The mountaintop stretched wide beneath them, the wind roaring as a sky full of stars unfolded before their eyes.
At night, the temperature on the mountain dropped sharply, bringing a crisp, biting chill.
But inside the tent, the scene was entirely different.
A mood-setting storm lantern cast a warm yellow glow. Pink-and-blue hydrangeas filled the air with a fresh, sweet fragrance, while fireflies in a clear glass bottle flickered softly.
Song Xinya wore only a thin shirt, yet she felt unbearably hot.
Qin Yuhe held her tightly—so tightly that his embrace seemed impossible to break.
He held her with an unshakable, forceful, overwhelming strength.
He was so heavy.
He was so tall, his body so solid and powerful, pressing down on her like a mountain.
Song Xinya felt as though she could hardly breathe.
And yet she loved it.
She loved being held by him.
She loved being pinned beneath him.
She loved the deep, weighty sense of security it gave her.
An intimate relationship brought more than physical pleasure. It also offered emotional fulfillment and a sense of reassurance.
She reached up and wrapped her slender arms around him, her soft, pale hands gripping his strong back.
Qin Yuhe kissed her fiercely.
Song Xinya did her best to match him, responding to his kisses like a storm sweeping over her. Every so often, soft, muffled moans escaped her lips.
It had truly been too long.
Far too long.
And Qin Yuhe had always been a man with a powerful appetite.
His mouth remained on hers, but his hands were not idle either.
Her white shirt had been tucked into her pants. In the blink of an eye, a cool draft brushed her waist as his large hand yanked the shirt free.
Song Xinya breathed unevenly and murmured in a delicate voice, “Could you slow down a little?”
Riiip—
Qin Yuhe tore her white shirt in two, sending the buttons scattering across the floor.
“No.”
Song Xinya was both shy and amused. Blushing, she said, “What are you rushing for? We have the whole night.”
Click—
Qin Yuhe pulled off his belt and tossed it onto the floor with a heavy thud.
“The whole night isn’t that long. We can only do it a few times before dawn.”
His palm settled along the waistband of her pants.
“Why are you wearing pants today?”
What else was she supposed to wear while hiking? A spaghetti-strap dress?
She would have frozen herself into a case of rheumatism trying to look beautiful.
Besides, who could have imagined that he would want to make love to her inside a tent at the top of a mountain?
Even now, thinking about the situation made Song Xinya a little nervous. Her body instinctively shrank backward.
“Qin Yuhe, why don’t you calm down? We’re on a mountaintop. Someone could come by at any moment.”
Qin Yuhe gripped her slender waist with both hands and pulled her back toward him.
“Don’t hide.”
His fingers closed tightly around the soft fabric of her pants. As he tugged them down, they slipped over her fair calves before he flung them onto the handmade Persian rug.
“This entire mountain, this whole camping area, has been reserved by me. Who’s going to come here, hmm?”
Thinking quickly, Song Xinya replied, “Tiantianquan and Chen Siyan.”
Qin Yuhe said, “I sent them to the cabin at the campsite and told them not to come out.”
With every obstacle removed, he covered her once more.
Their bare skin pressed together, warm and soft as jade.
His lips brushed lightly over her forehead, her eyelids, the tip of her nose, her lips, her chin, and her neck before continuing downward.
His fuzzy head dropped out of her line of sight. His hair, countless fine, soft yet bristly strands, pricked at her sensitive, delicate skin.
Tenderness wound around them, deep and lingering.
He opened his mouth and caught her skin between his teeth.
His Adam’s apple moved up and down.
Song Xinya tilted back her slender neck, utterly overwhelmed.
Her mind was hazy, and just as her eyes naturally drifted shut, her gaze suddenly sharpened and her body went rigid.
The bottle of fireflies Qin Yuhe had caught for her sat beside the bed, directly facing them.
Song Xinya pushed at the fuzzy head in front of her.
“Qin Yuhe, the fireflies are watching us.”
Qin Yuhe was far too absorbed in what he was doing to care about the fireflies.
“Let them watch.”
Song Xinya said, “There are so many of them watching us.”
Qin Yuhe replied, “Let them watch.”
She had never experienced anything like this before.
She knew the fireflies weren’t people. So what if they saw them? They couldn’t speak, and no one else would ever know.
But at that moment, with a cluster of living, breathing creatures sitting beside the bed while they did this, she felt as though they were being livestreamed.
Song Xinya pushed at the man above her and patted his back.
Qin Yuhe caught her wrist, kissed her lips, and murmured into her ear in a hoarse voice, coaxing her again and again.
“Good girl, Yaya.”
“Yaya is the best.”
“I’m already ready. You can’t make me go take another cold shower, can you?”
“I don’t want to take another cold shower. I’ve taken hundreds of them. I’m sick of it.”
“Yaya, baby. My baby.”
Song Xinya melted beneath his tenderness, her body going soft as water under his repeated coaxing.
She let him do whatever he wanted.
Every pore of her body was filled with his scent.
…
Mountain weather could change in an instant.
The sky had been clear and bright during the day, but deep into the night, a torrential downpour suddenly began.
Huge raindrops pelted the tent, pounding out a rapid patter.
Water gathered into streams and ran down the sides of the tent.
The ground around it was quickly soaked through, turning into mud.
The mountain wind howled, the shadows of the trees swayed, and rain poured from the heavens.
Inside the tent, Song Xinya’s skin glistened with sweat. Damp strands of hair clung to both sides of her forehead.
She could barely take care of herself, yet she was still worrying about the tent. Her small face was covered in tears, and she sobbed hoarsely, “The tent… Will it collapse?”
Qin Yuhe pressed her hand above her head. His long fingers slipped one by one between hers, interlacing with them.
“No. I reinforced this tent. It’s extremely sturdy.”
Song Xinya cried as she said, “Then… that’s good.”
Qin Yuhe found her unbearably adorable. He lowered his head and kissed the tears on her face.
The sudden storm had not only disturbed the people inside the tent; it had also startled the two people in the cabin.
Tiantianquan looked out through the cabin window, worried. “Oh my goodness, this rain is coming down hard!”
Chen Siyan said, “Rainy days go perfectly with fried chicken. Too bad there’s no fried chicken or beer here.”
Tiantianquan shot him a look. “You’re still thinking about food at a time like this? All you ever think about is eating!”
Chen Siyan replied innocently, “We only get one life. Food and drink are the essentials. If I’m not thinking about eating, what else should I be thinking about?”
Tiantianquan said, “The rain is so heavy, and Yaya and President Qin are still in the tent. I’m worried about them.”
“They should be fine,” Chen Siyan said. “President Qin has always known where to draw the line.”
“You never know. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”
Just then, a flash of lightning lit up the sky, followed by a sudden clap of thunder that seemed to crash straight down upon them.
With a deafening boom, the earth shook and the mountains trembled.
The lightning struck a large tree. After a tremendous crack, the once-sturdy tree split cleanly in two.
Tiantianquan witnessed the entire thing and screamed in terror.
“Ahhhhh! That’s so scary!”
Chen Siyan was equally stunned by the sight.
They exchanged a glance and said at the same time, “Let’s go find Yaya and President Qin!”
