Catch up on progress

The sky was clear and the air was crisp.

Sunlight spilled down from above, though the skylight of the tent had already been drawn shut.

Jiang Chengshan sighed as he stepped out of the car. The moment his toes touched the morning-dew-covered grass, he couldn't help but rub his throbbing temples.

Faint dark circles shadowed his eyes, a clear sign of a sleepless night.

It would have been a miracle if he could sleep. Throughout the night, he had circled the campsite over there at least a few times.

Most importantly, he dreamt that he had become a grandfather.

A little snot-nosed brat tugged at his pant leg, calling him grandpa in a childish voice, and insisted that he buy the latest starship model.

That horrifying scene scared away whatever little drowsiness he had left, sending it beyond the clouds. He spent the second half of the night with his eyes wide open, waiting for dawn.

As a father, his heart was just that narrow.

He shook his head, trying to shake that detestable little face out of his mind. His gaze subconsciously drifted toward the distant tent where his daughter was, his heart filled with mixed feelings.

Surely... nothing could have happened, right?

Just then, the urgent ringing of his phone shattered his thoughts.

The people who knew this private number could be counted on one hand.

Jiang Chengshan picked it up and saw it was Jiang Chengyue.

He swiped to answer.

"Brother! Are you guys playing hide and seek? There's no one at home!" Over the phone, Jiang Chengyue's energetic yet slightly complaining voice immediately came through.

"You're back? We went out camping yesterday and are just about to pack up and head back." Jiang Chengshan's voice carried a hint of hoarseness from staying up all night.

He was long used to this sister of his, who valued her niece more than her own brother.

"Tell me about it. It was a red-eye flight, and I'm so tired my bones are falling apart. I just wanted to come back and hug my Little Yunlu, only to find an empty house!"

"By the way, that Lin Mo is there too, right? You really have a big heart."

Jiang Chengyue complained loudly on the other end.

"Don't bring it up."

Jiang Chengshan replied grumpily, "I just dreamt I became a grandfather and almost choked to death."

Unconcealed bursts of laughter came from Jiang Chengyue on the other end of the line.

"Alright, alright, we're getting ready to head back. Just wait for us at home." Jiang Chengshan couldn't be bothered to banter with her.

"Okay..."

Wait!

As soon as the words fell, it was as if a bolt of lightning flashed through Jiang Chengshan's mind. A certain detail he had overlooked suddenly surfaced.

His tone suddenly deepened, "Is Sister Qiong not at home?"

Jiang Chengyue also paused for a moment, "No, she didn't go out with you guys?"

Jiang Chengshan's brows instantly furrowed.

"No, let me call and ask. Maybe she went out to buy groceries."

He hastily hung up and immediately found Aunt Qiong's number and dialed it.

From the receiver came not a power-off prompt, but the rhythmic and drawn-out ringing of waiting for an answer.

No answer, automatically hung up.

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Chengshan frowned slightly and put the matter aside. After all, in his memory, Sister Qiong's strength was quite formidable, and no one would be able to lay a hand on her.

She would absolutely have no problem protecting herself in this society.

However, he vaguely remembered that the reason Sister Qiong didn't come was because she had her own matters to attend to; perhaps she just hadn't finished dealing with them yet.

Forget it, it's fine. I'll check on it when I get back.

He straightened his clothes and walked toward the tent.

Inside the tent.

Her body was still sunk in the chaos of slumber, but Jiang Yunlu's consciousness woke up first.

She was entirely enveloped in a firm, warm embrace. By her ear was a steady, powerful heartbeat—thump, thump—like drumbeats striking the tip of her heart.

This was not her heartbeat.

A very faint, clean, and pleasant fragrance lingered at the tip of her nose.

Jiang Yunlu subconsciously twitched her nose, took a deeper breath, and then froze completely.

Could she have been discovered?

But probably... not.

"If you want to smell, you can breathe in harder, or just act naturally. I'll let you smell as much as you want."

A male voice, carrying the lazy smile of the morning, sounded above her head. The vibration of his chest clearly transmitted to her cheek.

Jiang Yunlu's body instantly tensed up. Before she even opened her eyes, her cheeks were already burning.

How did he know she was awake? And how did he know what she was doing?

"Your heartbeat."

Lin Mo's deep voice came again, carrying a hint of teasing. "Just now, it was beating so fast it felt like it was going to pop out."

Jiang Yunlu felt both shy and annoyed. She simply opened her eyes and, sure enough, met a pair of smiling eyes.

Morning light filtered through the seams of the tent, sprinkling little specks of shattered gold in the depths of his eyes.

She let out a soft groan and simply threw caution to the wind, nuzzling her head deeper into his embrace like a shameless cat.

Lin Mo was amused by her and reached out to pinch her nose.

"Alright, it's time to get up. Otherwise, if your dad unzips the tent later and sees us like this, he'll definitely burst a blood vessel. Even if he doesn't, seeing his precious daughter in my arms, do you believe he'd grab a fishing rod and skewer me on the spot?"

The mental image was too vivid. Jiang Yunlu couldn't help but burst into laughter, and the little bit of shyness in her heart dissipated.

"Fine then." She reluctantly pushed herself up from his embrace.

But she wasn't in a hurry to leave. Instead, she sat up straight, raised her hand, and lightly tapped her crimson lips with her fingertip. Then, she closed her eyes, her eyelashes trembling slightly, looking completely open for the taking.

Her meaning couldn't have been more obvious.

Lin Mo chuckled and leaned over as requested, leaving a kiss as light as a dragonfly skimming the water on her lips—gentle and brief.

Jiang Yunlu opened her eyes in satisfaction, her lips curving into a smile.

"Time to get up!"

She sat up in an excellent mood, briskly straightened her somewhat messy clothes, and turned to grab the tent's zipper.

Just as she turned around, her wrist was grabbed by a strong force.

Caught off guard, she was yanked back by a tremendous pull. Her back slammed heavily against that familiar chest, and a gasp of surprise was swallowed back down her throat.

Lin Mo hugged her from behind, locking one hand around her waist and lifting her chin with the other, deepening that fleeting kiss without a word of explanation.

(The writing style of female-oriented romance is probably just like this.)

Jiang Yunlu's mind buzzed and went completely blank. She could only grip his arm, passively enduring this sudden storm.

It was a long while before the two parted.

Jiang Yunlu leaned against his chest, panting heavily. She felt a tingling electric current course through her limbs and bones. Not only was she no longer sleepy, but she felt as energized as if she had just chugged a whole can of Red Horse energy drink, and her mood was so good she felt like flying.

Lin Mo rested his chin in the crook of her shoulder and laughed softly, "Let's go, we need to get ready to head home."

She leaned against him, feeling his heartbeat settle down, and a determined, victorious curve formed at the corners of her lips.

She had definitely won this round.

Of course, that was just what Jiang Yunlu thought.

In reality, her progress was the slowest.

The other two had entirely different levels of progress, alright.