Chapter 16: Birthday Kiss

“What do you mean?” Song Qingyu had a bad feeling.

“Don’t worry, you’ll find out soon enough.”

Shen Mengli shot a glance at the man behind her. The man immediately handed her a sharp fruit knife.

“You… What are you trying to do?”

Shen Mengli simply smiled without answering.

With a flick of her wrist, she pressed the blade against Song Qingyu’s face.

The cold steel sent a shiver down Song Qingyu’s spine.

“Shen Mengli, are you insane? If you hurt me, you’ll go to prison.”

“My flight is at eleven tonight. Do you think my plane will take off faster, or will someone find you in this desolate place first?”

Shen Mengli had already planned her escape route. If she dared to kidnap Song Qingyu, she had no intention of staying in the country any longer.

“Even if you leave the country, Li Huaidong will find you.”

“Oh? Are you using Li Huaidong to threaten me now?” Shen Mengli snapped, waving the knife angrily. “Tell me, which side of your face should I start with? The left or the right? What shape do you prefer? A hole? Or maybe an X?”

“No—please, let me go!” Song Qingyu pleaded. She was an actress; her livelihood depended on her face. If it was ruined, so was her career.

“If you let me go now, I won’t call the police. I’ll pretend none of this ever happened. Just let me go, please?”

“Scared, are you? Hahaha! Don’t worry, I’ll let you go… But your face? I can’t stand looking at it. That has to go.”

Shen Mengli finished speaking and slashed the knife toward Song Qingyu’s face.

Song Qingyu struggled desperately, rolling frantically on the ground to evade the blade. She narrowly avoided the first two strikes, but as Shen Mengli’s third, more ruthless attempt came down, the warehouse doors suddenly burst open with a loud bang.

A swarm of men dressed in black poured in from outside.

Shen Mengli and her accomplices were startled. One of the men, quick-witted and swift, snatched the knife from Shen Mengli’s hand and yanked Song Qingyu up from the ground. Pressing the blade against her carotid artery, he shouted, “Nobody move! She’s in my hands now!”

The black-clad men who had stormed in immediately froze, not daring to take another step forward.

Just as Shen Mengli was beginning to feel relieved that the men she had hired were reliable, a sudden bang rang out. A bullet whizzed through the air from behind and struck the armed man squarely in the arm.

“Ah!”

The man cried out in pain, collapsing to the ground while clutching his wounded arm. The knife slipped from his grasp and clattered onto the floor.

Seeing the situation take a turn for the worse, Shen Mengli lunged for the knife. But before she could reach it, several SWAT officers stormed in from behind, tackling her to the ground. Her three accomplices were also subdued in an instant.

Everything happened so fast, as if the scene had been sped up in a movie.

Still shaken, Song Qingyu had barely caught her breath when she saw Li Huaidong striding in through the warehouse doors.

“Qingqing!” He rushed straight to her, quickly untying the ropes around her wrists and ankles. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Song Qingyu said.

Without another word, Li Huaidong pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly against his chest.

The scent of rain and tobacco clung to Li Huaidong’s body. Song Qingyu had never smelled such a strong trace of cigarettes on him before. She could almost picture how, in just these past few hours, he must have smoked one cigarette after another.

“Huaidong… Huaidong… I was wrong… Please forgive me…”

Shen Mengli knew she was finished. She collapsed to the ground, begging for mercy. “I did all of this because I love you. My love for you blinded me… Please, forgive me… Let me go!”

“Shut up!” Li Huaidong’s sharp gaze shot toward her like a blade. “You can spend the rest of your life rotting in prison.”

“Why are you so heartless to me? Why?!” Shen Mengli thrashed wildly on the ground, her voice shrill with desperation.

“If you never loved me, then why were you so gentle to me in Hong Kong two years ago? You treated me like a substitute… You ruined me… You ruined my life!”

She screamed like a madwoman, her voice echoing in the warehouse.

