Su Qinglan froze like someone had just dropped a rock on her head. For a second, she thought sheâd misheard.
Maybe the cave was playing tricks on her. Maybe her ears had gone bad. Because surely...Hu Yan, the same crybaby cat who had just been sobbing all over her shoulder, did not just say he loved her.
Her eyes went wide, blinking at the dark ceiling like it might confirm what sheâd just heard. "Wait... what did you just say?" she asked, her voice half curious, half disbelieving.
Hu Yan sniffled, looking at her with those still-red eyes. "I said I love you. Donât abandon me."
Su Qinglan just stared at him blankly for a few more heartbeats before blurting, "...Youâre joking, right?"
He looked so deadly serious that she immediately regretted asking. "Oh," she muttered under her breath, completely flustered now. "So youâre not joking."
Su Qinglanâs heart skipped a beat. She still felt like it was all a dream, and she still had to wake up.
For a moment, it felt like her whole body had frozen from the inside out. Her mind couldnât catch up with what she was hearing and what she was feeling. Hu Yanâs voice still echoed in her ears...soft and sensual, luring her into a realm that maybe she can never come out of.
He said he loved her.
She stared at him, her lips slightly parted, her thoughts spinning in every direction. This couldnât be real. He was crying just moments ago. Now he was saying something that could never be taken back.
"Hu Yan," she whispered, her throat dry. "Are you sure?"
Her voice came out low, a little shaky. Now she wasnât teasing or joking. She was dead serious.
Hu Yan blinked at her, confused. "What do you mean?"
Su Qinglan drew in a deep breath, her expression becoming serious as she turned fully toward him. Her heartbeat thudded in her ears, but her words came clear.
"Because I, Su Qinglan, donât allow anyone to leave me once they become mine," she said, her tone steady, almost dangerous. "Do you understand what that means?"
Hu Yan looked at her blankly, stunned by her sudden change of tone.
She leaned closer, her eyes locking on his. "Hu Yan, remember what you are saying. If you confess to me like this, you have to know what it means. You canât take it back. You canât say this and walk away later."
Her voice trembled faintly near the end, but her gaze didnât waver. "You have to forget what I told you before...what I said in your cave, that Iâd never bother you or hold you back. Forget all of that. If you give your heart to me now, if you say you love me, then I will never let you go. Not ever."
There was a storm inside her; it was fear, longing, something dark and deep. She had always thought she could let him go if he wanted to leave. She had told herself she was strong enough. But she wasnât. Not anymore.
She had seen his kindness, his innocence, and his warmth. She had felt his gentle care. And now, she couldnât imagine a world without it. Without him.
There was always a time when she would zone out, thinking, "What if he decided to just leave her alone one day? Would she be able to stop him?" Should she just respect his decision or become selfish for herself...for her cubs that are yet to born.
Her fingers tightened on his arms. "Hu Yan," she said again, her voice low but fierce. "Once you become mine, Iâll never let you leave me. Never. In this life, or the next."
For a long second, neither of them moved. The air between them felt heavy and hot.
Then Hu Yan slowly reached out, cupping her face with trembling hands. His thumb brushed over her cheek.
"I am already yours, Lan Lan," he said softly. His eyes shone with quiet devotion. "I have been yours since the day you looked into my eyes with your beautiful eyes. Since that moment, I couldnât look at anyone else."
Before she could respond, he leaned forward and pressed his lips gently against hers. It was a small, trembling kiss, but it burned through her chest like fire. Like he was telling her that now he was already hers, and no one can take her away from him.
Su Qinglanâs eyes widened slightly, her breath catching.
And for the first time, she didnât push him away. She didnât hide. She let him kiss her with the devotion he was pouring on her.
Suddenly, before she could take another step in her thoughts, she felt a sudden chill, realizing that there should be another presence behind her.
Su Qinglanâs eyes widened with horror at the sudden realization in her face, but she looked back to find the seat beside her was completely empty. There was no sign of anything, only the cave wall.
Xuan Long was not there.
Hu Yan instantly got dissatisfied when he found her moving away from him and looking somewhere else. He took her face in his hands and kissed her once again, fiercely, so she would only focus on him and nothing else.
She found herself melting in Hu Yanâs arms, his kisses taking over everything.
She instinctively snuggled closer to him, and all her worries faded when she found there was no one else in the cave. She allowed herself to melt into the warmth radiating from Hu Yan.
Now, there was no barrier left in her heart to stop her from claiming him. Perhaps in the past, she had been shy and hesitant because she hadnât known how he would react...whether he would accept her, or what their future might hold.
But now, after he had confessed everything, and she finally believed they had a future, she stopped holding back.
She let him consume her with fire, deepening the kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.
Her hands roamed freely over his body, and Hu Yan stiffened before responding with the same primal impulse and intensity, gripping her waist so tightly he nearly crushed her soft body against his.
When he finally pulled back from the kiss, he looked at her with a terrifyingly possessive gaze, like a beast marking its claim. His breath came heavy and uneven as he stared at her.
"Lan Lan," he drawled in a low, husky tone, "I want you. I need you. All I want is you...only you. You donât know how much you made my heart beat for you, every time I look at you. All I want is to bury myself inside you."