As we basked in the glory of our win, our group hug on stage still felt like a dream. Mrs. Chen's eyes sparkled with a hint of moisture, her voice trembling with pride. "I'm so proud of you all," she said, her words dripping with sincerity.
As we made our way off the stage, Zhiyu's hand found mine, his fingers intertwining with my own in a gentle caress. "How are you feeling?" he asked, his voice low and husky. Before I could respond, he gently tugged on my hand, leading me away from the cheering crowd and out of the auditorium. We stepped into the quiet hallway, the sudden silence a stark contrast to the chaos we'd just left behind. Zhiyu's eyes locked onto mine, his gaze burning with intensity. "I wanted to get you out of there for a minute," he whispered, his breath sending shivers down my spine. "I needed to be alone with you."
I smiled, a tiny, tentative smile. "I'm doing great," I replied, my voice barely above a whisper. "As you can see, I'm still alive."
Zhiyu's eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled, his face radiating warmth. He took a step closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. "I've been wanting to tell you something," he said, his words hanging in the air like a promise. "But I could never find the right words."
My heart skipped a beat as I met his gaze, my soul reaching out to his. "Today is the day I saw you for the first time," he continued, his voice weaving a spell around me. "You were talking to that stray cat, and I was captivated by your kindness. And when I came to Granny's house, I wanted to tell you how I felt, but the words got stuck in my throat."
Zhiyu's eyes burned with intensity, his voice dropping to a whisper. "And when we went on that trip, I wanted to tell you again, but I was too scared. But today, I'm not scared. Today, I want to tell you that... "
I bite back a frustrated sigh and look at him. Really look at him, at the rare hints of uncertainty mixed with amusement in his elegant features, at the slight part of his lips, the scorching black of his eyes. Dimly, I remember myself thinking not too long ago that we could never kiss. Something about stubbornness. Something about discipline. I
remember thinking a month ago about how much I hated him, how I couldn't bear to even be in the same room as him.
"You know what? I'm just going to go ahead with it," I decide out loud.
Zhiyu freezes and stares at me as if I'm speaking another language.
"With what?" "This".
I draw in a sharp breath. Focus on his lips.
Then, before I can lose my nerve, I seize zhang zhiyu's collar and kiss him. Or rather, I sort of smash my face against his, which is exactly as smooth and romantic as it sounds. I don't even have time to register how it feels when he jerks his head back with a muffled yelp.
I release him, mortified, and see him raising one finger to the corner of his mouth, a stunned expression on his face. Both his lips and ears are tinged red. "Mei. You just bit me."
Well, shit.
"I-I'm so sorry," I babble, fighting the urge to flee to the other end of the universe. Oh my god. Why did I just do that? What was I thinking? Why am I even alive right now? "I swear I wasn't-It didn't-" I break off when I see Zhiyu double over, his shoulders shaking. For one horrifying, heart-stopping moment, I'm scared I might've actually caused some severe tissue damage.
Then I realize that he's laughing. All my concern boils into indignation. "It's not funny," I protest, my cheeks hot, my voice coming out embarrassingly shrill.
"This-this was meant to be a very serious, touching moment, and you were meant to fall desperately in love with me on the spot
and discover how good I am-"
The rest of my words die on my tongue as Henry straightens, laughter still dancing in his eyes, cups my face in one hand, and presses his lips against mine.
This time, I do register the kiss, everything from the warmth of his skin to the brush of his lashes when he closes his eyes
and- Wow.
It's nothing like the way they describe it in the movies, like all the stars aligning and fireworks exploding across an ink-black sky. It feels both quieter and bigger than that, as simple as coming home and as dizzying and
all-encompassing as the wind rushing in around us. It feels like a thousand banished and buried moments have been building up to this-to us alone and untethered and weak with wanting-and maybe they have.
A low, embarrassing sound escapes the base of my throat.
Zhiyu responds by leaning deeper into the kiss, and the world goes hazy. All I can think about is his lips, so devastatingly soft on mine, and his hands, now firm around the back of my neck, tangling deep in the roots of
my hair...
There's a slight chance that he's better at this than I am.
Just this once, I'll let him have it...
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