"You alright?" Grandpa Hu asked, narrowing his eyes slightly as he studied her face. "You look pale."
"I'm okay," she replied quickly, trying to keep her voice from shaking. "I think I had one too many drinks. I should probably go home."
"You sure?" Grandpa Hu asked, raising an eyebrow. "You're not about to faint on us, are you? We'd hate to carry you out like a sack of rice."
She forced a small smile. "Just tired, that's all."
But truthfully, her brain wasn't working. Not really. She could feel his eyes on her.
It was exhausting; this effort of not looking back at him, not letting her eyes meet his.
Her thoughts were slipping, her focus flickering between the grandfathers' voices and the thudding beat of her own pulse.
She forced a weak smile. "I'm still standing. Just need to sit or sleep. Or both."
Grandpa Hu raised a hand and signaled a nearby server. "Go find her assistant. Bring him here."
A moment later, Wei Xinyu appeared, half-leaning on the server's arm like he'd forgotten how to use his own legs.
His cheeks were flushed, and his eyes glossy with a grin that didn't match the situation.
Grandpa Hu made a face. "He's worse off than you are."
"Looks like your assistant's trying to win some drinking competition no one signed up for," Grandpa Lin also muttered.
"You go sit down," he added, looking at her kindly. "We'll have someone drive you. No arguments."
"I'll take her," Liang Zhihao said suddenly, stepping forward.
Her reaction came before she could stop it. "No."
There was a pause. Both grandfathers looked at her, then at each other.
She cleared her throat, trying to soften the sharpness in her voice. "I mean, it's fine. I don't want to impose."
"Impose?" Grandpa Hu repeated with a short laugh. "He's offering, girl. What, you think you're royalty now?"
Grandpa Lin wasn't amused. "You're not imposing. You're going."
She gave a tight nod, knowing it was pointless to argue. Her legs moved on their own as she followed Lin Zhihao out of the garden.
Her head was spinning again. But not because of the wine.
It was him.
The sound of his footsteps just ahead. The distance between them.
The way his uniform caught the dim light. It was surreal. Back then, he could barely say her name without tripping over the syllables.
Now he walked ahead of her with calm precision, his stride composed, his shoulders square.
She kept her eyes low, trying not to look at him. She could still feel his presence, even when he wasn't speaking.
It pulled at her, unsettled her. She passed a wall mirror on their way out and caught her reflection.
She looked tired.
Not tired like jet-lagged or sleep-deprived. This was something else. Emotional exhaustion.
It felt like she was the only one struggling with this reunion and that thought made her sad.
But maybe it was just the wine. Maybe without the alcohol clouding her mind, her thoughts wouldn't feel like a scattered mess.
They reached the parking lot. She stopped walking and squinted.
"I don't see my car," she mumbled.
Lin Zhihao turned, his voice cold and deep. "Which one is your's? Pass me the keys."
She handed the keys to him, her hand brushing his fingers briefly. "I don't know where the valet parked it. It's dark."
He looked her her but then walked over to the valet desk. A short exchange later, the valet pointed down the far end of the lot.
"I'll bring it to you," the valet offered.
Lin Zhihao shook his head. "Just tell me where."
And then he walked away.
She stared after him, annoyed. Really? He expected her to walk all the way across the dark parking lot in heels, after the long day she'd had?
But he was already ahead, and the light was terrible. If she didn't follow now, she might lose him completely.
So she followed, angrily.
He was already standing beside her car when she caught up, one hand on the open door, the other casually resting at his side.
The light above him was faint, but enough to highlight the sharpness of his frame. His uniform fit him perfectly.
The straight line of his jaw. The calm set of his face. He looked stronger now. Built.
Her heart kicked in her chest.
She stood still, frozen in place, just watching him. She didn't mean to, but it was hard not to. He was familiar and different all at once. The years had shaped him.
Then he caught her staring.
A slow, amused smirk rose on his face.
"Not seeing me in all these years, and that's the look you give me?" he said. "That's how my dog looks at his meat."
She blinked.
Her jaw dropped a little. "What the hell did you just say?"
She stepped closer, half-angry, half-shocked, fumbling for something to throw back at him.
Before she could, he reached for her wrist.
The motion was sudden. His fingers curled around hers and pulled her in. Her body hit his chest with a quiet thud. One arm wrapped around her waist; firm, steady, unshakable.
She looked up, stunned.
His face was just inches away.
And then he kissed her.
There was no pause. No warning. It was full and real and hot with tension. Like something he had waited too long to do.
Her breath caught in her throat. His lips moved with memory.
Not rough, but not gentle either. Controlled. Certain. Like he remembered how she liked to be kissed, and he wasn't guessing.
Her hands went to his chest instinctively. Not to push. To hold. His body was warm beneath the fabric, solid with strength.
She felt the tightness in his arms. The curve of muscle under uniform. The sound of her heartbeat was deafening.
He leaned into her, deepening the kiss, and this time she responded.
Slowly, at first. Then fully.
She kissed him back like someone who had been starving and just realized it. Her hands curled into his sleeves, pulling him in.
Her chest pressed against his. The years fell away in a breath.
When he pushed her gently against the car, her legs parted slightly for balance.
One of his hands slid down her back to rest at her hip, his thumb brushing slow, knowing circles against her waist.
There was no question in his touch. Only certainty.
And her body answered.
A warmth rose in her stomach, unfamiliar and all-consuming.
She hated how much she felt it. Every small movement. Every breath.
The way her body wanted more. The way her mind was slipping away.
It had been too long.
Too many years of silence.
And now, in one kiss, everything had come back too fast.
Too strong.
Too much like home.