Zhou Cheng ate the apple pie made by Hu Ying, radiating joy from within. A secret dessert lover!

Seeing him finish one piece, Xia Xiaolan noticed his lingering desire even as he chatted with Professor Wen, and promptly handed him another piece: “Here, this pie is best eaten while hot. I can’t finish all of this, help me eat some.”

Zhou Cheng maintained a natural expression. The sweetness in his heart exceeded that in his mouth. Having a caring wife made such a difference – without Xiaolan’s offering, he wouldn’t have dared to take a second piece.

“If you like it, eat more. Don’t be polite, treat this like your own home,” Hu Ying said, bringing freshly brewed coffee.

“You both take such good care of Xiaolan!”

Living at the Wen residence was ideal – safe, convenient, and well-cared for. The Wens treated Xiaolan like family, which eased many of Zhou Cheng’s worries. For a young woman studying alone abroad, there were many potential dangers, but with the Wen family around, Zhou Cheng was truly grateful.

Professor Wen liked Zhou Cheng’s positive image and spirited demeanor. Their conversations revealed that Zhou Cheng wasn’t the type of young person who blindly followed others’ opinions, but had his own understanding of international affairs. A young man with excellent personal cultivation and broad horizons. An outstanding young Chinese man!

“How long will Little Zhou stay in New York?”

Professor Wen’s question caught Xia Xiaolan’s attention too. Though they had endless things to discuss after their long separation, they hadn’t gotten around to this topic yet. Xiaolan had been subconsciously avoiding it – who talks about leaving right after arriving?

Zhou Cheng glanced at her, his eyes full of tender affection: “At least 10 days. I might need to return to New York for business occasionally, but otherwise, I can stay in Ithaca with Xiaolan. The inspection team has also arranged visits to industrial cities in America.”

10 days!

This far exceeded Xia Xiaolan’s expectations – she thought Zhou Cheng would leave after two or three days. For Xia Xiaolan, 10 days was like a gift from heaven. She was dizzy with joy: “10 days, how is that possible?”

“Because the inspection team will stay in New York for that long. As long as they don’t leave New York, I can move freely.”

Smart people could still look foolish sometimes. Hu Ying placed her hand on Professor Wen: “Youth is wonderful!”

Professor Wen nodded, “Then you should take advantage of the beautiful spring weather and explore. Not just Ithaca and New York, visiting Washington would be nice too.”

Ithaca, besides Cornell University, was known for its natural beauty. Located by Cayuga Lake, it attracted many outdoor sports enthusiasts. Due to its unique terrain, camping, sailing, and rock climbing were popular in Ithaca… Professor Wen thought it was a perfect place for young people in love, though some young people preferred more lively places, making Ithaca seem quiet.

In that case, they could go to New York.

Or Washington.

Young people always had many choices.

Hu Ying warmly invited Zhou Cheng to stay at their home, but he declined.

From his pre-trip training, Zhou Cheng knew American customs and insisted on staying at a hotel in town.

He didn’t want the Wen family to think he was impolite.

To avoid any negative impact on Xiaolan’s stay at the Wen house, and also because the guest rooms were only on the second floor, Zhou Cheng feared he couldn’t control himself if he had to sleep with just a wall between them and Xiaolan—

When refusing, his expression was slightly regretful. Xia Xiaolan lowered her head and smiled: “Auntie Hu, let him stay at the hotel, so his schedule won’t disturb yours.”

She hadn’t realized Professor Wen was so romantic.

When Xia Xiaolan had previously visited Washington to see the stores, the thousands of cherry blossoms in Potomac Park had nearly melted her heart.

She had thought then what a perfect place it would be for romance.

She could only dream about it, thinking Zhou Cheng would never come to America… but just like she had encouraged Daisy and others to compete for prizes, anything was possible in this world. Not only had Zhou Cheng come to America, they could spend ten days together.

After dinner at the Wen house and watching some TV with Professor Wen and his wife, Xia Xiaolan accompanied Zhou Cheng to his hotel.

Hu Ying mysteriously asked her: “Should I leave the door unlocked for you tonight?”

Ah?

Old lady, your thinking isn’t behind the times at all!

Hu Ying assumed Xia Xiaolan would stay with Zhou Cheng at the hotel.

Xia Xiaolan didn’t mind, but would Zhou Cheng agree?

“Auntie Hu, better leave it unlocked.”

Zhou Cheng was like a well-trained ninja turtle. Last summer when they traveled downstream from Jiangcheng, even on such a romantic night, Zhou Cheng had controlled himself. Usually with young couples, it was the men who wanted to taste the forbidden fruit, but with Zhou Cheng, even when Xia Xiaolan was willing, he was particularly principled.

Was her charm not enough for Zhou Cheng to resist?

Xia Xiaolan secretly criticized her boyfriend for being old-fashioned. Weren’t such things supposed to happen naturally when both parties were willing?

Having to wait until their wedding night… Once in the car, Xia Xiaolan stared at Zhou Cheng.

Without a U.S. driver’s license, Zhou Cheng sat in the passenger seat.

“Miss me that much? You haven’t blinked once while looking at me!”

Xia Xiaolan muttered, “Of course I miss you.”

But inside she wondered if this was Zhou Cheng’s scheme – constantly tempting her with his looks, letting her look, kiss, and embrace, but never letting her have the full meal?

Making her so anxious she would push for marriage to get official permission!

So if she got married during her exchange year, would it violate Huaqing University’s rules? Xia Xiaolan thought this might be a loophole worth exploring.

“Xiaolan, what are you thinking about?”

Zhou Cheng leaned closer.

His warm breath fell on Xia Xiaolan’s cheek.

Though the air conditioning wasn’t on, Xia Xiaolan felt her cheeks burning.

“I’m thinking about when we’ll get married.”

After marriage, everything would be legal.

Zhou Cheng was truly surprised by this, “You’re that eager to marry me? Soon, I’ll give you a grand wedding when I take you home.”

Being Deputy Squadron Leader wasn’t enough.

When Xiaolan married him, he wanted the world to see that her choice was right.

Xia Xiaolan snorted at him, “I’m not in a hurry! It’s just that Auntie Hu asked if she should leave the door unlocked for me.”

Now Zhou Cheng also felt the temperature in the car rising.

He thought he had trained himself to be steady enough, but when Xiaolan suddenly came at him like this, Zhou Cheng truly couldn’t handle it. Not staying at the Wen house but staying together at the hotel? One room or two rooms?

If one room, would there be two beds…

If he and Xiaolan shared one bed, under one blanket, could he resist touching her for one night? Two nights?

Resisting for one night would make him a saint, two nights would make him less than a man, and three nights would make him less than human.

Just imagining it, with nothing having happened yet, Zhou Cheng’s breathing quickened. Fortunately, they arrived at the hotel.

“Wait, let me smoke a cigarette first.”

Leaning against the car, body bent forward, he slowly smoked a cigarette waiting for his body to calm down.

That plaintive look in his eyes made Xia Xiaolan puzzled, and she questioned assertively: “When did your smoking habit get so heavy?”