Removing a fallen leaf from her, Song Baiyan let her go.
"Already too late. Go inside."
The expression on Song Baiyan’s face was as gentle as his voice: "As for the sachet you mentioned, we’ll find another opportunity to get it for you."
Tang Li stood there, not immediately turning around to leave.
She looked straight at Song Baiyan: "I gave you a New Year’s gift, what about you? Do you have a gift for me?"
Besides Song Jingtian and Fu Si, Song Baiyan had not been asked for gifts by anyone else.
Hearing Tang Li say this all of a sudden, especially with her almost reaching out her hand, he felt it was funny but did not refuse. He promised: "I’ll have Ji Ming prepare it later and send it to you."
Song Baiyan looked up at her and then, a smile appeared in his eyes: "If you don’t mind, I do have some money on me, and I can give you a red envelope."
Tang Li asked, "Can I choose my own gift?"
"I just saw something on you that I like. If you agree, that’s what I’ll take."
Song Baiyan asked what it was, but Tang Li played coy: "If I tell you now and you are unwilling to give it to me, what should I do?"
Before her words faded, she pointed towards the entrance: "Ji Ming is here; is he looking for you?"
When she looked back, she found that Song Baiyan had not turned to look.
The cigarette in the man’s hand was almost burned out.
With a mischievous gaze still fixed on her, Song Baiyan seemed to have seen through her little scheme, and Tang Li reluctantly lowered her right hand, as two rosy clouds swiftly flew to her cheeks.
After a long time, she managed to say, "Then I’m going upstairs."
With those words, she turned around and left hastily.
Song Baiyan watched her take a few steps, crushed the cigarette butt underfoot, and was about to leave when the receding figure turned back around.
Like a bet she had wagered with herself, Tang Li ran back over, enduring her racing heartbeat, reached her hands around the man’s neck, and Song Baiyan, caught off guard, instinctively supported her waist. Due to the momentum, he had to step back a little to keep his balance.
The girl’s fresh fragrance suddenly filled the air.
Tang Li looked up and performed the move she had rehearsed countless times in her mind, with a bit of nervousness and barely able to see what was in front of her. She held her breath, tiptoed closer to the man’s chin, and aimed for his thin lips to give a kiss.
It was meant to be as light as a dragonfly skimming the water, yet it took all her strength.
In the end, she didn’t even know where she had kissed.
It seemed to be the corner of his mouth, but maybe not.
Whether in a past life or the present one, doing this for the first time felt like bungee jumping, plummeting from a height and then yanked back before hitting solid ground, the sensation of soaring and falling filled every cell of her body.
She hastily said: "Happy New Year!"
Then, she fled the scene of the incident.
Running into the apartment building, Tang Li closed the security door behind her, and her gaze caught the white mist of her breath. She dared not look back, and gradually, her thoughts started to scatter. She knew she had lost her composure as a lady, but just now, she suddenly felt like doing it.
Her cellphone vibrated in her pocket.
She took it out to find a text message from Song Baiyan.
[Go upstairs and rest well.]
Tang Li looked at the message, and her suspended heart settled back into place. Then she typed an apology: "I’ve never kissed anyone before, so I lack experience. Just now... I got a bit carried away."