Sheng Xia felt like she had become a giant panda, being shown off in turns by Wang Lianhua and Sheng Mingfeng. Throughout the New Year holiday, Sheng Xia spent almost every day at various dinner gatherings. It had been many years since she’d seen Wang Lianhua’s friends, and it had also been a long time since she’d seen the Sheng family relatives.

These dinner gatherings always began with “Look who this is, it’s the top student from Heqing University,” and ended with “If my child was as successful as this, I’d be smiling even in my dreams. XX, you should learn more from Sister Sheng Xia, understand?”

For the rest of her time, Sheng Xia was immersed in driving school. During summer vacation, she passed the written test but failed the driving test. Sheng Mingfeng had found someone to teach her privately, but she still didn’t pass the makeup exam, so she had to continue grinding away during winter break.

Hou Junqi had finally returned to China and created a small group chat, saying they had to get together. Everyone was extremely excited – meeting up was going to happen, it was just a matter of coordinating the timing. After several days of discussion, Sheng Xia hadn’t followed the specifics of how it was discussed, but she just saw the final time Hou Junqi posted in the group announcement. She was indeed free then, so without thinking, she replied to the group: “Any time works for me!”

Zhang Shu immediately responded: “…are you sure?”

Hou Junqi: “Han Xiao is traveling abroad with his mom and won’t be back until the eighth day of the New Year, and I have to return to Canada on the tenth, so the ninth is the only day that works. Everyone, please try to make it work.”

Wu Pengcheng: “Nice day you picked, Valentine’s Day. I’ll join if we can bring partners.”

Liu Huian: “Isn’t your girlfriend from your university? She’s coming to Nanli?”

Wu Pengcheng: “Who said I was bringing my girlfriend?”

Han Xiao: “Bro, one at school and one at home?”

Liu Huian: “Please don’t.”

Zhang Shu: “@Wu Pengcheng then don’t come, that’s disgusting.”

Wu Pengcheng: “Hey, I was just joking.”

Hou Junqi: “Not funny, Old Wu.”

Xin Xiaohe: “This isn’t your boys-only group chat, okay? Keep talking like that and I’ll kick you out @Wu Pengcheng.”

Wu Pengcheng: “I was wrong, I was wrong, I’m sorry Sister Xin.”

Yang Linyu: “@Xin Xiaohe, babe, don’t gang up on him.”

Wu Pengcheng: “Look, look, the couple is already starting to show their power, won’t that be heartbreaking when we meet?”

Hou Junqi: “There’s another couple here @Zhang Shu @Sheng Xia.”

Sheng Xia: “honest_person.jpg”

Zhang Shu: “@Sheng Xia, babe, don’t gang up on people.”

Wu Pengcheng: “Where’s my knife?”

Hou Junqi: “Bloody.jpg, here you go.”

Xin Xiaohe: “@Sheng Xia, babe, bring Taozi too! Monkey bro don’t rush, you have your destined match, remember?”

Xiaomai: “Yeah! Heard @Sheng Xia’s bestie is super cute, want to ruarua!”

Lanlan: “Bring her, bring her! They have more guys than us, wuwu!”

The boys were always particularly enthusiastic about matchmaking for their brothers, and naturally welcomed Taozi warmly, starting to give Hou Junqi all sorts of advice about how to make a good impression on the girls.

Sheng Xia: “I’ll ask her then.”

Tao Zhizhi’s reserved attitude lasted no more than three minutes before she nodded in agreement.

With the small team successfully formed, Hou Junqi called out that since it was so rare to get everyone together, they couldn’t just end it with one meal – it would only get harder to gather everyone as the years went by.

This was true. After starting university, everyone was busy pursuing their futures, and gatherings like this would become increasingly rare.

So the itinerary became two days and one night. Early morning on the eighth day of the New Year, they would return to their old high school together. It happened that the underclassmen were starting make-up classes, and the teachers would all be there too. They could visit the teachers, and in the afternoon after Han Xiao returned, they would head to Lianli.

