Romance

His long fingers reached up to her forearm, squeezed into the gap between the bracelet and her forearm, hooked it and pulled it slightly, and the bracelet fell from the front of her forearm.

He grasped her hand, and moved his thumb and index finger in a circle like turning the beads on an abacus. He saw that the silver bracelet was engraved with intricate patterns all over, and if he looked closely, it looked like two parallel lotus flowers.

Ye Yuanyin suddenly reacted, raised his arm and twisted his wrist hard to try to break free from his control, but the man held on tighter.

Their eyes met in mid-air, and the struggle felt like a rolling wheel pressing down on their hearts.

Chen Diang grabbed her arm forcefully and brought her closer.

In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through my mind, like stars scrambling to get on a spaceship, crowding into the narrow cabin door.

The sky and the earth were dark, the lighting suddenly disappeared, and the world was in darkness.

Ye Yuanyin felt as if there was a bird hidden in his chest, its wings flapping non-stop, and he could hardly stand.

"Ayin," a voice pierced her eardrums, Aunt Long called her from downstairs, "It's time to pick up Yaya from school."

As the gears run in, time finally starts to flow again.

She calmed herself down, looked at the man in front of her, her mouth trembling, and after a long effort she finally said, "...you...let go."

Sediment stood up unmoved, his tall figure covering her thin shadow, and his other hand stroked her hair again.

Ye Yuanyin huddled together like a fly with its feet stuck in syrup. There was a buzzing sound in his ears, and the world was slowly collapsing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

He just picked the petals from her hair one by one, smiled lazily and said, "It looks like snow has fallen on your hair."

Seeing no response, Aunt Long called out again, "Ayin, where are you?"

She suddenly broke free from his hand and walked out of the room quickly, her voice breaking when she spoke.

"Here I come."

When I went downstairs, my wrist, where he had held it, felt like it had been burned by an iron.

Ye Yuanyin strode down the stairs, her silver bracelet knocking against the handrail again and again. She suddenly stopped, turned around and looked upstairs angrily - why was this person like this? He seemed very serious at ordinary times, but why did he become so dissolute when he was drunk?

*

The next day before breakfast, Zhizhi sat on the stone steps in the yard and drew with a branch.

Ye Yuanyin handed a box of paintbrushes to the little boy and said, "Zhizhi, why don't you draw on paper? That way, your drawings will never be lost."

Zhizhi opened her eyes wide, trying to understand her expression and the meaning of her words, but her reaction was still slow.

Yaya was dissatisfied with his slowness. To show her authority as an older sister, she snatched the branch from his hand and threw it away. She then forcefully shoved the paper and pen into his hands and loudly ordered, "Draw!"

The little boy screamed and used both hands to tear the paper, one strip after another, very evenly and neatly.

Yaya was very angry and grabbed him by the collar, trying to hit him.

Ye Yuanyin quickly put his hands under the girl's armpits and pulled her to the other side. "It's okay, it's okay. This is also creation."

Yaya glared at her brother and said angrily, "You bad boy!"

She broke free from Ye Yuanyin's hand and chased him around the yard, beating him up.

Chen Yan was walking down the stairs, his blue-gray shirt tucked into his dark-gray suit pants, a suit jacket of the same color draped over his rolled-up sleeves. He raised his other hand to push the loosely tied black tie around his neck.

Zhizhi ran over with all her might and hid behind him, hugging her legs.

"Okay, okay, don't be angry." Ye Yuanyin grabbed the furious Yaya and urged her to eat. "You'll be late for school soon."

Yaya struggled to escape her control, shouting like a whistle, "Sister, help me beat him up!"

"I promise to let him draw well." After finally calming the little girl down, she walked towards Zhizhi again, stretched out her arm and handed her hand over.

Chen Yan, who was standing in front of her, was stunned and subconsciously held her hand.

Her hands were small and soft, like a belly on the spring equinox, trembling up and down when touched.

"......!!" Ye Yuanyin blushed, shook off his hand, and reached out again, "Zhizhi, come here."

