Guan Yingtang blinked in confusion. It was too sudden, or maybe the rain outside was too heavy; she doubted she had heard correctly.
She sat in Meng Qinghuai’s embrace and asked again uncertainly, “You… jealous?”
Having spoken it out loud, Meng Qinghuai found it was not such a difficult thing after all. To like someone meant breaking through reason, losing clarity, feeling inexplicable sensitivity and possessiveness.
Their beginning had been incredibly smooth. She had taken the initiative to come to Beicheng, insisted on registering their marriage; he had always enjoyed the feeling of “having” her.
Then one day, he suddenly realized there was another man who understood her better than he did.
And just now, Guan Yingtang had even mentioned divorce because of this man.
Meng Qinghuai refused to hear those two words again.
“Yes.” This time he admitted it more calmly, pausing briefly before adding in a low voice, “You called him Peiming.”
Guan Yingtang: “…”
Her heart pounded wildly. This was the first time she had seen such a side of Meng Qinghuai— he had dropped his usual dominant demeanor, bowed his head before her, fretting over something that his otherwise upright and honorable life wouldn’t normally care about.
It was just a name.
Guan Yingtang didn’t even remember when she had called out “Peiming.”
At the very beginning, she had even considered this possibility. She worried, like on TV, a man might get jealous because of another man’s presence.
But later, when Meng Qinghuai casually mentioned Jiang Peiming’s flirtatious reputation, she let the whole matter veer off into a completely unrelated direction.
Guan Yingtang’s heart softened, and for a moment she had so much to say. But after a pause, she only heard Meng Qinghuai quietly say, “But I’m your husband.”
“…”
“It doesn’t matter if you call him Peiming or Ming Shao,” Guan Yingtang’s eyes were clear, “I won’t be moved.”
Meng Qinghuai’s breath suddenly caught, then was wrapped by a strong sense of satisfaction. His voice tightened as he hugged her closer and asked, “Then whose name will make your heart race?”
Guan Yingtang bit her lip and deliberately looked away. “I’m not telling.”
Meng Qinghuai turned her face and kissed her. Those eyes that rarely stirred emotions now blazed with an intensity that seemed capable of melting her.
Their breaths mingled, and the passionate kiss made Guan Yingtang’s whole body tremble. Sweet, stifled breaths slipped between her lips. She tilted her head back, admitting with some helplessness, “Yours.”
The kiss grew deeper, and Meng Qinghuai’s voice was hoarse, “Don’t say ‘divorce’ again.”
“…Mm.”
The rain outside kept pouring, car lights flashing rapidly by the roadside. Once the misunderstood feelings were opened, they rushed wildly through the damp night.
Though it was a rainy night, the air seemed ignited with fire. Guan Yingtang’s body grew hot.
As she became dazed under the kisses, Meng Qinghuai lifted the hem of her cheongsam and placed his palm on her thigh, as if about to take the next step— but then suddenly stopped.
They were in a car, with nothing else around.
“What’s wrong?” Guan Yingtang frowned at his sudden pause.
Meng Qinghuai sighed, trying to calm himself. “I’ll take you home.”
Guan Yingtang suddenly understood why.
She lowered her head, her body nudging against him. “But it’s so hard.”
Meng Qinghuai: “…”
He swallowed and calmly said, “That’s perfectly normal.”
For some reason, every time Meng Qinghuai said things like this seriously, Guan Yingtang felt it was very erotic.
She leaned down to kiss him. Then, softly by his ear, she said, “There’s a convenience store up ahead.”
Then, slowly, “I’ll wait here, okay?”
Meng Qinghuai: “…”
On such a rainy night, no one would pay attention to a refined man in a suit holding a black umbrella stepping out of the car, entering a convenience store, then returning to the car two minutes later, before quietly driving off into the mist.
He stopped the car on a secluded path. The privacy curtains were drawn, and Meng Qinghuai leaned in, lowering his head to capture Guan Yingtang’s lips, his tongue pressing inside.
He could never get enough of kissing her.
Raindrops pelted the window, sounding like a fine, rapid “tap tap.” Their heated lips tangled repeatedly, and Guan Yingtang’s whole body went numb from the kisses.
She could only grip Meng Qinghuai’s shirt behind his back to steady herself until his hands lifted the cheongsam hem again, his palm scorching hot against her skin.
She couldn’t help but let out a soft moan.
“Didn’t you say you don’t like wearing cheongsams?” The man nuzzled her neck.
Guan Yingtang, like a ripe, juicy peach, was kissed soft and wet. “…But they like me to wear them.”
“Who are ‘they’?”
“My dad, my uncles, my grand uncle…”
Not only her family, but also the matchmakers who had exalted Guan Yingtang as the Number One Heiress of Hong Kong Island, and the public who regarded her as the Model of a Refined Lady— all of them boxed her in with those pretty words.
What’s graceful, what’s elegant, what’s proper.
Meng Qinghuai hadn’t expected such an answer to a casual question. He finally realized the pain inside Guan Yingtang and lifted his head. “Tang Tang, why do you have to satisfy others’ likes?”
