Sang Yu also noticed the unusual look in Huo Yan’s eyes.
She froze for a moment, her cheeks flushing slightly as she instinctively glanced down at her T-shirt.
Huo Yan averted his gaze, licked his back teeth, and suddenly stood up, swinging onto his motorcycle.
“Get on.”
His expression was cold and indifferent as he tossed a helmet to Sang Yu.
“Hmm?” Sang Yu looked at him with clear, innocent eyes. “Aren’t we waiting for Zhang Qile?”
Her voice was soft and sweet, especially when she said Zhang Qile’s name.
Huo Yan lifted his eyelids to look at her, his gaze lingering on her pink, moist lips. His tone was slightly chilly. “You want to wait for him?”
Sang Yu shook her head, a smile curling at the corners of her lips.
She knew Huo Yan was jealous.
“Not at all,” Sang Yu said, her eyes curving into crescents as she smiled at him. She put on the helmet and settled onto the back seat.
Huo Yan drove fast. The summer evening wind whistled past their ears, hot and restless against the helmet.
Sang Yu watched the trees and streetlights blur past on either side, the wind whipping at her clothes. A strange, inexplicable feeling stirred in her heart.
She didn’t wrap her arms around Huo Yan’s waist, instead gripping the side handles tightly, keeping a deliberate distance.
As the bike descended a slope, Huo Yan leaned forward. The wind billowed his clothes, revealing his broad back and the smooth, defined lines of his shoulder blades beneath his black shirt.
Sang Yu caught the faint scent of tobacco and bergamot from him—sharp and cool.
Instinctively, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Sang Yu’s home was nearby, just a short distance down the slope.
The bike braked abruptly, and Sang Yu lost her balance, pressing fully against him.
The soft warmth of her body, carrying the summer’s heat, seeped through their thin clothing, along with the gentle curve of her chest.
Huo Yan stiffened.
“Sorry,” Sang Yu said immediately, sitting upright. Her tone sounded slightly shy.
But if one looked closely, there was a hint of deliberate mischief on her face.
In her past life, Huo Yan had done far more intimate things to her—there was no need for shyness now.
Huo Yan didn’t respond. He removed his helmet.
The faint blue veins on the back of his neck stood out, slightly raised and enticingly sensual. His expression remained cold as his eyes fell on Sang Yu’s flushed face. “Do you enjoy apologizing so much?”
The dried white milk stain still lingered at the corner of Sang Yu’s lips. She looked up at him, blinking. “If someone makes a mistake, they should apologize. So, how about you apologize to me, Yan Ge?”
Huo Yan’s lips twitched. His dark eyes fixed directly on her as he took two steps forward, stopping right in front of her.
“Bold of you.”
Sang Yu stared back at him with clear, unblinking eyes. “Isn’t that what you said?”
They stood close. The corner of Huo Yan’s mouth lifted slightly as he suddenly reached out.
Sang Yu froze.
His warm, rough thumb brushed across the corner of her lips.
Huo Yan closed his eyes briefly, withdrawing his hand. His tone was flat. “Don’t drink milk so carelessly next time.”
“Ah?” Sang Yu looked at him, puzzled.
Huo Yan lifted his gaze to meet hers. “I’m leaving.”
With that, he put on his helmet, turned, and swung onto his black motorcycle, speeding away like the wind.
That night, Sang Yu washed up briefly and went to bed.
In her familiar bedroom, she felt at ease and fell asleep quickly.
But in her drowsy dreams, she seemed to drift into memories of her past life.
She dreamed of the absurd times when Huo Yan had taken her home and locked her in the gilded cage.
In the dream, Huo Yan was cruel. He coaxed her, transforming his home into a replica of their old classroom.
He gripped her waist, leaving red marks across the skin, right there on the former classroom desk.
Sang Yu had been crying continuously, her eyes and nose flushed crimson, strands of her hair damp with both their sweat clinging to the prominent veins on the boy’s throat.
Her chin rested against his shoulder.
The skirt she wore—once hers from the past—was too short, and she felt a chill, pressing herself tightly against the boy before her.
Huo Yan kissed her while pinching her chin, murmuring, “Little classmate…”
Sang Yu was jolted awake by her alarm clock.
The vivid sensations from the dream lingered, leaving her momentarily dazed.
How could she have such a dream…
Her face flushed, and she quickly got up and headed to the bathroom.