Chapter 5: Closeness abounds, but intimacy is lacking. ...
As the sun began to set, the evening glow painted the entire city of Shanghai red.
Soon it got dark.
Ning Yiwen returned quite late.
The first thing he did upon returning home with his purchases was to check on Ning Yao's study progress.
But he didn't expect to see Ning Yao with red and swollen eyes.
"What's wrong?" Ning Yiwen asked in surprise, letting go of what he was holding and stepping forward to take Ning Yao's hand.
After carefully checking her status, "Did someone bully you?"
Ning Yao lowered her head and silently shook her head.
As she swayed, a few tears fell, landing on her black pants and leaving small, inconspicuous water stains.
Ning Yiwen saw the reflection as the drop fell.
Her brow furrowed, a pang of heartache rising in her heart, her usually calm eyes becoming helpless. "What's wrong?"
He cupped Ning Yao's small face in his hands, gently wiped away her tears with his thumb, and said tenderly, "Sweetie, tell Brother Ning."
Ning Yao raised her hand and grasped Ning Yiwen's hands that were cupping her face, looking directly into his eyes.
He was looking at himself intently, his deep brows revealing his heartache without reservation, and his own reflection was visible in his eyes.
Gentle yet firm.
This gave her immense courage.
Ning Yao parted her lips and whispered, "Brother Ning, will you not want me?"
Ning Yiwen paused for a moment, then quickly replied, "How could I not want you?"
Thinking of how Ning Yao guarded her lonely grave after she passed away in her previous life.
Ning Yiwen sighed deeply, pulled Ning Yao closer, and gave her a loose hug.
"Ning Yao, don't worry. I won't abandon you."
Unless, you don't want me anymore.
He added in his mind.
“Then you…” Ning Yao opened her mouth, but swallowed the words back before she could finish.
She wanted to ask when they got married, but suddenly felt it wasn't necessary to ask.
As long as Ning Ge stays with her, he will naturally bring it up when the time is right for them to get married.
She should trust him.
Because she might not understand Ning Ge's choices, but they were never wrong.
"What?" Ning Yiwen looked down at Ning Yao.
Ning Yao understood, shook her head, and raised her hand to wipe away the tears in her eyes.
She gave a small smile and said, "It's alright now."
Ning Yao's eyes and nose were red, and her small face was alternating between white and red.
Ning Yiwen couldn't help but touch her red nose. "Look at you, you've cried your way through your face."
With a slight smile, she said, "Next time, just ask me directly. Don't hide away and overthink things."
Ning Yao nodded, "Okay."
"Alright. Let's see how much you've read this afternoon." Ning Yiwen released Ning Yao and turned his gaze back to the books spread out on the stone table.
The book was open, with the thin pages on the left wrinkled, clearly having been crumpled.
As for the right side... Ning Yiwen thought to himself, it seemed to be the page he had glanced at when he left.
Turning his head, he saw Ning Yao with her head down and neck hunched over, and secretly shook his head.
"Never mind, I'll go make some food first, you just..."
Ning Yiwen paused for a moment, then said, "Whatever. Do whatever you like."
He thought to himself that after crying so much, he probably wouldn't be able to concentrate on reading now.
There's no point in keeping people detained.
Ning Yao suddenly raised her head, her almond-shaped eyes wide open.
In the dimly lit courtyard, their eyes shone as brightly as two small light bulbs.
"I want to make lanterns."
She's wanted to do this for a long time.
On the way home from school last time, she coaxed and pleaded with Ning Yiwen to stand on the street for a long time.
I looked at the small lanterns, no bigger than the palm of my hand, skillfully woven by the old man on the street.
Ning thought she liked it and wanted to buy her a small lantern.
Ning Yao shook her head; she preferred making small lanterns.
The old man's skillful hands deftly wove each small lantern.
Ning Yiwen asked in surprise, "You still remember?"
That was about two weeks ago.
"I remember," Ning Yao said with a smile, then quickly ran back to her room.
She quickly ran back and showed Ning Yiwen what she was holding.
"Brother Ning, look, I've even prepared the tools and materials."
In his hand were a bunch of flat bamboo sticks of varying lengths and a small bundle of red string.
Ning Yiwen's lips curled slightly. "Go ahead and play. The bamboo skewers have thorns, so don't hurt your hands."
After saying that, he picked up the things he had just thrown away from the ground and headed towards the kitchen.
"Yes." Ning Yao smiled and replied crisply.
With lightning speed, she gathered the scattered books together and began to weave a small lantern.
The sun has completely set.
The kerosene lamp was lit, and its dim light illuminated Ning Yao, who was focused on her work with her head down.
Her long, black hair was braided into a large plait, hanging diagonally down her chest.
A few unruly strands of hair brushed against her forehead, fluttering in the evening breeze, but she had no time to pay them any attention.
Her small chin was clenched tightly as she intently manipulated the bamboo strips in her hands.
Pick up, press down, and wrap the thread.
Skillful hands can transform strength into gentleness.
The slender bamboo strips, like pieces of paper, gradually took on the shape of lanterns under Ning Yao's hands.
In the kitchen next door, wisps of smoke rose from the stove, and the oil in the pan sizzled as it heated up.
A strong sense of daily life permeates the courtyard.
*
The next day, Ning Yao, carrying Ning Yiwen on her back, secretly brought the round, small lantern into the school in a small cloth bag.
When she took out the small lantern in the classroom, there was another uproar.
The little lanterns, about the size of a fist, are bulging and incredibly cute.
This time, even Huo Li, who usually didn't like to talk to anyone, couldn't help but look at her.
"You really made it?" Geng Yunrui, the leader of the Little Radish Heads, reached out and picked up the little lantern.
He approached and examined it closely.
