Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

"If she's not asleep, then you dared sneak out to date me—haha, you've got real nerve!" Yang Yongjin couldn't help admiring the girl's boldness; even an affair, she carried off in broad daylight.

"Date?" Zhou Yanning blinked, then caught Yang Juehuan's expression and realized he had misunderstood. She was caught between laughing and crying. "Yang Ce, I... I was going to the bathroom."

"Huh?" Yang Xutang's jaw dropped. "The bathroom—you came out just to go to the bathroom?"

Zhou Yanning nodded shyly.

"So you weren't coming to date me?" Yang Ce was deeply embarrassed, but he pressed on, unwilling to give up.

"No." Zhou Yanning lowered her head, not daring to look at Yang Ce; she was afraid he would be angry. "Ah, haha, it's fine, it's fine," Yang Duochao said with a laugh. "Then go on to the bathroom. I'll head back to my room myself. Oh, by the way—want me to walk you to the bathroom? It's pitch-dark out here."

"No need." Zhou Yanning's face reddened, and she quickly ran off.

Yang Lanxu thought, damn it, this time I really let my imagination run away with me. How embarrassing. But when did that girl Zhou Yanning get so shy? She used to be so bold—she even kissed me on her own initiative.

Ah, it's all that bullet's fault. It must have altered Zhou Yanning's brain tissue and turned her into such a timid person.

Yang Ce brooded gloomily as he returned to his room. Lying on the bed, he idly fiddled with a bag of things Xia Yan had given him. If he hadn't looked, he wouldn't have known—and a single look gave him a fright. Inside were not only two ID documents but also a dedicated satellite phone, probably meant to be worn while on missions. Beside the satellite phone was an internal contact list—the numbers of several important persons in charge at the Mysterious Investigation Bureau, and among them was Xia Yan's.

From this it seemed Xia Yan must be one of the bureau's core figures, not merely an ordinary investigator. Still, this had little to do with Yan. The reason Yang Ce had joined this organization as a peripheral investigator was simply that he wanted to contribute his own share to society—nothing more.

Though Xia Yan appeared to enjoy great privileges and excellent treatment, none of that was what Yang Ce wanted. Yang Cenbin had always been a free spirit, and he yearned for a life of ease and liberty.

As he was lost in these random thoughts, he suddenly heard his door click open, pushed from outside. Could it be that little minx Wang Yanqiu couldn't hold back and came again? No, that didn't add up—Wang Yanqiu would come in through the window, not the door.

Yang Ce hastily pretended to be asleep, but his attention was fixed entirely on the door. Then a dark figure tiptoed in. It was actually Zhou Yanning.

Ha, no way—has she already started feeling sorry for her husband and come offering herself up? Yang Ce thought, his mind turning lecherous.

Zhou Yanning's heart was pounding. Just now, being hugged by Yang Ce like that, her longing for Yang Juehuan had grown even stronger. After using the bathroom, she thought of Yang Ce's disappointed expression, and her heart ached for him. So she gritted her teeth and walked straight to Yang Juehuan's room.

Seeing Yang Puqi lying motionless on the bed, breathing evenly, Zhou Yanning let out a sigh of relief. She thought to herself, this Yang Ce is always up to mischief—just a moment ago he was saying sweet, suggestive things to me, and now he's fallen asleep so fast.

Zhou Yanning felt a little disappointed. She had finally worked up the courage to come and secretly talk with Yan, and here Yang Jiyan was, dead asleep.

Looking at Yang Ce's sleeping face, Zhou Yanning felt dazed. Was she really his girlfriend now? Then where had her memories from before gone?

Still, however it had happened, she had gotten what she wished for—it just felt a little unreal. In truth, deep in her heart, Zhou Yanning still very much wanted to be close to Yan. But these past few days she had been with Chen Shutang and Lin Yanhe the whole time, and Zhou Yanning was too embarrassed to say she missed Yang Ce and wanted to be close to him. Now she finally had a chance, and this dead man Yang Cenbin had to be sleeping so soundly.

Zhou Yanning couldn't bear to wake him. She hesitated a moment, then leaned down and planted a quick kiss on Yang Juehuan's cheek, pulling back at once as if afraid Yang Ce might notice.

She lifted her head and saw that Yang Ce was still sleeping soundly, and only then did Zhou Yanning breathe easy. She turned around, about to quietly slip out of Yang Juehuan's room, when suddenly she heard a familiar voice.

To be continued.

1011. Let's Go Together

"Sneaking a bite and then trying to leave—that's not what good children do."

Zhou Yanning jumped in fright, feeling herself caught from behind. Whipping her head around, she saw Yang Ce grinning at her, his eyes bright and lively—not a trace of sleepiness left in them.

"You... you weren't asleep?" Zhou Yanning was like a child caught red-handed in some misdeed, face red, unable to speak.

"Heh heh, I was asleep—but your kiss woke me up," Yang Hengye said.

Zhou Yanning pouted, clearly unconvinced. Yang Ce was always up to tricks; over the past two nights, Chen Shutang had already told her plenty of stories about his mischief, so she wasn't about to believe any "kissed awake" nonsense.

"Ha, everything I said is true. Haven't you ever heard the story of Snow White and the Prince Charming?" Yang Jiyan went on carelessly. "Oh—sorry, I misspoke. It should be Snow White Prince and Prince Charming Princess. Snow White Prince fell asleep, and Prince Charming Princess kissed him, and he woke up."

"You're awful!" Zhou Yanning's face flushed red as she scolded him coyly. "What makes me a Prince Charming Princess?"

"How are you not? I say you are, so you are," Yang Hengye said.

"I mean, Prince Charming Princess sounds so ugly—I don't want to be that," Zhou Yanning said shyly.

Yang Xutang laughed heartily, drew Zhou Yanning into his arms, and the two of them tumbled onto the bed together.

"You... what are you doing?" Zhou Yanning's heart lurched. Though she had long since prepared herself in her heart, now that the moment was truly at hand, she felt a little timid again.

"Weren't you pretty bold just now? You even offered a kiss on your own initiative," Yang Hengye said. "Come on, let's rehearse once more. Kissing is like drinking water—it needs regular practice."

Zhou Yanning was bewildered. Practice for drinking water? What kind of nonsense was that? But just as she was distractedly mulling over these absurd thoughts, her small mouth was sealed by Yang Juehuan's big one. "Mmph—" Zhou Yanning struggled instinctively for a moment, then melted softly into Yang Juehuan's arms. It had been so long since she'd felt this way. The last time she'd kissed Yan had been at the class reunion, but that one had been accidental. Only this time was it truly Yang Ce's own initiative.

Though Zhou Yanning was very shy, she was also very happy. Accidental, versus Yan taking the initiative—those were fundamentally two different things. Zhou Yanning trembled all over, clutching desperately at Yang Juehuan's back, letting him do as he pleased. Yang Juehuan's mouth was busy, and his hands were no less busy: they slipped straight in through the loose hem of her pajamas and climbed all the way up to the proud swell of her chest. Zhou Yanning gave a violent shudder and her eyes flew open for a moment, but her mouth was completely sealed by Yang Ce—she wanted to speak but could not, so she closed her eyes again and let Yang Ce run wild over her body.

Heh heh, a few days apart and it seemed to have grown quite a bit. He remembered the last time, in the hotel room, when Yang Ce had seen Zhou Yanning's breasts—they hadn't seemed this big then. Surely it wasn't that these days in the hospital, hooked up to IV nutrition every day, all the nutrients had run straight to her chest?