Her face was pressed firmly against his chest, and a stain was left on his white shirt.

His body was cold as a result of staying outside for quite some time. On him was the smell of frost and a faint whiff of tobacco.

She never liked the smell of tobacco; of the reasons she used to like Jian Yi so much was because he was not a smoker. His smell was always light and fresh, with a sunny feel to it.

However, the faint smell of tobacco emanating from Qi Chengzhi's body was pleasantly muddled. It had the sexiness of a mature man.

She did not know how long Qi Chengzhi was there, but she was sure that he was there from the moment she arrived. He was simply keeping quiet all along.

Smelling the scent on his body made her even more flustered.

She could feel his warm energy radiating all over her face and she could smell the scent of his tobacco.

Her heart began beating even faster and more erratically. She could clearly feel the closeness between them, but she did not dare to lift her head.

She subsequently felt his dry, warm lips landing on her temples. They rubbed gently against her temples while he exhaled on her reddened ears.

Goosebumps raised on Song Yu's neck, and his gentle strokes caused her to shiver intensely.

Her hands – which were placed on his chest – made an attempt to push him, but he would not budge. All she could do was whisper softly, "Don't be like this…"

"Shh…" His lips reached and pressed against her ears. A breath was exhaled into her ears and he softly said, "Don't talk. They might hear you."

Song Yu suppressed her desire to moan by biting her lips. She was truly afraid to make a sound and Qi Chengzhi's lips were left to roam between her earlobe and cheek.

She looked as the places touched by his lips became redder and warmer. Her cheek, baked by his warmth, began emanating a richer scent.

"Jian Yi, do you still have feelings for Song Yu? She walked to the bathroom and you followed right behind her! Aren't you concerned that people might gossip since you're doing it so publicly?" Qi Chengyue's questioning voice resounded. Song Yu's body stiffened because of it and there was even a gradual drop in Song Yu's body temperature.

Jian Yi's expression could not be seen, but his patient voice could be heard. "There's nothing between us anymore. It was a coincidence. When we met at the corridor, all I did was nod at her."

"Is that the truth?" Qi Chengyue seemed distrustful and there was still some doubt in her voice. However, her voice was no longer as hardened as before and began to be sound more peaceful.

"Yes. She's nothing but a childhood friend. She's having some difficult times and because she helped me back then, I'm now helping her as much as I can. There's nothing between us. You've really misunderstood our relationship," Jian Yi patiently explained. He walked over to Qi Chengyue, wrapped his hands around her arm, and pulled her into his embrace.

"Didn't I tell you already? I was worried you'd misunderstand and get jealous."

Qi Chengyue had a shy smile. Her fingers, with their exquisitely painted nails, fiddled with the shirt buttons closest to his stomach. In a soft-spoken and sweet manner, she asked, "You said that you and Song Yu are just friends who grew up together, what about me?"

"You?" Jian Yi's voice seemed to be cheery but somewhat vague. "You are the one and only woman that I want in this life."

Qi Chengyue cuddled happily into his embrace. She lifted her head and said coquettishly, "Say you love me."

"I love you." Goosebumps formed all over Song Yu's body upon hearing Jian Yi's words of adoration spoken in his sickening voice.

Subsequently, the two of them became quiet but footsteps of them leaving were not heard.

After about two seconds, she heard Qi Chengyue's faint breathing and urgent moans.

Song Yu's face turned pale and her eyes were filled with loneliness.

She knew early on that Jian Yi would cover up the truth from Qi Chengyue, but she still could not bear to hear it coming directly from him.

Song Yu – somewhat mockingly – wondered whether it was an improvement to hear Jian Yi upgrade her from being a client to a childhood friend.

He was afraid to even admit that he liked her. What grounds did he have for confessing to her and begging her to never leave him?

Song Yu smiled bitterly. Despite saying that she would sever all ties with him, there remained the undeniable fact that for thirteen years, he was the only man in her heart. Letting go was easier said than done.

Even though she was disappointed with him, hearing his words still had an effect on her.

Qi Chengzhi noticed her painful expression and closed his eyes. All of a sudden, he lowered his head and kissed her on the lips.

The back of her head was pressed hard against the wall, and her lips were strongly pressed against his. His fiery tongue pried her lips open and entered her mouth, making its urgent and intense assailment.

A startled Song Yu then tried pushing him, but to no avail. He was holding her in a firm grip.

His hand, which held her waist, traveled upward and grabbed her left breast. Her dress was the only thing separating her breast from his hand.

She felt as though her heart was burning because his hand was positioned where her heart was.

His clean, fresh taste flooded her mouth. His overpowering and potent kiss weakened her resistance. Unwittingly, she became obedient.