The Lianli barbecue they had planned last summer could finally happen.

When Wang Lianhua heard where they were going, she raised her eyebrows and asked, “Who did you say you’re going with?”

“Taozi, Xiaohe, and Xiaohe’s roommate, plus several boys from our class…” Sheng Xia’s voice got increasingly quiet as she spoke.

Wang Lianhua: “Several boys?”

Sheng Xia counted on her fingers: “6.”

“And how many girls?”

“5.”

“How are 5 girls going to manage accommodation?”

“When we’ve gone out before, we’ve had three people share a room…”

Wang Lianhua pondered for a long while, her fingers tapping lightly on her knee, before making her demand: “Then take your sister along, and you two can share a room.”

This…

Although Ah Xuan was very outgoing, this didn’t seem right.

While she was still troubled by this, Wang Lianhua added: “If you feel embarrassed, let your dad arrange a car with a driver, consider it compensation for bringing family along. It’ll be more convenient for all of you too.”

“Mom…”

“Either that or don’t go. Such a big group going out, staying overnight, things are bound to get wild.”

“…”

Sheng Xia couldn’t understand – wouldn’t bringing Ah Xuan make things even wilder?

Wu Qiuxuan enthusiastically agreed; she loved hanging out with older people.

Sheng Xia worried in her room, too embarrassed to say anything in the group chat, feeling like she was the only one with so many complications.

Wu Qiuxuan crept into Sheng Xia’s room, hugging her arm and wheedling, “Sis, just let me go, I promise I won’t cause trouble! You guys do whatever you want, I won’t interfere! And I’ll give Mom a perfect report, how about that?”

“What report?”

“Why else do you think Mom wants me to go? Of course, it’s because she’s worried you all might, you know, misbehave?”

“…”

“Don’t worry, I’m on Brother Zhang Shu’s side.”

“…”

Sheng Xia had no choice but to first tell Xin Xiaohe about this, and then mention it to Zhang Shu as well. When Xin Xiaohe announced it in the group, the matter was settled, and everyone was happy that the transportation problem had been solved.

Early on the eighth day, the Class 6 group met at the school’s north gate. Wang Wei personally came out to greet them, calling out from afar: “Who do I see here, let me see if university has changed you at all!”

As they got closer, he hugged the boys, “Zhang Shu, you rascal, going to Haiyan hasn’t made you any rougher, looks like life’s been too comfortable for you to study properly!”

“Hou Junqi, why have you gotten thinner after going abroad? No good food overseas?”

“Qi Xiulei! Why are your glasses even thicker? Been staying up late reading novels in university?”

“Yang Linyu! How did you end up with Sister Xin, look how tan you’ve gotten…”

“Old Wang! Watch what you’re saying!” Xin Xiaohe roared angrily, “What do you mean ‘how did you end up with me,’ what’s wrong with being with me?”

Yang Linyu grinned: “I lucked out, I lucked out.”

When Wang Wei looked at the girls, he smiled warmly, like looking at his daughters, finding them pleasing no matter how he looked at them, and praised: “You’ve all gotten more and more beautiful, I wouldn’t dare recognize you on the street!”

Lanlan: “As long as we recognize you, that’s what matters!”

Wang Wei led them to see the class he was currently teaching.

Wang Wei was teaching a graduating class this year, and it was an experimental class.

The previous homeroom teacher of this class was on maternity leave, and she also taught chemistry. Wang Wei, having achieved outstanding teaching results, was entrusted with high expectations by the school leadership, essentially taking command in a crisis.

Class 6 was indeed Wang Wei’s pride.

From a regular class, they produced a provincial top scorer, one student who got into Heqing University, one who got into the University of Pennsylvania, and more than half of the class got into 211 Project universities – their achievements were undeniably impressive.

