Hao Yi tightened his grip on my waist, pulling me possessively close. I let out a small cry of surprise as he pressed me down onto the pillow, capturing my lips in a fervent kiss. I closed my eyes, surrendering to the sensation of his passionate caresses. The heat of his touch set my entire body ablaze.
But then, out of nowhere, a different voice echoed in my mind—
“You are mine.”
I froze, startled by the deep male voice. In my daze, an instinctive alarm went off in my head: the man being intimate with me wasn’t the owner of that voice. Panic surged through me, and I shoved him away, my eyes snapping open as if jolted awake from a nightmare.
“Huihui, what’s wrong?” Hao Yi asked, his face full of concern.
I didn’t answer. Instead, I looked around the room in confusion. As my thoughts slowly untangled, I became acutely aware of the rancid stench of decay emanating from a part of my own heart.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to...” I stammered awkwardly, looking at Hao Yi as my mind descended into chaos.
Hao Yi’s face was a mixture of confusion and worry. And yet, wasn’t I just as baffled? How could it be that, after less than two weeks apart, I was already rejecting intimacy with Hao Yi? Even if Chu Ke Huan had stirred something in my heart, could a single kiss really leave such a severe aftereffect?
“Huihui, are you... angry with me?” Hao Yi seemed to sense something was wrong and tried to guess what was on my mind.
“No, why would I be angry?” I denied it quickly, forcing a smile as I wrapped my arms around his neck to pull him closer. “It’s just... we haven’t seen each other in a while. I guess I’m not quite used to it yet... Let’s continue...”
“Forget it.” Hao Yi removed my hand, his expression dark.
“What do you mean, forget it?!” I stared at him, shocked.
Hao Yi didn’t reply. Instead, he stood up, adjusted his clothes, and glanced at his phone. “I need to go back to the office to handle something. I’ll be back in about half an hour.”
“...I thought you were done with work?” I asked, even more confused.
It was already 8:30 p.m., not to mention the fact that just moments ago, he was as passionate as if there were no tomorrow. Now, doused with a bucket of cold water, he was suddenly rushing off to work? If he had planned to return to the office all along, why had he been so eager and enthusiastic the moment he walked through the door?
“I only left the office early to come and open the door for you. Are you hungry? Should I order you some food? It’s really convenient to get takeout here…” Hao Yi trailed off, his eyes already back on his phone, scrolling rapidly.
I knew how advanced e-commerce was in mainland China—how nearly every aspect of daily life could be handled through a smartphone. But I had no interest in marveling at any of that now. I had spent my precious vacation days, flown across the sea to Shanghai, with the sole purpose of bridging the emotional distance that had begun to grow between Hao Yi and me. Clearly, he didn’t understand that. We had just two short days and one night together, yet every action he took felt like avoidance, avoidance, and more avoidance.
“I don’t want takeout,” I said firmly, cutting him off. I waited until his eyes finally left his phone and met mine before continuing, trying to keep my voice calm. “I thought we’d have dinner together tonight. This… isn’t what I had in mind at all.”
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