Chapter Ninety-Four: It Lights Up at the Sight of You

Mai Xijun did not move. Shen Yanlie’s motions were slow, stripped of their earlier arrogance and wild defiance. It was as though he were appraising a work of exquisite beauty, then drawing that precious thing he cherished so dearly into his arms. In that instant, he seemed to possess the whole world, filled to the brim with contentment and fulfillment.

Within that embrace. His warmth. So close. That familiar scent. That familiar heartbeat. He was still himself. Only now, he needed her more than ever. She was the pillar beneath him, using her slender arms to hold up his entire world, never allowing him to fall...

Quietly, time passed, and no one knew how long.

Yu Wen Si rose to his feet and walked to the bedroom door, only to find Shen Yanlie and Mai Xijun still wrapped in each other’s arms, tender and loving, lost in mutual devotion.

Still, for the two of them, so long as nothing went wrong, loving one another and leaning on each other through life would be something enough to inspire envy in anyone who saw them.

It was just that, deep in their bones, they were both far too stubborn. Stubborn in loving an object, stubborn in loving a person. If all was well, everything would flow smoothly. If not, it would be a collision of worlds, a clash of fire and thunder.

“Hey, I’m done eating. You two carry on. I’m heading out first.” Yu Wen Si knocked on the door, a faintly ambiguous smile curving his lips. He did not care to be the third wheel. So, without waiting for Shen Yanlie and Mai Xijun to answer, he turned and left on his own.

Mai Xijun’s cheeks were flushed red. She listened as Yu Wen Si walked out of the house, his footsteps fading farther and farther away. When Shen Yanlie finally loosened his hold on her, she no longer dared lift her head to look at him. She was sure her face must have been burning scarlet.

“Lift your head. Look at me.”

Shen Yanlie gripped her shoulders with both hands. This time, unlike his usual domineering chill, he did not seize her chin and force her into submission.

Mai Xijun’s thoughts were in a tangle. Her heart beat wildly, flustered and uneasy. She gently bit her lower lip, and that small motion did not escape Shen Yanlie’s eyes. Why did this woman love biting her lips so much? And why did he, of all things, like her exactly as she was now?

“Why should I look at you?” Mai Xijun raised her eyelashes, pretending indifference, unwilling to lose ground. She asked it naturally and without much ceremony. Yet her cheeks betrayed everything she felt.

“When you want to understand someone’s heart, look into their eyes. They will tell you everything.”

Shen Yanlie spoke slowly, his deep, mellow voice rich with magnetism. Every word carried a slight nasality from the fever, and the sound of it was enough to make one feel undone.

His dark eyes, black as obsidian, looked straight at her, as if he meant to call her soul and spirit to him.

“What do you want me to see clearly?” Mai Xijun asked with a silly little grin. She pressed her lips together, then tentatively poked the left side of Shen Yanlie’s chest with the tip of her right index finger, right over his heart.

“Do you want me to see this?” she teased, mimicking his usual manner. The look on her face made Shen Yanlie laugh softly from the bottom of his heart. His warm breath brushed over Mai Xijun’s forehead, a little ticklish, quietly stirring her.

Mai Xijun’s smile clearly froze for a moment, then slowly dimmed and settled. Yet she still did not dare look at Shen Yanlie. Her gaze lowered shyly to his chest, watching the rise and fall of his breathing as it grew a little more urgent.

But his endurance and self-control had always been excellent. Even now, in such a beautiful moment, with so many ambiguous currents growing in the air and within his body, he remained calm and unhurried.

What’s more, he knew perfectly well that Mai Xijun simply could not yet face the sincerity of her own feelings for him. And still, he wanted to tease her. He could not resist the urge to flirt, and in the end he still gave in to using force again. His long fingers pinched her chin, compelling her to lift her head and meet his eyes.

“Don’t be afraid of me.”

Those eagle-sharp eyes fixed on her with piercing intensity, though the cold pride and gloom that had marked their first meeting were gone. At this moment, he seemed to be drawing closer to her with all his strength, persuading her to come nearer. Each simple word was an open confession of his heart.

“I’m not afraid of you. Who said I was afraid of you?” Mai Xijun forced out the words, though her confidence was not quite enough. She lifted her brows slightly, concealing the tender feeling that had begun to rise in her heart.

In truth, she was afraid of him. He had been born with the air of a king, that unruly, exceptional, unfathomable presence seeming to come from birth itself. She was not an ignorant little girl. She had seen too much since childhood, and so for a long time she had viewed him from afar, too intimidated to be as intimate as she might have liked.

Every time he fell silent, she would feel an inexplicable fear. It was not something of a day or two, but a feeling that had existed from the very beginning.

