Chapter 19: The Kiss on the Ferris Wheel

Qin Yuan pushed open the door of Meowed Cafe, and a cold wind blew inside. He took off his glasses to wipe the fog off the lenses, looking listless.

Song Lang asked him, “What’s going on? Are you okay?”

Qin Yuan waved his hand.

He had just gotten into a car accident—no injuries, but after making a few calls for comfort, only Song Lang had answered.

“I just came here to calm down. Pour me a cup of hot water,” he said, sitting down and half-leaning back on the chair, telling Song Lang about what had happened today.

“Since losing the case this morning... everything’s gone wrong,” he said, “I feel anxious.”

He opened the group chat, but still no one had replied.

He had called and sent messages, but neither Jiang Beibei nor those guys responded.

Today, he didn’t know why.

Qin Yuan asked, “Si’er, do you know where Beibei went?”

Song Lang didn’t know the current situation between Chu Yao and Jiang Beibei. If he told Qin Yuan that Chu Yao was confessing to Jiang Beibei right now, Qin Yuan’s current state might spiral further, so he said, “Maybe she’s still working, it’s the end of the year.”

That made sense, and Qin Yuan casually tossed his phone onto the table, exhausted: “The sorrow of adulthood... endless overtime all year long.”

But in reality, Jiang Beibei—the one thought to be always working overtime—was now sitting on a Ferris wheel with Chu Yao, quietly watching the night view.

It was like a dream; after the confession succeeded, they got stuck.

Apart from that gentle kiss, nothing much had changed.

Chu Yao seemed happy, but after Jiang Beibei calmed down, she realized she didn’t dare to be playful anymore.

She didn’t even know how she so muddledly succeeded in confessing.

After regaining her composure, she tested the waters a little: in front of Chu Yao, she took off her gloves and ran over to hold his hand.

His reaction wasn’t much different from before—just a slight pause, then he naturally held her hand back.

But his focus was completely different from what Jiang Beibei cared about.

After that pause, Chu Yao asked, “Can you not wear gloves? Is it cold? Put them away carefully, don’t lose them.”

Only then did Jiang Beibei realize he hadn’t noticed the meaning behind her taking off her gloves to hold his hand.

The Ferris wheel slowly rose, leaving the ground; at this moment, truly, there were only the two of them.

Jiang Beibei didn’t dare to test again. She looked outside the window but kept an eye on Chu Yao out of the corner of her eye.

He was also looking out, his arm resting on the window frame, his chin propped up, very quiet.

His eyelashes drooped heavily; the light coming through the window traced a hazy outline, shadows and light slowly flowing over him.

Chu Yao... he had a unique aura. Jiang Beibei, growing up alongside him, had searched for a similar aura but never found one again.

A static kind of beauty—both indifferent and gentle—these two opposing feelings tugged at him, and as he matured, they settled into a subtle balance, blending into a special sense of distance around him.

Not arrogant, yet untouchable.

Some said he was like the South Pole, but Jiang Beibei stubbornly thought he was the North Pole, because he was warmer than his cold exterior suggested, with an unnoticed gentleness and delicacy, like flowing water.

However... after her confession was accepted, he just stood still.

Jiang Beibei, feeling anxious, recalled many movie endings, even fairy tales—most stories end with two people falling in love.

What comes after? No guide.

For a long time, she had compared the distance between her and Chu Yao to the distance from the ground to the clouds. She needed a ladder. Chu Yao stood on the clouds; to reach him, she needed that ladder.

She once thought the confession would be the ladder, but now it was just shouting up from below.

The good thing was, she shouted, and he heard her, replying yes.

The bad thing was, she still couldn’t get up, and Chu Yao hadn’t floated down from the clouds to bring her up.

Lost in her thoughts, Chu Yao softly called her name, bringing her back. She saw him extend a hand with a smile, his eyes shining like shattered gems, flickering with the changing lights outside.

“Beibei, come.”

That invitation sounded like a whisper in bed, careful not to wake a dreamer, soft and gentle drifting into Jiang Beibei’s ear.

The sensation made her shiver.

This tingling feeling was like fine wine—one sip and she was drunk. Her head felt light, and she reached out her hand. Chu Yao tightly gripped her wrist and pulled her into his embrace. He laughed softly, a satisfied happiness in his voice.

“Look this way.” He pointed outside the window, whispering in her ear, “Do you see it?”

Jiang Beibei’s face flushed deep red; she stayed perfectly still, only her neck stiffly turned to follow his finger’s direction.

A brilliantly lit street grew smaller and smaller as it moved away from them, glowing with vibrant lights.

Jiang Beibei realized it was the city’s most famous commercial pedestrian street. The gray little dot immersed in the light and shadows that Chu Yao pointed at was Song Lang’s cafe.

“The snow stopped.”

Qin Yuan took off his coat, accepted the mop from Song Lang, and began clearing the snow and wiping the floor at the entrance.

Girls carrying milk tea walked out of the shop, chatting about where to go next.

“Let’s go to the amusement park this weekend.”

“There will be fireworks every night at 9 this week.”

“Handsome guy, we’re leaving!”

