In her hazy vision, Xie Qichen’s face gradually came into focus. Tan Mo, whose intoxication was slowly fading, froze for a few seconds before realizing he had kissed her. Her voice was soft:
“Xie Qichen, are you also drunk like you were back then…”
The man’s eyes burned with intensity as he gazed at her, his voice thick with tenderness:
“I’m not drunk.”
“Back then, and now, I’ve always known exactly who I was kissing.”
Back in her senior year of high school, in a villa filled with partygoers, he had pulled her into an empty room and kissed her after drinking. Tan Mo thought he had mistaken her for Song Ranxia.
Unbeknownst to her, it was because he had heard that Tan Mo had recently been spending time with a male classmate, and his possessiveness surged for the first time, leading him to lose control.
Xie Qichen’s eyes reflected only her bewildered face, his gaze searing:
“Just like I know that I’ve always loved only Tan Mo.”
Tan Mo looked at him, her eyes slowly reddening: “I always thought you wouldn’t like me…”
Xie Qichen took her hand and pressed it to his chest, his voice hoarse:
“Momomo, I wish I could rip my heart out and show it to you.”
He was frustrated by her slowness to understand and regretted not being more direct himself, “I thought you could see it. Every move I made was telling you I love you.”
From the moment he returned to the country, he had wanted to stay by her side and give her all his love.
Xie Qichen stroked her long hair, resting his forehead against hers, whispering:
“I’m sorry. I know everything that happened the other day. Last Thursday night, you prepared a birthday cake and dinner for me, but I went to a classmate’s gathering instead. When I came back, I didn’t ask you much.”
“And then the time I took you to that wedding, I didn’t know someone would gossip about you behind your back, making you feel wronged and too afraid to tell me. It was my fault for not protecting you.”
He apologized to her:
“And then that night we argued, I took your words seriously, which made our fight escalate. You ended up moving out. I should have just plainly said I love you. I was wrong, causing you so much pain.”
Upon hearing this, Tan Mo felt a sting in her nose: “Xie Qichen, I was too scared to believe you liked me, so I preferred to deceive myself rather than admit it…”
Tan Mo choked up: “That day when I said I married you only for benefits, I was lying to you. I really, really like you. I don’t want to divorce you…”
He wiped away her tears with a pained heart, “I know, I know everything.”
“Xie Qichen, I couldn’t tell the truth because I was always afraid you liked Song Ranxia. I know there’s nothing between you and Song Ranxia, but I’m just petty. I can’t help but feel jealous…”
Tan Mo sobbed, “When I hear people say how perfect you and she are together, and that I resemble Song Ranxia a little, I can’t help but wonder if I’m just her substitute in your heart. Now that she’s back, you regret our engagement, don’t you? Wuwuwu…”
The man was momentarily shocked, then smiled helplessly:
“Tan Mo, could your imagination get any more vivid?”
So she had been thinking about substitutes all these days?
“Anyway, I’m just scared you’ll fall for her. I know I’m not perfect, except…except I’m pretty, smart, and cute.”
The girl lowered her head, gently swinging her feet, “I guess I don’t seem to have any other good qualities.”
Xie Qichen couldn’t help but smile at her, “Aren’t those already quite a few good qualities?”
He gently kissed away her tears at the corners of her eyes, “Stupid girl, I don’t like Song Ranxia, not ever.”
His kisses moved from her eyebrows down, inch by inch, deeply and passionately. Finally, he rested his forehead against hers, looking directly into her eyes:
“And who says Tan Mo isn’t good enough?”
“She’s more than good enough—so good that once my heart was filled with her, there was no room left for anyone else.”
He didn’t care what others were like because, no matter how good others might be, once he had fallen for Tan Mo, he could no longer see anyone else.
Tan Mo’s mind was hazy. Upon hearing this, she stared blankly at the man’s face, still somewhat uncertain:
“So you won’t divorce me…”
Xie Qichen smiled helplessly, “How can you be so silly, huh?”
He gripped the back of her head, locking eyes with her: “No divorce. How could we ever divorce?”
