Zhou Yining finally turned to look at him, smiling as she asked, “Anything I can do for you, Dong-ge?”

When it came to denying all knowledge and changing faces, she was better than anyone.

Suddenly, her shoulder was gripped, and she was turned halfway to face the man behind her. He looked down at her. “Shouldn’t we talk about you emptying my closet?”

Zhou Yining adamantly refused to admit it. “How do you know it was me? What eyes saw me do it?”

Ji Dongyang looked at her and suddenly smiled. He ruffled her hair and deliberately lowered his voice. “I left very early that day. It was a pre-arranged schedule, and I’m not in the habit of reporting my movements to anyone.”

Was he explaining himself? Zhou Yining tilted her head up, then lowered it again, a little confused about what their relationship even was. She tried taking a step forward.

Ji Dongyang looked down at her, wondering what she was going to do next. The next second, she hugged him.

Zhou Yining rubbed her head against his chest and squeezed his waist. Just like last time, he didn’t push her away. She was happy, but also slightly annoyed at having to hug him through a down jacket. She lifted her head and reached for his zipper.

Ji Dongyang pressed down on her hand. What mischief was this girl trying to pull now?

Zhou Yining looked up and smiled, saying with a serious expression, “It’s not comfortable to hug with too many clothes on.”

With that, she pulled open his down jacket and pressed herself against him. Her hands slipped inside the jacket and wrapped around his lean waist again. He was only wearing a black sweater underneath. Her hands slowly explored up his waist, feeling the muscles and lines of his back, and she happily hugged him even tighter.

She’s happy now? She gets this happy just from taking a little advantage.

Ji Dongyang was silent for a moment, then raised his hand and gently rested it on her back.

It was a cloudy day, and the hallway was dim, so quiet that only their breathing and heartbeats could be heard. Zhou Yining’s heartbeat quickened. She looked up from his embrace and met his eyes. “Next time you travel far away, remember to tell me, okay?”

Ji Dongyang looked at the little girl who had suddenly softened in his arms. He found her so strange. When she was angry, she wanted to tear his house apart, but when she was happy, she was as soft as a lazy kitten, willing to lie obediently in his lap if he scratched her chin.

He patted her back and softly hummed in affirmation.

Zhou Yining’s lips curved in happiness. She stood on her tiptoes, ready to kiss him.

“Ding-dong.” The elevator suddenly rang.

Ji Dongyang quickly pressed her shoulders, pushing her back to her original spot and pulling her out of his embrace. It must be Yang Xuan.

Zhou Yining no longer cared who had arrived. She had been so close to a kiss only to be pushed away, and she was thoroughly displeased. She glared up at him.

Yang Xuan walked out of the stairwell and saw the two of them standing close together. Ji Dongyang looked indifferent, while Zhou Yining turned away and fumbled with her keys, looking down. His eyes flickered. Had he come at a bad time?

Zhou Yining turned back with a smile. “Director Yang.”

Yang Xuan nodded. Zhou Yining opened her door and went inside, slamming the door shut loudly.

Ji Dongyang turned to enter his passcode. Yang Xuan walked up behind him. “Don’t tell me you two were kissing in the hallway just now.”

“We weren’t.”

Ji Dongyang tossed his down jacket onto the sofa and leaned against it. Yang Xuan threw a script onto the table. “The script has been revised. This is the latest version. Take a look. The press conference is in the middle of next month.”

Ji Dongyang picked up the script and flipped through it. Yang Xuan watched him. “Are you really planning on being with Zhou Yining?”

Ji Dongyang paused his movements. He neither denied nor confirmed it. Many of his plans would have to be scrapped, and all his planned escape routes would need to be re-evaluated. To be honest, he hadn’t fully made up his mind. This wasn’t something he could completely predict. He had to prepare for the worst, and as for Zhou Yining, he felt she would never be completely under his control.

Yang Xuan took his silence as agreement. He found it a little unbelievable. Ji Dongyang had rejected so many actresses, yet he couldn’t refuse the somewhat eccentric Zhou Yining.

Next door, Zhou Yining had just arrived home when her phone rang.

“Yining, darling! We’re here to celebrate your birthday! We’re already downstairs, come down and get us!” Alice hung up right after saying this.

