Chapter 9 The First Kiss

Looking at Yu Xin's beautiful, furrowed brows, Shen Mengqing hugged her knees and said, "Actually, I'm pretty much the same."

“My father passed away from illness when I was in high school. He had been ill for many years. Ever since I can remember, he was very weak and listless. He would only perk up when the topic of Beicheng came up. When he was young, he was the chief physician of a top-tier hospital in Beicheng. He was quite famous, and many people would book appointments with him. Perhaps it was a case of heaven being jealous of his talent, as he contracted a very rare disease. I still can't remember the full name of the disease. I only remember that he was in great pain every time he was treated, and there was no way to cure it completely. It could only suppress the symptoms for a short period of time.”

"After getting this disease, he could no longer work and had to keep undergoing treatment. The family was struggling financially, so they had to move back to their hometown. But those days were quite happy. I had someone to accompany me every day after school, and my family loved me very much. Unfortunately, my dad's health got worse and worse."

"Isn't it ridiculous? He was so passionate about being a doctor, but he became a terminally ill patient himself. A doctor can't heal himself."

Shen Mengqing spoke softly, her tone tinged with sadness, her round eyes vacant, as if her soul had been ripped away.

At this time, she was a completely different person from usual.

Shen Mengqing's soul returned to her senses. Realizing the topic was too depressing, she laughed again, her features regaining their vibrant radiance. Such a bright and cheerful smile could melt even the heaviest winter snow.

"It's all in the past. I'm going to live a good life for him in Beicheng."

She turned her head to look at Yu Xin. When their eyes met, Yu Xin's eyes gradually deepened. A light brown planet rotated in his eye socket, then turned into a black hole, as if to envelop Shen Mengqing's entire emotions and absorb them into her body.

As the atmosphere grew tense, the lights in the room suddenly went out, and even the sound of the refrigerator stopping stopped.

The subtle tension between them dissipated, and Shen Mengqing asked in surprise, "The power's out?"

Yu Xin pressed a button on the TV remote and said, "It should be."

"Wait a minute, I'll go get a candle."

Shen Mengqing turned on her phone's flashlight and went into the kitchen.

She opened a cabinet on the top shelf, took out candles and a lighter, and since she didn't have a free hand to hold her phone, she casually put them in the kitchen.

The lighter hadn't been used in a long time, and Shen Mengqing tried several times to get a flame out, so she walked towards the living room while struggling to light it. It was too dark, and she kept bumping her arm into the table and kicking the chair, making a clattering noise all the way as if she were tearing the house apart.

Yu Xin heard her groan a few times and, worried, walked towards the source of the sound, asking, "Did you find the candle?"

He had only taken a few steps when he bumped into a soft, warm body.

He regained his footing, and the next second, the lighter snapped into flame, illuminating Shen Mengqing's beautiful face before him.

After lighting the candles, Shen Mengqing held them up for Yu Xin to see, as if displaying a trophy. His eyes sparkled like stars, reminding Yu Xin of the golden retriever he used to have, which also liked to look at him expectantly, waiting for him to pat its head.

Yu Xin felt something had struck the softest spot in her heart.

In the darkness, Shen Mengqing stared intently at the silent Yu Xin, then placed the candle on the dining table beside her.

This must be the most impulsive thing she's ever done, Shen Mengqing thought. She felt herself cover Yu Xin's lips, the touch just as cold and soft as she had imagined.

Yu Xin was caught off guard by her sudden approach, only feeling a warmth on his lips and the fragrance of spring flowers. He then reached out and held her slender shoulders, ultimately not pushing her away, and willingly boarded the ocean ferry that she was in charge of steering.

As their kiss deepened, Shen Mengqing felt as if he were drowning in a bottomless abyss, swept up by surging waves, bobbing up and down in the salty water, gasping for breath.

The scent of fresh wood after the rain on Yu Xin completely filled her senses. Shen Mengqing's hand climbed up Yu Xin's back, and through the fabric of his clothes, she touched his firm back muscles, which were burning hot.

