Kiss him

"You brat, am I that terrifying?" Lu Qing gave him a sideways glance. "Stop blocking the way, I want to see my future daughter-in-law."

Not only Jiang Ci, but Zhang Heyu was also startled by his mother's sudden remark.

She had never expected to run into Zhang Heyu's parents at this exact moment.

Zhang Heyu raised a hand to pat her head and whispered, "Don't be scared, my mom is actually very gentle."

Biting the bullet, Jiang Ci stepped out from behind Zhang Heyu. Feeling like a teenager caught in a puppy love romance, she found it hard to raise her head. "Hello, Auntie, hello, Uncle."

"No wonder Yaoyao and Xiaoyu both like you." Seeing the well-behaved and adorable young girl, Lu Qing was overjoyed and instantly fond of her. "If I were you, Auntie, I'd like you too."

Jiang Ci, who had originally intended to leave, was firmly kept by Lu Qing to sit and chat for quite a while. The conversation was casual, and whenever Lu Qing asked something, Jiang Ci gave answers that scored full marks.

Lu Qing was even more enthusiastic than Jiang Ci had imagined, as well as very gentle, exuding an aura deeply steeped in literature and culture.

His family, just like Zhang Heyu himself, treated her with extraordinary tenderness.

"All right, it's getting late. I'll take her back first." Zhang Heyu decisively interrupted their conversation.

Lu Qing glanced at the time; indeed, it was getting late, and it wouldn't be safe for her to go back alone at night. "Alright then. Jiang Ci, come over to Auntie's place for dinner next time. Auntie's cooking is quite decent."

"Okay, thank you, Auntie." Jiang Ci nodded, agreeing in a gentle voice.

Shifting her gaze, she saw Zhang Heyu standing at the entryway.

The two walked out the door together, and Zhang Heyu immediately took out his phone to hail a taxi to send the young lady home.

Zhang Heyu held her hand tightly, holding it the entire way. His hands were exceptionally warm, causing Jiang Ci to break out in a light sweat.

As they sat in the taxi heading towards Jiang Ci's home, Zhang Heyu suddenly rested his head on Jiang Ci's shoulder, his fluffy hair brushing against her cheek.

Looking down at their intertwined fingers, Zhang Heyu felt an inexplicable surge of deep unease and reluctance to part.

He had no idea where this bizarre, spontaneous feeling came from.

It made him feel deeply insecure.

It wasn't as if Zhang Heyu had never rested his head on Jiang Ci like this before, but this time she could sense that he seemed to have something on his mind.

"A-Yu, what's wrong?"

Zhang Heyu shook his head and said nothing.

After dropping Jiang Ci off at home, the two stood at the entrance of the residential compound. Jiang Ci stood on tiptoe, her lips curved into a smile, and with a pounding heartbeat, she lightly pressed her lips against Zhang Heyu's cheek.

For some reason, Jiang Ci suddenly wanted to take the initiative and kiss him.

The fragrance of osmanthus drifted into her nose, and the feel of his cheek was soft. Zhang Heyu froze for a fraction of a second.

"Goodnight, A-Yu."

Inside, Jiang Ci was actually extremely nervous. Not just holding hands, hugging, and kissing—even a simple mutual gaze would make her nervous.

After saying this, she turned and walked into the complex, only to suddenly hear the person behind her say, "Goodnight, A-Ci."

On the day before New Year's Eve, Jiang Nanyan returned.

Jiang Ci was still outside buying some groceries for her grandmother to eat over the holiday, purchasing them in advance to put in the fridge so her grandmother wouldn't have to make another tiring trip out.

When she got back home, she saw Jiang Nanyan sitting on the sofa, dressed in designer brands and radiating an air of wealth.

Jiang Nanyan was quite generous, handing Hu Chu several gift boxes of health tonics. "Oh, thank you, Aunt Hu, for keeping an extra eye on my mom and Jiang Ci."

"No need to be polite, we're all neighbors," Hu Chu said. "As for you, working out of town for so many years, you've finally come back to pick them up."

Seeing this, Jiang Ci frowned, wondering what game Jiang Nanyan was playing. Her intuition told her that nothing good would come of whatever Jiang Nanyan was doing.

"A-Ci is back. Your mother has come to pick you up, hurry up and pack your things," her grandmother urged with a smile, taking the groceries Jiang Ci had bought outside.

Jiang Ci glanced sideways at Jiang Nanyan. "I'll put these away for you first, Grandmother, and pack later."

Closing the refrigerator door, Jiang Ci walked out of the kitchen just in time to hear Hu Chu say, "Jiang Ci is such a good, obedient child that everyone loves her. Going to spend the New Year with her mother this time, she must be overjoyed."

Jiang Ci pressed her lips together without a word, walked past them to her room, and simply packed a few belongings.

It wasn't until she got into Jiang Nanyan's car that she received a message from Zhang Heyu.

[Zhang Heyu: Baby, send me the address once you get there.]

Jiang Ci quickly replied with a single word: Okay.

Jiang Nanyan sat in the front driving, casting a glance at Jiang Ci in the backseat. "We're not going to the Sun residence first. We're going to see Old Madame Sun; she wants to see you."

In her previous life, although Jiang Ci's encounters with Old Madame Sun could be counted on one hand, the old lady had never done anything bad to her, and instead treated her with extraordinary kindness.

