An Yuan'er smiled triumphantly when she saw that Yi Chenli had stopped pushing her.
Having spent a long time together, An Yuan'er knew all too well that Yi Chenli was more responsive to gentle persuasion than force. She knew which approach would ensure he wouldn't refuse her.
She nuzzled her head against Yi Chenli's shoulder affectionately, like a spoiled kitten.
"Yi Chenli, do you know why I insisted on learning to ride a horse even though I knew it would hurt and be very difficult? It's because I wanted to prove to you that even someone like me who has no athletic talent can learn to ride a horse as long as there is a glimmer of hope and I persevere."
Yi Chenli responded, "Yuan Gun Gun is great; he can do whatever he wants to do."
An Yuan'er continued, "Then do you know what I want to do most? Yi Chenli, I want to heal your leg. I dream about it all the time."
"On that day at the Nandu River, I made three wishes to the river lanterns, and they were all the same: I wished that Yi Chenli's leg would get better."
Yi Chenli was deeply moved; his legs were a taboo subject for him, and no one dared to mention them.
Only when An Yuan'er repeatedly crossed his bottom line, he would not really get angry with her.
Yi Chenli felt a dampness on his neck; the little one in his arms was crying again.
She choked back tears and said, "Yi Chenli, don't resist it. Give me a chance, and give yourself a chance, okay?"
Yi Chenli gently patted the girl's back to stop her from crying.
He said helplessly, "Roundy, my legs are beyond help, really."
Yi Chenli never liked to dream, because he felt that it was an excuse for the weak to escape reality.
But after meeting An Yuan'er, he also had dreams. Sometimes he would think that if he had a pair of intact legs, he would definitely pick her up, lift her high, and spin her around. He would treat her with all his heart, making her the most enviable girl in the entire capital. He would marry her with all the proper formalities, through letters carried by wild geese, and in a grand sedan chair carried by eight men. In this life, she alone would be enough.
However, it was these crippled legs that prevented all of this from happening.
He only dared to be kind to her secretly, unable to express his feelings, because even if she didn't despise him, he would hate himself. The white moonlight in his heart, which he dared not touch, should not be tainted by a cripple.
She deserves the best of everything and shouldn't have any stains left around her.
Yi Chenli's inner turmoil was unspeakable, too sensitive to be touched.
An Yuan'er didn't believe in fate. She shook her head and said, "Yi Chenli, how do you know there's no way if you don't try? Even if there's no way now, what about three years later? Or five years, or ten years? If you don't give up, there will always be a chance."
Yi Chenli gently lifted the girl's head off his shoulder. He couldn't bear to do that; the girl's face was covered in tears.
Her tears were his misfortune, and also his sin.
He gently wiped away her tears: "From now on, don't cry anymore. Roundy, no one can make you cry, not even me."
"Then promise me, promise me you'll never cry again, really."
The girl gazed intently into Yi Chenli's eyes, her eyes filled with hope and pleading.
Yi Chenli remained silent until the very end.
His voice was hoarse as he slowly and solemnly nodded, uttering only one word: "Okay!"
Deep down, there was a thousand or ten thousand resistances and unwillingness, but one voice was enough: Yi Chenli didn't want her to cry anymore, didn't want her to repeatedly beg and worry because of his leg.
He thought: Whatever she wants, he would never bear not to give it to her. He would even give her his life.
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