On the opposite side of this little street was a shopping centre. Without warning, several digital advertising posters all jumped to a new picture—one of Jian Bianlin… It was a poster for the men’s skin care products that he was the spokesperson for.
This sudden change in advertisement that now lined the entire street caused Chu Jian’s heart to go thump, thump in her chest.
The stark white headlights of a vehicle shone in their direction.
A hotel shuttle bus turned into their street, honking its horn as it zoomed past them. Less than a minute later, the street was packed with tourists who had gotten off the bus and were standing around.
An originally empty and safe street had become a gathering place for the masses.
Worried that someone would recognize him, Jian Bianlin pulled her onto the steps of a tall building and, with his back to the tourists, hid her with his own body. The two of them appeared no different from any other ordinary tourist. In fact, they seemed more like a young couple who were suddenly in the mood to get cozy and had found a little corner to be lovey-dovey in.
Chu Jian’s back was against a metal railing. Completely shielded by his body in that corner, she was unable to see anything aside from his black jacket’s metal zipper, which was so close it was nearly touching the tip of her nose.
Among the clamour of voices, somebody recognized Jian Bianlin’s poster ad and sighed over how he truly was crazily red-hot of late. Someone also commented in passing that all the major marketing IDs on social media platforms had disclosed that his first television drama that was soon to begin filming was…
Wait. Wait!
She could sense that he had lifted his hand.
Hearing that the voices had more or less all left, Chu Jian tilted her head up and was about to say, “Should we go somewhere that’s more secluded? Who would have thought that such a small street would still have those free hotel shuttles stopping on it? So not safe.” When she raised her eyes, though, she saw him soundlessly removing the black mask that had been covering half his face.
This simple action, in this moment, actually evoked an inexplicably suggestive feeling.
“The car… is going to be here soon, right?” she asked.
“Should be soon.” He moved in closer. His lips were right there in front of the bridge of her nose.
His breath was so searing hot it aroused a flustered feeling in her.
“Let’s go down.” She shrank backwards, but the back of her head smacked into the wall of the building, banging into the notice that said, “This glass door is broken. Please go through the main doors of the building” …
In that instant when their lips truly, physically came into contact, she unconsciously grabbed whatever her fingers touched—the zipper of his jacket.
This action completely seemed like she was responding to him.
He took things a step further, pressing his body tightly against hers. Amid their intermingled, ragged breathing, he gently sucked her lower lip, then her upper lip, until finally, his tongue explored past her lips and slipped inside to find … that little canine tooth…
With a clack, the digital boards behind them all simultaneously changed over to a poster for the latest James Bond movie[1] that was playing in theatres.
Chu Jian suddenly pushed him away.
Jian Bianlin allowed himself to follow the momentum of this action and pull away from her. A light breeze blew by. Their lips felt chilly.
