The moonlight was hazy.

The street was empty and quiet, with the curved moon casting down a gentle glow.

Xia Xia pressed against Xie Huai’s firm body, feeling his warm temperature. Like a clingy cat, she wouldn’t get up while Xie Huai held her, but she played dumb.

“What did I say?”

Xie Huai didn’t speak, just tightened his arm around her waist to express his dissatisfaction.

Xia Xia: “I’m saying, shouldn’t you let go of me? We’re nothing to each other, what’s with all this holding?”

“Nothing to each other?” Xie Huai pressed her head against his chest and rubbed it hard. “If we’re nothing to each other, why did you call me ‘husband’?”

“Don’t make things up.” Xia Xia asked mischievously. “Where’s your proof that I called you husband?”

Xie Huai’s arms were like water-soaked leather ropes around her soft waist, squeezing tighter and tighter until she felt short of breath.

Xia Xia’s fingers clutched his collar, her brows curving: “Gentler, it hurts.”

“Acting cute with me?”

Xia Xia looked pitiful and delicate, just like when she had pretended to be helpless in front of him before.

Though Xie Huai knew Xia Xia was pretending, he couldn’t help but loosen his grip.

He raised an eyebrow: “You think I’ll believe that?”

Xia Xia said softly: “It really hurts, you’ve made my waist all red, look if you don’t believe me.”

Xie Huai waited for her to lift her clothes to show him, but Xia Xia just kept dawdling, all talk and no action.

Xie Huai pulled out the crumpled wish card from his pocket.

“Acting pitiful won’t work, look what you’ve done!”

“What did I do?”

Xia Xia took the card puzzled, her eyes catching only the first line.

[Want to French kiss Xie Huai, for half an hour.]

Her temper flared immediately, and she threw the card at his chest: “Are you proud of yourself? Think you’re something special because a girl wants to kiss you? Why show off to me? Zhao Jinsong just confessed his love to me, did I say anything?”

Xie Huai had wanted her to see the signature, but hearing her words, he exploded too: “I fucking knew that old man had ulterior motives, trying to rob the cradle, doesn’t even know his age. What did he say to you?”

Xia Xia: “What’s it to you? Go eat shit.”

Xie Huai grabbed her wrist and pulled her to the electric bike, pressing her against the back seat with his hand on her shoulder.

“Are you going to tell me?”

Xia Xia was very distracted, looking around.

On one side was dense holly brush, on the other were warm-colored streetlights with buzzing insects.

The clouds parted in the sky, revealing the clear moonlight. In her line of sight, clusters of green-glowing fireflies flew from the grass.

“Brother Huai,” she called.

“When other people do wall-slams, it’s against a Ferrari hood, followed by some car action and outdoor passion. You pressing someone against an electric bike is really too cheap.”

Xie Huai: “…”

Xia Xia: “Has it been a year yet? Have you earned the five million?”

“If you haven’t earned enough, you should let go,” Xia Xia said sincerely. “Out here in the wilderness, we’re not really anything to each other, yet you’re questioning me about Zhao Jinsong and hugging and holding me. It’s not good for my reputation if word gets out.”

“After all, since I can’t get you, I need to prepare to find someone else.”

Xie Huai had reached his limit of patience. He held the card in front of her eyes: “After doing something like this to me, you still want to find someone else?”

Only then did Xia Xia see her name written at the end of the card.

She was stunned: “I didn’t write this.”

“You think denying it works? Your name is right there and you still want to quibble?” Xie Huai smiled roguishly. “French kissing for half an hour, Xia Xia, you’ve got quite the dirty mind.”

Xie Huai’s expression was fierce, with a hint of performative element he wasn’t good at, so exaggerated that Xia Xia saw through it immediately.

Xia Xia instantly understood what was going on, but she didn’t expose it, pretending she had done it.

She put on an apologetic expression: “I’m sorry, Brother Huai. I agree my thoughts were dirty. Just pretend this never happened.”

Xie Huai: “No.”

“Then what do you want?” Xia Xia looked troubled. “Scold me? Or hit me?”

“You surely don’t want to kiss me, right?”

She answered her own question: “I’m thinking too much. How could Brother Huai kiss me? He has an ex-girlfriend he remembers passionately, for whom he did all sorts of outrageous things, for whom he spent money freely.”

“His ex-girlfriend was just here a few days ago, he probably still dreams of her every night? Such wonderful youth, such beautiful prime years, such a moving love story – what the fuck am I compared to that?”

“Why don’t you become a writer?” Xie Huai scolded her. “You’re so eloquent when criticizing me, even coming up with parallel sentences. Are you going to hold that one thing about Chen Manxi against me forever?”

“Yes,” Xia Xia said expressionlessly. “I am jealous, I am envious, and I will keep bringing it up, what about it? Hit me if you dare! What’s so special about Chen Manxi? She just met you earlier than me…”

Halfway through speaking, she suddenly realized something serious and stopped.

She had said Chen Manxi only met him earlier, but she forgot to consider one thing.

— Xie Huai was initially nice to her because he felt sorry for her and felt they were kindred spirits.

The Xie Huai back then wouldn’t have had such a deep understanding of poverty. Even if she had known him then, she might not have caught his attention.

She was the pure and elegant type, while Chen Manxi had the looks of an alluring worldly beauty.

Xia Xia frowned seriously, looking at Xie Huai, wondering if he preferred Chen Manxi’s type.

Seeing her look at him this way made Xie Huai’s scalp tingle. Brother Huai’s swagger completely disappeared, turning into a weak and helpless Huai Huai, not daring to even breathe heavily.

