Kiss kiss.

Their eyes met again, and his gaze was faintly amused.

Ye Mian swore that if she had not been drinking, she would never, in ordinary circumstances, have had the nerve to say something so shameless. Even if she had said it, she absolutely would not have stood there so brazenly, waiting for his reaction.

Part of it was that she had always been soft-spoken by nature, but the real reason was that when it came to Jiang Chen, she did not just like him. Deep down, she also felt a certain awe.

The band was still singing a lingering love song, its melancholy notes drifting faintly into their ears.

Jiang Chen still had a cigarette between his fingers. He took a drag, then turned and slowly pressed it out on the tabletop.

Through the curling white smoke, Ye Mian watched him take a few steps closer.

As the distance between them narrowed, she caught the clean, understated scent on him, a very gentle fragrance.

Much like the outward impression he gave.

"So how do you want to be a little shameless?" he asked, stopping very close to her. He lowered his head and looked into her eyes, his voice low and suggestive. "Or are you planning to kiss and run again like last time?"

Ye Mian held her breath and involuntarily took a small step back, pressing a hand against his chest.

What she touched, however, was hard, taut muscle. In the sudden tug, one of his buttons came undone.

Her gaze fell before she could stop it, and she could see the smooth, well-defined lines of his chest beneath the fabric.

Her cheeks blazing red, she yanked her hand back as though she had been burned. "Sorry, I didn't mean to--"

He said nothing. Only smiled faintly as he lifted his long fingers and slowly pinched the button back into place.

Just when Ye Mian thought he had been offended and was unhappy about it, he leaned in slightly, bringing his lips close to her ear.

"Ye Mian," the man murmured, his voice light and low. "Is this your idea of harassment? Pulling off my clothes and then inspecting me? That's pretty bold."

"..."

Ye Mian nearly lost her breath. She stood stiffly, forcing herself to stay calm. "Don't seduce me, or I might do something even bolder."

Jiang Chen withdrew and stood upright again. Seeing how red her ears had turned, he seemed amused, though the curve of his lips was gentle. Yet his tone turned serious in an instant. "All right. You don't have the makings of a female rogue."

"..."

Honestly, drunk people sometimes really did have circuits that ran differently.

What dignity she usually lacked suddenly felt priceless to Ye Mian at this very moment.

She even felt that Jiang Chen saying she did not have the makings of a hooligan was looking down on her.

The wind drifted through the lounge bar.

It drifted through the light in the corner of the man's eyes.

Too seductive.

Thud--

Ye Mian almost heard the sound of her heart plunging violently downward.

So loud, it seemed to shake her ears.

And at that moment, the alcohol in her blood fermented to its fiercest.

In her haze, her hand had already looped around his neck. She rose slightly onto her toes, her dazed, moist gaze pushing up beneath the bridge of his nose. Her small voice melted into the night as her lips moved without sound: "Jiang Chen, can I kiss you?"

As though afraid he might refuse, it was her way of leaving herself some dignity.

Jiang Chen tightened his hand, while the other gently cupped her chin and lifted it with a little force.

Ye Mian could feel the heat in the man's eyes. His devilishly handsome features seemed magnified to the extreme; he did not close his eyes, and his dim gaze felt almost flirtatious.

She could not think at all. All she had time to notice was the cool scent on him, rampaging through the air.

But the kiss--

It never came.

Her chin was released.

She saw his hand rise, and he lightly tapped the tip of her nose, his tone languid and indifferent. "Don't drink any more for a while. I'll take you home later."

Looking again, the lust in his eyes had already vanished without a trace, and he had returned to that cold, otherworldly, unsullied-man appearance.

"..."

What?

Had she been out of practice with poetry for so many years that she was now too far from it?

Or was Jiang Chen simply not interested in her?

If neither was true--

She had already taken the initiative this far.

Was Jiang Chen really that capable of restraint?

"You..." Ye Mian looked at him suspiciously, and though alcohol had rushed to her head, she still could not help feeling wronged. "You..."

After several more tries, she ran out of words.

This had completely veered away from the path she had imagined, and she decided she would go back and ask Jiang Yuan for advice before making any further plans.

Under his smiling gaze, warmth kept surging and rolling in the air.

Ye Mian drew a deep breath. "All right, goodbye. I'm heading back first."

"Mm. Let me know when it's over."

Jiang Chen watched her retreating figure for a long time, his brow and eyes relaxed and unhurried.

Yet once her silhouette disappeared around the corner, he slowly closed his eyes.

The glass frame on the wall reflected his outline. When he opened his eyes again, he saw that his own gaze was filled entirely with ambition and restraint, surging like storm waves across the sea.

He frowned tightly, refusing to let his emotions show.

He was disgusted by his own desire.

On the surface, he seemed to have everything.

But he was still making high-risk investments.

One careless move, and he could still lose everything.

Such a good girl. He had heard that several wealthy young men had been pursuing her lately.

Each one sunny, open, and well provided for.

She still had many choices.

In his life, there were not many things he could claim, and the only thing he had truly kept in his heart was this moonlight.

Before there was an answer--

He did not dare, and could not allow the girl to gamble her life beside him.

...

When Ye Mian returned to the table, Jiang Yuan was smiling as she played dice with Ye Qingqing.

The two girls seemed to be having a fine time of it on their own, each drinking one cup after another.

Seeing Ye Mian come back, Jiang Yuan patted the seat beside her and said in a coquettish voice, "Is your sister really just back from abroad? She plays dice way better than I do."

Ye Qingqing smiled. "By the way, sis, why were you gone so long? Were there handsome guys in the restroom?"

Ye Mian blinked and gave a bitter smile. "There really was."

Jiang Yuan did not believe her. "You are not the type to look at handsome guys at all. Back in high school, when a few good-looking boys walked past you, you did not even glance."

"That is where you are mistaken. The handsome guy in question is Jiang Chen."

"Oh, no wonder--" Jiang Yuan nodded slowly, then suddenly whipped her head around. "What did you say? You ran into Jiang Chen? Jiang Chen is here?"

"Mm. I did run into him." Ye Mian looked utterly miserable, close to tears. "And I even tried to flirt, but he just was not moved at all."

Jiang Yuan and Ye Qingqing exchanged a look, set down the dice, and asked in unison, "Tell us more."

"After I asked if I could kiss him, he was like some caring old father and told me to let him know when I was going home so he could take me."

"..."

Jiang Yuan was speechless. "Maybe you should switch targets. Jiang is basically hell-level difficulty. Not for beginners."

Ye Qingqing rested her chin in her hand. "Exactly. My brother seems like such a serious person, and even he got led around by a beauty once, but not moved at all... Hard to say. Switch."

Ye Mian sighed. "I'll think of another way. I feel like next time, for sure."

Looking at the glittering waves on the river, Ye Mian drained the wine in her glass in silence.

She had to admit it.

She really had no other choice.

Ever since she had fallen for Jiang Chen, she had understood.

She might truly be destined for no one but Jiang Chen.

No matter how dazzling anyone else might be--

none of them could make her heart race.

...

If this feeling of liking him ever startled Jiang Chen,

then she would be the one who was truly frightened.

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End of chapter.