144: No one bothered us.

After Shen Yueling finished scolding, the living room fell silent for a few seconds.

Yu Heng turned his head to look at her. "Let's not talk about her anymore. Shouldn't we celebrate the birthday now?"

"How do you want to celebrate?" Shen Yueling also turned her face. "Go out to eat?"

"Let's not go out," Yu Heng said. "Eating at home is fine."

"What should we eat?" Shen Yueling asked. "Order takeout?"

"No takeout," Yu Heng looked at her, the corners of his mouth curling up. "Eating you will be enough."

Shen Yueling's ears felt a bit hot, and she looked away. "Can't you be a bit more serious?"

"I am being serious," Yu Heng said. "Wasn't this agreed upon?"

Shen Yueling stopped talking. What was meant to come would come eventually; she had known this day would come for a long time anyway.

"Are you sure?" Shen Yueling turned back to look at him. "Bai Xinran is still here."

"She won't come out," Yu Heng said with certainty.

Shen Yueling pursed her lips.

"What are you thinking about?" Yu Heng asked.

"Nothing," Shen Yueling said.

Yu Heng stood up from the sofa, walked over to her, and reached out his hand. "Going upstairs?"

The two of them went upstairs one after the other, their footsteps very light on the stairs.

Looking at Yu Heng's back, Shen Yueling suddenly felt a bit nervous. No one would disturb them this time; they were really going all the way.

Reaching the door of the master bedroom, Yu Heng pushed it open and stepped aside to let her in first.

Shen Yueling walked in. Only a bedside lamp was on in the room, casting a dim, yellow light.

She stood at the foot of the bed, feeling a bit at a loss.

Yu Heng closed the door, walked up behind her, and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Nervous?" His voice was right by her ear.

"No," Shen Yueling said stubbornly, though her body was a bit tense.

Yu Heng's hand slid down from her shoulder and stopped at her waist.

"I'll do it myself," she said, her voice a bit dry.

Watching her movements, Yu Heng found her unexpectedly clumsy and cute, a contrast to her usual cold demeanor.

Besides, haha, in the northern winter, doing this sort of thing had a mandatory waiting period.

Because taking off clothes was such a hassle!

Shen Yueling turned her back and took several tries to unfasten the clasp. She quickly grabbed the nearby quilt to wrap around her upper body, leaving only her shoulders exposed.

Yu Heng laughed at her series of actions. "Why are you wrapping yourself up so tightly?"

"It's a bit cold," Shen Yueling said.

"It won't be cold in a while," Yu Heng said as he began to take off his own clothes.

—

After an unknown amount of time, Yu Heng let out a muffled groan and then slowly relaxed.

With his full weight pressing down on her, Shen Yueling felt a bit breathless.

"Get up," she nudged him.

Yu Heng rolled to the side and lay down next to her.

Shen Yueling turned on her side, her back to him.

She wanted to get out of bed to clean up, but she didn't know how to say it.

"The bathroom is over there," Yu Heng seemed to know what she was thinking. "There are new towels in the cabinet."

Shen Yueling sat up, wrapped her body in the quilt, got out of bed, and walked toward the bathroom.

She entered the bathroom; the face in the mirror was very red, and her hair was a bit messy.

She turned on the faucet and washed her face with cold water.

There were faint red streaks of blood in the toilet. She quirked her lips, unsure of her current feelings.

There was no romance like she'd imagined, nor was there any regret; it was just a very realistic completion of the act.

And as for the process, she liked it a bit—more than she had expected.

When she finished cleaning up and came out, Yu Heng was leaning against the headboard smoking. He stubbed out the cigarette in the ashtray on the nightstand and reached out to pull her close.

Shen Yueling leaned on his shoulder. Neither of them spoke for a while until she suddenly said, "Happy birthday."

Yu Heng smiled. "Thank you."

"Are you satisfied with the gift?" After asking, Shen Yueling felt her words sounded a bit stupid.

"Satisfied," Yu Heng said. "Very satisfied."

After a moment of silence, Shen Yueling spoke up. "What are you going to do about you and Yu Tong in the future?"

"I don't know," Yu Heng said. "It depends on her."

"Aren't you afraid she'll hate you?"

"Hate might be a stretch," Yu Heng said. "I haven't lied to her about anything."

Shen Yueling fell silent. Indeed, if he had deceived Ning Yutong, that would be even worse.

"Go to sleep," Yu Heng said. "Sleep here tonight."

Shen Yueling gave an "mm" and lay down.

Yu Heng turned off the light, and the room fell into darkness.

She felt his hand resting on her waist in a natural posture, as if they had done this many times before.

"Actually, I wanted to call Bai Xinran up here just now," Yu Heng said suddenly.

"Why call her?" Shen Yueling asked.

"To learn," Yu Heng said with a laugh. "She'll have a day like this too."

"Then why didn't you?" Shen Yueling bit her lip. What would it feel like to be watched?

"Because today is special, your first time. I thought it would be better with just the two of us," Yu Heng said calmly. "I hope today will be a good memory for you."

—

When Shen Yueling woke up, daylight was already filtering through the gaps in the curtains.

First, she felt a weight on her waist; it was Yu Heng's arm lying across it.

Then, the memories of last night slowly flowed back into her mind.

There was no hungover, hazy idealization; just those specific sensations and sounds, and the noises she hadn't expected herself to make.

She didn't move immediately, staring at the ceiling with her eyes open while Yu Heng slept beside her with steady, long breaths.

Now, under the quilt, her skin was pressed against his without any barrier, and heat was continuously transferring over.

She wasn't quite used to it, yet strangely, she didn't reject it.

This was probably the fundamental difference between having done it and not; once that line was crossed, much of the awkwardness and reserve lost their meaning.

Yu Heng moved slightly, tightening his arm, and unconsciously nuzzled his face into the crook of her shoulder.

Shen Yueling's body stiffened for a moment, then slowly relaxed.

She turned her face to look at him. This man, whom she had grown up with since they were toddlers, had finally become a part of her life in the most thorough way.

She remembered the last thing he said last night.

"I hope today will be a good memory for you."

He actually cared about that. The subtle prickling sensation in Shen Yueling's heart was smoothed over quite a bit by those words.

After lying there for about another ten minutes, the pressure on her bladder became increasingly obvious.

Shen Yueling gently moved his arm away, lifted the quilt, and sat up.

She leaned over to pick up her underwear from the floor and quickly put it on with her back to the bed.

As she was pulling on her sweater, she heard a rustling sound behind her.

"What time is it?" Yu Heng asked in a lazy voice.

Shen Yueling pulled down the hem of her sweater and turned around. "I don't know, my phone is downstairs."

Her eyes glanced over his chest and shoulders; there were a few faint red marks on them. Had she unconsciously scratched him last night?

Shen Yueling fastened her pants and walked to the window to pull the curtains open a bit.

The sky outside was somewhat grayish-white; it looked like a cold and gloomy morning.

"I have to go back to school," Shen Yueling said.

"Why go back to school? You don't have classes anyway." Yu Heng leaned back, resting his hands behind his head as he looked at her. "Just stay here for the weekend and experience living together."