Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu

"There are so many books!"

Chyou was amazed as she scanned her eyes across Yating's room with shelves of books neatly lined up at the side.

"Have you read all of them?" she asked as she brushed her fingers against their covers.

"Yup."

"That's so cool! Mom always wanted Xiang and I to develop good reading habits but hehe…" she stuck out her tongue, "we never did really."

He chuckled.

Chyou then asked, beaming with anticipation, "Hold on, have you kept your graduation albums too?"

"I do."

She clapped her hands once. "Perfect! I want to see it, pretty please!"

"No way! Those are very old pictures of my high school days. I look like a brat in them."

"You are supposed to look like a brat, silly. Everybody was a brat when they were sixteen."

He cleared his throat. "It's embarrassing. You are free to look around at anything else."

She folded her arms. "Nope. I have decided~ I want to see the teenage Yating."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Should I ask Uncle Rong then? I believe he would be thrilled to let me have your yearbook," she confidently smirked.

"That's not fair! You cannot use my Dad like this," he was speechless.

"Ohohoho, I can do anything~ You very well know whose side he will take so resistance is useless."

Yating scowled.

"Come on," she laughed. "Why are you so afraid? There is nothing to be embarrassed about. As an equal exchange, I will definitely show you my year book too."

He harrumphed. "Because I trust that even as a teenager, Miss. Zhu Chyou would have been a lovely girl. I, on the other hand…" he sweated and looked away, "was a thin boy."

She rolled her eyes. "So what? Xiang was also just like that. It's just from a year ago only that he seriously started to work on his physique. So, so! No more debate and let me see the album."

She flared her nostrils as she stretched her palm for it.

Helpless before her, Yating took out his year book while still mumbling out his protests which Chyou also conveniently ignored.

Her eyes sparkled as the treasure landed in her hands. "Yay!"

She plopped on the bed and eagerly opened the albums. They contained all sorts of pictures right from Yating's middle school days all up to his graduation.

She brought the album closer to her face and scrutinized the pictures. She gasped. "Is that middle school Gu Yating? Oh my gosh, you looked so cute!"

"You mean I looked like an idiot," Yating corrected her.

"Ssh. Quiet. Don't ruin the happy momentum."

"Only you think it's a happy moment…" he whispered grudgingly.

Chyou chuckled looking at one picture. "The time when you won the sports race. Do you still have the medals with you?"

"Dad kept all the medals and certificates with himself for safekeeping. Apparently, I was too careless according to him that I will lose it," he scoffed.

She grazed her fingers against the highschool album and pointed out. "Ah, he is Ma Dong, right?"

"Yup."

"Hoho, I am so smart~ But he isn't in the graduation picture."

He nodded sadly. "After he fell and injured himself, he could complete his graduation according to the normal timeline."

A pang of sorrow filled his heart to feel that he and Ma Dong, being best friends, couldn't share an important time such as the graduation ceremony together.

Chyou could see that pain reflecting in the picture as well. Yating surely was smiling in it but only for the sake of the picture. There was no genuine joy in his eyes that lit up to celebrate the occasion.

As she continued to look through the other pictures, Yating felt his gaze drawn to her beautiful side profile. Her left profile faced his side where a few locks of her hair dangled across her cheek. Her eyes looked immersed to enjoy the album and her lips that formed that soft smile made his own eyelashes tremble.

Closer…

A wish took root in his heart.

The melody of her chuckles escaping her lips forged the wish to grow stronger.

Closer.

Chyou felt a slight tickle and she glanced at her side, noticing Yating's hand gently hovering near her cheek. The touch of his fingers swayed her hair strands further back to her ear's side.

Suddenly, Yating's face that felt obscured before because of her hair locks, was now in clear sight. With it, his intent gaze on her was all very apparent, causing her heartbeats to drum faster.

She then happened to realize that she was in her boyfriend's room and right now, there was hardly any inches of distance between them. The realization of that proximity sparked small fireworks in her chest.

The even more nervous part was that Yating wasn't saying anything. He was simply gazing at her and the silence only added to her slight breathlessness.

She felt her head slowly inch towards him as she didn't even realize when he slid his fingers through her hair towards the back of her head and was now gently bridging the remaining gap between them.

Her thoughts were all in a dizzying jumble but at one point, his lips tenderly met hers. Her eyes automatically closed themselves, allowing him to capture her lips further.

The album slid off from her lap as the tips of his fingers felt hotter on the back of her neck where they touched. Her chest naturally bumped against his with the kiss that continued to deepen. The taste began to linger on their lips, their tongues ever so subtly exploring each other.

Chyou couldn't stop her lips from forming a wide smile as butterflies tickled her stomach. It felt surreal to share this moment with Yating and as all the shyness within her slowly dissipated, she parted from the long drawn liplock first and urged him to leave his marks on her neck.

"There are many more exciting parts to explore, you know~" she huskily whispered in his ear, guiding his fingers to undo the hook of her dress.

A shiver escaped his body and the same smile stretched on his lips too. Dropping a feathery kiss on her clavicle, he buried his face in it. "I cannot wait for it."

The sleeve of her dress slid off exposing her shoulder. Trembling with anticipation, she said, "So let's not."