And when he kissed him, he kissed back. Melting into it softly, his own lips pliant to Mingjue's ministrations.

Never in his last life or this one had he ever imagined that he would kiss Nie Mingjue. He had in the secret recesses of his mind imagined what it would have been like if things were different. His arms wrapped around the back of his neck, as he stood on the balls of his feet to help make the distance in height.

While he certainly had kissed more in the last month than he had in his entire adult life, this still gave him a breathless heady feeling. His heart pounded in his chest. Even if he was expected to do such things, it really did feel different when it was people he was close to.