Mint Candy (Part 1) As she emerged from the baggage carousel, Li Ling was surprised to find a large crowd of people standing outside. Some were holding long and short cameras, some were holding banners, and many more were clutching their phones, faces flushed with excitement as they peered inside. Li Ling made eye contact with one of them, who shyly looked away. Could it be... they were here to pick her up? Had she really become this famous? Li Ling was taken aback and couldn't help but feel a bit elated. She subconsciously straightened her back and struck a pose like a star walking the runway. No one paid her any attention. A happy family of three passed by her, the child shouting, "So many people!" and nearly kicking her. As she approached the exit, Li Ling incredulously recognized the face of a male celebrity on one of the banners. ...It was Luo Mingqing. Oh no, could it get any worse? Li Ling felt like she was falling apart. What was this? He was everywhere, like a haunting ghost. She lowered her head and sneaked past the enthusiastic fans. She hadn't walked far when she suddenly heard a commotion behind her, followed by unrestrained screams and the sound of camera shutters clicking incessantly. "—Mingqing!" "—Mingqing!" Damn, did he come out so quickly? Just hearing his name gave her a headache. The sound waves exploded, stirring up a violent current. Li Ling, like an angry rabbit, dragged her suitcase and walked faster and faster. Around her, many travelers curiously looked on, raising their phones high, trying to get a glimpse of the excitement. Li Ling squeezed through the crowd, making her way with difficulty, feeling a twinge of sadness: Luo Mingqing's fans were everywhere, but where were Li Ling's fans? Not looking where she was going, she nearly bumped into someone. Just as she was about to say "sorry," the other person stepped forward and rudely placed a hand on her waist. Li Ling was shocked, and her body's instinctive reaction was to stomp hard on the person's foot. She heard a muffled "oof" in her ear. Sensing something, she looked up and saw a young man wearing a baseball cap and mask, his brows furrowed, staring at her in pain, seemingly puzzled. "...Director, why are you here?" Li Ling said, somewhat embarrassed. Director Jin still didn't want to get too close to the crowd, so he had deliberately hidden in a more secluded corner. Even so, his tall stature, broad shoulders, and model-like build made him stand out in the crowd. Only the flustered Li Ling would have completely missed him. The weather had gotten warmer, and he was wearing a dark short-sleeved shirt and long pants, revealing his slender arms. Since he no longer needed to lose weight for a role, he had gained some muscle back, and the lines of his muscles were clearly visible. Even though he had been mistaken for a rogue and stomped on hard, Jin Jingyao still didn't let go of her. The two of them stared at each other, motionless. Excited screams echoed from not far away, the flight information on the electronic screen constantly refreshing, some flights delayed, some arriving early, everything changing in an instant. But for them, time stood still. His hand touched her waist, the thin fabric between them radiating a vigorous heat. The pain in the young man's eyes gradually disappeared, replaced by a hidden sweetness and infatuation. Li Ling looked up at him, feeling deeply moved. How could she like him so much? They had only been apart for a few days, so why did she miss him so much? She couldn't help but stand on tiptoe and, through her mask, lightly touched his cheek. The hands on her waist immediately tightened with force. As if a touch would make the shy grass fold up. Jin Jingyao lowered his eyes to look at her, hardly blinking. His gaze was fixed on her face, very focused, reluctant to part from her. After a moment of this eye contact, he received a call from the driver asking if he had picked her up. Only then did he blink, and he took the suitcase from Li Ling's hand. Li Ling followed behind him and noticed that his other hand remained in mid-air in an unnatural way. It was like the tail of a canine, with the tip always slightly raised, as if waiting for someone to pet it. After a while, because it had been neglected for so long, it drooped down silently, looking somewhat dejected. Li Ling finally realized something. She quickly took two steps forward and held his hand. Jin Jingyao's steps paused again, and he subtly tried to pull away. Perhaps because the tail was a sensitive area that shouldn't be touched casually. Or maybe he felt it was too intimate to display such closeness in public. Li Ling doubted herself, thinking she might have misunderstood, and loosened her grip. But his fingers immediately pressed down, tightly interlocking with hers. They walked through the boarding bridge, into the elevator, and towards the underground parking lot. Many couples hold hands at the airport, so it wasn't strange for them to do so. Amidst the bustling crowd, their hands seemed glued together, never letting go. - Li Ling's business trip was because the rough cut of "Atheism" was completed, and Liang Jingqi had invited her to watch it. After viewing the film, it wasn't as good as she had expected. There were significant differences in opinions, and she was forced to stay for a whole day of meetings. Jin Jingyao was also very busy, rushing through post-production at the company. Li Ling didn't want to disturb him, so she didn't even tell him her flight