Chapter 102: Do You Still Not Plan to Give Me a Proper Place at Your Side?

She spoke in anger, but with absolute certainty, without the slightest trace of guilt.

Even though Cheng Xingye had never said so with his own mouth, the thing he had kept for so many years was plainly hers.

If Ye Zixuan could be declared his one true cherished memory, why should the real owner of the missing item not be allowed the same?

Xu Qian had not expected a girl so young to be so sharp-tongued. Taken off guard, she froze for a moment.

Shamed and irritated, she was left speechless by a girl younger than herself, her face flushing scarlet with embarrassment. Before she could think of a rebuttal, Lu Qingyue simply turned and walked away, leaving her no chance to strike back.

Lu Qingyue was furious and wronged in equal measure. She did not want to return to the living room and force a smile for the guests, so she intended to go upstairs and calm herself down.

Unexpectedly, after only a few steps, she ran straight into Cheng Xingye at the turn of the stairs.

She did not know when he had come looking for her, nor whether he had overheard what she had just said to Xu Qian.

Her mood was terrible now, and all her resentment was written plainly across her face. She could not even be bothered to greet him; instead, she turned her body away in a huff and went straight upstairs.

Cheng Xingye reached out and caught her arm. "Dian-dian..."

At first Lu Qingyue shook off his hand and kept her head down as she went upstairs. But after only a couple of steps, grievance suddenly surged in her chest. Her eyes grew hot, and tears dropped with a soft patter.

The shadow behind her hurried after her in long strides, gripping her shoulders and turning her to face him.

The moment she turned around, Cheng Xingye suddenly froze.

The girl’s eyes were brimming with tears, the corners of her eyes and the tip of her nose bright red. The anger from moments ago had all at once turned into hurt and grievance. She stared at him through a veil of tears and asked bitterly, her voice trembling with tears:

"Why is there always someone trying to make me sick on my birthday?"

Last year on this very day, the Ye family’s engagement news had broken. This year on this very day, it was being dragged up again.

Lu Qingyue was seething, yet the tears kept falling uncontrollably, drop after drop.

Cheng Xingye had never seen her cry like this before. Panic flashed through him at once, and he gathered her into his arms in some helpless confusion.

Once someone cared, grievance found its outlet.

Lu Qingyue was not really the type to cry, but Cheng Xingye’s embrace seemed to flip a switch inside her, and she could no longer hold back her emotions.

Stiffly held in his arms, her eyes red, she cried until she was a tear-streaked mess. With a heavy, nasal sob, she murmured:

"When I was seventeen it was like this, and at eighteen it is still like this. I never want to have another birthday again..."

Cheng Xingye pressed his lips together.

The light from the wall sconce slanted down, casting its glow at their feet.

Below, muffled laughter and conversation drifted up, and somewhere in it seemed to mingle Lu Yi’s teasing scolding of Chen Shujie.

Yet with only a few meters between them, it felt as though they were sealed away from that bustle. All they had was the person before them, and the little world formed by the circle of light around them.

Cheng Xingye bent slightly as he held her, lifted a hand to wipe the tears from the corner of her eye, and soothed her in a low voice:

"I’ll spend your birthdays with you from now on."

Lu Qingyue sniffled, gave a muffled little hum, blinked, and another tear slipped down.

Looking at the vacant, unfocused look in her eyes, Cheng Xingye felt both heartache and helplessness.

He had only known that a girl might cry when she was vulnerable; he had not expected that once she did, even his own heart would begin to ache and sting along with hers.

Lowering his head slightly, he once again wiped away her tears.

His roughened palm was warm and comforting, soothing the resentment and frustration in her chest.

Lu Qingyue lowered her head and let him wipe her tears away. Yet in her heart, she could not help thinking, unconvincingly, that since he treated her so well, how could there possibly be anyone else hidden in it?

At that thought, her heart softened, and she stubbornly wanted to hear him confirm it once more with his own mouth. So, no longer bothering to dry the tears at the corners of her eyes, she lifted her head and looked into his bright eyes.

"You won’t have another cherished first love, will you?"

Suddenly a burst of jeering and squealing rose from downstairs.

The noisy sounds floated upward, as though through a layer of mist, making everything faint and unreal.

Tears still clung to Lu Qingyue’s eyes as she dazedly watched his sharply defined features draw closer.

His warm breath, threaded with a faint hint of sea salt, brushed lightly across her chin.

His eyes lowered as he looked at her with quiet steadiness, and beneath them settled an indescribable softness and smile. In a low, slow voice, he answered her:

"Didn’t you just say it? If I were to have a cherished first love, it would only be you."

Lu Qingyue froze.

Hearing him confirm it herself, her feelings were somehow calmer than she had imagined. It was as though she had already known that would be the answer, yet her heartbeat still betrayed her by quietly quickening.

She stared up at him in a daze, as if she could not quite process the meaning of his words. A thin veil of moisture spread in her eyes, and her youthful, lovely face tilted up slightly. She looked like a little rabbit that had reacted too slowly.

Seeing her blank expression, Cheng Xingye curved his lips with amusement and slowly bent down, meeting her gaze at very close range.

"If you keep looking at me so pitifully, should I take advantage of the moment and do something?"

His clear eyes were as clean in the night as a river of stars, fixed on her without blinking.

Guessing what he meant, Lu Qingyue’s heartbeat grew even more violent, though outwardly she remained calm. Suppressing the tremor in her heart, she looked into his eyes and asked softly,

"What do you want to do?"

The air grew warm and stifling, and time seemed to lengthen.

Lu Qingyue saw clearly how he tilted his head slightly, his nose so close it almost touched hers.

But their breathing had only tangled for an instant before he withdrew a little, his dark eyes heavy with desire, restrained yet hard to endure as he stared at her.

The kiss she had expected never fell.

Cheng Xingye lifted a hand and very lightly touched her lips. The tips of his fingers were slightly rough, like fine sandpaper, bringing an unfamiliar and subtle sensation where they brushed her skin.

His throat tightened. Pinching her chin, he tipped her face up slightly and said hoarsely:

"I don’t want to do anything crossing the line before we’ve confirmed our relationship anymore."

Lu Qingyue’s heartbeat skipped.

Though she knew exactly what he was about to say, she still obediently lifted her face, letting his fingertip rub over her lips once, neither lightly nor heavily.

The distance between them was almost nonexistent.

Laughter and playful commotion drifted up from downstairs from time to time. Yet Lu Qingyue felt as though he had placed her on a distant cloudbank, where the only thing she could hear was his voice.

"Lu Qingyue." He lowered his brow and eyes, and suddenly called her in a low voice.

That deep, husky, magnetic tone made her heart give a silent jolt.

She looked at his sharp, clear features and answered blankly, "Huh?"

The wall sconce cast a warm yellow light. Its glow fell across his face, as though draping his features in a thin, translucent veil.

His heated gaze burned into her, yet his posture was like that of a devout believer bowing before his deity.

Against the moonlight, he asked with unusual directness and seriousness:

"By tonight, you’ll be eighteen. Are you still not planning to give me a proper place by your side?"