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First kiss.
Ning Ye experienced such clear physical contact for the first time. She was so nervous she forgot to breathe, only able to feel the sensations he brought her.
It was clearly just a gentle kiss, and the area of contact was even smaller than holding hands.
Yet the feeling was...
So intense.
She closed her eyes. His breath brushed lightly and coolly across her eyelashes. His thin lips were also cool, but the breath and the tip of the tongue he passed over were scalding hot.
This year, Bian Xun tasted like mint.
Very crisp and clean.
Ning Ye tilted her head up to receive the kiss, not daring to close her teeth for fear of biting him. So she could only try her best to keep her lips slightly parted, forgetting even how to swallow.
In her daze, she heard his low, soft chuckle.
She probably didn't know how much pleasure it brought the man in front of her to see her so nervous during her first kiss that she surrendered all her reactions to his control, like a blank canvas being recklessly painted and outlined.
Bian Xun took a deep breath. The faint floral scent seemed to wash through his lungs, leaving an indelible mark with every breath he took.
Then, finally unable to hold back, he applied force, pressing heavily against her lips.
Sure enough, she was frightened by this hint of released aggression, shrinking back and dodging his soft tongue, which left more empty space between her teeth.
But the chase was precisely the most beautiful part before the hunt, the best way to spike a predator's adrenaline.
Almost instantly, Bian Xun's kiss grew fierce, as if he wanted to swallow her whole.
Ning Ye instantly felt the difference between a youth and a man.
Her heart trembled. The shivers sent through her entire body by this kiss made her unconsciously lose her footing, only to be firmly supported by him.
In the small alley, neither of them opened their eyes. Only their breaths and touches continuously intertwined. It was just a kiss, yet it was already enough to make one blush and their heart race.
Finally, it came to an abrupt halt the moment the kindergarten bell rang—
The two snapped back to reality from the kiss.
Bian Xun pulled away abruptly, turning his head to take in huge gulps of air.
Ning Ye leaned against the kindergarten's outer wall. Her porcelain-white cheeks were already flushed a deep pink, and her thick eyelashes hid the watery gleam in her almond eyes. She struggled to even out her breathing, looking down to find that her fingers were weak and trembling slightly.
First kiss.
Ning Ye felt like she didn't even have the strength to walk. She didn't dare look at Bian Xun. Supporting herself against the kindergarten wall, she pretended to be calm as she walked toward the entrance of the alley. The children were already starting to be let out of school one after another.
The thought that, just separated by a wall, the children were repeating "keep your little mouths closed"—
While outside the wall, Bian Xun had been holding her chin, chuckling softly and asking her to open her mouth for him to kiss.
...It was t-too much.
This was not the way to the kindergarten.
Ning Ye walked weakly toward the gate. Footsteps came from behind as Bian Xun caught up in a few strides.
His gaze lingered on her back, repeatedly radiating heat.
Bian Xun recovered from the immense wave of pleasure. A profound smile rolled through his dark eyes, and the corners of his lips simply refused to fall, remaining at a high altitude the entire time.
Walking felt great; reminiscing felt great.
Truth be told, it was his first time kissing, too.
He was left wanting more.
He was already addicted.
His eyes began to unconsciously chase her lips. When she smiled faintly, the curve of her lips was like a soft hook, her white teeth lying neatly beneath her lip tubercle. When she pursed her lips, the color would gather from the edges to the center, like an orange segment filled with syrup, ready to burst with juice at a single bite.
And when she opened her mouth...
"Bian Xun, Bian Xun!"
Someone was calling him.
Bian Xun finally snapped out of his endless reverie.
He nonchalantly lifted his eyes, seeing her gaze filled with shy anger, the blush on her cheeks not yet fully faded.
Holding Ning Zhitao's hand, Ning Ye really, really wanted to hit him.
They had already picked up the child. Could his eyes... could they... not be so explicit?
Ning Zhitao knew her mom and dad were taking her out to play. With rosy cheeks and wearing her little backpack, she stood on her tiptoes and asked her mom, "Mo... momo, are you really happy too?"
The little girl remembered their teachings well: as long as there were people other than mom and dad around, she couldn't call her "Mom."
Although she didn't quite understand it, she tried her best to avoid causing any potential trouble for Ning Ye.
Ning Ye's heart softened. She looked down and smiled, "Yeah, I've never been to an amusement park before, so of course I'm very happy."
Ning Zhitao immediately raised her hand: "Then I'll show you around!!"
Mom and dad had taken her to the amusement park so many times before. Now it was her turn to take mom!!
So happy!
Ning Zhitao happily held her mom's hand, shaking her head side to side. "I knew you were happy too, because your face is so red!"
Ning Ye quietly pursed her lips, her face turning even redder.
"Mhm, that's right," the child's father, walking to the side, spoke up with secret delight.
