Chapter 140: A Rift Takes Root

She had never imagined that for all these years, someone had been silently searching for her.

"You have been looking for me all this time?"

Meng Yi'er looked up, staring at the man's earnest face in disbelief.

Yan Yichen nodded, a smile playing on his lips, his happiness almost spilling over. She gazed at him, somewhat stunned; she had never realized that she was such a significant presence in his heart.

"Why?"

"Hmm?"

Yan Yichen looked puzzled, not understanding why she would ask. Then, he smiled and said gently, "I’m not sure myself. At first, perhaps it was just because I felt you were so pitiful, and I wanted to know how you were doing. Do you know? I still remember so clearly how you looked that day, wearing that red dress and looking so forlorn. Later, I often came here, hoping to try my luck and see if I could run into you again, but you never appeared. I asked around everywhere in the vicinity, but there was still no news of you. Yet, your image in my mind only grew clearer. It wasn't until I grew older that I realized..."

It wasn't until he met her again at the bar that he could be certain: he had already fallen in love with her long ago. Perhaps, even at an age when he was too young to understand love, his heart had already been captured by her, which was why he could never let her go.

Meng Yi'er's bright, starry eyes sparkled even more in the dim night. She stared fixedly at Yan Yichen, her gaze flowing with a captivating, soul-stirring depth.

Yan Yichen paused, his large, lean hand gently caressing her fair, soft cheek.

"I realized that I had already fallen in love with you..."

Before Yan Yichen could finish his sentence, Meng Yi'er’s soft lips pressed suddenly against his.

Yan Yichen blinked, staring at her fair little face so close to his, slightly dazed. This little girl had actually taken the initiative to kiss him. It was the first time she had ever kissed him first.

A husky voice suddenly sounded. Before Meng Yi'er, lost in her own thoughts, could react, Yan Yichen’s thin lips descended, accurately capturing hers. Her lips were impossibly soft, carrying an indescribable fragrance, her breath like orchids, tender and crisp—the taste was just as wonderful as he remembered.

Meng Yi'er was startled by his sudden kiss. She pressed her hands against Yan Yichen’s chest, her eyes wide, staring blankly at his handsome face, now magnified several times over. His nose was high and straight, and a lock of hair fell loosely across his forehead, adding a touch of lazy sexiness to his appearance. The man closed his eyes, kissing her with deep affection, as if worshipping a rare and precious treasure.

She suddenly noticed that his eyelashes were very long, trembling slightly; few women even possessed lashes as long as his.

Unlike the domineering plundering of their previous two encounters, Yan Yichen’s movements were incredibly gentle. At times, his lips and tongue moved incessantly over her soft lips; at others, he ground them lightly, or extended his tongue to lick across them.

Sensing no resistance from her, the corners of Yan Yichen’s mouth lifted slightly.

His senses were filled with her delicate fragrance, a scent that bewitched him, and the softness in his arms made his breathing increasingly rapid.

Meng Yi'er found her breath stolen away by his lingering, passionate kiss, her mind gradually clouding over. She began to lose focus, yet she could still feel the hand he had placed behind her waist growing hotter and hotter.

As the rhythm of Yan Yichen’s low, heavy breathing changed in her ear, Meng Yi'er nervously gripped the shirt at his chest, letting him kiss her in a daze. The temperature of his tongue seemed to carry a current, surging instantly to her heart and causing her entire body to tremble slightly.