“Hmm?” Chen Yihan sensed something off in her tone but still answered, “You do look even prettier, though our Momo is always beautiful.”
Yu Zhi thought of this man’s insufferable behavior in real life and sneered—
“The same person, just wearing different clothes, and she becomes prettier? Then why are you even dating me? Why not just date the clothes?”
Even Chen Yihan was momentarily at a loss for words in the face of such sarcasm. After all, the last time he gave a negative answer to the same question, Yu Zhi had gotten angry at his lack of taste, saying that if she looked the same as usual, wasn’t her new outfit and hairstyle a waste?
Why had the answer changed again?
“How could that be? The clothes only look good because they’re on you.”
Yu Zhi ignored him, tidying the slightly messy hair she’d gotten while changing.
“Baby.” Chen Yihan reached out to pull her, but Yu Zhi dodged. Undeterred, he moved closer. “I don’t know how to answer to make you happy, but…” He paused. “In my eyes, you really are the most beautiful. So beautiful that no matter who you stand next to, all I can see is you.”
Yu Zhi froze for a moment, her hands stilling as she fixed her hair. When she turned to look, she met a pair of dark, ink-like eyes.
Those beautiful peach blossom eyes held an undisguised affection for her. Being stared at like this by him truly made it easy to lose focus. If she hadn’t known him for so long, she might have been completely captivated.
She had the same face in the plotline and in reality, and truthfully, she wasn’t a great beauty—at least not by the standards of Chen Yihan’s social circle.
A wave of exasperation washed over Yu Zhi, and the System flashed a yellow warning light for being Out of Character.
After all, in the plotline, Yu Zhi was supposed to be someone who was easy to appease and… genuinely liked Chen Yihan.
Her attitude softened.
“Consider yourself lucky.”
With his girlfriend pacified, a smile returned to Chen Yihan’s face. His gaze remained fixed on Yu Zhi, eventually settling on her soft, pink lips.
Almost instantly, the boy recalled the sensation of their last kiss.
Whether it was because he’d been thinking about it repeatedly, the memory—filled with sweetness, palpitations, and the feeling of having his soul utterly captivated—remained vividly clear, easily making his throat tighten now.
He took two steps forward, pressing her against the island counter in the walk-in closet just as she turned around.
“Momo,” desire darkened his eyes even further, “I want to kiss you again.”
He truly wanted to, desperately so. After kissing her once, he’d dreamed of that moment, longing to kiss her again.
Yu Zhi instinctively placed her hands against his chest, about to refuse, when the System’s prompt sounded in her mind.
“This plotline cannot be refused.”
Chen Yihan didn’t actually make any further moves. Though he was overwhelmed with desire and his head was spinning, he wasn’t insistent on kissing her. After all, the last time he’d surprised her with a kiss, Momo had broken up with him for quite a while.
Just as this thought crossed his mind, he keenly sensed the pressure against his chest lessen slightly.
His body stiffened, and he looked down at the girl’s hand pressed against his chest, disbelief washing over him, followed swiftly by wild joy and an impulsive urge surging through his body.
It was like a signal, instantly igniting what little remained of his rationality, leaving only the instinct to advance upon seeing that signal.
Chen Yihan’s heart pounded wildly.
How could she… be so good at tempting him?
The boy leaned down slightly, his lips covering hers. Unlike the surprise attack last time, this time he was extremely gentle and careful.
So soft…
Almost the moment their lips touched, this thought surged in his heart. The soft sensation spread from his lips and teeth throughout his entire body, yet it caused every muscle in his body to tighten and stiffen with a trembling intensity.
Only his heart remained soft.
Soft beyond words.
This tangible, real sensation truly couldn’t be compared to mere memories.
Once the beast was unleashed, it teetered on the brink of losing control. Chen Yihan mustered all his self-restraint, adjusting to a more comfortable position for Yu Zhi, his arms unconsciously tightening around her.
