Out of complete trust in Meng Qinghuai’s gentlemanly upbringing, Guan Yingtang never doubted the emptiness of his photo album back then.
It was just some unflattering drunk photos. Guan Yingtang couldn’t think of any reason to keep them, let alone use them as a screensaver in such a perverted way.
Having been tricked into a kiss for nothing, Guan Yingtang was utterly speechless. Unable to snatch the phone away, she silently sulked.
After a pause, as if struck by an idea, she suddenly changed her attitude completely, “Then I’ll exchange 100 kisses with you.”
Meng Qinghuai glanced at her, “100? That’ll take a while.”
Guan Yingtang had her own plan. She deliberately sat on Meng Qinghuai, “No matter how long.”
Before she finished speaking, she kissed Meng Qinghuai again. This time it was even more passionate than before.
She imitated the way he kissed her, her lips and tongue teasingly sucking on his lips.
At first, Meng Qinghuai returned the kiss absentmindedly, but soon he took the initiative.
Their kiss deepened and intertwined. Guan Yingtang’s hands slipped from around Meng Qinghuai’s neck to hold his, deliberately guiding his hand to her waist.
Suddenly, a large palm pressed against her bare skin. Guan Yingtang clearly felt Meng Qinghuai’s kiss grow heavier.
She subtly matched his rhythm, her peripheral vision catching sight of the phone he had set down. After a while, taking advantage of a momentary breath, she quietly reached out.
The phone was so close.
Just as she was about to grab it, Meng Qinghuai suddenly and calmly grasped her wrist.
Guan Yingtang’s body stiffened.
“Kissing requires focus.” His warm breath whispered near her ear, and he lightly bit her earlobe—half punishment, half command— “Hold me tighter.”
“……”
Guan Yingtang instinctively shrank her body, still dazed, unable to pull her hand back.
She wrapped her arms around his neck again. Her breath was stolen once more as she kissed him longer. Meng Qinghuai held her as he stood and headed upstairs.
Guan Yingtang wanted to speak but had no chance; her red lips parted slightly, accepting the man’s deep kisses one after another.
Closing her eyes, she wondered if she was just another prey who threw herself at him.
When they returned to the bedroom, both silently accepted what was about to happen. The clothes left undone in the car were strewn messily from the doorway all the way to the bed.
Two figures deeply sunk into the mattress.
Meng Qinghuai circled one arm tightly around Guan Yingtang’s waist, his other hand slowly exploring further. His husky voice echoed by her ear.
He said nothing else, but that low murmur alone flushed Guan Yingtang’s cheeks crimson.
She didn’t understand why she was so sensitive; just a kiss seemed to flood through her nerves like a rising tide.
Yet Meng Qinghuai fanned the flames even more.
He deliberately kissed her slowly, his burning lips and tongue wandering every inch of her skin.
The sounds of their lustful kisses seemed amplified countless times in the utterly silent bedroom, assaulting Guan Yingtang’s eardrums.
Helplessly, she tilted her head to gaze at the ceiling, feeling her nerves melt into a puddle, powerless to resist any of his movements.
He sealed her lips again. Guan Yingtang let out a soft “Mmm,” all the tones reduced to faint whimpers as her body unconsciously moved closer.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang abruptly.
They were still lost in their kiss. Meng Qinghuai’s tongue continued teasing the sensitive spots inside her mouth until the bell rang a second time.
Guan Yingtang seemed to regain some clarity, hurriedly pushing the man’s shoulder away.
“…Is it Uncle Zhi bringing the ointment?” she asked breathlessly.
Meng Qinghuai nuzzled her neck, calming down for a few seconds, then reached for his phone and called He Yongzhi.
Sure enough, it was Uncle Zhi at the door.
The lights downstairs were still on, but after ringing the bell for a while with no answer, Uncle Zhi hesitated, ointment for burns in hand, unsure whether to call Meng Qinghuai.
Then the young master answered on his own.
“Leave it at the door,” Meng Qinghuai’s voice was low.
Uncle Zhi responded with an “Oh,” thinking nothing else and kindly asked, “Was Miss Yi burned?”
The call ended.
Uncle Zhi: “…?”
Guan Yingtang actually did have some slight burns now.
The interruption only intensified the man’s desire. The warmth pressing against her inner thigh grew closer.
When he came back for another kiss, his breathing was heavier.
Because of the brief pause, Guan Yingtang sobered up a bit.
She hooked her hands around his neck and, while looking up to meet his gaze, tried to negotiate, “…After we’re done, can you delete those photos?”
