31 "Can't we just be so mature right after we started dating?"
The words sounded a bit forceful, but the action that came out was very light.
He Yu was like holding a treasure that he had lost and found again. He carefully tested it and gently asked for it. His feelings gradually deepened when he felt her response.
The fiery red sunset shone through the glass outside the window, and they both closed their eyes in the crimson light. Originally, he just wanted to stop her from looking at the painting, but as they kissed, the atmosphere around them gradually warmed up with the warmth of the afterglow.
Sensing the heat, He Yu was the first to let go of Tao Wangjia.
He held her in his arms to calm her breathing, and raised his hand to smooth her messy hair.
“When did you cut it?”
He recalled carefully, his voice low and hoarse, "I still had long hair when I was in Qieyang."
"You have a pretty good memory." Tao Wanji looked up at him, with a slight blush on the corners of his lips.
She leaned into his arms and said, "It's inconvenient to be undercover so I just cut it. Short hair is convenient."
She didn't tell the truth because she was afraid that he would worry. She was almost discovered by that group of people at that time. Someone grabbed her hair while she was running away. She luckily escaped the disaster and cut her hair off when she returned.
"You haven't shown me the painting yet." Tao Wanjia remembered the reminder he had just made.
He Yu knew he couldn't avoid it, so he turned around and handed over the dozen or so sheets of drawing paper.
They were all drawn casually when I was inspired, with no rules or techniques, but the scenes and expressions in each chapter are different.
Tao Wanji carefully flipped through the pages and pointed at a blurry figure. "When was this?"
"The day I saw you at the gas company."
He Yu answered softly, and circled her again from behind, "You ran so fast at that time that you couldn't even see your shadow clearly."
Hearing the teasing in his words, Tao Wanjia laughed, "How can it be as exaggerated as you say? I think you are just saying that on purpose because you can't draw well."
He buried his head in the crook of her neck and agreed, "I haven't painted in a long time. It's really not good."
After they parted, he never picked up a paintbrush again. Even the most skilled things will become unfamiliar if they remain stagnant for too long.
"Do you believe everything I say?"
Tao Wanjia touched his hand, rubbing her fingertips against the raised scar. He Yu noticed her pause and lowered his head to continue kissing her.
He didn't want to hear her say sorry nor did he want to see any guilt on her face. He was willing to do anything for her. Besides, life was not just about painting.
Having her by my side is the most important thing.
Tao Wanjia vaguely sensed something was wrong with him, her mind fuzzy as she recalled the anxiety he'd expressed when he'd confessed his feelings the previous night. He'd been searching for her for so many years, and the uneasiness had become ingrained in his bones. Even now, in his presence, it seemed impossible to stop his wild thoughts.
She felt guilty, and her kiss back was mixed with comfort, and the entanglement of lips and tongues gradually deepened.
Until his breathing became heavy, Tao Wanjia touched the buttons of his shirt as if possessed by some unknown force. He Yu opened his eyes, grabbed her hand and hurriedly stopped her.
He smiled, his throat rolling, "Can't we just be so mature right after we started dating? I'd be scared if you did that."
"What are you afraid of? Are you afraid that I will covet your beauty? Or are you afraid that I will eat you alive?"
Tao Wanji didn't dodge at all, staring straight at the shadow reflected in his pupils. The two of them looked at each other quietly, and in the end, he was the first to look away, "No."
She laughed and flicked his chin with her finger, "Just teasing you."
"Anything else?" she asked again.
"What?"
"Paintings!" Tao Wanjia raised an eyebrow. "Even if Shengsheng doesn't mention it, there are a lot of them in the study. I want to go and see them—"
She pulled him out the door, and Huang Zheng, who was going upstairs, bumped into the two of them.
"Come down to dinner. I have something to tell you both."
Huang Zheng shifted her gaze from the two people's clasped hands, and when she looked at Tao Wanjia again, her face was full of smiles, and the lingering worry in her heart was finally put to rest.
She hopes Tao Wanjia is happy. After so many twists and turns in their lives, they should have a good ending.
The dinner was sumptuous, and there was Tao Wanjia's therapeutic soup on the table. Since returning from the hospital, He Yu has been strictly following the doctor's instructions to take care of his diet. Even if he has no time, he always tells his aunt before going out every day. For this, the aunt even gave him double salary.
