The Cinnabar Mole of a Beijing Circle Tycoon

Hidden behind the mountain villa is a natural spring, which Lu Linchuan specially diverted to create an open-air hot spring.

The bluestone banks are covered with moss, and several warm stones are piled up on the bank. The rising heat mixed with the fragrance of pine needles creates a hazy scene in the morning mist.

As Meng Jiangyu led Shen Qingyao closer, the hot spring water was bubbling with fine bubbles, like scattered silver.

Shen Qingyao, wrapped in a bath towel, flinched as soon as her feet touched the warm water. Meng Jiangyu stepped in first and pulled her close, saying, "Try it, the water temperature is just right."

As the warm water reached her waist, Shen Qingyao let out a comfortable sigh. The morning mist dampened her hair, and her cheeks were flushed pink from the steam.

Meng Jiangyu wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder, his breath brushing against her neck, moistened by the hot spring water: "Are you still angry about what happened this morning?"

Shen Qingyao shrank further into the water, deliberately ignoring him.

The hickeys on her neck became even more noticeable as the steam rose. She raised her hand to cover them, but he grabbed her wrist and pressed it into the water.

"What are you covering up?" He lowered his head, his nose brushing against her earlobe, his voice sounding particularly deep in the mist, "It's my mark."

Before he could finish speaking, his kiss landed on her lips.

Unlike his usual eagerness, this kiss carried the warmth of hot spring water, gently caressing her lips like mist drifting over bluestone, so tender it was intoxicating.

Shen Qingyao's hand was pressed against his chest, but she didn't have the strength to push him away. She could only let him deepen the kiss. His tongue carried a faint minty scent, just like the taste of toothpaste in the morning.

The fog grew thicker, blurring the scenery on the shore, leaving only the sound of each other's breaths mingling on the water's surface.

Meng Jiangyu ran his hand through her hair, pulling her closer into his arms, and kissed her more deeply, as if he wanted to melt all the longing he had felt over the past few days into his lips and teeth.

Shen Qingyao's fingertips dug into his back, the warmth of the water spreading up her skin, but it couldn't withstand the surging heat in her heart. She could only stand on tiptoe and kiss him back more forcefully.

After an unknown amount of time, both of them were slightly out of breath, forehead to forehead, noses touching.

Water droplets clung to Shen Qingyao's eyelashes, like butterfly wings covered in morning dew, trembling gently.

"Are you still angry?" Meng Jiangyu's voice was hoarse as he stroked her lips, which were red from being kissed, with his fingertips.

Shen Qingyao shook her head, buried herself deeper into his arms, and said in a muffled voice, "I'm not angry anymore."

The hot spring water rippled gently, carrying the shadows of the two people swaying on the bottom.

In the distance came the faint chirping of birds. The fog gradually dissipated, revealing the sky overhead, which was as blue as a piece of jade that had been washed.

Meng Jiangyu looked down at the person in his arms and suddenly felt that the hot springs in the mountains and the morning mist were not as touching as a single drop of water on her eyelashes.

He lowered his head and kissed the top of her head again, his breath warm and infused with her scent.

The steam from the hot spring, carrying a dampness, enveloped the two of them, while the occasional soft rustling of pine needles falling echoed from the bluestone bank.

Meng Jiangyu's kiss slid from his neck to his collarbone, burning hot, as if trying to leave a mark on his delicate skin.

Shen Qingyao's fingertips dug into the muscles of his back, her breathing became erratic, and the warmth of the water was no match for the flames burning all over her body.

His hand slipped under the edge of the bath towel, and when his fingertips touched her delicate skin, Shen Qingyao suddenly flinched and called out to him in a trembling voice, "Meng Jiangyu..."

That soft call was like a bucket of cold water, instantly extinguishing the confusion in Meng Jiangyu's eyes.

He snapped back to reality, looking at the reddened eyes and tightly pursed lips of the person in his arms, and his Adam's apple bobbed violently.

His reason, which had been clouded by desire, gradually returned; he couldn't let things continue like this.

She is Shen Qingyao, the girl who would blush for half a day because of his joke, the person he cherishes dearly, not someone he can indulge in casually.

Meng Jiangyu suddenly released his grip and took a half step back, splashing water onto the bluestone.

He turned his back, his chest heaving violently, splashed cold water on his face, and said in a hoarse voice, as if it had been rubbed with sandpaper: "...He's gone mad."

Shen Qingyao stood frozen in the water, her bath towel hanging loosely over her shoulders. Looking at his tense back, she felt flustered and confused. Her fingertips gripped the edge of the towel, unsure of what to say.

"Get dressed." Meng Jiangyu's voice was firm and unquestionable, yet it concealed a hint of barely perceptible embarrassment. "I'll wait for you outside. Don't come out barefoot."

After he finished speaking, he stepped ashore, grabbed a bathrobe draped over a rock and wrapped it haphazardly around his body, then staggered as he walked deeper into the bamboo forest.

The cold wind blowing through his wet hair calmed him down a little.

He almost crossed the line just now, and cursed himself for being a bastard. If you like someone, you want to protect her well, not destroy her with your desires.

Shen Qingyao sat in the water for a long time until the heat on the surface gradually dissipated before slowly wrapping herself in a towel and getting ashore.

The pebbles on the shore hurt her feet. She looked in the direction where Meng Jiangyu had disappeared, her heart feeling stuffed with cotton, making her feel suffocated.

In the courtyard, Meng Jiangyu leaned against an old pine tree, smoking, with cigarette butts scattered all over the ground.

Seeing Shen Qingyao approach, he stubbed out his cigarette and picked up a towel to dry her hair: "Dry your hair, don't catch a cold."

Shen Qingyao was about to take the towel when her fingertips just touched his hand. "Let me dry your hair."

"Just now..." Shen Qingyao wanted to say something, but he interrupted her.

"There's nothing there." Meng Jiangyu looked at her earnestly. "It was my fault for losing control. I won't do it again."

He paused, then softened his voice: "Go back to your room. The kitchen should have some ginger soup. Drink some to warm yourself up."

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the bamboo leaves, casting dappled shadows between the two people.

"good!"

No one spoke again, but the indescribable emotions in the air were as thick as the mist in the bamboo forest.

How could Shen Qingyao not be moved by a man like that?

Shen Qingyao sat on the bed, while Meng Jiangyu stood beside her, drying her hair.

The scent of cedar mixed with a faint tobacco fragrance enveloped Shen Qingyao.

"We'll have a year-end reunion dinner later, then we'll head back to the city!"

"good!"

"I just saw that your wounds have completely healed. Let's go to the hospital this afternoon for a check-up!"

"Uh-huh!"

"If there are no problems, you should be able to go home before the New Year! You don't need to wait until after the New Year."

Upon hearing this news, Shen Qingyao was overjoyed, her eyes lighting up. "Really?"

"I'm so happy to be home!"

"Of course, I haven't seen my mom, dad, and brother for over six months!"

"Don't worry, I'll definitely be home before the clock strikes midnight."

"Okay!" Meng Jiangyu turned around and went to the bathroom to get a hairdryer.

"So, are you spending Chinese New Year alone in Yu Garden this year? There's no festive atmosphere at all in Yu Garden."

"Don't worry, after I see you off at the airport, I'll go straight back to the old house."

"That's good!"