068 An Unexpected Embrace

Hearing what Lin Bing said, Lin Jiagui nodded in deep agreement. “Yes, if it weren’t for Xiaxia, your fourth aunt and I would never have been able to move into a new apartment so soon. As the ancients said, ‘There is gold in books’—how true that is, truly, truly, haha.”

Sitting alone in the back seat, Lin Xia gazed out the window. The development of W City was astonishing; what was now a rural area would become a bustling commercial district in just a few years.

Lost in her own thoughts, she paid little attention to the conversation around her.

Led by her cousin, the three of them had a meal at a restaurant before driving to the neighborhood her cousin had scouted out.

As she stood before the tall building, Lin Xia felt a moment of daze. She had already altered the course of her previous life and was no longer the aimless person she once was.

Following behind her cousin into the sales office, they were immediately greeted by a saleswoman.

Lin Xia stole a glance at her cousin, dressed smartly in a suit, and couldn’t help but think to herself: If her cousin wasn’t taking the lead, these women wouldn’t spare her or her father a second look.

After all, apartments here did not come cheap.

The saleswoman enthusiastically introduced the property to Lin Bing and Lin’s father, paying no mind to Lin Xia.

Given her age, no matter how favored she was at home, matters as important as this would never be left in her hands.

With the chatter of the saleswoman mercifully distant, Lin Xia wandered over to study the model of the complex, finding it rather interesting.

When buying an apartment, one should always choose a unit with bedrooms and living room facing the sun, and it was best to avoid the eighth and ninth floors, where airborne toxins tended to concentrate.

Her previous life’s studies had been in environmental science; she’d forgotten much over the years, but this she remembered clearly.

As for the layout, a three-bedroom, two-living-room apartment was ideal. Circling the model, she suddenly felt a faint pressure in her lower abdomen—probably from drinking too much soup at lunch.

She informed her father and headed for the restroom.

The sign for the restroom was in a corner of the lobby; turning the corner, she entered a long, narrow hallway. The air was faintly scented—luxury buildings were truly different.

Just as she reached the end of the corridor, her phone rang.

Lin Xia opened her bag, rummaging through the odds and ends—perfume, sunscreen, an umbrella, tissues—until she fished out her phone, walking as she searched. She reached the corner just as a man appeared from the other side.

She bumped straight into his chest.

A strong masculine scent enveloped her, with an undercurrent of a subtle, elusive fragrance that made that masculinity all the more alluring.

Oscar Wilde once said: “Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul.”

Though this contact was far from overtly sexual, women are not the same as men—men think with their bodies, but women are more evolved creatures, they reason with their minds. The brain’s reactions to the external world are perceived through a woman’s senses.

Now, through skin and scent, Lin Xia experienced the man she had run into.

The soft fabric against her cheek and that faint, tantalizing undertone in his fragrance told her this was a man of exquisite taste.

So much flashed through her mind, but in reality, only two seconds had passed.

Still unused to such intimacy with a stranger, Lin Xia instinctively raised her hands to create distance and apologized, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

Then she looked up and saw the man’s face.

There are many words for the briefest moments—an instant, a flash, a heartbeat.

How long does it take to fall for someone?

A minute, an hour?

A faint smile, a distant silhouette?

Or perhaps a cool, indifferent glance?

Lin Xia didn’t know. But girls are like this: by the time you realize you’re paying too much attention to someone, you’ve already begun to like him.

In that split second, Lin Xia blushed fiercely. Her heart tingled as if tiny electric currents coursed through her, radiating to every nerve.

The man was handsome, his attire and bearing impeccable. But if it were only his looks, Lin Xia would not have been so shaken.

What made her heart race was his mature presence.

His expression was calm, his features striking, every line of his face sharply defined. But what was most unforgettable were his deep, serene eyes, as tranquil and fathomless as a mountain pool.

Looking into those eyes was like falling into a black hole, all light and warmth drawn in and vanishing.

If Chen Zimo was a distant breeze, and You Xin a gentle stream, then this man before her was a mountain.

He stood there quietly—he needed neither words nor a glance to command attention.

Compared to him, all the boys Lin Xia had ever known were just that—boys.

But this man—he was a true man.

Like a mountain, imposing and awe-inspiring.

Of course, perhaps this sense of oppression was heightened by the difference in their heights.

Lin Xia was only fourteen, just over 1.6 meters tall, while this man was at least 1.8 meters.

The man gazed expressionlessly at the girl before him. Remembering the soft sensation against his chest, the first thing that popped into his mind was the words of his mischievous friend Wu Tianhao: “Lolis have three virtues—delicate voice, soft body, and easy to topple.”

This little girl—no, this little “loli”—had at least the first two.

Softness, he had felt for himself.

As for her voice, when she apologized, it was as light as a feather, brushing gently over the heart. Not childish, not crisp, but tender and soft, making one want to cradle it in their hands.

As he looked directly at her, Lin Xia felt a twinge of nervousness.

But then she chided herself.

Hey, you’ve lived two lives now—are you really going to be intimidated by a single look? He’s just a man, after all.

With that thought, she mustered her courage and stole another glance up at him.

The moment her eyes met his, she quickly looked away.

Oh my, what a frightening man—but so captivating.

Torn between fascination and embarrassment, Lin Xia wondered at herself.

Of course, she’d already forgotten this was nothing but a trivial incident, and she could have just walked away.

Noticing her discomfort, a hint of amusement flickered in the man’s eyes.

Just as he was about to speak, Lin Xia’s phone rang again. She retrieved it from her bag.

It was Xie Xitong.

“Tongtong—”

“Lin Xia! You ran off to W City to have fun and didn’t tell me at all—do you even consider me a friend, huh?!”

After psyching herself up for ages, Xie Xitong couldn’t help but call, her tone both accusatory and aggrieved.

Cradling her phone, Lin Xia walked to the corner. “Sorry, I had something urgent and forgot to mention it.”

The four of them were indeed close. If Xie Xitong went to her grandparents’ house, or Zhao Qian visited her hometown, or Sun Xiaoxiao went off traveling, they’d always let the others know in advance.

Friendship between girls, when strong, could be almost frighteningly intimate, with no secrets at all.

That, after all, was what being best friends meant.