After a long while, their lips parted.
Zuoqiu Qingyu's cheeks were flushed crimson, and her peach-blossom eyes shimmered with moisture, allure and shyness intertwining in her shifting gaze.
She panted softly and buried her burning face in Mo Lin's neck, as though too embarrassed to meet his sun-hot gaze.
Mo Lin lowered his head. Seeing the person in his arms so bashful and at a loss, tenderness surged through his heart like a tide.
The arm around her slender waist tightened slightly, drawing her closer, while his other hand gently brushed through her damp hair. His fingertips wound around her dark strands as though caressing the finest silk, silently treasuring her.
"Qingyu..." he called softly, his voice slightly hoarse with emotion.
"Mm?" Her voice was as faint as a mosquito's as she raised misty eyes to look at him.
Mo Lin said nothing more, answering only with his actions.
He lowered his head again and claimed her slightly parted cherry lips. This kiss was no longer tentative. It became as gentle and lingering as spring rain, as though savoring aged wine and silently drawing out its fragrance with infinite patience and tenderness.
At first, Zuoqiu Qingyu curled up like a bashful mimosa, but beneath his spring-breeze gentleness, she gradually relaxed and began to respond clumsily yet sincerely.
She wrapped her jade-like arms around his neck and rose onto her toes. Like a vine clinging to a towering tree, she gave herself wholly to this stirring intimacy.
The buoyancy of the seawater pressed them tightly together like a pair of mandarin ducks. Sunlight pierced the clear surface, casting dappled, swaying golden halos and cloaking them in dreamlike color.
The faint sounds of water, their mingled breaths, and the barely audible sounds of closeness formed a tender love song composed by nature