Jiayi really didn’t know how to comfort him, and after much thought, she could only utter this sentence.

He neither agreed nor disagreed, his eyes looking towards the blurred world soaked by the rain, as if he were recalling the past,

"My mother left us in her sleep that day. As usual, I was napping beside her and when I woke up, I couldn’t wake her up no matter how I tried. At that time, the old master was on business in Europe. The servants placed her body in an electric, temperature-controlled coffin to wait for the old master’s return. During those days, I stayed constantly by the side of the coffin."

Jiayi was slightly shocked.

She couldn’t imagine what it was like for a child of just a few years old to face the death of his mother alone and then, surrounded by servants, to guard his mother’s body in the empty, cold villa, waiting for his father to return from his trip.

That must have been a deeply etched memory, right?

The man, who usually carried the air of an emperor, now had his long eyelashes fluttering frequently as he spoke, seemingly suppressing and hiding the sorrow in his deep eyes.

In an instant, she felt as if she had lost her mind, as she actually wanted to comfort this invincible, cold-hearted man.

How could he possibly need her comfort? But still, she couldn’t help but move closer to him.

For the first time, she faced the man’s intimidating presence without fear, turning around involuntarily and stretching out her slender arms to bring his lean, muscular waist into an embrace, resting her head gently against his chest, listening to the sound of his heartbeat.

The rain had lessened slightly but hadn’t stopped, falling like broken beads, still pitter-pattering down.

On the misty terrace, she maintained this posture for a long time.

Huo Zhenyang felt a soft bundle of flesh burrowing into his arms, tightly wrapping his waist.

This little one seemed naively to believe that doing so could give him strength, revive his spirits, and make him feel better inside, not realizing that many years had passed since that incident, and he was long since okay.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he lowered his handsome face and lifted a hand to rub her hair, full of teasing mischief, "Are you feeling sorry for me?"

The man’s high nose nuzzled the tender cheek of the girl in his arms unintentionally or deliberately, and in the faint drizzle, an endless amount of ambiguity emanated.

Jiayi felt as if a spark had caught her and, letting go of his back, she quickly straightened and took a half step back.

What was she doing? Did he need someone else’s encouragement?

"I’m not feeling sorry for you at all." She lowered her long black eyelashes and dropped her head.

This was her first time "throwing herself into someone’s arms," and he wasn’t about to let go of Little Kitten so easily.

His brows knit together, his deep eyes seemed a bit lost, "It doesn’t matter anyway, no one feels sorry for me, I’m used to it."

That statement coming from an ordinary person would be pitiful enough, let alone coming from his mouth.

A man impervious to harm and indifferent to kinship speaking such words... it had to be admitted, the impact was quite substantial.

Jiayi’s heart stirred, and she lifted her face, wondering if she was being too heartless in her treatment of him.

Even if she was determined to set a boundary between them and not get emotionally involved, it didn’t mean she had to put him down like this.

"That’s not what I meant." She pouted her soft lips, clenching her clothes tightly.

"But you just let go of me," the man reminded her, with aggrievement on his handsome, disgruntled face.

Jiayi bit her lip, fine then, considering he had been deprived of maternal love since childhood and was quite pitiful, not to mention that reminiscing had agitated past emotions, she might as well consider it a good deed.

She moved slowly towards him, wrapping her arms around his waist, repeating the gesture she’d just made.

"Hold me tighter, I think I might feel a bit more comfortable," he said without a shred of guilt for exploiting her tender heart, enticing her wickedly.

His voice was seductively compelling, deep and dark, causing her to involuntarily follow his suggestion, her slender arms tightening, entwining possessively around his waist, "Is this okay?"

She felt as if she were coaxing a big child, and this child was the most difficult one to placate in the whole world.

"Not good enough," his thick lashes drooped, laden with forlornness, as if he hadn’t yet recovered from the hurt she had caused him just a moment ago.

"So what do you want?" She felt she was stepping right into the man’s trap.

"Kiss me. Take the initiative a bit, with more passion, and maybe I’ll be in a better mood," he commanded as his hand slid down from supporting her jade back, lifting her into the air and placing her on the balcony railing, making it convenient for her to sit on it.

Why should she care about his mood? Hugging him was already quite a concession on her part, and now she was expected to kiss him too?

This man was clearly taking advantage of her inch by inch.

She pushed against him, trying to jump off the railing: "I don’t want to..."

Was she responsible for his physical needs, and now his emotional needs as well? The contract certainly didn’t mention that she had to take care of his emotional healing.

Huo Zhenyang used just a hint of force in one arm to firmly prevent her from climbing down:

"Don’t want to? It was you, acting like a nagging little ghost with endless questions, who soured my mood. Isn’t it right that you should resolve it?"

It seemed... that was true. She was suddenly taken aback, realizing that it was indeed she who had relentlessly peppered him with questions.

She truly regretted it; she should have never let her good intentions get the better of her, offering him comfort with a hug.

Now look at her, a victim of her own making.

After hesitating for a long while, she finally closed her eyes and leaned in to press her lips against his.

The man’s thin lips were cool to the touch, chilling like his demeanor.

"What did I say just now?" An unhappy voice drifted towards her.

Be proactive, and passionate.

Forget it!

She might as well consider it an act of pity for him, a gesture of sympathy!

Jiayi, embracing the mentality of doing a good deed daily, fought against the heat in her face and inched closer to his cheek, then met his lips.

In the past, it was always he who kissed her, every kiss so arrogantly domineering that it nearly took her breath away, and she was always merely on the receiving end.

This was the first time she initiated a kiss with him.

...Oh my, she, she actually took the initiative to kiss him...

Putting her shyness aside, her first feeling was actually that kissing a man proactively isn’t as difficult a task as it seemed.

What he could do, it turned out she could do too, and perhaps not even perform badly at that.

...

Huo Zhenyang seemed quite pleased as he cradled her flushed cheeks, turning them towards him.

Every now and then, in a low and teasing voice, he purposely provoked, "My Little Kitten, not bad. I underestimated you."

This caused Jiayi’s cheeks to burn bright red, and she wished she could find a hole to crawl into.

In a matter of moments, Jiayi’s back was sticky with sweat against her clothing.

If he hadn’t held her tightly, she guessed she wouldn’t have even been able to sit still, as her legs would have already weakened from tension.

After it was over, she finally pushed him away and carefully observed his expression: "Now... your mood should be improved."

Huo Zhenyang let out a wickedly satisfied smile, like a satiated beast.

She suddenly realized, this man had never been in a bad mood to begin with; from beginning to end, he had been toying with her.

Before he could react, with her face still flushed, she jumped off the balcony railing. Having bitten her lower lip, her long hair whirled behind her like a misty veil of silk, carving a slight arc in the air, as she hurried back into the room.