Chapter 37 I Want to See You

The moment their fingers intertwined, the whole world seemed to freeze.

Wen Zhi's breathing suddenly stopped, her brain stopped working, and it was as if countless stars were exploding before her eyes. She couldn't even swing her arms back and forth.

He lost all sensation in his senses, with only the heat in his palms spreading rapidly, the burning temperature climbing up his ear tips and cheeks.

A persistent buzzing sound rang in my ears.

After an unknown amount of time, he gradually regained his hearing, and the sounds of pedestrians laughing and commotion drifted back to his ears.

However, Wen Zhi's mind was still a mess, and she couldn't think about what was happening at that moment.

What's going on here...?

Is Song Juelan planning to make things clear to him at this time?

Wen Zhi's heart was pounding like a drum, her heart pounding like a rabbit, almost jumping out of her chest.

He held his breath and waited quietly for a while, but the person beside him did not make any further move, nor did he say a word.

Wen Zhi's thoughts became even more chaotic.

So now... does he know or not Song Juelan's feelings?

If Song Juelan hadn't been there, he would have even taken out his phone to ask Yao Zhihua a question.

What does it mean when someone holds your hand and interlocks their fingers with yours?

In the darkness, more than one person had a flushed face.

Driven by instinct and impulse, Song Juelan bravely took Wen Zhi's hand. After feeling the warmth of her soft skin, his mind went blank.

He knew what he should say next, such as that he liked Wen Zhi very much and that he had been thinking about Wen Zhi all day.

These words were already on the tip of his tongue, but when he glanced at Xiaotang's bouncy figure in front of him, he hesitated.

It seems inappropriate to say these things now.

It was wrong of him to have these feelings for Wen Zhi, and Wen Zhi might get angry if she heard his confession.

Therefore, he should at least avoid making Wen Zhi angry in front of Xiao Tang.

Of course, he hoped that Wen Zhi would respond to him, but that was almost impossible.

Song Juelan struggled with himself for a while, then came to his senses and found that the soft and warm touch in his palm was still there, and his heart skipped a beat.

Wen Zhi did not break free from his grasp.

Her fair and slender hand was forcefully wedged between his fingers. Although she did not grasp him back, she obediently allowed him to hold it tightly, her five fingers relaxed and spread out.

Wen Zhi did not seem to be offended by his behavior.

Upon realizing this, Song Juelan's heart pounded even harder, and the blood in her body surged.

In his more than ten years of life, he had never been so excited, even when winning a championship in a major competition.

The only clear thought was that he didn't want to let go of Wenzhi's hand.

Song Juelan tightened his grip on that hand without showing any emotion, and continued the conversation that had been interrupted, answering Wen Zhi's question as if nothing had happened.

"It won't affect my work. Once this is over, I can go back to teaching Xiaotang."

Wen Zhi was lost in thought when she was startled by the deep voice that suddenly rang in her ears. After hearing this useless nonsense, she was so angry that she wanted to punch Song Juelan on the head.

Is this question important now?

Could you please let go of his hand before we talk?

Wen Zhi gave a somewhat dejected "Oh".

The brightly lit entrance to the night market was just ahead, and there were more pedestrians on the roadside. The shouts of vendors and the aroma of food became increasingly clear.

Xiao Tang knew she shouldn't run around in crowded places, so she stood still and waited for Wen Zhi and Song Jue Lan to catch up. When she turned around, she found the two of them holding hands.

He immediately ran to the other side of Wen Zhi and tightly grabbed one of her fingers, as if afraid that Wen Zhi would be taken away by someone else.

Although they were holding hands, Wen Zhi felt that the hand Song Juelan was holding was burning hot, making him feel flustered.

He led the two children, one big and one small, into the night market with somewhat stiff steps.

As soon as they entered the night market, Xiaotang's eyes lit up. She stood on tiptoe and craned her neck to look at the steaming food on the stalls.

Some business owners, seeing his cute appearance, would greet him with a smile and casually offer him a small sample of food.

Xiao Tang is small in stature but has a huge appetite, and she tried almost every food stall.

Song Juelan had promised to buy Xiaotang some delicious food, so he followed behind to pay, his phone screen constantly lit up with notifications of successful payments.

While he was paying, he kept his other hand tightly holding Wen Zhi's hand, as if afraid that if he let go, he wouldn't have another chance to hold her, and he intended to make his money back this time.

Their once dry palms were now sweating, but neither of them showed any intention of letting go.

