Jian Hang started counting down the working days she had left in Yinlin. Without her knowing it, it was already time to get off work for the day.

At six o’clock, Qin Moling sent her a message: [I have a banquet to go to tonight.]

Qin Moling didn’t have the habit of reporting his itinerary, but because they had a conflict last night and didn’t eat with her this morning, he was worried that she would misunderstand that he was having a cold war with her, so he took the initiative to tell her.

Jian Hang replied: [I am working overtime at the company tonight.]

She had begun to organize the project materials for resignation and handover. There were so many materials that it was inconvenient to take them home.

She has not mentioned her resignation to Qin Moling yet.

She would tell him when their relationship eased again.

She wondered what advice Qin Moling had for her future career plans.

He has only spoken a few words to her, and it would probably be difficult to hear his true ideas.

At a quarter past ten, Jian Hang got home from the company.

Qin Moling hasn’t come back from socializing yet, and the parking space next to her car was empty.

After taking a shower, Jian Hang tidied the washbasin and arranged the bottles on it into two neat rows according to height and thickness—short to tall, thin to fat. Aunt Geng had bought some hydroponic green plants and several pots of roses and placed them in the bathroom according to Jian Hang’s preferences.

She watered the flowers and plants again.

Jian Hang had just lied down on the bed when Qin Moling came home.

“Still not asleep?” he asked.

“Just about to.”

Qin Moling went to take a bath. When Jian Hang tried to fall asleep, she couldn’t. She heard the bathroom door open, heard footsteps walking towards the bed, heard the sound of him fussing with the quilt, and heard his footsteps as he walked towards the cloakroom.

Soon, he came back again.

Jian Hang didn’t open her eyes from beginning to end.

Qin Moling turned off all the lights in the bedroom. Their bedroom was not better than that romantic hotel in Oia Town. The hotel room had been connected to a terrace with a sea view, and there had been lights outside. Even when they turned off the lights inside the bedroom, they could still see each other clearly with the light coming from outside. 

This was totally impossible at home. The blinds were all closed, and they could only see each other’s blurry outlines in the darkness.

Qin Moling didn’t go to his side of the bed. When his eyes have adjusted to the dimness in the room, he walked to the edge of the bed on Jian Hang’s side.

Jian Hang opened her eyes when he put his hands on her pillow and kissed her.

Jian Hang naturally wrapped her arms around his neck, and the awkward atmosphere that had lasted for two days finally dissipated with mutual joy.

“Don’t forget the condom,” she reminded him.

Qin Moling said hoarsely, “Yeah.”

When he first moved in, he naturally wanted for the two of them to live together. He had prepared everything accordingly and never would have thought back then that he wouldn’t be needing it until tonight.

After saying that, Qin Moling bit her lips.

Jian Hang liked it when he kissed her, whether shallow or deep.

Qin Moling’s kiss ended. He left her lips and kissed her chin. Jian Hang felt that the kiss was not enough. She held his face with both hands and took the initiative to press her lips against his to prevent him from kissing other places. The room was dark and she couldn’t see his expression, but she clearly felt that his breathing stopped for a few seconds the moment she took the initiative to kiss him.

The next moment, Qin Moling pressed her down, locked her in his arms, and blocked her lips again with his own.

The tip of one tongue slid against the tip of another tongue.

Still not satisfied.

Both she and Qin Moling wanted to ask for more.

The kiss deepened.

Jian Hang was hugged intimately by Qin Moling. At this moment, she felt that he belonged to her alone.

His breath, his embrace, and his body all belonged to her.

Qin Moling looked into her eyes. The light was dim, and he stared at her even though he couldn’t see clearly. “Are you still angry?”

Jian Hang didn’t react at first, “Why would I be angry?”

Qin Moling said, “That hot search yesterday.”

“…I’m not angry anymore.” She added, “I’m not angry at you.”

Qin Moling lowered his head to kiss her again, kissing her both deep and then light.

He kissed her for more than ten minutes, and Jian Hang was satisfied.

Qin Moling dragged her back to him with his hands and used his arms to forcefully pick her up.

Jian Hang faced him, sitting astride on his lap.

The two rose and fell in perfect harmony.

… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

It was already late at night when the room fell silent.

The sweat on their bodies blended together.

Jian Hang turned on her phone and checked the time. This was even later than when she worked overtime.

Her throat was dry and she drank a large glass of water.

Qin Moling pulled off the condom, threw it into the trash can, and asked her, “Is there enough water? If it’s not enough, I’ll pour some for you,”

“There’s enough.” Jian Hang went to the bathroom barefoot without looking at him.

She took a shower and felt refreshed.

Jian Hang did not lie down like last night. She lay on her side tonight, facing Qin Moling’s side of the bed.

There was only one quilt on the bed. She had heard him fussing with the quilt before. It seemed that Qin Moling carried the other quilt back to the cloakroom.

Qin Moling also came out of the shower. The pillows between them were some forty or fifty centimeters apart. He lay down, and Jian Hang couldn’t smell his scent, but could feel that he was next to her.

Qin Moling turned off the light and, like her, lay down on his side facing her.

The two of them shared a quilt, and she put her arms outside the quilt.

Suddenly, her wrist felt heavy.

Qin Moling also put his hand outside the quilt and accidentally put it on her wrist.

Jian Hang didn’t pull her hand back, nor did he take his hand away.

More than twenty minutes passed before the two fell asleep.

Marriage First, Love Later translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

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Chapter 37.1 — Lean in His Arms
Chapter 37.2 — Lean in His Arms
Chapter 37.3 — Lean in His Arms