Chapter 185: A Stirring Heart

Only when it came to Lu Qi'an did Qin Miaoyu's heart flutter the very first time she laid eyes on him.

Had it not been for that, she would never have sought out Lu Qi'an for marriage. Although she had indeed initially intended to find an ordinary person with an average family background, it couldn't just be anyone...

As for Lu Qi'an's face, even after they had spent a long time together day in and day out, she had never grown tired of looking at it, feeling only that every single feature was tailored precisely to her aesthetic!

While she was intently examining this face that so immensely pleased her, those sharp, vibrant eyes suddenly flew open.

Startled, Qin Miaoyu took two steps back, only to be instantly hauled in by Lu Qi'an from the sofa and pinned beneath him.

Qin Miaoyu's eyes widened in shock as she watched Lu Qi'an lower his head, their lips meeting.

The kiss came too abruptly for Qin Miaoyu to react; she stood frozen as Lu Qi'an tenderly kissed her.

By the time she regained her senses, unable to withstand the ambiguous atmosphere, she opened her mouth to say something, but Lu Qi'an used the opportunity to press his advantage.

Powerless to resist, Qin Miaoyu retreated step by step, yielding entirely to Lu Qi'an's movements.

It was not until a soft, involuntary moan slipped from her lips that Lu Qi'an snapped out of it.

Lu Qi'an put some distance between them, gazed steadily at Qin Miaoyu's face, and raised a hand to gently caress her cheek, saying apologetically, "I'm sorry, I thought it was a dream..."

Blushing even more deeply, Qin Miaoyu shoved Lu Qi'an away, letting him tumble onto the rug beside the sofa. Tossing out a terse "Dinner is ready," she fled to the kitchen.

Once Qin Miaoyu had gone, Lu Qi'an rose from the floor. He touched his slightly aching lower lip, a smile involuntarily tugging at the corners of his mouth.

In his half-asleep haze, he truly had believed it was a dream. Kissing Qin Miaoyu was not a deliberate act on his part, yet it was something he had yearned for a long time.

Even more pleasing to him, however, was Qin Miaoyu's attitude.

Only at this moment did he truly grasp the reality of their divorce.

Divorce was not the end for him and Qin Miaoyu; on the contrary, it might well be another beginning!

When Lu Qi'an walked into the dining room, Qin Miaoyu was already seated at the table.

His gaze inevitably drifted to Qin Miaoyu's lips, which looked even more rosy and vibrant under the lights.

With a slightly improved mood, Lu Qi'an sat down at the table, tossed the vegetables into his noodles, and began to eat swiftly yet with an inherent grace.

From last evening until now, Lu Qi'an had not had a single proper meal.

To ensure his grandmother was entirely out of danger, he had arranged a comprehensive health check-up for her, having her undergo every single test included in the package so they could wait for the results later.

When his grandmother woke up and refused to tell them what had happened, he went to visit Old Madam Li again after his grandmother fell asleep.

Unable to pry any information from Old Madam Li, he had returned first and sent people to investigate further.

On top of that, Gu Feng had dug up a bit of news.

Seeing that Lu Qi'an was genuinely famished, the last lingering traces of Qin Miaoyu's embarrassment largely dissipated.

She told Lu Qi'an to slide his bowl over.

Obeying obediently, Lu Qi'an watched as Qin Miaoyu indeed spooned more noodles into his bowl.

"Alright, that's enough for me. You should eat quickly, too."

Pushing the bowl back, Qin Miaoyu added, "How about I go with you to see Grandma tomorrow?"

"Alright, I'll pick you up tomorrow. Hurry up and eat your noodles; I'll send you back shortly so you can get some rest early."

Qin Miaoyu refused, "There's no need. I'll just hail a cab back in a bit. You really ought to go look in the mirror—looking as exhausted as you do, you should rest early yourself!"

It was rare indeed to see Lu Qi'an looking like this. In the past, even when Lu Qi'an worked through the night on shifts, she had never seen him in such a state.

He must have been excessively worried about his grandmother this time.

Yet Lu Qi'an was adamant. Unwilling to let Qin Miaoyu leave alone, he finally thought of a win-win solution.

"How about this? You stay over. The guest bedroom is completely unchanged, fully stocked, and the housekeeper cleans it regularly."

Qin Miaoyu naturally knew the guest bedroom was just as it had been when she used to live there, having just stepped inside to look, though she certainly wouldn't admit it.

Faced with Lu Qi'an's unwavering stance—either he escorted her personally or she stayed right here—Qin Miaoyu ultimately relented, realizing staying over would save them both from unnecessary back-and-forth travel.

After cleaning up the dining room and kitchen, Qin Miaoyu headed to the guest bedroom, while Lu Qi'an returned to the master bedroom.

Upon entering the master bedroom, Lu Qi'an discovered that the picture frame on the bedside table had been moved!

He was accustomed to angling the photo frame slightly toward the doorway so he could see it the moment he walked in. Right now, however, the frame was centered and facing squarely against the wall behind the head of the bed—definitely not the position he normally placed it in!

He could not help wondering who could possibly have come inside.

The housekeeper had come the day before yesterday and wasn't scheduled to return until tomorrow, while Qin Miaoyu generally never took the initiative to enter his bedroom.

Recalling the three missed calls displayed on his phone earlier, he checked them again and realized they had not all been dialed at the same time.

Normally speaking, if he didn't answer his phone, Miaoyu shouldn't have entered anyway, but since she had come in today, there must have been special circumstances.

And when he arrived home, Miaoyu had been sleeping soundly on the sofa, so nothing terribly dangerous could have happened.

Driven by concern, however, he still went to ask Qin Miaoyu about it.

"I actually intended to leave when you didn't answer the phone, but I accidentally bumped into the door, and it popped open automatically. I was worried something might have happened to you, so I came in to check."

Both pleased and anxious, Lu Qi'an instinctively reached out to stroke Qin Miaoyu's head. "Don't be so reckless next time. What if someone had broken in? Wouldn't it have been dangerous for you to walk in like that?"

Had Lu Qi'an used even a slightly harsher tone, Qin Miaoyu might have felt annoyed, feeling aggrieved that her concern for him was met with a scolding.

However, Lu Qi'an spoke with such profound gentleness, and the worry in his voice was so unmistakably genuine, that Qin Miaoyu simply answered in a soft murmur, though she couldn't help offering a small defense: "I have self-defense tools in my bag!"

Lu Qi'an replied, "I know, but what if you had gotten hurt or something happened to you because of me?"

Qin Miaoyu knew that Lu Qi'an would have blamed himself and been heartbroken had that happened.

Saying no more, she merely replied, "Alright, I won't be so reckless next time."

Returning to the guest bedroom, Qin Miaoyu informed Xu Xiaoqi about taking leave, then climbed into bed and lay down.

The night was deep, and it was well past time for sleep, yet Qin Miaoyu found herself somewhat restless.

Whenever she closed her eyes, she would recall what had happened earlier on the sofa, and her fingers would involuntarily drift up to touch her lips.

It wasn't as though they had never shared such kisses when they were together, but they had been rare, and Lu Qi'an had always been so cautious, never going too far.

Yet today, believing he was in a dream, Lu Qi'an's kiss had been so sudden and fervent that it had left Qin Miaoyu utterly defenseless.

This could be considered their most intimate kiss yet. Qin Miaoyu tried desperately to banish the thought, but the stray ideas refused to obey her control.