He did not kiss her pa.s.sionately because there were too many people here. "Why did you come here on your own instead of waiting for me to go and get you?"

Lin Chu glanced at him angrily. He was flirting with her despite the crowd that was present outside.

Her rosy cheeks looked adorable and supple. It seemed as though Yan Beicheng could see through her. He knew that she was not truly upset just by looking at her. She was merely complaining playfully. Her gaze was enough to instantly melt Yan Beicheng"s heart and make his anger disappear.

"Why is Lu Weining here?" Lin Chu raised her eyebrows and asked.

Yan Beicheng ignored Lu Weining when he came over earlier. Lin Chu was in an extremely good mood when she saw that, but she could not stop herself from being petty.

Yan Beicheng was briefly shocked. "Lu Weining? Is she here too?"

"..." Lin Chu glanced at him suspiciously.

Did he truly not see her or was he just pretending?

A living, breathing person was standing right next to him just now. Was he unable to see her?

"I really didn"t see her." Yan Beicheng could tell what she was thinking. He helplessly ma.s.saged her hands. When he turned around to look, he happened to see Lu Weining standing at the entrance. Her face lit up immediately when she noticed that he was looking over. She was about to run over and speak to him.

Yan Beicheng furrowed his thick eyebrows at once. He s.h.i.+fted his gaze and stopped looking at her.

Shao Huai drove Yan Beicheng"s Grand Cherokee over at that moment.

Yan Beicheng raised his eyebrows. He had no idea what Lin Chu was trying to do.

He recalled today"s date before he glanced at Lin Chu again. He wondered if she was planning to surprise him. He could not stop the feelings of antic.i.p.ation from welling up inside his heart.

"What"s going on?" Yan Beicheng asked curiously. The hopeful feelings in his heart became more intense when he noticed that she was acting mysteriously.

Shao Huai got down from the car and greeted the couple. Lin Chu thanked him before she turned to Yan Beicheng and excitedly said, "Hurry up and get into the car. I"m driving this time because I want to take you somewhere."

Yan Beicheng smiled and nodded. He was about to leave but she tugged at him.

Yan Beicheng raised his eyebrows. She was urging him to get into the car quickly just now, but she was also tugging at him and stopping him from leaving.

"Miss Lu is rus.h.i.+ng over now. Aren"t you going to greet her?" asked Lin Chu with an ambiguous smile on her face.

When Yan Beicheng looked at her expression, he was certain that she would kick him if he was brave enough to go over there and greet the other woman.

"..." Yan Beicheng held her hand. He desperately wanted to cover her lips and teach her a lesson now. However, he could only grit his teeth at this moment. He said, "I don"t know her that well. Wouldn"t she find it annoying if I greeted her?"

After saying that, he immediately got in the car and sat in the pa.s.senger"s seat.

He was particularly shameless because it was his birthday today. He even dared to roll down the car window and stared at Lin Chu while he sat in the pa.s.senger"s seat.

Lin Chu, "..."

She decided to yield to him. She would not stoop to his level because it was his special day.

Yan Beicheng was aware of this as well. He would never be brave enough to do this on a normal day.

Lin Chu was about to walk to the other side of the car to get inside when she saw Lu Weining standing by the side. Lu Weining"s complexion alternated between a greenish shade and a pale one. She looked tremendously upset.

She had heard everything that Yan Beicheng said earlier.

Lu Weining was so upset that she trembled while her eyes were filled with tears. Her tears started trickling down, she looked as though she felt terribly wronged.

Lin Chu nodded at her indifferently. She decided not to hit her when she was down. She quietly greeted her, saying, "Miss Lu."

When Lu Weining went to the other side of the car, she noticed that the car window was rolled back up again.

Did Yan Beicheng despise seeing her?

The Grand Cherokee drove off right in front of her eyes, but she was still standing by the roadside. She looked troubled as she firmly gritted her teeth.

"Where are we going?" asked Yan Beicheng when he noticed that Lin Chu was not driving back home. She seemed to be moving further away from the city center slowly.

"You"ll know once we"re there," said Lin Chu very mysteriously.

