"I think I understand you now, too!" she told him.
"I don't want to keep secrets from you anymore, Qian Meng. I want both of us to be honest. I still…"
"What?" she prompted.
"I meant every word I said to you, Qian Meng. I know that we had an understanding. But I want you to know me. You're the only woman I really want to know me. I have shut myself off from everyone around me for so long. I've close myself off from emotion. I haven't wanted to know anyone and I haven't wanted anyone to know me. But it feels so…"
And then their foreheads were together and her eyes were closed and just feeling him breathe against her. It grounded her.
"I'm listening…" she said. She steeled her heart.
"It feels so different with you. I don't know why. I didn't plan on any of this. I didn't plan on caring for you."
Qian Meng swallowed hard. She hadn't prepared herself for this.
"Me either," she replied.