Tan Mo’s cheeks flushed red, whether from understanding or not, after a few seconds, her red lips gently pressed against his—lightly, like a dragonfly skimming the water.
Xie Qichen was momentarily stunned, then pulled her closer, teasingly asking: “What was that supposed to mean, huh?”
Still somewhat drunk, Tan Mo turned her head slightly, confused: “You kissed me just now. I was imitating you.”
Before she could react, her neck was held firmly, the man’s warm breath tickling her ear:
“Just now was like this.”
Before Tan Mo could react, the next moment, a fiercely hot breath suddenly surged like a storm, sealing her lips once more.
The living room had only a dim floor lamp on, the moonlight spilling in through the window, casting a soft, dim light.
This kiss was different from the previous one.
It was as if two hearts had finally come together after breaking through the fog, the man’s thin lips burning with even more intensity, his breath invading every inch, shattering all restraint and rationality.
Tan Mo softly moaned, wrapped in his arms, her head spinning, feeling as if her entire being had become as light as a dandelion seed.
In her daze, she instinctively lifted her hands to embrace Xie Qichen’s neck, instinctively responding to him. Unknowingly, this act was like pouring a bucket of oil onto a burning match, completely igniting Xie Qichen’s love.
The rhythm was like an arrow suddenly released from a bow, like love that had been painfully suppressed for a long time finally bursting forth in this moment, all driven by instinct.
Xie Qichen paused slightly, stood up, and with one hand supporting the girl, carried her upstairs.
Along the way, they occasionally stopped, and Tan Mo clung tightly to him, only to be pressed against the wall of the staircase.
She looked at him, her eyes glistening: “Xie Qichen…”
“Mm.”
The man pressed his forehead against hers, inhaled heavily, and in the next instant, took away all her ability to think.
Dominant yet gentle.
Finally reaching the second-floor bedroom, Xie Qichen carried her inside, placing Tan Mo on the soft, dark bed sheets, then leaning down over her.
His kisses, like flames, traced her pale, slender neck. Drunk Tan Mo was different from her usual shy self; she snuggled into him like a kitten, curiously wanting to explore every part of him. Her hands rested on his chest, slowly moving to his abdomen.
He held her hand, the veins on the back of his hand bulging, his voice deep and hoarse:
“Don’t move…”
Tan Mo was dazed, “I want to touch…”
To Xie Qichen, this girl, accompanied by the rich fragrance of jasmine, burned away the last threads of his rationality.
As her kiss came again, Xie Qichen held her waist tighter.
Tan Mo felt her vision spinning, sometimes flipped over and pressed down, the sheets quickly becoming deeply wrinkled.
In the bedroom, the girl’s soft moans and the man’s heavy breathing alternated.
After an unknown amount of time, when Xie Qichen’s hand reached her skirt hem, he saw the girl’s tear-filled eyes and realized what was about to happen next, finally forcing himself to stop.
Tan Mo, wanting more like a child begging for candy, Xie Qichen gripped her waist, turned to the side, and bit her thin, rosy earlobe, his throat rasping:
“Be good, Momomo. Wait a little longer.”
It was still too fast. Even though he knew her feelings, he didn’t want to take advantage of her drunken state.
He was afraid she might still feel upset, afraid she hadn’t completely forgiven him.
Anyway, they still had plenty of time. He could wait for her to sober up completely.
The man’s kisses gradually became gentler, his low murmurs calming her emotions. Tan Mo was embraced like a treasure, kissed passionately, instinctively responding.
After a long while, the intoxication turned into drowsiness, and Tan Mo, closing her eyes, leaned against his shoulder and fell asleep.
Xie Qichen turned over, letting her lie flat.
She nuzzled his chest, instinctively curling into his arms, emitting a soft, sweet sound.
His gaze fell on her face, his eyes filled with restraint, so soft they seemed to melt into water.
After she was completely asleep, the man turned up the room’s heater, then got out of bed, walked around the messy floor, and went to the bathroom.
For the entire night, the little girl had left him in a state of disarray.
The sound of the shower echoed in the bathroom, and after a while, the sound stopped, as did the water.
Wrapped in a towel, he came out, quickly tidied up the room, and finally turned his gaze back to the center of the room.
