Ning Cheng pressed her lips together and closed her eyes. After a deep breath, she turned to look at Leo, held his gaze in silence for a few seconds, and finally spoke. "I—I have other plans."
"Other plans?"
He was already walking toward her as he said it.
"Did you manage to rent a car?" he asked again.
"No."
Ning Cheng held her breath. As unwilling as she was to admit it, she genuinely hadn't figured out how she was going to get to Å from here—there was no rental office anywhere near the place they were staying...
"I can be your driver. Free of charge."
Leo leaned in close, voice low.
Startled, Ning Cheng stared at him.
"You're going to Å too?"
She'd assumed he had other plans.
Leo had already turned and walked over to the sofa in the living room. In no hurry to speak, he sat down, and Ning Cheng sighed and followed, taking the seat across from him.
"About last night—"
"Stop, stop!"
Before he could finish, she threw up a hand and cut him off, flustered.
Seeing her reaction, Leo allowed himself a quiet, triumphant smile.
He leaned forward, opened the laptop on the coffee table, clicked a few times, and turned the screen toward her.
"The weather in Norway changes in an instant. There may be a blizzard this afternoon."
Ning Cheng looked at the screen: the latest weather forecast.
She hesitated for two seconds, then asked softly, "What are you trying to say?"
Leo leaned back, head tilted as he watched her, expression serious.
"One more person with you is one more layer of safety. It isn't safe for you to be out here alone."
Ning Cheng met his eyes, and for a moment, time seemed to stand still.
A few seconds later, unable to bear those deep, bewitching eyes any longer, she looked away in a fluster and dropped her gaze to her phone, tapping a few times.
The next instant, Leo's phone buzzed. He picked it up—Ning Cheng had transferred him money.
His head snapped up, but she beat him to it.
"That's my share of the room."
"When do we leave?"
Leo smiled faintly, spun the phone once in his hand, then stood, closed the laptop, picked it up, and headed for his bedroom.
"It's only just past seven. Let's rest another hour."
With that, he pushed open the door and walked in.
Just before closing it, he turned back to look at her. "You were drunk last night. Does your head still hurt?"
Ning Cheng slowly covered her face with both hands, the tips of her ears going red.
Leaning against the doorframe, Leo watched her, the corner of his mouth curling up.
"Adorable."
he murmured to himself.
——
Ning Cheng slept another hour, and when she woke again it was past eight.
When she opened her bedroom door, Leo was just coming out of the kitchen carrying two plates of tomato pasta.
"Slept well?"
"Come eat breakfast. We'll leave soon."
He glanced her way, set the plates on the table, and went back for two glasses of warmed milk.
Ning Cheng sat down, sensing something odd about the atmosphere but unable to say what.
Was Leo this attentive with everyone?
She sat there lost in thought until Leo settled across from her and placed a glass of milk by her hand, and only then did she come back to herself.
"Thank you."
"Um, Leo... I still want to ask. You're really coming with me to Å?"
Holding her glass, she looked at him.
Then, remembering something, she added quietly, "Didn't you say you still had friends in—"
"Forget them."
"Huh?" Ning Cheng blinked at him.
Leo reached across the table and tapped the rim of her plate with one fingertip.
"Eat first."
She gave up on the questions and picked up her fork.
They finished breakfast quietly and left the cabin.
As the car passed yesterday's restaurant, the blond owner happened to be standing out front. The moment he saw Leo driving, he jogged over, and Leo rolled the window all the way down.
"Leaving us today, are you?" the man asked with a smile.
Leo nodded and smiled back.
"Have a wonderful trip."
He stepped back, waved goodbye, and the two of them waved from the car.
Once the car left the little town behind and joined the main road, the smile never left Ning Cheng's face. Leo glanced over and caught it.
As if the joy were contagious, his brows lifted and his mouth pulled into a grin. "That happy?"
She turned to him and nodded. "You're not?"
Leo laughed. "I am, actually."
Thank goodness he hadn't let her slip away. The world was vast—who knew where he'd have had to go to find her again.
At the thought, the smile in his eyes deepened.
The car followed the E10 south, the two of them chatting idly.
Somewhere along the way, Leo tapped open a playlist. Ning Cheng was watching the scenery and didn't notice.
Not until the second song came on did she turn toward the screen on the center console and murmur, "Hayd? 'Heels and Head'?"
"Mm. That's the one," Leo answered absently.
Her brow arched. "You like this song too?"
He glanced at her and nodded. Secretly, Ning Cheng thought, Good taste.
Then she settled back against the seat and listened. When the song ended and the intro of the next began, her lashes fluttered, and the name slipped out of her before she realized—
"'Rising Sun'?"
Leo's brow arched, amused. "Right again. You've heard this one too?"
...Three songs. Three songs, all tracks from her own most-played playlist—even in exactly the same order.
Coincidence?
She'd added that playlist ages ago by accident, then found every song suited her taste, and had been listening to it ever since.
At that thought she turned toward the console and asked, "Can I ask what your playlist is called?"
Leo gave a low laugh. "You like it?"
"'Wild at Heart.' That's what it's called."
He answered evenly.
Ning Cheng blinked, her heartbeat inexplicably picking up. "Did you make it yourself?"
"Mm-hm. A couple of years ago," he said, unhurried.
Her fingers closed tight around her phone, thoughts scattering. It took her a long moment to recover.
Wild at Heart... The exact playlist on constant repeat in her own phone.
She'd never imagined he was the one who made it. What kind of fate was this?
Her own heartbeat roared in her ears. Slowly absorbing the shock, she said nothing more.
The car drove on. After who knew how long, they passed a flat stretch of snow by the roadside, and she asked Leo to stop.
She had a drone in her backpack; she pulled it out and got out of the car.
Leo stayed in his seat, window up, watching as she set the drone on the hood, stepped back two paces, and lowered her head to work the controls. The drone lifted into the air.
It was cold out. Ning Cheng wore a brown scarf around her neck and a gray knit hat.
Head bent over the controller's screen, she seemed to spot a beautiful view; her lashes blinked and a soft smile bloomed on her face, lively and gentle.
Light snow was drifting from the sky, settling on the ends of her hair. Standing there in the snow, she looked like a princess from a fairy tale.
Leo watched silently, unable to look away, warmth surging in his chest.
He wanted to get out—but feared she wouldn't allow it. Feared she wouldn't let him appear in her drone's shot.
So he tipped his head back against the seat, emptied his mind, and sighed.
The car stopped for five minutes. Ning Cheng had just recalled the drone and reached for the door when a voice called out to her—
"Lemon?"
"You're 'One Little Lemon,' aren't you?"
A couple had come running over. The girl dashed toward Ning Cheng, shaking her head in excitement, her boyfriend following behind.
"I'm your fan! I couldn't believe my luck—I was just thinking I might run into you out here, and I actually did!"
Her face was written over with delight.
Ning Cheng smiled and nodded. "I'm Lemon. Thank you for liking my videos."
"Can we take a photo together?"
The girl waved her phone; the moment Ning Cheng nodded, she shoved it into her boyfriend's hand.
"Quick, quick—take one of us!"
The boy took the phone, raised it over the two of them, and pressed the shutter.
And it was exactly then that his gaze slipped, just for a moment, to the man in the car. His mouth fell open into an O, eyes going wide.
"Leo!"