Qilan had finally figured it out; Liang Jianshi only looked gentle on the surface. Inside, he was actually quite cunning and domineering!
One moment, he said he would give her time to think. Next, he was trying to drag her abroad.
He said the decision was hers, but the moment he heard she might not go, he resorted to coercion.
He even threatened to expose her identity!
He was practically a thousand-year-old fox disguised as a puppy.
After turning back into a human, Qilan didn’t dare sleep in Liang Jianshi’s room anymore. She snuck out in the middle of the night and returned to the dormitory.
She had wanted to vent to Tong Tong, but when she entered, the dormitory was empty.
Tong Tong had left sometime without her noticing.
The empty room felt as if no one had ever lived there, a kind of indescribable loneliness and desolation.
Qilan sat quietly in the dorm for a long time. Tong Tong’s departure was like a warm towel pressed against her face, helping her shed her emotions and calmly examine her heart.
The clock ticked rhythmically. Before she knew it, dawn had arrived.
The agreed time was seven in the morning. When Qilan stepped out, faint morning light filtered through the black tarp, falling on her face.
She pushed open the wooden door and saw the man in his suit at the desk.
The candlelight flickered twice. Liang Jianshi looked at Qilan, a smile reaching the corners of his eyes.
“Good morning.” Tall and handsome, he stepped out from behind the round wooden table, holding a plump white ball of fur in his arms, and walked slowly toward Qilan. “Let’s go, Lanlan.”
Qilan looked at the handsome man before her, his face full of tenderness, and for a moment, she couldn’t find any words.
But perhaps she didn’t need to say anything. Her presence here today was already an answer for Liang Jianshi.
He took her hand expertly and fastened a small chain around her wrist.
Qilan looked confused. “What’s this for?”
“A little gift.” Liang Jianshi looked down at the delicate bracelet, threading his fingers through to clasp her cool hand. “Don’t take it off without my permission.”
Qilan looked up in surprise, but Liang Jianshi had already turned away, pulling her hand gently and drawing her forward.
And so, step by step, she walked into his world.
Qilan stared at her own feet, following closely behind. The chaos in her heart faded, and the corners of her mouth lifted unconsciously.
She didn’t know if this was a mistake.
But… she didn’t care anymore!
ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ
The long private flight wasn’t tiring for Qilan at all.
Strangely, as soon as she boarded the plane, it felt as if she had taken sleeping pills. She slept soundly, waking only when they reached their first stop. After eating and resting a bit, she fell asleep again, repeating the cycle until she finally opened her eyes in Finland.
Inside the Arctic Circle, the nights were long. Snow covered the rooftops like soft, fluffy towels.
The car drove along roads carved between towering snowbanks. Qilan couldn’t see who was driving through the soundproof partition. In the quiet cabin, Liang Jianshi found the small golden tulip chain and took Qilan’s hand, warming it with his.
“Did you travel well?”
His beautiful brown eyes lifted toward her, like wine-filled琉璃 cups in the darkened cabin.
Qilan’s face grew warm as she avoided his gaze. “Very well. I slept fine.”
She was so nervous that she was sweating. Liang Jianshi, seemingly unaware, held her hand tighter. His dry, warm palm almost melted her heart.
“Do you want to go dogsledding tomorrow?”
Qilan hesitated. “Didn’t you come to Finland for business?”
Beside her, Liang Jianshi just looked at her without speaking.
Qilan quickly added, “I just didn’t want to interfere with your work.”
Liang Jianshi leaned forward slightly, looking into her startled eyes. “Whether I work or not depends on you.”
Holding her breath, Qilan pressed her lips together.
“Then let’s go.”
Liang Jianshi let her off the hook, leaning back into the leather seat. “Lanlan, you need time to adjust, don’t you?”
The disappointment in his voice was unmistakable, and Qilan noticed immediately.
She quickly said, “No, I’m just… sleepy again.”
Her hasty cover-up didn’t escape Liang Jianshi. After a moment, a soft laugh sounded in the cabin.
“There are still forty minutes until the hotel. You can sleep if you want.”
Qilan studied Liang Jianshi for a moment, then obediently said “Mm.”
She didn’t sleep, of course. She sat staring out the window, her thoughts in a jumble.
Ten minutes later, something heavy landed on her shoulder.
Qilan’s drowsiness vanished. Her gaze slowly shifted to see the whirl of hair at Liang Jianshi’s crown. Her fingers reached out almost involuntarily to touch his hair.
The lighting had been too dim before; she hadn’t noticed how tired he looked.
Her heart ached as she glanced at him again and again. Finally, she slowly turned her body, gently moving his head onto her lap.
Her eyes traced the lines of Liang Jianshi’s features, recapturing that feeling from when she was a cat, of openly indulging in his beauty.
It seemed only when he was asleep, unaware, that Qilan could love him without reservation.
She watched him for the rest of the drive.
When the car stopped, the slight jolt woke Liang Jianshi. Rubbing his forehead, he sat up from Qilan’s lap.
“Sorry. Did I crush you?”
Qilan thought that even the numbness in her legs was a happy numbness. “No. You can sleep more if you want.”
The driver’s voice came from the front: “We’ve arrived at the hotel.”
Qilan: “…” “Damn it.”
ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ
Liang Jianshi’s residence in Finland was a large resort hotel. Beyond the front suite, the rest of the property was scattered with villas of various sizes.
They checked into the most secluded and spacious villa, the one closest to the forest.
The villa was fully equipped with amenities, including hot springs and saunas. The indoor heating kept the temperature just right.
Liang Jianshi and Qilan went to sleep separately. When Qilan woke the next morning, she had turned into a cat. She instinctively went looking for Liang Jianshi but couldn’t find him.
