The air seemed to stagnate for a moment, and Yu Yuan thought her desires were causing her to hallucinate.
"What did you just say?"
She watched his lips move as he repeated his previous words.
"I said marry me."
Was he joking? Yu Yuan looked at him. His eyes were deep, but they reflected his seriousness. Knowing he wasn't joking didn't solve the mystery. It only brought more questions.
"Why?"
Huo Wei raised his hand to push a button that closed the partition between the front seat and the backseat. It looked like he was preparing to say something important.
"You're the first woman I've ever felt attracted to," he started. "This feeling is rare for me, and I've always thought it was useless and sometimes a hindrance. But after meeting you, I find that I don't hate this feeling. If anything, I like it, and the things that I like, I always obtain and keep for myself."
Yu Yuan blinked. Should she start from the last part of that sentence? She'll ignore that for now.
"Simple attraction is not enough reason to get married. What's logical is asking me out on a few dates before asking me to be your girlfriend. And that's still a long way before marriage?"
A glint appeared in his eyes. "My attraction to you can't be defined as simple. Your entire person is a temptation to me. I think about you constantly, and I get irritated by the fact that I don't have you by my side. My interest in you is abrupt and intense, and being my girlfriend isn't enough. I won't feel at peace if I don't have you all to myself, and I want to be sure that I'm the only one who has the right to all of you."
He leaned closer to her, adding another layer of oppressive impact to his presence, and continued.
"I saw you smile at him. Do you know how I felt when I saw that? It was like I had swallowed magma, and I wanted to incinerate him. But I can't tell you not to smile at any other man. I don't have that right. I want full exclusive rights to you, so I want you to marry me."
Yu Yuan stared, her eyes bored into him. He looked like he wanted to kidnap her and hide her from the rest of the world. How scary...not.
She terribly wanted to jump him but had to restrain herself. Some things needed to be set straight first.
"In other words, you are obsessed with me and feel possessive about me. You don't really like me but are driven by selfish interest."
Huo Wei's brows knitted slightly. "I suppose that's correct."
"Why should I agree?"
He looked her dead in the eye and said, "Because you are attracted to me too."
Yu Yuan didn't feel any shock or embarrassment at being outed. "Any normal woman that sees you will be attracted to you, and even for that normal woman attraction is not enough reason. Plus, your intentions would scare anyone away."
"But you are not a normal person. Your reactions so far have confirmed it. When I moved closer, your pupils dilated, and your breathing slightly quickened. I'm sure that if I could measure your heartbeat, I'll find that it increased. Am I wrong?"
"How do you know I wasn't afraid?"
"Because of the gleam in your eyes. You looked like you wanted to undress me badly, even now you look like that. You want me like I want you but maybe not as intense."
Oops. Busted.
"I won't deny that, but marriage is very complicated."
Huo Wei nodded in agreement. "Ok. Then let's make things simple. Let's enter into an agreement. We'll try marriage for a year. After a year, we can decide to either stay together or get a divorce."
"What do you think? Just one year."
She smiled teasingly, "What if I don't agree?"
His eyes darkened, "I won't give up, and I won't allow you to meet other men. You should expect what happened today to happen multiple times and even worse."
Yu Yuan's hand twitched.
"So, will you marry me?"
She stared at him for a while. It looked like he wouldn't let her go until he got an answer. Well, it wasn't like she needed to think for long before answering.
"Yes. Yes, I will."
"Good." Huo Wei leaned back in his seat.
There was a moment of silence in the car. Yu Yuan glanced at Huo Wei while thinking that this was her most impulsive decision ever. But she wasn't worried.
Her life had too few ups and downs compared to other people, and sometimes she felt life was boring. This decision, although impulsive, was a welcome change. If anything went wrong, she believed in her ability to come out unscathed.
Now that was out of the way...
"Am I your fiancee now?"
Huo Wei turned to look at her. "Yes."
"That means I'm able to enjoy certain privileges, right?"
He raised a brow. "What kind of privileges?"
Yu Yuan's eyes darted to his lips and flicked back up to his eyes before answering. "There's something I've wanted to do for a while now."
As she said that, she leaned closer. A muscle in his jaw twitched, and his eyes grew a few shades darker. He spoke in a hoarse voice, "And what is that?"
At this moment, Yu Yuan was so close their lips were almost touching, and they could feel each other's scorching breath. The temperature in the car went up a few degrees.
"This," she answered, closing the distance between them.
Soft. That was Yu Yuan's first impression. Soft lips, unlike their owner's hard exterior. After that...she couldn't think clearly anymore.
Their lips rubbed against each other, sending tingles down her spine. She put her right hand on his shoulder, finding stability, and then moved closer to indulge in that taste she had desired for a while.
Huo Wei catching her intentions, put his hands around her waist and pulled her closer while taking the opportunity to slightly deepen the kiss. He could sense the moist softness behind the gates of her teeth and slightly smell a light fruity fragrance he couldn't quite identify.
Not enough. It was not enough.
His hand tightened around her, and he lifted her to straddle his legs. It was unexpected, but she quickly adapted by placing both hands on his shoulders to steady herself. His hands cupped the back of her neck, and their lips met once again. This time his tongue swept past the barrier to taste the soft sweetness behind.
Their tongue met, and a bolt of pleasure streaked down Yu Yuan's spine. She felt hot, dizzy, and lost amid the sensations. His hands on her body formed a cage that took her prisoner. She couldn't retreat or escape. Not like she wanted to. This experience was way better than she expected.
The sounds that would raise a fiery blush in whoever heard them continued for a while. When they finally separated, Yu Yuan lost track of time. Huo Wei's hands caressed her lips. They were slightly swollen, and their pink color looked more vibrant. Even more tempting to kiss now. But they had to restrain themselves.
With his hands still on her waist, he said, "Let's get married this weekend."
Yu Yuan's breathing had smoothened. "Ok, but you have to meet my parents first."
He nodded. "No problem. Tell me when you set the date."
Huo Wei placed her back on her seat and ordered the driver to take them to her house.
The driver, Guo Jian, had gone stiff from waiting. He couldn't hear anything as the car was well soundproofed, but that didn't stop him from speculating. Did his ascetic boss really have that side to him? No, he didn't believe it. They must have been discussing something very important. Yes, that was it.
It wasn't long before they arrived at Yu Yuan's apartment. Right before she got off the car, she gave Huo Wei a little peck on his cheeks. "Goodnight," she whispered.
He watched her enter the building without looking back before telling the driver to drive away.
Today was quite eventful.
*******
Author's Note
Y'all won't believe how much I racked my brain to write this chapter. Writing scenes like this is a first for me. Who knew it'd be so hard to describe my imagination? I'll strive to do better next time.
I also just realized that I should have given the driver a name considering how frequently he's mentioned. 🤦♀️
Anyway, this chapter is for those who urged me to update faster. My lazy self can't do more than one chapter a week, but I can try to be earlier sometimes. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.
Further updates from next week continue to be on Thursdays. Have a good day. 👋