48: Chapter 49 Aftermath of Self-Doubt

The inspection concluded. After finalizing the timeline for refining the business plan and submitting detailed documents with Zhou Ming and the others, Yu Bo politely declined their invitation for lunch and headed straight to the airport.

He needed to leave Jiangcheng as soon as possible, to leave behind the city permeated with the absurd memories of last night.

While waiting for his flight, he pulled out his phone again and opened the chat window with Yin Tianxue.

The last message was still the "Miss you so much" he had sent last night. She hadn't replied, probably because she was asleep or still busy.

He wanted to call her, his finger hovering over the dial button, but he hesitated.

What would he say? Say the inspection went well? Say "Bright Path" was good? Or... confess the lingering restlessness and self-doubt in his heart caused by Shen Nian?

In the end, he just sent another message: "Inspection finished. The project has potential, and I've tentatively agreed to proceed. Heading to the airport now, arriving this afternoon. Miss you."

After sending it, he closed his eyes and leaned back against the seat.

Yet, images flashed uncontrollably in his mind: the excited face of the visually impaired Teacher Li when arriving safely at the subway entrance, the resolute look and scalding lips of Shen Nian when she threw herself at him, and the faint trace of regret on Yin Tianxue's face when she saw him off at security...

The roar of the airplane engines became background noise. Outside the porthole, fluffy, marshmallow-like clouds stretched out, and the sunlight was blinding.

Yu Bo leaned back in the spacious first-class seat, eyes closed, but a persistent crease remained etched between his brows.

He tried to use the constant coolness of the cabin and the texture of the leather seat to cover up and replace the chaotic, burning memories from the hotel entrance last night, but to little avail.

His fingertips seemed to still retain the slickness of Shen Nian's silk dress, and the sensation on his lips—a mixture of the saltiness of tears and the sweetness of lipstick—stubbornly refused to fade. Most fatal of all were the images flashing repeatedly in his mind—the desperate, burning flames in her eyes when she threw herself at him, and his own intense, almost ferocious response of kissing and caressing her after his mind went blank for a split second.

That wasn't the reaction of someone being offended; that was the instinct of a man who had been ignited, almost to the point of mutual destruction.

"Sir, your champagne." The flight attendant's gentle voice sounded again, accompanied by a well-trained smile.

Yu Bo opened his eyes and took the flute. The cold glass made his burning palms feel slightly better.

"Thank you." His voice was a bit hoarse.

When thanking her, he instinctively avoided the flight attendant's concerned gaze, as if his current disarray might be seen through.

He took a sip of the drink, the bubbles bursting on his tongue, bringing a hint of tipsy stimulation, yet it couldn't wash away the gloom in his heart.

He began a harsh self-trial.

Was it because of her unparalleled beauty and charm?

Yes. Shen Nian's beauty was like a ripe peach, the kind that would overflow with juice at the slightest touch.

It was a brilliance tempered by life's hardships, carrying confidence and wisdom, holding a primal, powerful attraction for the male sex.

Last night, under the dim lights, her tearful yet resolute appearance had a shattered beauty, one that could more easily ignite the desire for possession and protection—even if this desire was dangerous and inappropriate.

Was it because of that plump, alluring body with its breathtaking curves?

Yes. When that warm, plump, delicate body pressed tightly against him, the body heat and elasticity transmitted through the thin fabric were a real and intense sensory shock.

Male hormones surged uncontrollably at that moment; primal conquest instincts almost crushed his reason.

Was it because of her blazing "love," casting aside all dignity and throwing caution to the wind?

Even more so. A beautiful and successful woman who was his equal in the business world had torn off all pretenses, declaring in the clumsiest and most direct way that she wanted only him.

For any man, this was a nuclear-level impact on his vanity and sense of self-worth.

He was no saint and could not remain completely indifferent to this level of "recognition" and "need."

But just because of this, he wavered? And even responded so intensely?

This realization made Yu Bo's stomach churn, and a sense of self-loathing wrapped around him like cold vines.

His self-control, which he prided himself on, was so vulnerable in the complex field of temptation constructed by Shen Nian—a mixture of beauty, adoration, vulnerable loneliness, and shared professional resonance.