Now it was her turn to feel disappointed.
She hadn’t expected Liang Jianshi to actually give her time to “adjust.”
Her cat paw patted her plump face.
“Qilan, you idiot. Now you regret it, don’t you? Why didn’t you just say yes to going out with Liang Jianshi yesterday? Then today you’d be happily riding a sleigh pulled by reindeer, not sitting here moping.”
“You brought this on yourself.”
Her cat’s shoulders slumped even more, her big tail swaying behind her.
Qilan kept an eye on the time, glancing up frequently. She went through the whole day without any appetite for food.
After a long, anxious wait, she finally grew bored and fell asleep toward evening.
She didn’t know how long she had been asleep when she sat up abruptly in her human form.
It was as if something had clicked inside her, and she made a major decision.
Not even bothering with shoes, Qilan jumped off the bed and ran to the living room.
If Liang Jianshi were there, she would tell him her decision immediately.
The fire in the hearth was burning brightly. The crystal chandelier overhead was off, only the faint light from the garden outside illuminating the room.
Liang Jianshi sat on the reddish-brown leather sofa, his back to Qilan, holding the cat and brushing her fur.
“Liang Jianshi…?”
Qilan stepped onto the carpet and walked toward him.
He turned to look at her. “How are you feeling?”
Qilan had a strange sense that he was different today.
It was as if, just as she had made a major decision, Liang Jianshi had also made one.
Looking at the ambiguous smile on his lips, Qilan felt a bit apprehensive. “Not bad.”
Liang Jianshi set the cat down and stood up, walking toward Qilan. He didn’t stop even when he was five meters away, backing her into a corner with no escape.
Her hands pressed against the table behind him. Qilan looked up at Liang Jianshi in panic. He was silhouetted against the dim light, his eyes still gentle but carrying an unfamiliar intensity.
“I’ve given you many days. Since you’ve made up your mind, is there something you want to say to me?”
Qilan was at a loss.
He had cornered her, and now he wanted her to speak first?
“What… do you want me to say?”
Her confusion only made Liang Jianshi think she was playing dumb. “We’ve been avoiding this because you said you admitted it. But you didn’t.”
Qilan remembered that night when everything had come out. “I did admit it.”
Liang Jianshi shook his head with a smile. Despite his interrogation, his gaze was doting. “You didn’t admit anything.”
Qilan took a deep breath. It was just a matter of saying it plainly. If he wanted to hear her make a serious promise as a human, she could give him that.
In the quiet foreign night, with only the faint crackle of the fire in her ears, Qilan looked into Liang Jianshi’s eyes and spoke, one word at a time, as if accepting her fate.
“Fine. I admit it. I am the cat. The cat is me.”
Liang Jianshi was still for a moment, then quickly lowered his head. Though his expression was hidden, the corners of his mouth were slightly raised.
“You think that’s the answer I wanted?” He leaned forward, closing the distance.
Sensing his intent, Qilan tried to move back. Liang Jianshi stopped just a breath away. Seeing her flustered expression, the corner of his mouth curved into a smile, his gaze falling on her lips.
“Yes, you are that cat.”
“When you’re cold at night, you like to burrow into my arms. When you’re startled, you jump on me, meowing. Every day, you bring me a pen just to hear me say you’re a good girl.”
“When I’m in meetings, you sit beside me, watching, regardless of appearances. Wherever I go, you follow, clinging to my pants like a charm you can’t remove.”
“And I remember the first day you dared to touch my belly, even sneaked a peek at me changing clothes. Weren’t you the one who left all those red marks on me? You love using your big tail to tease me…”
Qilan’s face burned from her neck to her ears. “Stop, stop talking!”
Seeing her flushed cheeks, Liang Jianshi’s eyes deepened with amusement, clearly pleased.
Unable to bear his burning gaze, Qilan turned to leave. Liang Jianshi reached out, caught her waist, and lifted her onto the table. His hand pressed against the small of her back, drawing her closer.
His nose touched hers, his warm breath brushing against her as he spoke. “I just remember that cat seemed to really like me. Was that all in my head?”
“Or… were you deceiving me?”
His tone sounded hurt, and Qilan’s heart tightened.
As a human, she had kept her distance, but as a cat, she had expressed her affection without restraint, all because she thought Liang Jianshi didn’t know, using her cat identity to hide.
How could that be deception? It wasn’t.
Her voice small, she said, “I wasn’t deceiving you.”
Liang Jianshi still held her, not letting go. “Then why did you reject me?”
Qilan was silent, not daring to meet his eyes. After a moment, she struggled to find the words.
“I wasn’t honest, but I was trying to… to…” Her voice cracked, her heart suddenly aching so much she wanted to cry. “I liked you from the very beginning. It’s just that, deep down, maybe…”
“Say it again.”
Startled by the interruption, Qilan looked up. “What?”
Liang Jianshi looked into her eyes. “You know.”
“I… I liked you from the very beginning…”
Before she could finish, the light was blocked.
Liang Jianshi tilted his head and kissed her.
The burnt wood in the fireplace cracked.
Qilan’s soul cracked too.
Everything she had been panicking about dissolved under the depth of Liang Jianshi’s passionate conquest.
That was enough.
Liang Jianshi only wanted Qilan to admit that she liked him, just as he liked her.
That one sentence was all he had ever wanted.
The fire burned brightly. Their overlapping shadows danced in the flickering light.
A streak of brilliant aurora swept across the sky, and the world seemed to fall into a fairy tale. An old grandmother was telling a story: once upon a time,
ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ
“Liang Jianshi: The habit of secretly loving, you need to break it.”
“Qilan: How?”
“Liang Jianshi: You’ll find out soon.”