And then, he closed the door.

  There he was, all of him, and he was looking straight at her with a brilliant smile on his face that could be clearly seen even as far as she was.

  If she didn't have her bag, she would have sprinted to him. However, with that and the risk of falling flat on her face at a moment like that… she didn't. She couldn't quite trust her knees at that moment. She walked with purpose, concentrating on her steps.

  It took forever, and her heart thudded against her ribcage the whole way.

  Finally, he was within arm's reach. She inhaled sharply as she closed the last few feet between them and she dropped her back on the tarmac, totally unconcerned about it, and walked straight up to him until there was a foot separating them.

  She lifted her hand, the hand that held the sacred piece3 of paper, and pressed it against his chest, right over his heart. He looked down at it and then back up at her, completely baffled.

  Her eyes filled with tears as she lifted her other hand to gently caress his cheek.

  "I love you."

  Qian Meng watched. Her eyes were fixed on his face as a myriad of emotions crossed his face.

  Shock, Bewilderment. Thoughtfulness. And finally, realization.

  The whole time, his eyes were locked on her.

  And then there was astonishment, pure joy, worship, and contentment.

  And then, something else flashed on his face that she couldn't identify. He looked troubled all of a sudden and she couldn't tell what he was thinking.

  "What?" she prompted. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

  He held her gaze for a moment before answering her. "It's just that…"

  "Just what?"

  Under other circumstances, she would have panicked at his reaction. However, she had read that piece of paper a hundred times. It was near impossible to question his feelings. She knew where his heart was and it was there with complete conviction.

  "Shit," he breathed as anxiousness flashed in his eyes. "Fuck. I'm sorry. You're waiting for me to say it back and I am fucking this up!"

  "No… no…" she whispered. She inched closer to him as she ran her hand up from her cheek to push her fingers into his hair. "You're not fucking this up. It's impossible for you to fuck it up after…"

  Mo Qingchen looked pained and she wanted to puke because of how anxious she was.

  "Can you tell me what is wrong, though?"

  "I'm so sorry." He blinked and he seemed to snap out of it. "Fuck."

  "Mo Qingchen—"

  He reached up into his hair to take her hand. He brought it down to hold it between them and then the other hand was on her face.

  "I do… Those words…"

  Qian Meng stared at him, confused. After everything he had written, was it possible for him to think those three words were too much to utter?

  "What?" she croaked.

  "Those words feel so…" he sighed. "Those words feel so childish when I think of them in relation to the way I feel about you."

  Qian Meng exhaled audibly, relieved.

  "Oh." Her breath came out in a rush.

  "I love you." Qian Meng's heart stopped. "Of course, I do. But people throw these words around so easily. They have become so generalized and I don't think it's fair for me to define my feelings for you this way. It doesn't hold the depth of meaning that I want to convey. I just feel like there should be something more. More than something people write as a general greeting on cards and say in a joking manner."

  She shook her head at him.

  "Are you joking?" Mo Qingchen gulped. "You don't need to worry about expressing your emotions. This…" She pulled her hand from his as she unfolded the paper. "These words are so much more than anything else you can tell me. You have already said them."

  He stared at her for a long moment. "That paper meant that much to you?"

  "It meant everything to me. It was enough to make me want to immediately get on a flight even if I could see you for five minutes. I would gladly take a flight back after this conversation. I just needed to look at your face when I said those words to you." She paused to take a deep breath. "I know it isn't significant enough. But I am not capable of putting my heart out in words like this. I'm not this articulate. Please know that I feel the way you do. What you wrote here, I feel the same way. I finally found my place in the world… with you."

  He stopped her there. "Hey."

  Qian Meng looked at him with wide eyes, desperate as he took her face between his palms.

  "If you don't know the right thing to say, just tell me that you are mine. Because if your feelings reflect my own, that's the best thing I can think of to convey my emotions. I'm yours. Every part of me. With everything that I am. I am devoted to you in every way possible."

  She liked that.

  "I'm yours," she breathed. "You completely possess me." She paused. "I still wish I had something better to say that is on par with what is on this paper, but I don't think it is possible."

  "Baby, you flew to me to say that you love me. If that isn't the biggest indicator, I don't know what is."

  She chuckled. "It wasn't an option for me to not come. It killed me to even wait as long as it did to get here. Also, you paid for the flight. I don't think I put in much effort." She huffed.

  "I—"

  Mo Qingchen stopped, distracted when the driver's side of the car opened slowly beside them.

  "Mr. Mo?" a male voice said from somewhere behind her. "I am sorry to interrupt, but we probably shouldn't linger on the runway for too long."

  Qian Meng coughed in embarrassment.