She lost herself unintentionally in his overbearing assault and was red from head to toe.

His kisses traced slowly across the corner of her lips to her earlobe, then they softly reached her neck and collarbone. He moved her shawl aside.

All Song Yu felt was a chilliness in her front. She looked down and saw him stretching her collar to bury his head in her breasts.

The chilliness, coupled with him pouncing on her, jolted Song Yu awake. In a flash, her face turned as red as a well-done piece of shrimp. With anger and shyness, she pushed him, "Qi Chengzhi!"

"Shhh, don't let them hear us," Qi Chengzhi said softly without moving from his position. His lips rubbed gently against her skin as he spoke.

Song Yu was speechless. She bit her lip while her body trembled like a sieve. Suddenly though, she felt that something was not right: it had been quiet outside for quite some time.

At some point in time, Qi Chengyue and Jian Yi had long left.

Song Yu voiced out in anger, "Qi Chengzhi, you rascal, there's no one outside anymore!"

Qi Chengzhi finally looked up and straightened his body. He then lowered his head, pressed tightly against her lips, and lifted her up with both his hands.

The raging heat just beneath his pant zipper was embedded between her thighs, separated only by her dress. His hips gyrated slightly and he said, "Don't you just love it when I'm being a rascal toward you?"

Song Yu and her reddened face was not able to deny it.

Being in his embrace with a reddened, near-drunk expression, and a near-lustful look, any denial would not have been persuasive in the slightest.

Furthermore, her whole body was weak, a surge of wetness was reminding her how much of an effect he had on her. No matter how guilty she felt, she was unable to utter a single word to deny him.

Her bashful appearance invoked a passion within Qi Chengzhi. He lowered his head to kiss her, but was stopped by a voice. "Eh? You're here too, Young Master Cheng?"

Qi Chengzhi acted quickly to block Song Yu from view. He pressed the back of her head and buried her face deep in his embrace. Song Yu did not notice, but at some point, he had messed up her long hair and caused it to drape over her cheek in order to obscure her face from the other party.

He turned his head and saw that the other party was the son of a real estate company's boss: someone who also attended the banquet that night. With a woman in his arms, it seemed that he, too, decided to have a romp in the balcony.

Qi Chenghi pursed his lips and remained silent. His face did not seem remotely happy at the interruption.

Song Yu froze in shock. She buried her face tightly against his chest and pulled tightly at his shirt because she was afraid that they might recognize her.

The other party reacted smartly by saying politely, "Since Young Master Cheng is here, I won't be a bother."

Once he finished that sentence, he brought his lady friend away immediately without daring to see the woman whom he was sheltering in his embrace.

If Qi Chengzhi could go to such lengths to protect that woman, it was definitely not something to be curious about.

Qi Chengzhi helplessly let out a breath. It was not the kind of place where he should be getting intimate with Song Yu, so he let her go and gently held her in his arms to prevent her from collapsing.

Song Yu's body was dripping in cold sweat because of the scare, but she gradually regained her cognition.

She saw his crumpled suit, the lipstick stain on his lips, and another lipstick stain on his white shirt. All of it resulted from the both of them rubbing against each other during the hug.

As for herself, she knew she was in no condition to see anyone else despite not having a mirror to see herself.

Her hair was messed up, her lipstick was gone, and her face was insanely red.

In such a condition it was no good for them to leave the balcony.

Even if they went out one after the other, someone might notice. If they connected the dots by seeing their appearance, it would be fairly obvious that something had happened there between them.

"Us, like this…we can't go in…" Song Yu's lips were still swollen and numb as though she ate something spicy. Even the tone her of voice had changed.

"Do you want to leave?" Qi Chengzhi asked. His burning gaze made Song Yu feel rather unbearable.

If she went with him, she did not know if she would be able to go home in one piece.

If she did not, she remained in a condition where she was not able to see anyone and she also did not have the faintest intention of loitering around in the party anymore.

She might even vomit if she saw Jian Yi and Qi Chengyue.

Just when she hesitated, Qi Chengzhi had already jumped out of the balcony and stood on the grass outside.

The banquet hall was on the first floor, so it would be easy to jump over the wall.

Qi Chengzhi stood outside of the railings. He looked up at her and extended the well-defined fingers of his hand. "Coming?"

Song Yu stood where she was and looked at him hesitantly.

He was still wearing his glasses, but his hair turned messy because she had tousled his hair in her moment of disorientation. In turn, it made him look much younger than his age of thirty-four years.

The eyes which looked at her were provocative, making him seem even more irreverent and unruly. He looked rebellious all of a sudden.

Song Yu could not help but wonder just how unrestrained was he during his rebellious youth.

