Ji Dongyang’s body tensed. His hands rested on her waist. After a few seconds, he slowly covered her lips with his. Unlike his usual passionate aggression, this kiss was gentle, soothing, so tender that Zhou Yining melted in his arms. His hand stroked her waist as if by magic, warming her body from cold to hot.

Zhou Yining couldn’t take it anymore. She stood on her tiptoes, pressing close to him, her hands slipping under the hem of his clothes to stroke the muscles of his waist.

She wanted him. She wanted him now.

Ji Dongyang’s hand moved lower, lifting the hem of her skirt, probing that place. The next second, he pressed her onto the sofa.

Her long hair spread out, black and soft against the white sofa. Her gaze was clear as she stared at him, clean, pure, and a little seductive.

Ji Dongyang braced himself on either side of her, looking down at her seriously, his dark eyes slightly narrowed. “Who am I?”

Zhou Yining blinked. “Ji Dongyang…”

He stared at her as if trying to see something in the depths of her eyes. He raised his hand, brushing her long hair back strand by strand, revealing her small, clean face. He gave a low hum and simultaneously lowered his head to kiss her lips.

His breath moved lower, landing on her exquisite collarbone, then lower still, lightly kissing the small black cat tattoo on her chest.

Zhou Yining’s body couldn’t stop trembling. Her hands reached up to grab his hair.

Ji Dongyang frowned, catching her hand. She was gripping something tightly.

He paused, looked at her, and pried her fingers open bit by bit.

Lying in her palm was a broken bracelet, a red cord, the two broken ends slightly blackened as if burned. The pendant was a small, round piece of jade, translucent and clearly not ordinary, but unfortunately cracked.

Ji Dongyang stared at the bracelet. Zhou Yining hugged him and suddenly gave a soft laugh. “Is this yours?”

She said, “I found it in your jacket pocket. It’s a girl’s bracelet.”

Ji Dongyang recalled for a moment and said, “A little girl insisted on giving it to me.”

Zhou Yining pressed, “When?”

Ji Dongyang pulled her up, spreading his legs so she could sit in front of him. Zhou Yining didn’t want that; she turned around to face him, looking into his eyes with unprecedented seriousness.

Ji Dongyang thought she was jealous and explained, “Five or six years ago, in Brighton, UK. I helped a little girl, and she insisted on giving me something.”

“What little girl? How old? Do you remember what she looked like?”

“I don’t remember. I couldn’t see clearly.”

Ji Dongyang hadn’t expected to be suddenly interrogated. His tightly pressed lips curved slightly, and the tension he had been holding relaxed. Just now, he had thought she… was becoming unstable again.

Yes, he thought she was reverting to that careful, impossibly well-behaved little girl without a trace of desire.

Zhou Yining was deeply disappointed. She lowered her head. The next instant, she grabbed the front of his shirt. “Think again. Think harder. Do you really not remember?”

Ji Dongyang frowned, staring at her strangely. After a long while, he said, “Short hair, very thin and small, very stubborn, no, I should say paranoid…”

That year, he won his first Movie King trophy. At the same time, overwhelming news about his parents’ gambling and drug addiction dominated the headlines of the entire entertainment industry.

The storm arrived, the city walls were crumbling. Fans were in disbelief and argued fiercely, demanding evidence from the whistleblower.

Another large group demanded he return the trophy, saying he was unworthy.

Because in Black and White, he played a narcotics police officer.

A massive irony.

Ji Dongyang also felt the irony was extreme. He remained silent for a few days. Shi Yu, the boss of Shiguang Media, somehow managed to make the whistleblower suddenly apologize, turning the tide of public opinion.

At that time, Ji Dongyang was ready to face the consequences, but Yang Xun held him back firmly. “If you go out and say anything now, don’t ever think about mixing in this circle again for the rest of your life.”

He had sneered then. “Then I won’t mix.”

