Daniel Davis watched her busy back and couldn’t help finding it a little funny. Smiling, he asked, "What are you looking for?"
"Tea leaves." As Tong Tong spoke, she turned around and bumped right into his chest.
Daniel Davis pressed his lips together in a smile as he looked at her. "Why are you so honest?"
"Hm?"
"I said come in for a cup of tea, and you took it seriously?" Daniel Davis looked at her slightly bewildered eyes, feeling even more delighted. He pinched her cheek and said with a laugh, "It’s late. No tea tonight."
"..." Tong Tong bit her lip and glanced at him.
All of a sudden she didn’t quite know what to do with herself.
Daniel Davis fixed his gaze on her, his eyes filled with tenderness.
Especially—
his face was getting closer and closer to hers.
So were those thin lips of his.
Tong Tong stumbled back a step and her back hit the cabinet. Eyes wide, she looked at Daniel Davis. There was nowhere left for her to retreat.
The fragile, easy-to-bully look she had on only made it harder for Daniel Davis to hold himself back.
Their eyes locked, and both of them froze.
Tong Tong stared at him without blinking. After a long moment, she said in a low voice, "Brother Davis, I—"
"Don’t say it." Daniel Davis stopped her. He straightened up and gave her an understanding little smile. "I’m the one who’s too impatient. I should give you time to get ready. It’s fine, don’t apologize."
"I’m sorry." Tong Tong still opened her mouth and apologized.
Other than that, she didn’t even know how to express the refusal she’d felt in that instant.
Daniel Davis was good to her, and she did want to repay him. The pain of loving without being loved back, the heartache of giving and getting no response in return—she understood all of that completely.
But—
she just couldn’t do it.
How could you force anything when it came to feelings?
Camden River had kissed her, and even now, she could still feel his breath and warmth from that moment.
Tong Tong’s expression was full of confusion.
Daniel Davis’s fingers on her shoulders couldn’t help tightening a little. He stared at her and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
"I..."
Tong Tong looked at him. After a long pause, she said softly, "I’m too nervous, Brother Davis, I’ve never... had one before."
That kiss, she had willingly accepted, but it had been an accident.
She hadn’t been ready to welcome the first kiss of her life. She only felt that once she crossed that threshold, it might be very hard, and she would need time.
Tong Tong looked at Daniel Davis, her emotions surging.
Daniel Davis was looking at her too, and suddenly he lowered his head and unerringly covered her lips with his.
——
Even though they had only been together for three days, he had already pursued her for two years.
It wasn’t early anymore.
Just now, the instant he heard what she said, he suddenly found himself unable to control the desire in his heart. Tong Tong was too passive; if he waited for the day she was completely willing, who knew what year or month that would be.
With a girl this pure and soft-hearted, he had to be the proactive one, conquering her bit by bit, from body to heart.
In her bones, Tong Tong was very traditional. In love, she had the fidelity of a devout believer. Even if she had once been infatuated with Camden River, so what?
Camden River had had little contact with her; in the future, her life would be entwined with his.
She might find it hard to forget Camden River, but it would be even more impossible for her to ever forget the first man in her life. She would marry him, become his gentle, considerate wife, and never betray him for the rest of her life.