Back then, Qi Chengji mentioned to her before that Qi Chengzhi, together with Wei Ziqi, were famous for being uncontrollable.

Seeing how calm he was in recent years, she found it hard to imagine that he went through such a period.

At that moment, however, his look was one that vaguely resembled his earlier days.

"If you're not coming, I'm leaving." Qi Chengzhi twitched a brow and retracted his hand. He was about to turn around and leave.

"Wait!" Song Yu blurted out without thinking carefully.

When she saw him turn and begin to leave, she understood that she did not want him to leave her alone and go off.

The moment she saw him turn around, her heart became somewhat frenetic, as if she was about to lose the only thing she could hold on to.

Like making an important decision she knew what the future might hold for her if she left with him then: it was highly likely that her life would turn upside-down again.

Her expression seemed quite serene as she stepped forward and stared at him with both her eyes.

The corner of Qi Chengzhi's lips curled slightly, and he once again extended his hand to her.

She looked down at his clean palms with complex lines and his long and well-defined fingers.

She lowered her hand slowly to his and was pulled to the railings by him.

Then, he let her go. Subsequently, his hands held her tightly on the waist and lifted her whole body up.

Song Yu matched the motion of her legs with the rhythm and she finally crossed over the railings.

Her body failed to steady itself when she reached the ground, and she involuntarily fell forward into his embrace.

Qi Chengzhi stood firmly and without taking a half-step back, he safely guided her down.

Song Yu pressed both her hands on his shoulders and steadied herself.

When her face bumped gently onto his chest, his pure and raw fragrance came crashing toward her, her fuzzy brain fell into a dizzy state.

His warm hands – which had a searing hotness to them – held both sides of her waist, but all of a sudden, they shifted to her back. His hands ran under her shawl and came into direct contact with her exposed skin.

Song Yu was jolted by those warm, burning palms.

Immediately after that Qi Chengzhi hugged her abruptly and gave no chance for her to react. His hands wrapped tightly around her body and caused her cheek to press against his slightly chilly shirt. Her ears were pressed against the buttons of his shirt.

There was some slight pain in her ear due to the shirt button, and also due to being hugged tightly by him.

His hug was so incredibly tight that it agitated her.

A strong, lustful, and quiet force transmitted to her through the hug. She could feel his lips landing on her head and touching her hair; kissing, smelling.

His moist, warm lips were tangled in her hair, and he began kissing her from the top of her ear, making his way down to the earlobe, then to her neck.

Those light kisses tickled her and made her shiver.

She felt cold at first, but after that, she felt almost unbearably hot.

Hearing him inhale the scent of her neck and feeling him gently rubbing her itch – all in between his breaths – made her skin turn completely red.

Song Yu clenched her teeth and stayed completely still. Her head was buried in his chest and she did not say a single word.

She gripped his black wool jacket tightly and was unable to control her faltering voice. "Qi Chengzhi, please don't."

Qi Chengzhi applied pressure to her lower back, allowing her abdomen to come into contact with him so she could feel the shocking heat through his pants. "You feel it too, don't you?"

Song Yu bit her lip and suppressed a moan that nearly escaped her mouth.

He sighed softly, as if rueing that they were not at the right place. His light, warm breath brushed over her cheek, causing it to turn even redder than before. She felt as hot as how it would feel to be inside a stove. By then, the heat was insufferable and she was close to exploding.

His lips remained plastered against his cheek as they parted open to speak. They rubbed against her skin in the process. "We'll leave here."

After hearing those words, both legs suddenly left the ground, as if her whole body was levitating.

She let out a soft, startled gasp, but her whole body had already been lifted up horizontally.

"I can walk by myself, put me down!" Song Yu exclaimed in astonishment. She not only felt incredibly hot, she felt incredibly limp too.

"That's loud of you. Do you want someone to see us?" Qi Chengzhi lowered his head and raised his eyebrow slightly.

"I'm not." Song Yu immediately quieted down. She looked down and was afraid of looking at Qi Chengzhi, "Please put me down. It won't be good if anyone saw."

Qi Chengzhi let go abruptly, causing Song Yu to fall and nearly expose her bottom to him.

She gasped and jumped up in shock. Her hands were not holding onto anything before, but at that moment, they were wrapped tightly around his neck while her body was pressed onto his.

"Hang on tight." Qi Chengzhi's deep and steadfast voice sounded from the top of her head. It was as if his lips were tightly pressed against her head as he spoke.

His low-pitched voice turned into tiny electric currents, creeping across her scalp and entering her body, causing goose bumps to form.

As long as she heard his voice, her heart would become calm, every single time. Whatever fear or nervousness that she had would disappear immediately.