Chapter 8: A Blackout and a Heartbeat

The car reached the town of Bodo a little after nine in the morning. Ning Cheng had booked the cabin in advance.

While he settled the luggage, Leo Jiang headed into the kitchen. When Ning Cheng came out of her room and saw him standing there, three words popped into her head: husband material.

She carried her laptop to the sofa in the living room and settled in to edit her video.

Leo Jiang came out of the kitchen and handed her a glass of milk.

Just as he was about to speak, his phone rang. He picked it up and sat down on the other end of the sofa to take the call.

"Hello. What is it?"

On the other end, Terry heard his tone and immediately sensed danger, testing cautiously: "What's wrong? Did I call at a bad time?"

"Shut up." Leo Jiang laughed under his breath, gritting his teeth.

"Fine, fine. But Ike told me you've met the one?"

At that, Leo Jiang's gaze drifted across the sofa to Ning Cheng.

"Yes." He answered without a flicker of hesitation, a light smile in his voice.

Ning Cheng felt that intense gaze, looked up, and their eyes met across the room.

"Whoa—seriously? You two are still together?"

"Mm." Leo Jiang replied evenly.

Ning Cheng glanced up at him now and then; later she focused on editing and stopped paying attention to his side of the call.

Half an hour later, she closed her laptop and stood to stretch. Leo Jiang suddenly emerged from the kitchen, arms crossed, leaning against the fridge as he watched her. "Hungry?" he asked softly.

Ning Cheng reached down and touched her stomach, the corner of her mouth curving. "A little, actually."

"Come sit. Food's almost ready."

With that, he turned back to the stove.

She walked over to him, glanced at the eggs frying in the pan, then leaned back against the fridge, her pretty brows lifting. "Leo, you really like cooking, don't you?"

His spatula paused for half a beat. He glanced at her sideways, lips curling. "I only cook for someone I like."

The calm on Ning Cheng's face cracked into panic for an instant, and she managed a strained smile. "I-is that so?"

The open kitchen had a warm pendant lamp hanging over the island.

The light settled on the top of Leo Jiang's head, leaving a small shadow beneath his lashes, his amber eyes bright as diamonds. The air began to turn.

He twisted the knob, killed the stove, and slowly lowered his head, closer and closer.

She looked into his eyes and was drawn into what she found there before she knew it, her body forgetting to move.

Zap—

A sharp crack split the air. The whole house went dark. Ning Cheng's thoughts snapped back and she instinctively stepped backward.

Thud—her hip caught the edge of the island, and she hissed in pain.

Then a warm embrace swept her entire self into it.

"Are you okay? What did you hit?" Concern threaded Leo Jiang's low voice.

Ning Cheng's whole face went hot. She struggled slightly, but his palm locked firmly over her shoulder, his deep voice at her ear:

"Don't move. The power must be out. I'll get my phone—stay right here and wait for me."

When he finished, his arms loosened. Ning Cheng felt his warmth slowly draw away from her side, leaving only the blurry silhouette of a tall figure groping through the dark house.

She looked toward the window. The neighboring cabin was dark too—perhaps the whole town had lost power.

Hiss—

A noise came suddenly from Leo Jiang's direction, like he'd walked into a chair. Ning Cheng turned toward the sound at once, but there was nothing to see—just a vague shadow shifting in the dark.

"Leo?"

"Leo Jiang? What did you hit?"

He didn't answer, and she grew anxious, groping her way toward him.

"Don't move."

He called a stop to her, but she had already come close, hands out in front of her, edging forward one small step at a time.

Then her right foot caught a chair leg. Her whole body pitched forward, and she screamed.

The pain never came—because she landed on something soft and solid. The one who got hurt was someone else...

A second before, Leo Jiang had heard her moving, caught her firmly in the dark, and the two of them tumbled onto the sofa.

Ning Cheng heard his heartbeat pounding like a drum against her ear. She moved her lips, about to push herself up, but he pulled her back, and her head sank against his chest.

"Don't move. I'm hurt." His voice dropped very low, sounding almost pitiful.

"What did you hit? Let me up so I can look at it!"

She struggled to rise, but the arm across her shoulder was too strong; she couldn't move at all.

"Leo Jiang, did you do that on purpose?" she asked, suspicious.

