Ye Qingliu helplessly grabbed her rebellious hand, but she leaned into his arms. With her other hand, she had already unscrewed the lid of the cup, inserted the straw, and handed it to his lips.
"Take a sip, bro. I picked this out specially."
Hua Jinyue's tone was full of willfulness that wouldn't be rejected, but her eyes sparkled, like when she was a child pestering him for candy. Ye Qingliu had no choice but to lower his head and suck on the straw.
She reached out and poked Ye Qingliu's cheek. He had just put the straw in his mouth when she touched him, and the ice cubes in the cup rattled.
"Stop it." Ye Qingliu frowned slightly, but still obediently lowered his head and took a sip. The sunlight filtered through the glass, casting a swaying spot of light on his face, and his Adam's apple rolled up and down as he swallowed.
Hua Jinyue stared at him without blinking, then suddenly reached out and grasped the cup. Her fingertips, still carrying the scent of the revelry outside, left a faint fingerprint on the cold cup wall.
"Let go." Ye Qingliu gave her a warning look.
Hua Jinyue increased her strength, pressing her thumb on the groove at the bottom of the cup. Just as Ye Qingliu lowered his head again, she suddenly squeezed hard—
"cough!!"
The cold lemon tea suddenly rushed up, and Ye Qingliu was caught off guard and choked. A few drops of amber liquid slid down his chin and dripped onto the collar of his snow-white shirt.
Hua Jinyue immediately fell down on the piano stool laughing, her hair sweeping across the black and white keys, bringing out a string of discordant notes.
"Flowers, soak, moon."
Ye Qingliu pronounced her name word by word and reached out to grab her wrist. The girl leaned back deftly, but he had anticipated it and had already put his other hand behind her waist.
She lost her balance and fell backwards, but he caught her steadily, and she half lay in his arms.
"Admit your mistake." Ye Qingliu looked down at her, his eyelashes casting fan-shaped shadows under his eyes.
Hua Jinyue blinked, then suddenly reached out to wipe the water droplets from his chin. Her fingertips lingered on his lips for a moment, their lemon tea-stained fingertips glistening.
"Is it sweet?" she asked softly, her voice like melted honey.
"Too sour," he commented calmly, but when she tried to escape, he tightened his grip. "It's not too late to admit your mistake now."
Chen Chunhua stood in the shadows, just quietly watching Hua Jinyue pinch Ye Qingliu's arm with a red face, watching the boy refuse to let go even though it hurt, watching them making a mess on the piano bench, not even caring about the few noises made by the piano being bumped.
Memories suddenly flooded back. Ten years ago, Hua Jinyue had done the same thing, holding up a nearly melted ice cream and insisting on feeding it to Ye Qingliu while he was reading, only to end up with sticky cream all over his hands.
The little boy scolded her with a stern face, but still used his sleeve to help her wipe the chocolate stains from the corners of her mouth.
Now, the lemon tea stains on Ye Qingliu's shirt were slowly fading, and the folds on Hua Jinyue's skirt were like blooming petals. They were so close that they could count each other's eyelashes, and their breaths mingled with the scent of lemon.
"I was wrong." Hua Jinyue finally gave in, her voice soft and melting. She took the opportunity to get out of his arms, but from a safe distance, she made a face at him. "But brother, you're so cute when you get scared."
Ye Qingliu shook his head helplessly and reached for the lemon tea on the piano cover. Hua Jinyue quickly snatched the cup and took a big sip through the straw in front of him, making exaggerated swallowing sounds.
"Give it back to me." He held out his hand.
The girl hid the cup behind her back, her eyes shining like stars: "Come and get it."
Ye Qingliu was about to stand up when Hua Jinyue suddenly poured the remaining lemon tea into her mouth. The sound of ice cubes colliding was crisp and pleasant, and she puffed out her cheeks and smiled triumphantly, like a kitten who had stolen a fish.
The next second, Ye Qingliu pinched her chin and gently brushed the corner of her wet lips with his thumb.
"It leaked," he said, his voice a little lower than usual.
Hua Jinyue froze in place, even her breathing stagnant. Ye Qingliu's hand was still resting on her face, his fingertips stained with a little candy from the lemon tea, gleaming in the sunlight.
"Keep playing the piano." Hua Jinyue whispered, putting the empty cup aside, her fingers unconsciously twirling the hem of her skirt.
Ye Qingliu hummed a "hmm" and put his hands back on the keys. When the melody sounded again, Hua Jinyue quietly moved towards him, her hair brushing lightly against his shoulders.
The boy didn't look at her, but he unconsciously softened the strength of his playing, as if he was afraid of disturbing something.
Chen Chunhua recalled that when she first came to the Ye family eleven years ago, she saw little Hua Jinyue doing the same thing, following Ye Qingliu everywhere. Even when she fell, she didn't cry or make a fuss, but would just open her round eyes and shout, "Brother, hold me."
From the beginning to the end, it seemed that her brother Ye Qingliu was the only one in her world.
———From the beginning to the end, Ye Qingliu was her everything.
Chen Chunhua gently closed the piano room door. Through the frosted glass, she saw two blurry figures gradually moving closer together, like two plants nestled together, growing quietly in the sunlight.
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