Jia Wei Xin looked up at the handsome man who had just introduced himself as Liu Mo Fei. His name sounded elegant and timeless—much like everything else about him. But something still felt off.
"Are we shooting a scene here?" she asked, glancing around the empty clearing. "Where's the crew? Is this some kind of hidden camera show?"
Liu Mo Fei tilted his head slightly, confusion flickering across his face. "Shooting? Crew? I'm afraid I don't understand, miss. There's no one else here."
Jia Wei Xin frowned. "Come on. You expect me to believe you did all those martial arts moves without any wires or special effects? Where are they hiding? Behind the trees? Under the bushes?"
He chuckled—a deep, melodic sound that echoed through the quiet forest. "There are no hidden tricks. I found you unconscious in the jungle and brought you back here to recover."
"You found me in the jungle?" Her eyes widened. "So this isn't an elaborate film set?"
"No," he replied simply, still smiling. "This is my home. I live here."
She bit her lip, trying to make sense of everything. Was he telling the truth? Could she have somehow wandered into a real village? "So… there's a village nearby?"
Liu Mo Fei nodded. "Yes, a small town not far from here. If you'd like, I can take you there. You can buy some clothes and we can get food for cooking."
Still unsure, but with no better plan, Jia Wei Xin nodded. "Alright. Let's go. By the way, I'm Jia Wei Xin."
___
As they walked, she couldn't shake the strange feeling that everything looked too crisp, too vivid. The trees were taller. The air fresher. Even the sunlight seemed to cast a golden hue unlike anything back home.
Trying to break the silence, she asked, "So… do you often find unconscious women in the jungle?"
Liu Mo Fei glanced at her, amusement twinkling in his eyes. "Not often. You're the first."
"Great. I'm special," she muttered sarcastically—though she couldn't help but smile at his response.
They walked for a while in companionable silence, until curiosity got the better of her.
"What were you doing back there anyway?" she asked. "With all the flashy moves and wind and everything?"
"I was practicing my martial arts. It's part of my daily routine."
"Martial arts?" she blinked. "You mean like kung fu?"
"Yes," he said, his tone calm, almost cryptic. "Though probably not like anything you've seen before."
Jia Wei Xin shook her head. "This is insane. One moment I'm competing in a contest in Beijing, and the next, I'm in some remote forest with a martial arts master."
Liu Mo Fei chuckled again. "Life has a way of surprising us, doesn't it?"
___
Eventually, they reached the town—a quaint place with cobblestone streets and traditional wooden houses. Jia Wei Xin stared in awe. It felt like stepping into a historical drama set.
"Welcome to our town," Liu Mo Fei said with a slight bow. "Let's get you some proper clothes."
They entered a small clothing shop, its wooden interior filled with neatly folded robes and woven fabrics. As she looked around, Jia Wei Xin couldn't resist teasing him.
"So, Liu Mo Fei, do you always rescue damsels in distress, or am I just lucky?"
He smiled, eyes glinting. "You're certainly lucky, Jia Wei Xin. Very lucky indeed."
___
What he didn't say was that when he'd found her, he had been bathing at the lake.
One moment, he was alone—enjoying the calm, the silence, the cool water around him.
The next—
Sploosh.
A human projectile dropped from the sky. Right into his arms.
Reflexively, he caught her.
And worse—she refused to let go.
Her arms clung tightly around his neck. Her cheek pressed to his shoulder. Her body, soaking wet, trembled in his grip.
For a moment, he stood frozen—completely and utterly stunned.
She was... breathtaking.
Her soaked robe clung to her body like second skin, outlining every curve, every line. Her fair skin glowed in the moonlight filtering through the trees. Damp strands of hair clung to her delicate face and neck. And then—his gaze involuntarily dipped lower.
The wet innerwear left little to the imagination. Her chest rose and fell with shallow, unconscious breaths, and the curve of it—soft, full, utterly feminine—made something stir in him that he hadn't felt in years.
His throat tightened.
Look away, he told himself. Now.
He tried. He really did. But even as he shifted his gaze, the image lingered—seared into his memory with cruel clarity.
He had to force himself to breathe.
He'd always hated physical contact. Hated how people—especially women—used touch to get closer to him. But this time, it didn't feel disgusting.
It felt… dangerously good.
And that frightened him more than anything.
He quickly gathered himself, turning away just long enough to focus his inner energy, carefully drying her clothes without laying a single finger more than necessary. Once he was sure she wouldn't catch a chill, he gently laid her on the grass, dressed himself at record speed, and carried her back to his home.
Not a single word of the incident had escaped his lips since.
___
Now, watching her browse the clothing shop as if none of it had happened, he could only hope she never found out about the sploosh incident—or how close he'd come to completely losing control.
Just as Jia Wei Xin reached for a pale blue robe on display, a sudden thought froze her mid-step.
She turned to him slowly, eyes wide with dawning horror.
"Wait a second… when I woke up, I was already dressed in this white robe. Who changed my clothes?"
Liu Mo Fei blinked. "I didn't."
"You didn't?"
"You were already wearing that when I found you," he said, voice calm and steady. "I wouldn't dare… I mean, I would never…"
Jia Wei Xin let out a breath of relief—but a shiver still ran down her spine. "Okay… that's still weird though."
He nodded. "A mystery for another time, perhaps."
His face was composed. His tone, smooth. But inside, Liu Mo Fei was spiraling.
The memories returned—both of them.
First, the lake. That impossible moment when she fell from the sky into his arms. Her wet robe clinging to every curve. Her skin warm, impossibly soft. The way she breathed against his shoulder, like she had been made to fit perfectly in his embrace. His arms had wrapped around her instinctively, and yet he remembered not wanting to let go.
Then—the second time.
When she stepped outside the hut and wandered into his training field.
He hadn't sensed her presence. He had been mid-strike, his spiritual energy surging, the wind roaring—and then suddenly, she was there.
She hadn't screamed.
But he had felt her.
Rushing toward him—fragile and unaware.
He caught her again.
One hand at her waist. The other at the curve of her neck.
That time, she looked up at him, dazed. And he had looked down—and felt it again. That same unbearable rush. That pull toward her. Like gravity. Like fate.
Two times now, he had held her.
And both times, it had felt… too good.
Too natural.
Like she belonged in his arms.
Like she should be in them again.
It was maddening.
___
She stood in front of him now, completely unaware of the effect she had on him. Browsing the robes. Talking casually. But to him, she wasn't just some stranger anymore. She was a temptation he had already touched—twice—and it wasn't enough.
Not even close.
Focus, Liu Mo Fei, he told himself, jaw tight.
He stepped forward to help her choose a robe, his movements calm and precise. But beneath that stillness was a storm he didn't quite know how to control.
Two accidental embraces.
And already, he found himself craving a third—not by accident.
But by choice.