Still, she understood. If she wanted to know him, if she wanted to see his heart clearly, then she could not be afraid of him.

Shen Yanlie could not deny it: the curve of his lips was one he had not worn in many years. He could not remember how long it had been since he had smiled like this, so warmly, so tenderly. But he knew it was this woman before him who had granted him a new life. In her, he saw not only youth and energy and vitality, but also the unwillingness deep in her heart to yield or compromise. How like him that was. It was as if, merely by looking at her, he could see himself.

Only, she lived far more easily than he ever had.

With light fingers, Shen Yanlie stroked Mai Xijun’s hair at her temples, his thumb brushing the outer edge of her brows and the corner of her eyes, as though he meant to carve her features deeply into his memory, never to forget them.

This woman had awakened in him a longing to care for and protect. She always looked so strong on the outside, yet she could also be terribly fragile. She did not know how to take care of herself, and yet she struggled to live as well as she possibly could.

She had taught him what it meant to cherish, to feel tenderness, to ache with a desire to protect.

In truth, Mai Xijun’s feelings toward Shen Yanlie were much the same. Once the halo of the CEO was stripped away, he was, in essence, just like her: a child who would rather hide alone in a dim inner world than ever take a single step outward. Even when lonely and abandoned, he would still not bring himself to seek too much contact with the outside world.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re beautiful?” Shen Yanlie asked suddenly.

Just then, as the two of them gazed at one another, wrapped in tenderness and affection, with soft emotions flowing between them, he spoke.

It sounded teasing, the corners of his mouth still holding that lovely curve, his eyes flashing with an indistinct and dazzling light.

Mai Xijun’s face flushed instantly. Her entire body seemed to radiate a hot, surging heat. Shen Yanlie’s words, whether teasing, joking, or sincere, were far too seductive and far too lethal for her.

Under a man’s sweet talk and honeyed words, women were usually powerless to resist. Especially a man like him, wrapped in brilliance and allure. A single compliment seemed able to lift a person’s heart to its highest peak, floating and unreal, yet somehow unmistakably true.

“Mm? Why aren’t you answering? Are you shy?”

Shen Yanlie resumed his playful teasing, though this teasing was different from before. In some unseen place, something was growing within him, running wild, muddling all his sight, hearing, nerves, and every cell in his body.

Mai Xijun puffed out her cheeks. “You’re very handsome too,” she said with a foolish smile, her choice of words blunt, yet somehow pale and helpless. Her laughter was awkward and embarrassed, and she deliberately glanced away.

That sent Shen Yanlie into hearty laughter. This little woman was becoming more and more adorable, more and more fun.

“What are you laughing at?” Mai Xijun flushed again, baffled and indignant. This man was becoming more and more wicked, more and more outrageous. Besides, his good looks and promising future were things everyone acknowledged openly; no one dared question his appearance. He was so outstanding. Her little compliment, she thought, must have sounded weak beyond belief, which was why it set him laughing so.

“Nothing.” Shen Yanlie pulled her into his arms by the waist. “Come here, darling. Let me tell you what love is, and what it means to burn.”

His body was hot against hers, fitting tightly to her own. Never once had he felt so powerfully intent on possessing someone, so domineering in wanting every second, every inch, every fraction of her.

Mai Xijun pressed both hands weakly against his chest, the only sound escaping her a muffled protest. Her lips were captured by his rough, forceful kiss, their breath and warmth mingling as he claimed her mouth.

“Shen Yanlie... you... you’re still sick.” Mai Xijun frowned, pushing at him, though she had no strength in her body at all. It was as if, once he touched her, he could no longer bear to let go. And as if, once she touched him, she too would find herself unable to resist him again.

“Mm? Does being sick have anything to do with what we’re about to do?” Shen Yanlie asked with a faintly puzzled expression, brows drawing together. His handsome features were devastatingly attractive, and he deliberately misread her meaning. But in truth, he understood perfectly well. He knew she was worried about him. And still, he could not help wanting to tease her.

The more time Shen Yanlie spent with Mai Xijun, the more he discovered himself becoming wicked. He wanted to see that shy look on her face when she lowered her eyes, flustered by his teasing. It was all fresh and thrilling, stirring every feeling and every desire within him.

Mai Xijun pouted. “I mean...”

“Do you want to touch it and see?” Shen Yanlie interrupted her before she could finish, lifting a brow. His elegant phoenix eyes watched her with open mischief as he took her wrist and slowly guided her hand downward toward himself.

“It knows you. Every time it sees you, it gets very happy.” In the end, he still said it with perfect composure.