Chapter 216: Intense Desire
The tips of Chen Mo’s fingers still seemed to tingle with the warmth from Su Yuqing’s cheek and the feel of her delicate skin.
Su Yuqing felt a scalding heat spread across the spot his fingers had grazed, sending a tremor through her very heart.
Flustered, she lowered her gaze to her toes, feeling as if the oxygen in the cabin was thinning. The heat in her cheeks continued to climb.
The atmosphere was delicate and sweet.
Neither of them spoke, yet the silence wasn’t awkward.
The cabin continued its ascent to the highest point, the air filled only with the faint hum of machinery and their clearly audible breaths.
Su Yuqing cautiously glanced up, just in time to see Chen Mo’s profile reflected in the glass. He was also gazing at her through the reflection, his eyes focused and filled with a gentle warmth.
Caught "peeking," Chen Mo didn’t look away. Instead, his reflection in the glass revealed a deepening curve at the corners of his lips.
This silent, shared gaze, discovered by chance, was more captivating than any words could be.
Su Yuqing felt the blood rush to her heart, crashing wildly inside her chest. A sweet, shy feeling bubbled up inside her.
She frantically averted her gaze, staring at the shrinking crowd outside the window as she tried to calm her racing heart. Despite her efforts, a small, sweet smile unconsciously touched her lips.
The cabin soon reached its apex, and it felt as if the entire world had been put on a slow pause.
The amusement park below shrank into a colorful, miniature model, and the distant city skyline looked exceptionally soft and beautiful in the hazy light.
The din of the park faded into a distant, blurry background hum. Only the faint creak of the machinery could be heard, accentuating the profound tranquility of their small space.
Sunlight poured through the glass dome, tracing their silhouettes in a hazy, golden light.
Tiny dust motes floated in the air, dancing silently in the beams of light.
"It’s so beautiful..." Su Yuqing murmured softly. Her voice, tinged with a faint, almost imperceptible tremor, was startlingly clear in the quiet cabin.
The beauty wasn’t just in the scenery outside, but also in the serene yet heart-pounding feeling that filled her, threatening to overflow.
She felt as if she and Chen Mo were suspended at the top of the world, gently enveloped by the sunlight and an indescribable warmth.
Chen Mo’s gaze, however, wasn’t lingering on the view outside.
He turned his head, his eyes falling on Su Yuqing’s sun-kissed profile.
The fine hairs on her cheek were clearly visible. Her long eyelashes cast faint, trembling shadows in the light, betraying her inner turmoil.
He saw the delicate tip of her nose and her rosy lips, slightly pursed from either nervousness or shyness.
"Mm..." His voice was low and gentle, laced with more magnetism than usual as his gaze remained fixed on her face. "It is beautiful."
It was unclear whether that "beautiful" was a comment on the scenery outside or the person before him.
Su Yuqing felt his searing gaze, and the heat in her cheeks only intensified.
She instinctively wanted to turn and look at him, but she was afraid of meeting those eyes that made her lose control of her own heartbeat.
Su Yuqing nearly held her breath.
The shared glance in the reflection, the lingering warmth where his fingertip had brushed her earlobe... they were like pebbles tossed into the lake of her heart, sending out endless, concentric ripples.
The violent thumping was still rampaging in her chest, making her afraid to even turn her head to look at him. She could only stare intently at the magnificent city vista outside to hide her panic.
She could clearly hear her own heart, pounding like a drum—THUMP, THUMP, THUMP—against her eardrums in the small space.
The sweet dizziness didn’t dissipate when they stopped; instead, it intensified with the momentary feeling of weightlessness as the cabin paused at the very top.
The whole world was spread out beneath her feet, yet all her senses were focused on the person just inches away—his body heat; his clean, sunny scent mixed with a faint, soapy fragrance; the gentle, focused look in his eyes when he’d tucked her hair back... Every detail was magnified, merging into a warm current that made her fingertips tingle.
Su Yuqing’s flustered fingers unconsciously twisted the hem of her clothes. For a moment, she had no idea how she was supposed to act.
Chen Mo wasn’t as calm as he appeared, either.
He sat there, his body seemingly relaxed against the back of the seat, but the muscles in his shoulders and back were actually tense.
The lingering, delicate sensation on his fingertips felt like an electric current, a tingling numbness that spread all the way to his heart.
The view outside was as vast and beautiful as a painting, but his peripheral vision—his entire consciousness—was uncontrollably captivated by the small figure beside him.
Her lowered lashes trembled like the wings of a startled butterfly. A captivating blush still colored her cheeks. The delicate tip of her nose, her moist red lips slightly pursed in nervousness... Every minute change in her expression was like a feather tickling his heart.
His throat tightened. A strong, unprecedented desire coursed quietly through his blood. ’Closer. I want to be closer. I want our relationship to be closer...’
Chen Mo had never felt so nervous in his life.
Chen Mo’s fingers curled slightly as his hand moved, his knuckles almost grazing her waist.
He could clearly sense Su Yuqing’s stiffness and tension. Her subtle trembling passed through him like an electric current, throwing his own heart out of rhythm.
A hormonal surge of impulse warred with the gentle desire to cherish her, to avoid frightening her.
Her shyness was so apparent, like a flower bud on the verge of blooming. He longed to touch it, yet feared he would disturb its fragile beauty.
In the end, his desire to treasure the moment won out.
He slowly, almost imperceptibly, pulled back the hand that had nearly touched her, resting it lightly on his own knee. His fingertips curled tightly, as if he were suppressing something.
The hand on his knee twitched once, but ultimately, he didn’t move.
Su Yuqing, however, noticed the subtle movement.
She couldn’t tell if she was relieved or if a subtle, almost imperceptible trace of disappointment had washed over her.
But what followed was a deeper flutter in her heart, like a warm current spreading through her.
He had noticed her nervousness and chosen to restrain himself.
This careful respect and consideration touched her more deeply than any physical contact could have. A sweetness mixed with emotion made her heart ache, and she felt her eyes begin to well up.
"They say if you make a wish at the very top of the Ferris wheel... it’ll come true." Chen Mo swallowed, moistening a throat that had suddenly gone too dry to speak.
His voice broke the silence that had felt thick enough to melt in.
Su Yuqing’s heart, which had been lodged in her throat, slowly settled back into her chest.
She had felt it in that moment—beyond the new level of physical contact, it seemed like some important words were about to be spoken. The feeling was a confusing mix of joyful anticipation and terrified panic.