the long walk, and the soles were already somewhat red and swollen.

I first reached out and held her cool, soft ankle, and the delicate skin there sent a sudden tremor through my palm.

Her feet were beautiful, long and graceful, with elegant arches and round, pink toes. Even stained with mud and rainwater, they still carried the soft sheen unique to a mature woman.

I couldn’t help brushing my thumb lightly over the top of her foot, from ankle all the way down toward the sole. The touch was soft and cool, but it carried a faint tremble.

"Ah... Chen Mo!" Zheng Xuemei gasped, her toes curling tightly at once. She pouted and lightly kicked me.

"You’re awful... don’t touch there... it’s itchy..."

Her voice was soft and coaxing, with clear embarrassment, but she didn’t really put much force into it.

That little kick felt more like flirting than resistance. Her foot squirmed uneasily in my palm, toes curling and then relaxing again, brushing my hand until it tingled.

I let out a quiet laugh and deliberately scratched her sole once more before slipping the sneaker onto her foot. The shoe was obviously a little big for her, so I crouched and carefully tightened the laces to make sure it wouldn’t come off.

When I moved to her other foot, I half knelt in front of her and looked up.

Zheng Xuemei looked down at me, and her damp eyes flickered with complicated light... gratitude, shyness, and a softness and stirring emotion that was especially moving in the darkness.

Her chest rose and fell gently with her quickened breathing. The soaked silk blouse clung tightly to her body, fully revealing the curves of her heavy breasts, with the hard points of her nipples clearly visible beneath the fabric.

At that moment, in the yellow beam of the flashlight, we met each other’s eyes. The air itself seemed to grow thick and charged with desire.

Holding her other cool but soft ankle, I felt the fine texture of her skin and the slight trembling caused by embarrassment, while my movements remained very gentle as I put the shoe on her.

After I finished tying the laces, I didn’t stand up right away. Instead, I lowered my head and lightly kissed the back of her snow-white, delicate foot.

My lips pressed against her cool but soft skin, carrying a trace of rain moisture and a faint earthy scent.

"Chen Mo..." Zheng Xuemei’s voice had a clear nasal note to it, shy and soft. "You... pervert..."

She gave a small cry, her toes curling instantly, but she didn’t pull her foot away. Instead, she slightly arched the top of her foot. Her instep trembled faintly from shame, and the delicate skin quivered under my lips.

I looked up at her flushed face and smiled as I whispered, "Zheng-jie, what do you take me for? I’m only kissing it because your foot got cut. Saliva disinfects."

Zheng Xuemei looked down at me. Her damp eyes shimmered with watery light, shy and annoyed, but with a softness she couldn’t hide. Biting her lower lip, she pouted in a soft, coaxing voice, "Smooth talker... always lying..."

Even so, she didn’t pull her foot back. Instead, her toes curled slightly and rubbed lightly against my palm.

There was still a wet trace on the back of her foot where I’d kissed it, shining with ambiguous moisture in the flashlight beam.

I let out another soft laugh and deliberately kissed the top of her foot again, letting the tip of my tongue sweep lightly over the tiny cut before smearing warm saliva over it.

"It really does work," I said, looking up at her, my voice rough. "At the very least... it should make you feel better."

Zheng Xuemei’s cheeks turned so red they looked ready to bleed. She gently kicked my shoulder with her other foot, the force soft and limp, more like coyness than rejection.

"You’re impossible... Chen Mo... you’re getting worse and worse..."

Even while she said that, her eyes were so wet they seemed ready to drip, carrying the bashfulness and faint indulgence unique to a mature woman.

Her toes moved uneasily in my palm, and in the end she still obediently let me hold her foot without pulling it back.

"Chen Mo... thank you." Her voice was soft and low, with a slight nasal tone.

I helped her put on her shoes. When I stood up, I deliberately teased her, "Now it’s my turn to carry your high heels, as an apology for not taking good care of you before and letting your foot get cut."

I bent down and picked up her slim high heels, hooking my finger through the straps as I held them.

Zheng Xuemei looked at me, at the way I was only wearing socks and stepping on the cold, wet fallen leaves, and her eyes suddenly went a little red.

She took a step toward me, then stopped all at once, turned around, and gave me a light hug.

Her full, heavy breasts pressed tightly against my chest through the damp clothes, soft and warm with startling weight.

"Be careful. Don’t get your feet cut," she said softly, her voice carrying a rare, sweet tenderness.

I reached back and lightly patted her full, rounded ass, still wrapped in the hem of her half skirt, and said in a low voice, "Don’t worry, my skin’s thick. You, on the other hand, walk carefully in my shoes."