Summer #46

Don't Turn from Summer (莫负寒夏) by Ding Mo (丁墨)

Chapter 46

After having lunch together, Lin Mochen drives her all the way out of the city.

Mu Hanxia asks curiously, “Where are you taking me?”

But what does he say? “Don’t know.”

“Huh?”

“Didn’t you want to go somewhere quiet and comfortable? When we see a good place, we’ll go.”

“Oh, sure.”

Driving north for a few miles, they see some green mountains and neatly lined up buildings. There’s a sign at the roadside: “Giant Panda Base of Lin City.” Mu Hanxia is instantly interested: “Shall we go take a look?”

To be honest, Lin Mochen has not the least interest or sympathy of any animal or pet. But since she wants to go, he makes the turn.

After parking the car and buying the tickets, they enter the panda park. It’s winter now and today is a workday, so there are very few people in such a big park. They are actually glad to be alone in the quietness, holding hands and walking slowly.

But pandas are not afraid of the coldness. When the two of them come to a small fenced-in garden, they see several pandas lying there. Mu Hanxia watches with great interest and makes “Yoyoyo” sound from time to time, trying to play with them. But they simply ignore her. Lin Mochen wraps his arm around her shoulders and watches with smiles.

Right then, a panda suddenly gets up and runs around the playground like crazy, tumbling and rolling on the ground sometimes. Mu Hanxia’s eyes widen at the sight, and Lin Mochen also gets attracted. The panda must be tired after running around and around. All of a sudden, it holds on to a tree nearby and shakes it with all its might, making leaves fall all over the ground,  just like what a hyper energetic young fellow would do. Finally Mu Hanxia can’t help but laugh out loud. Lin Mochen also chuckles, hugging her from behind and watching on with her.

After that, they go to watch other few pandas as well as baby pandas. The babies are golden colored with long tales, looking both like a cat and a baby bear. They are very cute and lively and are more nimble than the grownup ones. The two keep watching with great interest.

The base is built alongside the mountain and takes up a large area of land. They keep walking deeper but find there’s nothing but deep woods ahead. Even staff members can’t be seen.

The winter sun sets rather early and the sky is now turning grayish in the woods. Beneath their feet there are thick leaves and soft and cold soil. They hold hands and walk on slowly, neither of them saying anything for a while.

After some time, Lin Mochen pulls her to sit down on a meadow thickly covered with leaves and let her lean in his arms. Mu Hanxia looks up at his handsome face, his brand name overcoat, and the leather shoes, which are all so out of order with the surroundings. But he still accompanies her to the natural scenery that’s far away from the city.

She raises her face to kiss him. At the same moment, he grips her waist, lowers his head to kiss her, turning from the passive one into the aggressive one.

Mu Hanxia doesn’t know when it happened, but she is laid down to the meadow by him. He pins both her hands above her head with one hand, his long and slim body covering hers. She feels the turbulence of emotions in her heart, just like the silent but vast ocean. The gray sky, the dim wood, and the slightly cool wind, under which is his handsome and charming face. He looks so refined and elegant, but his kiss is so fierce. Her lips, neck, collarbones, and ears are all under his attack, inch by inch.

 His hand starts to fumble in from under her clothes, caressing her gently. When has Mu Hanxia ever got fondled like this by a lover? She feels both happy and nervous. Mumbling and faltering, her whole body shivers slightly in his arms. She wants to stop his hand, but her hands are locked by his and is totally unable to stop him. She lets out a moan and smiles appear in Lin Mochen’s eyes. But Mu Hanxia also sees the deep and dark color in his eyes. Is it the color of desire?

Why is he so evil today?

......

Is it that after being with him for so long that she now is smarter? At a certain moment, it dawns on Mu Hanxia why Lin Mochen treats her like this today.

He is thoughtful and calculating by nature. Didn’t he have the idea of measuring and comparing the affection between them at the very beginning? Later right after they established their relationship, she unexpectedly left for the business trip. Today he is so aggressive. It’s partly out of his real desire. For the other part, is he doing it deliberately? Deliberately getting more intimate, deliberately taking up more of her, both physically and emotionally.

The more she thinks about it, the more certain she is―he is weaving an emotional net to trap her deeper. But Mu Hanxia gazes at his black eyes, feeling all tenderness in her heart.

Because she has long been in the net, willing to accept every bit of him. No matter it’s his true loving heart, his ambitious heart, or his heart with private considerations.

Because she wants to be closer and closer day by day, penetrating the distance of time and space between them.

She reaches out and winds her arms around his neck. For the very first time in her life, she takes the initiative to kiss a guy’s neck, ears, cheeks... Nose tip against her nose tip, Lin Mochen chuckles and whispers, “So enthusiastic?” Mu Hanxia feels her face burning―she’s only responding to him, Okay?

But then, he catches her lips between his own and begins another kiss, his body seeming to be pressing a little closer.

Mu Hanxia is not totally naive and she senses the obvious change of his body. What a calculating one is this? Is this implication or seduction? Mu Hanxia’s whole body stiffens up. But she is well under him and can’t get away from it. Only her heart beats extremely fast, nuzzling with him quietly but intimately.

Lin Mochen doesn’t realize that his purpose of this little trip has been discerned by Mu Hanxia. He doesn’t stop enticing her and ‘harassing’ her until after a long moment, when he finally sits up and pushes her up with him. His coast is messy and her down jacket badly wrinkled. There’s some rosy color on his cheeks and hers are burning red. Gazing at her, he grins lazily. And so Mu Hanxia learns that apart from the decisiveness and ruthlessness while doing business, he also has such recklessness and sexiness when in love.

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Before leaving the base, Mu Hanxia goes to the bathroom. When she comes out, Lin Mochen is speaking with someone on the phone under the light-filtering tree.

She walks over sneakily, planning to hug him from behind, but hears him saying with a very cold voice: “... Yes, I’m back in Lin City. Ah...who are you to me? Why should I come to see you?”

Mu Hanxia lowers her hands and remains still and quiet.

In an instant he already hangs up. He turns and sees her.

Mu Hanxia: “Who’s it?”

Lin Mochen doesn’t answer. His expression doesn’t look good. He just grabs her hand and says, “Let’s go.”

Mu Hanxia then says nothing else.

There was a very good atmosphere between them before the call, when he was holding her long hair and kissing it. But now after getting into the car, he just looks straight ahead with a expressionless face and doesn’t say anything to her.

His mood apparently is affected by that call. And Mu Hanxia vaguely heard it was a woman’s voice.

The dark night slides by the window. He doesn’t notice her extreme quietness until after a long while. He turns his head and gives her a glance, “What’re you thinking?”

“Whose call was it?” She asks.

Lin Mochen is still silent.

She asks softly, “Was it your ex-girlfriend?”