Ning Yao mentioned in class last time that besides origami, she also uses other things to make small toys.
Geng Yunrui felt that she had spoken too definitively.
I don't believe it.
So he gave her a test: to use bamboo as a subject.
Ning Yao agreed on the spot.
But after a while, nothing happened, and he thought Ning Yao was lying.
I never expected to actually see the finished product today.
Geng Yunrui exclaimed in surprise, "Did you really make this yourself?"
Ning Yao raised her chin. "Of course. Aren't there red threads wrapped around the upper and lower lights in this lamp room? These red threads are the ones you gave me."
Not only the lantern base, but even the tassels under the small lanterns are made of red thread.
The other students also eagerly took a look.
Lanterns are actually quite common, but this is the first time anyone has ever seen such a small and exquisite lantern, no bigger than an adult's fist.
Ning Yao watched them scrambling around with smug satisfaction, then grabbed Geng Yunrui.
"So, our agreement still stands, right?"
They had agreed that if she could produce a homemade bamboo toy, he would give up his position.
She should be the head of this elementary school!
Geng Yunrui looked at the lantern, then at Ning Yao.
Very hesitant.
He hesitated for a moment and then said, "How about we both become the boss?"
Huo Li, who was standing nearby, scoffed when he heard this.
Hearing this, Geng Yunrui turned around, put his hands on his hips, and said fiercely, "What, you have a problem with that?"
Huo Li glanced at him up and down, then turned away without saying a word.
He couldn't be bothered to argue with a little kid who was standing and the same height as him when he was sitting.
Geng Yunrui glared, rolled up his sleeves, and was about to speak when Ning Yao patted his shoulder from behind.
He turned around, glaring at her. He only calmed down a little when he saw it was Ning Yao, but his tone was still somewhat indignant. "What?"
Ning Yao smiled and said, "Let's make things clear first."
Moreover, class was about to start, and the teacher would be arriving soon.
Geng Yunrui was clearly still reluctant to give up his identity, and he hesitated for a long time without coming to a conclusion.
But Ning Yao had already made up her mind. She whispered to him, "How about this, you're the boss of the classroom, and I'm your boss?"
She doesn't have that much time to manage these kids.
Geng Yunrui subconsciously looked around and saw that everyone else was still playing with the lantern toy and no one was paying attention to them.
He whispered to Ning Yao, "Then, could we not let anyone else know? Also, you have to give me your little lantern."
Ning Yao raised an eyebrow and agreed.
“Okay!” Geng Yunrui nodded.
The agreement between the two was thus established.
Meanwhile, Huo Li, who had witnessed their agreement, shook his head and smiled slightly.
This little girl is quite clever.
After agreeing with Ning Yao, Geng Yunrui turned around, ready to continue causing trouble for Huo Li.
He was immediately enraged to see Huo Li shaking his head like that.
"Hey!" The voice was loud, but the tone was harsh.
The students playing nearby paused for a moment and turned to look.
Ning Yao patted his shoulder again and whispered in his ear, "Wait a minute, I need to talk to him."
Geng Yunrui's youthful face, mimicking an adult's, furrowed his brows, but in the end, he chose to give Ning Yao face.
Of course, it's also because of the little lantern.
But as she walked away, she still angrily kicked Huo Li's desk and chair.
Seeing this, Ning Yao sighed inwardly.
Kids are really hard to take care of.
Huo Li looked down at her worried expression, a smile appearing in his eyes.
"Thank you." The voice was rough and unpleasant to hear.
This is also why he doesn't like to talk; he was going through puberty at the time.
Every time it makes a sound, I feel like it's polluting my ears.
For some reason, he just wanted to talk to her today.
Unfortunately, Ning Yao didn't want to talk to him.
She glanced at Huo Li sideways, just like she had a month ago, without saying a word.
He turned around and took out a book from his bag to read.
He had an unapproachable demeanor.
She doesn't like to talk to people.
Huo Li was stunned for a moment when he saw this, but soon he felt a sense of familiarity.
He recalled the scene of Ning Yao talking to him on the first day and smiled speechlessly.
They hold grudges quite a bit.
Soon, Ms. Li, who teaches Chinese, came in, and the classroom began to quiet down.
Unexpectedly, the first thing Teacher Li did was mention their upcoming monthly exam.
He even specifically mentioned Ning Yao and Huo Li's names.
"If you can meet the standards in this monthly exam, I will recommend you to the higher primary school."
Ning Yao was delighted.
Although she had just secured the top spot among the top students in the classroom, being able to mingle with her peers was more important than anything else.
They immediately composed themselves and nodded very seriously to Teacher Li, who was watching them, to show their determination.
Huo Li rested his elbows on the table, propping his chin up, and looked at her enthusiastic expression thoughtfully.
It seems she really wants to go to a higher primary school.
After school, Ning Yao immediately shared the good news with Ning Yiwen.
Ning Yiwen stood with his hands behind his back, watching Ning Yao's animated speech with a smile.
The fact that he didn't reveal this matter was actually something he had requested from Elder Chen.
The two walked out of the school together.
Behind them, Huo Li walked slowly behind Ning Yao, squinting as he watched the two of them talk.
There's plenty of intimacy, but not enough physical affection.
As the voices drifted on the wind, one could faintly hear Ning Yao addressing that person as "Brother Ning."
relative?
Huo Li thought to himself.
It was during the school dismissal time, and people were coming and going. A black Chevrolet car was parked diagonally across from the school gate.
A man got out of the car, walked to Huo Li's side, and whispered, "Young Master Huo."
Huo Li turned and glanced at him, his emotions fading, and walked towards the car.
A note from the author:
----------------------
By the way, our first little brother, Geng Yunrui, also has a car [please][please].
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