Guan—
“You can refuse what you don’t want to do, pretend you didn’t hear what you dislike. Your life is yours alone, don’t—”
Guan Yingtang’s cheongsam collar was undone. The white skin beneath bore a few kiss marks, looking both obedient and pitiful.
“But everyone thinks Guan Yingtang should be like this.” Having played that role for so long, Guan Yingtang no longer had the courage to break free.
Meng Qinghuai stroked her face. “Tell me, what will happen if you say no?”
Guan Yingtang tried to imagine the consequences. “Dad would definitely be very angry. The family…”
“And then?”
“And then?”
“The world won’t fall into chaos. People might say, ‘Oh, so the First Daughter of the Guan Family is like this.’ They’ll talk for a day, two days, even a month or half a year, but that’s all. They will gradually get used to the real you. They will realize that you’re simply no longer wearing those rigid clothes— you’re still talented, smart, kind. Over time, they might even find that the real Miss Guan is much more interesting, much more full of character.”
“And you will be free.”
Guan Yingtang’s heartbeat quickened as she listened intently.
“So, Tang Tang, things you don’t like,” Meng Qinghuai said, his hand suddenly resting at the slit of her cheongsam, “just don’t do them.”
A ripping sound.
Guan Yingtang looked down in shock.
In the rain-washed cityscape, the cheongsam that symbolized “refined lady” and “socialite” was torn from the side. Meng Qinghuai effortlessly tore away her labels and restraints.
“Be your true self, and you will naturally attract those who truly appreciate you.”
Meng Qinghuai kissed Guan Yingtang gently and said softly, “Like me.”
The torn opening made it easy for his hand to reach where he wanted. He kissed down her neck, collarbone, and chest. Guan Yingtang’s body arched into a graceful curve, her breath uneven.
At this moment, she didn’t know whether it was because of what Meng Qinghuai had just said, or what he was doing now— her whole being trembled uncontrollably.
The man’s breath spilled over her ear, desire shining in his eyes.
The rain outside was heavy.
She was delicate and couldn’t bear any roughness.
Meng Qinghuai sighed and kissed her earlobe. “The car’s about to be flooded by you.”
Guan Yingtang blushed deeply. She didn’t know why; sometimes even just a glance from Meng Qinghuai would stir feelings in her. Being held in his arms like this now was even more overwhelming.
Distracted for a moment, Meng Qinghuai’s hands gripped her waist—
The sudden tight heat made them both sigh in satisfaction.
Meng Qinghuai’s car was a family vehicle from Hong Kong, spacious front and back. The rain struck the windshield rapidly, almost keeping pace with the car’s rhythm.
Guan Yingtang felt so happy she was about to faint; the scene before her eyes blurred.
Inside the heated car, Meng Qinghuai’s phone suddenly vibrated.
He ignored it and turned it off immediately.
But not long after, Guan Yingtang’s phone rang incessantly, the persistent ringtone refusing to stop until answered.
Guan Yingtang struggled to push Meng Qinghuai away and grabbed her phone from her bag.
It was Ho Ling calling. “Atang? Are you home yet?”
Guan Yingtang’s temples were damp with sweat-soaked hair strands. Nervously, she said, “Almost… almost there.”
Ho Ling heard the unusual tone and asked with concern, “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
He was devouring her.
Her bones tingled; she forced down the sensation. “No.”
“Oh, just now Uncle Meng called Qinghuai and he didn’t answer. I thought maybe something happened on the way. It’s good you’re almost there. Help Mom say thanks to Qinghuai.”
Guan Yingtang: “…”
Thanks for what? For diligently *making love to her?
The call ended, and Meng Qinghuai quickly reclaimed her breath. In the silent rainy night, they gasped softly, Meng Qinghuai pressing against Guan Yingtang’s nose and asking, “Want to come back with me?”
This trip back to Hong Kong had completely disrupted their plans.
Guan Yingtang had left early on Sunday; Meng Qinghuai had to pause some work and come over on Monday.
Guan Zhiheng’s birthday party was over tonight; Meng Songnian and Zhuang Jiayi would return tomorrow. Aside from work in Beicheng, Meng Qinghuai had no reason to stay.
But neither did Guan Yingtang.
She had just come back from her “trip,” less than two days ago. She couldn’t just go out again so soon.
Besides, Guan Yingtang had been away too long and needed to spend time with her parents.
With a strong arm wrapped around her waist, Guan Yingtang swayed slightly, her mind dazed, unsure how to answer.
But soon Meng Qinghuai stopped pressing. “I’ll finish up here and come over.”
Guan Yingtang lifted her wet eyes; joy flashed briefly in them. She had been waiting for this promise but was too shy to ask, so she teased, “Come over for what?”
Meng Qinghuai’s hand slid down and suddenly lifted her hips, pulling her closer. “What I promised you—I won’t forget.”
