Chapter 135: Cool Night, Warm Body

Leaving the park, they lost the shelter of their surroundings. Walking down the cold, quiet street, a gust of night wind brought a sudden chill.

Su Yuqing wasn’t dressed very warmly today, and her body shivered instinctively.

Seeing this, Chen Mo let go of her small hand. He then took her right hand, wrapped it around his back, and placed it on his waist. At the same time, he reached out and pulled her in by the shoulder, pressing her entire body against his.

"Hold me tight."

Hearing Chen Mo’s domineering, CEO-like words, a warmth spread through Su Yuqing’s heart. She happily wrapped her arms around his firm waist and leaned half her body against him, greedily soaking in the warm touch of his body.

The chill she had just felt instantly vanished.

"So comfortable," Su Yuqing murmured against Chen Mo, freely enjoying this warmth.

’To be able to enjoy such a warm embrace... all the unpleasant experiences of the past seem so insignificant now. They were just trials on the path to happiness.’

’As long as I can hold on tight to this warmth, I won’t ask for anything more.’

’Family, friendship, or love—if a person can truly grasp just one of them in their lifetime, something unforgettable, then their life hasn’t been in vain.’

The streetlights cast flecks of gold through the gaps in the sycamore leaves. Chen Mo’s body heat steadily seeped through his thin shirt and into Su Yuqing’s shoulder.

The tips of her ears turning red, she realized that the young man’s arm around her was actually trembling slightly.

In this evening wind, Chen Mo wasn’t made of iron; of course he would feel the cold too.

What’s more, he was hugging a girl whose body temperature was lower than his, which only made him colder.

Fortunately, as they held each other like this, their heartbeats gradually began to quicken.

Especially as they walked so closely, they would inadvertently brush against each other.

Feeling the intermittent touch of Su Yuqing’s soft body against his, Chen Mo’s own body quickly and unconsciously heated up.

His heartbeat was now even clearer than the sound of the night wind sweeping through the treetops.

As they turned the corner, a neon sign with the words "Warm House" jumped into view.

Through the glass window, warm yellow light enveloped plumes of white steam. It was a small, 24-hour oden shop.

Chen Mo suddenly stopped and looked at Su Yuqing in his arms. "Let’s get some oden to warm up."

"Boss, two skewers of rice cakes, two of daikon radish, two of fried tofu puffs..." As Chen Mo withdrew his arm, Su Yuqing immediately felt a cold emptiness on her shoulder, but in the next second, a warm paper cup was pressed into her hand.

Floating in the translucent broth were several skewers of food that looked incredibly tempting—exactly the kind sold by the street vendors she couldn’t help but sneak glances at during her nightly jogs.

Although she always wanted some, she was out to exercise, so she always managed to resist with great self-control.

But when she was with Chen Mo, he couldn’t help but feed her, which made it hard for her to resist the temptation.

The instant their fingertips touched, Chen Mo took her cold hand and pressed it against the side of the cup. "This is warmer."

Su Yuqing nodded. She held the cup for a few seconds, feeling the warmth spread to her palm, then took a few sips of the broth before starting to enjoy the food in the cup, just like Chen Mo.

As the sweet daikon radish melted between her teeth, Su Yuqing felt that happiness was truly this simple.

’Encountering something warm when it’s cold, walking with the person you like on a lonely night... all of this is an indescribable happiness.’

After satisfyingly finishing a large cup of oden, Su Yuqing felt much warmer.

"Warmed up? Want another cup?" Chen Mo asked Su Yuqing with a gentle smile.

"It’s so late, it wouldn’t be good to get too full. This was just right," Su Yuqing said with a smile as she stood up and led the way out of the shop.

Feeling the night wind again, it was now just a refreshing coolness, not the biting chill from before.

’But since I’m not cold anymore, there’s no reason for us to huddle together.’

This made Su Yuqing a little disappointed.

It was rare for them to be out together at night like this, and this part of the walk had extended their time together.

The night grew deeper. The sycamore leaves made a Shasha sound in the wind. A playful mood rising in her, Su Yuqing gently scuffed her canvas shoe through a shallow puddle, sending up droplets that shattered into beautiful stars in the moonlight.

She lowered her gaze to their shadows, elongated by the streetlights, and unconsciously rubbed her fingertips together.

Without the hand-holding and hugging, just walking side by side like this suddenly made Su Yuqing feel awkward, as if she didn’t know what to do with her hands.

CLANG!

The sharp sound of a stray cat knocking over a soda can in a dark alley made Su Yuqing jump, and Chen Mo immediately stepped to the side, shielding her.

At the slightest sign of trouble, Chen Mo would protect the girl beside him without a moment’s hesitation.

’In this life, as long as I’m alive and kicking, I will never let her come to any harm.’

The two walked out of the area surrounding People’s Park. A little farther ahead, they would reach a spot where a ride-share car could pick them up.

Taxis were hard to find at night, but a ride-share could be summoned with just a few taps of a finger.

But just as they were walking along the edge of the park, near a small lake, they suddenly saw a few people gathered up ahead.

"What do I do? Can any of you swim? Please, save my child!"

As they got closer, they heard one of the people frantically calling out to the others.

Chen Mo then noticed a warning sign by the lake shore: No Fishing, No Washing Clothes by the River, No Swimming or Playing in the River.

But right near this sign, there was a pile of clothes.

Clearly, someone had ignored the warning and gone swimming in the lake.

Chen Mo couldn’t help but be a little impressed. ’To dare to swim in the river on such a cold night... they’ve got some nerve!’

’Without a proper warm-up, getting into water at this temperature would definitely cause cramps!’

When the woman asked the people standing by, they all immediately shook their heads.

In truth, some of them could swim.

But they were afraid of getting involved, so they just shook their heads and said they couldn’t.

After all, visibility in the lake was low at night, and a drowning person would be thrashing about wildly. The risk of rashly jumping in to save someone was extremely high.

Naturally, they didn’t dare to just jump into the water.

"Oh god, help! Can someone please save my child!"

The woman collapsed to the ground, devastated. She wanted to go in herself but couldn’t swim, so all she could do was cry out in despair.

At that moment, Chen Mo and Su Yuqing walked up.

Seeing them, the woman’s hope was rekindled. "Young man, can you swim? Please, I’m begging you, please save my son! He saw someone drowning and went in to save them, but he couldn’t get them out, and now he’s trapped himself! Waaah!"

Originally, after seeing the clothes on the bank, Chen Mo hadn’t been planning to get involved with someone who had brought this upon themselves by ignoring the warnings.

But now, hearing what the woman said, he realized that two people were drowning, and the one still struggling was the one who had gone in to perform the rescue.

’If that’s the case, then I have to help.’ After all, he was a former criminal police officer. When a good person was in trouble, and he had the ability to rescue them, he certainly couldn’t just stand by and watch them die.