number, only sending him messages when she took off and landed. He replied quickly, in his usual tone, giving no hint of his intentions. Li Ling never expected him to come pick her up in person. He had really learned some bad habits. But seeing him at the airport made her genuinely happy. The nanny van was parked in a secluded spot in the underground garage. The driver helped open the door, and Jin Jingyao reluctantly let go of Li Ling's hand. As soon as the door closed, he held her hand again. Li Ling turned her head to ask him how he had the time to pick her up and if it was interrupting his work. She quickly realized it was a pointless question; he wasn't listening at all. Jin Jingyao held her hand, staring at her lips, slowly revealing a thoughtful expression. After a while, he took off his mask and hat, pulled her close, and gave her a short kiss. The car left the underground parking lot, ascending layer by layer, as if sinking into a deep spiral. Li Ling heard the tires rolling over one speed bump after another, making slight noises. The noise masked the sound of their rapid breathing and the sweet sounds of their kissing. The car lights shone on the gray-white walls, the shadow of the car growing larger and smaller. The short kiss turned into a long one. The car exited the parking lot and drove onto the airport highway. Daylight streamed in through the dark windows, and lush green trees lined the way. They still hadn't separated. Jin Jingyao held her shoulder with one hand, while the other caressed her cheek. In the chaotic view, his magnified face looked like a tall tree, its leaves trembling in the sunlight, while the vines in the shadows wrapped around her, tighter and tighter. Their intermittent kisses, lips parting and pressing together again, scattered and reassembled the passing scenery, freezing into a deep green in his eyes. If they didn't restrain themselves soon, Li Ling felt she might turn into a mint candy, completely taken into his mouth, bitten, sucked, disappearing on his nimble tongue, becoming the nutrients for his roots to grow deeper. She had no choice but to push him away a little, so he could speak properly. She wickedly asked if he had finished the post-production, like asking a primary school student if they had finished their summer homework. "Not yet," Jin Jingyao said reluctantly. He was clearly not satisfied yet, so as he answered, he still gazed longingly at her rosy lips. He was unwilling to completely separate and remained very close to her. His breath, his gaze, his body, everything was like a massive heat source, continuously emitting insatiable desire. Li Ling awkwardly turned her face away and asked the driver to turn the air conditioning down a bit. To divert her attention, she pretended to seriously discuss the production of "Atheism." Jin Jingyao didn't say much, just listened. After a while, she felt a weight on her shoulder. The young man leaned against her, eyes closed, already asleep. Even in his sleep, he didn't look very peaceful. His eyelashes trembled slightly, and his brows were tightly furrowed. On the overpass, the changing lights and shadows cast on his face, like the opening of a black-and-white movie. Li Ling still felt moved, wanting to reach out her fingers to smooth his brows. Before she could lift her hand, it was tightly held. His arm was around her waist, each finger gripping firmly, unwilling to let go. It seemed he felt very insecure, needing to be completely close to her. It seemed his mysophobia was cured, but unfortunately, he now had skin hunger. Li Ling couldn't move at all, so she lowered her head to look at him, inch by inch, at the young man's pale skin, slightly closed eyes, and the faint blue under his eyes. Her heart softened, and she leaned in, resting her head against his. She knew why he was so tired. The post-production of the movie was more troublesome than expected. To meet the standards for release, many scenes needed to be edited. Usually, Jin Jingyao wouldn't care about such things. He rarely compromised on the content of his work, and not every movie of his made it to theaters. If it couldn't be released in theaters, collaborating with streaming platforms or overseas distribution still brought good returns. But this time, he was very determined to have it released, actively cooperating with the edits, and even privately reshooting several times. The people at the film company were shocked, thinking he had changed. Only Li Ling knew that the release wasn't important to him, but it was very important to her. He stayed up all those late nights and went through all that trouble, all for her. Of course, Jin Jingyao would never tell her these things. He didn't even tell her about the reshoots. He was always like this, saying nothing, silently doing everything behind the scenes. Fortunately, there was talkative Xiao Liu to keep her informed. After a while, talkative Xiao Liu sent another message, asking if she had run into Luo Gou at the airport. He sent a video. Li Ling glanced at the sleeping Jin Jingyao, sneakily muted her phone, and clicked play. In the video, Luo Mingqing was being escorted by bodyguards, struggling to squeeze through the crowd. He was always aloof, even when surrounded by a large group of fans frantically confessing their love. He just wore sunglasses and walked forward on his own. For some reason, as he was walking, he suddenly stopped and stared blankly in a certain direction. Stopping was a big deal. The scene went crazy, the crowd