Seeing the two of them sitting down together, Huang Zheng finally found an opportunity to tease them as she handed them the chopsticks, "Is there something you two haven't told me yet?"
Tao Wanjia smiled, and He Yu placed the prepared soup in front of her. "It's not too late to tell me now."
He naturally took her hand and said, "Jia Jia and I have reconciled."
He used the word "reconcile" instead of "be together". In his heart, he always believed that they had never broken up, but were just separated for a short time.
Although, the time they had been apart was quite long, almost longer than the time they had been together since they were young.
Huang Zheng's face was full of smiles, and she looked even happier than He Yu. She turned around to get some wine from the wine cabinet, then looked back at her daughter and Tao Wanjia, who were eating in bibs, and finally gave up the idea.
"Let's use water instead of wine and clink glasses for you two."
Tao Wanjia smiled, clinked glasses, and thought about what had just happened. "Did you say you had something to say?"
"Oh, that's right," Huang Zheng put down her chopsticks and said solemnly, "I'm taking my employees to the Jingping headquarters for training tomorrow. I guess it'll be a few days before I get back. I guess I'll have to ask you two to take care of Shengsheng. Is that okay?"
"Why not?" He Yu readily agreed, "You go and do your thing, and we'll take care of Shengsheng."
Tao Wanji asked with concern: "Have you booked a hotel? How are you going to get there..."
"Everything has been booked, and the main store is in charge. If you two say so, I can go with peace of mind. I've already talked to the teacher at Shengsheng Kindergarten. Apart from picking her up and dropping her off, there's nothing else to do. I'll be back soon."
Huang Zheng explained everything one by one, and then touched her daughter's head.
"You have to listen to what Auntie and Uncle He say, okay?"
Huang Shengsheng was a smart kid. He grinned while chewing the crispy meat in his mouth, "It's my aunt and uncle, mom, you're wrong!"
The three of them were at a loss whether to laugh or cry. The atmosphere in the restaurant became harmonious, and the empty house, which had been cold and silent for several years, finally had unprecedented warmth.
The next morning, Huang Zheng went out with her suitcase at six o'clock.
After she left, Tao Wanjia went down to the bedroom on the first floor. Originally, she was afraid that Huang Shengsheng would cry if she didn't see her mother when she got up early, so she held her in her arms to sleep together. However, as she lay there, she became more sleepy and fell into a nap without realizing it.
When she woke up again, Huang Shengsheng had already finished washing up and was sitting obediently on the sofa in the living room waiting for He Yu to comb her hair.
The morning light shone through the floor-to-ceiling windows onto the man's serious face. Tao Wanjia leaned against the door and watched quietly.
He Yu has a pair of beautiful eyes. He seems to be very focused in everything he does, and can easily attract other people's attention without being aware of it.
"Aunt, you're awake!"
Huang Shengsheng saw her pouting and said dissatisfiedly, "I originally wanted you to braid my hair, but Uncle He said that you are not awake yet and I can't disturb you."
He Yu frowned, tied the last strand of hair in his hand with a rubber band, bent down and looked at Huang Shengsheng, "You don't trust me to comb your hair properly, and you want to complain to your aunt?"
Of course Huang Shengsheng didn't believe it. How could boys comb hair well? They would just pull off girls' rubber bands in an annoying way.
"Your Uncle He is the best at combing hair." Tao Wanjia turned on the camera on his phone and patiently guided Huang Shengsheng, "Look, doesn't it look good?"
It is not the simplest ponytail or braid, but a bow shape with small clusters stacked up in a pattern.
Huang Shengsheng looked back in surprise after watching the screen and asked, "Uncle-in-law, how come you are so amazing? Did you have long hair when you were a child?"
He Yu smiled but before he could answer, Tao Wangjia on the side took the lead.
She took the schoolbag and put it on Huang Shengsheng's back, jokingly saying, "Yes, your uncle He had long hair when he was a child."
Huang Shengsheng laughed when he heard this. Tao Wanjia and He Yu met each other's eyes while laughing, and their thoughts drifted away together.
