Chapter 223 - 191: It Seems an Old Acquaintance Has Come (7)

When Su Mo woke up the next day, Big Orange wasn’t in the room.

She pulled open the curtains to a world of white. It had started snowing again.

That’s just how the weather in South City was—the snow came without warning.

She stood in front of the mirror, looking at the red mark on her neck in a daze.

’Big Orange is really not an obedient cat.’

Su Mo changed her clothes and opened the door to find Big Orange curled up lazily on the living room sofa.

She walked over and scooped up the sleeping orange cat. "Who told you to bite me? You bit me again! Are you looking for a spanking?"

"Meow~" Big Orange let out an aggrieved cry.

Su Mo huffed. "You dare to whine? Look what you’ve done."

"Meow~"

The orange cat cried out aggrievedly again.

Just as Su Mo was about to tweak its ears, she suddenly heard footsteps behind her.

She turned her head and saw Xuan Qing walking out with a plate. The top two buttons of his shirt were casually undone, his cuffs were carelessly rolled up, and impeccably tailored trousers hugged his long, straight legs. He gave off an air of asceticism mixed with a strange, inexplicable laziness.

The moment their eyes met, he said in a soft voice, "He didn’t do it."

Su Mo froze for a moment. ’What’s he doing here? Last night... did something happen?’

Xuan Qing pulled a set of keys from his pocket. "You gave them to me yourself yesterday."

"...Me?" Su Mo pointed to herself.

’I couldn’t have been so drunk that I did something that reckless, could I?’

Her gaze shifted, and she saw the suggestive red mark on his Adam’s apple.

’Don’t tell me I did something even more reckless?!’

The man across from her casually raised an eyebrow. "You did."

"!!!"

’What is he talking about? There’s no way I bit him... When I’m drunk, I just fall asleep, at most. I wouldn’t... I wouldn’t get ideas just because he’s hot, would I...?’

Suddenly, some inopportune memories surfaced in her mind.

—

"This feels nice. I like it!"

"I already said I’d take responsibility... What’s wrong with touching a little longer!"

"Stop kissing me! If you keep kissing me, I’m going to bite someone! I told you to stop... I can’t breathe... WAHHH~"

"AWOO!"

"..."

Su Mo’s fair face flushed beet red. ’So I really did bite him?’

She looked down at the cat on her lap. She had almost blamed him for nothing...

Xuan Qing placed the plate on the table and started walking toward her, asking with a smile, "Remember now?"

Su Mo forced herself to sound calm. "It’s... it’s not a big deal, right? It’s fine. A bite for a bite... we’re even!"

She lifted the cat off her lap and, feigning composure, stood up to leave.

Xuan Qing sidestepped, blocking her path.

"We’re not even." He leaned his neck toward her. "Mine is clearly worse."

Su Mo: "!!!"

’He’s going to be petty about this?’

Before she could speak, the man in front of her said in all seriousness, "So I need to get even."

Xuan Qing took a step forward, his long fingers clasping her slender waist, and pulled her into his arms with an irresistible force.

A cool, crisp scent washed over her. Before Su Mo could react, he had captured her lips.

At first, it was just a restrained, light touch, but her scent seeped into his senses, and the desire deep within him poured out in an instant.

At some point, he had already pushed her into a corner of the sofa, one hand pressing on her waist, the other cupping the nape of her neck.

When the lingering, passionate kiss ended, Su Mo gazed at the man before her with a dazed look in her eyes. Her breathing was still ragged and her face was flushed, making her look utterly captivating.

His scorching gaze was fixed on her. Then, he pulled her into an embrace, lowered his head to kiss her hair, and forcibly suppressed the stormy desire in his eyes.

He couldn’t bear to look at her like this for a second longer. Heaven knew how much self-control he was exerting to restrain the urge to do whatever he wanted with her.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but that he was afraid of scaring her...

He felt a sexual impulse toward her, an instinctive desire he couldn’t control.

Su Mo could only feel the heat from his body making her tremble. His behavior just now was the complete opposite of his usual restrained and polite demeanor. This side of him made her heart race with panic and helplessness.