His voice was deep and crisp, carrying a magnetic tone. He chuckled softly, "It's red from happiness."
Ning Ye quietly closed her eyes.
...She really, really wanted to hit him!
...
Ning Ye had previously found time to look up guides and planned to take the little one to Happy Valley.
At this time, Jing City hadn't yet built the certain theme park that would become extremely popular later on. There actually weren't many amusement parks to choose from. Besides Happy Valley, there was an older, more remote one, and a famous park in a certain district that was closer but had very few rides. After comprehensive research, Ning Ye chose this one.
She looked down at her phone to buy tickets and asked the child, "Taotao, how tall are you?"
Ning Zhitao proudly put her hands on her hips, her round eyes sparkling. "I'm one point one meters, Mom!"
Ning Ye blinked, suddenly finding her incredibly cute.
A little kid, only about a meter tall, just like a little figurine.
Making the 1.85-meter-tall Bian Xun beside her look absolutely massive.
Bian Xun: "?"
She looked down at the official website information and discovered that children under 1.2 meters were actually free of charge. The little one had reduced her financial burden once again.
Because she didn't know exactly how much Bian Xun had spent on registering the household and kindergarten enrollment, she planned to pay for everything herself today.
Now they only needed tickets for the two adults. Ning Ye looked down and saw that the couples' package was actually twenty yuan cheaper, so she decisively chose that one. She handed the phone to Bian Xun so he could fill in his ID number.
Bian Xun cast his eyes down for a glance. The corners of his lips, which had just gone down, slowly began to curve up again.
Happy Valley wasn't close to their school. Bian Xun seemed to think of something, and a faint amusement returned to his eyes. He slowly reached into his pants pocket and pulled out his car keys.
Seeing this car key, the memories that had just died suddenly began to attack again.
Just earlier, he had been holding this very key, kneeling on one knee in front of the crowded library.
Sure enough, no sooner had Ning Ye taken her phone back than she received a message from her roommate.
Liu Mi's home was out of town. She had rushed off to catch a train right after her last exam finished. It was only on the way that she saw the news spreading like wildfire around the school, and immediately started calling Ning Ye like crazy.
A barrage of messages smashed over, like a category ten earthquake.
Ning Ye was completely off guard when she clicked on her voice message, and was instantly blasted in the face by a crackling barrage of noise.
"Xiao Ye, did Bian Xun propose to you?!?!"
Bian Xun's eyebrows suddenly raised.
Ning Ye jumped in fright, frantically trying to click out of it, but her wrist was leisurely pinned down by Bian Xun.
And so, Liu Mi's voice messages played out consecutively, one after another.
"Holy crap, what a legend?!"
"What did he say when he proposed! Ahhh, it's literally like a plot from a novel—"
"Did you say yes?!"
Ning Ye's usually bright almond eyes went blank for a moment.
It was as if her soul had left her body.
Listening to the entire thing from the side, Bian Xun got a rough idea of the rumors currently spreading outside. Suppressing a smirk, he raised a hand to cover the corner of his lips.
The rumors out there sounded quite pleasant.
He would have to look them up later.
Ning Ye really, really wanted to hit him.
What do you do when your boyfriend is a psycho? Asking for a friend, it's urgent.
Boys their age usually just made a post on their social media to announce their relationship, but not Bian Xun. When he went public, he didn't care if the world burned.
If people knew what that psycho Bian Xun had actually said to her in that moment, they would probably be even more shocked.
But since the specifics involved Taotao, Ning Ye definitely couldn't tell anyone.
...Bian Xun, ahhh! Even she, who usually had such a calm state of mind, couldn't help but cover her face.
He was so crazy.
Bian Xun, however, unhurriedly lowered his gaze, a smile playing on his lips as he leaned down close to her.
His eyes were anything but innocent, roaming over her lips with an almost tangible weight.
"Just to clarify, I didn't propose."
Ning Ye lowered her hands and met his dark eyes. A few stray strands of hair fell messily across her cheeks, giving her an adorably dazed look.
She really should clarify things with her roommates... they were just dating, that was all.
Raising a child was an unexpected responsibility on top of their romance.
However, Bian Xun's voice smoothly continued, "—Because you haven't reached the legal age for marriage yet."
The implication was clear.
He would propose when she did.
He closed his eyes, thoroughly pleased with himself again.
Ning Ye slowly covered her face again, then calmly took Ning Zhitao's hand. "Let's go."
She planned to take the subway there. Ning Ye knew Bian Xun had a car, and it wasn't that she liked to suffer unnecessarily, but the traffic around the kindergarten was terrible right now. The roads around the old school district were also generally congested. By the time they drove out of this block, they would have wasted a lot of time.
Plus, parking over there was a nightmare, so public transportation was actually more convenient.
She just didn't know if Bian Xun would agree to it.
