TIMO - Chapter 65
Chapter 65
Driving on a snowy day always required a bit more caution.
Therefore, Fu Zhao turned the one-hour drive to the starship port into an hour and a half.
As a result, what was supposed to be them waiting for Kong Weiyan turned into Kong Weiyan waiting for them, craning her neck at the entrance of the starship port, eagerly sizing up every car that passed.
“I’ll go get her!” Jiang Wenqing deftly unbuckled her seatbelt. She really didn’t want to stay in a car reeking of sappy romance, so she quickly got out and ran towards Kong Weiyan.
Ye Er was stunned for a few seconds. Seeing Fu Zhao also unbuckling her seatbelt as if to get out, he cleared his throat and unbuckled his own. “Jiang Wenqing and I can go. You two can just stay here and watch the car.”
With that, he also got out, leaving the space to Fu Zhao and Shi Nan.
Fu Zhao froze for a few seconds, watching as Jiang Wenqing and Ye Er both ran off in a hurry. Her hand, which had been unbuckling her seatbelt, paused. She pursed her lips, surreptitiously glancing at Shi Nan’s face beside her before quickly looking away. Staring at her own reflection in the rearview mirror, she spoke softly.
“Aren’t you going to greet her? It’s been a while, after all.”
Shi Nan chuckled lightly, her gaze seemingly fixed on Fu Zhao, her tone languid. “No.”
“We just haven’t seen each other. It’s not like we haven’t been in contact.”
Fu Zhao’s fingertips tapped on the steering wheel as she watched Kong Weiyan and Jiang Wenqing embrace in a lively, affectionate reunion outside the window.
She knew Shi Nan was just joking, but she still felt the urge to ask a question she already knew the answer to. She lowered her lashes, her voice softening considerably. “What about me?”
“As long as we’re in contact, does not seeing each other matter?”
She, too, had the urge to joke. But unlike Shi Nan, she didn’t look directly at her when she said it.
It wasn’t that she didn’t dare; she just didn’t want to.
As Fu Zhao was thinking this, a warm sensation touched her right cheek. It was a soft palm, which then gave her face a gentle squeeze, followed by a light pressure.
Her head was turned.
Shi Nan held her face just like that, the light in her eyes shimmering gently. Her long, curled eyelashes were distinct. She blinked, watching her quietly.
Silence spoke volumes.
The temperature inside the car, where the heat was already on, suddenly rose.
Fu Zhao felt the temperature of her own face rising rapidly, especially her right cheek.
She subtly shifted her gaze to the three people in the distance, who were dragging their luggage and taking steps that seemed slower than a crawl. She felt a bit helpless. “Okay, I know the answer-”
Before she could finish, her face was turned again.
Her gaze was “forced” back down to Shi Nan’s face. Against the snowy landscape outside the car window, her beautiful features gained a touch of purity, yet the direct stare from those tea-brown eyes added a hint of clear desire.
She found it hard to bear such a gaze and unconsciously lowered her eyes, looking away.
“Fu Zhao,” Shi Nan finally spoke, her soft, lazy voice laced with a smile.
That gentle call made Fu Zhao’s heartstrings tremble. She looked up. “What is it?”
The corners of Shi Nan’s lips curved up slightly, and her voice softened, accompanied by the faint sound of the warm air flowing.
“I like you.”
The light words entered her eardrums, carrying an explosive heat that tumbled onto Fu Zhao’s already restless heart, from which a dense, tingling sensation spread.
She even wondered if she had misheard.
Maybe Shi Nan hadn’t said, “I like you.” Maybe it was “You like me,” or perhaps “She likes you”…
In short, she might have heard wrong.
Fu Zhao’s breathing became erratic, her voice trembling slightly. “What?”
Shi Nan didn’t let go, continuing to cup her face with a gentle, soft pressure. Her gaze was tender and affectionate, as if holding a nest of sparkling stars. “Didn’t I say before that I might confess at any time?”
“For the question you just asked, I think this is the only fitting answer.”
Fu Zhao was stunned, her mouth opening and closing without a single word coming out.
“Alright.” Shi Nan let Fu Zhao go, releasing her hands. She looked at the three people who were now almost at the car, her eyes filled with a smile so thick it couldn’t be dissolved. “I was afraid you’d always be worried about when I would confess, afraid you’d always be thinking about beating me to it, and afraid you’d always be on edge, which would affect your element of surprise.”
“Now that I’ve confessed, you don’t have to worry about it anymore.”
“I lost.”
“Now I’m the one waiting for your surprise.”
Shi Nan’s timing was perfect. Almost as soon as she finished speaking, the three of them had reached the car.
The car door opened, and a gust of cold air rushed in, jolting Fu Zhao. She was instantly pulled from her surging emotions. Looking at the three people getting into the car one by one, she had no time to sort out her thoughts. She could only purse her lips and stare at Shi Nan, but said nothing.
It was Kong Weiyan, whom she hadn’t seen in a few days, who immediately got the rhythm right. Her gaze circled between the two of them before she let out a loud “Tsk,” as if afraid no one would hear her.
Fu Zhao frowned. “What are you trying to say?”
Kong Weiyan shrugged, her eyes lingering on Shi Nan for a few seconds. “Just expressing my admiration.”