“Shen Mengli, if I hadn’t saved you that night two years ago, you would have already become someone else’s caged bird.” Li Huaidong’s voice was cold and unwavering.

“For the past two years, you’ve been using my name to land jobs, and I never held it against you. I was more than tolerant—I even gave you chances. But you kept crossing the line. Everything that’s happened now… you brought it upon yourself.”

With that, Li Huaidong lifted Song Qingyu into his arms and strode toward the exit.

“Huaidong… Huaidong…”

Shen Mengli watched helplessly as he carried Song Qingyu away. Seeing her pleas go unanswered, she suddenly burst into laughter.

“Hahaha… Song Qingyu, don’t get too comfortable. You’re just the next me… Hahaha!”

Nestled in Li Huaidong’s embrace, Song Qingyu turned her head. Shen Mengli lay on the ground, her hair disheveled, laughing like a madwoman. A chill ran through Song Qingyu’s heart.

Li Huaidong reached up and gently covered her eyes.

“Don’t look. You will never be the next her.”

**

Song Qingyu was taken to the hospital for a full-body examination. Fortunately, aside from a few minor abrasions on her back, she was unharmed.

After the examination, Li Huaidong took Song Qingyu back to Taoyuan. By the time they arrived home, it was nearly midnight.

Suddenly, Song Qingyu remembered something. “Oh no! Today is your birthday! We didn’t get to celebrate!”

Li Huaidong had never been one to celebrate his birthday. He reached into the pocket of his suit pants and pulled out the lighter she had bought for him. “I already received my birthday gift.”

The black-and-gold lighter fit perfectly in his hand, as if it had been made just for him.

“You found it?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s great! I thought it was lost.”

When Song Qingyu was abducted in the stairwell, the lighter had slipped from her grasp. She thought someone else might have picked it up, but fortunately, after all the twists and turns, it still ended up in Li Huaidong’s hands.

“Do you like it?”

“Mm.”

“As long as you do. Oh, right—let me borrow it for a second.”

She took the lighter from his hand, flicked it open, and a small flame danced to life. Holding it up in front of him, she said, “There are still five minutes until midnight. Wishes still count—hurry and make one.”

In the soft glow of the flame, her gaze was pure and sincere.

Li Huaidong’s Adam’s apple moved slightly. Instead of making a wish, he reached out, covered the lighter’s flame with his palm, extinguishing it. Then, without letting go, he wrapped his fingers around Song Qingyu’s hand and tugged her gently toward him.

Caught off guard, Song Qingyu was pulled into his embrace, his lips pressing down on hers in a deep kiss.

There was no urgency in it, no burning passion—only the careful tenderness of someone who had almost lost something precious and was now holding it close.

Instinctively, Song Qingyu closed her eyes. When his tongue brushed against hers, she parted her lips in response. Just as their tongues met, the grandfather clock in the living room suddenly let out a deep “Duang” as it struck midnight.

She shuddered and instinctively pulled back, breaking the kiss. Tilting her head up, she met his gaze.

“It’s twelve o’clock. You didn’t get to make a wish.”

Li Huaidong’s eyes darkened slightly. “I did.”

“When?”

“When I kissed you.”

Song Qingyu’s breath hitched. Her gaze wavered, suddenly unable to meet his.

At that moment, countless questions swirled in Song Qingyu’s mind—about the portrait Shen Mengli had mentioned, about whether Li Huaidong truly had a white moonlight from his past.

But she knew that if she asked, the delicate balance between them might shatter. And more importantly, she wasn’t sure she could handle the answers.

Forget it.

She chose to bury her doubts, comforting herself with the thought that perhaps the portrait and the white moonlight were just lies Shen Mengli had made up.

“So… we originally planned to have dinner together. Let’s make up for it tomorrow. Consider it a belated birthday meal.”

“Alright.”

