Chapter Forty-Two
The suite's doorbell rang crisply, breaking the morning's tranquility.
Mo Wansheng woke up almost instantly. She stepped barefoot onto the cold floor, ran across the living room, and flung open the bedroom door.
She had a feeling it was him.
Standing outside the door was indeed Huo Yuzheng.
He looked exhausted, probably having just arrived from the airport; even his eyes were bloodshot.
Mo Wansheng looked at him, stunned for a moment.
Surprise swelled and exploded in her heart.
Without any hesitation, Mo Wansheng threw herself into his arms, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist.
She buried her face in his slightly chilly chest, greedily inhaling his comforting breath.
Her voice was muffled in his arms, "Didn't you say you were coming during the New Year? Why are you here now?"
Huo Yuzheng wrapped one arm around her waist and raised the other hand to gently rub her slightly messy hair.
"I missed you." His deep voice sounded above her head.
Such a straightforward response startled Mo Wansheng in his arms.
She tilted her head up in his arms and replied earnestly, "Yes, I missed you too."
Mo Wansheng tiptoed, wanting to get closer to him.
Suddenly, everything in front of me began to distort and become blurry.
Huo Yuzheng's figure, his gentle eyes, and the warmth in his arms were all fading rapidly.
"Hmm..." Mo Wansheng murmured unconsciously in her sleep, her outstretched hand grasping at empty air.
Everything before my eyes was plunged into boundless darkness.
She suddenly opened her eyes.
The room was completely silent.
Through the gaps in the heavy curtains, the hazy light of a Parisian morning shone through.
She turned to look to the side, but there was no one around, only a cold loneliness in the air.
It turns out, it was all just a dream.
Mo Wansheng slowly curled up, burying her face deep into the pillow, unwilling to move for a long time.
"Ding-dong! Ding-dong!" The doorbell rang.
Mo Wansheng stretched and climbed out of bed.
He Zihang probably had an emergency, or it was the hotel service; it couldn't possibly be Huo Yuzheng from my dream.
She casually tidied her long, messy hair, walked barefoot slowly to the door, and opened it.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
The person standing outside the door instantly extinguished all her remaining sleepiness.
It is not the blurry light and shadow of a dream, nor the phantom sketched by imagination.
It was definitely Huo Yuzheng.
The morning light streamed in through the corridor window behind him, casting a hazy halo around him.
His gaze was deep as he quietly watched her.
Mo Wansheng froze on the spot, her fingers on the doorknob tightening slightly.
She stared back at him blankly, wondering if she had fallen into another, deeper dream.
Huo Yuzheng noticed that her body was stiff and her cheeks were slightly flushed from just waking up.
His eyes were filled with tenderness at that moment.
"Mrs. Huo, I've come all this way, aren't you going to invite me in?"
"You..." Mo Wansheng opened her mouth, "Wasn't it in the video?"
Huo Yuzheng chuckled softly. He took a step forward and naturally took her still slightly trembling hand off the doorknob, enveloping it in his warm palm.
"You can't hug her in the video, and you can't see such a vibrant Mrs. Huo."
His fingertips gently caressed the base of her thumb, noticing her bare feet. "Shall we go inside?"
Mo Wansheng was led into the room by his hand, still in a daze.
It wasn't until she saw the pajamas carelessly tossed on the sofa that she belatedly realized how disheveled she looked.
Still groggy from just waking up, with messy long hair and a wrinkled nightgown.
"I...I'm going to change my clothes," she said, and started to hide in the bedroom.
Huo Yuzheng gently pulled her along.
He took her cashmere shawl from the coat rack in the entryway and carefully wrapped it around her.
Then, he stretched out his arms and hugged her tightly.
This embrace was different from the emptiness in a dream, and also different from the usual restraint.
It is a longing that has been felt for a long time.
His chin gently rested on the top of her head, and he held her like that for a long time.
Mo Wansheng's stiff body softened little by little in this firm and warm embrace.
She closed her eyes and reached out to hug him back.
Now she was certain that he had really come.
Rather than an overly realistic dream she had in the early morning.
Huo Yuzheng felt her completely dependent posture and tightened his arms around her even more.
He whispered in her ear, "Let me hold you tight."
The hug lasted for a very long time.
Her cheek pressed against the cool buttons of his coat, and she gripped the fabric of his coat at his waist, playfully scolding, "Why did you really come?"
Huo Yuzheng did not answer immediately.
He simply tilted his head slightly, gently rubbing his chin against the top of her soft hair, and tightened his arms around her.
"What? Mrs. Huo doesn't want me to come?"
This almost shameless question instantly dispelled any remaining embarrassment in Mo Wansheng's heart.
She tilted her head up in his arms and caught a fleeting glimpse of awkwardness in his eyes.
“Someone was laughing so happily in the video.” Huo Yuzheng paused, his tone unreadable, “So happy that it made me feel like if I didn’t come, I might be forgotten.”
The implication in those words was so obvious that Mo Wansheng was taken aback at first, but then realized what they meant and couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Mo Wansheng deliberately tiptoed to close the distance between them, a cunning glint in her clear eyes.
She recalled that during yesterday's video call, Huo Yuzheng's gaze remained fixed on He Zihang in the corner. Initially, she hadn't taken it seriously.
Unexpectedly, he flew over directly.
“Mr. Huo,” she drawled, gently poking his cheek with her finger, “you’ve gone through all this trouble, crossing the entire Eurasian continent, are you perhaps jealous?”
She almost whispered those last few words.
Huo Yuzheng's body stiffened for a moment.
He looked down at the smiling woman in his arms. The smugness in her eyes and the color that arose because of him dispelled all the fatigue from his all-night journey, as well as that inexplicable frustration.
