Shen Zhining drove to a place they were both very familiar with.

Cirrus Cloud Restaurant.

Sheng Jiaoyang and Shen Zhining went straight to the top floor using the private elevator.

They arrived at a familiar-looking private room.

Last time, they'd met in this exact room and had agreed to become fake boyfriend-girlfriend.

Night had fallen, and they could see the night view of the whole city through the floor-to-ceiling window.

The ceiling was embedded with tiny star lights. On the long table, candles were lit and there was food, providing the perfect ambience for a candlelit dinner. Ballad music echoed gently in the background, creating a very romantic atmosphere in the room.

Shen Zhining pulled out the chair on the right for Sheng Jiaoyang.

Seeing his sudden gentlemanly behaviour, Sheng Jiaoyang was somewhat at a loss. She glanced at him a few times before sitting down.

The candlelight swayed in the air. Under the faint light, the two looked at each other intently across the table.

Sheng Jiaoyang never thought that there'd be a day where she'd be having a candlelight dinner with Shen Zhining. She stared at him with a complicated look on her face, feeling like she'd been riding on a roller coaster these days thanks to him.

The two ate their meal in silence.

When they'd finished, Shen Zhining got up and walked towards Sheng Jiaoyang. He held out his right hand and said, "Let's dance."

Sheng Jiaoyang glanced at him, placed her left hand on the palm of his hand, and stood up from her seat. She was led by him to the s.p.a.cious area. His other hand wrapped around her waist, and she placed her hand on his shoulder.

She was currently wearing stilettos with a five centimetre heel, so their heights were about the same and she could directly gaze into his eyes.

As they moved along to the slow-paced rhythm, the two stared fixedly at one another. Their breath mingled in the dark, creating a romantic, heart-thumping atmosphere.

"Who taught you how to dance?" Shen Zhining suddenly asked.

Sheng Jiaoyang blinked. As soon as she heard his question, she immediately became more alert and guardedly replied, "I learned it at school."

Satisfied with this answer, Shen Zhining tightened his grip around her waist and tugged her closer. Gazing into her eyes, he earnestly said, "I meant every word I said yesterday. Let's start over and make our relations.h.i.+p official."

"But, I already have someone I like." Sheng Jiaoyang's gaze fluttered.

"Look at me," Shen Zhining said.

Sheng Jiaoyang didn't get it, but she still looked at him, face to face. His eyes were like a vast sea of stars with an unfathomable depth.

"Engrave my appearance into your mind and remember that the person you must like is the owner of this face!"

Upon hearing that, Sheng Jiaoyang was stunned. Obviously, she didn't expect him to say such words. It was simply tooooo…shameless!

"Feelings can't be forced. If you had a choice, I don't think that you'd choose to like me," Sheng Jiaoyang said, hoping to change Shen Zhining's mind.

"People's physiological reactions won't lie. You didn't resist me yesterday."

"I…"

Shen Zhining stopped her words with a kiss. Sheng Jiaoyang took a deep breath and strangely wasn't astounded by his actions this time. On the contrary, she felt that everything Shen Zhining did was now quite normal.

The soft music in the background echoed within the room under the man-made starry sky, while the candlelight gently swayed back and forth on the dining table.

Shen Zhining gently licked and bit Sheng Jiaoyang's lips, his gaze locked on hers as he took in her expression.

"You like this," his lips rubbed against hers as he spoke, and his breath intertwined with hers, bringing about a ticklish feeling.

"How about this?" he asked between kisses. He forcefully deepened his kiss as the tips of their tongues met.

Sheng Jiaoyang suddenly tightened her grip on his shoulder, her breathing ragged. She was caught off guard yesterday, and she was in a state of confusion the entire time. But, now she was in a frenetic state and she felt her entire body go numb.

When their lips parted, Shen Zhining's lips curled upwards as he said, "You also like it."

His tone was confident as he'd seemingly seen through her subconscious reactions.

"If you were kissed by Ning Xiaoruan, An Jing, Lin Yu or any other man, would you accept it so calmly?"

Sheng Jiaoyang couldn't refute his words. If someone else, with the exception of Lin Yan, had kissed her, she'd have slapped them in the face long ago. But, yesterday and today, she unexpectedly hadn't resisted Shen Zhining. How terrifying! It turned out that she'd already let her guard down against Shen Zhining!

Shen Zhining was delighted to see the change in Sheng Jiaoyang's expression. With one hand wrapped around her waist and the other lifting her chin, he looked her in the eye. His eyes were extremely enticing, making it impossible for her to look away. He gently uttered, "Just admit it, you like me too."

Sheng Jiaoyang's breathing was somewhat hurried, and her mind was in a total mess. Has she really fallen in love with Shen Zhining?

But, she didn't have that kind of feeling…

"What kind of feeling do you want?"

When she heard his question, she froze. Why did she subconsciously blurt out her thoughts?

"I just need a moment of quiet…"

Shen Zhining softly said, "Running away won't solve the problem. You like me, and I like you, isn't this the perfect answer?"

"I'm drunk." Sheng Jiaoyang supported her forehead and deliberately staggered a few steps to prove her words.

She peeked through her fingers, and before she could see his expression clearly, waves of soft laughter reached her ears. His soft and mellow laughter resonated like a cello, impossible to resist listening to.

