Huo Tingyun stood downstairs from the dormitory building, holding a bouquet of flowers in his arms. His handsome face was filled with a gentle smile.
The moment he saw her appear, he quickly walked over.
“Niannian, these flowers are for you.”
As he spoke, Huo Tingyun held out the beautifully wrapped bouquet with both hands.
Yellow roses, marigolds, sweet peas…
The arrangement was quite lovely. But if Jiang Zhinian remembered correctly, the meanings associated with all these flowers had something to do with farewell and parting, didn’t they?
Without revealing anything on her face, Jiang Zhinian accepted the bouquet with a faint smile.
“Not a bad combination. Did you pick them yourself?”
Huo Tingyun was quite honest, though he looked a little embarrassed.
“Big Brother picked out the last bouquet. This time, I wanted to buy a bouquet for you myself.”
“But I was afraid my taste wasn’t very good and that girls might not like what I chose, so I brought Gu Nuannuan along to help me pick them out.”
“I see.” Jiang Zhinian nodded slightly, her expression unchanged, though she was secretly complaining inwardly.
“Niannian, you’re not upset, are you? Nuannuan really feels terrible about what happened last time. She kept asking me to pass along her apology to you.”
Heh.
Jiang Zhinian couldn’t even be bothered to respond.
He looked like such a considerate gentleman on the surface, yet he had absolutely no emotional intelligence. He was giving flowers to his “girlfriend” and had another woman—one who had a grudge against said girlfriend—help him choose them.
Wasn’t that practically asking to disgust her?
Well, fortunately, she and Huo Tingyun weren’t actually a couple, so she didn’t care in the slightest.
“Is there anything else?” she asked, tilting her head in an adorably playful manner.
Huo Tingyun immediately grew nervous, unconsciously clenching his hands at his sides.
He still wanted to spend more time with Niannian, but judging by her attitude…
Perhaps she was tired today. He should come back tomorrow instead.
“Then… Niannian, get some rest early. I’ll be going now.”
“Eh?”
Jiang Zhinian suddenly called out to him, her gaze sweeping him up and down.
Huo Tingyun was dressed casually today. He wore a loose white shirt, its collar slightly open to reveal the elegant line of his neck, giving him a carefree and dashing air.
“Who picked out your clothes today?”
Jiang Zhinian was merely satisfying her curiosity. After all, a woman’s intuition told her that this definitely wasn’t Huo Tingyun’s own sense of style.
Sure enough, Huo Tingyun hesitated before answering.
“Gu Nuannuan chose them. She came to my room and gave me some advice on how to dress. She said white suited me better.”
He seemed to feel that something about it wasn’t quite right himself, because he looked at Jiang Zhinian somewhat uneasily.
Jiang Zhinian stroked her chin and curled her lips into a meaningful smile.
Little sister certainly has a thing for men in white.
She’d even gone into his room. She must have seen him changing clothes too, right?
As for what little Gu Nuannuan was thinking…
Well, those who knew, knew.
But Jiang Zhinian was only borrowing Huo Tingyun anyway. Once they “broke up,” she’d hand him right back to Gu Nuannuan.
Thinking about it that way, her mood remained completely unaffected.
She glanced behind Huo Tingyun and saw that Huo Lin’s vehicle was still quietly parked there.
The little fox immediately came up with another scheme.
Rising onto her tiptoes, she gently brushed the top of Huo Tingyun’s head.
From the angle of the vehicle, however, it looked exactly as if Jiang Zhinian had deliberately stood on tiptoe to kiss Huo Tingyun.
Hehe. My acting is getting better and better. I hope the System gives me an award for Best Actress.
If not, Best Supporting Villainess would do too.
“There was a leaf in your hair. I helped you take it off.”
Huo Tingyun didn’t suspect a thing. With his trademark warm smile, he said, “Thank you, Niannian.”
Jiang Zhinian waved her hand.
“You can go now.”
The moment Huo Tingyun left, the little fox headed toward the imposing military vehicle.
Her slender fingers tapped lightly against the window.
“Commander Huo, I’m here.”