Guan Yingtang: “…”
Sweaty and drenched in the car, their conversation was drowned out by other sticky, smooth sounds.
After an unknown time, Guan Yingtang’s body trembled urgently, and she steadied herself by holding onto Meng Qinghuai’s shoulders tightly.
–
They left the hotel at 7 p.m. but didn’t get home until 10.
Those three happy hours left Guan Yingtang needing support on the stairs. Fortunately, the family butler wasn’t in the living room at the time.
She used Meng Qinghuai’s coat to cover the ripped cheongsam and hurried to her bedroom.
She took off her clothes and had just finished showering when Guan Zhiheng and Ho Ling returned, as if on cue.
The first thing the couple did after coming home was knock on Guan Yingtang’s door. She opened it pretending to be calm. “Daddy, Mommy, you’re back so early?”
Ho Ling examined her daughter’s face. Her cheeks were flushed and looked healthy, not sick. “What happened?”
“Nothing, I just felt a little stuffy then,” Guan Yingtang said. “Drank some water and felt better.”
“Good, get some rest.” Guan Zhiheng crossed his arms and was about to leave but suddenly remembered something and turned back. “Did Young Master Meng send you home? Did you two talk?”
Guan Yingtang: “…” Didn’t talk. But we did other things.
She coughed lightly. “The rain was too heavy, we just said a few words and left.”
Guan Zhiheng frowned. “Strange. Then why didn’t he return to the hotel?”
“Alright, alright,” Ho Ling interrupted their father-daughter talk. “Maybe the rain blocked the roads. The weather was really bad today. He came all the way from Beicheng— he’s already been very polite.”
Guan Zhiheng considered it and didn’t ask further.
After their parents’ figures disappeared down the hallway, Guan Yingtang exhaled, closed the door, and lay back on the bed.
The lingering warmth hadn’t faded; Meng Qinghuai’s scorching kisses seemed to ripple over her skin.
She closed her eyes and recalled what he said in the car.
“Be your true self, and you will naturally attract those who truly appreciate you.”
Guan Yingtang had more than once imagined what it would be like if one day she could cast off the restraints her parents and family placed on her and live freely— doing everything she liked, wearing what she liked, putting on the lipstick she liked. Living passionately and as she wished.
She used to only think about this occasionally, but today, after Meng Qinghuai tore open that gap, she suddenly felt a bit of courage to try.
He said he appreciated the real her. Would he?
But he hadn’t even seen her true self yet.
A man’s lips, besides kissing her, didn’t always say what was true.
Her body was exhausted after the intense activity. She fumbled on the bed for a while before falling into a deep sleep. She set the alarm and woke promptly at 8 the next morning.
Guan Zhiheng sat on the sofa and was pleased to see her come downstairs, thinking her routine was still regular. “Just in time, the morning news is about to start. Come watch with me.”
Guan Yingtang paused by her father’s side, hesitated, and for the first time refused him. “Daddy, I don’t want to watch.”
Guan Zhiheng: “?”
Guan Yingtang said, “I have an appointment with a friend. I’ll talk to you later.”
After his daughter left, Guan Zhiheng held his tea cup, snapping back to reality. After a moment, he slammed the cup down on the table, displeased. “Went out and came back, and your heart’s gone wild!”
–
Guan Yingtang headed straight to the airport.
Meng Qinghuai was returning to Beicheng today. A few minutes ago, they had confirmed via WeChat to meet in the VIP lounge of the business terminal.
That was also the place where they initially finalized their marriage plans.
Meng Qinghuai used the excuse of making a phone call and let his parents board the plane first. Soon after, Guan Yingtang skillfully found her way to him.
Closing the door, Guan Yingtang pulled off her mask and jumped onto Meng Qinghuai, planting a few kisses before asking, “Did your parents ask you anything after they got back last night?”
Meng Songnian of course asked, but in a strange way, saying, “I didn’t expect you’d forget Miss Yi so quickly.”
Otherwise, why would he be so eager to send Miss Guan home?
Meng Qinghuai didn’t bother replying to Meng Songnian’s sarcasm. He said simply, “Mm, Miss Guan isn’t bad either.”
Meng Songnian’s face showed a complicated expression as if realizing he’d given birth to a scoundrel son.
……
“I don’t want you to leave.” Guan Yingtang hugged Meng Qinghuai.
Meng Qinghuai kissed her. “Two days.”
He had carefully reviewed his work last night and estimated the soonest he could finish, reassuring Guan Yingtang, “Wait for me for two days.”
Guan Yingtang paused, suddenly looking into Meng Qinghuai’s eyes. “Then you wait for me for two days too.”
Meng Qinghuai: “Hmm?”
“See you in two days. Hopefully, I can give you a surprise.”
Meng Qinghuai had no idea what surprise she meant. He guessed maybe a gift? Dinner? Or some other novelty.
But what he never expected was that two days later, the major media outlets in Hong Kong would be shaken—
“First Daughter of the Guan Family spotted at the Runma Ground Racecourse, shocking everyone by completely changing her usual refined lady image!”