16

Xiao Bei and the others tactfully leave us alone.

When I'm cried out, I blush at his crumpled shirt.

We're still holding each other.

What was just comfort now feels intimate.

Neither of us lets go.

Time seems to stop.

After a long pause, Lin Shen speaks. "Qiao Lu, I need to tell you—"

My phone's shrill ring cuts him off.

I push away, fumbling for it.

It's Qiao Lan.