Unexpectedly, Meng Qinghuai didn’t even bother pretending. He said plainly, “I don’t want to delete them.”
Confused, Guan Yingtang raised her wet eyes, “Why keep those unflattering photos?”
Meng Qinghuai held back, lowered his head, and teased gently with his teeth and tongue, “That was my first photo with you.”
“……”
Guan Yingtang felt as if he had lightly bitten her, but it didn’t hurt—it felt pleasant, making her vision blur and her limbs go weak.
The first photo together.
If he said it like that—
But—
Guan Yingtang suddenly blurted out, “But they’re unflattering. I was drunk that day and looked awful.”
“You looked adorable when you were drunk.”
“……”
God knows how many times Meng Qinghuai had looked over those photos.
Meng Qinghuai was used to hiding and restraining his desires.
Living strictly by the rules, he never thought that the orderly world he constrained himself to would one day crack.
That drunken woman holding him, clinging to him, acting coy and silly— such a thing was never allowed in his world.
But he saw it. He accepted it. He played along to the fullest.
That new marriage night, which he hadn’t planned for at all, instead became a fresh, vivid memory.
Why delete those moments, each frame belonging to him and Guan Yingtang?
Every time Meng Qinghuai looked at those photos, at the woman with red eyes and nose from that night, he always thought of making her drunk again.
He would definitely kiss that adorable side of her once more.
……
Guan Yingtang was coaxed into a daze, “Really?”
“Yeah.” Meng Qinghuai’s hips pressed down slightly with force, “You even sang that night.”
Guan Yingtang couldn’t help but utter a sound, her mind seeming to drift away for a few seconds, completely unaware of what Meng Qinghuai was saying.
When she gradually snapped back, her whole body stiffened, “What did you say…”
Meng Qinghuai’s temple veins twitched at her unconscious reaction.
“Nothing.” He covered her mouth, not wanting her to speak more.
But Guan Yingtang was already fully awake and unwilling to be brushed off. She deliberately tried to pull away. Seeing her struggle, Meng Qinghuai firmly held her slender ankle.
Her voice grew louder, and Guan Yingtang seemed to lose all strength, lying passively.
Though she didn’t resist in bed, the thought that she had actually sung drunk that night, and that Meng Qinghuai had already seen those scenes but pretended ignorance, made her indignant.
Between breaths, she whimpered, “Don’t think you’re so noble.”
Meng Qinghuai buried his head, ignoring her.
Guan Yingtang bit her lip, “You buying a whole box of condoms is so exaggerated. You actually wanted to sleep with me all along, didn’t you?”
Meng Qinghuai: “……”
He froze for a moment, “What?”
Just as he spoke, he realized what Guan Yingtang meant and suddenly smiled.
“So you didn’t fall asleep that night and saw everything, huh?”
Guan Yingtang felt a little victorious at exposing him, proudly raising her head, “If you dared to buy them, you weren’t worried anyone would find out.”
Meng Qinghuai stroked her face, brushing damp hair from her forehead, then lowered his head to kiss her, “Tangtang, I always do things openly and honestly.”
Guan Yingtang looked at him, waiting for him to admit his perverted reason for buying a whole box of condoms.
What she didn’t realize was that her gaze unknowingly seduced him.
Meng Qinghuai paused for a second, then pulled Guan Yingtang forward to sit facing him.
Suddenly looking at each other like that, Guan Yingtang felt a bit shy, lowering her eyes as her face blushed deeply.
“Half of what you said is right.” Meng Qinghuai held her waist, his hands sliding up and down her spine.
“……”
“The condoms were a gift from my brother. His F1 race team sponsors provide condoms for the racers. Since he didn’t need them, he gave them to me as a wedding gift. I only took them home without knowing what they were.”
Guan Yingtang felt weak inside, her brain fuzzy.
He didn’t buy them?
…His brother gave them?
Wait, but he said half of what she said was right?
Her eyes filled with tears as she tried to recall what she just said.
—You buying a whole box of condoms is so exaggerated. You actually wanted to sleep with me all along.
Since the first half was denied, then the latter half…
“I did want to a long time ago, but Tangtang,” Meng Qinghuai kissed her, “Wanting to do that with my wife isn’t a sin.”
When she had teased him earlier, she had been flippant and carefree. Now that he openly admitted it, Guan Yingtang’s heart raced.
She met his eyes and suddenly felt a fiery heat spread through her body, melting every nerve into soft warmth.
She wanted him. She wanted to possess him.
She wanted to reciprocate all his love.