Ning Ye looked up at him. This was their first time going out on a date. It hadn't been obvious when they were at school, but from now on, the differences in their spending habits, values, and daily routines would slowly start to show.
Bian Xun raised an eyebrow, his dark eyes shifting slightly, and actually nodded.
"Sure."
Bian Xun looked down at his watch, a hypocritically innocent anticipation gathering at the corners of his eyes.
Last week, Bian Xun had donated money to the school to replace the air conditioners. Ning Ye had applied for winter break housing, but the winter heating wasn't enough, and with fewer people in the dorms, it would be freezing.
But that wasn't the main point. The main point was—
Bian Xun had learned from this that once winter break started, the dorm curfew was moved up.
Taking the subway back, it would be very difficult to make curfew.
His gaze fell on Ning Ye's slender back as she held the little girl's hand, and he discreetly put his car keys away.
He knew.
But he wasn't going to say a word.
...
A certain someone rode this wave of satisfaction all the way to the amusement park entrance.
Even the discomfort of taking public transportation was suppressed by his good mood.
He hadn't touched a single handrail or door the entire way, standing as calm as a stone pillar, secretly thrilled.
"Let's go." Bian Xun reached out his perfectly clean hand toward Ning Ye.
It was strange. Psychologically, he couldn't bring himself to touch the handrails directly, but he could accept touching Ning Ye, who had touched them.
Bian Xun felt completely at ease.
This was their first date.
There were so many things they could do.
Exiting the subway, Ning Zhitao spotted the towering amusement park rides from a distance and immediately shot off like a firework.
"Hurry up, hurry up~ Mommy, I'll take you on that one!"
Ning Ye hurriedly followed the little girl, shaking off Bian Xun's hand in the process.
She was unconsciously infected by the child's joy, her own mood lifting. In the past, she had never really understood the joy of holidays, and she especially disliked the winter break that involved Chinese New Year. But this time, she finally felt the same anticipation for the holidays as her classmates.
When the little one was happy, she was happy too~
The big one and the small one ran hand in hand toward the entrance.
Completely forgetting the man behind them.
Bian Xun looked down at himself, suddenly realizing that as a newly official boyfriend, his priority in her heart had already started to drop.
Adults weren't as important as kids.
"."
The smile that had been on his lips the whole way finally flattened out slightly. Bian Xun stepped forward to follow the mother and daughter.
Coming to an amusement park was indeed a good choice. You could gather a lot of information and get to know each other better.
Like what she was afraid of, what she liked.
Whether she preferred thrills or calm rides, if she was afraid of heights or ghosts.
All of these were very... suitable for a date.
After all, he wasn't afraid of anything.
It was the perfect opportunity to play the role of a boyfriend.
After getting their tickets checked and entering the park, Bian Xun was just about to take charge when Ning Ye had already dragged the kid straight toward the children's area.
Kids under 1.2 meters got in for free, but they were also restricted from a lot of rides, so everything they could play on was basically concentrated in the children's area.
Bian Xun paused in his tracks.
The noisy chatter of countless children was already surging from a distance.
He could accept Ning Zhitao because she was his child, but that didn't mean he wasn't still annoyed by kids in general.
Bian Xun closed his eyes briefly.
Ning Ye felt that since they had brought a child today, the main priority should be to satisfy the kid's fun.
As the child's parents, she and Bian Xun definitely couldn't just think about themselves.
Ning Ye and Ning Zhitao turned back and waved at him.
Bian Xun took a deep breath and followed them.
It was fine; you could date anywhere.
The important thing was how you handled it.
Bian Xun was confident, but he soon discovered that Ning Ye seemed to be afraid of absolutely nothing.
Although Ning Zhitao was the one dragging her mom onto the rides, once they actually started, she would shrink into the adults' arms.
They lined up for a high-altitude family ride, the two of them flanking the child in the middle to protect her. Ning Ye tightly held Ning Zhitao's hand and whispered, "It's okay, this one isn't high, and you can even see the lake over there. Taotao, look how close the people on that big pendulum are to the water—"
Ning Ye wasn't afraid of heights.
—Of course, sitting on a mini drop tower, looking at a height of less than four stories, and listening to the screams of children around him, Bian Xun expressionlessly closed his eyes.
Next, they went on a jungle mini-train. It was quite fast, scaring Ning Zhitao into howling the whole way. Bian Xun propped one arm in front of both of them as a guardrail, while in mid-air, Ning Ye hugged the little girl, her voice light and cheerful, "It's okay, we're going to turn to the monkeys right away~"
Ning Ye wasn't afraid of thrilling rides either.
—Of course, in this children's area, Bian Xun couldn't find any thrilling rides anyway.
He fell into deep thought.
However, with her mom by her side, Ning Zhitao soon got cocky.