Clearly, they shared not a single drop of blood relation, yet Old Madame Sun was simply very good to Jiang Ci.

Later on, she learned that Old Madame Sun used to have a granddaughter named Sun Meng, who had died in a traffic accident three years prior at the exact same age Jiang Ci was now.

Perhaps unable to accept the loss, the old lady had wanted to find Jiang Ci as a substitute.

Jiang Ci gave a soft "en" and turned to look out the window.

The Sun Family Estate.

Jiang Ci followed Jiang Nanyan into the Sun family's ancestral home. Walking toward them was a woman with graying temples yet a fierce, unyielding demeanor—Old Madame Sun.

"You must be Jiang Ci?" The old lady looked Jiang Ci up and down meticulously. Indeed, she was exactly as the investigation results had shown.

Jiang Ci lifted her gaze to look at the elderly woman and nodded. "Hello, Old Madame."

The old lady swept her gaze toward Jiang Nanyan standing beside her. Jiang Nanyan started in surprise and stammered, "Mom."

"Have you married into the family yet?" the old lady said coldly. "Did I tell you to change your form of address? Let me tell you, until you step foot into the Sun family for a single day, don't you dare call me Mom."

Jiang Ci was well aware of the old lady's attitude toward Jiang Nanyan.

Jiang Nanyan swallowed a belly full of frustration, but could only keep it bottled up inside. "Old Madame, it was my fault, it won't happen again."

The old lady couldn't be bothered with her and beckoned to Jiang Ci, "Follow me."

Jiang Ci followed, leaving Jiang Nanyan standing there all alone.

The old lady bestowed many gifts upon Jiang Ci, consisting entirely of designer jewelry, clothes, and handbags.

When Jiang Ci reappeared before Jiang Nanyan, the domestic staff trailing behind her were carrying numerous items.

The old lady glanced at Jiang Nanyan seated on the sofa. "Take Jiang Ci to your place first, let her settle in and unpack."

How could Jiang Nanyan dare to say no? She had no choice but to agree and take her back to the Sun residence.

Upon arriving at the Sun residence, Jiang Nanyan had a housekeeper lead Jiang Ci upstairs to the empty room specially prepared for her.

Jiang Ci didn't bring many belongings; the things she carried were entirely the gifts the old lady had just given her.

"Miss, what's wrong?" The housekeeper waved a hand in front of her eyes. "Are you feeling unwell?"

Hearing this, Jiang Ci snapped out of her daze and shook her head. "Auntie, are there any other rooms?"

"I'm sorry, Miss, this was personally arranged for you by Madame Sun. I can't..."

"Then never mind. I'll go in and unpack, you can go about your work," Jiang Ci said gently.

After the housekeeper left, Jiang Ci finally pushed open the door to the room.

Striving hard to keep herself from recalling the past, Jiang Ci walked into the room and placed her belongings off to one side.

She didn't have much to unpack. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she picked up her phone and called her grandmother to let her know she had arrived safely.

After hanging up, remembering the message Zhang Heyu had sent her that morning, she finally sent him her current location.

Guessing it was Jiang Nanyan, Jiang Ci walked over to the door and pulled it open.

"How is the unpacking going?" Jiang Nanyan dropped her cold expression, wearing a deliberately ingratiating look. "I brought you some afternoon tea pastries."

Knowing she was just putting on an act, Jiang Ci twitched the corners of her mouth in a sarcastic sneer. "What? Failing to win over Old Madame Sun, so you've changed targets to win me over? You really have zero dignity left, Jiang Nanyan."

Jiang Nanyan's expression stiffened. "Jiang Ci, don't forget, you promised me you would help me."

"I can help you, but now I'm adding a condition," Jiang Ci said.

"What condition?"

"During the time I stay at the Sun residence, you must guarantee my personal safety." She did not want to die a second time, and keeping a tight leash on Jiang Nanyan was her second line of defense. "Otherwise, I will spill every single detail of our agreement to Old Madame Sun, and the Sun family will become completely out of reach for you."

Jiang Nanyan was somewhat surprised by the condition, unable to figure out why Jiang Ci had suddenly made such a demand.

Jiang Nanyan placed the pastries on the table in her room. "Fine, I promise you."

She turned to leave, but her peripheral vision inadvertently caught sight of the items left in the corner, and the next second she heard Jiang Ci say, "Take these things away, I don't need them."

Jiang Nanyan agreed, "I'll have the housekeeper come up and get them later."

As soon as dinner was over, Jiang Ci took a shower before picking up her phone in her room.

Realizing she hadn't had time to message Zhang Heyu all day long, she opened their chat box and sent him a sticker.

Zhang Heyu hadn't replied yet, so Jiang Ci went to blow-dry her hair.

A short while later, the phone resting on the bed buzzed rhythmically. Coming to her senses, Jiang Ci hurriedly snatched the phone up from the bed and pressed accept.

Zhang Heyu had initiated a video call. Before Jiang Ci could even react, his indolent, unruly face suddenly filled the phone screen, causing her heartbeat to skip a beat.

"Zhang Heyu." Jiang Ci sat on the edge of the bed holding the phone, softly calling his name.

Judging by his appearance, he had probably just woken up.

Zhang Heyu gave a lazy acknowledgment, and seeing the little girl on the screen blinking her big eyes as she stared at him, he suddenly smiled.

"Jiang Ci, are you trying to seduce me?"

Jiang