Han Haoxuan bent down slightly, burying his head in Ruolin's neck. In an instant, a slight coolness traveled from her neck to his chin. That coolness was probably from the wind earlier.
The chin buried in Ruolin's neck was slightly prickly, making Ruolin feel a little itchy.
The hand encircling Ruolin's waist, through the layers of her clothes, was clearly scorching hot, like a branding iron, soothing Ruolin's heart inch by inch.
Then, Han Haoxuan hugged Ruolin tightly, pressing his chest against her back. Their bodies were like intertwined butterflies, leaning on each other, a truly beautiful sight.
He moved his face away from the crook of her neck and pressed it against hers. Her face was smooth and delicate, like fine white porcelain, which he found incredibly alluring, and he remained in that position for a long time.
"Ruolin..." he whispered in her ear.
"Hmm?" she answered softly.
"I love you," he whispered, as if in a dream.
These three words were so simple, but when Han Haoxuan said them, Ruolin felt they were the most beautiful words she had ever heard.
He pulled her closer: "I will make you happy, but you must be faithful to me."
Ruolin's heart suddenly skipped a beat. Was he suspecting her of being unfaithful to him?
"Don't you trust me?" Ruolin turned around and looked at him.
"No, I was just making a hypothetical assumption." Han Haoxuan quickly denied it, forcing him not to think about the scene of her and Mu Jingyan feeding each other in the restaurant, and then quickly changed the subject, "Guess what my birthday present is for you."
Today is Ruolin's birthday, and she didn't want to dwell on unpleasant topics, so she went along with the way he offered: "Is it the necklace?"
Han Haoxuan smiled and shook his head.
"Is it a bouquet of flowers?"
Han Haoxuan continued to shake his head.
"Birthday cake?"
"This is a birthday essential, not really a gift. Keep guessing."
Ruolin guessed a few more, but Han Haoxuan still shook his head.
"Stop beating around the bush, I really can't figure it out." Ruolin gave up guessing.
"If you can't guess, you have to give me a kiss." Han Haoxuan leaned his face closer.
"Close your eyes."
Han Haoxuan obediently closed his eyes, his long eyelashes falling down, making his well-defined face even more vivid.
Ruolin lightly touched his lips and then quickly pulled away.
"Okay, you can open your eyes now," Ruolin said.
"That doesn't count as a kiss." Han Haoxuan pulled Ruolin into his arms, lowered his head, and kissed her deeply.
Ruolin hadn't expected the kiss to be so intense. Before she could react, his soft tongue had already entered her mouth, and she could feel his heart pounding wildly. His breath was so strong, enveloping her completely, and she couldn't help but be swept away by the passion. She gently closed her eyes and returned his fiery kiss. Their lips and tongues danced together, their breaths gradually deepening until they became one.
A villa by the sea, a tranquil room, a gentle sea breeze, white curtains fluttering – even the most beautiful scenery can only serve as a backdrop and accompaniment to this couple passionately embracing and kissing.
After a long while, they finally parted their lips.
Where is my birthday present?
Han Haoxuan opened his travel bag, took out a beautifully wrapped gift box, and handed it to Ruolin: "This is my official birthday gift to you. Open it and take a look."
A light purple, exquisitely crafted women's watch lay in the gift box. Ruolin knew the brand; it must be quite valuable.
"It must be very expensive, right?" Ruolin asked casually, a question that completely ruined the mood.
"Price is secondary; the most important thing is that it represents my feelings for you. Take a look at this watch and see if there's anything special about it."
Ruolin picked up the watch and examined it closely, discovering that the back of the watch was engraved with: X ? L.
"X is the first letter of Xuan's Chinese pinyin, representing me; L is the first letter of Lin's Chinese pinyin, representing you; and the heart represents our love," Han Haoxuan explained.
Ruolin's heart stirred, and her hand involuntarily stroked the characters engraved on the watch.
"I'll put it on you." Han Haoxuan said, taking the watch and placing it on Ruolin's left wrist. "Do you like it?"
"A question you already know the answer to."
Are you really that reluctant to express your feelings?
"Feelings can't be expressed just by talking."
"So you mean feelings are just something you act out?" Han Haoxuan said, playfully nibbling at Ruolin's earlobe, his hot breath washing over her neck, making her itch with desire. Since they got together, he always liked to tease her like this, forcing her to respond with actions. Because he knew she was always so stingy with her words. But the body has desires, and the body doesn't lie. Often, the body is more honest than words.
