Chapter 92: Clingy
It took An Tong several seconds to realize what he meant, and her eyes lit up. “Today... your first time?”
“Yes.”
Rong Shen clearly caught the flash of delight in the little girl’s eyes, and the corners of his thin lips lifted. “Happy now?”
An Tong turned again toward the night, satisfaction curving her mouth. “Yes.”
It was his first time on a Ferris wheel, with no one else there, only her.
That fulfillment, born of private desire, sent her whole heart soaring.
The next second, the man lowered his head and asked with a smile that carried clear implication, “Since you’re happy, how do you plan to thank me?”
An Tong tightened the fingers gripping the safety rail. She lifted her face toward Rong Shen, only to find that he was not looking at her at all.
And the way he leaned forward, head bowed, seemed to hold some deeper meaning.
Though An Tong was easily shy, that was only a psychological reaction born from the innocence of first love.
When it came to decisiveness, she had never changed.
Back then, she had been brave enough to accept the man’s confession; now, she would not be afraid to voice her own feelings.
So she traced Rong Shen’s strikingly handsome features with her eyes, from jaw to temple, looking at him with a frankness she had never shown before.
The next moment, An Tong’s cool palm rested on the man’s arm. She turned sideways, rose onto her toes, and gave a light kiss to the left side of his face. “Thank you.”
The kiss was as light as a dragonfly skimming the water.
Her soft lips touched his cheek, and at the same time, left an imprint upon Rong Shen’s heart.
The pulse in his throat moved faster. He drew her closer with his arm around her shoulders and back, holding her deeper in his embrace, and asked in a husky voice, “Are you cold?”
An Tong nodded while tentatively slipping her arms around his waist. “A little.”
She was not lying. There was no heating in the Ferris wheel cabin, and the higher they rose, the colder it became.
Rong Shen let her go only briefly, then parted his coat on both sides, stepped forward, and directly wrapped An Tong inside his overcoat.
He wore only a thin shirt beneath it. Worried that the chill from her own coat might seep into him, An Tong gently resisted. “My clothes are cold.”
“It’s fine.”
He gave her no chance to refuse. Holding her, he walked to the window and continued to admire the beautiful night view.
...
After coming down from the Ferris wheel, the two of them wandered around the park for a while longer.
When they passed the carousel, An Tong stole a few glances before quickly looking ahead, afraid the man might notice anything.
Riding the Ferris wheel together had been fine enough, after all. It was an enclosed space; they would not interfere with one another.
But the open carousel was certainly not suitable. There were children there, and student-like couples. From the ride itself to the surrounding atmosphere, everything was utterly at odds with the gentlemanly bearing he carried, even... out of place.
An Tong understood in her heart that if she wanted to ride it, he would certainly accompany her.
But she could not bear to; it would tarnish his bearing.
When they returned to the car, An Tong had a heart-shaped cotton candy in her hands.
She fastened her seat belt, peeled off the outer wrapping, and held it out to him. “Do you want to try some?”
This time, she did not eat first.
Rong Shen tilted his head to glance at her earnest expression, the corners of his mouth lifting as he used the back of his hand to push her wrist away. “Keep it for yourself.”
An Tong did not insist. She withdrew her arm and took a bite.
It was sweet. Everything she ate today seemed sweet.
He started the engine, but his gaze never left An Tong’s face.
It was only cotton candy, yet from her expression he could see such pure delight.
Unable to help himself, Rong Shen stroked the top of her hair and murmured in quiet admiration, “Little girl.”
...
By the time they returned to the manor, it was past eight in the evening.
A light rain had begun to drift down from the night sky, and evenly spaced ground lights caught the shapes of the raindrops as they fell.
Once inside, a thin veil of moisture inevitably clung to both their shoulders.
As for the box of lime mousse, An Tong held it tightly in her arms.
“Go upstairs and take a shower first.” Rong Shen removed his coat and tossed it aside, then took the cake box from her and reminded her again, “Don’t catch cold.”
An Tong nodded, took two steps forward, then turned back and asked, “And you?”
“I’m not going anywhere. If you get bored later, come find me in the study.”
An Tong answered softly with a yes, then went up the stairs.
Not long after, Rong Shen put the cake in the refrigerator, walked to the tea table, turned on the kettle, and took out a cigarette case to light a cigarette.
In the quiet living room, the man lounged as he inhaled and exhaled smoke. White mist curled through the air, and in a haze, the girl’s face seemed to rise before his eyes once more.
In twenty-seven years, this was his first time ever entering an amusement park, and his first time accompanying a little girl onto a Ferris wheel.
Things he had once thought he would never try in this lifetime, he had now experienced all for An Tong.
He not only found no aversion to them, he even seemed to... rather enjoy it.
Rong Shen slowly rested his forearm across his brow, his dark eyes calm as they looked up at the ceiling. After a long while, he gave a helpless laugh and let out a sigh.
...
On the other side, after her shower, An Tong changed into a plush two-piece set of sleepwear and, while drying her hair, scrolled through her phone.
Although her secondary account had blocked Shi Ye, different unfamiliar numbers had been calling her recently, and now and then there were even a few courteous text messages.
Tonight, while they were on the Ferris wheel, her phone had vibrated several times too.
She had ignored it then, mainly because she did not want to spoil the lovely atmosphere of sharing the Ferris wheel ride with him.
At this moment, on the text message screen, an unfamiliar number had sent three messages in a row: Little one, let’s talk. Shi Ye.
The content was all the same, and the wording looked stiff and awkward.
It was easy to imagine the scene as Shi Ye sent them, probably cursing through gritted teeth while still lowering himself to beg for reconciliation.
An Tong still did not reply. It was not that she was putting on airs; rather, the moment she blocked him, she had already decided to end this partnership.
Shi Ye had broken the rules of cooperation first. She had already shown mercy by not completely destroying the backend program of the livestream app.
But her restraint also left Shi Ye in a state of chaos for quite some time.
After all, the livestream app had been paralyzed for a full three days before it was barely repaired. Yet for reasons unknown, something must have gone wrong in one of the links, because the tipping function in every livestream room was still restricted. People could watch, but they could not tip, and even the recharge channels could not be used normally.
Shi Ye could never have imagined that a moment of impulse, and his falling out with the code god, would cause the company to suffer direct losses of more than a million, with user attrition impossible to estimate.
...
Less than twenty minutes later, An Tong had dried her hair to a half-dry state. She wanted to go to the study to find Rong Shen, but hesitated and did not act.
Instead, she picked up her phone again and sent the man a message on WeChat.
AN: Are you busy?
Half a minute after she sent it, there was still no reply.
An Tong lay back on the bed, her slender legs swaying once or twice in the air.
She was wondering if she was being too clingy.
Clearly they had only seen each other half an hour ago, and yet she already wanted to draw near to him again.
That did not seem quite right.
While she was lost in random thoughts, her phone suddenly vibrated, but it was not WeChat; it was a phone call.
The end.