Shen Wu had been through all that.
Jiang Nuan felt a dull ache in her heart and wanted to sit up and turn around to comfort him.
Shen Wu pressed a hand to her shoulder. “Don’t move. Let me hold you a little longer.”
Jiang Nuan slowly relaxed, letting her weight settle back against his chest.
He lowered his head, his chin brushing over her hair.
“Do you know something, Jiang Nuan?”
“I’ve seen countless people through the Eye of Truth.”
“The insincere smiles of businessmen at the negotiating table, the impassioned speeches of politicians onstage, the composure teammates forced themselves to maintain on the battlefield—I’ve seen it all.”
“Everyone is acting.”
“They’ve acted for so long that even they’ve forgotten which face is real.”
The movie on the screen had reached its ending, with the protagonists each heading off in different directions.
Leaning against him, Jiang Nuan felt the arm around her waist tighten.
It was the desperate grip of someone drowning and clinging to a piece of driftwood, a posture born of an extreme lack of security.
“Shen Wu, you…” She hesitated, trying to think of something comforting to say.
“You don’t have to comfort me.” His eyes were closed, and his voice was very soft. “Don’t say those things.”
Jiang Nuan felt the fingers of the hand resting on her shoulder tremble slightly.
“All I need is…” Before Shen Wu could finish, he pulled her into an embrace.
It was a fierce embrace, one so tight it seemed he wanted to crush her into his body.
One hand cupped the back of her head, his fingers threading through her hair. His other arm encircled her waist, exerting enough force to press her entire body against him.
Jiang Nuan’s face was buried in the hollow of his neck, her nose brushing against his cool skin.
He had always carried that faint, cold scent, clean as snow. Now, mixed with the aroma of red wine, it finally held a trace of warmth.
He was trembling, so faintly that it was almost impossible to notice.
If he weren’t holding her so tightly, she never would have realized.
So he could be like this too.
The intelligence officer who was always composed, viciously sharp-tongued, and capable of calculating everyone and everything with frightening precision could tremble like an ordinary person.
“All I need is you.” His chin rested against the top of her head. “Don’t perform for me, Jiang Nuan.”
When he said her name, the final syllable no longer lingered as it had before, carrying that suggestive undertone.
“What I crave is… the real you.”
“If you want to curse at me, then curse at me. If you want to cry, then cry. If you want to be silent, then be silent.”
“Anything is fine.” His embrace tightened another fraction. “As long as it’s you.”
Jiang Nuan drew a soft breath against his neck.
Every comforting word that rose to her lips circled once and then sank back down.
Because he had just told her he didn’t need those words.
So she simply slipped her arms around his back and hugged him tightly in return.
Shen Wu paused.
Then he lowered his head.
This time, it was no longer a tentative brush of the lips, but a kiss filled with almost ravenous longing.
The kiss was deep and lingering, as though he wanted to swallow her whole. The air was slowly drawn away, and Jiang Nuan’s breathing grew hurried.
Shen Wu’s other hand pressed against the small of her back, holding her firmly in his arms.
He didn’t release her until she truly couldn’t catch her breath and mist gathered in the corners of her eyes. Only then did he ease his lips away slightly, leaving her just enough room to breathe.
Two seconds later, he bent down again.
Jiang Nuan hurriedly pushed at him.
“Wait…” Her voice was terribly hoarse. “Let me catch my breath first.”
Who kissed like this? People needed to breathe!
Shen Wu rested his forehead against hers and paused for a moment before saying, “All right.”
He only used his lips, moving slowly down from her forehead and pressing them against every inch of skin along the way.
She quickly drew in deep breaths of air.
Then—
Something cool seemed to creep slowly upward from her ankle.
It was a tendril of mental energy.
Jiang Nuan’s body went rigid.
“It’s me.” His voice was soft and soothing. “I just want you to get used to my touch.”
“I want your body to understand that this isn’t an invasion.” His lips brushed lightly against the side of her ear. “It’s desire.”
The coolness traveled upward inch by inch, carrying a faint numbness, like fine currents of electricity spreading across her skin.
Jiang Nuan bit her lower lip and closed her eyes.
Slowly, she relaxed her tense muscles and let herself feel it.
“Good.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “That’s it.”
Then the coolness tugged slightly, drawing back.
Jiang Nuan’s entire body stiffened again, instinctively tensing.
Shen Wu held her in his arms. “Don’t be afraid. I won’t hurt you.”
He kissed her lips, soothing her again and again until she relaxed once more.
*
No one knew how much time had passed.
Snow continued to fall outside the window, yet the temperature in the room had grown intense and scorching.
Jiang Nuan’s consciousness drifted in and out, as if something had pulled her into deep water, only to gently lift her back to the surface at some point.
Her limbs were devoid of strength.
Her fingers moved slightly, then slowly fell open at her sides.
She no longer knew how many times she had cried out. She only knew that her throat felt dry and raw, and even lifting her eyes seemed to require an enormous effort.
Jiang Nuan thought hazily that she was probably close to dehydrated.
Shen Wu gently gathered the strands of her disheveled hair and tucked them behind her ear.
Those pale eyes were now filled with nothing but deep darkness.
“Thirsty?” he asked.
Jiang Nuan gave a weak nod.
Shen Wu reached for the glass of red wine on the bedside table, which still held a little less than half. He took a sip first.
Then he lowered his head, covering her lips with his own.
Cool wine passed from his mouth into hers, carrying both the chill of red wine and his warmth.
Jiang Nuan instinctively tried to swallow, but her tongue was caught by his. The wine swirled between their lips and teeth before finally sliding slowly down her throat.
He fed it to her at an unhurried pace, every mouthful accompanied by a long, lingering kiss.
By the time the glass was empty, the dryness in Jiang Nuan’s throat had finally eased a little.
But she felt even more dizzy now. She couldn’t tell whether it was because of the wine or Shen Wu.
Her eyelashes trembled faintly.
Shen Wu wiped the red wine—and everything else—from the corner of her lips with his thumb, then asked, “Is that enough?”
Jiang Nuan felt the coolness in certain places, as well as his…
Considering how overloaded her senses already were, she nodded.
Any more and something would go terribly wrong. This man was completely unfair. How could he use both… and…?
Then he bent over her again.
Her eyelashes trembled.
Wait—she had just nodded.
Two seconds later, her sluggish mind finally realized that he had been asking whether she’d had enough to drink.
…Damn it.
At that moment, she felt as though the entire world were slowly, slowly taking possession of every one of her senses.
Shen Wu paused, resting his forehead against her temple, their breaths mingling. They remained quiet for a long moment.
His voice was hoarse, filled with deep satisfaction.
“There’s still a long night ahead.”
“And I…”
His fingers slid slowly down through her hair.
“Won’t be leaving your side for anything.”