On the day of the kindergarten graduation ceremony, the backstage of the auditorium was crowded with children in performance costumes and parents who were chattering and helping to dress up.
Behind the red velvet curtain, Tao Wanjia stood alone, tiptoeing in front of the mirror and trying hard for a long time but still couldn't comb her hair properly.
She is seven and a half years old, but she still can't learn to comb her hair.
Aunt Liu was too busy getting up early and going to bed late to take care of her. Huang Zheng could just comb her short hair and go out. Tao Wanjia had long hair since she was little, and Wan Shuzhi used to comb her hair in various styles. But after her parents passed away, she couldn't find the style she liked.
She threw away her comb and shiny hairband in despair, and slumped over the table in the bustle of the surrounding crowd.
He Yu didn't know when he got in front of her, and his untrained mouth stuttered when he spoke——
"Give it to you, give it to you."
He was panting and looked like he had jogged all the way to find her. Beads of sweat were oozing from his forehead, but the ice cream shell in his hand was clean without any water droplets.
"What are you doing here?" Tao Wanjia was unhappy and didn't even look at him. "Eat by yourself."
He Yu pursed his lips and looked outside at the people who had already walked out.
He was worried for her, "It's about to start, you, your hair, haven't you combed it yet?"
"What's the point of combing my hair well? There are only parents in the audience, and no one is looking at me."
Tao Wanjia originally told Uncle Huang and Aunt Liu, but they were too busy to spare the time to attend, so they only gave her pocket money so that she could have a good holiday.
She had been looking forward to the graduation recital, as her teachers had told her a year earlier that the end of kindergarten meant she would become an independent elementary school student. She longed to grow up, to have someone by her side to witness every important moment.
She also wanted to be the center of attention, rather than being alone and placed at the back of the team by the teacher because of her height difference.
The thought made her feel even worse. She threw her head back and burst into tears. "Besides, I'm just playing the role of Hua Rui. It doesn't matter whether I go or not."
There was an announcement outside, and the factory leader was speaking.
He Yu tried to coax her in a hurry, and was relieved when he found that she didn't cry.
"I, I'm down there."
"Besides, being the pistil is also great. You, your role is very important!"
He picked up the comb she had thrown away, stood behind the chair and gathered her loose hair, and then carefully imitated the way he had seen Yu Li comb her hair at home.
Tao Wanjia looked at him in the mirror. The boy's focused expression revealed a bit of effort, but his dark and bright eyes were staring at her steadily from beginning to end.
I helped her comb her hair and carefully tied a colorful hairband, like her little tail following her all the way to the waiting area.
"Tao Wanjia, there's me too."
"I'll always be watching you."
He waved at her, rarely speaking so clearly.
Tao Wanji smiled, as he gained some confidence. He raised his hand to touch his perfect hair and gave him a thumbs up.
"He Xiaoyu, you are such a nice person."
She was willing to give him a nickname. Tao Wanjia felt that he was a colorful and beautiful little fish. Although he did not belong to the steel plant or here, the colors and luster of his brief stay here really made Tao Wanjia excited and curious.
She didn't understand it then, but now she understands. She sees him as another version of herself, a perfect and impeccable version of herself that she desires.
"Auntie, can you also take me to school?"
Huang Shengsheng grabbed the corner of her clothes and shook her gently. Tao Wanji stopped thinking and looked down at the snow-white little face.
"Of course." She smiled and touched her, "Then wait for your aunt to get a coat."
Tao Wanjia turned around and prepared to go upstairs. He Yu handed her the coat next to the armrest of the sofa and asked, "Your memory is so bad?"
"Get up early and do nothing for a day."
Huang Shengsheng stared at the smiles on their faces and held their hands, one on the left and one on the right.
This scene was a bit like a hallucination of a family of three. Xiao Zhang, who was waiting downstairs to pick up He Yu to go to the company, saw this scene and his eyes began to light up.
I have been following He Yu to Rongcheng for so long, but this is the first time I have seen such a lifelike smile on his face.
There is no tiredness or emptiness, it is a kind of solidity that comes completely from the heart and is supported by roots.
Thinking back to the days when she had tortured him and forced him to travel back and forth to various places, Xiao Zhang finally breathed a sigh of relief.
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