Chapter 59 Are you happy?
Inside the store, Ruan Yao picked up the latest "Mountain and Sea Cute Beasts" series from the display shelf, turned her head, and carefully adjusted the angle of its placement.
"The display of this series should emphasize a sense of story. You see, putting the nine-tailed fox and the Yinglong together can suggest the bond between them, like this..."
She was enthusiastically explaining to the shop assistant next to her, but halfway through her sentence, her gaze inadvertently swept towards the window.
The rain blurred the street scene, but the outline of the black Bentley parked on the opposite side of the street was so familiar that it made her heart skip a beat.
She subconsciously squinted, trying to see more clearly.
Beside the car, a tall figure stood in the pouring rain, without an umbrella.
The rain soaked his hair and shoulders, making him blend into the damp, cold night.
Huo Yanzhi?
Ruan Yao's heart skipped a beat. She thought it was because she had been missing him so much lately that she was hallucinating.
She blinked and looked over again with all her might.
The figure did not disappear.
He really is there.
He stood in the rain, motionless, across the street, through a curtain of rain, quietly watching her.
That gaze was so focused that it made her heart flutter.
A surge of overwhelming joy instantly overwhelmed my reason.
How did he end up here?
Huo Yanzhi stood in the rain, the whole world was gray.
Only that bright shop window, and the smiling figure inside, were the only colors in his field of vision.
Rain dripped down his hair, slid across his straight nose, and seeped into the fabric of his expensive suit.
He felt like he was going crazy.
He should have left, or at least looked at her through the glass.
But he still inexplicably pushed open the car door and got out, just so he could get a clearer look at her.
Like a humble believer, only through this almost self-destructive method can one feel a sliver of reality.
He saw Ruan Yao chatting and laughing with the shop assistant in the store, then suddenly stopped and turned around.
Their eyes met.
Across a wet street and an invisible curtain of rain.
He saw the light in her eyes, and was first taken aback, then, like a lit firework, burst forth with dazzling surprise.
But the next second, she turned and ran inside, disappearing from his sight.
Huo Yanzhi lowered his eyes.
He raised his stiff hand, preparing to open the car door and leave.
Just as his hand touched the cold doorknob, a sweet yet urgent voice pierced through the rain, causing him to stop in his tracks as he tried to open the car door.
"Huo Yanzhi!"
Huo Yanzhi raised his head.
The figure reappeared at the shop entrance, and Ruan Yao ran out of the shop holding an umbrella.
She crossed the zebra crossing, running rather fast, and rushed straight towards him.
The road was slippery, and she lost her footing, cried out in surprise, and leaned forward.
Huo Yanzhi's body reacted faster than his brain; almost instinctively, he reached out and caught her swaying body.
The girl's soft, sweet fragrance, mixed with the warmth of her sweater, instantly filled his embrace.
Ruan Yao steadied herself, completely disregarding the danger she had just experienced, and looked up at him, her eyes shining brightly.
"Huo Yanzhi, what are you doing here?"
She bombarded him with questions, giving him no chance to answer, her attention completely drawn to his soaked suit.
"Oh no! Your clothes are all wet! It's raining so hard, why didn't you bring an umbrella? You'll catch a cold!"
As Ruan Yao muttered to herself, she stood on tiptoe and tried her best to tilt most of the umbrella in her hand over his head.
The umbrella wasn't big, so she had to huddle close to him to keep him from getting wet.
Two people squeezed in instantly under the small umbrella.
Huo Yanzhi froze completely.
Ruan Yao, however, was completely oblivious and continued talking excitedly.
"Are you here to see the new store? You have no idea, our sales have been exceptionally good this past week! Especially the 'Mountain and Sea Cute Beasts' series, it's almost sold out, and many people are asking us online to restock..."
She tilted her little face up and chattered about her work, her voice full of excitement and pride, like a child eager to show off her report card to her parents.
Huo Yanzhi remained silent.
He just kept his eyes down, quietly watching her.
Looking at her cheeks flushed with happiness.
Looking into her bright, excited eyes.
Looking at her incessantly chattering red lips.
Looking at the umbrella above my head.
It was the one he gave her at the bar entrance.
However, the umbrella, which was originally pitch black and somber, was now covered with one bright daisy after another by her, though she didn't know how.
Bright yellow and orange burst forth with vibrant life against the backdrop of deep black.
Just like her.
In his world.
Ruan Yao talked to herself for a while before belatedly realizing that Huo Yanzhi had remained silent.
The atmosphere seemed a little too quiet.
She then realized that she was almost completely pressed against his chest, in an extremely intimate position.
Ruan Yao's cheeks flushed instantly, her eyes darting around, and she tried to explain herself in a low voice, as if trying to cover something up.
"The umbrella is too small, so neither of us will get wet."
Seeing him staring at the umbrella, Ruan Yao couldn't help but show off again.
"I thought all-black umbrellas were too stuffy, so I heat-printed a few flowers on them myself. Do you think they look nice?"
She looked at him, already prepared for him to subtly distance himself.
However, the anticipated alienation did not materialize.
Huo Yanzhi spoke, his voice carrying the dampness of rain.
"nice."
It consists of only two words, yet it conveys an unprecedented gentleness.
Ruan Yao's heart skipped a beat.
She slowly raised her head, only to meet his focused gaze.
Huo Yanzhi seems different today.
She couldn't say exactly where it was.
But he no longer deliberately avoided her approach; even his eyes, which were always veiled by a layer of mist, now clearly reflected her image.
In Ruan Yao's heart, it felt as if countless tiny fireworks were exploding with a "bang bang bang".
He's different now.
Does this mean that their relationship has made a little progress?
She was happily thinking about it when she heard Huo Yanzhi suddenly ask her a question.
Are you happy with your life now?
Ruan Yao was taken aback, wondering why he would suddenly ask this.
She looked up at him, raindrops dripping down the edge of the umbrella, casting ripples of light and shadow behind him.
She thought about it carefully, then nodded vigorously.
"I'm so happy."
"I like my job, my parents are in good health, my brother's work is going well, and everything is going in a good direction."
Her voice was clear and earnest: "I have never been happier than I am now."
Ruan Yao thought for a moment, then quietly swallowed back the words, "The happiest thing is seeing you."
It's too embarrassing to talk about this now.
Huo Yanzhi didn't speak, but listened quietly.
His silence, and his overly focused expression, made Ruan Yao's heart beat even faster.
"Huo Yanzhi, are you concerned about me?"
Ruan Yao asked another question, with a hint of coquettishness that she herself was unaware of.
Are you starting to get curious about me?
Once the question was asked, she didn't even dare to blink.
Huo Yanzhi's Adam's apple bobbed up and down.
He lowered his eyes and looked at her ankles, which were slightly red from standing on tiptoe, and her small, well-defined hands that were tightly gripping the umbrella handle.
To Ruan Yao's surprise, he neither denied nor avoided the issue.
"Um."
A very soft syllable escaped from the depths of his throat, mingling with the pattering rain, yet it struck Ruan Yao's heart with unmistakable clarity.
Ruan Yao's eyes widened instantly, filled with incredible joy.
He admitted it.
He actually admitted it!
Huo Yanzhi today is truly different.
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