Chapter 66: This Time, It’s Reserved for You

Lu Qingyue had a piece of shrimp between her lips when he suddenly took her hand under the table. Her heart gave a startled leap, and she instinctively turned her head to look at him.

There were still others sitting across from them.

And yet, he dared to secretly hold her hand beneath the table, right here in plain sight. There was a sense of forbidden thrill, a clandestine tryst in the most dangerous of places.

Cheng Xingye met her gaze, his expression calm and untroubled, a faint, effortless smile on his lips.

“Are you full?” he asked.

Lu Qingyue nodded, trying to withdraw her hand, but he didn’t let go.

She stole another glance at him, her mind spinning—what is he doing!

Cheng Xingye held her palm, neither too tightly nor too loosely, utterly indifferent to the world around them. He leaned in slightly, his voice low and tinged with laughter as he asked, “Did you wipe your mouth?”

Lu Qingyue shot him a defiant glare—who was he mocking for not wiping their mouth after eating?

Cheng Xingye laughed soundlessly, his eyes filled with indulgence and affection.

Their gazes intertwined, invisible undercurrents flowing between them, an intimacy too subtle for words.

Sitting opposite them, Xu Qian’s forced smile was beginning to crack.

Suddenly, she regretted her decision to come join their table.

As she stewed in her chagrin, the man across from her stood up.

Cheng Xingye naturally reached for Lu Qingyue’s backpack, greeting them with polite detachment, “We’re finished, so we’ll be leaving first.”

Xu Qian’s feelings were a tangled mess, but she kept up a façade of polite civility. “Alright, see you.”

“See you,” Cheng Xingye replied.

When Cheng Xingye and the young woman had walked away, Li Jing nudged Xu Qian’s arm in disbelief, whispering, “What’s the meaning of this? Is Cheng Xingye actually pursuing Lu Yi’s little sister?”

From Cheng Xingye’s actions just now, it was obvious he was very familiar with Lu Yi’s sister. Perhaps they were already... Li Jing didn’t dare finish the thought.

Xu Qian had no desire to discuss it.

Her hand holding the chopsticks tightened slightly. Her mood was out of sorts, yet she forced herself to maintain her composure, murmuring excuses for herself, “How could that be? Wasn’t he still seeing Ye Zixuan not long ago…”

Until she met Lu Qingyue, only Ye Zixuan had ever made her feel a real sense of threat.

She’d known Cheng Xingye for four years now. Though everyone said he was a playboy, she knew he always kept the perfect distance from any woman.

Only Ye Zixuan was different. Ye Zixuan was beautiful and radiant, and her family had old ties with the Chengs. At every gathering where Ye Zixuan was present, she was always tacitly assumed to be Cheng Xingye’s future other half.

At first, Xu Qian hadn’t understood. But later, when Chen Shujie and the others teased him, calling Ye Zixuan his “first love,” she’d been taken aback.

First love—the one a man can never truly forget.

Xu Qian’s secret hopes sank to the bottom.

If Ye Zixuan really was Cheng Xingye’s first love, then even setting aside his feelings for her, Xu Qian could never hope to match her in looks or background.

Just as she’d placed Ye Zixuan as her most formidable rival, she never expected a young, innocent girl would appear out of nowhere.

Recalling how Cheng Xingye and that girl had exchanged those intimate looks just now, Xu Qian lost all appetite. She set her chopsticks down with a clatter.

Li Jing, reading the mood, quietly tried to comfort her, “Men like him are only out to have some fun. Don’t worry too much…”

Xu Qian didn’t reply.

If he was just playing around, that would be fine.

At least then, she still had a chance.

...

The shopping mall came alive as night fell.

When they’d gone upstairs earlier, the elevator had only the two of them. Now, on the way down, it was packed tight as a can of sardines.

As soon as they entered, Cheng Xingye pulled her close, angling his body to shield her with his broad shoulders and back, carving out a little space for her amid the crowd.

Lu Qingyue leaned against the elevator wall, his solid chest right before her eyes.

His familiar scent wrapped around her, filling her with an inexplicable sense of being protected.

Lu Qingyue quietly looked up.

From her angle, she could just make out the sharp lines of his Adam’s apple.

He looked cool and aloof, hard to approach, yet his protective gesture felt utterly natural.

When they finally reached the basement, they left the elevator, found the car, and got in.

Cheng Xingye was about to lean over and fasten her seatbelt when she suddenly spoke.

“Cheng Xingye, you want me to be faithful to you. But what about you? Will you be the same for me?”

Cheng Xingye wondered what kind of question that was.

Without looking up, he pulled the seatbelt across her, fastening it with practiced ease. Then he met her eyes, serene and direct, and instead of answering, he asked, “Wasn’t my behavior just now satisfactory enough for you?”

Lu Qingyue looked at his face, so close to hers, and her breath quickened. But she forced herself to meet his gaze, chin raised in defiance.

“Why should I be satisfied? If you could cheat right in front of me, then I’d admit you’re something.”

Cheng Xingye saw her proud little face raised high, and tilted his head, laughing softly, “I don’t have that kind of skill.”

He thought to himself, you’ve already got me wrapped around your little finger—how could I possibly have any tricks left?

But Lu Qingyue refused to let it go. Her slender arms lifted to cup his face, turning him back to look at her.

“You still haven’t answered me,” she insisted, pouting, determined to make him give her a clear answer. “One can’t live by double standards. You can’t be lenient with yourself and strict with others. I just want to know—can you be faithful to me?”

Challenged, he lowered his eyes; in those dark, clear pupils, only her reflection lingered.

In the quiet car, there was nothing but the soft sound of their breathing and the gradually quickening beat of their hearts.

Someone walked past outside, shadows flickering across the windshield, breaking the stillness for a moment before darkness settled again.

Lu Qingyue continued to watch him, waiting for a definite answer.

Cheng Xingye studied the unwavering look in her eyes, the corners of his thin lips curving faintly.

“Lu Little Dot,” he said, his voice tinged with laughter, yet utterly earnest, not a trace of evasion or jest.

“When I made that request of you, I believe there was more to my words.”

Lu Qingyue raised her eyes at the sound of his voice, her heart threatening to leap out of her chest.

She remembered his exact words; every syllable was carved into her memory.

But what did that have to do with his ability to be faithful?

As she puzzled it over, gazing at him in confusion, Cheng Xingye paused for a moment.

His Adam’s apple shifted as he swallowed, and his tone turned unusually solemn.

“I said, I will only fall in love once in my life.”

In the ambiguous half-light, he fixed her with a steady gaze, his voice low and clear.

“This one time is for you.”