Their breaths mingled as they stood against a cosmic backdrop. Bai Lian tried to steady herself, but his words echoed in her mind.
"T-true love?" She stammered, a rosy blush heating her cheeks as her heart thrashed in her chest.
Zhang Rui stepped closer until she could feel his heartbeat pulsing against her own. "I know it's sudden," he murmured. One hand tilted her chin up, while the other rested along her waist, fingers sinking into her soft, pale flesh. "But it's the only thing I can hope will save me."
His bright blue eyes locked onto hers.
She stared at him, fingers curled into his shirt, lips trembling with hesitation. Slowly, she looked away.
"I don't think I can give you what you want," she whispered.
Her voice wavered. "I don't even know if I can make you happy. Even if I… even if I wanted to be with you and help you feel true love, I wouldn't know where to start. I haven't been able to form relationships. I couldn't even make friends. The people with me now are only here because the Tower forced them…"
Her throat tightened. "They might not say it, but I can tell—they think I'm crazy. I get angry for no reason, I get sad out of nowhere, my mind wanders even when I try to focus…" She bit her lip until a bead of blood formed. "You should find another girl to try true love with. I'd just be a hindrance. I'm not normal—I-I—"
She didn't get to finish.
Zhang Rui pulled her suddenly into a deep kiss that made her legs weaken. He leaned her back smoothly, both arms supporting her lower back. His eyes shut as his tongue slid past her parted lips.
Thump!
Her heart hammered so fiercely she felt dizzy. A wet haze clouded her eyes as her body melted into his touch.
"...Zhang Rui~" his name spilled from her lips between desperate kisses. Her hands uncurled from his shirt, arms wrapping around his neck as if she were afraid he would disappear again.
Tears welled—but the fear, the doubt, still clung to her. When he broke the kiss, giving her a moment to breathe, her eyes opened again.
"You… you could find someone better than me," she whispered.
"I don't want somebody else," he murmured, lips brushing along her neck. "You're perfect enough."
She trembled, squirming in his hold. "You said it yourself… I look thirty," she muttered, almost ashamed. "You're still young. Your life was cut short, and you were resurrected. You should be with someone your age. Not some broken, crazy older woman like me."
His grip shifted, drawing her closer. His right arm supported her entirely now, while his left hand drifted up—fingers brushing against the knotted clasps of her qipao.
"I might look younger now," Zhang Rui whispered, teasing the first knot loose, "but we're still the same age. So if I followed your logic… wouldn't that lead me right back to you?"
Her breath caught.
"I love you," he said against her skin, voice quiet yet unwavering. "And nothing you say will change that."
Her eyes fluttered closed as his mouth traced heat along her throat. "If… if this is what you really want, then fine. We can give it a try…" The first knot of her dress came undone. "Just promise me one thing, Zhang Rui."
He paused.
"Promise me… you'll still look for other people to love too." Her voice broke slightly. "I know you may not want that—but please. If you gave up your chance at true love and later regretted choosing me… if you resented me for it… I don't know what I'd do."
He stared at her, stunned.
Then he laughed softly. "This is the first time I've heard a woman ask the man who loves her to go look for other women."
He exhaled, calming himself before meeting her eyes again. "Is that truly what you want me to do?"
She nodded, shy and uncertain, like a wife making a strange request of her husband.
He sighed, brushing her cheek. "Alright. I'll try for you—and I'll keep my mind open to that idea. There. Happy now? You're making me feel like a playboy."
Her lips curved, a shaky smile forming—right before he kissed her again.
Their bodies sank toward the floor as his hand moved to the next knot of her dress…