The air around them turned dense, the cold temperature that lingered now slowly rising.

He naturally assumed an offensive stance when he noticed her awkward reply. His hand on her waist slowly inched upwards as she was being hugged tightly to his warm chest. His pleasant fragrance closed in, feeling an odd sense of emptiness in her chest at the moment.

His long fingers soon traveled through her hair and rubbed her back. He was sort of hesitant and his movements were a little shaky as well.

Her breathing started to get uneven. Her eyes were starting to turn dazed as she felt light-headed. She could not muster any strength to struggle. All she could do was grab onto his shirt as he did whatever he pleased.

At first, he just wanted to give it a try. However, he had underestimated her charm.

He started to feel that her influence over him was far more than what he imagined. The usual calmness and self-restraint he was proud of were now getting weaker and weaker.

His hot kiss went south, and she was breathing heavily. She squinted at him and said weakly, "No... Don't do that... I... I haven't showered yet... Wait until I... take a shower..."

Her words sounded frail. He also caught the key point in her sentence and he raised his head, a bright spark lighting up in his dark eyes. He took a deep breath and asked her quietly, "So, do you mean that you're fine with it?"

She turned her head over without replying, not wanting to look into his burning eyes.

He laughed, a rare gentle smile appearing on his handsome face. "I'm going to assume that you're alright with it if you don't say anything. I can't wait anymore. We're going to shower again later anyway."

As he was talking, he held her up and walked into their bedroom.

Only the dim yellow table light was turned on inside the comfortable bedroom. He grabbed the remote control and got the automatic curtains to cover up the windows, hiding their intimate moment just inside the room.

Under the dim lights, one could barely see several garments being thrown out from inside the sheets, stacking onto each other in a messy manner beside the bed. Soon, some light moaning came from under the sheets...

After his frequent and careful kisses, his scent shrouded her. His solid body was on top of her as he slowly passed his love to her.

He was a little unsure in his movements, which made her feel awkward as well. She closed her eyes and was too afraid to move, so he stopped what he was doing and laughed at her when he noticed it.

Xi Xiaye opened her eyes when she heard his chuckle. The moment when she saw his smile, her heart warmed up, and it was different from the cold calmness from before.

"Are you nervous or are you praying?" He asked quietly when he saw her put both of her hands in front of her chest as her whole body trembled slightly.

She was slightly embarrassed as she mumbled, "I... I'm not... Mr. M-... I... I'm scared..."

He laughed again as he looked into her eyes. He patted her head with his large hand and said gently, "I'm here. What are you afraid of?"

"I... I..."

"Don't be scared. Stay by my side and I'm sure no one will bully you ever again. You'll be my wife forever, and I'll only belong to you forever. Understood?"

His charismatic voice reached her ears and she felt something in her throat. Of course, she understood what he meant.

As long as she was his wife, he belonged to her.

He was also hinting his loyalty towards their marriage.

Her eyes started to tear up and she blinked. Whether he was lying or not, at that moment, she would love to believe in his loyalty as she was truly touched by his words.

After enduring through countless tragic moments without crying, she could not hold it in anymore. For the first time, she cried before someone else while being fully conscious.

"What are you crying for? I haven't started yet..."

He wiped her tears away. Before he finished his sentence, she grabbed his shoulders and pulled him down, their lips meeting...

He was stunned for a moment, rejoicing over her taking the initiative. He would not let this chance go, so he grabbed the bed sheets and covered them as he once again launched a head-on attack. They were both engulfed in the strong clash of waves.

Xi Xiaye was getting muddle-headed. She barely remembered feeling pain and struggling, but his large hands held onto hers tightly as he called her name out beside her ears.

Afterwards...

He would not just let her go so easily...

Bang! Bang!

The fireworks celebrating the New Year were still going off, the bright and colorful lights flashing through the light curtains along with the sound of fireworks. Things went on smoothly inside the bedroom.

Was their life really going to begin from this moment onwards?

A whole life was pretty long. How long was forever going to last?

She did not know.

She just knew that she had to be brave to accept it if someone was genuinely willing to treat her well.

She was not that young anymore!

When midnight reached, she became 27 and he became 31...

If she missed her chance, she would just turn older and older!

After several rounds, the war ceased. It was already pretty late as he helped her clean up and got her back to bed. The fireworks were still going on outside.

He grabbed a clean and warm sheet to cover the sleeping girl. He chuckled softly as he looked at her. "Good night, Xi Xiaye, my wife."

He then stood up slowly and grabbed his black sleeping robe. He put it on and walked out of the bedroom.

He went into the study room with the laptop in standby mode. Sitting before the table, he turned the laptop on. The screen was still showing the complicated-looking data from before.

His fingers danced over the keyboards swiftly as he continued with his data analysis.