After blowing out the candles, Zhong Xiaoqin looked at the eight-inch cake in Chen Cheng's hands and felt a bit troubled.

"What's wrong? Don't know what to wish for?" Chen Cheng teased after seeing her constipated expression.

"No," Zhong Xiaoqin shook her head, her face flushed. "It's just that I ate too much earlier; I can't eat anymore."

"Uh..." Chen Cheng realized he had overlooked that. He raised an eyebrow. "At least have a taste; it is your birthday, after all."

Zhong Xiaoqin thought about it and felt Chen Cheng had a point, so she nodded. "Mhm~"

Chen Cheng smiled and placed the cake on the dining table.

Zhong Xiaoqin picked up the cake knife, cut a slice, placed it on a plate, and held it out to Chen Cheng with both hands.

However, numbed by the alcohol, her hands weren't very steady, and the slice was a bit large.

Pursing her lips, Zhong Xiaoqin looked directly into Chen Cheng's eyes and said slowly, "Chen Cheng, thank you for spending my birthday with me."

"You're welcome~" Chen Cheng took the cake and affectionately flicked her delicate nose.

Zhong Xiaoqin was stunned by his action, her face instantly turning beet red. "You... you..."

"Me what?" Chen Cheng acted as if nothing had happened, casually poking at the cake with a fork as he asked back with composure.

The more he acted like it was nothing, the more flustered Zhong Xiaoqin felt, unable to grasp his intentions.

"Don't just touch me like that," Zhong Xiaoqin managed to say after a long pause, giving a half-hearted warning.

"Oh~" Chen Cheng replied dismissively, not even looking up from his cake.

Zhong Xiaoqin suddenly felt a bit huffy. With a look of resentment, she took the cake knife and cut a slice for herself.

A smile had already played on the corners of Chen Cheng's lips.

What did she mean by "don't just touch me like that"? Didn't it imply that as long as it wasn't "just like that," he could touch her?

Whether Zhong Xiaoqin realized it or not, Chen Cheng had planted a seed in her heart over the course of the evening.

No, it was only the first half of the night.

Seeing Chen Cheng's nonchalant attitude, Zhong Xiaoqin took several forceful bites of the cake out of spite, as if she were biting Chen Cheng himself.

But after two bites, she couldn't eat anymore.

She really had eaten too much tonight.

Chen Cheng finished the entire slice in a few bites and wiped his mouth.

He stood up, walked over to Zhong Xiaoqin, and extended his hand in an inviting gesture.

"Didn't you want to dance?"

"Shall we?"

"Ah?" Zhong Xiaoqin's face was red, and her eyes were wide and round.

"What 'ah'? Weren't you the one who wanted to dance?" Chen Cheng said, taking her hand without leaving room for argument.

Zhong Xiaoqin squinted hard to dispel the waves of drunkenness, her flushed cheeks becoming even more radiant.

She felt a bit apprehensive, yet she allowed Chen Cheng to lead her by the hand.

Chen Cheng led her to the record player and skipped the half-played dance track to the next one.

Shostakovich, "Waltz No. 2".

As the lively and melodious dance music flowed from the speakers, Zhong Xiaoqin sobered up slightly, finding her rhythm as she followed Chen Cheng's steps.

Spinning and leaping with the notes, the coordination between the two grew better and better.

Gazing at Chen Cheng's smooth jawline, Zhong Xiaoqin's gaze began to grow hazy again.

This guy is way too tall; I'm at such a disadvantage wearing slippers.

But he really is so handsome.

Before long, the song ended.

Both of them froze in place.

Chen Cheng's arm was around Zhong Xiaoqin's slender waist, his eyes staring directly into hers.

One of Zhong Xiaoqin's hands rested on Chen Cheng's shoulder, while the other was interlaced with his.

She looked at Chen Cheng with a very dazed expression.

Feeling Chen Cheng's hot breath, her throat moved, and Zhong Xiaoqin instinctively swallowed.

Chen Cheng immediately noticed her small gesture. Without the slightest hesitation, he lifted his hand from her waist to tilt up her fair, smooth chin and lowered his head to press his lips against hers.

The moment her skin felt the warm touch, the dazed Zhong Xiaoqin was instantly pulled back to reality.