After finishing the grilled sausage in her hand, Xiaotang ran to a tofu pudding stall and sweetly told the owner that she wanted a bowl.

The owner scooped a full bowl with a bright smile and carefully handed it to him. Seeing Song Juelan and Wen Zhi following behind to pay, he enthusiastically gave them an extra bowl.

"Is this your child? He's so handsome and well-behaved."

Wen Zhi didn't know how to explain that the person holding his hand actually had nothing to do with him, so he could only grit his teeth and say "Mmm".

They carried their tofu pudding to the wooden table next to the stall and sat down.

Two bowls of tender white tofu pudding were still steaming hot. Song Juelan pushed one of the bowls in front of Wen Zhi and handed him a spoon: "Try it?"

Wen Zhi's right hand was still being held tightly, so she could only use her left hand to take the spoon, scoop up a spoonful, blow on it, and then put it in her mouth.

The tofu pudding has a soft and smooth texture, but he usually prefers sweet tofu pudding and doesn't quite like this savory flavor.

He took a bite and put down his spoon, intending to leave it for Xiao Tang, who had already slurped down half a bowl of food.

"Don't you like it?" came Song Juelan's deep voice from the side.

Wen Zhi nodded subconsciously.

The next moment, Song Juelan naturally reached out and took the tofu pudding, picked up the spoon he had used, and calmly finished the bowl of tofu pudding.

Wen Zhi's eyes widened slightly, and she didn't blink for a long time.

Apart from his parents and Xiaotang, he has never shared utensils with anyone else, let alone eaten leftovers.

Song Juelan... how come he has absolutely no sense of propriety?

His fingertips twitched involuntarily, and he looked away with a complicated expression, his gaze falling on Xiao Tang, who was eating heartily beside him.

Xiao Tang slurped down the last bite, then held up her clean bowl to show Wen Zhi: "I'm finished!"

He nimbly jumped off the chair, threw all the trash on the table into the trash can, and ran to the next stall.

When passing by a cotton candy stall, Xiaotang was attracted by the colorful cotton candies, stopped and skipped over to choose a tiger-shaped cotton candy.

Song Juelan glanced at Wen Zhi, whose eyes were slightly brightening, and said to the shopkeeper, "I'll have another rabbit."

"Alright!" the boss replied cheerfully, and quickly began making cotton candy.

Threads of sugar fly out of the machine, wrapping around thin bamboo skewers. As the skewers spin, they grow larger and larger, eventually forming a fluffy, round ball. Adding more sugar threads of other colors transforms it into a lifelike tiger.

After handing the tiger-shaped cotton candy to Xiaotang, the shopkeeper started making rabbit-shaped cotton candy.

Wen Zhi's eyes were fixed on the bamboo skewer in the shopkeeper's hand, watching the white sugar strands gradually transform into a round rabbit, growing long ears and a round tail. As soon as the rabbit cotton candy was finished, she couldn't wait to reach out and take it.

After receiving the cotton candy, he realized that Song Juelan hadn't mentioned that the rabbit-shaped cotton candy was for him.

Wen Zhi lowered her head, opened her mouth and took a bite of the rabbit's long ear, then licked the sweet sugar strands off her lips.

Who cares? If it's not for him, then who else could it be for?

Continuing to walk along the bustling night market street, Song Juelan turned his head slightly, his gaze almost glued to Wen Zhi's lips.

He watched Wen Zhi take small bites of the cotton candy, occasionally sticking out her tongue to lick off the sugar strands stuck to her lips, making her soft lips moist and rosy.

Wen Zhi slowly realized something was wrong, and she raised her beautiful eyes alertly, glancing at Song Juelan: "I can finish it."

He was afraid that Song Juelan would take the food he had eaten and continue eating it, just like before.

Just then, a group of young men and women walked towards them on the bustling night market street, chatting loudly as if no one else was around.

"...I spent the whole day squatting near the swimming pool and didn't see anything!"

"I even wanted to take a picture with that coach, really."

"Hey, how about we go check again tomorrow? I refuse to believe we won't be able to catch him! If we could film a video of him and post it online, we'd definitely get tons of likes!"

Wen Zhi glanced over there hesitantly, realizing that they were talking about Song Juelan. If they recognized Song Juelan, it would definitely cause trouble.

Just as the group of people got closer, he suddenly felt his arm being gently pulled, and he lost his balance and bumped into Song Juelan's arms.

