"Mo Xie, welcome home..."
At that familiar voice and those familiar words, Mo Xie could no longer hold back his tears.
"Yu... Yu'er..."
He rushed forward and wrapped his arms around the woman before him, holding her slender waist and feeling the softness of her body against his.
He rested his chin on her shoulder and breathed in the faint fragrance of her hair. It soothed him, as though his whole being could finally relax.
Tenderness softened Qin Yuer's cool, beautiful face. It was as if an ancient glacier had melted into spring water, warming a heart frozen for far too long.
She gently closed her bright eyes and wrapped her arms around Mo Xie's broad back. Pressing her cheek to his firm, warm chest, she felt his heart beating beneath it.
They held each other tightly, taking in each other's scent, warmth, and heartbeat. For that moment, it seemed they were the only two people in the world.
Then Qin Yuer clenched her hand into a fist and thumped Mo Xie's back. With her face buried against his chest, she reproached him in a muffled voice.
"Mo Xie, I waited almost ten years for you. What took you so long?"
His heart clenched. Pain flashed through his eyes as he stroked Qin Yuer's smooth silver hair and said apologetically,
"I'm sorry I came so late. To me, less than a year has passed, but to you, it's been almost ten years. I..."
A slender finger pressed against his lips. Qin Yuer listened quietly to his heartbeat, then opened her eyes, looked up at him, and smiled.
"Your heart's beating faster. I'm glad I'm still that important to you."
She raised a hand to gently caress the face she had longed to see day and night. A troubled look crossed