Right now the class was having math class, and Wang Wei chatted with the subject teacher for a bit before asking Zhang Shu to say a few words.

Zhang Shu, completely unprepared, looked at Wang Wei helplessly and disapprovingly, “You might as well let them focus on their class.”

“You don’t understand the power of role models, how important spiritual guidance is. If it weren’t for my talks with you all those times…” Wang Wei began speaking earnestly, while everyone looked at each other and lowered their heads to hide their smiles.

Here he goes again, Old Wang hasn’t changed at all.

“Students, standing beside me is last year’s provincial top scorer in the college entrance exam, you probably all know him, my student, your senior Zhang Shu. Those standing by the door are also your seniors, we have students from Heqing University, Haiyan University of Technology, and Dongzhou University. Today they’ve come back to see me…”

When mentioning these prestigious university names, the smile muscles on Wang Wei’s face almost pierced through his cheekbones.

“Zhang Shu, come be a representative, say a few words, share some study methods, or give some encouragement to your junior brothers and sisters!”

Thunderous applause broke out, and Zhang Shu, under Wang Wei’s expectant gaze, smiled and asked the class: “Isn’t Old Wang pretty annoying?”

Wang Wei’s face darkened, while a wave of giggles rippled through the class.

“We felt that way too back then. Pretty annoying,” Zhang Shu said while glancing at where Sheng Xia and the others were standing. They also smiled and nodded in agreement, making Wang Wei’s face even darker.

“Don’t worry, once you get to university, you won’t have such an annoying presence hovering around you anymore,” Zhang Shu maintained his teasing expression, though his tone became slightly more serious. “In university, teachers leave right after class, assignments are posted online, submitted online, you don’t even have to meet the teachers face to face. If you have questions, you email them, and there’s no rush – you can check back in two or three days because that’s the fastest they’ll reply. It’s fine if you don’t finish your homework, no one will chase you to submit it. If you don’t do well on exams, no one will criticize you, and there definitely won’t be any heart-to-heart talks. Pretty comfortable…”

Seeing the junior students gradually losing their smiles and showing wistful expressions, Zhang Shu paused briefly before asking rhetorically: “Doesn’t sound so good after all, does it? Though it’s tough now, you have a group of companions on the same path, you’re never alone no matter how difficult the road gets.”

“Teacher Wang asked me to give you a pep talk, but I don’t have the qualifications or status. The ones who most want you to achieve good results are your family, your heart-to-heart brother Teacher Wang, and yourself.”

“You have one semester left – whether time flies like an arrow or flows like a song depends entirely on you.”

When Zhang Shu finished, there was no reaction from everyone because he didn’t have an inspiring ending or any well-wishes – it just ended there.

He looked at Wang Wei, “I’m done.”

Only then did delayed applause come from the class.

“Say a bit more?” Wang Wei encouraged.

Zhang Shu: “Every minute of math class is important.”

The class burst into laughter, and the math teacher standing to the side also smiled gently, “Feel free to chat a bit longer.”

Wang Wei said: “This is a rare opportunity. Does anyone have any questions for Zhang Shu? The other seniors are also very outstanding.”

Several hands went up, some asking about maintaining the right mindset during the final sprint, others about specific study techniques. Zhang Shu answered each one concisely.

Sheng Xia stood by the door, looking at his profile, and that feeling of “he seems to have changed somehow, but I don’t know exactly what’s changed” emerged again.

Lost in thought, she heard a male student ask: “Senior, you said we have companions now so we’re not lonely, does that mean university is lonely?”

Zhang Shu: “I’m fine, I’m not lonely.”

“Why?”

Just when everyone thought this top-scoring senior would say something philosophical, they saw him smile and say: “Because I have a girlfriend.”

The class burst into laughter, and one brave female student called out: “Senior, you’re so outstanding, you started dating as soon as you entered university?”

“Because she’s outstanding too.”