The window slowly rolled down, revealing Huo Lin’s cold, aristocratic face. The meaning in his narrow black eyes was impossible to read.
They looked at each other for two seconds before Huo Lin opened the door and stepped out.
At six foot three, the moment he stood in front of Jiang Zhinian, his presence was overwhelmingly imposing.
“Your things.”
He handed her a brown paper envelope.
It was the television deposit she had accidentally forgotten in his car yesterday.
“Thank you, Commander Huo. How would you like me to thank you?”
Jiang Zhinian stepped closer, leaning half-playfully, half-seriously against him. Her voice was soft and sweet.
“How about… I give myself to you?”
Perhaps it was only her imagination, but Huo Lin’s heartbeat seemed to quicken for an instant.
“Jiang Zhinian, your acting really is quite good.”
Suppressing the unfamiliar emotions surging within him, Huo Lin gripped her delicate chin and forced her to raise her head and meet his eyes.
Her eyes were seductive, her red lips slightly parted as though offering him an invitation.
Just moments ago, she had taken the initiative to kiss Huo Tingyun. Now she was using such provocative words to flirt with him?
Did this woman have a heart at all?
Jiang Zhinian breathed softly against him.
“Commander Huo, do you want to kiss me? Then hurry up and do it~”
I’m still waiting to kiss you so I can stay alive.
Huo Lin’s gaze darkened further. His thumb slowly stroked her lips.
Years of training had left a layer of rough calluses on his fingertips. The coarse touch against her petal-soft lips sent a tingling sensation through her body.
Jiang Zhinian suddenly realized that her legs had gone a little weak.
This is so embarrassing. He hasn’t even kissed me yet. Just having Huo Lin look at me with those possessive eyes is already making my heart flutter.
Huo Lin lowered his head toward her, his cool, clean breath washing over her face.
She instinctively closed her eyes, waiting for his lips to claim hers.
“Heh.”
The kiss she had expected never came.
The man merely stopped inches away from her and let out a quiet chuckle.
Jiang Zhinian’s face instantly turned red. Even her jade-white earlobes were tinged with a delicate blush.
So embarrassing! Jiang Zhinian, how could you be so full of yourself that you thought he was going to kiss you?!
“One last warning,” Huo Lin said. “Either break up with Huo Tingyun, or behave yourself when you’re in front of me.”
His hand abruptly released her chin, and he turned to get back into the car.
But unexpectedly, the woman’s small hand grabbed his sleeve and refused to let go.
“Fine! I’ll break up with him. So let me kiss you, okay?”
Huo Lin turned around and scrutinized her.
“Kiss…” The little kitten refused to let the atmosphere remain so tense. Instead, she burrowed into his arms and murmured sweetly, like a spoiled little cat.
Her voice was so soft, like honey melting into his heart.
He had restrained himself for this long. He wasn’t some ascetic monk without worldly desires—he was a perfectly normal man in the prime of his life.
Of course, he couldn’t hold back any longer.
His large hand gripped the delicate back of her neck, and as though he had developed a taste for it, he kissed her deeper and deeper.
By the time Jiang Zhinian came back to her senses, Huo Lin had already pinned her against the door of the military vehicle.
Behind her was the cold, hard steel of the car.
In front of her was a man whose body burned with passion, even his breath scorching hot.
Jiang Zhinian couldn’t withstand him. Her body went soft as she let him take control.
Fortunately, Huo Lin still knew where to draw the line. His formidable self-control allowed him to stop in time, merely taking a little of her sweetness as interest.
The little woman was clearly in no condition to walk by herself. She leaned limply against his chest, making soft, helpless sounds.
Huo Lin scooped her up in his arms and carried her upstairs.
After placing her on the bed, he turned to leave.
But the little woman was unhappy with that.
“Commander Huo!”
Huo Lin’s expression remained perfectly calm, showing no sign that he was suppressing the overwhelming reaction surging through his body.
“What else is it?”
Jiang Zhinian smiled mischievously and patted the bed beneath her.
“Commander Huo, do you want to stay and try out the mattress with me? After all, you’re the one who just bought it for me~”