"Sorry, Lawyer Tang, I’d like to use the restroom for a moment."
She was really a mess today. She hadn’t slept all night, and since she was at the police station in the morning, she barely had time to freshen up. She just washed her face with water and used the disposable toothpaste and toothbrush provided at the station for a quick rinse; going out without makeup was one thing, but arriving here in tears and snot was another. ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by Novᴇl_Fire(.)net
Tang Yanxi smiled: "Please go ahead."
Shi Nian then thought about going to the lobby. The public restroom should be over there.
Tang Yanqing stood up directly, took her wrist, and led her towards a door on the wall: "Use his private one."
Tang Yanxi looked slightly embarrassed.
The Tang Family somewhat has a slight obsession with cleanliness. Tang Yanxi could represent the underprivileged Asian poor in court, patiently listen to their various accented English, and spend the whole day with them, but he still wanted to preserve a restroom for his personal use.
This little privilege, Shi Nian understood. She then looked up at him: "Lawyer Tang, don’t worry, I’ll only use the sink. I’ll make sure everything is how it was when I’m done."
Once inside the restroom, Shi Nian quickly moved to the sink to look at her tear-stained eyes and red nose in the mirror.
Such a mess, yet she felt so happy.
After Nisha’s death, she had felt incredibly guilty. She couldn’t do anything for Nisha while she was alive, nor could she find her daughter after her death... Even if she did, what could she do? Nisha herself didn’t have a legal status, and her daughter could only continue hiding to escape immigration checks. Even if she did find those two children, she wouldn’t have the means to help them stay.
And if the immigration department decided to deport those two children, where could they end up? Would they return to the heartless parents who once sold Nisha, and let those kids suffer the same fate, becoming child brides after several years just like their mother?
She had hesitated about this, but unexpectedly, Tang Yanqing had already thought ahead. Not only had he found the two children, but he also entrusted them to his lawyer brother so the lawyer could help them fight for legal residence and not return to that devilish family...
Everything was truly a precious gift from him to her. So precious it would keep her remembering it her whole life.
She opened the faucet and continued to cry while Tang Yanqing leaned against the wall, arms crossed, looking sideways at her reflection in the mirror.
He sighed softly, "Women are really made of water. Crying for so long and still able to shed tears. Now I understand why Earth always has a shortage of water resources; they’ve all been turned into salt water by you women."
Shi Nian, caught off guard, was still crying but burst into laughter because of him.
Grasping his handkerchief, she looked up at him: "Our tears as women are all caused by you men, aren’t they?"
He raised his eyebrows slightly, but his gaze deepened.
"...but I don’t think I’ve bullied you today."
"That’s right." Her nose was blocked, and she spoke in a muffled voice: "Yet you still made me cry... with joy. Mr. Tang, thank you... I never expected you to give me such a wonderful gift, I’m really happy."
She lifted her head, her tear-streaked little face struck straight at his heart, imprinting a deep mark.
He heard a soft sigh rising from deep within him and then, uncontrollably, seized her wrist, pulling her into his embrace.
He leaned against the wall, supporting the weight of two people, his hand tenderly sliding to her cheek, and his lips trembled slightly as they descended...
At the moment their lips touched, Shi Nian’s mind went blank, completely unaware of what happened.
She hadn’t prepared, nor did she have any resistance.
Her lips fell into his, totally relaxed and soft—so soft it broke his heart.
He almost didn’t dare to use force, to suck, to bite—though, goodness, he desperately wanted to do so fiercely to let her know how much he wanted her—but he could only restrain himself, kissing her in the most tender, innocent way.
As if, they were both first-timers.
No...how could it be said "as if" first-timers? They truly were first-timers.
With a heart as sacred as a first time, the same anxious waiting, the same cherishing of love like a rare treasure, gently holding her lips. Softly tiptoeing, lips mingling.