During the ensuing hearty laughter, Jian was at a loss for words, her lips merely quivering.
Seeing Kang Hyun, who was holding the steering wheel with his head slightly bowed and his shoulders shaking, felt like a dream.
Or perhaps it was her imagination.
While she thought it shouldn’t be surprising or miraculous to see a person laugh, she felt the urge to mark the calendar with ‘The day Tae Kang Hyun laughed out loud’.
“…….”
“…….”
As the laughter subsided, an awkward silence ensued.
Embarrassed by his own laughter, Kang Hyun, with reddened ears, shifted his foot to the accelerator to follow the moving car ahead.
“……Should I try being a comedian?”
“What?”
“Since I made the Vice President laugh, maybe there’s a chance.”
Mesmerized, Jian stared at Kang Hyun, blinking.
He looked so good laughing; she wished he would do it more often.
She wanted to say something like that, but instead, she felt her eyes well up, stopping her from speaking.
Was it because she had often seen him grieving over Seo Yoon?
“It’s a relief.”
“What is?”
“That at least one of us sitting here is happy.”
Or was it reassuring to see him appear a bit happier?
Unable to figure out why her heart felt like a heavy lump lodged beneath her ribs, Jian pressed her moist eyes and lifted the corners of her mouth.
“You look even more handsome when you smile.”
“Since when did you become so focused on appearance?”
Kang Hyun’s playful tone carried a hint of laughter.
If only every day could be like today.
She couldn’t take her eyes off him, shining unusually bright.
[Star Icon] [Star Icon] [Star Icon]They arrived at their destination only after the sun had set behind the overcast clouds.
Due to the heavy snow halting construction and delaying their journey more than expected, they headed straight to the townhouse instead of entering the resort.
“Where are we?”
“We use this as a villa when visiting the resort.”
“I see.”
Jian nonchalantly nodded, then suddenly stiffened.
It dawned on her that they would be spending the night together in the same space.
Having unquestioningly believed they would stay in separate rooms at a resort or hotel, Jian bit her dry lips.
It wouldn’t be surprising if something happened between two adults who had just started dating and were spending the night together.
But isn’t it too soon for that?
They had been physically close even before confirming their feelings; what if they grew tired of each other too quickly?
She didn’t want to start off on the wrong foot.
As complicated thoughts tangled in her mind, her knees began to tremble.
“It’s a two-story building, well partitioned, so it won’t be uncomfortable. Try to relax. And leave your lips alone.”
Parking the car in front of the highest house after passing two hills at the entrance, Kang Hyun squinted his eyes.
He could clearly see the worry in her small head.
“I’ve never been nervous!”
Jian straightened her back like a soldier on alert and coughed awkwardly.
“Of course, I can’t promise I won’t try anything.”
Kang Hyun, with a lazy smile on his lips, unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned towards Jian’s shoulder, whispering.
Wanting to tease her for her adorably innocent face, Kang Hyun also fumbled to unfasten his seatbelt.
“It’s only the first day… if we rush things… Of course, I might have met someone four years ago, but with no memory of it, it’s like the first time. I should at least prepare myself for a week…”
“We’ve already held hands and hugged. Do we need another week to prepare?”
“What? Held hands and hugged?”
“Yes, just what we’ve been doing. What were you thinking?”
“…….”
Realizing she was being teased, Jian covered her almost exploding face with both hands.
She felt like the protagonist of the proverb who counts the chickens before they hatch, getting ahead of herself about the duplex house with its plethora of guest rooms.
Was she being hasty because she had been alone for four years?
“I’ll get out.”
Jian, her mind in a whirl, quickly opened the car door and stepped out.
As the evening chill enveloped her, her mind cleared.
Receiving Kang Hyun’s confession, seeing him smile, she had experienced quite a bit in one day, perhaps making her giddy.
Taking deep breaths to fill her lungs with the cold air, Jian marveled at the snow-covered mountains surrounding the townhouse complex.
It was beautiful even without ascending to the peak.
“Let’s go in and see, there’s a terrace inside.”
Kang Hyun, wrapping his arms around Jian, who stood gaping and spinning in place, led her through the wide-open gate.
“My goodness. Are we the first ones here?”
The appropriately sized garden, blanketed in untouched snow, looked like a pristine white sketchbook.
The snow, carried by the wind from above, twinkled as it whirled around the illuminated path.
Unlike Kang Hyun, who seemed unmoved, Jian hopped around, imprinting her footsteps in the snow.
Her feet sank deep, wetting the hem of her dress, but she was too busy laughing.
My Step-brother Is Obsessed With Me (Female-dominant)
A gentle female protagonist vs pitiful in the early stage, and a sick male protagonist in the later stage
Cheng Songer transmigrated into the body of a vicious cannon fodder female supporting character with the same name as her in a female-dominant novel.
In the original story, the cannon fodder female supporting character was inhumane, committing domestic violence, gambling excessively, being lustful, and even wanting to sell her stepbrother to a brothel for money.
As luck would have it, she just happened to transmigrate at this time.
Seeing Cheng Qingzhi biting his lip, enduring the tears in his eyes, looking pitiful, her heart softened.
She stuffed the money back into the Madam’s hand and reached out to him.
“Brother, come home with me.”