Her heart was pounding in her chest, and the palpitations in her chest seemed to declare that she had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

Shen Mengqing's hands were restless, sliding from Yu Xin's back to his abdomen, gently caressing his nice-feeling abs, distractedly counting how many there were.

Her slender fingers seemed to be recklessly expanding their territory, moving upwards all the way, lifting up the hem of Yu Xin's hoodie.

Even with only one candle burning in the room, Shen Mengqing could still see the raging fire in Yu Xin's eyes, fueled by her simple act of fanning the flames. She moved Yu Xin's hand from her shoulder to her slender waist, and Yu Xin chuckled, amused by her gesture, her gaze seemingly intent on devouring her.

The two stumbled away from the dining table, then staggered into the living room, collapsing onto the sofa. The coffee table wobbled, and the vase of daisies lost its balance, falling to the floor and shattering. A few drops of water splashed onto their faces, but neither of them stopped.

Just as Yu Xin raised his hand to take off his shirt, there was a sudden knock on the door.

The two of them then stopped what they were doing, like startled kittens.

Shen Mengqing straightened her clothes, pulled off her hair tie to let her already messy, slightly curly long hair fall over her shoulders, and stood up, saying, "I'll go take a look."

She opened the door, and there stood Grandpa Qian with a worried look on his face. He was holding an oil lamp in his hand and said, "Little Shen, are you alright? I just heard the sound of something breaking downstairs. I was worried you might be in danger, so I came up to check on you."

As he said this, he subconsciously looked inside, and Shen Mengqing quietly moved a step to block the view of the sofa.

She reassured him, "I'm fine, the vase just got knocked over by accident."

Grandpa Qian was relieved and handed the oil lamp to Shen Mengqing, saying, "I was worried that the candle wouldn't be bright enough. I have a few old antiques at home, so I thought I'd give one to you."

"Thank you, sir." Shen Mengqing took the money and watched Grandpa Qian go downstairs and go home.

An oil lamp is brighter than a candle. Shen Mengqing carried the lamp back to the sofa. Yu Xin actually took advantage of the gap in their conversation to put on his clothes, leaned back on the sofa with his legs wide open, and his eyes turned cold again.

"This person changes his attitude so quickly," Shen Mengqing thought to himself.

She bent down by the light to check how badly the vase was broken, but unexpectedly, she saw an ID card on the ground, which she guessed had just slipped out of her pocket.

She picked it up silently and secretly looked at it.

The photo on Yu Xin's ID shows him with a buzz cut, and without any stray hairs to cover it, his beautiful eyes are fully revealed. His eyes are long and narrow with slightly upturned corners, both cold and alluring. Combined with this hairstyle and his unsmiling expression, he has a wild, wolfish charm.

She looked down again, her hand froze, and she exclaimed in shock, "You're almost three years younger than me?!"

Shen Mengqing started elementary school in her hometown and, through connections, started school a year earlier than other children. Until she graduated with a master's degree, she was always the youngest in her class. She habitually assumed that everyone around her was older than her, let alone as a woman. She hadn't accepted the fact that she was already twenty-eight years old and always felt like she had just turned twenty. Now that she had met someone three years younger than her, she felt like she was leading the child astray.

Yu Xin has a youthful and refreshing air about him, but Shen Mengqing thought that was an advantage of his appearance. She didn't expect him to be so young, only the age of a graduate student.

Yu Xin took his ID card, put it back in his pocket, stood up, and said casually, "I'm leaving."

Shen Mengqing heard the door open and close again. The pair of eyes on the ID card kept appearing in her mind, stimulating her nerves time and time again.

She made up her mind, put down the oil lamp, and rushed out the door.

Without even changing her shoes, she ran barefoot to the elevator and used all the strength she had ever had to drag Yu Xin back home.

After closing the door, she pressed Yu Xin tightly against it.

"What, don't you think I'm too young?" Yu Xin said, lowering his head.

"Shut up," Shen Mengqing said, staring at him. "I'll accept that you're a few years younger."

Having already kissed once, she tiptoed and went to meet him with practiced ease.

A note from the author:

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Hehehe, I caught a little brother!

I want to see Xinzi with a buzz cut