surged forward, almost causing a stampede. The bodyguards were overwhelmed, and Luo Mingqing nearly fell. Even so, amidst the chaos, he kept staring hard in that direction. A frenzied hand reached out and knocked the sunglasses off his face. Under the sunglasses, his eyes were slightly red. Luo Mingqing was so out of control, his whole body tense, just staring intently at that blurry figure. Li Ling: "..." She thought he might be seriously ill and it would be best if he got trampled to death. "What are you looking at?" someone suddenly said from behind. She wanted to turn off her phone screen, but it was too late, so she showed him the video and mocked the person in the video, saying he looked like a dog. "Saying that might be an insult to dogs," Li Ling corrected herself. "At most, he's like a piece of dog skin plaster." As she spoke, she started to laugh. Jin Jingyao, however, did not laugh. His voice was light, and he asked somewhat unkindly, "You two took the same flight?" Li Ling was shocked and immediately shook her head. "How could that be possible!" Jin Jingyao didn't seem very convinced. "It was really just a coincidence," Li Ling said confidently. "It just so happened that our landing times were very close." "Really, such a coincidence," Jin Jingyao said flatly. The car passed through a shadow, and the young man's face was backlit, his mouth turned down, showing a bit of pressure. Li Ling coaxed him, "You're not jealous, are you?" Jin Jingyao paused and said expressionlessly, "No." Li Ling said, "Seeing him at the airport was already bad luck. If I had to take the same flight as him, wouldn't that be like having chicken wings on fire?" "Don't talk nonsense," Jin Jingyao frowned disapprovingly. He looked around for wood for her to knock on, but how could there be wood in the car? In the end, he could only search for a picture of wood on his phone for her to knock on. Li Ling was amazed and knocked on the phone screen a few times under his guidance. After knocking, Director Jin was barely satisfied, but he still wasn't completely appeased. Li Ling had no choice but to continue cursing Luo Mingqing, saying he didn't deserve fans, wondering how so many people could come to pick him up, and mentioning that when she first came out, she thought they were there to pick her up, only to be disappointed. "Never mind," Li Ling consoled herself. "One day, I'll have more fans than him." Jin Jingyao paused, then suddenly held her fingers and said softly, "I'm also your fan." Li Ling was stunned for a moment, then she held his hand back and smiled at him. The light filtered softly through the tinted glass, like the silhouette of the sunset, gently illuminating Jin Jingyao's profile, making his features softer than usual. He was right. Luo Mingqing had fans to pick him up. She did too. Luo Mingqing had many fans to pick him up, holding light signs and banners for him. She had only one silly fan, hiding in a corner, waiting to catch her and give her a long kiss in the car. But compared to Luo Mingqing, she seemed much happier. - The car drove into the basement of the apartment, and Jin Jingyao escorted her upstairs, all the way to her door. At this moment, a mentally sound adult male would skillfully suggest coming in for a cup of coffee. But an elementary school student would say he still had to go back to the company to do post-production. No skill, all emotion. The elevator door opened, and the elementary school student, without looking back, was about to step in when Li Ling suddenly hugged him from behind, her face pressed against his back. Almost instantly, the muscles in the young man's back tensed completely. The elevator door closed in front of them. The blurry metal surface reflected a pair of hugging figures. "So hard-working, leaving already?" Li Ling said. "But I kind of miss you, and I have so much to tell you." Jin Jingyao was silent for a moment, then turned around and hugged her, saying softly, "Then I'll take a day off tomorrow." Li Ling looked up mischievously from his embrace, "Really? But I have work tomorrow."Jin Jingyao was stunned again before he said, "Alright." "Then I won't take a day off," he added. He showed no expression and turned around to press the elevator button. Li Ling thought he was really stupid. She had lied to him a hundred times, yet he still believed her every time. "I'm kidding, I'm free tomorrow," Li Ling said. Jin Jingyao replied, "Oh." His finger hovered above the elevator button for a long time without pressing it, as if he was waiting for something. Li Ling hooked her finger around his and coaxed him, "Director, let's go on a date tomorrow." Jin Jingyao was silent for a moment before he said, "Okay." Li Ling turned mischievous again and asked him wickedly, "Have you ever been on a date with someone?" "Do you even know what a date is?" Jin Jingyao completely ignored her. He pressed her against the wall, grabbed her wrist, pinned her shoulder blade, and forcefully bit her lips. There was a driver in the car earlier, so they couldn't make too much noise. Now there was no one around, it was very quiet. He was utterly unrestrained, as if turning her into a puddle of water, sun-melted sand, or the shoreline eroded by the sea at dusk. "I don't know," Jin Jingyao said in a low voice, "You teach me." Li Ling's body went limp, and she thought dizzily that maybe this person didn't know what a date was, but he certainly seemed to know what a kiss was. Ugh. What kind of elementary school student is this?