The Eve

On the night of April 29th, a spring rain was falling outside, and the courtyard exuded a unique tranquility before the festival.

That night was not much different from the past few days.

As usual, the two of them were busy preparing dinner together in the kitchen.

Aemeath the head chef, Lu Yan is her assistant.

On the table were two simple home-style stir-fries and a pot of warm pork rib soup.

After dinner, the clock had already quietly struck nine o'clock.

"Go take a shower," Lu Yan said to Aemeath, drying his hands with a kitchen towel.

As usual, Aemeath went to wash up first.

Lu Yan listened to the sound of running water coming from the bathroom, leaned back on the sofa, and quietly waited while looking at his phone.

After Aemeath finished showering and entered the bedroom, smelling fresh and clean, Lu Yan also picked up his change of clothes and went into the bathroom.

Warm water sprayed from the showerhead, flowing down his broad shoulders and washing away the day's fatigue.

But the relaxation of his body did not stop Lu Yan's brain from working.

In the misty haze, the scene from that night a few days ago uncontrollably surfaced in his mind...

Under the dim lamplight, Aemeath's collar was slightly open, revealing a seductive allure in her golden, star-like eyes. Her fingertips lingered on his Adam's apple as she asked him in a tempting voice, "Don't you... intend to devour me?"

"Get ready." Lu Yan gave a wry smile under the showerhead and wiped the water droplets from his face.

These four words were like a curse, constantly tormenting his nerves for the past few days.

He was a normal adult man, sharing a bed every day with a beautiful girl he deeply loved who was completely unguarded around him. To say that he didn't have a surge of desire inside him would be a lie.

But is he truly ready? Or rather, how should he approach that natural progression of intimacy?

The sound of water stopped. Lu Yan dried himself off, changed into a clean set of light gray cotton pajamas, and dried his hair.

I took a deep breath as I reached the bedroom door and turned the doorknob.

In the bedroom, the warm yellow lamp on the bedside table still emitted a soft glow.

As soon as Lu Yan entered the room, his gaze habitually fell on the bed.

However, when he saw the scene before him, he was frozen in place as if he had been struck by a spell.

Aemeath was sitting cross-legged in the center of the bed, wearing the battle suit he had personally chosen for her, her long hair casually draped over her shoulders.

None of that matters. The important thing is that she was holding a box of chewing gum in her hand.

Lu Yan recognized the box. It was the one he bought. He had bought it one day when he passed by a convenience store, and while there was no one in line at the counter, he had quickly scanned the code and paid for it with his ears turning red.

His thought at the time was that he had to be prepared in advance, so that he wouldn't be caught off guard and in a panic when things came to this.

But what he didn't expect was that Aemeath would find him directly.

The worst part was that when Aemeath saw him come in, a bright, wicked smile immediately appeared on her lips.

She reached out and gently shook the small box in mid-air.

"Clatter... clatter..." A series of soft, rattling sounds came from inside the box.

Aemeath stared intently at Lu Yan, her tone carrying a chilling undertone, and asked lightly, "Not ready yet?"

Hearing the plastic clatter of the box as it swayed in Aemeath's hands, and meeting her smiling yet mischievous eyes, Lu Yan's body stiffened like a stone statue.

He instinctively took half a step back, his back gently bumping against the door, which wasn't fully closed, making a soft thud.

Under the lights, the air was filled with a mixture of moisture from the bathroom and the faint scent of shower gel.

Those few seconds of eye contact felt like an eternity.

Lu Yan felt as if his blood had split apart; one part rushed to his head, burning his ears, while the other part froze at his cold fingers, leaving his mind almost blank.

He was rooted to the spot by the blatant implication, feeling as if his throat was stuffed with cotton, making only muffled sounds.

"I'm... all ready... but... how... how did it turn out like this?"

He spoke haltingly, his gaze darting away from the box, trying hard not to look at the gleaming plastic surface under the light, instead observing Aemeath with the guilty look of a thief.

However, he found that Aemeath's reaction was beyond his expectations.

Aemeath's wicked smile seemed to pause for a moment, and a hint of confusion flashed across her eyes.

This was completely different from what she had expected. She instinctively asked, the suggestive teasing in her tone fading into pure confusion. "Why are you hesitating like this? What are you worried about A-Yan?"