"You're so mean!" Ruolin pushed him away. "You still haven't told me why you gave me a watch. Now that we have cell phones, we hardly ever use watches anymore."
“Because I want you to remember every moment we loved each other.” Han Haoxuan held Ruolin’s left hand. “Although one day we will grow old, every moment of love we shared will never fade; it will remain in our memories, becoming eternal. Just like now, we are in the house by the sea, holding each other’s hands, our hearts filled with love for each other. This moment is 9:20 pm on November 6th. No matter what the future holds, I want you to remember this moment, this moment when I deeply love you.”
The words were exceptionally emotional, like lines from a TV drama, but Ruolin was deeply moved. She nestled in Han Haoxuan's arms: "I will always remember this moment."
In the gentle breeze, the light and shadow flickered.
In the dim light, the flickering candlelight cast a pale orange hue on their faces.
On the snow-white cream floated the words "Happy birthday" in flowing elegance. Below the words, several larger characters, illuminated by candlelight, shone like dazzling stars, warming Ruolin's heart. She stared intently at those words, her heart overflowing with indescribable emotion.
Lin, my dearest.
These words made her eyes bright and sparkling, like clear dewdrops.
An immense sense of happiness slowly flowed through Ruolin's heart.
A sweet aroma gradually filled the salty air—lemon, vanilla, cream.
"Make a wish!" Han Haoxuan reminded Ruolin, who was somewhat dazed. Clearly, she was already lost in thought.
Ruolin gazed at Han Haoxuan with deep affection, then lowered her head slightly, closed her eyes, clasped her hands together, and gently rested her chin on her fingers.
Han Haoxuan sat quietly opposite Ruolin, gazing at her exceptionally devout expression. He felt as if he too had been touched, his heart clear as the bright moon and as transparent as a lake. Even so, he couldn't help but want to gently kiss her forehead, to kiss her face, radiant and beautiful in the candlelight.
"What did you wish for?" Han Haoxuan asked with a smile as Ruolin slowly opened her eyes.
“Secret,” Ruolin replied mysteriously, a smile playing on her lips.
Chapter Fifty-Eight
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After Ruolin left the restaurant, Mu Jingyan remained seated by the window on the second floor. He could clearly see Ruolin walking towards Han Haoxuan's car. Han Haoxuan got out of the car, considerately opened the door for her, and kissed her on the forehead. The two looked very well-matched and sweet.
Although it was heartbreaking, Mu Jingyan had already decided to let his unrequited love fade away. As someone once said, there's a kind of love called letting go. If the person he loved could find happiness, why not offer his blessings with a smile?
He took out a gift he hadn't given away from his bag—a small, clear glass bottle.
The glass bottle contained some exquisitely folded origami cranes. The paper used to fold the cranes was simple and elegant, and vigorous characters could be faintly seen on the wings of the cranes.
Mu Jingyan still remembered that during his senior year of high school, Ruolin seemed to be very enthusiastic about folding origami cranes for a period of time. He noticed that she would not go out to play after class, but would bury herself in folding them, looking extremely focused.
He thought that she must really like origami cranes, since she folded them so diligently day after day amidst such intense studying.
Later, he started looking around to see if anyone knew how to fold it. An idea began to grow in his mind; he wanted to learn, but he never saw any other classmates folding that thing.
Now, he has found folding methods online, bought special paper for folding origami cranes, and practiced repeatedly. If he didn't succeed the first time, he would try again. If he messed up or broke the fold, he would crumple it up and throw it away, and start over.
He almost gave up, feeling his hands were too clumsy and wondering why he couldn't fold it well, and he became somewhat discouraged. Fortunately, after many attempts, he finally managed to fold one that looked quite decent, which gave him a lot of confidence. He became more and more skilled after that, and his folding improved, although it took a lot of time.
Now, he couldn't help but wonder, was she folding paper cranes simply because it was a hobby? It was such a huge and time-consuming project, yet she was willing to spend so much energy on it, which he found puzzling.
Mu Jingyan gently turned the transparent glass bottle in his hand, his eyes deep and dark, like an endless night.
The glass bottle spun around a few times before coming to a stop. Mu Jingyan stared blankly at the origami cranes inside. At that moment, their pure white colors seemed to turn exceptionally pale, making his eyes slightly blurry. The silent origami cranes lay motionless inside the bottle, each one lifeless, as if their wings had been broken.
