She spoke with genuine sincerity.
Tang Wanxing knew Qiao Ziqian loved her dearly, catering to her every whim. She had tried to reciprocate his feelings, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't.
Love, perhaps, was truly inexplicable.
While enjoying Qiao Ziqian's affection, she also felt guilty, and more so, grateful.
"If I can't achieve it in this lifetime, how can there be a next?"
Qiao Ziqian found her words absurd and laughable.
Tang Wanxing lowered her gaze, her brow furrowed in deep thought, as if making a significant decision.
After pondering for a good while, she looked up at Qiao Ziqian, who was sitting beside her, and said with a serious expression, "You're right. If I can't achieve it in this lifetime, how can there be a next? So, as long as you're willing to help me one last time, I'm willing... I'm willing to give you my first time."
These words genuinely surprised Qiao Ziqian.
The lighter he was playing with finally fell to the ground. He looked at Tang Wanxing in disbelief, his thin lips twitching. He didn't know what to say.
His eyes, usually as still as deep water, began to ripple. Like a sudden storm, the ripples abruptly turned into surging waves. The storm, mingled with darkness, was bottomless, as if threatening to swallow him whole.
Tang Wanxing had never seen such a terrifying gaze before, and her face paled in fear.
Others might not know Qiao Ziqian's methods, but Tang Wanxing was acutely aware of them.
In the capital, Qiao Ziqian was known as 'Master Qiao the Second,' a moniker earned from his decisive and ruthless nature, never leaving any loose ends in his dealings.
Yet, all his leniency was directed towards her.
This indulgence had made Tang Wanxing exceptionally spoiled, almost forgetting Qiao Ziqian's true nature.
"My first time?"
The man chuckled.
He was smiling, and it was a handsome smile, but it sent a chilling coldness through Tang Wanxing, like the bone-chilling cold of a glacier.
Frightened, Tang Wanxing dared not speak.
Lost in her daze, the cigarette in her hand burned down to the filter, scorching her fair fingers. She flinched, jolted back to reality, and tossed the cigarette onto the ground.
Feeling guilty, she glanced up at Qiao Ziqian, then immediately averted her gaze, turning to face the dressing table, afraid to look at him any longer.
"Alright."
Suddenly, the man spoke again. "I'll come find you at nine tonight. If you can do it, I'll agree."
Tang Wanxing nervously clasped her hands together, never expecting Qiao Ziqian to actually agree.
She picked at her fingernails restlessly. After a while, when she had calmed her emotions, she said, "Ziqian, I..."
She turned her head, but Qiao Ziqian was no longer beside her.
A gust of cool air swept into the room from the doorway. The wind blew fiercely, and Tang Wanxing realized that Qiao Ziqian had already left.
"Hoo~"
She let out a long sigh of relief, leaning back in her chair listlessly, her mind blank.
...
After Meng Jingwei returned to Lancheng, she drove Lu Yanming home.
"Will you be alright at home alone?"
Lu Yanming lived alone, without a housekeeper, though a cleaning company visited three times a week.
Perhaps it was because Lu Yanming preferred quiet.
He shuffled into the living room, wrapped in a padded jacket, shivering. "I'm fine, you two go ahead."
Shen Liannuo, still worried, asked, "Do you want us to find you a caregiver?"
"I've already contacted a doctor who will come to give me infusions at regular intervals, and meals are delivered. Don't worry," he said, shivering again. "It's so cold, I'm going to bed. Bye."
Having been injured and losing a lot of blood, he felt particularly cold.
"Okay, bye."
Meng Jingwei said no more and left with Shen Liannuo.
She drove, took Shen Liannuo home to rest, and only then found time to contact Tang Si.