He coaxed her: “I was wrong, really wrong. Why don’t you hit me to feel better?”

Xia Xia asked calmly: “If, I’m saying if.”

“If that incident of competing with others hadn’t happened, would you have pursued Chen Manxi?”

“Of course not,” Xie Huai answered without thinking. “Brother Huai has never cared about any woman as much as he cares about you.”

“Then…” Xia Xia tried to trap him, “if Chen Manxi had pursued you, would you have agreed?”

Xie Huai: “…”

“Answer me,” Xia Xia said. “I want the truth, don’t lie to me.”

Xie Huai hesitated: “Do we really have to do this?”

Xia Xia nodded, and he honestly said: “Probably would have.”

Seeing Xia Xia’s expression change immediately, he tried to salvage the situation: “Let me finish explaining my reasons before you decide whether to scold me.”

Seeing Xia Xia hadn’t moved, he cursed himself internally for being such a coward in front of her.

Something seemed wrong here. At first, it was Xia Xia who was soft and timid, calling him Brother Huai, quickly lowering her head and apologizing at just one cold glance from him.

Now not only had the roles reversed, he was even worse than Xia Xia had been then.

“…Everyone said Chen Manxi was beautiful, but in my eyes she was just okay. I’ve seen prettier girls, she wasn’t my type.”

He glanced at Xia Xia.

The moonlight made the girl’s face look fair and clear. Her seaweed-like hair was soft, loosely draped over her back, the ends slightly curled, making her look as pretty as a doll.

When he first saw her, he thought she was exactly his type.

After all this time, he felt that type didn’t matter so much anymore. Even if Xia Xia looked different, the right person would always be right.

“Chen Manxi was the campus beauty, pretty and proper, good at dealing with people. I was immature then, liking her or not was secondary – it was about a man’s pride, you understand pride?”

“Let me give you an example,” Xie Huai said. “Among thousands of students at Nan University, even the student council president isn’t known by everyone. One beauty from this department, one campus idol from that department, they might sound famous, but in the whole school, who really knows them?”

“If you say you’re dating the campus heartthrob from the Management School, does anyone know who that is?”

“But if you say you’re Brother Huai’s woman, that’s something to be proud of.”

Xia Xia: “……”

Xie Huai wasn’t exaggerating. Not everyone might know the student council president, but there were few who didn’t know Xie Huai.

He had been famous since freshman year. Although he had toned it down now, his previous activities like setting up stalls, delivering takeout, selling bubble tea, and getting into detention for confronting counselors had become legendary at the school.

But something felt odd to Xia Xia about what he said.

Xie Huai truly hadn’t lied to her – he was so honest it made her want to bite him.

Xia Xia said bluntly: “Wake up.”

She turned to leave, and Xie Huai chased after her: “You get angry when I lie, you get angry when I tell the truth, teach me how to comfort you.”

Xia Xia’s eyes were red, and Xie Huai took her hand to punch his chest: “Will hitting me make you feel better?”

Xia Xia shook her head.

The girl was silent, her face full of conflict and grievance.

Xie Huai felt heartbroken seeing this and bent down to kiss her reddened eyes.

Xia Xia pushed him away, her palm against his chest: “You’re crossing the line, you said no kissing.”

When they were apart, the feeling of longing was hard to bear, but being together now was even harder.

When they couldn’t see or touch each other, they could numb themselves, but now with the person constantly before his eyes, having to resist touching or holding was driving him crazy.

Xie Huai suddenly regretted why he had said they should wait a year.

If he hadn’t been far from Xia Xia then, but close like now, he would never have said such words even if it killed him.

Xia Xia’s push was weak, not enough to move even a cat, let alone a man like Xie Huai.

Xie Huai’s voice was intoxicatingly deep: “No one can see.”

He moved close to her ear, his lips catching her earlobe, making Xia Xia’s ear immediately turn red.

“Can we let this go?” Xie Huai said. “I’ll accept if you’re unsatisfied with me, angry, or have complaints. I’ll definitely do what I promised, but don’t ignore me.”

“If you’re upset, let it all out at once. Hit me, scold me, tie me up and rape me if you want, but after tonight, throw Chen Manxi in the trash bin and never mention her again.”

Xia Xia said softly: “You did wrong and want me to rape you? Dream on.”

Xie Huai said: “So you’re not angry anymore.”

“Still angry,” Xia Xia said in a small voice.

“Then what should we do?” Xie Huai’s hand stroked the back of her head. “You don’t want to hit me or scold me, so let me kiss you.”

He didn’t wait for Xia Xia to speak before lowering his head to plant a light kiss on her lips.

Gentle, cherishing, just a touch.

Xia Xia’s previous confrontational attitude disappeared, her face reddening: “What’s this supposed to be? We’re not even officially together for kissing.”

“How about future wife, is that status enough?”

Seeing she wasn’t so angry anymore, Xie Huai released her: “What did Zhao Jinsong actually say to you?”

Xia Xia looked up at him with bright eyes.

“I don’t care what he said to you, you’re not allowed to accept him.”

“So domineering,” Xia Xia muttered.

The clouds drifted hazily, the moon covered by a layer of mist.

Xie Huai bent down slightly, holding her tenderly in his arms.

He repeated: “Don’t accept him, or I’ll go crazy.”

He tilted his head, his lips brushing against her orange-scented soft hair: “Give me a few more years, I’ll be more successful than him, richer, more considerate, I’ll be good to you.”

“Brother Huai won’t let you suffer forever.”

“I swear.”