Yang Xun: “This isn’t up to you. The entire team, half the company, rests on your shoulders. Do you know how much effort President Shi put in for you, how much money he spent, how many favors he owes? Listen to me. Send them to mandatory rehab. I will handle everything. You don’t need to show your face.”

Then, pretend nothing happened.

Using the excuse that there were no suitable scripts, Yang Xun didn’t book any roles for Ji Dongyang. Ji Dongyang went to the US for a few months, then to the UK.

It was May, a night in Brighton.

The night was chilly, but the nearby female university students were mostly bare-legged, wearing high heels and mini-skirts, flitting between bars. Ji Dongyang passed a bar, glanced at it, and walked in.

Late at night, leaving the bar, Ji Dongyang pushed away a woman who wanted to leave with him and walked alone on the street.

That period was probably his most indulgent and idle time. Leaning under a streetlamp to smoke, he saw three men following a short-haired, thin girl who walked somewhat unsteadily.

In Brighton, the crime rate for sexual assault was the highest.

Ji Dongyang watched for a few seconds, then followed.

The girl probably sensed it too and broke into a run. Though she looked small and thin, she was fast. The men paused for a moment, then quickly chased after her.

Ji Dongyang lagged behind a bit. She was small and agile, weaving through the small streets. When he found her, she was cornered by the three men at the end of a street. The night was cold and oppressive. He heard the little girl say in English, “Get lost, or I’ll kill you.”

Her voice trembled but was unusually cold. In the dark night, she seemed lonely and helpless, carrying a sense of fighting to the death.

One man suddenly said, “We won’t touch you. Just give us your money.”

Then, the little girl threw her bag over. They rummaged through it; there was hardly any cash, but quite a few cards. The girl gave them the PIN. One man left with the cards, leaving two behind.

Ji Dongyang walked over. The two men looked at him. In the faint moonlight, Ji Dongyang saw one of them holding a gun. He laughed slowly and said in English, “You got the money, you can go now. I want the person.”

The two men laughed wickedly, saying nasty things, roughly meaning they weren’t interested in such a skinny Chinese girl anyway, so she was his.

Just then, the man who left returned, cursing foully in English, saying all the cards were frozen and he couldn’t get a cent.

They said since there was no money, they wanted the person, asking Ji Dongyang, “You don’t mind sharing, do you?”

Ji Dongyang said, “I mind.”

Chaos ensued. Before filming Black and White, Ji Dongyang had undergone real combat training. He snatched the gun almost instantly.

After the three men left, Ji Dongyang walked up to the silent little girl standing in the corner. “Chinese?”

Suddenly, the girl reached out to snatch the gun from his hand but failed.

She said coldly, “Just kill me.”

Ji Dongyang paused, remembering what he had said earlier. This girl is fierce. He pursed his lips. “I lied to them. I won’t hurt you.”

She didn’t believe him, looking up at him coldly. But the corner was too dark, and with only faint moonlight, she couldn’t see his face clearly, only that he wore a mask. Ji Dongyang extended his hand. “Here’s the gun.”

She took it immediately, stepping back, warning vigilantly, “If you dare touch me, I’ll shoot. I will.”

Ji Dongyang didn’t speak. He turned his back to her, intending to leave.

The next second, someone grabbed him. After a long pause, she asked, “Are you really not a bad person?”

He didn’t answer. She said, “Can you help me make a call?”

His money had been given to the three robbers, but he still had his phone. He handed it to her.

After the call, she squatted in the corner, still clutching the hem of his clothes.

Helpless, Ji Dongyang squatted down with her, sitting on the ground.

After a while, he noticed she was tugging hard at her left wrist. The more she pulled, the more agitated she became, using more force. He asked, “What are you doing?”

She panted slightly. “I want to give this to you. I don’t want to owe you. This is very expensive.”

It was precious. Her grandmother had left it to her.

She couldn’t see, and she couldn’t untie the knot.

She grew increasingly frantic. Ji Dongyang thought she might cry.

He took out a lighter, held her hand, and lit it. She stared at the small flame and seemed to quiet down instantly.

