Qin Si Ye held Shen Xi as he sat on the sofa. Shen Xi, however, buried her face deeply in his chest, sobbing softly, afraid to look at him.
A slight curve graced Qin Si Ye's lips as he gently tilted her head up. Looking at her tear-streaked face, he took two tissues from the coffee table and tenderly wiped away the tears from her cheeks.
After setting down the tissues, he raised his hand and gently caressed her rosy, delicate cheek. His eyes were filled with doting affection. "Such a beautiful face, always hidden behind a mask. What a shame."
From her eyebrows to her eyes, then to her nose, his fingertip finally landed on her alluring lips, rubbing them back and forth twice.
Unable to resist, he lowered his head and kissed her again.
Only when Shen Xi could barely breathe did Qin Si Ye reluctantly release her.
Shen Xi was overcome with shyness and relief. The moment she opened her eyes, she met his gaze, which was now filled with desire.
Her heart fluttered, and she tried to stand up and move away. However, Qin Si Ye held her tightly and said, "Don't move. I want to show you a photo."
But as he reached into his pocket for his phone, he found that Shen Xi was sitting on it, making it impossible to retrieve.
"Let me up quickly," Shen Xi urged him to release her.
"I won't," Qin Si Ye replied, pulling his hand back and hugging her tighter stubbornly.
Shen Xi frowned. "If you don't get up, your phone might be ruined. How will I see the photo you want to show me then?"
Qin Si Ye pondered for a moment, and then he finally let her go.
Once Shen Xi was free, she immediately sat down at a distance from him.
Unexpectedly, Qin Si Ye took out his phone, brought up a photo of the two of them, then moved closer to her. With a long arm, he pulled her back into his embrace.
Just as Shen Xi was about to struggle, she saw the photo of herself and Qin Si Ye at Longcheng Amusement Park. However, the face in the photo wasn't Shen Xi's, but Yin Xi's.
She finally understood why he had said they looked like a couple when he sent her the photo.
It turned out this man had photoshopped her face onto the picture.
However, upon closer inspection, they did indeed look very well-matched.
"Qin Si Ye, you knew I was Yin Xi from that moment on?"
Shen Xi's heart skipped a beat. Thinking back to his actions at Longcheng Amusement Park, they were indeed too ambiguous and unusual.
Qin Si Ye's lips curved into a pleasing arc. "Guess again?"
Guess again? Could it be even earlier than that?
Shen Xi looked at him in astonishment. After a moment of thought, she asked, "The time you rescued Xie Yifei?"
"Guess again?" Qin Si Ye chuckled, raising his eyebrows lightly.
Even earlier? How much earlier could it have been? Shen Xi struggled forcefully from his arm's embrace and sat up straight.
Her eyes darted around. Suddenly, she remembered what Liao Jing had said a few days ago at the First People's Hospital, and she asked in surprise, "You didn't find out when you were in Xicheng, did you?"
Qin Si Ye burst into laughter. "Not that early."
Shen Xi continued to ask, "Then it must have been the time I was bitten by the dog at your house."
She remembered that Qin Si Ye had been very anxious then, unhesitatingly carrying her into his room in front of his entire family and personally cleaning her wound.
"During the two instances you mentioned, I only developed an irresistible fondness for you. I only had suspicions; I didn't know the truth," Qin Si Ye said, his eyes filled with a hint of sadness.
He only regretted not being more perceptive. If only he had noticed her strangeness earlier, perhaps he would have discovered the truth sooner.
"Then when was it? It couldn't have been the time you saved me from Lu Yushan, could it?" Shen Xi pondered, thinking that it was the only possibility.
She remembered that after he had saved her, he had insisted on carrying her out of that dilapidated factory and, back in the car, he still didn't want to let her go.
"Yes. You guessed right, it was from that time. When the children told me you were kidnapped, I had just learned the truth from Gu Lin," Qin Si Ye said, holding her delicate hand, his eyes full of melancholy as he looked at her.
He then recounted how he had discovered her abnormality and how he had asked Gu Lin to help investigate the matter of the human skin mask in Country B.
He just didn't mention the children.
Shen Xi's eyes widened, and she looked at him in disbelief.
It turned out her aunt's guess was correct; this man's observational skills were indeed exceptionally sharp. wΑp.kanshu伍.net
If calculated from that time, it had been over a month ago.
For the past month, he had been restraining his emotions, wanting to get closer to her but having to maintain a distance. It truly wasn't easy.
"So, after returning that day, you moved here with Grandma and confessed your feelings to me that night?"