—

The next day, Song Qingyu and Li Huaidong arranged to meet at Moon, a Michelin three-star restaurant known as the most elegant dining spot in Jin City.

Before leaving home, she made a special effort—washing her hair, putting on makeup, and slipping into a brand-new dress.

But just as she arrived at Moon, she unexpectedly ran into her ex-husband, Lu Yanchuan.

The moment he saw her, he strode over and blocked her path.

“You’re here at Moon for dinner too?”

“Obviously. This is a restaurant. What else would I be here for—swimming?” Song Qingyu shot back, exasperated.

Lu Yanchuan sneered, his eyes sweeping over her. “This place is expensive. Now that you’re divorced and no longer living off the Lu family, how can you still afford to eat here?”

His voice turned mocking. “I already found it strange when you gave my grandmother that ridiculously expensive necklace for her birthday. Song Qingyu, don’t tell me you’ve really latched onto some rich man?”

Song Qingyu’s expression turned cold. “We’re divorced. Who I’m with is none of your business.”

With that, she turned to leave.

But before she could take another step, Lu Yanchuan reached out and blocked her path.

Although Lu Yanchuan had no intention of remarrying Song Qingyu, the thought of her moving on so quickly still made him uncomfortable.

“Move aside!”

“Tell me, who is it?” he demanded.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Song Qingyu shoved his arm away, but Lu Yanchuan caught her wrist in a firm grip.

“Let go of me!” she struggled.

“Not until you tell me—who is it?”

She narrowed her eyes and smirked. “Your dad.”

“You—” Lu Yanchuan’s face darkened.

Just as the tension between them escalated, Xie Wan’ning approached.

Xie Wan’ning’s expression changed instantly when she saw Lu Yanchuan and Song Qingyu pulling at each other.

“Yanchuan! What are you two doing?”

Seizing the opportunity, Song Qingyu called out, “Xie Wan’ning, keep your man in check. Don’t let him go into heat everywhere he goes.”

Xie Wan’ning’s face twisted with fury.

Lu Yanchuan immediately let go of Song Qingyu’s hand and rushed toward Xie Wan’ning.

She turned and stormed out of the restaurant.

Lu Yanchuan hurried after her, catching up at the entrance and pulling her into his arms.

“Wan’ning, listen to me, it’s not what you think.”

Xie Wan’ning absentmindedly touched the small bell on her wrist, frustration and unease bubbling within her.

Lu Yanchuan hesitated for a moment, his emotions still unsettled from the confrontation with Song Qingyu.

Xie Wan’ning’s fingers trailed sensually along his chest, her voice dripping with seduction.

“Let’s not eat here. Let’s take it to my place instead,” she murmured against his ear. “At my house, you won’t just have dinner—you can have me too.”

Lu Yanchuan’s breathing hitched slightly.

“You’re not mad?”

“Mad about what?” Xie Wan’ning pressed herself closer, her lips grazing his jaw. “I know your heart truly belongs to me.”

Her fingers teased along his collar as she whispered, “And your body… it only reacts to me, doesn’t it?”

Xie Wan’ning had spent three years abroad without making a name for herself. Now, her only goal was to secure Lu Yanchuan as her long-term meal ticket, marry into the Lu family, and enjoy the luxurious life of a wealthy wife. But things weren’t going smoothly—Lu Yanchuan still had lingering feelings for Song Qingyu, and his mother, Li Xianglan, disliked her. To make matters worse, Li Xianglan constantly arranged blind dates for him with wealthy socialites. Xie Wan’ning was under siege from all sides.

She knew the fastest way to marry Lu Yanchuan was to have his child.

Once the deed was done, the Lu family would have no choice but to accept her.

Lu Yanchuan was indeed stirred by Xie Wan’ning’s teasing.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and playfully flicked her nose. “Greedy little vixen, I just spoiled you last night, and now you want more in broad daylight?”

Xie Wan’ning gently shook the small bell on her wrist, rubbing herself against his arm with a coquettish smile. “So… do you want me or not?”

