Chapter – 09
His Lips Pressed Close
The worry in Li Yang’s eyes was reflected in Jiang Yan’s. He couldn’t help but smile, relaxed, and said, “I’m fine. Didn’t get burned.”
Embarrassed, Li Yang let go of his arm, confused. She’d clearly seen it happen.
Had she imagined it?
She steadied herself and said, “Wenjing is just a bit of a straight-shooter. Don’t take it to heart, and don’t be so cold with him.”
“I’m your sister. You can call him… Wenjing Ge. He’s actually very loyal to friends and family.”
Jiang Yan’s face darkened. “Sis, you’re still young. You might not end up with him.”
“One day, you’ll find a man taller than him, handsomer than him, and richer than him.”
Li Yang almost laughed at that.
But in a flash, she suddenly remembered the man from her dream the night before.
Even though she hadn’t seen his face clearly, that man carried an aura about himâjust from his silhouette alone, she could tell he was an extraordinarily handsome man.
Narrow waist, broad shoulders, perfect proportions.
Li Yang’s heart jolted. Why was she thinking about some nameless man from a dream?
Flustered, she managed a weak smile and stammered, “Don’t joke around like that.”
With that, she fled back to her own room.
Whether it was because Jiang Yan’s words had planted a suggestion in her mind, that night, she dreamed of that man again.
Though she still couldn’t see his face clearly, his rare, almost demonic physique and overwhelmingly aggressive presence told her unmistakablyâit was him.
He slowly, unhurriedly, removed her clothes, then leaned down to take her small earlobe between his lips.
In the darkness, Li Yang seemed to see a glint of silver light on his ear.
Her entire body trembling, she wanted to push him away but couldn’t summon the strength.
She could only let this man do as he pleased with her…
A familiar melody rang outâher phone was ringing.
Li Yang let out a sharp cry, her body arching involuntarily.
In the peak of pleasure, she woke up.
Gasping for breath, she sat up. A sliver of early morning light seeped through the gap in the curtains.
On her phone screen flashed Song Wenjing’s number.
Li Yang felt a twinge of guiltâher boyfriend had called right after she’d had a steamy dream!
Then she remembered: Song Wenjing rarely called her this early. Had something urgent happened?
With that thought, she quickly hit the answer button. “Wenjing, what’s wrong?”
Song Wenjing’s terrified scream came through: “Yangyang, there’s a huge black snake in my house! Ahhhhhâ”
The line went dead.
Li Yang immediately tried calling back, but no one answered.
She knew Song Wenjing was terrified of snakesâeven spotting an ordinary rat snake on the road could scare him half to death.
But he lived on the nineteenth floorâhow could there be a snake in his apartment?
Without time to think it through, Li Yang quickly called the police, then threw on her clothes and ran out.
Jiang Yan’s door opened. The sleepy-eyed boy rubbed his eyes and asked Li Yang, “Sis, what happened?”
Li Yang pulled on her shoes as she explained, “Something happened at Wenjing’s place. I’m going to check it out.”
Jiang Yan let out an “oh” and asked casually, “What happened? You look so worried.”
“There’s a snake in his houseâhe’s terrified of them.”
Li Yang grabbed her keys and pushed open the door, instructing, “I’ll send you a red envelope later. Buy your own breakfast and get yourself to school.”
As she spoke, she habitually glanced at Jiang Yan.
She froze.
The tall, lean boy, wearing only a pair of shorts, stood against the light in the half-light and half-shadow.
His delicate features were all hidden in silhouette, and his figure looked as though it had been meticulously sculpted.
Narrow waist, broad shoulders.
He looked a lot like the man in Li Yang’s dream.
Li Yang’s watery eyes widened in alarm, and she looked at Jiang Yan more carefully.
Oh, not quite rightâthe man in her dream was stockier than Jiang Yan, taller too, and more masculine.
Li Yang rushed downstairs without looking back, her heart churning with shame and frustration.
This was crazy!
Having a steamy dream was bad enough, but how could she connect the man in her dream to Jiang Yan?
She shook her head vigorously, forcing those strange thoughts to the back of her mind.
By the time Li Yang arrived at Song Wenjing’s place, the police were already there.
One officer had already attended to Song Wenjing, who was now awake and sitting slumped on the sofa, answering questions.
Seeing Li Yang, Song Wenjing looked a little embarrassed. “Sorry, Yangyang, I didn’t mean to call you. I was so panicked that I accidentally hit my contacts, and you’re at the top of the list.”
Li Yang said, “Don’t be so formal with me. If something’s wrong, of course you should call me.”
Several officers searched his entire apartment but found no trace of any snake.
A male officer said tactfully, “Mr. Song, are you sure you weren’t just overtired and seeing things?”
Song Wenjing said weakly, “Impossible! I’ve been terrified of snakes since I was a kidâhow could I be mistaken? And this snake was as thick as my arm and over a meter longâthere’s no way I mis-saw it!”
The officers exchanged glances.
This was a residential areaâhow could a snake that big appear here?
After going back and forth, the officers still felt that Song Wenjing had been mistaken.
They didn’t want to say more and simply instructed, “If you see it again, don’t panic. Take a photo as evidence, and we’ll have the forestry department handle it.”
After the police left, Song Wenjing sat up from the sofa wearily. “Yangyang, I really did see a snake.”
Li Yang comforted him, “Of course I believe you. If it weren’t a snake, you wouldn’t have been scared like this.”
She was just also puzzled. If it had been an ordinary rat snake, that would make sense.
But a black snake over a meter long and as thick as an armâhow could it appear in a residential building without anyone else seeing it?
Noticing the pale color of Song Wenjing’s face, she said, “You look terrible. Why don’t you go back to sleep? I’ll make you breakfast.”
Song Wenjing shook his head. “Never mind, it’s already morning. I won’t sleepâI’ll head to the office.”
His red-rimmed eyes slowly scanned the living room, and he let out a deep sigh.
“Ah, Yangyang, thinking about that snake, I don’t even dare come back here to stay.”
Li Yang thought for a moment and said, “How about I help you book a hotel? Stay there tonight, and I’ll hire some cleaners to thoroughly clean your place.”
Song Wenjing leaned his head pitifully against her shoulder. “I’m scared even in a hotel. I want to stay at your place.”
Li Yang understood. She laughed and gave Song Wenjing a light tap. “What are you thinking? There’s someone staying at my place nowâwhere would you sleep?”
Song Wenjing shamelessly said, “I’ll just share a room with you.”
Li Yang’s heart skipped a beat. “Jiang Yan is still a minorâthat would be so awkward.”
Song Wenjing snorted. “Minor, my foot. When we were in middle school, kids were already dating. And kids these days are even more mature than we were.”
Li Yang pushed him away. “Alright, I don’t care how old other people are when they dateâyou’re just not staying at my place.”
She reminded him, “Don’t forget, I live on the first floor. All kinds of bugs get in all the time, and occasionally there are rat snakes too.”
That was true. Because he’d once seen a rat snake near Li Yang’s front door, Song Wenjing was always hesitant to go to her place.
Defeated, he refused to give up and grabbed her hand. “Then I want a kiss.”
With that, his lips leaned in.