She was not brave enough to act like Yan Beicheng who managed to find the time to glance at her while he drove. She could only drive properly and keep her eyes on the road because her driving skills were not as good as his.

Yan Beicheng felt bored in the car. He turned his head and looked at Lin Chu"s side profile as she drove properly and meticulously. Her hands were unconsciously gripping the steering wheel tightly. She was slightly nervous because she did not drive frequently.

Yan Beicheng refused to just sit there. He wanted to touch her, but he would not do anything that distracted her from driving. However, he did not dare to do anything when he saw that she was extremely careful and completely focused. He was worried about making her even more anxious.

"Let"s find a place with less traffic when we get back. I"ll accompany you while you practice driving," said Yan Beicheng as he smiled. He thought of buying her a car. That would make it slightly more convenient for her to go out when he was not around.

Nonetheless, he would certainly be her driver when he was present.

Lin Chu did not think much of that. She simply mumbled a brief response. She could not spare any time to think about that now because she focused all her attention on driving.

She only sighed in relief once they had finally reached their destination.

Yan Beicheng realized that they had arrived at a hillside resort. They drove on a road that was paved through the mountains, pa.s.sing numerous rows of resort villas that were built near the hills. He could see that there were cars parked in front of the gates of many of these villas. He could faintly see a glistening swimming pool inside there as well.

Lin Chu parked the car in front of one of the villas. She unbuckled her seat belt before she finally sighed in relief. She smiled at Yan Beicheng in a relaxed manner before she said, "We"re here, but you"ll have to drive us home because this road made me extremely nervous."

"I"ll bring you to practice your driving when we get back," Yan Beicheng said helplessly.

They got down from the car before entering the villa together.

The interior of the villa looked like a normal house. The kitchen and the other amenities were all complete. There were also various cooking appliances including an oven and a microwave in the kitchen.

Lin Chu had already requested for some vegetables to be washed and prepared in advance. The vegetables were chopped up according to her instructions and they were neatly arranged on a plate on the counter.

Lin Chu had less work to do because of that.

She told Yan Beicheng to go off and have fun on his own while she turned around and went into the kitchen. Yan Beicheng raised his eyebrows. The things that she said sounded like they were used to send Yan Ningbai away.

Yan Beicheng quietly followed her into the kitchen before he hugged her from the back. He brushed his lips against her earlobes and released his heavy male hormones. His deep and magnetic voice vibrated through the bones in Lin Chu"s limbs like electric currents. "Is this supposed to be my surprise?"

"..." Lin Chu"s entire body felt numb at that moment. It was almost impossible for her to speak because his voice had made her body limp. She was still standing, but her legs nearly stopped working.

He wrapped his hands around her waist before he finally placed them on her stomach. She patted his hand and said, "Weren"t you upset yesterday?"

She felt warm air drifting across her earlobes just as she finished speaking. Yan Beicheng chuckled as he exhaled next to her ear. "You shouldn"t have lied to me like a naughty girl all along. Was your heart filled with joy when you saw how gloomy I was yesterday?"

Lin Chu recalled that she had allowed him to take advantage of her. He had exhausted her when she tried to console him last night.

Yan Beicheng tightened the grip in his arms. He moved toward her lips before he shamelessly kissed her for a while.

"Stop disturbing me. Otherwise, I don"t know when we"ll get to eat dinner. You"re not allowed to ruin my plans. Hurry up and go out." Lin Chu patted his hands. Her lips were moist and supple after he kissed her. They were also filled with rosiness.

This time, Yan Beicheng went outside as he was told. He even looked rather obedient.

However, he did not go far away. He picked a spot in the dining room where he could look into the kitchen. He sat down without doing anything else. He rested his cheek in his palm and leaned his head toward the side to watch Lin Chu as she busied herself in the kitchen. He felt extremely blessed.

Lin Chu had hidden this matter from him all this while. It went without saying that he was truly delighted to suddenly discover this surprise today. The result was certainly much better than if he had discovered earlier that Lin Chu was going to celebrate his birthday with him.

He felt gloomy throughout the whole of yesterday. He felt much happier today when he compared his current feelings to what he felt the day before.