He lingered over her lips, repeatedly savoring the moment. Last time, he had wanted to deepen the kiss but was pushed away, so this time Chen Yihan carefully observed Yu Zhi’s reaction.
The girl had already closed her eyes, her long, thick eyelashes trembling faintly, so close he could almost touch them.
The proud, aloof princess could be this nervous too. How wonderful—they were each other’s first kiss, first love. For this lifetime, they would only have each other.
An indescribable tenderness welled up in Chen Yihan’s heart. Of course, his actions showed no intention of letting her go. After parting her lips, his tongue immediately delved deep inside.
Yu Zhi barely managed to suppress the urge to frown.
To be honest, among the current books, Chen Yihan’s Script was the most innocent and pure in terms of romance.
A kiss of this level, in other plotlines, would merely be an appetizer.
But with Chen Yihan as the partner, Yu Zhi felt utterly uncomfortable. She simply closed her eyes, thinking that out of sight, out of mind.
The boy’s kissing technique was clearly inexperienced, occasionally even clashing teeth. Yet, even so, he insisted on kissing until both were on the verge of suffocation before finally letting go.
But only their lips parted—his hands still held the slightly weak-kneed girl tightly in his arms.
In the quiet space, only their panting and the sound of their heartbeats echoed.
“Baby,” Chen Yihan said hoarsely, “I gave you my first kiss. You have to take responsibility for me.”
What a coincidence—you’re not the only one who gave it to me, Yu Zhi thought as she pushed against Chen Yihan.
“You have to compensate me for my clothes.”
“Of course, of course.”
“But I don’t want clothes anymore.”
Chen Yihan chuckled. “I’ll give you the cash equivalent. Buy whatever you want.”
Plan successful.
With money in hand, Yu Zhi’s attitude softened considerably. Chen Yihan was still lost in the warmth of the moment when his phone rang.
Annoyed by the noise, he quickly took it out and silenced it.
“Who is it?”
Chen Yihan glanced at it and quickly put it away. “A roommate. Definitely nothing important. I won’t answer.”
He wanted to continue holding her, preferably to kiss her again, but Yu Zhi, who seemed to have lost interest, pushed him away.
“Let’s go downstairs. Uncle and Auntie will be waiting.”
Chen Yihan naturally obeyed her. Lightly pursing his lips to savor the lingering sensation, filled with regret, he could only follow her downstairs.
When the two went downstairs, Aunt Ning and her husband were craning their necks like a pair of clowns, trying to peek upstairs.
As soon as they saw them, they quickly straightened up. “All changed? Oh, Momo, you look so good in this outfit too. It makes the clothes shine.”
See, see—it’s her who makes the clothes shine, not the clothes that make her shine.
Spending time with a drama queen really elevates everyone’s emotional intelligence.
Yu Zhi finally showed a smile on her face: “That’s because you have good taste, Aunt Ning.”
Being affirmed was not easy, and Aunt Ning’s face was full of smiles: “Come, come, have some more.”
The seats had been tidied up. Chen Yihan pulled out Yu Zhi’s dining chair and placed the freshly poured juice in front of her.
This time, Yu Zhi didn’t control her sugar intake.
Money from the plotline could be taken away, but food couldn’t, so she drank a large cup with complete peace of mind.
“You like it that much?” Chen Yihan laughed beside her. “Want another cup?”
Yu Zhi had to refuse for the sake of her Character Persona.
Ning Mei across from her was also happy. It seemed the two kids had made up.
After the meal, Chen Yihan drove them back to school. Before they left, Ning Mei and the others saw them off to the car, repeatedly reminding Chen Yihan.
“Drive slowly, safety first.”
“As her older brother, you should take good care of Momo at school.”
When Yu Zhi heard the word “brother,” she felt Chen Yihan’s resentful glance drift her way.
Once in the car, the car stereo turned on.