"I-I'm really drunk!" she feebly stressed.

Looking at her rowdy behaviour, Shen Zhining laughed. A glint flashed across his eyes. He leaned closer to her ear and whispered, "Every time you get drunk, you want to kiss me. Do you want to verify it?"

Sheng Jiaoyang instantly blushed.

"The first time, you broke into the bathroom and saw me naked. You even asked me to follow you to lead a rich life and tried to kiss me. The second time, you told me that you'd liked me for a long time and asked me to kiss you. In the end, you jumped on me and kissed me. They all say that in wine there's truth. It's already so obvious, yet you still don't want to admit that you like me?"

Sheng Jiaoyang's entire face flushed brighter.

At this moment, she didn't dare to move her hand away because she didn't know how to face Shen Zhining. She didn't believe that she'd do those things when drunk, but she knew that he wasn't someone who'd make things up out of thin air.

"You don't admit it because…" Shen Zhining paused before adding, "You're shy!"

"I'm not!" Sheng Jiaoyang stubbornly replied as she looked at him.

Shen Zhining's lips curled upwards as he playfully asked, "You're sober now?"

Sheng Jiaoyang's mouth twitched and she became a little frantic. She had no idea how to deal with Shen Zhining!

"I'm going to get some water." She broke away from him and walked to the table.

While pouring a gla.s.s of water, she quickly racked her brains.

"Have you thought this through?" Shen Zhining's voice asked behind her.

Sheng Jiaoyang turned around with a gla.s.s of water and stared at him as he approached, step by step. "I don't think it's right for us to do this. You can't let go of your suspicions, so there's still a barrier between us."

"Suspicions? Weren't you the one who gave me those suspicions?" Shen Zhining placed his hands on the edges of the table, trapping her in his embrace. "Just tell me how you won over Grandfather Yang's trust, and all my suspicions will dissipate."

Hearing this, Sheng Jiaoyang secretly muttered 'as expected' in her heart.

She looked at Shen Zhining with a trace of mockery that seemed to say that she'd already seen through his plans. "You're even willing to sacrifice yourself just to get to the bottom of this, how admirable!"

"You suspect that I'm harbouring bad intentions?" Shen Zhining narrowed his eyes and smiled without a trace of anger.

Shen Zhining's angry. Sheng Jiaoyang, who was familiar with his mood swings, immediately noticed that he was angry. Afterwards, she wasn't sure anymore. Could it be that she'd misunderstood him this time?

Shen Zhining's expression sank as he said, "You actually thought that I'd deliberately say that I liked you for the sake of fis.h.i.+ng out some info? If I insisted on knowing the truth, I wouldn't have let you go last time."

Upon recalling the scene where she was locked up in a small dark room, Sheng Jiaoyang's expression froze. That's true, if Shen Zhining truly wanted to get to the bottom of the matter, he could've used a lot of means to deal with her. He didn't even need to do it in person. "Am I not allowed to have my doubts? You've always suspected me and have kidnapped me twice. I'm not even angry, so what are you getting angry for?" Sheng Jiaoyang glared at Shen Zhining. The more she spoke, the angrier she grew.

Shen Zhining blankly stared at her for a moment before smiling.

"Why are you smiling? Am I wrong?" Sheng Jiaoyang frowned.

Shen Zhining merely stared at her with a smile on his face and didn't answer.

"W-what?" The atmosphere suddenly turned a bit strange…

"I want to kiss you."

W-what?! Sheng Jiaoyang was so startled that she raised the gla.s.s of water in front of her.

Shen Zhining easily moved Sheng Jiaoyang's hand away, so she immediately lifted her other hand. However, he effortlessly moved it away too. The corners of his mouth raised with a hint of playfulness.

Since he was getting closer, and both her hands were captured, she could only lean backwards. She wanted to struggle for a bit longer, so she said righteously, "You can't act like this. I'm not some inflatable doll that you can do whatever you want with. You have to first ask me if I'm willing."

"Alright, I want to kiss you. Are you willing?" A dangerous glint flashed in Shen Zhining's eyes.

"I'm not will-ummm…"

Sheng Jiaoyang was pressed over the table near the candleholder.

The candlelight reflected their expressions clearly. The astonishment in her eyes and the smile in his eyes lingered under the swaying candlelight.

"Mm-hmm…" You're cheating!

She resisted his invasion and glared at him with an accusatory look.

A victorious smile was reflected in Shen Zhining's eyes, and his kiss became more intense as he continued to enjoy his dessert. Only when he was perfectly satisfied did he give Sheng Jiaoyang the chance to catch her breath.

Sheng Jiaoyang gasped for air. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes moist, appearing particularly 'appetising'.

"I said I wasn't willing!" she complained in an aggrieved tone.

Shen Zhining remained unfazed as he stared at her, calmly saying, "You told me to ask you, and I did."

"But, I said that I wasn't willing!"

"Did you say that I can't kiss you if you weren't willing?" The corners of Shen Zhining's mouth curled into a smile.

"You deliberately misinterpreted my words!" Sheng Jiaoyang was driven mad by him. He was truly cunning!

"Misinterpretation? Isn't that your expertise?" Shen Zhining leisurely added, "I'm just giving you a taste of your own medicine."

Sheng Jiaoyang was rendered speechless.