Tao Shuran was startled badly.
This sensation felt exactly like eavesdropping and getting caught red-handed by the teacher. She nearly screamed out loud.
Liang Yuanjing, as if prepared in advance, lazily lifted his hand to cover her lips, blocking any sound.
He drawled roguishly, “Don’t ruin their romantic atmosphere.”
Tao Shuran struggled free of his hand. Her watery eyes gazed at him as she asked, “Why are you here?”
Liang Yuanjing countered, “Why can’t I be here?”
He lowered his gaze, his fingertip rubbing his palm.
In that instant, she felt her damp tongue tip brush his soft palm, making his heart itch too.
He tugged his lips into a smile and continued asking—
“Is this courtyard yours? Did your family plant the tree?”
Tao Shuran widened her eyes at him. “You’re being unreasonable.”
After all these years, she hadn’t changed. Even her insults lacked fresh vocabulary.
Liang Yuanjing tilted his head with a smile. “I’m unreasonable.”
“Then explain to me: not wanting to hang out with me, but sneaking off alone to a bar at night—what kind of logic is that?”
He let out a long, wistful sigh. “You don’t see me.”
A flash of surprise crossed Tao Shuran’s face. In disbelief, she pointed at herself. “We just saw each other three hours ago.”
“Not enough.”
Liang Yuanjing shoved his hands in his pockets and tilted his head back, his throat bobbing. He suddenly lowered his head, those pitch-black, narrow eyes locking tightly onto her.
“Tao Shuran, I want to be unreasonable right now.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Liang Yuanjing bent slightly at the waist and kissed her lips directly.
Before Tao Shuran could react, she tilted her face up and saw his face mere inches away.
He kissed her lightly, like a dragonfly skimming water. More heart-stirring than the kiss itself was the amused glint in his eyes as he pulled back.
They sparkled brilliantly, as if embedded with the stars of the entire night sky.
Tao Shuran’s entire face turned beet red. But what she hadn’t expected was that this kiss was far more lingering than imagined.
Liang Yuanjing reached up to press her nape, his ragged breaths falling by her ear. Contrary to his usual style, he launched a gentle offensive. His tongue tip pried past her teeth, as if certain she wouldn’t bite him.
In the gap for air, Liang Yuanjing wrapped his arms around her neck, his forehead fully pressed to hers.
It was a posture of desperate entanglement, his hot breaths wantonly spraying across every inch of her body.
As she was kissed into a daze, Tao Shuran felt Liang Yuanjing nip her earlobe and whisper close.
“Good baby, don’t make a sound. The adults outside will hear.”
His voice was low and husky, especially bewitching in that moment.
Tao Shuran tilted her head up. Her eyes, brimming with kiss-induced moisture, caught the unabashed amusement at his lips.
This man was always so unrestrained and capricious, utterly wicked when teasing.
Realizing this, Tao Shuran pushed him away.
Her lipstick was ruined. She didn’t need to look to know the state she was in.
Tao Shuran lowered her head to fish out a compact mirror from her bag while quietly cursing him.
“Rogue! Shameless!”
Liang Yuanjing crossed his arms and hummed along beside her. His arched brows and eyes carried a sated, faintly languid air, making him seem all the more nonchalant.
He indulged her utterly. “You’re right about everything.”
Tao Shuran huffed and turned away, stomping sulkily toward her family home.
Liang Yuanjing followed lazily behind.
He said with keen interest, “Tao Shuran, I’ve found a way to deal with you.”
Tao Shuran’s forward steps halted. She held her breath instinctively, listening for what he’d say next.
She heard Liang Yuanjing drawl slowly, “You don’t see me, so I see you.”
He grinned roguishly. “When I see you, I kiss you.”
Tao Shuran laughed helplessly. This absurd tactic suited Liang Yuanjing perfectly.
She ignored him and kept walking.
From behind, Liang Yuanjing’s voice rang out brightly—
“Tao Shuran, want to meet tomorrow?”
She shot back immediately, “No!”
This time, Liang Yuanjing understood her refusal.
He stood in place, laughing boldly. He shook the two tickets in his hand and called to her retreating back—
“Eight tomorrow morning at the Fuqing City Museum entrance. I’ll wait for you.”
At seven-fifty the next morning, Liang Yuanjing arrived punctually at the Fuqing City Museum.
With opening time at eight-thirty, a crowd had already lined up at the entrance. Street vendors lined both sides of the road, and electric bikes struggled through the morning rush of commuters.
Liang Yuanjing pulled out his phone and bought a box of mint cakes from a roadside stall.
He’d come here often these past few years, so Granny recognized him. She picked out the best-looking box and handed it over with a smile. “Eating alone again?”
“Where’s that girl you came with to tour the museum before? Did you two get separated?”
“No separation.”
Liang Yuanjing chuckled lowly, saying offhandedly, “I’m pursuing her.”
Granny said, “Then I wish you two achieve fruition soon and live happily ever after.”
Liang Yuanjing hummed lowly in acknowledgment. He glanced at his watch—seven fifty-five.
At this moment, exactly five minutes shy of eight, he lifted his head on instinct from their rapport. Sure enough, he spotted Tao Shuran approaching from afar.
She wore a white fleece jacket today, paired with a dark gray A-line skirt that ended just above her knees. Sheepskin ankle boots adorned her feet, and she carried a small backpack. From a distance, she looked like a youthful, vibrant college student.
Oh, right—she hadn’t graduated yet, so she was indeed a college student.
Liang Yuanjing took the item from her hand. His gaze landed on her face, and he smiled. “Did makeup?”
Tao Shuran let out an “Ah,” her gaze shifting evasively.