Under the warm, orange-yellow light, Tan Mo curled up into a small ball, her delicate back faintly glowing white in the night, sleeping peacefully and contentedly.
He recalled the time around the New Year; now, it felt like a lifetime ago.
She was finally back.
Xie Qichen walked over and lay back down beside her. The little girl, as if sensing something, turned over and naturally nestled into his arms.
Looking at Tan Mo’s sleeping face, the heaviness and bitterness in Xie Qichen’s heart over the past few days slowly dissipated.
It was as if the most important part of his heart had finally returned, accompanied by a sweetness that surged in like honey.
He had never felt so at peace.
He kissed her brow and closed his eyes.
He would never let her escape again.
The next day, the first rays of morning sunlight fell, and the stars hid in the warm, soft clouds, slowly illuminating the entire city of Licheng.
Tan Mo, who slept restlessly all night, kept moving around in Xie Qichen’s arms, making him unable to sleep well.
In the end, it was the man who kissed her until she cried softly, calming her down before finally falling asleep at four in the morning.
As for Tan Mo, her thoughts drifted all night, and in her hazy mind, she felt she had a particularly sweet dream involving Xie Qichen…
At around six in the morning, the faint light filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows, and Tan Mo’s eyelids felt the brightness, slowly opening her eyes.
Tan Mo vaguely felt her waist held by a hand, and as her vision gradually cleared, Xie Qichen’s sharp eyebrows and bright eyes came into view.
???！！！
Two seconds later, Tan Mo’s brain exploded with a bang, and the heat rushed to the top of her head.
Tan Mo turned her head and saw that she was now in Xie Qichen’s bedroom. The scenes from last night suddenly surfaced vividly in her mind—
Last night, Tan Mo didn’t blackout as she usually did.
She remembered being at a barbecue restaurant with her roommate, eating grilled fish, when Xie Qichen suddenly appeared out of nowhere, took her away, and eventually they returned to this villa, seemingly clearing the air between them.
Tan Mo, can’t you feel how much I love you?
Tan Mo, I wish I could rip my heart out and show it to you.
Tan Mo, you’re so good that my heart can’t hold anyone else…
The man’s sweet words gradually surfaced in her mind, vividly clear, as if they were spoken again in her ears, not like a dream.
Just two days ago, their relationship had hit rock bottom, and she thought she and Xie Qichen would become strangers from then on. Yet now, he was so close to her.
It turned out the dream she thought she had last night was actually real.
It turned out, Xie Qichen liked her too…
Tan Mo’s heart suddenly exploded with warmth, staring at the man in front of her.
At this moment, Xie Qichen was sleeping with his eyes closed, his sharp eyebrows and bright eyes exuding a refined charm that broke through his usual restraint.
They were lying very close, the distance between them particularly intimate, even allowing her to hear his heartbeat.
Although the two had once embraced and slept together on Mount Kewu, now it was truly filled with intimacy and love.
Tan Mo’s gaze was like a brush, tracing the face of the man she had longed for day and night, confirming over and over that this was real.
Tan Mo felt herself almost going numb…
After calming down for several minutes, Tan Mo’s emotions slowly settled, naturally giving way to a sweet joy.
How could she not be happy after finally opening up to him?
She was reluctant to leave his embrace, still caught up in the rising emotions, when suddenly a thought struck her—
Wait! Didn’t she have a flight today for an out-of-town show?!
Oh no, there had been so much happening yesterday, how could she have almost forgotten this!!
Although she was reluctant to leave, Tan Mo dared not delay her work. Carefully slipping out of his arms, she went to his bathroom.
Softly closing the door, she stood in front of the mirror, suddenly noticing her neck and froze—
There were several faint pink spots on her neck.
She looked down from her collarbone and saw that her pale shoulders and collarbone were marked with rosy imprints. Even the softness of her chest bore traces, as if the man had planted flags on every territory he had conquered, proclaiming his possession…
She remembered they had kissed last night.
The sensation of his hot lips pressing against her surfaced again in her mind.
She rubbed her burning cheeks, her whole face feeling like it was about to cook.