In just a few seconds, he pressed the burnt bracelet into his palm. “I accept it.”

…

After Ji Dongyang finished his account, he found Zhou Yining staring at him, the emotions hidden in her eyes no longer concealable. Ji Dongyang suddenly remembered when they were filming Taiping Dynasty, how she chased him asking if he always had a habit of burning things with a lighter. Her frantic expression when trying to untie the knot, her rapid breathing, short hair, England.

They stared at each other in silence for a few seconds.

Ji Dongyang pursed his lips, slowly digesting this unexpected discovery.

Staring at her, he said very slowly, “So it was you…”

Zhou Yining pounced on him, straddling his lap, looking down at him. “It was me. I was 18 that year, short hair, looking like the girl in your memory.”

That night, he sat with her for a while until Zhang Hui and Alice arrived.

The next day, she called the number from the call log, but it was out of service.

She pressed him on why the number was disconnected. Ji Dongyang was still recalling the photos of her with short hair. “I returned to China the next day.”

The first night back, he stayed here, and the bracelet stuffed in his pocket was forgotten in the closet.

Memory is related to a person’s life experiences.

Ji Dongyang was ten years older than her. His experiences were definitely richer than hers. In her eighteen years of memory, such a person had appeared, and such an event had happened, deeply imprinted in her mind. Perhaps it was different for Ji Dongyang; he had experienced more, and many things were more memorable than this incident.

So, he forgot.

This is life. With its hundreds of twists and turns, those who are meant to meet will always meet.

…

It had been less than half an hour since their last kiss.

Starting again, the battle was fierce. The two hugged tightly, kissing passionately, both somewhat losing control. Zhou Yining urgently tugged at his clothes. Sitting on him, she took off her own clothes. With no covering left on her body, she was a soft expanse of white. Ji Dongyang held her waist, his long, rough fingers kneading it uncontrollably. The next instant, he flipped over and pressed her beneath him.

He lowered his head, biting lightly on her chest.

Zhou Yining’s face flushed, her body trembling uncontrollably. Ji Dongyang looked up at her. Her eyes were clear and moist, staring straight at him.

He reached under her knee, lifting one of her legs. His hand moved down from her lower abdomen, probing inside.

His hand stroked back and forth over the wetness. She trembled into a soft puddle beneath him, her legs hooking around his waist. Her hand went down, covering him, gripping him with some difficulty, her palm sweaty. He groaned, his hand not stopping, using more force.

Zhou Yining was going crazy.

She arched her back, pressing close to him, almost crying. “Come in…”

When he suddenly entered, Zhou Yining’s body tightened all over. She clutched his back tightly and cried out.

Intimacy without any gap, a tight entanglement, made Ji Dongyang press his lips together hard. He lowered his head to kiss the side of her face, her ear, without stopping, thrusting relentlessly again and again. Zhou Yining was tossed about until she couldn’t make a sound, panting rapidly, breathing difficult, hair messy, eyes silky with desire.

Watching the man rising and falling above her, she felt that this version of him was the most real.

Her eyes were too captivating.

Ji Dongyang closed his eyes, straightened up slightly, and while still deep inside, flipped her over. He leaned down, pressing against her tender, sweaty back, thrusting hard from behind. She began to tremble.

He lifted her slender waist, closed his eyes, and kissed her back.

Zhou Yining cried out softly, disliking this position.

She was limp and soft, unable to see him, yet unable to resist.

She loved him like this.

…

From the sofa to the bathroom, and back to the bed.

She was the one who started the fire, but she ended up being tossed about until she couldn’t even hum.

She finally understood: a man who usually looked abstinent, when with the woman he liked, would always have inexhaustible strength and passion.

She melted into a pool of water, her eyes moist and clear, just looking at him.

His eyes were bright black, staring at her, deep and profound, carrying endless tenderness.

That was something only she could see.

Ji Dongyang hugged her from behind and put on his eye mask.

“Ji Dongyang.”

“Mm.”

“I’m tired.”

“…Mm. You can sleep now.”

…

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