Chapter 102: A Return to Calm

Once the kiss finally ended, An Tong’s face was already burning red.

It might not have lasted long, yet in the heat of that kiss, time had become absurdly unreal and drawn out.

The man let go of her lips, and they rested forehead to forehead, both breathing in disarray.

An Tong was breathless from holding it in; as for Rong Shen... only he himself knew the reason.

A few seconds later, An Tong said nothing and simply nestled into the crook of the man’s shoulder, eyes closed as she steadied her breathing.

Only then did she realize what she had just done. Her breath was still uneven, yet her heart was pounding furiously.

So this was what a kiss between lovers was like. It was nothing like what she had imagined.

The man beside her laid a palm against the back of her head and stroked it slowly, again and again.

Their heartbeats were both racing, and even the comfortable warmth around them seemed to have grown a little sultry.

Rong Shen turned his head and kissed her ear, his hoarse voice deeply seductive. “Come downstairs and eat with me?”

An Tong nodded, her voice soft and weak. “I-I’ll be down in a bit.”

The man patted her back, amusement in his tone. “Shy?”

An Tong said nothing, only tightened her arms around his neck.

This had nothing to do with shyness. Her legs had gone weak, and she could not walk.

It was her first experience of kissing, and now her whole body felt soft and limp, every sense gathered on her numb lips, her muddled thoughts still sunk in that lingering, breathtaking kiss.

Rong Shen had always granted her every wish. In a moment like this, he naturally said no more, simply holding her in silence and waiting for her emotions to settle.

He was a normal man. If he had not been mindful of An Tong’s feelings and the knot in her heart, he likely would not have waited until today to take this step.

Fortunately, her tone and movements remained calm, and there had been no overreaction.

...

Less than five minutes later, An Tong and Rong Shen walked out of the study hand in hand.

The dim wall lamp could not properly reveal her flushed face. It was only when they stepped into the bright kitchen that the man clearly saw her crimson cheeks and rosy lips.

Rong Shen’s throat moved lightly twice, and his thumb brushed across the corner of her mouth. “Does it hurt?”

“No.” Under the white light, An Tong’s shyness had nowhere to hide.

And the more she looked like this, the deeper the tenderness in the man’s eyes became.

He led An Tong to sit down, lifted the insulated cover, and began to eat quietly.

The girl sat properly beside him, watching without blinking the man’s refined and elegant manner of eating, unable to look away.

After a while, Rong Shen set down his bowl and chopsticks and broke the silence in a low voice. “There’s no need to make the trip back to Hong Kong so tight. You can stay a couple more days. There’s no need to rush back.”

An Tong struggled to keep up with his train of thought. Only after thinking for a moment did she remember that this had been their topic before the kiss.

“Mm. I’ll arrange it... and tell you.”

A pleased smile curved at the corners of Rong Shen’s lips as he reminded her again, “Cheng Feng has nothing to do this weekend. Let him take you.”

An Tong nodded. “Okay.”

...

Late at night, the living room lights went out.

Back in the bedroom, An Tong did only one thing: lie on the bed, dazed and savoring the memory.

Like every girl experiencing first love, she would laugh at times, blush at others, and even imagine where her hands should go the next time they kissed, what expression she ought to wear, and so on and so forth.

And in the bedroom next door, the man was no more asleep than she was.

He wore a soft fleece robe and stood on the balcony outside the window, taking in and exhaling wisps of tea-scented smoke, the thin curls dispersing quickly into the night sky.

Once a breach has opened, desire surges in like floodwaters. After that first embrace, he had become greedier by the minute, wanting more and more...