Sheng Xia had guessed he would answer this way when she heard the question, but hearing it still made her face heat up. Beside her, Xin Xiaohe and Xiaomai gave her teasing looks and bumped her with their shoulders.

The underclassmen quickly noticed their reaction and all looked over, their eyes curiously examining both Zhang Shu and Sheng Xia as they began whispering among themselves.

Sometimes, the connection between people is just like that – even standing far apart, they appear linked.

On stage, Wang Wei said: “Yes, no need to guess, your Senior Sheng Xia, the talented student from Heqing University’s Literature Department, Senior Zhang Shu’s girlfriend, is also my student.”

Gossip makes people excited, and the whispers below grow louder. Both male and female students admired their eyes, and one male student asked: “Senior, how did you manage to both become the top scorer and win over Senior Sister?”

Zhang Shu thought for a moment: “For that, I have to thank Old Wang, who diligently taught me for two years and gave me a precious five minutes.”

The underclassmen didn’t understand, and neither did Xin Xiaohe and the others. They could only tell that he was attributing his top score to Wang Wei, undoubtedly giving Wang Wei a great face.

Five minutes.

The five minutes on that birthday night.

Precious five minutes.

Sheng Xia understood.

Wang Wei understood too, pretending to wipe away tears.

Zhang Shu quickly returned the class to the math teacher, and everyone left the classroom together to visit their subject teachers.

The most excited was undoubtedly Fu Jie, who immediately said: “Zhang Shu when you and Sheng Xia get married, you must invite your teacher!”

Sheng Xia was mortified.

Zhang Shu responded with easy humor: “Teacher Fu, we’ll put Sprite on your table.”

Fu Jie: “Hahaha, you understand me!”

Xin Xiaohe: “Sprite? The super strict Sprite teacher?”

Fu Jie: “Right, hahaha, did you all see?”

Xiaomai: “Oh my, who knew you were the one shipping them so hard?”

Sheng Xia was bewildered – how did everyone know?

Did that mean everyone also knew about the wish she had forwarded?

Oh god!

The belated revelation sent chills down her spine.

The group toured around the school, teasing peacocks by the lake, chasing the fierce geese, buying drinks at the school store, and finally sitting in the stadium seats to bask in the sun.

“Nanli’s climate is still the most comfortable,” Hou Junqi sprawled out, sighing contentedly.

“Are you serious?” Xin Xiaohe questioned, “It’s deadly hot in summer, we argue about the air conditioning every evening study session.”

Xiaomai: “Not just summer – everywhere else has snow, but Nanli still has people wearing short sleeves.”

Lanlan: “Exactly, it’s summer all year round, arms sticking to test papers all year round.”

Sheng Xia rarely chimed in: “But Nanli’s cucumber juice is so good, I haven’t found any like it elsewhere.”

Xin Xiaohe laughed: “Haha, you mean only our school’s cucumber juice is good, right?”

Sheng Xia nodded: “That seems to be the case, too bad it’s summer-limited.”

Xin Xiaohe: “Summer-limited, what isn’t?”

Their youth was also summer-limited.

Only returning to Nanli could make it feel endless.

…

In the afternoon, a minibus carried the energetic young people to Lianli.

The hotel was arranged by Zhang Shu, a traditional-style guesthouse. They had booked all six rooms. The hotel owner was a Lianli local and Zhang Suxin’s good friend, an artist who had returned from Dongzhou after Lianli began developing as a scenic area. He opened this guesthouse, which hadn’t officially opened to the public yet, and took their group of “trial guests” very seriously, not only personally welcoming them but also preparing welcome fruits and desserts.

The girls stayed upstairs, the boys downstairs. Zhang Shu helped Sheng Xia and Wu Qiuxuan carry their suitcases to their room, saying, “We’ll go shopping for barbecue ingredients in the evening, think about what you’d like to eat first.”

Sheng Xia: “We’re cooking ourselves?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Wow, looking forward to it.”

