Song Meng pressed his body down without any hesitation. Just as he was about to kiss her, Jiang Ling finally snapped out of it. Her eyes flickered, and her whole body stiffened in panic.
In a rush—
She covered her mouth.
Song Meng’s lips landed on the back of Jiang Ling’s hand instead.
“Jiang Ling, let go of your hand.”
Seeing her shrink back, Song Meng let out an irritated, mocking laugh.
“No no no, this kind of thing can only be done with a real girlfriend. Only someone you like can—”
Jiang Ling shook her head desperately, her eyes full of determination.
She was definitely not some frivolous plush toy to be toyed with!
Hearing this, Song Meng fell silent for a long moment, a subtle loneliness flickering across his expression. Finally, he turned his face away and muttered quietly, “Like…”
“Hmm?”
Jiang Ling didn’t catch it clearly and blinked in confusion.
“I said, one kiss, and everything I helped you with before will be wiped clean.”
Song Meng turned back, his smile faint but his voice extremely tempting.
This made Jiang Ling hesitate for real.
After all, from her perspective, if it was Song Meng, maybe a kiss was really a pretty innocent thing. Might as well take this chance to wipe the slate clean…
Why did it still feel kind of off?
Jiang Ling racked her brains but still couldn’t figure it out. Song Meng leisurely said, “I’ll give you five seconds to think it over. No extensions.”
“Wait, no!”
“Five.”
“This is too sudden!”
“Four.”
Jiang Ling steeled her heart, closed her eyes, and threw her arms wide open like a lost cause: “Come on! If I don’t go to hell, who will?”
Seeing this, Song Meng chuckled softly.
“More than hell, I hope you go to heaven.”
“What do you mean, hmm—”
Jiang Ling didn’t understand and was about to open her eyes to ask when her words were drowned out by a delicate kiss. Under the weight, she tilted back slightly, her hands stumbling to steady herself on the bed, barely keeping her trembling body upright.
A faint floral scent flowed from Song Meng’s hair—probably shampoo—which gradually made Jiang Ling’s gaze blur until she finally closed her eyes tightly.
The once smooth sheets were now creased and wrinkled from Jiang Ling’s gripping.
Outside the door, faint voices of Song’s parents could be heard, mingled with quiet laughter, as if they were talking about them.
What were they saying?
Jiang Ling instinctively wanted to think about it, but maybe because of lack of oxygen, her brain felt like a rusty machine—drowsy and unable to operate.
She raised an arm, weakly clutching Song Meng’s sleeve, shaking it repeatedly.
Don’t… don’t continue…
Perhaps sensing this, Song Meng actually slowly pulled away.
“Phew!”
The suffocating feeling she had never experienced before made Jiang Ling gasp for air, her cheeks flushed deep red, lips glistening with moisture.
Burning and unbearable.
She pressed her lips together, fingertips trembling uncontrollably.
A kiss… really a kiss?
After that kiss, the atmosphere in the room suddenly fell silent.
“Knock knock knock.”
Breaking the silence was a faint knocking at the door.
“Mengmeng, Mom cut some fruit, come get it.”
Hearing the voice, Song Meng stood and walked to the door, unlocking it.
Jiang Ling had expected Song’s mother to say something like, “Why are you locking the door, child?” and then lecture them at length. Instead, after putting down the fruit, she immediately turned and closed the door, revealing a meaningful smile through the narrow crack.
“I won’t disturb you.”
The door shut.
Jiang Ling remained burning hot all over, her face flushed, nervously looking away, unable to meet Song Meng’s gaze as he held the fruit tray.
“Want some watermelon to cool down?”
Song Meng speared a piece of watermelon and brought it to her lips.
Jiang Ling’s eyes darted around, but in the end, she couldn’t resist the temptation and bit into the watermelon. The cold spread instantly through her mouth.
Finally, some relief…
Thinking this, Jiang Ling glanced at the ‘culprit’ who caused this—Song Meng—who was leisurely eating watermelon, obviously unaffected.
Jiang Ling felt a little unwilling.
Why was she the only one feeling so unsettled?
Although she thought this, Jiang Ling didn’t dare to provoke Song Meng actively. After all, they were even now!
This thought relaxed Jiang Ling’s tense body, and she naturally looked at the watermelon in Song Meng’s hand: “I want more.”
After a brief silence, Song Meng leaned down and pressed close.
“It’s not a kiss! It’s watermelon!”
Jiang Ling dodged his approaching lips, annoyed and embarrassed.
A look of regret flashed in Song Meng’s eyes. As he fed her the watermelon, he asked, “When is your debut performance?”
“November 2nd.”
“I’ll come watch.”
Song Meng said with an unchanged expression. Jiang Ling thought for a moment and took the initiative to say, “I’ll save you a ticket.”
After that, it grew quiet again.
After who knew how long, the watermelon in the fruit tray was all gone. Jiang Ling gathered her courage and stood to leave.
“I—I should go back to practice. Thanks for taking care of Little Ling. I’ll come see it later.”
With that, she practically fled out, and a few seconds later, Song’s mother’s disappointed voice sounded, followed by the door opening and closing.
Obviously, Jiang Ling had left.
Song Meng put down the fruit tray, his fingers brushing over the photo album they had looked through together, stopping on a blank page.
Will it come true, her hope?
- After leaving Song Meng’s house, Jiang Ling touched her cheek, feeling the lingering heat, and quickened her pace back to the dorm.
But the more she tried to forget, the more she couldn’t.
Back in the dorm, Jiang Ling was still dazed, nearly bumping into the doorframe. Luckily, Lin Xiaoyu caught her in time.
“What’s wrong? Possessed?”
“Huh? No, nothing.”
Jiang Ling couldn’t bring herself to talk about what just happened and could only laugh awkwardly and shake her head. Just as she was about to lie down and forget it all, Lin Xiaoyu stopped her again.
“Sister Bai Xue said to go to the practice room now, she has something to tell us.”
Hearing this, though Jiang Ling wanted to sleep it off, she dragged her weak legs and followed Lin Xiaoyu.
Fang Wanan planned to stay over to make practice easier, so everyone was gathered.
“What’s wrong, Lingling?”
Bai Xue immediately noticed Jiang Ling’s unusual state and asked with a frown.
“I’m fine.”
Jiang Ling answered weakly. She certainly couldn’t say she’d just been kissed by some bad woman outside… well, technically not forced—she had thrown herself into it?
She instantly sank into confusion, and Bai Xue didn’t press further.
“Actually, I called you all here to say something. After our debut, the official account needs to update videos and information in real time. I can’t handle it alone, so I hired an operator.”
After speaking, she beckoned toward the shadow by the door.
“Come in.”
At those words, Jiang Ling stopped her pointless overthinking and followed Bai Xue’s gaze.
When she saw who had come in, her pupils constricted sharply.
Damn, isn’t that the green-haired, pervy glasses girl?!