"Okay."
Lu Jingming lay down beside her.
Turning off the bedside lamp, he pulled her into his arms again and asked softly, "Feeling a bit better?"
She murmured an agreement, burying her face deeper into his embrace.
Lu Jingming took a quiet, deep breath. He gently stroked the back of her head and said softly, "Go to sleep. I'm right here."
She gave a small nod.
Neither of them spoke again.
But neither of them fell asleep.
After a while, Lu Jingming heard Xu Yanxia speak up again.
"My dad didn't want to leave, either," she said. "The night he left, he hugged us and told us to wait for him, that he would come back for us very soon."
"He loved her so much. Every time he made some money, he would buy her beautiful clothes, even though she had just given birth to me and hadn't gotten her figure back yet."
"I always thought love was supposed to last a long time. So why did she marry someone else so soon after he passed away? And she even married twice..."
She began to sob again, her tears slowly soaking through his shirt at the chest.
"Yes, she has the freedom to pursue her own happiness. But I still can't understand why, after all these years, she would rather raise someone else's child than spare a single thought for her own two children."
...
Forgive Lu Jingming for not being able to answer that question on the woman's behalf. All he could do was hold his fiancee in his arms, gently patting her back over and over, silently listening to her pour her heart out, and letting her know he was there.
Until finally, exhausted from crying, she gradually drifted off to sleep.
...
When Xu Yanxia woke up again, the dark night had already given way to the faint blue light of early dawn.
Lu Jingming was still beside her, sleeping peacefully on his side facing her.
In the dim light of the room, she could still make out his handsome features—his sharp eyebrows, his straight nose, and his long eyelashes.
She watched him for a while, then couldn't resist lifting a finger to gently trace the contours of his face.
But the moment she touched his brow, his eyes fluttered open.
"You're awake?"
His voice was thick with sleep, but he wasn't annoyed in the slightest. Instead, he tenderly pulled her closer into his arms and asked, "Did you sleep okay?"
Xu Yanxia hummed a yes, then asked him, "Did you sleep well?" She quickly added with an apologetic tone, "I'm sorry, I woke you up."
"Don't be," he said, a smile evident in his voice. "I don't know how long I've dreamed of this moment, opening my eyes to see you right there."
He raised a hand to lovingly stroke her hair and said, "It's still early. Sleep a little longer." With a smile lingering on his lips, he closed his eyes again.
Xu Yanxia, however, did not go back to sleep.
Breathing in the faint, clean scent of his embrace and feeling his warm body heat, she suddenly tilted her head up and kissed his chin.
She felt Lu Jingming stiffen slightly before his eyes snapped open again.
Before he could say a word, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pressed her lips to his.
Lu Jingming froze for a second, but upon realizing her initiative, he immediately kissed her back.
...
Only, unlike usual, he was clearly holding back this time.
Xu Yanxia, on the other hand, was bolder than ever. She chased him, coaxed him, radiating a fiery passion...
A moment later, they parted slightly. Seeing that she was about to lean in again, he hurriedly said, "We can't kiss anymore, baby. If we keep kissing, I won't be able to control myself."
Heaven knew how hard he had struggled to hold back all night.
Xu Yanxia just smiled. With a touch of girlish shyness, she whispered, "If you can't control yourself, then don't. After all... we're already engaged."
"We'll go get our marriage certificate as soon as the sun comes up."
Right, today was Monday. The civil affairs bureau would be open.
As her words fell, Lu Jingming took another deep breath.
"Okay. As soon as the sun comes up."
Then, not giving her a chance to say anything else, he pulled her tightly by the waist and captured her lips.
It was passionate and deeply intertwined.
The hazy darkness acted like a warm, alluring net, tangling the two of them tightly together.
...
At the height of their intimacy, he asked hoarsely by her ear, "Does it hurt?"
Xu Yanxia let out a soft sound of agreement, a slight tearfulness in her voice.
Aching for her, he whispered an apology and tenderly kissed her lips, letting her soft, broken gasps melt completely into their lingering kiss.
...
By the time Xu Yanxia woke up again, the sun was already high in the sky.
Sunlight spilled across the floor through the curtains, and the bustling noise of a Monday morning in the city drifted in from outside.
She stared blankly for a moment. Just as she was about to get up, she realized she wasn't wearing any clothes...
The scenes from the middle of the night inevitably flooded her mind. Fighting down a blush, she grabbed her clothes from the foot of the bed and put them on. Right after, she heard the sound of the front door's electronic lock opening and closing.
Opening the bedroom door to check, she saw Lu Jingming walking in carrying a bunch of bags.
Seeing her come out, he paused for a second before immediately asking, "You're awake, baby? Did I make too much noise?"
"No," Xu Yanxia shook her head. "I woke up on my own. What did you buy? Why is there so much?"
He replied, "I originally wanted to make you some breakfast, but we didn't have any groceries, so I just bought some from the breakfast shop downstairs."
As he spoke, he laid out the breakfast items on the dining table one by one, introducing them to her. "There are meat buns, vegetable buns, rice noodle rolls, burgers, fried dough sticks, soy milk, century egg porridge, and milk."
He smiled and said, "I didn't know what you'd be in the mood for, so I bought a little bit of everything."
Looking at the table full of all kinds of breakfast food, Xu Yanxia felt both surprised and amused. "How are we supposed to finish all this?"
To her surprise, he cleared his throat lightly and said, "It's fine. Think of it as replenishing your energy. After all, you worked so hard last night."
"What are you talking about," Xu Yanxia's face immediately flushed red.
Still smiling, he stepped forward to hug her and said, "After we eat, we'll go get our marriage certificate. I've already made the appointment." He planted a kiss on her forehead.
Xu Yanxia was a bit taken aback. "So fast?"
It was only a little past nine o'clock. She had no idea what time he had woken up to have already gotten so much done.
He replied, "Of course I have to be fast. What if you change your mind?"
"I would never," Xu Yanxia was amused and started joking back with him. "You better think this through. Once we get that certificate, half of your net worth becomes mine."
"I thought it through a long time ago." Lu Jingming laughed from above her head. "The boss's wife is so capable, who knows which one of us will be riding the other's coattails in the future!"
Xu Yanxia chuckled at his words. Seeing him lower his head to kiss her again, she dodged slightly and said, "I'm going to take a shower first."
—Last night's passionate entanglement had left her feeling a bit sticky.
With that, she hurried into the bathroom with a red face.
By the time she finished washing up and came out, Lu Jingming had already set out a bowl and chopsticks for her.
It was just that he really had bought way too much. The two of them tried their best to eat for quite a while, but more than half of it was still left over, so they had to put it in the fridge for now.
Afterwards, Xu Yanxia went to change her clothes and put on some light makeup, getting ready to head out with Lu Jingming.
But right at that moment, her phone rang. It was a call from Feng Yiheng.
Xu Yanxia glanced at it, not wanting to answer.
Seeing this, Lu Jingming offered, "Shall I answer it for you?"
She nodded.
He picked up her phone and answered it.