A deep sadness flashed in Mu Jingyan's eyes, filling his vision.
From now on, will the love buried deep within never take flight again? From now on, will he merely be a spectator in her life, nothing more?
Although she became Han Haoxuan's girlfriend, Ruolin worked even harder to earn money than before.
Xinyu said she was silly; no one would work so hard after finding a rich boyfriend.
Ruolin stubbornly shook her head: "I don't want to use a single penny of his money."
"Don't make yourself too tired. I really don't need the money urgently," Xinyu said.
“Even if I’m not in a hurry to pay you back, I still need to save money to pay Mu Jingyan back. Besides, even if he’s not in a hurry to need money like you, I still have a lot of expenses every month! My mother still needs to take medicine to strengthen her body, and my sister is going to university next year, and the tuition is high. Sigh, I wish money could fall from the sky.”
"Honestly, if you need money, don't worry about the money you owe me before; you can still borrow it from me now."
"You're about to get married, so it's not necessarily going to be your decision in the future, is it?"
"No way! Even if we get married, I'll still control the finances."
"By the way, when are you getting married?" Ruolin had been wondering why Xinyu said she was going to get married to Shenyang but never actually did it.
"Hehe, Shen Yang still has a lot of things to deal with, so the wedding is on hold for now." Xin Yu always hesitates when the topic of marriage comes up.
"Oh, I see." Ruolin didn't want to pry too much into the marriage matter, because every family has its own troubles. Just like her and Han Haoxuan, although they were living together, they always felt there were many obstacles and the wedding date was far away.
Actually, after that incident, Han Haoxuan's mother, Xu Ling, came to see Ruolin again, going directly to her workplace. This time, Xu Ling's attitude was much better, but she didn't come to apologize or agree to Ruolin being with Han Haoxuan. Instead, after gently persuading Ruolin, she took out an envelope and placed it in front of her: "I know your family is in financial difficulty and needs money. Here are some cash and checks, a total of 100,000 yuan, enough for you and your family to live on for a while. As long as you leave Haoxuan, this is yours."
"Please take it back," Ruolin said, enunciating each word clearly.
"Is it too little?" Xu Ling asked, frowning.
“It has nothing to do with the amount of money. I only know that love cannot be measured by money. I am with Han Haoxuan not for money. You can ask your son whether I have used any of his money since I got together with him,” Ruolin said firmly.
"Then what will it take for you to let Haoxuan go?"
"Like I said, unless he gives up on me voluntarily."
"Yes, he'll get tired of you one day. He'll never marry you! You know what? You're just a substitute for his ex-girlfriend." Xu Ling felt Ruolin looked familiar the first time she saw her, and now the more she looked, the more she thought she resembled An Qian. An Qian's family background was also average, but that girl had always been proud and arrogant. At that time, Xu Ling was considering her son's future and didn't want him to date too early. Moreover, An Qian's family wasn't exactly wealthy. Just then, An Qian was trying to get an opportunity to study abroad, so Xu Ling secretly approached An Qian, promising to help her find connections to send her abroad to study, on the only condition that she break up with Han Haoxuan. After hesitating for a long time, the girl took the initiative to call her and agreed to break up.
Xu Ling initially thought Ruolin was no different from Anxi; she believed she could easily get rid of Han Haoxuan by offering her something. Moreover, compared to Anxi, Ruolin's circumstances were arguably worse, so she thought Ruolin had no reason to refuse her money. However, this tactic proved completely ineffective with Ruolin, leaving her rebuffed.
However, Xu Ling, being an experienced person, remained calm and composed, even employing a strategy of feigned indifference. Since Ruolin wasn't interested in material things, he would let her give up on the relationship emotionally.
"What do you mean?" Ruolin asked, puzzled.
"This is a photo of Haoxuan's ex-girlfriend, Anxi. Do you two look alike?" Xu Ling calmly took out a photo and handed it to Ruolin.
The woman in the photo has a radiant smile, and her features do indeed resemble Ruolin's.
"So what does that prove?" Ruolin returned the photo to Xu Ling, speaking calmly.
"This is the girl Haoxuan once loved most. They dated for three years. After she left Haoxuan, he chose to remain single because he always loved her. Now Haoxuan is with you because he is trying to treat you as her. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Xu Ling didn't believe that Ruolin could remain calm after hearing these words.