Chapter Sixty-Four

After the fireworks ended, the park started playing instrumental music to urge people out.

Shen Yue was still somewhat dazed, but he didn't forget to hold You Congxi's hand tightly.

You Congxi tried to pull back, but was instead pulled and stuffed directly into the man's pocket.

She turned to look at him.

Shen Yue also turned his head and looked at her.

A few seconds later, You Congxi gave up first, turned his face back and sighed.

She changed direction and looked down at You Youyi, who had been sullen since the fireworks ended.

"Haven't you had enough fun?" she asked.

You Youyi didn't speak, but You Congxi gently shook her right hand, which was holding his, and changed his excuse: "Tired?"

"Mmm." You Youyi nodded, her voice very low.

You Congxi didn't say anything more; she knew why the child was unhappy.

No matter what, in the heart of a ten-year-old child, even if her mother was hitting her with a feather duster just a second ago, she would still feel a little disappointed if she ran away all night without making a sound.

After walking a short distance, all around were parents with children, couples and groups, their laughter and chatter a bit of a shock to the child next to her, who was heartbroken that her mother had abandoned her.

As You Congxi was pondering how to comfort the little golden retriever who had fallen into the water, he felt his right hand loosen, and the little girl suddenly lurched forward a few steps before abruptly stopping.

You Congxi looked up in that direction.

Under the dim streetlights, Yu Junya stood quietly, holding a coat, looking this way.

To be precise, he was looking at You Youyi.

Shen Yue recognized the woman's identity. He glanced at the little girl who was standing still for some reason and couldn't help but remind her, "Your mother has come to pick you up."

You Youyi stood for a few seconds, took a small step forward, then stopped, turned around and ran back, hiding behind You Congxi.

"Huh... what's going on..." Shen Yue was a little confused, but was stopped by You Congxi's gaze.

Yu Junya slowly walked over from the opposite side.

You Congxi let the children hide behind him and stood still.

Yu Junya stopped a few steps away, nodded to the two older children first, and then looked at the little one who was hiding.

“…Right Right,” she asked, “did you have fun?”

You Youyi remained silent behind the scenes, only her eyes were visible.

“Youyou…” Yu Junya hesitated for a moment, then half-squatted down and opened her arms to her daughter. “Are you cold? Come home with Mom. Mom made you some steamed egg custard.”

A moment later, You Youyi moved out from behind her sister and was then helped into the coat that Yu Junya had brought.

People around gasped in surprise.

It's snowing.

Light snowflakes drifted down slowly, falling in clumps, looking like scattered cotton candy crumbs under the streetlights.

You Congxi handed the ointment to Yu Junya, said goodbye, and then left with Shen Yue.

Shen Yue was led a few steps by her. He was a little puzzled by her sudden departure, but he didn't ask. He just helped her pull up the hood of her coat and zip it up.

Once in the car that Shen Yue had arranged in advance, You Congxi took off her hat and stared blankly at the snowflakes drifting down from the car window.

Snowflakes fell gently, and soon covered the leaves in the green belt with a layer of white.

As Shen Yue looked at You Congxi's profile, which was illuminated by light and shadow, he suddenly remembered what the little maid had said when he bribed You Youyi.

You Youyi readily agreed, even after Shen Yue had just mentioned the first small reward he was going to offer as a test.

“I know you want to rape my sister,” she said.

"□□?" Shen Yue asked, puzzled.

"I just want to kiss her, I want to add her as a lover," You Youyi explained seriously.

"Ah," Shen Yue paused, unsure whether to nod or shake his head, "You kids these days..."

Back when he was that age, all he knew was eating shit.

"What's with that look on your face? Are you looking down on elementary school students?" You Youyi was very perceptive. She swerved the steering wheel to hit him, but didn't forget to turn around and glare at him.

"No," Shen Yue immediately denied.

“Hey, I’ll help you this time, since my sister also wants to take advantage of you,” You Youyi muttered.

The driver was rushing home in the snow, so he drove very fast and managed to get the two of them home before they got stuck in traffic.

The snow gradually stopped, but the wind still blew snowflakes onto my face.

You Congxi no longer wore a hat, and snowflakes fell on her hair, standing out conspicuously among her black hair.

At this time of day, there would usually be some elderly women chatting with their grandchildren downstairs, but today there wasn't even a dog in sight. The once bustling neighborhood was now only filled with the standing streetlights and the windows lit up between the buildings.

It was quiet, but peaceful.

The two walked side by side, neither of them speaking first.

I don't know who approached whom first. Two hands that had been hanging at their sides, which had never crossed paths before, touched for a fleeting moment, then separated, then touched again... This time they didn't separate. The backs of their hands pressed against each other for one second, two seconds, three seconds... They rubbed against each other, then pulled apart and clasped hands.

The two stopped in the shadows at the entrance of the building.

Shen Yue gently shook their clasped hands, and the girl turned to look at him: "Hmm?"

"I..." Shen Yue was about to speak when he was interrupted by a series of messy footsteps.

"Mmm, no..." the woman said in a suppressed, coquettish voice, "You're so annoying, we're still downstairs... Mmm, don't kiss me..."