Zhang Shu smiled, naturally lifted her chin, and kissed her lips, “Rest for now.”

“Mm.”

Seeing this, Wu Qiuxuan covered her eyes and entered the room first.

Perhaps because it was Valentine’s Day, there were several roses in vases in the room, quite romantic.

Zhang Shu went downstairs, and Sheng Xia closed the door and walked into the room to find Wu Qiuxuan lying on the bed, propping up her chin and staring at her with a smile, “Sis, don’t you think it’s a bit much for me to share a room with you on a day like this?”

Sheng Xia put her hands on her hips, pretending to be angry, and Wu Qiuxuan rolled over, “Hehe, just let me know if you need me to step out, okay?”

Sheng Xia: …

…

The market in Lianli was interesting. While other markets started with vegetables or meat sections, Lianli’s market began with barbecue seasoning stalls. All kinds of barbecue tools were also available – everything could be bought in one stop. There were even stalls selling secret recipes, guaranteeing to turn novices into barbecue experts overnight.

Hou Junqi was fascinated, picking items with the most concentration, even consulting with the vendor. He talked about opening a barbecue restaurant in Canada, asking the shop owner with a dreamy expression if they could ship internationally, being serious in a funny way.

Zhang Shu held Sheng Xia’s hand the entire time, carrying several bags full of ingredients in his left hand, showing no intention of letting go of her to redistribute the weight to his right hand.

The group of young people was quite eye-catching in the small town, and Zhang Shu was something of a local celebrity in Lianli. Now and then, someone he knew would come up to chat, and he would greet them casually. Their gazes would inevitably fall on Sheng Xia, and he would naturally introduce her: “My girlfriend.”

It was fine with people their age, but he said the same to elders too, which made Sheng Xia somewhat embarrassed.

“Ah Shu is successful, got into a good university, and then brought home a girlfriend, how wonderful, how wonderful!” An older lady commented this way, smiling as she rode away on her electric scooter.

Sheng Xia obediently maintained her composure, noticing him turn his head to look at her and let out a short laugh. She looked up and glared at him, “Who said anything about going home with you!”

“You won’t?”

“No.”

“But what can we do? This guesthouse we’re staying in used to be my family’s old house,” he suddenly lowered his head and said near her ear, “The room you’re staying in, coincidentally, is exactly where I lived as a child – and you chose it yourself.”

Why did he have to say such normal words right next to her ear, as if trying to make it intimate?

Making a big deal out of nothing, putting on airs!

While Sheng Xia was still skeptical, Zhang Shu smiled, straightened up, and pulled her along to catch up with the group.

What a coincidence! He must be lying!

…

The evening barbecue took place in the guesthouse’s courtyard. The owner provided the grill and set up dining tables for them, arranged easels and a TV around the area. The boys prepared the food while the girls watched TV and chatted, creating a nice atmosphere.

Wu Qiuxuan and Xiaomai turned out to be fans of the same idol, and the two fangirls talked endlessly, quickly casting their idol’s talent show on TV.

“Haven’t you watched this countless times?” Tao Zhizhi asked Wu Qiuxuan.

Wu Qiuxuan: “Don’t talk, if there were new episodes would I still be watching this?”

Sheng Xia turned to look – sure enough, it was what they had watched together at home before.

Tao Zhizhi: “Who was it that said earlier that Brother Zhang Shu sang better?”

Wu Qiuxuan: “Ah well, Brother Zhang Shu is my brother-in-law now, so there’s no mystery anymore. Following idols needs that sense of distance, you know? Look, he’s grilling skewers for my sister now… never mind, this isn’t idol-like at all.”

Hearing this, Zhang Shu seemed to have a smile at the corner of his mouth, appearing uninterested in being an idol. The other boys, listening in, also got curious, and Wu Pengcheng asked: “Little sister, who sings well? Where did you hear it?”