Zhou Yining rolled her eyes at her phone, put her down jacket back on, and headed out.

Downstairs, there were two girls leaning against each other, one dressed in an eye-catching, vibrant style, the other more neutral. Zhou Yining waved at them from the stairwell. “Why are you being so dramatic? Can’t you walk up yourselves? You had to make me come down.”

Zhang Hui hooked her arm around Alice’s shoulder and walked over. Alice hugged Zhou Yining from behind. “We haven’t seen each other in so long, and we flew back from the UK just for your birthday, but you won’t even hug us? Heartless.”

Zhou Yining patted her hand, sounding disgusted. “Go hug Zhang Hui.”

Zhou Yining had met these two while studying abroad in England. They had accompanied her through her darkest days. Many people in China looked at them with strange or contemptuous eyes, but only a few people in other countries looked at them that way, which was why they were reluctant to return to China.

The three walked into the house. Zhang Hui asked her, “Is acting fun?”

Zhou Yining nodded, smiling. “Not just fun, it’s interesting!”

Alice wasn’t interested in the entertainment industry and urged her, “Hurry up and change. Let’s go out and have fun.”

Zhou Yining had wanted to take a nap, but now that seemed impossible. She went to change her clothes. Alice followed her into the walk-in closet and immediately screamed, “Oh my god, do you have a man?!“

Zhou Yining looked at the two rows of men’s clothes, suits, casual wear, and loungewear, everything imaginable. It was hard to convince anyone she didn’t have a man. She looked back at Alice, winking mischievously. “Yep.”

Alice looked at her in amazement and walked over to touch a suit. “Good taste! Who is it? Oh, is it that Shen from last time?”

Zhou Yining replied, “No.”

She and Shen Yanjun were impossible. She wouldn’t accept the marriage her father had arranged. No matter who the person was, her father’s marriage to her mother had been a joke and had almost destroyed her. Shouldn’t she learn her lesson?

Alice sighed. “Shen is quite pitiful, too.”

Zhou Yining chose her clothes, changed, and began to apply makeup, ignoring Alice.

As the three of them left, they ran right into Yang Xuan, who was leaving the opposite door. Zhou Yining looked at him and smiled. “My friends.”

Yang Xuan nodded at the two. But was that short-haired, tall, and handsome person a woman, too?

Ji Dongyang hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in three days, since the day before he returned from the UK. After Yang Xuan left, he took a shower and lay back down to catch up on sleep.

The ringing of his phone woke him up. In the dark, his hand reached accurately for the phone on the cabinet. His voice was heavy. “Who is it?”

Zhou Yining was stunned. “Are you sleeping?”

It’s past eight in the evening! Then she realized he probably hadn’t rested well these past few days. Before he could get angry at her tone, she quickly said, “It’s my birthday today.”

Ji Dongyang closed his eyes, pulled off his sleep mask, and was momentarily confused about day and night. She said it was her birthday today. He took a deep breath, and his voice softened a little. “Your birthday. What do you want me to do?”

Zhou Yining was delighted. “Anything at all?”

Ji Dongyang: “What do you think?”

Zhou Yining pouted and said softly, “Then come and find me. Stay with me to cut the cake and count down to the New Year.”

Her birthday was on December 31st, so she could count down to the New Year on her birthday night every year. There were already more than a dozen people gathered in the private room. The lights were flashing. She hid behind the door to call him. When she heard silence on the other end, she thought about it, and her voice became small and disappointed. “I forgot you’re a movie star, and you’re chased by fans and paparazzi everywhere. Never mind…”

Ji Dongyang turned on the bedside lamp, rubbed his hair, got out of bed, and pulled open the closet to look for clothes. “Where are you?”

Zhou Yining instantly broke into a wide smile and happily gave him the address.

Ji Dongyang arrived around 10 p.m. The private room was lively, with loud music and dazzling lights. When the crowd saw a tall man push the door open, they paused. The people dancing fiercely on the floor slowed down. Zhou Yining was wearing a large red crop top, the exposed section of white skin dazzlingly bright under the lights.

She swayed her hips and danced to him, hooking her hands around his neck with a brilliant smile. “Oh, you came!”

The music was deafening; she couldn’t actually hear her own voice, so she had to rely on lip-reading.

Seeing him frown, Zhou Yining obediently stood still.

