012 - It Has to Be You

"Lu Yichen, don't do anything reckless..." Her petite frame was pressed against the cold door as Lu Yichen's tall figure loomed over her, completely enveloping her. His eyes, already bright and captivating, now gleamed with an intensity that, to Xia Yuwei, resembled the fierce determination of a wild beast set on claiming his prize.

Suddenly, the shrill ring of a phone echoed from his pocket.

"You—You have a call!" Grasping at the lifeline, Xia Yuwei reminded him with feigned concern.

He acted as if he hadn't heard a thing, his gaze fixed solely on her. Without so much as a glance at the caller, he pressed the power button, shutting the phone off. The device traced a swift arc through the air before landing on the carpet.

Even if the sky were to fall at this moment, nothing could stop his resolve to have her.

"Weiwei, I want you. I have to have you." His eyes bored into hers, burning so hot she felt she might melt beneath them.

"No—" she turned her face away, stubbornly resisting.

"Weiwei... If you won't give yourself to me, I'll die..." he suddenly nuzzled into the hollow of her shoulder, his tone aggrieved, like a child denied his candy.

"You won't. Once you leave an old woman like me," Xia Yuwei replied quietly, his childish pleading making her heart ache, her voice gone hoarse, "you'll only live more—mm—let me go—mm—"

Faced with her merciless words, Lu Yichen said nothing. He simply captured her lips, biting and claiming them fiercely.

His hands circled her slender waist, and he kissed her relentlessly, tearing at her dress in a frenzy as they stumbled toward the bed. Clothes—hers and his—scattered across the floor, marking their path.

Xia Yuwei endured his overwhelming passion in silence, mourning her beloved dress in her heart... Oh, there went a month's worth of manuscript fees, ruthlessly tossed aside by Lu Yichen.

He threw her onto the bed, burying himself at her chest like a starving beast, greedily inhaling her intoxicating fragrance. Her familiar scent, as sweet as ever, stole his breath, made his blood race, drove him to madness.

"Weiwei..." he murmured her name, needing to feel her presence, to know this wasn't a dream. Lu Yichen's eyes stung as his face lingered against the delicate skin of her chest, wandering as if surveying his kingdom, sighing as though lost in a dream.

"No—" Xia Yuwei's lips protested, but she didn't resist, letting him bury his head in the crook of her neck, her own eyes brimming with tears.

This man she both loved and hated, always so domineering, left her—usually so strong and fierce—utterly powerless.

Eight years. She'd imagined their reunion a thousand times, until hope faded to despair: hating him, trying to forget him, vowing to hit him, to avenge herself, to scorn him, to pretend she didn't even know him.

But in the end, he appeared before her, as arrogant as ever, forcing her to this moment. His unyielding strength left her helpless, yet the man before her now, infuriating as he was, awakened a fire within her. His fervor, his scent, his voice—each one seduced her, making her heart tremble uncontrollably.

Like a child, he crawled up to her face, his eyes never leaving hers, as if afraid she might vanish the instant he blinked. His long fingers reached for her cheek, caressing gently. "Weiwei, you are mine. Always mine."