Wu Qiuxuan’s little mouth started babbling, spilling everything about watching Zhang Shu’s performance video at home earlier.

Words like “my sister was stunned” “my sister’s leg injury healed halfway” and “totally swooning, really swooning” tumbled from her mouth, making Sheng Xia want to stuff cotton in her mouth.

By the grill, Zhang Shu took the meat Hou Junqi had grilled, put it on a plate, and brought it over, sitting beside Sheng Xia and offering her a skewer.

Sheng Xia took it and immediately stuffed it into Wu Qiuxuan’s mouth.

The annoying “rumor broadcasting machine” finally stopped broadcasting.

Zhang Shu handed her another skewer, and she instinctively took it and brought it to her mouth. He propped his chin up watching her eat, and asked: “Is it good?”

Sheng Xia nodded: “Good.”

“Is it spicy?”

“Just right.”

“Is it numbing?”

“Not numbing.”

“Not numbing? Want to add more?”

Sheng Xia paused mid-bite, glancing at him, and sure enough, he pressed his lips together trying not to laugh.

“I’m not eating anymore!”

How can this person be so annoying?

She was just saying it, though, and continued eating in small bites, not looking at him.

Zhang Shu waited until she finished eating and handed her a napkin. She took it and wiped carelessly, just about to drink some water when her chin was lifted and his lips pressed against hers, sucking slightly on her lips that had just eaten the barbecue.

“It is numbing, who said it wasn’t?” After saying this, he took a skewer himself and put half a strip of meat in his mouth at once.

He moved so quickly that except for Sheng Xia herself, everyone busy with their things hadn’t noticed at all.

…

Nanli’s Spring Festival weather was always unusually warm for winter, but it would cool down slightly in the evening. The cool breeze would occasionally blow by, making it incredibly pleasant to eat barbecue and drink beer by the charcoal fire.

Just drinking was boring, so they soon started playing drinking games. Sheng Xia, being a novice, didn’t have much luck – even with Zhang Shu’s protection, she still drank quite a bit. Feeling dizzy, wearing Zhang Shu’s jacket, she was practically hanging on his arm.

“Want to go to sleep?” he asked softly.

“Mm~” Sheng Xia made a meandering sound, “No, I’m happy, want to stay with everyone.”

Zhang Shu cupped her cheeks and stroked them, “Tell me when you want to sleep.”

“Okay.”

Xin Xiaohe organized another game, this time “I Am But You’re Not.”

Sheng Xia hadn’t played before but understood after one round. Everyone was a bit tipsy, and people said all sorts of things, from the initial “I’m a physics major but you’re not” to later “I’m a B cup but you’re not”…

Whoever was the most shameless would win.

At first, Zhang Shu emphasized that there was a high school student present, but who knew Wu Qiuxuan’s statements would get more and more outrageous, and her drinking too – even Wu Pengcheng couldn’t match her.

Qi Xiulei was the most picked on among the boys; with his overly innocent background, he had to drink almost every round.

When it was his turn, he stood up swaying and said fiercely: “I’m a virgin but you’re not.”

He just wanted to make Wu Pengcheng, who had been picking on him, drink.

Well, Wu Pengcheng indeed wasn’t, so he obediently drank.

There were too few losers this round – almost everyone at the table was a virgin.

After a while, everyone noticed Xin Xiaohe and Yang Linyu slowly raising their glasses, and drinking a crossed-arm toast in the corner.

“Wow! This is explosive, friends!”

Wu Pengcheng: “I’ve uncovered some big news this round, haven’t I?”

Han Xiao: “When did this happen, oh my god?”

Qi Xiulei: “Yu, you’ve made it, actually faster than Brother Shu!”

Yang Linyu: …

Zhang Shu: …

Sheng Xia was completely confused, but she could feel the arm around her shoulders tighten, and then awkwardly rub up and down on her shoulder.

