A brief brush on the cheek from Tang Wen didn't count; the time Little Sprout accidentally bumped her mouth while practicing flying didn't count; nor did Dou Zai plopping down right on her face.
Now, entirely by accident, her first kiss had been stolen by An Jun Lie!
Zi Ye didn't have time to process the meaning before her cheeks flushed crimson.
An Jun Lie’s face was so close, so close that she could barely make out his expression or the look in his eyes.
She blinked once, then again, and An Jun Lie couldn’t help but laugh, the moment of the first kiss irretrievably broken.
Zi Ye buried her head in his chest, rolling her head back and forth, determined not to let him see her face—it felt like fire, so mortifying, ahhhhhh.
An Jun Lie didn’t disturb her, merely resting both hands loosely on her waist as he watched her roll.
After rolling for a while, she felt the heat receding from her face, only to notice that the shirt he had just put on was now wrinkled and a mess from her antics. A sudden surge of mischief overtook her. She fumbled open his collar, stuck out the tip of her tongue to lick just beneath his collarbone, ground her teeth momentarily, and then, bit down hard.
An Jun Lie instantly sat bolt upright.
Is this like a nurse applying a shot, first moistening the area with alcohol?
Fortunately, Zi Ye hadn’t intended to actually chew on him. She lightly bit down, looked at the mark, and smiled proudly, "My teeth are actually quite straight."
—That’s not the point, is it?
Zi Ye absolutely would not admit that she had been intensely worried about kissing—what if her teeth weren't straight and she ended up breaking An Jun Lie’s lip?
So, she had to verify first.
Before last night, she couldn't be certain what her feelings for An Jun Lie were—whether she saw him as an elder, a friend, or something else entirely.
Until the dream.
She dreamed that An Jun Lie kissed her.
Now, An Jun Lie had actually kissed her.
Which meant... An Jun Lie must like her too, right?
Zi Ye continued to abandon her head onto his chest, tumbling around, her heart feeling wonderfully sweet. There was nothing in the world more delightful than suddenly realizing you were falling for someone, and that person happened to like you back.
The disappointment after the competition, the inexplicable unhappiness—everything suddenly made sense.
She whispered softly, “Alien.”
An Jun Lie tilted his head slightly, “Hmm?”
She couldn't think of anything else to say, so she buried her face back into his chest and fell silent.
An Jun Lie didn't press her.
He only felt the rhythmic warmth of her breath puffing softly against his chest.
Silence settled between them.
After a moment, Zi Ye felt a little uneasy and called out again, “Alien?”
An Jun Lie responded with a soft smile, “I’m here.”
Zi Ye thought for a moment, then asked, “Why did you ignore me and just leave the venue yesterday?”
She was sitting on his lap, so any fluctuation in her emotions registered physically, which he immediately sensed. An Jun Lie noticed a slight tension in her as she asked the question.
He deliberately teased her, falling silent for a long while before saying, “Do you want the truth or a lie?”
Zi Ye answered without thinking, “The lie!”
An Jun Lie raised an eyebrow, “Why?”
Zi Ye blurted out, “Sha Xin Ni often says that scoundrels always use beautiful lies to deceive women. If you tell a lie, it’s definitely going to be a beautiful one.”
An Jun Lie rubbed his forehead. Has Zi Ye been led astray?
He laughed, “I am not a scoundrel.”
Zi Ye leaned close to his neck and sniffed, “Indeed, you don't smell.”
An Jun Lie felt a wave of awkwardness wash over him.
He pinched Zi Ye’s cheek, shook his head, and said, “The lie is: I didn’t want to see you anymore.”
Zi Ye instantly tensed up in fright, patting her chest, “Good thing it was a lie! What about the truth? Don’t make it too terrifying.”
An Jun Lie’s smile vanished, and he grew serious, “I hope you can make the right choice.”
Zi Ye froze. The implication of those words was...?
??? Zi Ye suddenly understood—An Jun Lie wasn't as indifferent as she had imagined.
The reason he turned and walked away back then was to give her sufficient space to think, to choose between Tang Wen or chasing after him.
Yesterday, she chose Tang Wen, but it had nothing to do with romance.
It was only because he was her mentor.
She didn't chase after An Jun Lie, believing he would understand.
Indeed, he hadn’t disappointed her.
Thinking it through carefully, Zi Ye was almost overwhelmed with emotion, because here, right in front of her, was a man who liked her, understood her, and tolerated her.
And she was in his arms.
An Jun Lie’s tone held a hint of helplessness but was saturated with doting affection, “I gave you my address yesterday precisely because I hoped you would come find me.”
—It was a ploy!
She had rushed over this morning without a second thought, only to run into him right after he finished showering, wrapped only in a towel!
Zi Ye clenched her fist and playfully punched his chest, “You bad man, plotting against me!”
An Jun Lie smiled faintly, “Not entirely. If you hadn't come, I would have left. However, you didn't disappoint me. Not only did you come, but you arrived two hours earlier than I expected. You arrived just as I was finishing my morning practice and stepping out of the shower.”
Zi Ye calculated the two-hour difference in her head. If it had been two hours later, she probably would have slept until she woke naturally, finished breakfast, and then, having nothing else to do, wandered over here with Little Sprout to seek some attention?
It had to be admitted, An Jun Lie understood her very well.
If she hadn't had that dream, she almost certainly would have done just that, perhaps even later.
Zi Ye shyly covered her face, “If I hadn’t come, where would you have gone?”
An Jun Lie deflected the question with a knowing smile, “You are here now, so if that hypothetical situation doesn't exist, then the premise doesn’t exist either.”
Zi Ye puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction, “Hmph, tricking me.”
An Jun Lie smiled softly, suddenly cupping her face, “Then allow me to trick you again.”
Zi Ye felt self-conscious under his gaze, “What are you doing?”
The words had barely left her mouth when An Jun Lie’s lips pressed down on hers again.
Zi Ye didn't actually dislike his kiss; his lips were wonderfully shaped, and he tasted distinctly masculine. But the second time he kissed her, she still let out a startled “Ah!”
—Alien, can you try not to be so natural about this?
The moment she gasped, she instantly regretted it.
Because An Jun Lie took advantage of her momentary opening to plunge deep, seizing the majority of the territory.
Zi Ye had zero experience with kissing. In desperation, she bit down immediately, without knowing how to control the force.
It wasn't until her teeth met his slippery tongue that she belatedly realized she had done something wrong—she had bitten An Jun Lie.
An Jun Lie hadn't expected his first ever French kiss to be so violently interrupted by a bite, and a jolt of pain shot through him.
Their lips were locked, teeth on tongue, four eyes meeting as both froze in stunned silence.
Zi Ye scrambled to explain, “I—” As her mouth opened, An Jun Lie’s tongue instantly regained its freedom, giving her no chance to speak before **.
Poor Zi Ye, suddenly thrown into such disarray that she forgot what she intended to say, simply gave up resisting and let him roam freely between her lips and teeth.
Perhaps when she finally calmed down, she realized An Jun Lie was playing a game with his tongue. Feeling playful herself, she began to engage him in a battle of maneuvers...RS