It proved somewhat troublesome to blow-dry the hair of someone who was drunk.
You held the hairdryer in one hand, diligently using the other to part his hair.
Yet, his hands kept straying over your body.
Finally, Su Yue couldn't stand it anymore.
As his hair was nearly dry anyway.
She put down the hairdryer, put on a stern face, and said with a hint of seriousness:
"Chen Ziming, behave yourself."
He responded with a docile smile, then pulled her close until there was no space between them. Tilting his head up, his chin rested against her chest.
"Remember that first night we...?"
His dimples showed faintly on his cheeks, his lips were flushed with an alluring hue, perhaps from the moisture in the air.
He always had a way of shattering her defenses with a single sentence.
Su Yue’s face, much to her chagrin, turned red again. She averted her gaze, unwilling to answer.
Seeing this, he smiled even more broadly and continued,
"I wanted to tell you to behave yourself back then too, but you wouldn't listen. You insisted on getting on top of me, touching me, and then you just kissed me..."
"I was drunk then!"
She immediately covered his mouth, her eyes betraying a mix of panic and anger.
His eyes held a smile as he easily moved her hand away and clasped it in his own. Then, he said leisurely,
"I'm drunk today too. So, we're even."
"..."
Seeing her speechless, he looked quite pleased and buried his head directly into her embrace.
He rubbed his face against her chest, then stopped and mumbled, "You're so soft and smell so good, darling."
"Just like that day."
Su Yue: !!!
Recalling how he had hoarsely told her to get off him that night…
Was this truly the same person?!
Seeing him nestled quietly in her arms and showing no signs of moving, she still took a deep breath and spoke softly, "Let me go, it's time to sleep."
The man shook his head, his hair gently brushing against the exposed skin of her décolletage through her bathrobe, sending a ticklish sensation surging through her, causing her hair to stand on end.
She felt her face grow hotter.
Sensing her slight tremor, Chen Ziming looked up, his eyes full of affection, smiling with a look of utter infatuation:
"You're falling for me again, darling, aren't you?"
"..."
In the end, she managed to coax him to bed.
...
The next afternoon, they met Ji Chan for their photoshoot as planned.
Su Yue had chosen the outfits: one set was a white shirt paired with her white dress, and the other was a casual t-shirt with her slip dress.
The location was a forest with a beautiful man-made lake that shimmered with light at sunset.
It was incredibly romantic.
The photoshoot went exceptionally smoothly, so much so that as they wrapped up, Ji Chan couldn't help but exclaim to Su Yue:
"Officer Chen truly loves you so much. I barely had to give any direction; I could just capture the moments."
She then looked at Su Yue with a hint of disdain,
"Your performance was a bit contrived, lacking immersion."
"Fortunately, I was able to subtly guide you to cooperate."
Su Yue: ...
That evening, he was called away for work again.
She wasn't idle either; she sat at the bar, sipping fruit tea while working on her thesis.
After completing her plans for the day, she satisfyingly drained the tea from her cup.
However, as she set the cup down, she suddenly recalled Meng Hualan's "unreasonable request."
The fruit tea in the cup was brought by the aunts at the request of Chen Ziming's grandmother.
A thought struck her. She opened her search engine on her computer and typed in "Wang Meng Ning."
The textbook hadn't provided enough detail, and she wanted to learn more.
She read it from beginning to end, meticulously, once through.
Her heart grew increasingly stirred.
After closing the window, Su Yue sat in quiet contemplation for a long time.
Finally, she picked up her phone and dialed Meng Hualan's number.
She had decided she wanted to seriously move forward with Chen Ziming.
In that case, meeting his family wouldn't hurt.
Especially, meeting this idol she had admired for so long.