Yan Beicheng glanced around his surroundings before he remembered that he had conveniently placed his cell phone and his bag on the sofa in the hall.

He glanced at the kitchen again before he went to the hall to bring his cell phone over. He took a picture of Lin Chu"s silhouette from the back as she stood in the kitchen.

He did not plan to post that photo as he only wanted to save it in his phone. He opened his WeChat to take a look when he noticed that there were numerous notifications on that application"s icon.

Han Zhuoli was frenziedly spamming the 8x8 is 64 WeChat group. He was demanding Yan Beicheng to come online all this while.

Yan Beicheng, "..."

Yan Beicheng texted, "Stop that. What"s the matter?"

Han Zhuoli sent, "It"s your birthday today so I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday. Why weren"t you online this whole time?"

Yan Beicheng, "..."

Han Zhuoli had nothing better to do because he did not have a girlfriend.

Yan Beicheng texted, "My wife is celebrating my birthday with me." He added a bashful emoticon as well.

Han Zhuoli replied, "Where are you celebrating it? We"re at your house, but you weren"t at home. Aunt Zhuang said that both of you never returned."

Yan Beicheng texted, "...why did all of you go to my house?"

Han Zhuoli answered, "We wanted to celebrate your birthday!"

Yan Huaian sent, "Actually, Wei Zilin guessed that Lin Chu wanted to celebrate your birthday with you. He found out that she had requested for leave and left earlier in the afternoon. He brought a big group of people over because he wanted to interrupt your date. He has bad intentions."

Wei Zilin, "..."

Han Zhuoli responded, "Traitor! Drag him out and stab him!"

Yan Beicheng texted, "You guys should hurry up and leave. We"re not going home tonight. My wife is planning a big surprise for me." He added the same bashful emoticon again.

He immediately closed the WeChat application and ignored them after that.

Lin Chu prepared dinner very quickly. Once she was almost done with the preparations, she came out and said, "Go and hide for a while first. You can come back out once I"ve prepared everything."

Yan Beicheng looked her up and down. "Why do I need to hide? Are you going to change your clothes?"

"No, but hurry up and go to the bedroom for now." Lin Chu pushed him upstairs.

Yan Beicheng happily obliged when he noticed that Lin Chu was racking her brain to celebrate his birthday.

Yan Beicheng sat on the bed and opened his WeChat because he had nothing else to do. Han Zhuoli was angrily causing a ruckus in the WeChat group.

However, Yan Beicheng did not go online again because he saw Lin Chu poking her little head from the other side of the door. Her face was red because she was embarra.s.sed. "Alright, you can come out now."

Yan Beicheng hurriedly got down from the bed. He took about three steps to walk over there. He held Lin Chu"s hand as she led him downstairs.

He noticed that it was pitch-black downstairs because she had turned off all the lights. There were only traces of a faint, warm yellow light that twinkled in the direction of the dining room.

He walked to the dining room with Lin Chu before he saw an additional three-branched candlestick on the dining table. A warm and gentle light was emitted from the three candles that were lit up there. There was a bright red heart made out of rose petals around the bottom of the candlestick. The flower petals formed a thick layer that filled the heart.

This was Lin Chu"s first time doing such a romantic thing. She was both embarra.s.sed and nervous. She seemed to doubt herself slightly when she tugged at Yan Beicheng"s hands and said, "Is this… Is this okay?"

Yan Beicheng nodded. In a deep voice, he said, "It"s wonderful."

His heart thumped wildly when he caught the first glance of it just now. He nearly thought that Lin Chu was planning to propose to him when he saw this arrangement.

He knew that he truly wanted to marry her at that moment.

His heart nearly leaped out of his chest when he thought of the possibility of a proposal.

He couldn"t keep a calm expression on his face now although he was trying to force it. He lowered his head and kissed Lin Chu before he unconsciously wrapped his arms around her waist. He could taste red wine in her mouth.

This woman had secretly drunk wine behind his back earlier!

Did she do it to summon up courage?

He swirled the rich taste of wine around in her mouth briefly. He pressed his moist lips against hers and repeated, "Wonderful."