This question was like a thorn in Lu Yan's already tense mind.

His face turned even redder, and even the tip of his nose seemed to be bead with sweat. However, because his embarrassment had been directly exposed, he actually experienced a brief moment of psychological relief.

He let out a heavy breath, and only then did he feel the pressure in his chest lessen, as oxygen returned to his bloodstream.

His voice was still lingering from the earlier panic, weak and listless, but his thoughts were becoming clearer.

"Alright." Lu Yan resigned himself to his fate, slowly looking at her. "We've only been together for a short time..."

He tried to express the question that lingered in his mind.

"I just feel that between us... doing this kind of thing, is it a little, a little too fast? We both, we both..."

He hesitated, unsure how to finish his sentence.

Lu Yan took a deep breath and finally voiced the thoughts that had been troubling him for the past few days:

"I was just thinking, shouldn't we... work things out a bit more, at least... not rush things like this?"

As his words faded, a silent standoff ensued between the two.

The air seemed to freeze for a brief moment.

Time seemed to stand still for a moment, allowing a certain understanding that should have been clear to re-emerge and ferment.

"A-Yan..." A momentary Aemeath interrupted his retreat.

Aemeath's earlier air of smugness, tinged with a mischievous smugness, was completely shattered by Lu Yan's earnest questions, leaving only tension.

A rosy blush visibly appeared on her cheeks.

The pride in her eyes faded, replaced by shyness and confusion.

Aemeath bit her lower lip slightly, the seductive quality she had deliberately cultivated in her voice completely vanishing, returning to her usual tone. "I... I didn't expect it to be so fast either,"

"I... I'm not that aroused... I just found this in the drawer..." Aemeath's face was now as red as a ripe apple, her lower lip slightly pursed, her hands and feet gesturing shyly, her eyes darting around.

Let's go back to this afternoon.

A light spring rain was falling outside the window. Lu Yan was playing Delta Force with Old Xu in his studio on the second floor, while Aemeath was tidying up her bedroom on the first floor, feeling rather bored.

When she opened the bottom drawer of the bedside table, intending only to find a phone charging cable, her fingertips unexpectedly touched a small, square box deliberately tucked under a graphic magazine.

Aemeath took it out with some doubt.

The cardboard box packaging was exquisite, and the words on it were familiar to her.

When she saw the words "ultra-thin," "fitting," and some rather explicit descriptions written on it, Aemeath's golden eyes widened instantly.

In an instant, it felt as if a fire had burned her all the way from her neck to her ears.

This box... was bought by A-Yan?!

When did he secretly buy it?!

Aemeath felt as if her heart was about to leap out of her chest.

Her fingertips, which were gripping the box, were slightly warm, and her breathing became rapid.

A memory flashed through my mind of that night a few days ago, when Lu Yan blushed and stammered, "Get ready, get ready."

So... this is what he meant by preparation?!

He had secretly bought this thing long ago, but because he valued himself too much and was too cautious, he preferred to endure it every day rather than dare to cross that line easily.

"What an idiot." Aemeath bit her lower lip hard, muttering to herself.

Since A-Yan values me so much, then... I'll take the initiative and make the first move.

Fueled by this unexpected surge of courage born of emotion, Aemeath took a deep breath and turned to walk toward the wardrobe.

Her gaze swept past the everyday floral dresses and loungewear, finally settling on the black lace lingerie hanging in the far corner. It was the outfit Lu Yan had personally chosen for her, blushing, shortly after they started living together.

Aemeath reached out her slightly trembling hand and took off the battle suit covered with intricate lace patterns.

"Tonight... I'll wear this after my shower tonight..." Aemeath looked at her face in the dressing mirror, which was so red it was almost bleeding. She clutched the black lace outfit tightly to her chest, feeling so ashamed that she wanted to disappear into the ground.

However, the thought that after tonight she would belong completely and utterly to Lu Yan made her desire ultimately overcome her shyness.

What's a little shyness compared to completely possessing this man's body and soul!

This was all the mental preparation she had done during the day.

She had thought she could act like a queen, using the box to provoke him and make him submit.

But when tonight actually arrived, when she was actually wearing this sparsely made lace battle dress, holding that box, sitting on the bed facing Lu Yan's astonishment, all the so-called courage she had accumulated during the day vanished in an instant when Lu Yan asked her a question.