A cool breeze swept in from outside, brushing against Zhou Tingzhao’s back. He finally came to his senses and retreated from her embrace, lowering his gaze as he said softly, “Not cold.”

He had almost let her continue holding him like that.

Sang Ru assumed he was feeling embarrassed, so she zipped up her jacket and sat back down, asking, “Why are you here?”

“Running.”

“Running?” Sang Ru asked in surprise. “At this hour?”

Zhou Tingzhao paused slightly before saying, “Thinking about some things.”

Sang Ru responded with an “Oh,” and the atmosphere inexplicably fell into silence.

The wind outside was indeed getting stronger. Two ginkgo trees were planted behind the teaching building—one a century old, the other somewhat younger, but both had grown very tall. Their leaves rustled loudly in the wind, making it much more lively outside than inside.

Sang Ru rested her chin on her palm and tilted her head to look at him. “This is when you should say, ‘What about you?'”

Zhou Tingzhao obliged: “What about you?”

Sang Ru lowered her head and smiled, then said, “I forgot to take back the test papers that needed signatures, so I came back to get them.”

“Mm.”

…

Unable to clear his thoughts, Zhou Tingzhao truly didn’t know what to say.

He heard Sang Ru sigh softly, and in the next moment, she sat on his desk. The desks knocked together with a bang, disturbing the peace of his heartbeat.

The moonlight from the window was the only source of light, and now she blocked most of it. Sang Ru supported herself with her hands on the desk, bent down, and said, “Come closer.”

After gazing at her quietly for a moment, Zhou Tingzhao didn’t ask her why, but leaned forward.

Then, just like that, his face was cupped in her hands.

Sang Ru’s palms applied slight pressure as she rubbed his face, pursing her lips as she said, “Why is our little Zhou unhappy, hmm?”

The familiar words left him unable to react, frozen in place.

Before this strange journey, he should have been with her—the adult version of her.

The little princess had a more delicate perception of emotions than he had thought.

There was indeed some displeasure this time. She had talked so much with an irrelevant person and even left her contact information, so he probably hadn’t controlled himself well and had been rough with her. When he pressed her underneath him and entered her for the umpteenth time, she was tightly wrapped around him, with redness spreading from the corners of her eyes to her cheeks. Yet, she still raised her hands to cup his face, suppressing her heavy breathing, and adopted a serious tone: “Is our Director Zhou unhappy?”

He wanted to say no, but couldn’t get the words out. He was indeed unhappy.

What did she do after that?

She slowly raised her hips, taking him in a bit deeper, panting with difficulty as she did so, moaning in a way that only made him want to go deeper.

“Mmm… come closer, Zhou Tingzhao.”

He deliberately misinterpreted her, lifting his hips to push forward, prodding deeper into her soft flesh. She gasped sharply, her palms landing on his arms like a kitten’s paws, with so little force that it didn’t hurt at all: “I meant, lower yourself a bit!”

He chuckled softly and bent down closer to her as she requested.

So the little princess cupped his face again, tilted her head up, and placed a kiss on his lips—light as a dragonfly skimming water—then whispered, almost in his ear: “I’ll kiss you, don’t be unhappy.”

Her lips were somewhat cool, but her breath was hot. One’s heart couldn’t resist such warmth, and every inch of it softened.

Suddenly, that sensation returned to his lips. His consciousness, which had drifted somewhere unknown, abruptly came back. The little girl in front of him, wearing a school uniform with her hair in a ponytail, once again descended from her pedestal in his dreams and bent down to press her lips against his.

“I’ll kiss you, don’t be unhappy.”

His heartbeat pounded in his chest like a drum. Zhou Tingzhao’s breathing suddenly became deep and controlled, his voice hoarse as he said, “I’m not unhappy.”

“Really?” Sang Ru didn’t move away, almost imperceptibly rubbing against his lips: “But you haven’t kissed me today.”

“Just now…”

Opening his mouth meant touching her. Zhou Tingzhao stopped himself and said nothing more.

“Why so shy?” Sang Ru laughed and scolded him lightly, then coaxed him softly, “Open your mouth.”

Her tone was too familiar. Zhou Tingzhao felt somewhat dazed and obediently parted his lips. She then kissed him deeply.

She seemed to have had some milk after dinner, and there was still a hint of sweetness that wasn’t cloying, spreading across his tongue as she explored his mouth. She pulled his hands to wrap around her waist. Zhou Tingzhao complied with everything, his arms gradually tightening around her, and his kisses transformed from passive acceptance to active engagement.

Zhou Tingzhao held her tightly, tilting his head up repeatedly to respond, his tongue intertwining with hers as he swept across her teeth, then licked the roof of her mouth, before returning to entwine with her soft tongue.

Saliva trickled down the corners of their lips. Sang Ru finally couldn’t bear it anymore and pulled back. Zhou Tingzhao leaned forward even more, his head still tilted up, looking into her eyes, gently yet firmly catching her falling gaze.

“How did you secretly improve so much? My mouth is sore from your kisses…”

The corner of Zhou Tingzhao’s lips curved up slightly as he used one hand to wipe away the saliva at the corner of her mouth: “Is that so?”

“Mm!”

He withdrew his hand and wiped his lips, his gaze never leaving her for a moment. Then he stood up, and suddenly the perspective shifted.

Sang Ru looked up and heard him ask.

“Who are you?”

“Sang Ru, of course.”

Zhou Tingzhao bent down slightly: “Who?”

“…Sang Ru!”

Just as she was thinking that Zhou Tingzhao must have gone crazy, she heard him mutter as if to himself: “Then let’s try once more.”

And with that, her lips were sealed with another kiss.

Among the various ways that lovers express intimacy—embraces, kisses, making love—

She particularly loved the feeling of being held in his arms and kissed. Zhou Tingzhao gave off a cold impression, but his embraces and kisses were always warm and passionate, regardless of his age.

Sang Ru responded with increasing enthusiasm, but suddenly heard hurried footsteps and a familiar voice outside the door, sounding somewhat urgent.

“Baby? Are you there, baby?”

Sang Ru panicked and accidentally bit Zhou Tingzhao’s tongue. She pulled away and said, “My mom’s here!”