Lin Chu blushed. It was true that she had secretly drank a little bit of wine to summon up her courage earlier.

It looked beautiful while she was planning it, but she suddenly felt uncertain now. She was worried that he would find it ridiculous if it was not good enough for him.

"Hurry up and sit down." Lin Chu dragged him along as she walked.

When both of them were seated, Yan Beicheng noticed that Lin Chu had cooked western food. It was a complete meal as well.

Lin Chu shyly laughed. "I was worried that there wouldn"t be enough time, so I merely cooked the steak while I ordered everything else from room service, including the cake."

Yan Beicheng did not care about those things. The only thing that mattered was her good intention.

She had already given him so many surprises tonight.

"Wait for a moment." Lin Chu hurriedly stopped him when she noticed that he was about to start eating.

Yan Beicheng watched as she took something out of her pocket and placed it on the table. It looked like a ring box.

Yan Beicheng became slightly anxious. Was she going to propose to him tonight?

He wanted to marry her, but he was the traditional type of person who thought that the man was supposed to propose. He was also constantly thinking about a way to touch her heart and surprise her at the same time.

Lin Chu was extremely embarra.s.sed at first, but the corners of her mouth curled upward when she noticed Yan Beicheng"s expression. "What are you daydreaming about?"

She opened the box and showed the ring inside to Yan Beicheng. "I took leave in the afternoon and went to a shop where they customized rings. I made this ring myself. It"s not an expensive ring, but I put my heart and soul into making it. I did everything including polis.h.i.+ng, customizing, and engraving the words on the ring."

"The finished product is more superior than anything that I could have bought," said Yan Beicheng in shock. He was unaware that things like these could be custom-made. If he knew this earlier, he would have gone to the shop with Lin Chu. He wanted to make one for her as well.

"You said that you engraved words on it as well?" Yan Beicheng took the ring out of its box and placed it closer to the candlestick. He turned the ring and looked at the inner part. His black eyes lit up when he saw the words "Unfailingly Beicheng".

The phrase contained his name and part of hers as well. 1

It seemed as though an endless number of meanings could be derived from it too.

"Unfailingly Beicheng" could mean that from beginning to end, he would constantly be himself without fail.

"Unfailingly Beicheng" could also imply that Lin Chu would always love him unfailingly because he belonged with her.

He turned around to look at her. His black eyes sparkled with a dazzling light when they were illuminated by the warm yellow glow. A twinkling, blinding light reflected across Lin Chu"s face.

Lin Chu lowered her head. She turned away and simply faced him with the dark-colored back of her head. She felt as though he had seen through her thoughts.

Neither of them had ever doubted that they would end up marrying each other one day. Nonetheless, it seemed very sweet when she bravely and openly confessed her feelings to him this way now. However, she still felt embarra.s.sed at this moment.

Suddenly, the new ring appeared before her eyes. She noticed that Yan Beicheng was holding it right under her eyes now. Yan Beicheng"s melodious and deep voice echoed above her head. "Put it on for me."

Lin Chu took the ring and placed it on Yan Beicheng"s middle finger. The size was just right. Yan Beicheng had previously given her a ring as well. She was currently wearing it on the middle finger of her left hand.

She wanted both of them to wear their rings on the same finger. She recorded the circ.u.mference of Yan Beicheng"s middle finger when she discreetly measured it.

Yan Beicheng swiftly held her hand. Lin Chu"s head was lowered, but she felt the sides of her ears heating up. His scorching breath was slowly warming her ears as he blew against them now.

"You surprised me and made me very happy during my birthday today," said Yan Beicheng in a husky voice. He kissed her earlobes. "I thought that you"d forgotten about it at first. I never expected to receive such a thoughtful surprise."

Yan Beicheng held her hand and used his right hand to stroke the ring on his middle finger. There was a warm, satisfied smile on his lips as he pressed them against her earlobe. His eyelids were faintly lowered, but the warm yellow light could be seen in his eyes. Her cheeks were supple and beautiful. Yan Beicheng had not drunk any alcohol, but it seemed that the light fragrance from her cheeks had made him drunk.