Seeing his face, he inevitably recalled his inappropriate behavior last night, but the man before him had a calm expression, as if he had forgotten everything. Ye Yuanyin was angry, but he didn't want to say much. He bent slightly and leaned forward to hold the little boy's hand again.

"Shall we go draw Grandma?"

The little boy, who had been unresponsive, finally took her hand and followed her.

Chen Yan watched the two figures disappearing into the distance, his fingers clenching and unclenching imperceptibly. A few seconds later, he couldn't help but laugh. The moment she extended her hand, his mind had gone blank, as if by some strange force.

Zhizhi picked up a black paintbrush and drew rough and sharp black lines on the paper. She looked so sad and helpless. Ye Yuanyin was in a bad mood.

Yaya stuffed her mouth with rice and asked as she ate, "Sister, when are you going to the county?"

"I'll be leaving in a moment."

"How do we get there?"

"Take Duofu's car."

Chen Yan looked over with dark eyes, rubbed his hungover forehead and asked, "What are you doing in the county?"

"Zhou You is back and asked me to meet him."

"Zhou You..." He read the name and asked again in confusion: "Who is that?"

“The leader of a public welfare organization.”

Xidian had a vague impression of him; he'd met You Jing once at the city welfare home. He was a man of deep scheming and deep thoughts. He smiled faintly and asked, "Just the two of you? Are you familiar with him?"

"Yes," Ye Yuanyin gave him a strange look, "He's my father's student, a senior in high school."

He drew out a long "hmm," and then added, "I have to go to the county to do some business, too. Take my car."

"No thanks," she said clearly, "I've already told Huamei."

Sediment stared at her, silent and silent.

*

After breakfast, Ye Yuanyin went to the small restaurant to find Lin Huamei. Huamei handed her a menu and said, "Help me check the list. You tick the boxes as I tell you."

After the two checked the vegetables they wanted to buy, her husband Duofu drove the family's white van over.

"Let's go, wife."

"Okay."

The village roads are narrow, with only one lane in and out. No matter how urgent your situation is, you have to keep your composure and follow the car in front of you.

After driving for a while, a black SUV followed behind.

Lin Huamei sat in the back seat with Ye Yuanyin. She was a person who could not sit still. She ate and chatted for a while, chirping like a magpie.

At this moment, she turned around and saw an unfamiliar car following behind her. Nothing could escape her sharp eyes. Hua Mei suddenly realized, "Hey, isn't this your husband's car?"

Ye Yuanyin also turned around and said calmly, "Oh, he has something to do in the county."

"Then why don't you go with him?" Lin Huamei complained, "That car looks expensive and comfortable. Why are you trying to squeeze in with me? You don't know how to enjoy your luck!"

"He's very busy, don't bother."

Lin Huamei curled her lips and asked in confusion, "How can the couple still be so polite?? I'm impressed!!"

She took out a handful of candies from her pocket, gave one to Ye Yuanyin, took another piece, peeled off the candy wrapper, put her arms around the backrest of the driver's seat, and put her hand into her husband's mouth.

"Afu, is it sweet?"

"sweet."

"So good." Huamei sat back contentedly, sucked her fingers and was about to peel peanuts again.

Ye Yuanyin looked at her with a tender smile in his eyes.

Huamei was very sensitive. She had been used to competing since she was little, so she asked fiercely, "What are you doing?"

"I envy your relationship."

“…That’s the best way!”

The mountain road finally came to an end, and the road turned out to be smooth. Lin Huamei wanted to experience what it was like to ride in a luxury car, so she urged her husband to pull over.

She pushed Ye Yuanyin out of the car.

"Don't go. You definitely can't stand them."

"I can't stand it!" Lin Huamei said, "Stingy guy, what's wrong with just riding in a 'hundred thousand yuan' car? Do you think I'm not presentable?"

"How dare I?"

Sure enough, when the driver of the car behind saw Ye Yuanyin, he slowly pulled over and stopped.

Lin Huamei took Ye Yuanyin's hand and walked around to the back seat. Chen Yan rolled down the car window. Huamei asked enthusiastically, as if she was familiar with him: "Mr. Chen, can I take a ride with you? Let me see the world!"

