Growing Fond of You, Mr Nian

Mo Liuxi was staring at her with sharp intent. He had an unbearably unsettling feeling and felt hot to the roots of his hair.

He knew this feeling well. In the past, when she was working, he would wait for her outside the hotel…just like now. This happened back when romance was still sweet, or, depending on the day of the week, a temporary madness.

After all this time, he realized he hadn’t moved on at all. He couldn’t. It was impossible.

He hated Yan Su. But he loved her more than he hated her. He loved her so much that he couldn’t stand anyone bullying or bothering her. Some might say he was obsessed with her. He wanted her undivided attention even if it meant the two of them quarreling and getting angry at each other.

No matter what awaited them in the future, even if it was more pain, he was willing to take her back again.

But things would be different; he would lock her down.

“Why aren’t you saying anything, and what are you thinking about?” Yan Su walked to where he was standing, lost in thought. She was giving him that curious look.

“Open the door.” Mo Liuxi’s eyes were dark and serious.

Yan Su was surprised. She opened the door and in he walked….into the room and into her life. Mo Liuxi shut the door behind him, his voice low and hoarse, “You said in the morning that I could come and find you, and I didn’t have to go back. What does that mean?”

Yan Su felt overheated. She knew he was going to bring that up. Her mind went blank as she blurted out, “What I meant was…I can book a room for you next door…”

“I don’t want that.” Mo Liuxi took off his thick down jacket and scarf and tossed them on the sofa. His eyes were still as dark as before, like a lone wolf.

Yan Su watched him move around like this, “Then…”

“I want to sleep on your bed.” Mo Liuxi kicked his boots off.

Yan Su, “…”

“Why, are you embarrassed? It’s not like we haven’t slept together before.” Mo Liuxi drew closer to her step by step and forced her to sit on the couch.

His handsome face was pressing closer and closer to her as he looked at her from above. Yan Su gulped and started at his chest before saying, “Calm down…”

“How can I calm down?” Mo Liuxi replied in a low voice. “I’ve been surrounded by happy couples since yesterday. I was walking alone in the snow last night until my toes and fingers were frozen numb. Not you, though. You were walking alongside Aunty Murong. Did you ever wonder how I might have felt?”

“But… but if I held your hand, Aunty Murong would have been left alone,” Yan Su stammered. “She’s so old. She would have felt lonely or left out.”

“Well, tokay.. you do make some sense.” Mo Liuxi nodded his head after thinking about it. “But can I interpret that to mean that you wouldn’t have left me alone if Aunty Murong hadn’t been there?”

He was so direct and suggestive. Yan Su didn’t like that.

The two of them were flirting with each other. That much was obvious. They had gone through many things a couple would have gone through. Maybe it was time to mend fences and establish some boundaries between them…or figure out if they were still a couple.

“Yan Su, don’t forget, we’ve already broken up,” Mo Liuxi suddenly said. He was feeling complicated and confused. This time he was the one reminding her, “Can I take that to mean that you want to get back together again?”

“…”

Yan Su looked at him. “Mo Liuxi, you sound as if I’m clamoring after you. Like all this is wishful thinking on my part. Don’t forget, if you didn’t…”

“If I didn’t know what?” Mo Liuxi drew even closer to her.

Yan Su opened her mouth. She was going to tell him everything tonight. “All right, let’s go through the sequence of events one by one. Let’s talk about Venice first. You extended your hand… to help me with my lactation problem. Is that something people would normally do after breaking up? You kissed me again under the bridge. You can call it accidental, but you were the one who kissed me first. Afterward, in Beijing, you had a meal with my brother and me. I fed you food, and you fed me. We shared ice cream, we kissed… I just want to know how you feel about this?”