After a while, Guan Yingtang nodded.
She wrapped her hands tightly around Meng Qinghuai’s neck and said firmly, “Then let’s do it.”
……
Neither of them could remember who kissed whom first after that. When they stopped denying the desires in their hearts, they grew even closer and more invested.
The tender intimacy in the bedroom lasted for a very long time.
Not stopping until late into the night.
Guan Yingtang was set to return to Hong Kong Island in a week.
Her reason for returning early wasn’t just to accompany Guan Zhiheng for his birthday. It was also because He Zi, who had returned earlier, told Guan Yingtang that recently many rumors involving her had suddenly surfaced in Hong Kong, putting considerable pressure on her parents.
The incident started not long ago when Guan Zhiheng and Ho Ling appeared publicly at an event. A reporter asked why Guan Yingtang had disappeared from the public eye for months.
Though annoyed by his daughter’s rebellious disappearance, Guan Zhiheng still defended her for appearances, saying she was just on vacation with friends.
That same night, a gossip tabloid reported they had solid evidence that Miss Guan was taking a trip to clear her mind because a marriage alliance had fallen through.
Once that news broke, those socialite Misses eagerly found new gossip material.
After all, the day after Fu Shengyun’s birthday banquet, newspapers had reported a marriage alliance between the Fu and Meng families, exaggerating that the two young people were in love.
But months later, no news of a wedding made the whole thing seem like a publicity stunt.
Guan Zhiheng was a man of pride. His daughter had left home in rebellion, and he hadn’t spoken to her since. When pressured by the media, he only gave a dark glare and refused to comment.
After hearing all this from He Zi, Guan Yingtang was eager to return home and make her marriage with Meng Qinghuai public to quell the rumors.
But before leaving Beicheng, she still had one important task to complete.
On the weekend, Guan Yingtang met Jiang Kewei. Besides saying goodbye, she asked Jiang Kewei to help find an exquisite gift shop to wrap a present.
Jiang Kewei saw her holding a treasured book and asked, “Is this a birthday gift for your dad?”
Guan Yingtang pursed her lips and shook her head.
Seeing the dreamy look on her face, Jiang Kewei immediately guessed, “Got it, it’s for Meng Qinghuai.”
Thinking Guan Yingtang was sending books to cultivate a refined image as a literary young lady, Jiang Kewei clicked her tongue, “You’re about to return and discuss marriage—why keep pretending in front of him?”
“It’s not like that.” Guan Yingtang explained the origin of the book generously, “When we were in Barcelona, we just happened to meet the local Valentine’s Day tradition. That day, men give flowers to women, and women return the favor with a book.”
Jiang Kewei recalled the photo Guan Yingtang sent her in the middle of the night with roses and understood instantly, “So it’s mutual now?”
Guan Yingtang smiled sweetly, “I think so.”
Jiang Kewei frowned, “Think so?”
Guan Yingtang still had a little doubt.
Since arriving in Beicheng, she hadn’t shown Meng Qinghuai her truest self. Even though she had slipped up a few times, Meng Qinghuai never doubted her. Yet she sometimes wondered—
After they officially married, how should she face him?
Keep up the composed and elegant facade? Or be like now, swinging between prim and passionate?
But Guan Yingtang wanted his love one hundred percent.
“I slipped a photo inside the book,” Guan Yingtang said. “If he sees it and accepts it, then I won’t need to pretend around him anymore.”
Jiang Kewei was curious, “What photo?”
“You took it for me.” Guan Yingtang took it out from the book and showed her.
Jiang Kewei recognized it immediately. It was from her first year at university abroad, at a Christmas Eve yacht party in California where she had taken the picture of Guan Yingtang.
In the photo, Guan Yingtang wore a daring sequined mini dress, sparkling jewelry, bright and sexy, holding a champagne glass and looking at the camera amid a crowd of dancers.
Jiang Kewei instinctively flipped the photo over and saw delicate handwriting on the back:
“Freshman year, my coming-of-age celebration at a yacht party in California.”
When attending the duke’s daughter’s coming-of-age ceremony in Barcelona, Guan Yingtang had told Meng Qinghuai she disliked the one her parents held for her in Hong Kong and planned to make up for it herself.
When he asked what it was like, she didn’t answer.
The book was called ‘Dear Beloved’, with a dedication and date inscribed by the author at a signing.
“I feel like he’s different from others.” Guan Yingtang slipped the photo back into the book’s front page, took a deep breath, and said with certainty and hope,
“He will accept the real me.”
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