Belated Romance (Mu Tongrui)

In the clinic on the mountains.
Mu Tongrui slept for over 10 hours before she woke up feeling famished.
Her eyes hurt at the gleaming white walls around her.
Confused, she looked up at the white ceiling and subconsciously asked in a hoarse voice, “Where is this...”
Is this heaven? Has she died so soon?
Sniffing, she smelled a familiar scent. She lowered her head and with a shock, she realized that a man's long, black trench coat
was on her.
Before she could register what was going on, she heard a male, husky voice talking to her gently, “This is a clinic on the
mountains. You are having a slight fever now and on top of it, you have not eaten for over 48 hours thus you have fainted out of
exhaustion.”
This gorgeous face before her...
Fu Lingye...?
Her heart was beating so furiously as if it was about to pop out.
Fu Lingye ignored her shocked expression and held her in his arms. He put a glass of water to her mouth, “Drink some water.”
Hearing his voice, no matter his tone, warmed her heart so much and provided her with a deep sense of security. She held onto
his hand, and gulped down the water. She almost choked on it. Fu Lingye lifted a brow and patted her on her back.
She looked at her with wide, open eyes and did not dare to blink, fearing that Fu Lingye would disappear the moment she
blinked.
“Am I not in the underground cellar? Am I dreaming?”
But his breathing, his face was so real, so real that she felt like weeping.
She has experienced such a horrible, horrible incident. No matter how strong she was compared to other normal women, she
indeed had a huge fright. At her most desperate moment, she had wished for someone to depend on. Fu Lingye, now had

provided her with the sense of security that she craved for.
Fu Lingye lowered his head to look at her and flicked his fingers on her forehead, “Do you think you are still dreaming?”
It took a moment for her to register. Once she regained her senses, she looked at him and tears started to roll down her checks.
“Fu Lingye...”
Suddenly, she threw herself towards him and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. She resembled an injured kitten, pitiful
and aggrieved. Fu Lingye's heart ached at the sound of those sobs. His heart started to flutter and he wrapped his arms around
her to pull her into a tight embrace, patting her on her back in a consoling manner.
She continued to sob loudly and wrapped her arms even tighter around his neck as if to soak in all the warmth that he could
possibly provide her until he said, “Mu Tong Rui, I just saved you. Do you want to murder me now?”
She was startled and with a flushed face, she quickly releases him from her tight grasp but he was faster. He put his hands
around her waist and pulled her back into his tight embrace. When her teary eyes met his deep-set eyes, it was as if time had
stopped and she was being sucked into his world.
His gentle gaze made her heart flutter and Mu Tongrui closed her eyes.
One, two, three seconds had passed. That long awaited kiss had not come yet.
Until she heard him saying in a teasing manner, “What are you waiting for?”
Mu Tongrui opened her eyes immediately, and saw him whispering into her ears on purpose, “Are you waiting for me to kiss
you?”
He was actually toying with her!
Her face turned red and hot with embarrassment. She was about to push him away angrily when he suddenly held her chin and
kissed her lightly on her mouth with her eyes wide open!
She froze on the spot for a few seconds, before she finally decided to follow her heart and wrapped her arms around his neck to
kiss him back in a shy and unskillful way.

Mu Tongrui had to admit that she was a little fond of Fu Lingye. Although she could not describe it as love, she could not
continue to ignore her feelings.
The long kiss they were sharing were slow and even gentle. It was unlike the impression that Fu Lingye gave others.
A rich and privileged man such as Fu Lingye had always been arrogant, cold, domineering and these traits were fully reflected in
his previous kisses. But tonight's kiss was different. To Mu Tongrui, it was a real kiss, gentle and reassuring.
Fu Lingye only loosened his grip slightly when Mu Tongrui had difficulties breathing. He lowered his head and apologized to her
in a low voice, “Sorry, I was late.”
His voice was husky and captivating. Mu Tongrui was deeply touched by his words.
She had imagined before that Fu Lingye would save her, but to see him saving her in person right before her eyes, she was
really touched.
After her father passed away, it was the first time she felt that she could rely on someone in her most desperate moments.
She lay in his arms; her heart was filled with warmth as if it was melting. As she relaxed against his chest, she mumbled, “Fu
Lingye, thank you for saving me.”
He lowered his eyes to look at the woman in his arms. She was biting her lips, trying not to cry. Her long eyelashes which spread
out like a fan, was wet with tears. The way that she was sniffing and crying, actually very much resembled Sweetheart.
He could not help but brushed her tears away from her cheeks, “Sweetheart is still waiting for us at home to celebrate her
birthday together.”
At the mention of Sweetheart's name, Mu Tongrui wailed even louder and she grabbed his shirt tightly, sniffing, “Sorry I could not
make it for Sweetheart's birthday.”
His shirt was wet from her tears and her little hands had creased his shirt. Fu Lingye could not help but kissed her on her
forehead.
“We can celebrate Sweetheart's birthday every year in the future.”
Fu Lingye was not used to comforting people. In his past 32 years, the only female he had ever comforted was Sweetheart. This
simple sentence was the best he could offer as a form of comfort.

Though Mu Tongrui's mind was in a mess from all the crying, she suddenly remembered that Sweetheart shared the same
birthday as the child she had gave birth to. She raises her head to scrutinize Fu Lingye. Fu Lingye frowned, “Why?”
She quickly dismissed the thought that flashed across her mind.
It is impossible. A man such as Fu Lingye has no reason to find a surrogate mother. What's more, how can Xiang Nanqian allow
him to find another woman to bear his children?
Maybe it is really a coincidence...
After all she was timid and did not dare to revisit this painful memory. If Fu Lingye denied, she would not be able avoid talking
about this topic.
Shaking her head, she asked weakly, “Didn't you say you have something to tell me the night before Sweetheart's birthday?”
What does he want to tell me?