“I have no name, I do not complain…”
“I have no name…”
“I have no name…”
By the time they got out of the car, Yu Zhi was nearly brainwashed by the repeated line.
She’d had enough. As soon as she stepped out of the car, she walked away quickly. Chen Yihan hurriedly chased after her, carrying the bags of things Ning Mei had bought for Yu Zhi.
“My dear, my dear, what’s wrong?”
Yu Zhi walked ahead without looking back: “What kind of song was that? Why didn’t you play what I like? You clearly don’t love me anymore.”
“I want to break up with you!”
As she said this, her gaze suddenly caught a figure not far away, standing under the dormitory building and looking in their direction. But wasn’t this the girls’ dormitory? Before she could figure it out—
The plotline ended with that declaration of a breakup.
When Yu Zhi snapped back to reality, the four of them were still sitting at the dining table. The couple across from them were still bickering, and, of course, Chen Yihan beside her was as proper and almost cold as ever.
But no one noticed that, for a moment, his eyes seemed dazed and unfocused.
“Baby, I want to kiss you again.”
This sentence inexplicably appeared in his memory, followed by…
The intertwining of lips and teeth, the swallowing of saliva, even the soft moans that escaped his throat in the heat of passion. Finally, he saw the face of the girl nestled softly in his arms.
With a clatter, the boy suddenly stood up, pushing his dining chair back. Everyone at the table looked over.
“What’s wrong with you?” Ning Mei frowned at him.
Chen Yuntian also scolded him: “You’re a grown man, yet you still lack composure.”
Yu Zhi, meanwhile, was full of curiosity.
Having entered and exited plotlines many times, she was now completely capable of acting as if nothing had happened. So, she had no idea how flustered someone who had inexplicably recalled those memories—or even felt as if they had experienced them firsthand—must be.
Dreaming while asleep was one thing, but why would he dream while awake?
Yu Zhi met Chen Yihan’s gaze. The boy looked as if he’d been burned, quickly averting his eyes and taking several steps back.
“I’m done eating. You all go ahead.”
With that, he left without looking back, his retreating figure inexplicably carrying a sense of fleeing in panic.
The others exchanged glances. Finally, Ning Mei pushed the braised pork toward Yu Zhi: “Alright, alright, let’s not mind him. Momo, eat more. Where can you get good food at school?”
Yu Zhi smiled and nodded: “Okay, thank you, Aunt Ning.”
“If you keep thanking Aunt Ning, I’m going to get angry.”
The dinner table for three was harmonious nonetheless.
Fu Bin’s final dinner gathering never came together.
One person had something come up, another had an unexpected issue, and when the remaining few saw the group shrinking, they too came up with various excuses.
He returned to the dorm early, feeling frustrated.
The dorm was cold and quiet, with only him inside. It had always been like this, so he habitually turned on his computer.
Around seven in the evening, Fu Bin suddenly received a message from Zhong Shiyu.
Zhong Shiyu: Is Chen Yihan back yet?
Huh? Though he hadn’t heard any movement, Fu Bin glanced over at Chen Yihan’s bed before replying—
“Not yet. Didn’t he go home for dinner today? Probably won’t be back this early.”
Zhong Shiyu replied with a simple “Okay.”
Around eight o’clock, Fu Bin received another message from Zhong Shiyu, asking the same question. He gave the same answer.
“Not yet.”
“Okay.”
Less than half an hour later, the dorm door opened.
Fu Bin looked at the person who entered, somewhat surprised. “Boss, why are you back so early today?”
“Heading out again later.” Zhong Shiyu didn’t give a proper answer, and Fu Bin didn’t press further, returning to the game on his computer.
Zhong Shiyu walked to his spot, set down his books, and without even looking, he knew—Chen Yihan wasn’t back yet. If he wasn’t back, Yu Zhi was probably with him.
The boy opened his phone. The friend request still hadn’t been accepted.
Author’s Note:
None.