Zhou Shen turned the music down. Ji Dongyang took off his mask and hat. Everyone was astonished, including Jing Xin. Dong-ge actually came to this noisy party?

Zhou Yining turned back to warn them. “Don’t stop! Don’t make a fuss! None of you knows him!”

Zhou Shen and the others were scared of her antics and immediately turned back obediently. The music blared again, deafeningly loud. Dancers danced, and drinkers drank.

Ji Dongyang pursed his lips and looked down at her. Zhou Yining pulled him over to sit on the sofa, pointed to the bowl of porridge on the table, and leaned close to him, shouting in his ear so he could hear over the music, “I had the kitchen prepare this for you!”

Ji Dongyang frowned and pulled her away; her shouting felt like it was going to burst his eardrum.

Zhou Yining pouted. Knowing his personality, she let Alice pull her away to dance.

Ji Dongyang watched the girl with her alluring figure swaying under the flashing lights, his eyes slightly narrowed. He rarely came to places like this. He would occasionally visit with the cast or director/producer, but he always made a brief appearance and left quickly. He really hadn’t eaten dinner, so he looked at the bowl of porridge and touched the porcelain; it was still warm.

Zhou Yining glanced back and smiled beautifully when she saw him eating.

She played around, and he sat there.

After a while, Zhou Yining turned back and found that he was gone!

She quickly turned the music down and grabbed Zhou Shen. “Where is he?”

Zhou Shen rolled his eyes. “He went out with his phone. His jacket is still here; he hasn’t left.”

Zhou Yining said, “Oh,” and Alice quickly asked, “Is that him? I thought you hated him?”

Zhou Yining looked at her. “Who said I hated him?”

Alice was about to say something, but was pulled away by Zhang Hui. Alice quickly swallowed her words and smiled at Zhou Yining. “He’s incredibly handsome.”

Zhou Yining waited for a long time, but he still didn’t return. She checked the time; it was past 11 p.m., and she couldn’t help but go out to look for him.

She stood in the corridor, her call not connecting. She checked outside the restroom but didn’t see anyone, so she walked back and forth in the hallway.

Ji Dongyang was taking a call in an empty private room. He saw her pacing anxiously in the hallway through the glass mirror of the metal door. He pulled the door open and leaned against the frame, watching her.

Zhou Yining turned her head and instantly saw him. She grinned widely and rushed to his side.

He had already turned and walked back into the room. With his back to her, he said a few words, then hung up the phone. He slipped his phone back into his pants pocket and turned to face her. “Looking for me? Time to cut the cake?”

Zhou Yining stood by the door, nodding, then shaking her head. “No.”

She was a little puzzled. How could there be an empty private room on the 31st? Did Zhou Shen reserve it?

Ji Dongyang walked over, looking down at her. “Were you anxious when you couldn’t find me?”

She nodded and wrapped her arms around him. “I thought you went home.”

Zhou Yining looked up at him, hooking her arms around his neck. Her eyes were sparkling. The room lights weren’t on, and only faint light filtered in from the hallway through the door glass, enough to clearly see his face; his strong, handsome contours looked much softer than usual.

Her heart suddenly raced. Tipping her face up, she hooked his neck tightly and stood on her tiptoes to kiss his lips, desperately seeking his response. She licked and nibbled at his lips. Having drunk quite a bit of beer, her body was beginning to burn. She grew anxious. “Ji Dongyang, kiss me! It’s my birthday today…”

He pulled her away slightly, looking down at her, about to say something.

Zhou Yining grew more urgent, hugging him again and pressing her lips to his. She wouldn’t believe she couldn’t light his fire. After a while, he still gave no response. Her heart gradually cooled, and the arms that had been holding him tightly slowly relaxed. Lowering her eyelashes, she was just about to pull her lips away.

The next second, her waist was brutally locked by his hands. She couldn’t move, kept in the same embrace, her toes only held up by his strength.

Their lips were pressed together. Ji Dongyang’s lips moved, enveloping hers. He paused, as if hesitating, but more like tasting her.

With just that one action, Zhou Yining melted. In that moment, she seemed to hear a voice burst from her chest, the sound of her heart surrendering.

NOTES

She’s gotten her hard-won birthday kiss. Hope you enjoyed the chapter