130: Chapter 131 I had a great time tonight.

The night deepened, but the crowd at the night market grew even denser. At a corner, someone suddenly bumped into Li Ruonan from behind. She stumbled forward, but was steadily caught by Jiang Jing.

"Careful." Jiang Jing's arm wrapped around her waist, shielding her in his embrace. The two were pressed extremely close; Li Ruonan could smell the faint scent of pheromones on him, which was inexplicably reassuring.

"Th-thank you..." she stammered, but did not immediately pull away from his embrace.

Jiang Jing looked down at her flushed cheeks and suddenly asked softly, "Are you tired? Do you want to go back?"

Li Ruonan shook her head and, as if possessed, said, "Let's... let's walk a bit longer." She couldn't bear to end this night.

Jiang Jing seemed to see through her thoughts, smiling as he pinched the tip of her nose. "Alright, then let's go look at that small trinket stall over there."

Over the next while, Li Ruonan found herself leaning on Jiang Jing's shoulder more and more naturally, even actively pointing at certain stalls and saying, "I want to eat that."

Jiang Jing was responsive to every request, and soon her hands were full of grilled cold noodles, stinky tofu, fried milk, and a whole pile of other snacks.

"I can't eat anymore..." Li Ruonan looked at the half-finished fried milk in her hand and frowned in distress.

Jiang Jing naturally took it over and continued eating from the spot where she had bitten it. "Wasting food is not good."

Li Ruonan watched him eat her leftovers without any disgust, and a warm current surged in her heart.

"Jiang Jing..." she called out softly.

"Hm?"

"It's nothing." Li Ruonan shook her head, but the corners of her mouth couldn't stop curling upward. She secretly tucked her hand into his arm, pressing even closer.

At eleven o'clock at night, they finally returned to the parking lot. Li Ruonan was still carrying a bag of roasted chestnuts, saying she wanted them for a midnight snack. Jiang Jing opened the car door for her, but she stood outside the car, unmoving.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Jing asked in confusion.

Li Ruonan took a deep breath, suddenly stood on tiptoe, and quickly kissed his cheek. "Tonight... was very happy." After saying that, she immediately dove into the car, burying her flushed face in the chestnut bag.

Jiang Jing froze for a second, then laughed.

He walked around to the driver's seat. He didn't start the car immediately but turned to look at Li Ruonan, who was acting like an ostrich.

"Ruonan." He called out softly.

"What!" Li Ruonan's voice was muffled, and she stubbornly refused to look up.

Jiang Jing reached out and lifted her chin. In her surprised gaze, he slowly leaned in.

He stopped when he was only an inch away from her lips, their breathing mingling.

"May I kiss you?" he asked in a low voice.

Li Ruonan's eyes widened, her mind going blank. She should have refused, should have pushed away this playboy scoundrel... but her body felt as if it had been put under a spell, unable to move.

"I... I..."

Just as she was stammering, Jiang Jing had already gently covered her lips with his.

This kiss was incredibly gentle, just a light touch, but it made Li Ruonan tremble all over.

"Good night, my heroine." Jiang Jing said with a smile in his eyes as he pulled away.

Li Ruonan was stunned, her fingers unconsciously touching the lips that had just been kissed.

The car drove into the night, and neither of them spoke again.

But Li Ruonan knew that some things had changed completely.

[Li Ruonan favorability + 18] (Currently 88)

The car slowly drove into the underground garage of Yunhai View Mansion. After the engine sound died down, the car fell into silence.

Li Ruonan was still sitting in the passenger seat, her fingers unconsciously stroking the paper bag of roasted chestnuts, her thoughts still immersed in that dragonfly-touching kiss at the night market.

Jiang Jing's warmth seemed to still linger on her lips, and her heartbeat was incredibly fast.

Jiang Jing unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to look at her, his gaze burning.

Seeing her dazed, he chuckled, then suddenly leaned in close to her, their noses almost touching.

"Ah!" Li Ruonan was startled by the sudden closeness and trembled, the chestnut bag in her hand almost falling.

She subconsciously raised her hand and coquettishly slapped Jiang Jing's shoulder. "Why did you suddenly get so close!"

Her force was very light, more like acting spoiled. Her cheeks were tinged with a faint red, and her flickering gaze revealed a hint of shy sweetness.

Jiang Jing captured the panic in her eyes, knowing she was still savoring that kiss, and his smile deepened.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked in a low voice, his tone carrying a seductive huskiness.

"N-nothing!" Li Ruonan turned her face away, trying to hide her loss of composure, but the blush on her earlobes betrayed her.

Only then did Li Ruonan realize the car had already stopped in the designated parking space.

She frantically unbuckled her seatbelt, but her fingers wouldn't listen, and she had to press it several times before it clicked open.

"I, I can go up by myself!" she stammered, reaching out to push the car door.

A warm, large hand suddenly covered her wrist, the force not heavy but irresistible.

Jiang Jing had already unbuckled his seatbelt at some point and was leaning over with half his body.

"What's the rush?" His voice was deep and magnetic, sounding exceptionally clear in the narrow car cabin. "Our business isn't finished yet."

Li Ruonan's heart rate accelerated suddenly; she could clearly feel the hot breath Jiang Jing exhaled spraying against her ear.

She wanted to dodge, but her body felt like it had been put under a freezing spell, unable to move.

"W-what business..." Her voice trembled slightly, yet she took no actual action to stop Jiang Jing from leaning closer.

Jiang Jing didn't answer, just reached out to stroke her cheek.

His thumb lightly brushed over her soft lips. "You seemed to like that kiss just now very much." Jiang Jing's voice carried a hint of teasing.

Li Ruonan wanted to refute it, but found she had nothing to say, and could only turn her face away to avoid Jiang Jing's burning gaze.

"Don't be shy." Jiang Jing chuckled, pinching her chin to turn her face back. "Do you know how tempting you look right now?"

The next second, Jiang Jing held the back of her head with one hand and wrapped his other arm around her waist, kissing her without hesitation.

"Mmph—"

Li Ruonan's eyes widened, and Jiang Jing easily pried open her teeth.

The moment their tongues touched, a tingling sensation like an electric current surged up from her spine, and Li Ruonan let out a soft moan unconsciously.

She subconsciously wanted to push Jiang Jing away, her hands pressed against his chest, but she couldn't muster any strength.

Jiang Jing's tongue roamed flexibly in her mouth, sometimes lightly licking her palate, sometimes tangling with her tongue; every touch made Li Ruonan tremble all over.

Gradually, the hands pressed against Jiang Jing's chest stopped using force and instead grabbed his lapels.

Li Ruonan closed her eyes unconsciously and began to respond to the kiss clumsily.

Her heartbeat was so fast it felt like it was about to burst out of her chest; all that remained in her ears were the wet sounds of their lips and tongues entwining and her own increasingly rapid breathing.