Wu Pengcheng laughed heartily: “I’m dying of laughter. How about this – let’s make it a virgin’s toast. From now on at every gathering, whoever still is one has to drink first, don’t make brothers and sisters ask, okay?”

Such a ridiculous proposal would probably have been ignored under normal circumstances, but perhaps it was the intense heat from the charcoal fire, or perhaps the romantic background music from the TV – everyone laughingly raised their glasses, and somehow it became official.

The group games came to an end, and people gathered in small groups to chat and play games. Sheng Xia lay on Zhang Shu’s lap, listening to him respond to others’ conversations occasionally.

Looking up at him from this angle, his jawline was perfect, becoming increasingly defined. When he turned his head, the tendons in his neck were particularly clear, his back broader now, and his Adam’s apple still the same – like a lethal weapon, bobbing up and down as the alcohol went down.

She understood now why she’d been feeling he had changed lately.

A man.

The word suddenly occurred to her.

Her boy was slowly, gradually becoming more of a man.

While she was staring dreamily, the man suddenly looked down, tilting his head slightly, and asked: “Sleepy?”

“A little.”

He gently patted her face, “I’ll take you back.”

Sheng Xia held onto his arm as she stood up, already unsteady. Zhang Shu held her entirely in his arms, and turned his head to tell Hou Junqi and the others, “I owe you all a drink.”

Then he led Sheng Xia upstairs.

Behind them, Wu Pengcheng said: “Tsk tsk, who would’ve thought after a semester, Ah Shu is still a virgin, wonder if tonight’s the night.”

Hou Junqi said: “What do you know!”

Tao Zhizhi suddenly looked at Hou Junqi: “You know?”

Hou Junqi hadn’t realized who was asking him, and spoke indistinctly while eating grilled meat: “Of course I know, Ah Shu and Sheng Xia are different.”

“How are they different?”

“Just, hard to explain, but they’re different.”

“I understand what you mean.”

Wu Pengcheng:?

What’s with these people?

…

Just past the stairway corner, Sheng Xia felt the person beside her stop walking. She stopped too, and just as she was about to turn to look at him, she was suddenly pushed forcefully. Just when she thought she was going to hit the handrail, an arm cushioned her lower back, and then the person in front of her pressed down and kissed her.

By her ear, Sheng Xia heard the entire conversation from the courtyard through the stairwell wall.

Virgin…

Wonder if tonight’s the night…

Ah Shu and Sheng Xia are different…

How are they different?

How?

He kissed her, sucked gently, his movements gentle on her mouth, but his hand on her waist was incredibly forceful, his body pressing closer and closer until Sheng Xia’s entire upper body was suspended over the handrail.

Her long hair floating, head tilted back, she felt like her waist was about to break. The intense feeling of insecurity made her murmur: “Ah Shu…”

Zhang Shu buried his head in her neck, then suddenly straightened up and lifted her into his arms.

Sheng Xia was already dizzy, and suddenly felt completely helpless, instinctively wrapping her arms around his neck. He carried her steadily upstairs, put her down at the door, took the room card from her shirt pocket to swipe the door, turned the handle, and before she could react, pulled her into the room. His hands gripped her waist and lifted her onto the bar counter, then he raised his head and kissed her.

How was he so familiar with this room?

How did he know there was a bar counter here?

He had drunk beer tonight, and liquor too, while Sheng Xia had fruit wine – various alcohol flavors mixed in their mouths, overwhelming all sense of smell.

Strangely, it wasn’t unpleasant; the mixture became increasingly fragrant as it blended and swirled.

The room was dark without the power card inserted, the door wasn’t closed, and a beam of light spilled in through the door gap, letting in the sounds of laughter from the courtyard below into this intimate space.

While there was cheerful laughter in the courtyard, inside the room, someone was kissing passionately.

From light pecks to nibbling, he kissed her urgently, not letting her catch her breath. Sometimes breathlessness can drive people crazy, like Sheng Xia at this moment.

