Chapter 134: Kiss Me

Zhiyi remained quiet as they resumed their second circuit through the main corridor.

Hanchuan didn’t press her for an answer. He kept hold of her hand while they passed the filtration system, giving her time to reconsider the four minutes she had removed from her daily shower.

When they reached the water controls, Zhiyi stopped and examined the reserve projections again. "The four minutes don’t change the probability of our supplies lasting through the Heat."

"No," Hanchuan confirmed. The tanks and recycling systems had been designed to support six people without requiring unnecessary restrictions.

"They don’t significantly affect the Flood reserve either." She looked toward him, checking that she hadn’t overlooked a consequence.

"They don’t."

Zhiyi returned her attention to the projections. The reduction had made her feel as though she were responding appropriately to the city’s rationing, but it hadn’t materially improved their survival probability.

"Then I’ll restore them," she decided.

Hanchuan tightened his fingers around hers before guiding her toward the next section of the shelter.

He didn’t praise the decision as though she had surrendered an argument. He simply accepted that she had stopped denying herself something their preparations had always been intended to provide.

The direct acceptance surprised him, though it shouldn’t have.

Zhiyi didn’t cling to discomfort once the reason behind it failed. She had no interest in suffering for its own sake.

Hanchuan lifted her hand and pressed his mouth against her knuckles. "Good."

They resumed walking.

By the fourth circuit, Zhiyi’s stride shortened slightly.

She hadn’t complained, but Hanchuan checked the time and found that he had kept 27 of the 30 minutes.

He guided her toward the private sitting room instead of beginning another lap.

The room had no terminal connected to the shelter network. Shichen included it after Hanchuan rejected the first master-suite design for failing to provide Zhiyi with a place to exist without visible work.

A long sofa occupied one wall. Books filled the shelves beside it, while a low table held the puzzle Zhiyi had started before the Heat began.

She paused when she saw it.

More than half of the thousand pieces remained in sorted trays according to color and edge pattern. She had stopped working on it when the first emergency alert arrived and hadn’t returned.

Hanchuan sat on the sofa and drew Zhiyi between his knees. The walk had loosened some of the tension in her shoulders, but he wasn’t ready to let her return to the communications room.

She checked the time before looking down at him. "We have three minutes left."

"The exercise has three minutes left," Hanchuan corrected. His hands settled at her waist, making it clear that he considered the distinction important.

"You said you were keeping 30 minutes."

"I did."

Zhiyi reviewed the original agreement. He had selected exercise because it was the need she had neglected, but he had never stated that the full 30 minutes had to be spent walking.

"That means the remaining time belongs to me," she concluded.

Hanchuan looked up at her. The logic didn’t support her conclusion, but he had no interest in challenging any interpretation that kept her standing between his knees.

"What do you want to do with it?" he asked, giving her control of the remaining minutes.

The question was open, but this time Zhiyi didn’t freeze.

She placed both hands against his shoulders and climbed onto his lap.

Hanchuan’s hands settled around her waist while she adjusted her position. The movement brought her mouth close enough that he could feel her breath, but she didn’t kiss him immediately.

Zhiyi placed both hands on his shoulders. "I liked this morning," she announced.

"So did I," Hanchuan agreed with a nod of his head. He kept his hands at her waist, waiting for her to decide what she wanted from the remaining minutes.

"I want to do it again."

His grip tightened slightly before he deliberately relaxed it. The direct request affected him more than she appeared to realize. "The walking?"

Zhiyi looked at him with enough disbelief to show that she recognized the joke.

She had just completed two circuits because he required it, but neither of them believed the exercise was what she wanted to repeat.

"The other part."

Hanchuan leaned closer without closing the final distance between them. He wanted to hear her ask rather than rescue her from having to express the desire. "You’ll have to be more specific."

Her eyes narrowed at the unnecessary demand, but one hand moved from his shoulder to the back of his neck.

"Kiss me," she said.

This time, she left him nothing to misinterpret.

Hanchuan obeyed before she could count the remaining minutes.

Hanchuan’s hand settled against the back of Zhiyi’s neck as he kissed her.

She had approached the first kiss that morning as though testing an unfamiliar conclusion.

Now she already knew what she wanted. Her fingers tightened against his shoulders, and she leaned closer until the space between them disappeared.

The change wasn’t dramatic.

Zhiyi never performed emotion for anyone, and she had no reason to begin with him. Her certainty appeared in smaller ways—in the pressure of her mouth, the slow movement of her thumb against his collar, and the complete absence of the tension that entered her body whenever someone else touched her.

Hanchuan felt every difference.

He kept one arm around her waist and allowed her to control the pace.

The disaster outside their shelter, the government messages waiting on the communications wall and the remaining tasks on both their schedules lost their importance beneath the simple fact that Zhiyi had come to him because she wanted to be held.

When he finally drew back, her eyes remained closed for several seconds.

"The three minutes ended," Hanchuan murmured.

Zhiyi opened her eyes and glanced toward the clock on the side table. Four minutes and 12 seconds had passed since she climbed onto his lap. "So it did."

Hanchuan brushed his thumb across her lower lip, showing no concern about the violation. "You didn’t tell me to stop."

Zhiyi returned her attention to his face. The observation wasn’t a criticism, and she had no intention of pretending otherwise.

"I didn’t want you to stop," she admitted.

The direct answer erased the last trace of amusement from his expression.

His hand moved from her waist to the back of her neck as he considered how much further beyond the allocated time she might allow him to go.