Quick Wear: Cousin, Come to the Bowl Quickly

I'm jealous.

"Xixi, dance only with me, okay?"

Lin Xi suspected that she must have spun around too fast while dancing and gotten dizzy.

Or perhaps she stepped on Shen Jingyuan too hard, and he lost his mind in pain and started talking nonsense.

Otherwise, how could she have heard these words, which made her dizzy and blush, from Shen Jingyuan, whom she had always been at odds with?

The two were standing too close together. Shen Jingyuan's palm, which was pressed against her lower back, was burning hot. The heat was transmitted to her skin through the thin fabric of the dress, making Lin Xi shiver involuntarily.

Lin Xi felt her cheeks burning. The righteous anger she had just felt had vanished, leaving only a feeling of tension and confusion.

"Shen, Shen Jingyuan, are you... are you drunk and confused?"

The faint scent of brandy, accompanied by Shen Jingyuan's slightly rapid breathing, sprayed onto her neck, causing a slight itch.

Lin Xi recalled the scene when she bumped into Shen Jingyuan clinking glasses with Ivanov when she went downstairs. As if she had finally found an excuse, she hurriedly reached out to push him and complained in a bluffing manner.

"Those White Russians are all raised on alcohol, why are you trying to outdrink them..."

"I'm not drunk." Shen Jingyuan released his hand from her waist, slightly widening the distance between them, and looked down deeply into her somewhat evasive eyes.

“I am very clear-headed,” he repeated, his voice low but each word clear, “more clear-headed than ever before.”

"You...you." Lin Xi felt flustered by his overly focused gaze. She opened her mouth, instinctively trying to avoid his gaze, but Shen Jingyuan gently cupped her face.

His movements were extremely careful, his fingertips trembling slightly as if he were touching a rare treasure, as if he would immediately let go if she showed the slightest resistance.

“Xixi,” he called her by her childhood name somewhat awkwardly, his voice carrying a sense of resolute determination, “There are some things I’ve kept in my heart for a long time. I originally wanted to wait for a more suitable time, a safer place… but I found that I overestimated my willpower.”

He paused, his gaze intense, as if sparks were burning within it, and said, "I like you."

"It was my fault by the dance floor just now. I was too worried and neglected your feelings." He pursed his lips, his expression apologetic yet firm. "I'll accept it if you're angry with me or scold me."

His voice was hoarse, with a hint of barely perceptible tension in his tone, "But every word I'm about to say is from the bottom of my heart."

"My feelings for you are not a spur-of-the-moment impulse, nor are they based on emotion."

Deputy Commander Shen is mature and composed, acts calmly, and never acts impulsively—this is almost everyone's assessment of Shen Jingyuan.

Before meeting Lin Xi, Shen Jingyuan did not deny such an assessment.

Therefore, even on the night he left Shanghai, when he saw Lin Xi standing gracefully and brightly on the high platform, his heart involuntarily quickened for a moment.

Even though, the moment I realized she had mistaken me for someone else, a voice inside me screamed wildly, wanting to break free of its constraints and loudly tell her that I was the one who carried her down the mountain.

Even though, in that damp, rainy alley, through the misty rain, he could see that she was pale and trembling with fear, yet still clung tightly to him, he almost couldn't resist the urge to pull her into his arms and kiss her bloodless lips...

He held back his emotions tightly.

After all, the road ahead was uncertain, and life and death were unknown. Compared to the responsibility weighing on his shoulders, his little secret thoughts were as light as a feather.

Lieutenant Shen never acts impulsively...

On countless sleepless nights spent listening to Lin Xi's tranquil and long breaths, Shen Jingyuan would remind himself of this.

But he wasn't a cold, hard, indestructible stone after all.

Perhaps it was because of that glass of brandy, or perhaps it was because the mission had finally made significant progress.

Finally snapping out of his worries, Shen Jingyuan saw Lin Xi smiling radiantly as she reached out to put her hand on another man's waist. The impulse he had been forcibly suppressing all the way suddenly surged into his heart.

“I know this may be sudden, and… perhaps inappropriate, but if I have to watch you smile at someone else, see you walk towards someone else,” Shen Jingyuan lowered his eyelids, gently wiping away a tear that was about to fall from the corner of Lin Xi’s eye with his fingertips, his voice revealing a hint of obsession.

"I'm sorry... I can't remain indifferent."

Their breaths mingled in the night breeze. Lin Xiwei tilted her head back, staring blankly at Shen Jingyuan, who looked solemn in front of her.

All the previous anger, grievances, and speculations were shattered by this sudden and solemn confession.

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She only felt her cheeks burning hot and her heart pounding incessantly.

After a long while, she seemed to finally find her voice, and suddenly took a step back, widening the distance between the two.