She marched off the mini-train, chubby and proud, deciding to be brave and go to the haunted house.
She covered her mouth and whispered to Ning Ye, "Mommy, are you afraid of ghosts?"
Ning Ye looked up at the spooky entrance to the haunted house. This one actually didn't have a height restriction for kids.
But it was a Chinese horror theme, based on paper brides. She pursed her lips. "I'm not afraid. Can you handle it, Taotao? If you're scared, we can just go ride the dinosaur bumper cars instead—"
"Then I'm not afraid either, Mommy. I want to go with you, can I?" Ning Zhitao's courage instantly reignited, and she grabbed her parents' hands, pulling them inside.
"You can!" Ning Ye immediately said with determination.
Of course, the reason Ning Zhitao dared to go in was because she knew her dad was there anyway, and her dad had never been afraid of anything.
But Ning Ye didn't know if Bian Xun was afraid; after all, it was their first time out together.
The haunted house let people in by batches, and the line was cut right before their group, making them the first to enter.
Stepping through the doorway spraying water mist, Bian Xun tilted his head to look at Ning Ye in the dark red neon light.
She was pursing her lips, her complexion looking especially fair under this light. Her side profile was exquisite as she looked around with slight nervousness.
As they walked further in, the surrounding lights dimmed, and Ning Ye unconsciously swallowed.
Watching her, Bian Xun's mind started to wander again.
He wanted to kiss her every single hour.
After kissing her for the first time, something addictive had been repeatedly stimulating the neurons in his brain, beginning to form a compulsive behavior.
He wanted to kiss her every hour.
If it were to go further... his Adam's apple bobbed inexplicably.
Self-control and desire fought fiercely within him; he let out a low, light cough in the dimness.
That sudden sound startled Ning Ye beside him, making her shiver.
She squeezed her shoulders together, her lustrous eyes standing out in the dark, like a small animal that had lost its way.
Ning Zhitao quickly grabbed her mother's hand. Are there ghosts? Are there ghosts?
Ning Ye's body was startled, but her voice remained very calm, showing no signs of fear in the dark. No ghosts. If Taotao is scared, cover your eyes.
I covered them! What about you, Mommy?
I covered mine too.
They walked across a suspension bridge ahead, and suddenly, a pale, traditional Chinese paper-tied figure's face dropped from the ceiling.
Ning Ye was so scared her steps faltered. The whooshing wind made Ning Zhitao feel both scared and amused. What is it? What is it? Mommy, did you see it?
Ning Ye's face had lost all its color, but her voice was still steady. Mhm... I saw it. Don't let go of my hand—
This time, before she could even finish her sentence, Bian Xun had already bent down and lifted Ning Zhitao onto his shoulders. Facing backward and covering her face, the child completely surrendered to her fear like a good girl.
And Ning Ye's hand finally landed in Bian Xun's palm.
Bian Xun pulled her to his side, only then realizing her hands were freezing cold.
He finally realized she wasn't unafraid.
It was just that in front of the child, she forced herself to act like an adult.
To act like a mother.
She wasn't experienced and couldn't handle it perfectly. She was only nineteen, yet she was trying so hard to give this child, who had fallen from the sky, a sense of security, so the little girl wouldn't be frightened by being in a different timeline.
For this, she could be stronger and more mature.
Bian Xun lowered his eyes, his heart suddenly aching with tenderness.
He held her hand and led her steadily past that section. Only then did Ning Ye relax, hearing Bian Xun lower his head to get closer to her.
Who told you that being a mother means you have to act like this?
Ning Ye blinked.
She... she thought she had hidden it so well.
Taking advantage of the dim light and the surrounding cold gloom, Bian Xun lowered his head and kissed her lips.
When you're scared, you don't have to force yourself to be brave.
You can also kiss me.
That cold, eerie feeling was instantly washed away. Ning Ye relaxed and couldn't help but lightly punch him.
Who wants to kiss you—
As she smiled, Bian Xun's kiss chased after her.
In the darkness, he passed a small piece of jasmine-flavored mint into her mouth.
The child was still resting on her father's shoulders, holding her head like a scared quail, while on the other side, he was kissing her, gently licking the seam of her lips.
But these pitch-black amusement park rides probably had night-vision security cameras too!
A wave of shame instantly rushed over Ning Ye, making her completely forget her fear.
She annoyedly hit his chest. His thin lips kissing her seemed to hold a trace of a smile as he held her and pulled her closer into his embrace.
Utterly flustered but not daring to make a sound, Ning Ye could only bite the tip of his tongue in retaliation.
Stop kissing me!
But he suddenly hissed, his secretly pleased smile pausing.
In an instant, Ning Ye felt something change.
In the dark, it pressed up against her like a real ghost, rock hard.
Massive.
What this Tyrant Daddy was thinking was simply self-evident ^^