It was as if he’d suddenly torn off his mask of ascetic self-control and revealed his true nature.

Su Mo subconsciously pressed against his chest, trying to push him away, but he only held her tighter. His lips moved from the crown of her head to her ear. He took a deep breath, hiding the surging lust in his eyes, and said in a hoarse voice, "You said you’d take responsibility. No backing out now."

His warm breath tickled her ear, and Su Mo shifted away uncomfortably, feeling as though she’d let a wolf into her house.

’This guy seems like a real handful... If I’d known, I wouldn’t have drunk so much. Drinking really does lead to trouble...’

A sudden pain shot through her earlobe, and she flinched instinctively.

His low chuckle sounded by her ear. "You’ve touched and you’ve kissed. It’s too late for regrets."

She pushed the man away, her misty eyes looking up at him. "You..."

Before she could finish, he lowered his head and kissed her again.

Unlike the gentle beginning before, this time was far more domineering and possessive.

Later, he coaxed her breathlessly, "No more drinking from now on. If you must drink, it has to be with me there, okay?"

’I’m really afraid a love rival might learn my trick from last night.’

...

By the time the two of them remembered about breakfast, the food on the table was already cold.

Xuan Qing took the breakfast to the kitchen to reheat it.

When he came out, he saw Su Mo on a video call with Long Yan.

Even through the screen, he could see the bright sparkle in Long Yan’s eyes. When you’re in front of someone you like, your eyes can’t help but shine.

Their conversation wasn’t about anything important, mostly just daily chatter.

Most of the time, he did the talking while Su Mo listened.

Sometimes, an unwitting smile from her would make the man on the other end of the call stare blankly. His emotions seemed ready to overflow from the screen at any moment.

After a brief silence, the man on the other end suddenly grew serious, a strange panic in his voice.

"Su... Su Mo, there’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you for a long time."

"Hm? Go ahead!"

Su Mo looked up at the person on the screen, her eyes curving into a smile.

"I actually..."

Long Yan’s unfinished sentence was cut off by a figure that suddenly appeared in the frame.

The face that flashed past the camera made Long Yan furrow his brow slightly.

"You... you have a friend over? That neighbor?"

Before Su Mo could answer, Xuan Qing spoke from beside her in a placid tone, "Aren’t you going to introduce me?"

"..."

Su Mo turned her head toward Long Yan on the screen. With a smile, she said, "He’s my boyfriend now, Xuan Qing."

The corners of Xuan Qing’s lips lifted slightly. He then looked at the momentarily stunned Long Yan on the screen and said, "Hello. Happy New Year."

There was a flicker of shock in Long Yan’s eyes, but he quickly regained his composure. "Happy New Year... I’m Long Yan."

Xuan Qing smiled faintly. "You two carry on."

With that, he lifted Su Mo from the sofa and placed her on the nearby dining table.

As Su Mo’s phone swept past their faces, the angle made it look very much like they were kissing...

Long Yan’s gaze faltered for a moment.

After that, Su Mo continued the video call with him while she ate.

By the time she hung up half an hour later and came out from washing the dishes, Xuan Qing was still trimming her houseplants.

He’d nearly trimmed a perfectly good pothos plant bald.

She frowned at him and grumbled, "What, do you have a grudge against my pothos?"

Xuan Qing glanced down at the plant in front of him and said apologetically, "Sorry, I was lost in thought and forgot what I was doing."

Before Su Mo could ask what he was thinking about, her phone rang, and she went to answer it.

It was clearly a friend calling to exchange New Year’s greetings.

Xuan Qing looked at the pile of leaves on the floor, a frown creasing his brow. ’The human heart is truly greedy. Before, all I hoped for was that her gaze would rest on me for a moment. Now, I’ve started hoping that the time when her eyes see only me will last longer, and longer still. But I know perfectly well that some encounters are inevitable. Someone like her is fated to be unforgettable. Just as I had the courage to break all barriers to meet her again, so will others. That being the case, I must cherish this time we have alone together all the more.’