That moment of loss of control was like a mirror, reflecting the dark corners deep within his heart that he hadn't even realized existed—a secret desire for fresh stimulation, a potential flaunting of his own charm, and perhaps a hint of weariness toward his current stable relationship that he didn't even want to admit to himself?

No, not weariness. He immediately denied it.

His feelings for Yin Tianxue were unquestionable. It was a meeting of souls, a trust forged through thick and thin, and a firm determination to build a harbor called "home" together.

It was completely different from the physiological palpitations caused by the temptation from Shen Nian.

However, rational analysis could not completely erase the body's memory and the "stirrings of emotion" that had truly occurred in that moment.

What made him feel even more conflicted was the information detected by the system—Shen Nian's pitifully sparse romantic history.

This cast a pathetic hue over her "clumsy" initiative and desperate madness from last night.

A woman so barren and even clumsy in the world of emotions, using the only way she knew how, throwing herself like a moth to a flame at a wall that was destined never to break.

Pity? No, not just that. There was also a hint of an indescribable, strange feeling of being adored in such a "pure" and "lacking" way.

This feeling was dangerous and subtle.

"Ladies and gentlemen, our plane is about to begin its descent. Please fasten your seatbelts..." The captain's announcement sounded.

Yu Bo fastened his seatbelt and looked at the gradually clearing ground contours outside the window.

Jiangcheng was behind him; Jiangzhou was ahead. Yin Tianxue was waiting for him.

He must, and definitely would, hold the line.

No matter how beautiful, pitiful, or persistent Shen Nian was, it had nothing to do with him.

His destination was only where Yin Tianxue was.

Those chaotic memories and complex emotions had to be completely sealed away, becoming a warning, never a crack.

He took out his phone, turned it on, and sent a message to Yin Tianxue: "Landed. Coming out soon. Miss you."

Concise, direct, carrying the urgency of someone eager to return home.

He needed her scent, her warmth, to cover up all the traces of unease left by that night in Jiangcheng.

After collecting his luggage and walking with the crowd toward the arrival hall, Yu Bo's heart rate accelerated inexplicably.

Was it the nervousness of approaching home, or was the lingering self-loathing in his heart acting up?

He took a deep breath and adjusted his expression, trying to make himself look like a normal person who was just a little tired from a business trip.

His gaze quickly searched the crowd of people waiting for arrivals, and he locked onto that figure almost instantly.

Yin Tianxue was wearing a light apricot cashmere cardigan today, with a simple white cotton T-shirt underneath, and slim-fit blue jeans. Her long hair draped softly over her shoulders, and she wore only the lightest makeup, looking as pure as if she were untainted by dust.

She was standing slightly on tiptoe, her gaze focused on searching among the crowd coming out of the gate. That focused expression made Yu Bo's heart soften, but a sense of guilt welled up with it.

"Tianxue." He quickened his pace, walked up to her, put down his carry-on suitcase, and pulled her into his arms without saying a word.

His arms tightened, as if trying to embed her into his body.

His nose was filled with the familiar, elegant scent of gardenias on her, which instantly diluted the murky atmosphere brought by the cabin and the journey, and temporarily dispelled the gloom in his heart.

The embrace was soft and warm—the harbor he most wanted to dock at after drifting.

"You're back?" Yin Tianxue was slightly taken aback by his hug, but then relaxed, wrapping her arms around his waist and rubbing her cheek gently against the crook of his neck, her voice soft and sweet. "You must be exhausted, right? You've even got dark circles under your eyes."

She was always so attentive.

"Yeah, I'm not tired now that I see you." Yu Bo buried his face in her hair, greedily absorbing this peace, his voice muffled.

This sentence was sincere, yet it also carried a trace of imperceptible appeasement.

"Smooth talker." Yin Tianxue laughed lightly, pushed him away a little, tilted her head to look at him carefully, and lightly touched the skin under his eyes with her finger. "Did the project not go well? Or did you just not get enough rest?"

Her eyes were clear, filled with concern, yet there was also a hint of imperceptible inquiry.