“I do. Let’s go now.”

Xie Wan’ning lowered her head and smiled shyly.

She knew Lu Yanchuan would fall for this.

After returning to the house he had bought for her, they indulged in passion twice. When Lu Yanchuan fell into a deep sleep, Xie Wan’ning slipped on a robe and went downstairs.

She had already harbored resentment toward Song Qingyu ever since the gift mix-up at Old Madam Lu’s eightieth birthday. Now, after witnessing the lingering connection between Lu Yanchuan and Song Qingyu, her anger burned even hotter.

Xie Wan’ning thought that as long as Song Qingyu disappeared, she could finally enjoy Lu Yanchuan’s love without worry.

She needed a good plan—one that would make Song Qingyu pay the price while also exposing her relationship with Lu Yanchuan, forcing the Lu family’s hand.

**

Song Qingyu stepped into the private dining room and saw Li Huaidong standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. He faced the city’s dazzling neon lights, his silhouette sharp and imposing.

“Come here.”

Without turning around, Li Huaidong spoke in a deep voice, watching her reflection in the glass.

Song Qingyu sensed something was off about his aura. Sure enough, as she approached, Li Huaidong pressed her against the floor-to-ceiling window.

“Lu Yanchuan is still bothering you?” His dark eyes locked onto hers.

Only then did Song Qingyu realize that Li Huaidong must have also seen the scene of her and Lu Yanchuan pulling and tugging at each other when he arrived.

“No,” she said.

“Then what was that just now?”

“I just happened to run into him today. I don’t know what got into him.”

Li Huaidong looked at her, then suddenly reached out and hugged her tightly. Song Qingyu’s slender and soft body fit perfectly into his embrace

“Qingqing,” Li Huaidong leaned down, whispering in her ear, “I don’t want to see you have anything to do with Lu Yanchuan anymore. You are mine.”

His voice was low and husky.

Song Qingyu suddenly had a strange feeling, as if Li Huaidong was afraid of losing her. What was going on? Since he’d saved her from the warehouse last night, Song Qingyu seemed to sense a hint of care from Li Huaidong.

“Why aren’t you talking?” Li Huaidong gently stroked her face with one hand, lifting her chin.

Song Qingyu was forced to look up. She looked into his eyes: “Mr. Li, you can rest assured. Although marrying you wasn’t my intention, I absolutely will not be unfaithful to you during our marriage. I’m not that kind of person.

“You can’t even think about him,” Li Huaidong declared domineeringly.

Lu Yanchuan alone was hardly worth Li Huaidong’s concern, but the fact remained—he knew Song Qingyu had once truly loved Lu Yanchuan.

The mere fact that she had loved him before was enough to make it a thorn in his heart.

“Of course, I wouldn’t think about him. Right now, my mind is filled only with work,” Song Qingyu replied.

Then, suddenly remembering something, she added, “Oh, right, the director just gave me an extra night scene at the last minute. After dinner with you, I’ll have to rush back to the set.”

“First diving into freezing water with a fever, and now pulling an all-nighter. You really do love your job.”

“Of course,” Song Qingyu’s eyes sparkled. “Becoming a great actress is my dream.”

Li Huaidong recalled the little girl who once draped a bedsheet around herself, pretending to be a princess. His lips curved slightly—yes, she had loved acting ever since she was a child.

“Alright, I’ll take you back to the set after dinner.”

“Mm.”

Song Qingyu ordered a small cake, giving Li Huaidong a simple but belated birthday celebration. After their meal, he drove her back to the set.

That night scene lasted until the early hours of the morning. By the time they wrapped up, Song Qingyu was utterly exhausted. She collapsed onto a lounge chair in the break room and quickly fell asleep.

But barely an hour or two later, her phone rang. It was her manager, Quan Xinya, sounding anxious.

“Qingqing, something’s happened.”