“What are you afraid of?” the man said breathlessly. “It’s snowing and freezing cold. What idiot would come out at this hour… um, baby, don’t hide.”

The two idiots stood in the shadows and watched as the two people staggered into the building, kissing each other, like two intertwined spinning tops, and spun all the way into the elevator.

All around was silent, so quiet that you could hear the soft rustling of snowflakes falling.

The two fools glanced at each other, then quickly looked away.

An ambiguous atmosphere quickly spread in this small space.

"Ahem," Fool Number One coughed lightly, took Fool Number Two's hand, and put it in his pocket. "Um..."

"How did you bribe You Youyi just now?" asked the second fool, clearly also frightened by the two spinning tops and blurting out whatever came to mind.

“I said…” Fool Number One hesitated for a moment before saying, “I can help her with her winter break homework.”

You Congxi: "..."

Sensing the urge to pull the hand out of his pocket, Shen Yue quickly pressed it down and took a step forward: "I was wrong, I definitely can't do something like aiding and abetting evil, You Xiaoyu, you have to believe me."

“Oh,” You Congxi stopped what she was doing and looked at him leisurely, “Then you’re a liar.”

“No, I…” Shen Yue, who had always been able to leave others speechless, tasted defeat for the first time. He organized his thoughts for a moment, and finally sighed, “She offered to help me hand over the mask.”

“Lying,” You Congxi said.

But as soon as she finished speaking, she remembered the confession under the fireworks, and her mouth immediately shut.

“Really,” Shen Yue said, “she said she wanted to make her sister happy.”

“My sister is always unhappy,” You Youyi said, gripping the steering wheel.

"What?" Shen Yue was taken aback.

“Every time my sister comes to our house for dinner, she eats very little,” Yu Youyi said, seemingly troubled. She frowned as she chased after the little boy and bumped into him, recalling the experience. “She also rarely smiles, and sometimes when she does, it tastes bitter.”

Shen Yue looked at her.

“But when my sister is with you,” Yu Youyi glanced at him during the car crash, gave a soft hum, and then turned back, “she’s always happy, always secretly smiling, and it tastes sweet.”

"I allow you to [illegible] my sister." You Youyi knocked the little boy's car far away, raised her eyebrows triumphantly at him, and then turned to the male vixen and announced seriously.

"What?" You Congxi was somewhat taken aback.

“That’s right,” Shen Yue took another small step forward, and the two of them were instantly so close that they could feel each other’s breath, “Are you happy with me, You Congxi?”

You Congxi instinctively tried to back away, but a large hand pulled her closer to his back.

Amidst the chilly wind and snow, she clearly detected that familiar scent of soap.

The man's warm body temperature enveloped her tightly.

Her stiff shoulders and back slowly relaxed in this warmth, just like every time before.

"Ugh, what kind of weather is this? The snow just started falling like that!" A series of hurried footsteps sounded.

You Congxi's body, which had just relaxed, tensed up instantly.

"Who says otherwise? That traffic jam stretched for two miles, and it took me almost half an hour to cover just a few hundred meters," another male voice complained.

The two people were standing in a dark corner outside the building entrance. If someone glanced over, they would immediately notice the two people standing very close together.

It was under these circumstances that Shen Yue embraced You Congxi tightly.

He hunched over, burying his face in the girl's shoulder, and said in a muffled voice, "I'm very happy, You Xiaoyu."

“I hope you can be happy too,” he said. “Never again will you force a smile, and never again will you taste bitterness.”

The complaints gradually faded into the distance until they disappeared.

This dark little corner has returned to tranquility.

After a while, You Congxi raised her hand and gently put her arm around the boy's slender waist.

“Okay,” she said.

*

Nothing much changed after we got together.

Jingling spent a few days with her daughter and found that she not only couldn't help but also acted as a third wheel between the young couple. Although she disapproved of early dating like any other parent of a high school girl in China, special circumstances call for special treatment, and her disapproval obviously carried no weight.

The two of them walked to and from school together, and after school they would stick together to do their homework.

Jingling had secretly observed that they were indeed doing their homework seriously, burying themselves in their own work and ignoring each other, not flirting under the guise of doing homework as she had imagined.

Every way you look at it, it's inspiring, it's full of positive energy...

What she disliked most was that this brat named Shen Yue always used the excuse of delivering cakes to come to their house and talk to their daughter, as if they couldn't talk at school. He would also stare at their daughter's face with a smile, as if he couldn't get enough of looking at her, as if they never saw each other at school.

Most importantly, his daughter, who usually doesn't like to have much contact with anyone, is now incredibly indulgent towards this brat!

Although she still wore that icy expression, don't think she didn't know that this girl would always sneak a smile when that brat wasn't looking! Sometimes, even after eating too much dinner and not being able to eat a single grain of rice, she could still calmly devour all the little cakes that brat brought her...

Jing Ling finally realized that her daughter, who kept everyone at arm's length, had actually fallen for this brat named Shen Yue!

What she didn't know was that the two of them had actually been secretly together for a long time.