Her gorgeous face seemed even more enchanting when it was illuminated by the warm yellow candlelight. Her long eyelashes seemed like curved arcs that fanned across her face. Lin Chu"s lashes seemed to unconsciously tremble every time Yan Beicheng breathed.

Lin Chu"s eyelashes briefly quivered when Yan Beicheng exhaled warm air. The fan-like shadows below her eyes seemed to lengthen before they froze.

Yan Beicheng"s throat trembled while saliva secreted in his mouth as though he was hungry. He quickly swallowed. His heavy breathing was gradually thrown into disarray. His breath messily sprayed against her ears and her temples.

His lips gradually became drier. He kissed her earlobes that were as smooth as white jade before he pressed them against her bright red cheeks and caressed them. The light fragrance that drifted from her rosy cheeks became more distinct now.

Yan Beicheng unconsciously traced her skin and rubbed against it before he gently stroked her eyelashes. Lin Chu trembled and felt as though she could faint at any time. Yan Beicheng only kissed her lips after that.

The couple"s intersecting shadows fused and lengthened under the warm yellow light.

Lin Chu could not stop the desire from forming in her heart. She could not remember when she wrapped her arms tightly around Yan Beicheng"s neck. His lips were faintly spread apart now. Lin Chu blamed the man for being too seductive when she realized that she had lost control. The atmosphere was extremely perfect now. The candlelight was so alluring that she unconsciously became distracted.

Lin Chu could feel that Yan Beicheng"s lips were still hesitating near the corners of her lips. She was so embarra.s.sed that she sucked her lips inward before she hurriedly hid against his chest. However, Yan Beicheng"s lips hurriedly trailed her. He could not stop himself from stroking the corners of her eyes. She felt as though her tears were about to pour out soon. She could not control herself because she was so touched.

Lin Chu shoved Yan Beicheng away. "You should eat. I made this myself so you can"t waste it. It"s your birthday today."

Yan Beicheng did not want to overlook any of her kind gestures. He released her after that.

He continued to stare at her beautiful and enchanting face while it was illuminated by candlelight. He could not tear his gaze away because his heart was thumping wildly. He cut up his steak and ate it, but his gaze remained on Lin Chu"s face from beginning to end. Strangely enough, he managed to position his knife and cut his steak properly although he was not paying any attention to the dish at all. He did not accidentally stab his knife anywhere else.

Lin Chu glared at him. "Eat properly. Why do you keep staring at me?"

"My appet.i.te improves tremendously when I eat while looking at you," said Yan Beicheng. He stabbed another big piece of steak with his fork before he stuffed it in his mouth. He sounded especially energetic when he chewed it.

Lin Chu, "..."

She currently felt like that piece of meat in Yan Beicheng"s mouth.

Yan Beicheng"s heart was racing, but he did not want Lin Chu"s good intentions to go to waste. He carefully savored the steak Lin Chu cooked. As for the dishes that were sent by room service, Yan Beicheng hastily swallowed them whole.

He anxiously waited for a little longer before he noticed that Lin Chu was also finished with her meal. He ma.s.saged her hand and dug his fingers into her palm. His hints were way too obvious now.

Lin Chu turned around and faced Yan Beicheng"s fiery gaze. The look in his eyes was even clearer when it was compared to the dim candlelight. Lin Chu blushed, but she did not evade him.

She had already planned to give in to his wishes today because it was his birthday.

Yan Beicheng beamed while he held the candlestick in his right hand.

Lin Chu was surprised. "Why are you bringing it along?"

"I realized earlier that candlelight gives off a great atmosphere." Yan Beicheng brought the candlestick slightly closer to her as he kneaded her hand. He paid attention to his actions and ensured that it was not to close so that he would not accidentally burn her.

He lowered his head and gently kissed the tip of her nose before he led her to the bedroom upstairs.  Ok guys, the author made a pun here with the original name of Lin Chu and Yan Beicheng with the words: 北城如初 "běichéng rúchū" which literally translates to Beicheng like Chu or Beicheng like the beginning. However after a long review and much thinking we decided that it"d be best to go with Unfailingly Beicheng to best convey the meaning here.