Chapter 34: Kiss

Gu Siqing didn’t care what Zhang Yanran was thinking. Hugging her books, she went straight to the senior year classroom. Just one more year and she could graduate—just thinking about it made her feel wonderful!

That afternoon, when she got back, she asked Shen Qingyan to inform Qi Yuan and Shen Mengzhou to come over for dinner if they were free so the whole family could celebrate properly.

“I didn’t expect the results to come out this fast. Congratulations!” Shen Qingyan sincerely praised her. “I’ll go let Mom and Dad know—they’ll definitely make time.”

While Shen Qingyan went to make the call, Gu Siqing checked the ingredients. She planned to cook six dishes this afternoon and even make two desserts. With a modern kitchen helping out, it wouldn’t take more than an hour or so.

As she busied herself in the kitchen, Shen Qingyan came over after the call and voluntarily went to the sink. “I’ll help you wash the vegetables.”

Dabao and Xiaobao also ran into the kitchen, shouting in unison, “We’ll help Mom too!”

Gu Siqing, both amused and exasperated, pinched their little cheeks. “Go play downstairs for a while, okay? Mom and Dad can handle this.”

“How about fish for dinner?” she coaxed gently. The two kids were easily distracted and happily ran back downstairs.

The space in the house was large, and Gu Siqing didn’t have to worry about anything happening to them, so she was quite at ease seeing them go off to play.

With the children gone, only Gu Siqing and Shen Qingyan were left in the kitchen.

She planned the menu: spicy boiled beef, pickled fish slices, stir-fried chicken, meatball soup, celery with tofu, and blanched spinach.

Having made up her mind, she began preparing the ingredients methodically.

Shen Qingyan helped beside her. His legs had healed quite a bit, and he could now move around freely in the space. Standing for a while wasn’t a problem anymore. Every now and then, he’d glance at Gu Siqing as she worked.

She was chopping vegetables with calm precision, her expression focused and serious. A lock of hair kept falling in front of her ear, and she would push it back with her hand now and then.

Shen Qingyan watched her for a while, then walked over and tucked her hair behind her ear.

Gu Siqing felt his fingers and her face warmed instantly. She thanked him, trying to stay composed.

When he saw her cheeks suddenly turn red—like a rosy apple in profile—Shen Qingyan stared for a moment, his own body reacting instinctively to the closeness. He leaned in and kissed her cheek.

Gu Siqing froze, the knife in her hand pausing mid-air.

What…?

She swallowed hard, her heart suddenly racing, her face turning redder by the second. She didn’t know how to react.

In her past life, Shen Qingyan had always been in a wheelchair. Their relationship was always respectful and distant. Physical intimacy? Not even close. Let alone a kiss.

She had zero experience.

That one kiss left her stunned and embarrassed. She set down the knife and turned to look at him.

Just as she did, Shen Qingyan saw her expressive eyes and blushing face—and couldn’t hold back.

He wrapped one hand around her waist and pulled her into his arms, lowering his head and kissing her lips.

“Mm…”

Gu Siqing was caught completely off guard. The deep kiss left her dazed. She slowly learned to breathe through it, but Shen Qingyan had no intention of letting her go.

Her mind went blank.

It was as if men were born knowing how to do this—his kiss deepened as he pried her lips open, their tongues intertwining. Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around his strong waist.

Feeling her respond made Shen Qingyan even more excited.

The kiss lasted a long time.

Until…

Dabao and Xiaobao appeared in the doorway, staring at their parents in a daze.

“Dad, Mom, what game are you playing?” one of them finally asked.

Then frowned. That didn’t seem right. If it was a game, shouldn’t it be running and chasing like he and his sister did? Not…biting each other’s mouths?

As soon as the kids spoke, Gu Siqing’s body went stiff.

Shen Qingyan didn’t fare much better.

They quickly separated. Gu Siqing pushed him away and turned aside, hastily wiping her mouth and patting her red cheeks.

She had just been wondering why Shen Qingyan kissed her out of nowhere—then the kiss left her totally blank.

Cough!

Shen Qingyan cleared his throat and explained, “Dad and Mom were just playing a game.”

The kids’ eyes lit up. “Then we want to play too! Can I and my sister play this game?”

Playing games sounded fun!

Hearing this, Gu Siqing choked.

She glared at Shen Qingyan. “You explain properly! What if they try to kiss each other now?! That’s not okay!”

Looking at her bright red face, Shen Qingyan nodded quickly. He crouched down and gently explained to the kids, “This game is only for husbands and wives, like Dad and Mom. You two are siblings who love each other, so you can’t play this game, okay?”

“Later this afternoon, Dad and Mom will take you outside to play other games. How does that sound?”

The two kids looked at each other in confusion, then slowly nodded. “Okay.”

Hearing their agreement, Gu Siqing finally felt relieved. She’d been afraid they’d be a bad influence on the kids.

This was all Shen Qingyan’s fault!

In their previous life, he had been so upright and serious—how could he be so reckless in this one?

A kiss like that…in the kitchen…making her breathless and weak in the knees.

Just thinking about it made her face burn again. She quickly changed the subject.

“Are you guys hungry?”

“Yes!” the kids suddenly remembered their mission. Rubbing their bellies, they looked up at her pitifully. “We got so tired playing soccer—we came to ask when we can eat.”

Gu Siqing handed each of them a small piece of pastry.

“Have a little snack for now. Mom will finish cooking soon. When Grandma and Grandpa arrive, we’ll celebrate together, okay?”

The kids, though hungry, were very well-behaved. They took the snacks and skipped happily downstairs.

Once they were gone, the kitchen still seemed to be filled with a lingering romantic tension.

Gu Siqing awkwardly cleared her throat and threw herself into cooking.

That had been their first kiss.

And the kids caught them.

Thinking about it just made her more embarrassed. Her hand even slammed down harder with the kitchen knife—not from anger, but from the sheer tension of having never experienced something like that before.

Meanwhile, Shen Qingyan didn’t seem to mind at all.