Chapter 122 This minor illness passed quickly...
The minor illness went away quickly, perhaps because the heavy burden in her heart was suddenly lifted, and she recovered very quickly.
As usual, the two went downstairs to have breakfast one after the other, so much so that the cook didn't notice anything amiss.
They didn't deliberately avoid Auntie, but Ye Yuying always felt uneasy because Auntie was someone transferred from the Cheng family, and she didn't want the Cheng family to know too much.
After lunch, Ye Yuying started to feel sleepy in the warm sunlight. After taking a short nap in her room, Cheng Mingdu drove her out to see a movie.
She always felt that Cheng Mingdu's clothes were too formal, and that he could be easily identified as the most outstanding person in a crowd, even when he was silent and extremely low-key.
But who knew that when Ye Yuying was queuing to buy popcorn in the movie theater, someone might turn around and look at Cheng Mingdu.
In that instant, Ye Yuying realized that it wasn't the clothes that were formal, but the person who was formal.
Lately, all the movies have been popcorn movies, which Ye Yuying doesn't particularly like, but she keeps glancing at Cheng Mingdu beside her the whole time.
He is extremely focused when watching movies, which may be a prerequisite for him to become a top student—that is, to be fully engaged in everything he does.
I wonder if I would be this dedicated to doing that...
Wait a minute, she quickly looked away and ate the rest of the popcorn in one go, pulling herself back from the brink of danger.
The second half of the movie became even more tedious. She blindly guessed that the murderer was the fruit vendor who passed by the protagonist at the beginning. Why? Because in that shot, the vendor was the only one who turned around and looked at the protagonist, and the camera gave him a close-up.
After the protagonist's assistant in the movie repeatedly caused trouble, she completely lost interest in the investigation process. She whispered in Cheng Mingdu's ear, "I'm going to take a nap. Wake me up when the movie ends. I guess it'll be the fruit seller. If I guess right, you don't need to wake me. Leave after the movie ends."
Cheng Mingdu didn't seem surprised by this idea. Instead, he and she exchanged a knowing smile as they looked at each other. Then, a weight settled on his shoulder as she cautiously but also eagerly moved closer to him.
The light and shadow reflected on the movie screen shifted on her face, creating a play of light and shadow. Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and her breathing was shallow and even. She seemed to have the ease of a lover, yet also the comfort of a sibling.
A very complex and intertwined feeling...
But it's not bad.
When Ye Yuying opened her eyes, the movie had already ended. She looked at Cheng Mingdu, about to say something.
Cheng Mingdu reached out to take the popcorn box away from her, tilting his head and saying, "The murderer is indeed the one you guessed."
Even though their first date together consisted of such a boring movie, the excitement she felt inside was undeniable.
*
In the evening, Ye Yuying usually watched some variety shows downstairs before going upstairs to sleep, but today she went upstairs unusually early, even with a hint of eagerness and excitement.
When Cheng Mingdu had almost finished his work, he saw a message on his phone:
Brother, let's go see a movie together tonight!
To make up for missing the movie in the afternoon, she chose an older film with better content, a story about first love...
Originally, the two were supposed to go to the screening room in the basement, but Ye Yuying suggested going to Cheng Mingdu's room, turning the air conditioning down very low, and watching the movie wrapped in a blanket.
Upon hearing this, Cheng Mingdu's lips curled up, and he raised an eyebrow, asking, "Where did you learn that?"
"Little X book..."
As expected, the netizens on that certain book were right; this feeling is truly unforgettable.
In the warm blankets, she insatiably absorbed the body heat of Cheng Mingdu, rubbing her feet against his strong calves through his pants.
Suddenly, her ankle was firmly grasped by a hand, and warmth slowly emanated from the other person's palm. Ye Yuying was stunned for a moment and dared not move again.
As the movie's end credits rolled, the entire room was enveloped in a quiet, almost soft darkness.
On the screen, black and white subtitles slowly rose, and a wisp of warm air leaked in through the crack in the window, enough to make her cheeks feel warm.
She envisioned a scene with a great atmosphere, accompanied by background music, where she and the protagonist would kiss in sync. However, she hesitated repeatedly and missed these precious moments.
As the curtain fell and the curtain took its final bow, I felt a deep sense of regret.
That moment was so perfect, even the background music was playing a part.
"If only I had..." she muttered softly, her voice almost drowned out by the music.
"What?" Cheng Mingdu lowered his head, his tone calm, but with a barely perceptible smile.
"It's nothing," she immediately denied, her eyes darting around.
But his gaze was fixed on her face. The light was dim, and he couldn't see her expression, only her eyelashes trembling as her eyes moved.
She subconsciously pursed her lips, hating herself for missing such a good opportunity when her vacation was almost over.
“I said…” she pursed her lips, her voice almost a whisper, “I knew I shouldn’t have chosen this kind of movie, I wouldn’t have gotten so engrossed in it, to the point that…”
He chuckled softly, the sound resonating in his chest and coming from all around him.
The next second, all her words were interrupted by the sudden increase in temperature.
His lips fell.
It's like being in the polar regions, standing on a calm deck, and looking up to see snow falling heavily.
