Inside the pink packaging box lie two plump strawberry daifuku, their skin sprinkled with fine coconut shreds, like a layer of first snow.
"Qingliu," Bai Zhiye dipped some coconut shreds in her drink and suddenly moved closer to him, "Don't move."
Ye Qingliu froze in place, his gray-blue eyes slightly widened. Bai Zhiye dotted the coconut shreds on the tip of his nose. Seeing the white spot on his nose, she couldn't help but laugh out loud: "It looks like a snowman."
"Childish." Ye Qingliu said with disdain, but he sat there obediently without wiping his hands. He lowered his head and took a bite of the Daifuku, not realizing that cream had stained the corner of his mouth. His eyelashes cast a fine shadow under the light.
Bai Zhiye suddenly leaned over and brushed her tongue across the corner of his lips: "Cream."
Ye Qingliu froze, his entire body red from neck to ears, even the fingers holding the paper cup tinged pink. He opened his mouth, but all he could manage was, "...in public."
"Then you can go back?" Bai Zhiye blinked at him.
Ye Qingliu choked on his oolong tea, his collarbone glimpsed through his open collar as he coughed. He frantically wiped his mouth, but the more he wiped, the more cream he got on it, until his entire face flushed crimson.
Bai Zhiye smiled and wiped the cream off his lips with her thumb. He subconsciously held her fingertips in his mouth, but immediately realized something was wrong and let go in a panic.
"S-Sorry..."
Bai Zhiye watched him, bewildered, and suddenly realized that the second button of his shirt was undone—she had deliberately unbuttoned it last week, saying it would allow her to see his collarbone. The red mole, painted on with an indelible marker, was still there, like a personal stamp.
"Qingliu," she poked his hot cheek, "you are so cute."
"Shut up." Ye Qingliu turned his face away, but quietly pushed the strawberry Daifuku towards her. His left hand was loosely wrapped around the back of her chair, a protective gesture full of possessiveness yet politeness.
Bai Zhiye suddenly noticed that there was a Band-Aid wrapped around his right little finger—it was from the scratch she'd gotten last week when she'd insisted he teach her how to sharpen a pencil. He'd frowned and said, "Don't touch the knife, you idiot," but he'd still patiently held her hand and taught her for a full hour.
"Does it still hurt?" She touched the wound gently.
Ye Qingliu shook his head and suddenly pulled out a mint candy from his pocket. He peeled off the candy wrapper like he was unfolding a love letter, and the candy still carried his body temperature as it fell into her palm.
"A reward for you." He said softly, "You've been very good today."
Bai Zhiye held some sugar in her mouth, the sweetness melting on her tongue. Ye Qingliu looked at her bulging cheeks, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously curled up. The smile was very shallow, but it made his whole face lively, and the bottom of his gray-blue eyes looked like a melting glacier.
The rain had stopped by the time they returned, but Ye Qingliu still held his umbrella. The setting sun stretched their shadows, so long that the overlapping part resembled a crooked heart. When they reached the third streetlight, Ye Qingliu suddenly stopped.
"Reach out your hand."
Bai Zhiye spread out his palms, and Ye Qingliu took out a paper bag from his schoolbag like a magic trick - it was the strawberry Daifuku, and there was also a box of strawberry milk.
"Eh? When..."
"A secret." Ye Qingliu turned his face away, the setting sun gilding his profile. He quietly hooked his pinky finger around hers, his movements as gentle as a butterfly resting on its surface. "Tomorrow... let's go home together."
Bai Zhiye looked at their intertwined pinkies and suddenly remembered the little figure he'd drawn in the corner of his sketchbook—a girl with pigtails holding a mint candy, with the words "Stupid guy takes a nap like a pig" written next to it. Those doodles hidden behind the formulas were more touching than any love words.
Ye Qingliu suddenly leaned in and placed a feather-light kiss on the top of her head. The kiss was so light that it seemed like an illusion, but his red earlobes proved that it was not an illusion.
"The umbrella is tilted." He whispered, tilting it even more towards her. Bai Zhiye looked at his body, half dyed red by the setting sun, and suddenly felt that this rainy day was incredibly beautiful.
———————————————
Bai Zhiye suddenly opened her eyes.
The sound of rain pattered outside the window, the curtains swayed gently in the wind, and the room was filled with the faint scent of lavender. She stared at the ceiling, her chest heaving violently, and her fingertips unconsciously gripped the sheets.
———It’s that dream again.
In her dream, she stood in the warm light of a convenience store. Ye Qingliu looked down at her, a gentle smile in his gray-blue eyes. He pinched a fish ball with his slender fingers and passed it to her mouth. His voice was low and soft: "Zhiye, try it?"
She opened her mouth and took a bite, the soup spilling out, and he immediately brushed the corner of her lip with his thumb.
"Idiot." He whispered, with a slight smile on his face.
Then the dream woke up.
Bai Zhiye raised her hands to cover her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Why...dream about...Qingliu?"
“Zhiye… He called me Zhiye?!”
"Why……………?"
She turned over and touched the phone on the bedside table. The screen lit up, and the time displayed on the lock screen was 6:30 AM, and there was an unread message.
「清流」: Good morning, Nako.
「清流」: It’s raining today, remember to bring an umbrella.
「Qingliu」: I'll wait for you at the school gate.
Bai Zhiye stared at the screen, the corners of his mouth rising unconsciously.
———Their current relationship is lovers.
But unlike in the dream, they are now sophomores in high school. Ye Qingliu is in the elite class, Class 1, Grade 2, and she is in the ordinary class, Class 15, Grade 2.
She typed her reply slowly.
「Zhiye」: Good morning~Just woke up.
"Zhiye": I dreamed of you.
As soon as the message was sent, the other party replied almost immediately.
「Qingliu」: What did you dream about me?
Bai Zhiye bit her lower lip, hesitated for a moment, and answered truthfully.
"Zhiye": I dreamed that you fed me oden in a convenience store.
"Clear Stream": ...
「Qingliu」: Let’s go eat after school today?
She couldn't help laughing.
———Sure enough, he is still like this.
In the eyes of others, he was a flower of high status, the top student in his grade, the respected young master of the wealthy Ye family, and an excellent student that even teachers dared not disturb...
But in front of her, he was just Ye Qingliu.
He would immediately respond to her words "I dreamed of you", accompany her to the convenience store because she wanted to eat oden, and take a detour to pick her up because she forgot to bring an umbrella.
———He never makes her wait.
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