Jealous?
He looked at her silently, neither admitting nor denying.
But the almost helpless tenderness in those deep eyes was already the best answer.
After a while, Huo Yuzheng suddenly lowered his head, his forehead gently touching hers, their noses meeting, their breaths mingling.
"Yes," he readily admitted, his voice deep and sexy, "Mrs. Huo, I'm jealous."
Huo Yuzheng chuckled softly, a slight vibration emanating from his chest. He finally loosened his grip on her a little, but his hands remained firmly around her waist as he gazed down at her.
"Are you cold?" His gaze fell on her bare feet, his brows furrowing slightly.
Before Mo Wansheng could answer, he suddenly bent down, slipped one hand under her knees, and lifted her up in his arms.
Mo Wansheng was completely taken aback. She instinctively hugged his neck tightly, "Huo Yuzheng!"
He carried her steadily toward the sofa in the living room. He gently placed her on the soft cushion, then knelt down on one knee and bent over in front of her.
Mo Wansheng's eyes were filled with astonishment.
He reached out and gently grasped one of her slightly cool feet with his warm, dry palm, carefully brushing away any dust that might be on the sole. Then he completely enveloped her foot with his large hand, trying to transfer his body heat to her.
Next, there was another one.
Huo Yuzheng showed no hesitation or disdain, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.
Mo Wansheng looked down at his focused profile, and her heart felt like it had been hit hard by something, making her feel incredibly weak and sore.
Huo Yuzheng was squatting in front of her, warming her feet.
“You…” Her throat tightened, and she couldn’t utter a complete sentence.
Huo Yuzheng looked up and met her surprised eyes.
He gently squeezed the soles of her feet, his tone carrying an undeniable tenderness: "Mrs. Huo, remember to wear shoes from now on."
Mo Wansheng pouted and said "Oh".
"Just an 'oh'?" Huo Yuzheng raised an eyebrow slightly, his gaze fixed on her slightly flushed cheeks.
His tone carried a dangerous languor, "Mrs. Huo, your assurance sounds rather insincere."
Mo Wansheng's ears felt slightly hot, and the warmth of his palms made her feet feel a little flustered.
She tried to pull her foot back, but he held it even tighter.
"Then, then tell me, how can I show sincerity?" she muttered softly, her eyes darting around, avoiding his gaze.
Huo Yuzheng leaned forward, placing his other hand on the sofa armrest beside her, trapping her in the space between himself and the sofa.
“I think…” he lowered his voice, his thin lips almost touching her earlobe.
His warm breath brushed against her sensitive skin. "Some real punishment is needed to teach Mrs. Huo a lesson."
"Besides, Mrs. Huo also said that I was jealous, shouldn't I get some compensation?"
A string of words, hot with their own heat, pierced her eardrums; each word seemed to carry an electric current.
Mo Wansheng trembled, her toes curling involuntarily, and the foot he held in his palm was so sensitive that it wanted to escape.
"You..." She started to speak, but then realized her voice was too soft.
Huo Yuzheng gently rubbed the inside of her ankle with his thumb, where the skin was thinnest and the pulse was clearest.
His gaze lingered on her neck, which was gradually turning blush, and focused on the subtle swallowing motion in her throat.
"How am I?" he asked in an even lower voice, moving his other hand from the sofa armrest to her lower back. Through the thin fabric of her nightgown, his palm was surprisingly hot.
Mo Wansheng was forced to lean back slightly, a posture that fully exposed her curves to him.
"You...you stop messing around..." She pushed his chest in vain, her hand touching his firm, warm body, the sensation distinct.
Huo Yuzheng suddenly leaned down, his nose brushing against her collarbone.
There was no kiss, just a pause, his breath burning her sensitive skin.
“This is the punishment for not wearing shoes,” he whispered, his voice hoarse.
Huo Yuzheng's lips finally descended, landing on her slender neck.
It wasn't a rough sucking, but a gentle, slow rolling motion.
The lips brushed against the skin, sending shivers down the spine.
Mo Wansheng couldn't help but tilt her head back, her breathing becoming rapid.
His kisses slowly traced the line of her neck, sometimes gently licking, sometimes nibbling, each touch precisely stimulating her most sensitive nerves.
She unconsciously let out a soft moan, her fingers gripping the fabric of his shirt tightly.
Sensing her reaction, Huo Yuzheng's kiss deepened.
He lingered on her collarbone, leaving faint red marks, like a silent declaration.
Just as Mo Wansheng was still immersed in the lingering kiss, Huo Yuzheng suddenly raised his head.
She opened her eyes in confusion and met his deep gaze.
There surged a familiar emotion within her, along with a hint of restrained forbearance.
"Mrs. Huo, this is the compensation I want," Huo Yuzheng announced in a low voice, then covered her lips with his.
This kiss was completely different from the one before.
It began with gentle probing, lightly sucking on her lower lip as if savoring a precious dessert.
But soon, the kiss became deep and lingering.
His tongue slid into her mouth, exploring every corner with unhurried ease, intertwining tenderly with hers.
Mo Wansheng responded involuntarily, demanding even more fervently.
Huo Yuzheng's hand slowly moved up from her waist and finally stopped on her cheek.
He gently cradled her face, deepening the kiss.
Their breaths mingled, indistinguishable from each other.
When he finally ended the kiss, Mo Wansheng leaned against him, breathing softly, her eyes sparkling, her cheeks flushed.
Huo Yuzheng gently brushed his fingertips across her slightly swollen lips, his eyes darkening.
"Mrs. Huo, remember this feeling. Next time, the punishment will only be more severe."
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