How could this person be like this…
But it wasn’t that Xie Qichen wasn’t a gentleman. She slowly recalled… she had also been pretty proactive last night.
Wuwuwuw so embarrassing qwq.
Tan Mo tried to calm her emotions, thinking she had to hurry back to school, and went to the nearby storage cabinet, finding disposable toiletries.
After taking them and closing the cabinet, her gaze casually shifted, and she suddenly saw a pair of dark-colored men’s briefs on the washbasin.
Her eyes landed on them, noticing something, and her face instantly flared with heat.
The next moment, she quickly turned her face away, feeling like she was about to spontaneously combust.
This person…
Tan Mo quickly suppressed the thoughts in her mind, blushing as she quickly finished washing up, tidying herself up simply.
Stepping out of the bathroom, Tan Mo’s bare feet stepped softly on the plush carpet, walking quietly to the bed’s side. Seeing Xie Qichen was still asleep, she hesitated for a moment, shyly deciding not to wake him.
Finally tidying up, she walked out of the bedroom.
Leaving the villa, she hailed a taxi and quickly returned to F University.
It was not even seven o’clock yet. She returned to her dorm and quietly opened the door to enter.
A roommate who had stayed up all night playing games heard the sound and peeked out from behind the curtain. Seeing her, she softly exclaimed, “Hey, Momomo, you’re back?”
“Mm…”
Another roommate and Chang Yue also woke up upon hearing the noise. They had been worried about Tan Mo all night, sending her messages and calling her, but she hadn’t answered. Tan Mo said she had been too drunk to hear her phone last night. “Sorry for making you worry. I couldn’t treat you to dinner last night. I’ll make it up to you another time.”
The three girls laughed. Chang Yue curiously asked, “Tan Mo, so the guy who took you away last night is your boyfriend?”
“Eh?”
“He said he was your boyfriend.”
Tan Mo hesitated for a moment, then shyly smiled. “Mm, I guess you could say that…”
Thankfully, that possessive guy hadn’t revealed the truth about their relationship.
“No way! You sneaky little Mo, you actually found a guy behind our backs!”
Tan Mo explained that they had just started dating. Chang Yue grinned mischievously, “Tan Mo, I thought you were such a good girl, but now you’ve turned bad.”
“Eh?”
Tan Mo noticed the look Chang Yue cast toward her neck and quickly raised her hand to cover the suggestive marks there, causing everyone to laugh again. Embarrassed, Tan Mo didn’t dare to explain further, fearing it would only make things worse. “You guys…”
Though they teased her, everyone understood since they were all adults. Tan Mo asked them not to spread the news, and the three girls promised they wouldn’t:
“If you start dating, the whole school will probably erupt in shock. Those guys who’ve been chasing you will be heartbroken, I bet.”
“Besides, judging solely by looks, I haven’t seen any guy at our school as handsome as your boyfriend, Tan Mo. Just on that point alone, those guys have no reason to complain.”
“Yeah, right! Last night when we saw your boyfriend, wow, he was so handsome!”
Tan Mo couldn’t help but smile. Seeing the radiant expression on her face, so different from the sadness of yesterday, they were all moved by the power of love. “Tan Mo, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this happy before.”
“Really?”
“Just look at yourself. Your mouth hasn’t stopped smiling.”
Tan Mo tried to suppress her smile, but the joy in her eyes betrayed her.
Ignoring their teasing, Tan Mo quickly packed her luggage and then applied some makeup to cover the kiss marks on her neck.
When the taxi arrived as scheduled, Tan Mo said goodbye to her roommates, went downstairs, and got into the car.
Forty minutes later, she arrived at Licheng Airport, passed through security, and entered the waiting area.
She made a call and reported to the staff, “Yes, I’ve arrived…”
Finally hanging up the phone, she sat in the waiting lounge, her eyes turning toward the window.
Today, Licheng had finally cleared up after the rain.
Bright sunlight pierced through the thin clouds, shining onto the ground.
Tan Mo’s lips curved into a slight smile.
She waited, and time slowly passed.
As it approached eight in the morning, the sunlight grew stronger.