Leo Jiang didn't answer.

Their pressed-together bodies grew hotter and hotter, and Ning Cheng felt she might break out in sweat. She stretched out one hand and slowly found his waist.

Her fingertips occasionally brushed the fabric of his shirt, leaving trails of pins and needles, and Leo Jiang murmured, barely holding on, "Ning Cheng."

The next second, she suddenly tickled his side. Leo Jiang, ticklish, broke into laughter despite himself.

"Stop—stop tickling." He raised a hand and caught hers.

Ning Cheng smiled slyly. "Going to let me go? If not, I'll just keep tickling."

Finally found your one little weak spot, Leo Jiang.

she thought, delighted.

Leo Jiang released the arm around her shoulder and let her sit up, lying back on the sofa without moving, watching the blurred outline of her figure.

Ning Cheng turned to him and asked gently, "Where did you hit yourself just now?"

As she spoke, she reached for the phone on the coffee table—but Leo Jiang suddenly sat up and caught her hand.

"You hit my heart." Leo Jiang replied.

Ning Cheng whirled away at once. "I meant earlier!"

From her tone, Leo Jiang could picture her expression even in the dark.

He laughed low. "I am talking about earlier."

"Leo Jiang, keep this up and I'm not talking to you anymore." She folded her arms and leaned against the sofa back, face turned to the other side.

"Okay, okay—I'll tell you. What I hit was my knee."

Ning Cheng turned back, her voice softening. "Does it hurt?"

"A little." He answered instantly.

Just then the lights came back on. Ning Cheng's eyes squeezed shut against the glare, and only after two seconds did they open slowly.

The moment they opened, there was his handsome face barely a handspan away. She blinked.

Leo Jiang looked like he was flirting on purpose, emotion churning in his eyes, and her ears went scarlet. She put a hand against his chest and pushed.

"What—what are you doing?"

Leo Jiang just smiled, eyebrows raised, and said nothing. He rubbed his knee, glanced at her waist, and leaned in a little closer, voice soft. "You hit your waist just now?"

Ning Cheng nodded and rubbed it herself.

"I'm fine. Rubbing it is enough."

Her lips curved, then her eyes drifted to his knee—and she suddenly thought of his job. A race car driver. He must have collected plenty of injuries over the years. That knee...

Ning Cheng's brow tightened. In the end, she didn't ask.

Leo Jiang got up and walked to the kitchen, slid the fried eggs onto a plate, cracked another egg into the pan, and started frying.

He glanced sideways at Ning Cheng, still sitting on the sofa, and as he looked away, Terry's words from the phone call came back to him...

"We grew up together, and I've never seen you care about anything or anyone the way you do about her—racing excepted."

"Leo, my man, if you really like her, you'd better hold on tight and work to bring her home."

"Wasn't your mother lining up matchmaking dates for you? No need to worry about that now—you found her yourself!"

"And as your good brother, I'm going to let you in on one secret."

"Make full use of that devastatingly handsome face of yours. Understood?"

...

"Seduction, then?"

Leo Jiang came back to himself, staring at the eggs in the pan, murmuring with a crooked smile.

"Leo Jiang—I brought some medicated patches from home. Want one?"

Ning Cheng's voice broke into his thoughts from behind. He turned to look at her.

She stood on the other side of the island, waving a medicated patch at him, her pretty almond eyes blinking.

Leo Jiang gave a helpless smile. "My knee's fine."

"Okay then." She answered, patch still in hand, and went back to sit on the sofa in the living room.

A few minutes later, Leo Jiang set the table and looked toward the living room.

Ning Cheng had one hand propped against her temple, the other typing at her keyboard.

[Okay. Got it.]

When the message was sent, she let out a long, slow breath, closed the chat, and stared blankly at the screen.

Leo Jiang walked over and stopped by the coffee table, head tilted, watching her. It took ten seconds before she surfaced and noticed him.

"Something wrong?"

She shook her head. "No, just some work stuff."

The partner company had already booked her flight home. It was the most ordinary thing in the world, yet something felt wedged against her heart, a feeling she couldn't name.

"Leo Jiang—is your friend still in Norway?"

She walked to the dining table and sat down, and after hesitating half a beat, finally asked.