Qin Yuan looked up and gave a charming smile: “Come again next time, thanks for supporting the business.”

“Ha ha ha ha... that sentence is so embarrassing,” the girls laughed as they left.

Qin Yuan shouted into the shop, “Song Lang, what events are happening at the amusement park this week?”

“New Year celebrations, the events change every week. Are you planning to switch your target to chasing girls at the amusement park?”

“Cut it out,” Qin Yuan said seriously, “I’m taking Beibei with me.”

Song Lang asked, “Have you met up with her these days?”

Qin Yuan: “That’s why I want to go with everyone and try to ease the awkwardness with her.”

Song Lang cleared his throat. “San’er, come here, I want to say something to you.”

“What?”

Song Lang hesitated whether to say it or not, but when Qin Yuan came over, he chickened out.

He said, “Help me sneak the big cat out.”

Qin Yuan: “...Go away, I’m not here to do your work!”

Song Lang scratched his head and suddenly said, “Bro, it’s a bitter feeling... all that love and affection stuff.”

Song Lang couldn’t clearly explain what was going on inside him—he had never felt such complicated emotions before.

Ever since he clearly knew that both Qin Yuan and Chu Yao had feelings for Jiang Beibei, he had been caught in this complicated emotion, feeling guilty no matter which side he stood on.

Qin Yuan was completely unaware. He raised his phone and tried to blame the lack of messages on the signal.

“Where the hell is Beibei?”

Meanwhile, on the Ferris wheel, Jiang Beibei looked down at Song Lang’s shop from mid-air, leaning against the window, and said, “Yao-ge, living like this, is Si-ge happy?”

“Maybe there are regrets, but the current life is his choice. I think he shouldn’t be unhappy.”

“Yao-ge... are you happy?” Jiang Beibei suddenly asked. “That job—you plan to do it for your whole life, right?”

Chu Yao nodded gently.

Jiang Beibei turned to look at him and asked, “Yao-ge, if I and your job can’t coexist—like the classic dilemma of fish and bear’s paw, you can only choose one—what would you do?”

Chu Yao was slightly surprised. He didn’t expect Jiang Beibei to ask such a question, but after the surprise, he laughed.

“Yao-ge, why are you laughing?”

“I remembered my mom...” Chu Yao said, “The classic question—if your wife and your mother both fall into the water, as a man, who do you save first? My mom, to avoid making me feel awkward, told me the answer a long time ago.”

Jiang Beibei curiously asked, “What did Auntie say?”

“My mom said she’s a police officer, and it’s her duty to protect citizens. If my wife falls into the water, she would save her first together with me, so no need to worry.”

Jiang Beibei was stunned for a long time.

Chu Yao laughed and said, “You know, I’ve always remembered this answer. When my future wife asks me, that’s what I’ll tell her.”

He propped up his head, smiling at Jiang Beibei: “But I didn’t expect you to change the question.”

“Actually, Yao-ge, I was just setting the stage...” Jiang Beibei whispered, “I threw out that question just to be clever—I didn’t expect you to answer. Because what I really want to tell you is that I hope you can have both the fish and the bear’s paw, since I like you and I also like your job, so you’ll never have to make such a hard choice.”

“I know...” Chu Yao looked at her gently, pulling her into his arms and murmuring like in a dream, “I know, Beibei.”

Jiang Beibei raised her head and suddenly smiled. She leaned in and surprised him again, licking the corner of Chu Yao’s lips.

In that moment, Jiang Beibei saw a flash of light in Chu Yao’s eyes.

Unconcealed possessiveness, like blazing fire, brightened his gaze—dangerous and captivating.

Jiang Beibei was instantly terrified. Her brain mocked her impulsiveness.

You’re done for.

Even a moment of such aggressive eyes was enough to let her understand the situation she was in.

She heard Chu Yao whisper, “…finally…”

He tore off the gentle and refined mask he usually wore, pressed her into his chest, and kissed her.

Jiang Beibei instinctively struggled twice but was firmly trapped in his embrace. His long fingers ran through her smooth hair; his lips weren’t the familiar gentle ones but possessed like a conquering army, leaving no trace untouched, seizing her sweetness and breath.

Jiang Beibei clutched his back tightly, completely losing the initiative. Fireworks burst in her mind.

Boom—

Outside the window, not far away, fireworks exploded.

Close enough here to see the gray smoke left in the air after the colors faded.

Jiang Beibei lost her breath to him. Amid the sweet sensation of suffocation, she happily thought: totally worth it.

Also, Chu Yao’s aggressively intense kiss made her understand why the “high mountain flower”—the distant and cold beauty—is admired from afar but not approached lightly.

Being playful is way too dangerous.

After the kiss, Chu Yao loosened his hold and smiled, reaching into his coat to take out his wallet.

Jiang Beibei looked bewildered.

“Yao-ge...”

Chu Yao pulled out a bank card from the wallet and handed it to Jiang Beibei: “Here. Take it.”

“What’s this?” Jiang Beibei asked, confused.

A kiss followed by giving money? What is this?

“It’s my salary card,” Chu Yao said. “From now on, it belongs to you.”