“After all these years, Shi Nan’s beauty has reached a new level. Seeing you in person is so much more real than seeing you on the StarNet.”
Shi Nan’s eyes curved into a smile. “Weiyan, you really know what to say.”
“Long time no see, Director Kong.” She blinked. “Should we get out for a hug?”
“Of course!” Kong Weiyan chattered away, like an unstoppable floodgate had opened. “After all, I’ve been in this position for so long, I’ve had some training.”
“Much better than a certain someone who blushes after just a few words.”
As she spoke, she glanced at Fu Zhao’s expression, which wasn’t great. So she cleared her throat and reined it in a bit. “But a hug isn’t necessary. We’re old friends, no need to be so formal.”
“By the way, you have the address for the hotel, right? Let me tell you, this hot spring villa is really nice…”
Speaking of the main event of this two-day, one-night trip, Kong Weiyan’s eyes lit up again. Jiang Wenqing also became interested, chiming in from time to time, and Shi Nan would occasionally turn back to join their conversation.
The most silent people in the car were Ye Er, who had put on his Bluetooth headphones and started working on his laptop.
And Fu Zhao, who was full of thoughts.
She was thinking about how to confess.
It wasn’t that she was deliberately dwelling on it, but compared to a simple, light “I like you,” she wanted to say more.
Since Shi Nan had been so considerate as to say it first, not blaming her for procrastinating but instead supporting her willfulness and even saying she could have plenty of time to prepare.
Then she ought to give the most perfect, most complete answer.
Not a single step could be wrong.
Every word had to be carefully considered.
As Fu Zhao thought this, her gaze unconsciously fell on Shi Nan’s face beside her. Shi Nan was smiling, her slightly upturned eyes curving downwards, the moist light in them trembling slightly. Whenever they talked about a topic she was interested in, her eyes would suddenly brighten.
Like the brightest star she had seen on so many nights.
Fu Zhao also found herself smiling, the joy in her heart seemingly reaching its peak.
Their current state was just right.
Whether they moved forward, backward, or stayed as they were, they shared the most fitting tacit understanding.
Shi Nan had truly lived up to her words, “Our relationship is for you to decide.” Nearly three years had passed, and even though Shi Nan’s feelings, and her own feelings, were already very clear.
Shi Nan had never once blamed her.
She didn’t blame her for never saying it, for being awkward about it, or for not saying what she meant.
But now, it was time for her to change their relationship.
And this change had to be done in the most perfect way possible.
Fu Zhao glanced at her reflection in the rearview mirror. There was a smile on her lips—a relaxed, contented smile for the decision she had just made at this very moment.
The hot spring villa Kong Weiyan had booked was on the other side of the island. The snow here was clearly much heavier than in the West Archipelago. The ground, covered in a thin layer of snow, lay beneath their feet, and the view was vast and open.
The vantage point was high, and the sun in the sky looked as if it were hanging right above their heads.
Fu Zhao brought the car to a steady stop. “We’re here.”
“Mm, your driving skills have improved,” Shi Nan praised her with a smile, pointing to her own seatbelt. “Aren’t you going to unbuckle it for me?”
Fu Zhao’s fingertips, which were unbuckling her own seatbelt, suddenly trembled. She then steadied her breathing, maintaining a calm expression as she leaned over to pull on Shi Nan’s seatbelt, her finger pressing the release button.
She held onto the belt, afraid it would injure Shi Nan when it retracted.
There was a small gap between them, but she could still feel Shi Nan’s warm breath and the soft strands of hair that fell onto her neck as Shi Nan lowered her head.
It tickled.
It was actually just a momentary action, but when she was doing it, it felt as if time had slowed down considerably.
Shi Nan’s drifting gaze made Fu Zhao’s whole body heat up. She pulled back. “There.”
A soft chuckle sounded right next to her ear. Unsurprisingly, it was Shi Nan laughing.
“What are you laughing at?” she asked.
“Laughing at how cute you are,” Shi Nan patted her head, her gaze gentle. “You’re cute when you pull back, cute when you blush, and cute when you can’t hold back a smile.”
Shi Nan’s words made Fu Zhao’s face turn even redder. She pursed her lips, and just as she was about to say something, an angry voice cut in.
“Oh my god! I shouldn’t have come! I shouldn’t have gotten in the same car as you two disgusting lovebirds!!”
It was practically a roar. Then, with a slam, Jiang Wenqing angrily opened the car door and dashed out with clean, swift movements.
Next was Ye Er. After a moment, he calmly took off his headphones, shook his head helplessly, and also opened his door to get out.
“What should we do?” Shi Nan looked at the fuming figure in the snow, the smile on her lips still not fading. “Should I go apologize to Xiao Qing?”
“No need.” Kong Weiyan grinned, showing her white teeth. “She’s just kidding. I’m sure she’s happy deep down.”
“Why didn’t you leave?” Fu Zhao asked, her brows furrowed.
But she regretted the question as soon as she asked it. She always felt that Kong Weiyan’s thought process was not quite the same as a normal person’s.
Kong Weiyan rolled her eyes, crossing her arms with a composed air as she spoke.
“Because I’m not like them. I love watching little lovebirds. So I couldn’t bear to give up this VIP seat.”
Right, she knew Kong Weiyan wasn’t quite normal.
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