"You...you, how could this be...I...I, when..."

Lin Xi felt a surge of heat rush to her head, making her face feel like it was on fire. She almost bit her tongue as she spoke.

The image of Shen Jingyuan, who had previously been confrontational and taciturn, overlapped with the figure before her, whose gaze was intense and whose words were blunt, leaving her feeling confused and at a loss.

Shen Jingyuan's hand, which was cupping her cheek, slipped silently as she stepped back.

He curled his fingertips slightly and rubbed them together, as if the delicate touch and burning heat of her skin still lingered there.

The light in his eyes dimmed little by little as she retreated, replaced by an undisguised sense of loss.

Her retreat seemed to have already told him the answer.

Shen Jingyuan lowered his eyes, concealing the bitterness within, and his voice was hoarse but he insisted on finishing his sentence, "I don't know when it started."

He raised his head, his gaze fixed on her panicked eyes, with an almost self-analytical honesty, "Perhaps it was on that ship leaving Shanghai, perhaps it was the night you killed Suzuki, when you took my hand and said you would take me out, or perhaps... even earlier."

He turned his head slightly to avoid her overly direct gaze, his jawline taut. "These words are inappropriate to begin with, and saying them will only add to your troubles. You... don't need to feel awkward."

He took a deep breath, as if he had made up his mind, and his tone returned to its usual calm: "If you are unwilling... after returning to Shanghai, I will move out of the Lin Mansion and will never bother you again."

But as he spoke, he seemed unwilling to give up. Suddenly, he changed the subject, looked up at her again, and a faint hope flickered in his deep eyes. His tone was also tinged with uncertainty and probing.

"But if, if you don't dislike me either..." He paused, as if observing her expression, before continuing softly, "Then... can I, from now on, call you 'Xixi'?"

Even though Lin Xi scolds him every day for being a dark-skinned, taciturn man, it is undeniable that Shen Jingyuan is indeed good-looking, with sharp features, deep-set eyes, and a high nose bridge. Although he always looks serious and expressionless, he has a certain charm that is "moving even when he is heartless".

But at this moment, his usually cold and hard face melted away, his eyebrows softened, his eyes were focused, and even carried a pitiful expectation as he looked at her intently, making Lin Xi's heart tremble and the heat that had just faded from her face surged back up.

Looking into his eyes, which seemed to want to drown her in them, Lin Xi felt a chill run down her spine. A feeling of shame or anger welled up inside her, making her momentarily incoherent.

"I...I don't know! Don't ask me!"

Unbeknownst to her, this vague "I don't know" sounded like heavenly music to Shen Jingyuan, suddenly stirring his taut heartstrings.

The dim light in his eyes was instantly ignited, like fireworks exploding in the night sky, and his tone was full of unbelievable surprise, "You don't know? Then... does that mean you don't actually hate me that much?"

He tentatively uttered the name that had echoed countless times in his heart. "Xixi?"

That soft, tender "Xixi" seemed to carry endless affection, completely shattering Lin Xi's last line of defense.

She felt as if she had been electrocuted, her whole body was numb and hot, and her face was burning so badly it felt like it was about to explode. She couldn't stay there any longer.

"I already said I don't know! Ugh, so annoying! You're so awful!"

Lin Xi was furious and embarrassed. She glared at Shen Jingyuan, stomped her foot angrily, and ran away.

After running a few steps, she suddenly turned back, rushed back to him, and, taking him by surprise, stomped hard on his instep, grinding it down in anger.

"This is so annoying! It's all your fault!" She gritted her teeth, her voice filled with shame and indignation. "Why did you have to say it during the day! I... I definitely won't be able to sleep tonight!"

After saying that, she didn't linger. Lifting her skirt, like a startled butterfly, she turned and ran quickly into the night, leaving only a flustered silhouette.

Shen Jingyuan winced in pain and gasped, but the tenderness revealed in her words instantly overwhelmed him with immense joy.

A look of surprise welled up in his eyes. Ignoring the pain in his foot, he instinctively wanted to chase after it.

He had only taken two steps when he suddenly remembered his important matter. He hurriedly turned back to the doorman in the porch, took out a few silver coins, stuffed them into his hand, and solemnly instructed him.

"Please tell Mr. Ivan that his wife is unwell and we must take our leave now. I will visit her in person another day."

The doorman was the same one who had received Lin Xi's tip earlier. Upon hearing this, he hurriedly took the money and nodded repeatedly, saying, "Don't worry, I will definitely pass on the message."

Having received the promise, Shen Jingyuan thanked her and eagerly turned around, striding after Lin Xi in the direction she had disappeared.

The summer night breeze brushed against his still burning ears, but it couldn't dispel the upward curve of his lips that he couldn't suppress.