Cling

"I will see you again!" Chen Kaori blurted before he could walk away.

He turned towards her, "Okay."

"I'm not asking for permission. I'm declaring it. I will come to see you!"

"Then do it." With that, He Zifeng snickered and swiftly turned to walk away before he could miss his flight.

.

The night before, they really only slept, but at least their positions turned into a cuddle under the sheets.

"Chen Kaori..." He Zifeng whispered to her ear as he embraced her.

"Hmmm?" She buried her face deeper in his embrace, her nose touching his chest area, which was slightly revealed by the robe.

"This...we can't be like..."

"Shh...please don't say it!"

"Chen Kaori, I'm trying to..."

"Give me this one, okay? If this is all an illusion, then at least give me a chance to be like this, if only just for now..." her voice was pleading.

"I just don't want people we know to see us together." He Zifeng calmly said.

"Is that why it's okay here in City O, because no one at the party knows you?"

"It could be the case."

"Oh...then, when we are back in City S, I can't..."

"Just don't expect anything...it's best if we keep a distance from each other."

Chen Kaori tightened her hug around his torso but kept silent.

They kept silent until both of them fell asleep.

The next morning, room service came early and they ate facing each other.

"He Zifeng...can I still be around you? I can keep distance. Just...don't forbid me from hanging around." Chen Kaori's face was gloomy.

He sipped coffee, then with a cold face replied, "Eat your breakfast. I got an early flight to catch."

"If you divert the topic, I will think you have no objection."

He munched on a slice of tomato then said, "Suit yourself."

He Zifeng was fixing his cufflinks when he felt her sudden embrace from his back.

"Sorry. I'm just...I want one more moment, okay?"

He Zifeng blinked slowly, trying to suppress his desire to reciprocate her gestures. "Chen Kaori...I...we can't be like this. I won't forbid you to contact me, but I think you better stay away."

She sniffed, "Okay."

.

Thus in the following two months, they kept in touch through the distance.

He Zifeng was as popular as he was in high school through college and undergraduates and post-graduate women all tried to be with him. They courting him was definitely an understatement.

"Stephen...when will you be available for coffee?" A woman with a robust chest peeping through the third undone button of her tight blouse suddenly sat on the table where He Zifeng was working on with his phone and computer.

He Zifeng furrowed his brows as she sat on one of his papers. "This is a working table, not a chair. Get off!"

The woman giggled at his reaction. She leaned closer to his face, then lifted his chin with her finger. "So feisty...I like it."

He Zifeng immediately moved his head from her hold. He sighed and proceeded to pack up his things.

The woman chuckled and finally got up from the table and stood on her fiery red L stilettos. She waited until he tried to walk away with his bag, then her arm swooped to cling onto his arm.

"Sandra, get off!" he violently shook her arm off. He was about to scold her when his phone rang.

"He Zifeng, guess where I am now." Chen Kaori's voice was full of excitement.

"In Kyoto?"

"Haha, silly...hmmm...clue...I'm standing before a concentric rocky fountain."

"You're here?!" He Zifeng was flustered. "Don't move. I'm going there!"

He hung up and was ready to dash when a pair of arms tried to stop him.

"Stephen! Where are you going? We are supposed to go out for..."

"Sandra, stop this nonsense! We are not together! I never promised you anything! I just bailed you out from the professor so as not to affect the group report, so stay away from me!"

"No! Who is that anyway? Is she important enough for you to leave me?!"

"Of course she is! My girlfriend is here. Stay away from me!" He Zifeng shook her off and made a run to the other area of the campus.

.

Panting, He Zifeng grabbed his thighs as he finally found Chen Kaori.

Chen Kaori smiled ever so sweetly at him. "I'm here!"

"Wha-why did...why didn't you...why are you here...without telling me..."

"It's a surprise!"