Who knows how long they kissed with their necks entwined; Sheng Xia only felt the bar counter change from cold to warm beneath her before he finally released her. They locked eyes for just a moment, and before her breathing could steady, she was suddenly lifted into the air again – he carried her, and together, both bodies fell onto the soft bed.

He gazed at her quietly, their heavy breathing like some kind of signal, and his pause seemed like a kind of inquiry.

Having adjusted to the darkness, Sheng Xia also boldly examined him.

The deep-set eye sockets, the high bridge of his nose breathing hot air, slightly parted lips panting, and that Adam’s apple that always caught her attention first.

Sheng Xia raised her hand to touch it lightly, pressing once – it was an incredibly soft protrusion, so why did it look so intimidating?

No, not intimidating.

Sheng Xia finally admitted it – sexy.

From the first time she saw his Adam’s apple, her heart had been unable to control its wild beating.

This wasn’t fear.

She had been seduced.

Zhang Shu’s just-steadied breathing became irregular again, “Baby, stop touching…”

Sheng Xia ignored him and asked instead: “What’s inside here?”

Zhang Shu’s voice was hoarse: “Adam’s apple.”

“Of course, I know it’s an Adam’s apple, but what is an Adam’s apple, why is yours so big?”

This is killing me!

Zhang Shu: “Do you know what you’re saying?”

“I want to… kiss it and see.”

As she spoke, Sheng Xia had already wrapped her arms around his neck and moved closer, kissing it.

Feeling nothing special, she kissed it again, imitating how he had kissed her ear, extending her tongue slightly and brushing over that protrusion. It bobbed up and down, and Sheng Xia contentedly followed its movement with her kisses.

“Sheng Xia!”

“Mm? Not allowed?”

The next second, both Sheng Xia’s hands were pinned above her head on the bed.

Zhang Shu straddled her with his knee on the bed, his tone unfathomably deep, “Don’t move.”

His tone was a bit frightening, one Sheng Xia had never heard before, so serious – she nodded blankly.

Zhang Shu released her, got up from the bed, went to the door to insert the power cord, and turned on a small light.

Sheng Xia didn’t even know there were so many switches; how did he operate them so precisely?

She watched as he picked up his jacket that had fallen to the floor, took out a velvet box from the pocket, then walked back to the bed, knelt on one knee on the bed, and took out a necklace from the velvet box.

Sheng Xia belatedly realized she was still lying on the bed, and this position was too…

She quickly sat up, and he took advantage of her sitting position to move behind her and put the necklace on her.

Sheng Xia touched the key pendant, lost in thought.

What had she just done?

From behind her, Zhang Shu’s voice came: “Happy Valentine’s Day. Although I want to in this room… but if you want to… kiss anywhere else, let’s talk about it next time when you’re sober. ‘Drunk intimacy’ isn’t a good phrase, don’t let that be the memory…”

After saying this, he got off the bed, his jacket hanging on his arm covering his legs, and leaned down to give her two quick kisses on the lips.

“I’m heading back down, call me if you need anything.”

“Mm,” she responded blankly.

He adjusted the air conditioning temperature for her, told her to take a shower before sleeping if possible, finally left a floor lamp on for her, and left, closing the door.

Sheng Xia’s face was burning uncontrollably.

Had she just been… making advances?

And… failed?

Drunk intimacy.

Although she wasn’t really, and he wasn’t either. But if in the future, remembering that their first time started like this, it would be somewhat regrettable, wouldn’t it?

Sheng Xia fell back onto the bed, absently touching the necklace pendant.

It felt like he had only been there briefly, but the room was already full of his scent.

And this bed—

Although the house had been completely redesigned and renovated, and this couldn’t possibly be his old bed, Sheng Xia still suddenly blushed, hugging the pillow and rolling over, making muffled sounds.

His childhood room… was quite intimate, wuwu!