He pulled away with a light touch, but on Jian Fei's side, it was as if she had been hit by an earthquake.
Her mind buzzed, her body went numb and then numb again, her blood all rushed to her head, and she felt her face was about to burn.
"You, what are you doing?"
Ke Teng took in her shy and flustered appearance, seeing her blush so deeply it looked like she could bleed. He couldn't help but feel his mood lift.
"Why is your face so red? Haven't you kissed a man before? Is this your first kiss?"
"..." Jian Fei wanted to curse him for asking what he already knew!
And for stealing a kiss from her when he knew she had never had a boyfriend, which was a heinous offense!
Before she could even voice her complaint, her phone on the bedside table vibrated.
She grabbed it and glanced at the WeChat message from her sister.
"Sis, can you hug me?"
A crying emoji followed.
Jian Fei had a gut feeling that her sister had encountered something upsetting, and she hurried to sit up to reply, forgetting about Ke Teng for the moment.
"What's wrong?"
Her sister replied, "He's getting married. He sent invitations to all his colleagues today, and I received one too."
"I know the girl he's marrying. She's beautiful, gentle, and so much better than me in countless ways. I should be blessing him, right?"
"But I don't want to bless him. I'm so sad. Sis, do you think I'm a bad person?"
Looking at the words her sister sent, Jian Fei's mood plummeted. Her nose began to sting.
If she was unfortunate, then her sister was destined to be even more so.
Born into hardship, never knowing a single good day, constantly battling poverty, and enduring the scorn of others.
Not deserving of love, not qualified to have a lover, her life as dim as if there was no hope in sight.
She was so good, so gentle, so beautiful...
As Jian Fei typed a message to her sister, Ke Teng watched her from the side.
Watching her, he noticed her eyes were getting wet, and he leaned in with a touch of concern.
"What's wrong?"
Jian Fei bit her lip as she typed to her sister.
"Oh, it's nothing major. Only those who are useless think about getting married at a young age. Excellent people remain single."
"Look how fragile marriages are now. Many people get married and regret it soon after. Men are unreliable creatures, let's not think about them."
"Let me recommend some movies to you to distract yourself. If you're still not feeling better after watching them, I'll chat with you."
Her sister took a long pause before replying with a simple "Okay."
Jian Fei sent her the titles of two films: "Becoming Jane" and "Kim Ji-young, Born 1982."
Both were representative works of outstanding female films. Ke Teng hadn't seen them, but he had heard of them.
Seeing his sisters talk like this, with Jian Fei's eyes glistening with tears, he dared not tease further. He sat up, pulled Jian Fei into his arms, and patted her head.
"Don't dwell on unhappy things. Is the world as dark as you think? Look at it from a brighter perspective."
In the world of the wealthy, it seemed no problem couldn't be solved. Jian Fei didn't expect him to understand her.
However, thinking about the uncertain future and her pitiable sister, she found herself unable to take a nap.
"Do you think drinking can really drown one's sorrows?"
Ke Teng looked down at her. "What? You want to drink?"
"Is that not allowed? I'm not working today anyway. I want to try."
"Then I'll join you."
There was a small convenience store on the street outside their residential compound. Ke Teng went down and picked up two bottles of the most expensive white wine. He brought them back and, along with the leftover dishes from earlier, they had a few drinks.
They chatted idly while drinking, reminiscing from primary school to university. Before they knew it, a bottle of white wine was finished.
Jian Fei's head felt fuzzy. She slumped onto the sofa, covering her eyes with her arm.
"I'm not cleaning up. We'll leave it as is for today. I'm tired, I'm sleepy. I want to sleep."
Ke Teng looked at her flushed and beautiful face, feeling a surge of affection.
"Can you walk? Do you need me to carry you?"
Jian Fei wasn't sure if she could walk, but she suddenly wished to experience being carried, so she lowered her arm and looked at Ke Teng with a hazy gaze.
"You want to sleep with me?"
Ke Teng replied lazily, "I've been drinking, I can't drive. Are you still going to kick me out?"
"Alright then, carry me over."
Ke Teng's embrace was warm, like a heated blanket.
In this November that was already beginning to turn cold, it was truly comforting.
Moreover, his arms were so long, so strong, and his neck looked so good.
Jian Fei hooked her arms around his neck, her gaze landing on his Adam's apple. She watched it bob a few times and couldn't resist reaching out to poke it.
"Ke Teng, you're actually quite handsome."
His breath, carrying the scent of wine, brushed against her cheek and neck. Ke Teng felt a tingle from head to toe.
He set her down, propped himself up with an arm above her head, and looked into her sparkling eyes. He couldn't hold back any longer. "Jian Fei."
"Yes?"
"Were you angry when I kissed you just now?"
Jian Fei looked at him, thought for a moment, and shook her head.
"No."
"Why not? Don't you actually reject me? Do you still have feelings for me?"
Jian Fei didn't know why she wasn't angry. She seemed to have gotten used to his various advances.
"I don't know."
"If I wanted to kiss you again, or even do more, would you refuse me?"
As a medical student, she couldn't possibly misunderstand his intentions.
Looking at his young, handsome face, her mind buzzed. Thoughts arose and subsided, only to resurface again. Ultimately, she followed her heart.
"No."
Ke Teng seemed somewhat surprised, yet also smugly satisfied, as if it was only natural.
"Why? I've never pursued you before."
Jian Fei met his gaze. "I don't know. I think, perhaps at my age, it's time to try."
She didn't know what kind of person she would meet in the future. Ke Teng was handsome, had a good physique, so it wasn't like she was losing out.
Ke Teng's racing blood felt like it was about to pour out of his nose. "Will you regret this tomorrow?"
Jian Fei declared with conviction, "In my life, I've never regretted anything."
Ke Teng lowered his head... m..oΓg
How to put it, the two of them were truly like an old couple who had known each other for a very long time.
There was no awkwardness, nor was it as uncomfortable as she had imagined.
Jian Fei even secretly wondered if she had some innate talent in this area.
How could she have grasped it so quickly...
In the darkened room, as she was lost in thought, a sudden noise broke the silence.
Before they could react, with a "thud," the bed dipped.
One leg of the dilapidated old bed, which had likely been sitting there for an unknown duration in this rundown rental room, broke.
The silence and ambiguous atmosphere were shattered. Both of them froze and couldn't help but exchange glances.
In such moments, gazes always felt a little different from usual. The instant their eyes met, Jian Fei admitted she was a little scared.
She wasn't used to seeing Ke Teng like this, and quickly averted her gaze.
Ke Teng was caught in an awkward position. Seeing her so embarrassed, he couldn't help but chuckle.