Tang Yuanyuan said nothing in response.
Yuchi Yishu studied her carefully, trying to guess the thoughts going through her head at that time. Then, he asked after a long while, “Will you ignore me again in the future?”
She glanced at him. “That girl; is she really not your girlfriend?”
“She’s not.”
Having said so much, she felt that her hidden feelings had been clearly expressed. Even so, she wasn’t sure if she had a chance in the future. Thus, she decided to ask and clarify it then and there. “You know what I’m thinking about, don’t you, Yishu?”
He was taken aback by the bluntness of her question. Although he knew, he did not want to discuss this matter with her at the present moment. So, he reached out and rubbed her head, saying lightly, “Children should focus on their studies.”
He did not give her a direct answer, but she understood what he meant. Still, he was afraid that she would think too much about it, and added, “Let’s wait until you’re an adult before we discuss other matters.”
A ray of hope flared up in her heart at those words. “So, what you mean is that it’s fine once I’m an adult, right?”
He was rendered speechless for a moment. How should I answer this? “Everything can wait until you’re an adult, okay? We’ll talk about it then.”
Then, Tang Yuanyuan suddenly grabbed his palm. “Yishu, I will take this as a promise.”
“What promise?”
“Before I grow up, you can’t get a girlfriend.” She widened her eyes and stared at Yuchi Yishu earnestly, then asked with unbridled hope, “Is that okay?”
Gazing at each other for a long time, Yuchi Yishu finally let out a soft laugh. “Alright, I promise you. I’ll promise you anything you want.”
It was supposed to be a happy occasion. However, her tears started to fall when she heard his promise, and she sobbed uncontrollably.
The moment he saw her crying, he panicked. He was over six feet tall, yet he was completely flustered in front of the young lady. He was momentarily stumped by how he could help her wipe away her tears. “Don’t cry. Didn’t I promise you?”
“Yeah, I’m not crying. I’m not upset…” She sobbed and cried out, “I’m so happy.”
All this time, she felt extremely upset as she thought that she no longer had a chance anymore. “Yishu, do you know that I made up my mind to stay away from you forever?”
The young lady sobbed as she said those words. When he heard them, he was shocked to the core. Then, he tightened his grip on her. Luckily I came looking for her. If I continued to let her misunderstand the situation, she would have left me. Based on Yuanyuan’s usual temperament, she was a pleasant and agreeable person; she would easily go along with whatever one said to her. However, when she was determined about something, she would become very stubborn instead. Just like this time around—although he wanted to meet her, it took a lot of effort to get her to agree to meet with him. Fortunately, I’ve cleared the air between us.
“No, I won’t allow something like that to happen”
She was slightly upset from all her crying. Then, she suddenly lifted her face and looked at him tearfully, pleading, “Can I hug you?”
The other party’s fingertips paused slightly as she blinked at him gently. “If it’s only for a short while.”
In the next moment, he bent down and pulled the young lady into his embrace. Placing one hand on her shoulder and the other on the back of her head while patting gently, he spoke in a low and gentle voice, “Alright; you’re going to be an adult soon. Aren’t you embarrassed to be sniveling like this?”
In response, the young lady sniffled and wrapped her small arms around his waist. “Yishu, I want to eat ice cream, chocolate, cotton candy, and cake.”
He was speechless.
“Can I?”
“All of that?”
“Can’t I? You’re so stingy, Yishu.”
“It’s not that you can’t, but aren’t you trying to lose weight?”
“Not today! I’m happy, so I want to eat!”
The young lady’s voice was energetic and filled with joy as if she had returned to the happy times in her past. Listening to this, the heavy feeling pressing against his heart gradually eased up. Thus, he agreed lightly, “Sure, let’s go eat then.”
That day, Yuchi Yishu brought Tang Yuanyuan to eat ice cream, cotton candy, and cake. He also bought some chocolate for her.
After Tang Yuanyuan finished her ice cream, she wanted another. When Yuchi Yishu noticed this, he lightly scolded her, “Ice creams are cold; you shouldn’t eat so many in one sitting.”
“Huh?” She was slightly dumbfounded. “But, I’ve already ordered it.”
Then, she had a flash of inspiration and pushed the ice cream that she had already taken a few bites of toward him. “Why don’t I give it to you then?”
However, he did not take it from her. Thus, she tilted her head to the side, asking, “Yishu, are you disgusted because I’ve already taken a few bites out of the ice cream? Do you find me repulsive, Yishu?”
“Of course not.”
He reached out his hand and took the ice cream from her, then he glanced at her helplessly. The young lady looked happy. When she saw him taking the ice cream that she had eaten before from her, she did not reveal any shy, embarrassed, or suggestive expressions. Instead, she innocently began to eat her cake.
Clearly, she did not realize how her actions of giving him something she had eaten before could be seen as a flirtatious move. In her eyes, it was simply an ice cream he didn’t want her to eat, thus, she did not. At the same time, she did not want to waste the ice cream. So, don’t overthink it, he chided himself fiercely in his heart. She was so naïve; he could not conduct himself around her with such impure thoughts.
Yuchi Yishu was not a fan of ice cream. He usually preferred to watch her eat them even when he was younger. Even so, he lowered his head and took a bite. The soft, cold, and sweet feeling instantly swept across his taste buds. His first thought was that it tasted pretty good.
“Yishu, does it taste good?” Tang Yuanyuan asked innocently.
“It’s not bad.” He nodded.
Satisfied by his answer, she continued to munch away at her cake happily. However, she soon felt like eating something else. She didn’t feel like eating the cake anymore, but there was still half of it left. Seeing that he was nearly done with the ice cream, she pushed the half-eaten cake toward him.
“Yishu, I can’t finish this. Can you help me finish it so it doesn’t go to waste?”
He pursed his lips. “If you can’t finish this, why are you eating other stuff?”
“Uh, it’s true I can’t finish the cake. But, I can still eat other things! Is that okay, Yishu?”
He sighed helplessly. “Don’t eat so much.”
“Thanks, Yishu!”
On that day, she ate a lot of things she had not eaten in a long time. Whatever she couldn’t finish, she would push over to him and ask him to finish it off. They continued to eat until night fell before they returned home. The relationship between them seemed to have gotten significantly better. In fact, it felt as if it was rapidly heating up. Of course, that was simply what he believed.
On the way home, the young lady was exhausted from playing all day. She held onto his arm, half-leaning against him. Then, she closed her eyes and looked like she didn’t feel like walking anymore. When he noticed how she looked, Yuchi Yishu crouched down in front of her. “Get on; I’ll carry you back.”
Tang Yuanyuan was very familiar with his back. After resisting the temptation for a bit, she jumped onto his back, then hooked her arms around his neck with familiarity.
“Thanks, Yishu. Can I take a nap for a short while?”
“Go ahead; I’ll wake you up when we arrive.”