A hint of clarity returned to her eyes. Seeing that handsome face drawing closer, how could she not understand Chen Cheng's intentions?

Her remaining reason made Zhong Xiaoqin raise her hand, blocking Chen Cheng's descending lips.

Swallowing to ease her nerves, Zhong Xiaoqin's lips trembled slightly. "Chen Cheng, don't do this. I... I'm married."

Chen Cheng's face was less than a fist's width from Zhong Xiaoqin's flushed face, their hot breaths mingling.

The atmosphere was ambiguous to the extreme.

The air froze for a few seconds before Chen Cheng spoke softly, "Aren't you about to get a divorce?"

Boom~

Something exploded inside Zhong Xiaoqin, and all her defenses crumbled.

Right, I'm about to get divorced, so why do I care about this?

The warm air continued to brush against Zhong Xiaoqin's face.

Seeing her silence, Chen Cheng continued to entice her, "Just think of it as indulgence before your liberation."

At those words, Zhong Xiaoqin was swayed.

Seeing that she still didn't speak, Chen Cheng's lips curled slightly, and he leaned down to kiss her.

This time, he met no resistance.

The moment the soft sensation hit, the small spark of ambiguity that had been flickering all night in Zhong Xiaoqin's heart erupted into a wildfire.

Zhong Xiaoqin wrapped her slender arms around Chen Cheng's neck, responding to his kiss.

However, her kissing technique was very amateurish, leaving Chen Cheng a bit bewildered.

Is she seriously a married woman?

Gradually, Zhong Xiaoqin's long, beautiful legs wrapped around Chen Cheng's waist.

Kissing her passionately, Chen Cheng carried her toward the bedroom.

Entering the bedroom, Chen Cheng placed Zhong Xiaoqin on the edge of the bed and tossed aside the bathrobe that had already been mostly stripped off on the way.

Seeing the sexy black lace lingerie she was wearing, Chen Cheng was momentarily stunned.

This shouldn't match her personality.

Then, Chen Cheng's eyes darted around as he understood the reason.

So she's a girl who's quiet on the outside but passionate on the inside.

Zhong Xiaoqin kept her head down, not daring to look into Chen Cheng's eyes.

Chen Cheng took off his short-sleeved shirt and leaned down to kiss those red lips again.

It was different from before.

Whether it was the stimulation of the alcohol or the eruption of long-term suppression, Zhong Xiaoqin's kiss was passionate, even bordering on frantic.

...

(Eighty thousand words omitted here.)

...

The next day, Chen Cheng woke up naturally—or more accurately, he had only slept for a few hours.

The two of them had stayed up late last night, "playing games" until Zhong Xiaoqin's drunkenness had almost faded, only falling into a deep sleep after three in the morning.

Looking at the charming and lovely Zhong Xiaoqin on the other side of the bed, Chen Cheng felt a sense of satisfaction.

To be honest, before last night, he hadn't expected to "eat" Xiao Qin first.

Chen Cheng smiled dotingly and leaned over to kiss Zhong Xiaoqin's cheek, which was even more flushed and radiant than usual.

Zhong Xiaoqin immediately smacked her lips and reached up to scratch the spot where Chen Cheng had just kissed.

Seeing her adorable appearance, Chen Cheng's lips curled into a smile.

After watching her quietly for a while, he rolled out of bed and went straight to the bathroom to shower.

After showering and changing, he walked out of the room. Just as he was about to go to the dining room to find his phone, he heard a ringtone halfway there.

The ringtone was still "Somewhere in Time," the song Chen Cheng had sung with Xiao Ye.

But this clearly wasn't Chen Cheng's ringtone; after all, he wasn't narcissistic enough to use his own voice as a ringtone.

Chen Cheng frowned as he listened to the singing and muttered, "This song really turned out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy."

"Lovers... missing each other~"

With that, Chen Cheng curled his lip. "Oh, wait. Of these two, one doesn't understand love, and the other only loves fish."

"They don't really count as lovers~"

Walking into the dining room, he picked up Zhong Xiaoqin's phone and saw a call from Chen the Fish-Rearer.

Chen Cheng's expression became quite interesting. Should he answer it or not?