The passenger window suddenly rolled down, revealing Ji Quan's face. She glanced at Chen Jing'an and whispered, "Is it too crowded? Are you feeling uncomfortable?"

Lin Huamei had always disliked her arrogant attitude, but unlike Ye Yuanyin, she was not submissive and said bluntly, "Too crowded? Then why don't you take my husband's car? Just give up your seat to me."

The country woman was unruly and aggressive. Ji Quan just kept sulking and was unwilling to get involved in the secular world with her.

Chen Yanan looked at Ye Yuanyin and wondered why he looked so reluctant. He turned around and smiled at Hua Mei, "As long as you don't mind."

"No problem, no problem. Oh, you're really a big boss, you're different from those petty people!"

Ji Quan became even angrier when he heard the sarcasm hidden in the words.

Lin Huamei pushed Ye Yuanyin inside and followed closely behind in the back seat. She closed her own car door with ease, and with the force of inertia, the door slammed shut with a sound like thunderclap.

Uneducated. Ji Quan curled his lips with a cold face.

Huamei was gaining weight, and she was practically taking up two seats by herself. The backseat was so spacious, and she took up half of it. And yet, she wasn't one to compromise, so she kept squeezing and pushing Ye Yuanyin into Chen Yan'an's arms just to find a comfortable position.

Ye Yuan moved away from him a little bit due to embarrassment, thinking what to do since they had just started their journey.

The car started and when it passed Duofu's pickup truck, Huamei rolled down the window and called out to the driver, "Wait a minute, wait a minute."

She stuck her head out and said happily to Duofu, "Afu, let's meet at the highway exit. It's right at Exit 2. You know it, right? Oh? It's okay if you don't know. Ayin's husband will definitely drive fast. I'll be waiting there in advance. So drive carefully, muahmu~~~ Love you, husband."

Ye Yuanyin was used to Huamei's corny and blunt way of expressing herself, but Chen Di'an found it novel, as it was the first time he was called "Ayin's husband."

Duofu happily accepted his wife's air kiss and watched the car drive away. He slowly started the car and drove away humming a song.

*

At first, Lin Huamei found the car novel, touching and looking at it, marveling at how different it was from her own pickup truck: no leaks, no bumps, and completely silent, so comfortable. But the novelty soon wore off.

Why aren't they talking?

"...Ayin, I'm so bored."

Ye Yuanyin thought, she refused to listen to his advice just now and insisted on making trouble. With her personality, it would be strange if she wasn't bored in front of these two people who never showed their emotions.

"Just check your phone."

The cell phone was on loudspeaker, and Ji Quan was listening in front of her. Sometimes it was a rural mother-in-law and daughter-in-law fighting wits and courage, and sometimes it was a strong woman using tough words to clear out her stock of bags. Her impatience was almost flowing down her face, and she reached out and took out a pair of noise-canceling headphones from her bag.

Although Hua Mei had a rough personality, she was not stupid. After a moment's deliberation, she decided that she would never ask anyone for help from a mental hospital doorman like her! With her own explosive temper, if she didn't take revenge immediately, would she wait until tomorrow?

"Mr. Shen, do you want some candy? I made some nougat this morning, it's delicious."

Chen Dian thanked him politely.

Lin Huamei took out a few pieces from her pocket and handed them to Ye Yuanyin. Just as her little sister was about to hand it to the man next to her, Huamei grabbed her wrist.

"Hey!" She glared at her and said sternly, "How can you let your husband eat by himself? You feed him."

"Are you..." sick?

Before she could finish her words, Lin Huamei pinched her waist hard. If Ye Yuanyin didn't let her vent her anger today, she might chop her into pieces with a kitchen knife tomorrow.

Ye Yuanyin endured the pain in his waist, lowered his head to peel off the candy wrapper, turned his head to look at Chen Yan, and said awkwardly: "Do you want to eat?"

He raised his arm and leaned on the seat behind her, and asked with a half-smile, "Aren't you going to feed me?"