Meanwhile, in the second-floor bedroom of the Jiayu Tiancheng villa, the man who had been sleeping deeply finally woke up.
Still half-asleep, Xie Qichen instinctively moved his arms, but vaguely felt the absence of the weight that had been pressing down on them, leaving a hollow emptiness.
Why couldn’t he feel her beside him…
Furrowing his brow slightly, he quickly opened his eyes and suddenly realized the person beside him was indeed gone.
He immediately sat up and scanned the room.
The girl was gone.
The room was quiet.
In an instant, his heart clenched tightly.
Xie Qichen threw off the covers, quickly got out of bed, and rushed to the bathroom, calling her name:
“Tan Mo, Tan Mo—”
He opened the door, but there was no response. He saw a used disposable toiletry set on the sink, and his brows furrowed.
Had she woken up?!
Xie Qichen quickly left the bedroom and went downstairs, only to find the villa completely empty. Her bag and phone, which had been in the living room downstairs, were also gone.
She had woken up so early and then left the villa.
Had she regretted everything this morning and didn’t want to see him anymore…
In an instant, even though Xie Qichen was always confident in handling business negotiations and competition, he suddenly felt uncertain when it came to the girl.
A strong sense of loss almost made it hard for him to breathe, and all sorts of guesses rushed into his mind.
His expression darkened, and he hurried back upstairs, walking straight to the bed, immediately picking up his phone to call her. But just as he was about to dial, he suddenly noticed a note on the bedside table.
He picked it up and read—
“Morning, I left first. I didn’t tell you because my flight is at nine this morning. The D station officially invited me to film a show in Province T.”
The handwriting was delicate and neat. At the end, instead of a signature, there was a small white bear drawn with a black pen.
Looking at the note, Xie Qichen’s heart relaxed, suddenly warming up.
Just then, the call connected. Seeing the call screen, he moved his lips, his voice slightly hoarse, as if he had found something he thought he had lost: “Tan Mo—”
In the quiet, a few seconds later, he finally heard her soft and sweet voice from the other end:
“Yep, it’s me.”
Hearing her voice, Xie Qichen’s entire heart finally settled.
“I just woke up and got scared for a moment.”
He paused, his voice low: “I thought you had run away again.”
On the other end, in the waiting lounge, Tan Mo walked to a quiet corner, pressing the earpiece tightly against her ear. Hearing his words, she was momentarily taken aback, her heart softening, and she shyly murmured:
“I left you a note…”
This morning when she left, she had been afraid he would worry when he woke up and didn’t see her, so she had written a note and placed it by his bedside.
He responded softly, “Yeah, I saw it. Have you arrived at the airport?”
“Mm, I’m waiting for boarding.”
“Why didn’t you wake me? I could’ve driven you there.”
“It’s okay, I didn’t want to wake you, so I left first.”
“Is that really why you didn’t wake me?”
His voice was deep, warm, and slightly teasing. Tan Mo’s heart raced as her thoughts were exposed. Her face flushed red. “That’s exactly why…”
“Do you remember much about last night?”
His low voice reached Tan Mo’s ears, stirring up ripples of emotion.
The girl hesitated, her heart guilty as she asked in return: “Wh… what are you talking about? I don’t remember anything…”
Knowing she was pretending, he slightly curved his lips, not rushing, patiently reminding her: “Last night, I picked you up and we talked about a lot of things. Don’t you remember any of that?”
“I don’t remember anything. I don’t have the slightest memory…”
“So you don’t remember the things I confessed to you last night either?”
Tan Mo’s cheeks flushed red as she stubbornly muttered, “I forgot everything. I was so drunk last night that I blacked out. And besides, who lets you take advantage of me when we just had a fight two days ago? I haven’t forgiven you yet…”
Hearing this, Xie Qichen couldn’t help but softly laugh, his voice gentle: “It’s okay if you don’t remember. It doesn’t matter. I can confess to you countless times again.”
Her face flushed instantly as she heard his deep, tender voice once more, like sand gently brushing against her ear, filled with affection:
“It’s okay if you haven’t forgiven me either. Let me slowly win you back, okay?”
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