The Whole City Watches Their Steamy Kiss

Huo Xingzhou handed her his phone.

"Take a look for yourself."

Qiao Xi unlocked the screen, navigated to the settings, and saw that the emergency contact field was empty.

Her fingers lightly grazed the side of the phone, and with a surge of courage, she turned to him and asked, "Mr. Huo, may I be your emergency contact?"

Huo Xingzhou set his tablet down, took the phone, and directly entered her number.

Qiao Xi couldn't stop the smile that crept across her lips.

"Happy now?" He seemed to hide a trace of amusement in his eyes.

Qiao Xi nodded, her heart fluttering.

"Recently, I'll be busier. After work, I'll have Old Chen pick you up. With your abilities, you don't need to spend your time paying your dues at the hospital." He felt guilty for putting her in such a position.

Hospitals had all kinds of people, and with her personality, she might get taken advantage of.

Qiao Xi felt a warm glow in her heart, knowing he cared about her.

"Mr. Huo, I want to get my medical license. After a year of practice, I'll be eligible. Every time I see a patient, Dr. Yan is always there, making sure I don't make any mistakes."

She longed to grow faster.

Huo Xingzhou looked at her for a long moment.

In truth, as long as Cheng Han was willing to vouch for her identity, licenses and certificates didn't matter. The mentorship system was also recognized by the government, and she had been under Cheng Han's tutelage for years, long surpassing the required experience to practice independently.

The car drove off in the opposite direction.

Qiao Xi gazed at the unfamiliar street signs outside the window and asked, "Mr. Huo, where are we going?"

"I'm taking you to experience the extravagance of high society, to see if it's anything like the dramas you've watched." He replied.

Qiao Xi hadn't expected him to remember what she had said.

Wearing her simple, casual clothes, she wondered if she'd really fit into such a scene. Would she embarrass him?

Soon, she realized she had misunderstood.

At the heart of Hai City's downtown, the most famous revolving restaurant had been reserved just for them.

The top floor was quiet, with only select waitstaff. The lighting was dim and romantic, with lavish decor. The massive glass walls offered a breathtaking view of the city's vibrant nightscape and the distant moonrise.

The revolving restaurant had a mechanism that allowed it to rotate once every hour, providing a 360-degree view of the city.

Long tables.

Candlelight.

And tables adorned with beautiful floral arrangements.

Qiao Xi recognized this as the famous candlelight dinner scene, complete with live violin music playing in the background.

"Is it what you expected?" Huo Xingzhou, sitting in a wheelchair, asked softly.

Qiao Xi nodded. "Exactly like the dramas."

But tonight, the scene felt far more breathtaking than anything on screen.

Waitstaff quietly served the dishes, poured wine, and then left.

"Mr. Huo, is there a special occasion tonight?"

"It's the grand opening of Tianyuan Tower. I just wanted to celebrate it with you."

He looked at her seriously.

Qiao Xi's heart raced uncontrollably.

Huo Xingzhou elegantly cut into his steak. His fingers were beautifully slender, exuding a sense of refinement as he moved.

He passed the plate over to her. "I know you don't like your steak rare, so I ordered it well-done."

Qiao Xi pursed her lips. "But eating well-done steak is kind of... old-fashioned, isn't it?"

Huo Xingzhou lowered his gaze, smiling. "Who defines that? Qiao Xi, just be yourself."

Qiao Xi gazed at him, the warmth inside her almost overflowing.

She pretended to sip from her wine glass, taking a large gulp.

But the more she drank, the thirstier she became.

A voice inside her mind whispered that she was falling.

Yet, an unexpected wave of sourness crept into her heart. Could someone like him really be hers?

She was so greedy.

The violinist changed the piece, now playing "A Step Away."

Qiao Xi wasn't particularly musically inclined, but she remembered what they had said in her university music appreciation class: this famous tango was about the inescapable entanglement between lovers.

Was she and Mr. Huo just "a step away"? Maybe a hundred steps away.

Suddenly, a large shadow loomed beside her. She looked up and saw Huo Xingzhou standing next to her.

"Mr. Huo, why are you standing..."

"It's fine. They won't make any noise." He grasped her hand and gently pulled her toward the floor-to-ceiling window. "From here, you can see Tianyuan Group's building."

Qiao Xi turned her head, gazing out slowly.

Across a river, the most prominent building was Tianyuan Group. The tall skyscraper was adorned with a large glass screen, usually displaying advertisements or time, waking up the city.

The red characters flashed brightly, and then the screen changed.

The words that appeared were: "At 4 a.m., I saw the begonia flower still awake."

Qiao Xi's lips parted slightly, and she slowly turned to Huo Xingzhou.

In that instant, all her previous bitterness melted away.

"Mr. Huo, may I hug you?"

She boldly threw herself into his arms, hugging his waist tightly.

"Little doctor, that's not a question. It's an announcement," he said, his Adam's apple bobbing.

Qiao Xi cheekily rubbed her face against his chest and playfully replied, "I'm just learning from you."

The man suddenly lowered his head.

They were so close now. His strikingly handsome, pale face was clearer than ever.

Qiao Xi instinctively looked up at him. His dark eyes were filled with an enigmatic depth.

He leaned in slowly, brushing his lips against the corner of her eye. His kiss was soft, gradually moving to the tip of her nose.

"Qiao Xi, the aftereffect of the deer blood wine seems quite strong."

He was lying!

Qiao Xi thought, a little dazed. It had been two days since they drank the wine—how could the aftereffect still be so strong?

But as soon as his words left his mouth, his actions became more intense, claiming her lips and draining the air from her lungs.

She was pressed against the glass window, kissed fiercely, just like all those times before.

Qiao Xi's mind felt sluggish, but she suddenly remembered the crude things Sun Weimeng had said.

Floor-to-ceiling windows, one-way glass... the more thrilling, the better.

Would they be seen? The thought made her even more nervous.

"Mr. Huo, this glass..."

"Two-way glass."

Two-way glass meant everything they did would be visible.

The restaurant kept rotating slowly, and in that hour, they could be seen from every angle. And the waitstaff...

Qiao Xi's ears turned bright red as blood rushed to her face. She had never done anything this daring before.

"Mr. Huo... we'll be seen."

"Let them look."

Huo Xingzhou could be very hard to negotiate with, especially when it came to intimacy. It seemed like he had a radar to sense whether she was willing.

Qiao Xi couldn't refuse. She shut her eyes, resigned, allowing him to do whatever he wanted.

Inside, she was elated.

So very elated.

At 4 a.m., I saw the begonia flower still awake.

It was followed by another sentence: "I always think that at times like this, you should be by my side," a line from Kawabata Yasunari's essay.

She had read it before.

This night, Tianyuan officially entered Hai City. It was a significant day for him.

And he wanted the person by his side to be her.

Qiao Xi stood on tiptoe, pressing a shy kiss to the red mole on his neck. His body trembled slightly.