The warmth of melting snowflakes seemed to linger on his lips. His familiar yet unfamiliar aura created a tension that made one want to get close but also hesitate to get too close, which eventually turned into a brief moment of suffocation.
Kissing the person who occupied my entire teenage years, I probably will never have a moment of peace of mind.
In that instant, all sounds receded to a great distance.
The end credits song continued, the piano music layering up, yet it seemed to be separated by a long time and space, blurry and distant.
Her heart felt as if it had been instantly buried in a blanket of snow.
Later, she could feel that the trembling wasn't just in her body; he was trembling too.
She could sense his hesitation and doubt, as if he were weighing the options at the last minute: whether to deepen the relationship or to back down.
I'm pondering what kind of emotions and interactions an eighteen-year-old's soul and body can withstand.
She kept her eyes open until his eyelashes almost brushed against the corners of her eyes.
Her voice was very soft, like a feather drifting out of a dream, "Brother..."
These words seemed to have touched a nerve, for his large hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her even tighter into his embrace. His breathing became more rapid, and the sweetness gradually turned into a burning heat.
This name is so taboo; the more taboo it is, the more it drives people crazy.
The lighting at the end of the film cast a soft, almost unreal glow on the two people's profiles.
Ye Yuying's fingers unconsciously tightened around his sleeve.
She didn't know whether she was afraid or expectant.
Originally, I straddled his lap so that he could better leverage his strength, and that the face-to-face embrace would be tighter and make it easier for him to find a foothold.
But in the next second, she was somewhat surprised to sense Cheng Mingdu's instinctive reaction.
She stared at him for a long time, her lips curving slightly with a hint of unbridled laughter.
"Brother, so you can react too..."
"Don't speak..."
His voice was low, almost hoarse, as if he were struggling to maintain the last shred of his sanity.
He closed his eyes, as if using immense strength, and finally slowly released her, preparing to gently remove her from his body.
Ye Yuying did not leave, but instead suppressed her smile, her eyes shining like stars as she drew closer inch by inch.
"Do you like me? You haven't said it to me directly yet."
His gaze froze, his thoughts seemingly drifting back to a certain year, perhaps when his insomnia worsened, which proved that he had something to hide...
I always feel that gardeners will always love the flowers they water themselves.
However, Ye Yuying was not someone he had cared for from the seed. Rather, she was the flower that came into his hands. Back then, she grew crookedly and twisted, covered in barbs, and full of rebellion and aggression. It took him a long time to barely straighten her out. But more importantly and astonishingly, she was stubbornly fighting against her deformed self for many years.
Today, carrying the scent of wind and earth, she has carved out her own niche and grown ever more dazzling.
What moved him was not her unwavering affection for him, nor the moment she approached him, but the moment when she, despite being riddled with wounds and able to rely on others for support, was still able to stand up on her own.
He pursued reason and order throughout his life, yet in her chaos and courage, he saw the full weight of humanity.
She was like a flower that grew from ruins, her roots covered in dust, yet she refused to give up her shape even in the mud, growing towards the sun...
Ye Yuying's personality is at opposite ends of his own personality, but... but...
But he had already... had already...
I like her.
"like."
These were the most difficult yet sincere words uttered from his throat. These straightforward emotions dated back to his childhood, but he was destined to abandon his emotions and preferences on the road to adulthood. Even if he had them, he needed to suppress these budding emotions before they could be uttered in order to maintain his composure.
She paused for a moment, a hint of uncertainty flickering in her eyes.
"When did it start..."
He didn't answer immediately, but just looked at her quietly, as if recalling some moments he dared not touch.
"I'll tell you later. I need time... to make some changes..." Cheng Mingdu raised his hand and gently touched her temple with his fingertips.
Ye Yuying didn't understand what kind of change he was referring to. Was it a moral one?
But Cheng Mingdu knew clearly that it wasn't a matter of stance, but rather a matter of the order of the soul.
He once thought that emotions could be restrained by reason, as Plato said, and that they could be seen as a force that pulls towards goodness and leads to higher ideals and order. However, through his own experience, he found that it was actually contrary to reason.
She was the Dionysian fire in his destiny—wild, straightforward, chaotic, and mad—a force of emotion that forced reason to yield…
"But what I care about most is this moment." She took the initiative again and kissed his slightly upturned neck. The end credits rolled and the screen went completely dark, revealing a half-open door and a brightly lit corridor.
This seemed to be a switch; his reaction was much more intense than before. His Adam's apple bobbed as he tried to remain composed, but his rapid breathing was a suppressed panting, the sound of fabric rubbing together, and even more so, the sound of his reason collapsing.
She always seemed to have a knack for destroying his manners. As she rubbed against him, she glanced at the half-open door and said with a wicked smile, "Don't worry, Auntie is already asleep. I made sure to check before I went upstairs."
She has always been a wildfire, from childhood to adulthood. They could have made safer explorations, but she prefers excitement and even some misguided contact.
Cheng Mingdu's breathing quickened, his brows furrowed slightly, as he felt the instinctive, irresistible desire within him, ignited by this wildfire, rapidly spreading throughout his body.
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Author's note: Time to go see the dentist, then off to work [bubble tea emoji]
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