“The lipstick’s expensive. I don’t want today’s makeup ruined.”
“Got it.”
Liang Yuanjing hooked his lips and leaned close to her ear, whispering softly, “I won’t kiss you today.”
He hooked the strap of her backpack. His tone was lazy.
“Little friend Tao Shuran, give me the little backpack.”
“What little backpack.” Tao Shuran retorted, “It’s all my thesis materials inside. I’m going to ask Teacher Lin to review my paper later.”
“Is that so?” Liang Yuanjing feigned surprise. “You’re not here on a date with me?”
Tao Shuran: “When did I say it was a date with you?”
She seized the initiative, snatching the admission tickets from his hand. She walked ahead, her voice laced with amusement, her steps even lighter.
“Liang Yuanjing, we’re not that kind of relationship yet. Please know your place.”
Her voice rang out like a light silver bell in the breeze. Liang Yuanjing caught the mood, shouldering her backpack and hurrying to catch up.
He grinned cheekily. “Got it. Right now, I’m classmate Tao Shuran’s pursuer.”
“I hope you’ll show mercy and give me a chance to date you.”
Faced with Liang Yuanjing’s performance, Tao Shuran couldn’t help but burst out laughing with a “pfft.”
But soon, the smile didn’t last on her face.
Because in front of every person they met next, Liang Yuanjing repeated the same answer.
At the ticket check, the security guard recognized her and greeted her amiably.
“Looking for Teacher Lin again? Hey, is this a new recruit? Haven’t seen him before.”
Tao Shuran smiled, about to explain, when Liang Yuanjing introduced himself. “Hello, I’m her pursuer.”
The guard chuckled delightedly.
Passing the security entrance, Tao Shuran twisted her head to shoot him a warning glance.
During the exhibit, they ran into a classmate from her department. The girl waved cheerfully. “Senior, here for the exhibit too?”
“Who’s this?”
Liang Yuanjing raised a hand fluidly.
“Oh, I’m Tao Shuran’s pursuer.”
After the girl left, Tao Shuran turned back, exasperated. “Liang Yuanjing!”
“I’m here.” He brushed her finger with his, smiling. “What’s your command?”
As the saying goes, you don’t hit a smiling face.
Tao Shuran was utterly at a loss with Liang Yuanjing.
She fished a band-aid from her pocket—one left from the Hello Kitty set. Huffily, she tore open the packaging, tiptoed, and stuck it on his lips.
“No talking from now on.”
Liang Yuanjing raised a brow. His chiseled features exuded sharpness in every line, but with the mini band-aid on his thin lips, it didn’t look odd—instead, it made his deep eyes seem even more affectionate.
He said nothing, leaning down to peer at her under raised lids, as if saying everything without words.
Tao Shuran’s thin skin heated up. Under his gaze, her face quietly flushed. She conceded, “Fine. If you promise not to spout nonsense, I’ll take it off for you.”
Liang Yuanjing clasped his hands behind his back, leaning to eye level. He nodded very obediently.
Tao Shuran reached out to remove it when a familiar voice sounded behind her.
It was Lin Tingzhou emerging from her office. She called, “A Jing?”
She seemed somewhat disbelieving.
Tao Shuran’s raised hand froze for a second. She swiftly tore off the band-aid from Liang Yuanjing’s mouth, hid her hands behind her back, and gazed skyward evasively, like a kid caught misbehaving.
Up close, Lin Tingzhou’s gaze swept between them.
She asked, “On leave lately?”
Liang Yuanjing hummed in affirmation.
Lin Tingzhou smiled knowingly. “Didn’t take a single day off for years, saved them all up for this year?”
Liang Yuanjing tugged his lips. “Back to sort out a personal matter.”
As he spoke, he even tugged Tao Shuran closer—the implication clear.
Tao Shuran swatted his encroaching hand. She was still tense, not even noticing when Lin Tingzhou left.
“So nervous?”
Liang Yuanjing grinned unseriously, yet earnestly told her:
“My grandma approved of you long ago.”
Tao Shuran’s heart skipped. She asked instinctively, “When?”
“That month we broke up.”
Liang Yuanjing’s tone was light. “I went back looking for you. Grandma told me not to disturb your studies.”
“I said I liked you, that I was set on you.”
Tao Shuran’s lashes trembled lightly. In disbelief, she looked up.
“After we split, you came looking for me?”
“Yeah. You’d gone out of town for a project then. I waited a bit in Fuqing, then got called for intensive training. Phone handed in after, no more contact.”
He gave a self-mocking laugh. “Pilot selection was imminent back then. Elimination possible every year. I thought, someone uncertain about his own future—how could I promise you one?”
Tao Shuran froze in place. Meanwhile, Liang Yuanjing handed her the backpack and pulled out the bag of mint cakes he’d kept hidden behind him.
“You definitely didn’t hear just now. Grandma said to come find her later.”
Tao Shuran: “What else did Professor Lin say?”
“Said I’m not serious, go wherever it’s cool.” Liang Yuanjing remained breezy, as if no storm could faze him.
He brushed the hair from her cheek, offhandedly. “Go on. I’ll wait outside. Mint cakes for when you get hungry—brain food for revising your paper.”
Tao Shuran hummed lowly, still immersed in the astonishing fact that he’d come back for her.
She took two steps forward, then suddenly turned back to look at him.
“But you’ve become a captain now.”
Liang Yuanjing smiled too. “Yeah. The future I wanted is right in front of me.”
His words carried meaning, and Tao Shuran understood.
She paused, about to speak, when Liang Yuanjing waved her on inside.
While Tao Shuran revised her paper, Liang Yuanjing wandered idly through the museum.