Song Juelan took the opportunity to put her arm around his waist, turned around, lowered her head slightly, and brought her face close to his neck, leaving only a broad back view for the group of people.

From a passerby's perspective, they looked like a young couple embracing and kissing, nothing special.

Wen Zhi was trapped in the scalding embrace, her nose filled with Song Juelan's refreshing scent, and she felt his hot breath spraying on her neck, causing her whole body to tense up slightly.

After a while, the group's noisy laughter gradually faded away and eventually disappeared into the crowd.

Xiao Tang, who had been ignored, tugged at Wen Zhi's sleeve and jumped up and down excitedly: "I want to play hide-and-seek too!"

Wen Zhi quickly reached out and nudged Song Juelan on the shoulder, signaling him to get up. She then glanced at Xiao Tang and said, "I'll take you out to play again next time."

After strolling through the entire night market, Xiao Tang's tummy was round and full, and she licked her lips contentedly.

Song Juelan escorted them to the entrance of the residential area before stopping, saying goodbye to Xiao Tang, and then turning his gaze to Wen Zhi: "Let me know when you get home."

Wen Zhi nodded somewhat stiffly: "Mm."

Song Juelan continued to stare at him: "Get some rest."

Wen Zhi looked down at their tightly clasped hands.

How can he go back to rest if he doesn't let go?

Song Juelan's fingers tightened unconsciously, as if she was feeling the warmth of his palm one last time, before finally letting go reluctantly.

Back home, Wen Zhi's steps were still a little unsteady, and her right hand seemed to still have the burning heat of Song Juelan's palm.

Would ordinary friends hold hands and stroll through the entire night market like this?

Is this considered making it clear or not?

He felt a slight sense of bewilderment, unsure whether he should continue to play dumb.

After helping Xiaotang and herself take a bath, Wenzhi lay in bed and then remembered that she should tell Song Juelan that they had arrived home.

He picked up his phone and opened WeChat, only to see that someone had tagged him in the dormitory group chat. He clicked on it to take a look.

He Jin: [(Video Link)]

He Jin: [@Zhi, I remember this swimming pool is located near your house, right?]

Ding Mingjun: [This coach is definitely his type, tsk tsk]

Ding Mingjun: [You know what, he's the most handsome guy I've ever seen online.]

Wen Zhi's gaze lingered on the familiar video cover for a moment, and the corner of her lips twitched slightly.

Wen Zhi: [He is quite handsome]

What he meant was that he was even more handsome in person than in the videos.

He Jin: [Unfortunately, this is the only video I could find online.]

He Jin: [This video has been trending for a day, and still no one has managed to catch him.]

He Jin: [You won't get to feast your eyes on me!]

Wen Zhi tapped the back of her phone a few times with her fingertips, a hint of guilt on her face.

Just now, in the video, this person was holding his hand tightly and wouldn't let go, and he had seen Song Juelan's entire body up close.

My phone vibrated again, and a message popped up.

Song Juelan: [Are you home yet?]

Wen Zhi snapped out of her daze and opened her chat window with Song Juelan.

Wen Zhi: [We've arrived]

Thinking about the chat content in the group just now, he couldn't help but give one more reminder.

Wen Zhi: [You should try not to go out these next few days, it will be troublesome if you run into those people.]

Wen Zhi: [Let's skip the class the day after tomorrow too.]

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the screen; it was unclear what was happening.

After a while, two messages slowly popped up, as if they had been carefully considered before being sent.

Song Juelan: [Can I come to see you then?]

Song Juelan: [I want to see you]

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Author's Note: Thanks to yiinnnnff for the landmine!

Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution!

57 bottles of Tingyou Fanchen; 35 bottles of Qiqi; 10 bottles each of akane, Xielan, and Pikachu Ten Thousand Volts; 9 bottles of Yiyi; 6 bottles of Haoye?; 5 bottles each of Huangqi, Chiyu, and Worldpeace; 4 bottles of Fengyan; 3 bottles each of Anzhao Master and Qi Sili's Little Dog; 2 bottles of Qing; 2 bottles each of Zhengyu, Susu, Qishou Chuhuo Gua, Buxiang Shanban, Wo Hen Kan!, Su Yezi, Wen Weiyan, Jiandandian, Ji Kang, Yanyu Rumeng Quexizhou, 41501337, Qiuzhi, Wenrou Jiliang, and Zhishang Que 1 bottle.