Chapter 36
Her thoughts drifted back to the past. After that, Li Ye realized the special significance of Zhou Yuan to her. The girl, who had just entered puberty, was unsure if this was what it felt like to like someone. Her instinctive caution made her observe first.
Unfortunately, the time the two spent together was not enough for Li Ye to observe Zhou Yuan's every move, and time is the most unreasonable thing. In the blink of an eye, it was time for their first separation.
Li Ye was admitted to a university in Shanghai. The 14-year-old boy was growing up very fast, and his face was gradually maturing. Zhou Yuan's handsomeness was already outstanding, and Li Ye standing next to him was obviously not as refined.
Geographical distance and academic separation prompted Li Ye to draw a dividing line in her mind, characterizing her special attention to Zhou Yuan as a one-sided adolescent infatuation, which she then suppressed deep in her heart.
Every winter and summer vacation before Zhou Yuan went to study in Shanghai, Li Ye became more and more certain of her conclusion. It was obvious that Zhou Yuan treated her the same as before. Children who grew up together really have little understanding of the opposite sex.
So, does Zhou Yuan really like her?
Driven by his selfish desire to stay in the same city as Zhou Yuan, Li Ye reluctantly told his family that he wanted to take the postgraduate entrance exam, and then spent another three years at school.
However, whether it was preparing for the postgraduate entrance exam or pursuing postgraduate studies, Li Ye was under tremendous pressure, which manifested physically as overindulgence in food and rapid weight gain, with the two factors complementing each other.
This is why Li Ye stayed home and rested for more than half a year after obtaining his degree; it was not only a recovery of his mental state but also a restoration of his physical health.
Ms. Li thought that Li Ye's weight loss journey should never happen again, especially after seeing a bunch of graduate students online who ended up in the hospital. She had previously had some complaints about Li Ye's large appetite, but afterwards she mostly ignored them and kept thankful that Li Ye's sleep was always stable, thankfully it was just a matter of eating a little more.
Zhou Yuan knew all about the past, and his attitude towards Li Ye remained unchanged, making her feel that the distance between the two of them was growing further and further, until that sudden and inexplicable confession last year.
This not only shattered Li Ye's judgment of Zhou Yuan's feelings for her, but also confirmed the misalignment in their emotional relationship. Both of them were clueless beginners who would engage in a campus romance that never existed.
Seeing the car stop, Li Ye was pulled back to reality again, "How much longer?"
"The last traffic light." Zhou Yuan was unusually tense, not noticing the darkness in Li Ye's newly opened eyes.
The steel-like traffic moved slowly along the lanes. Li Ye roughly estimated that she would have to wait for another red light. She opened her bag to make sure nothing was left in the rented room. "Did you bring your ID card?"
Zhou Yuan was so shocked he almost took his hands off the steering wheel. "I brought them."
"Is the restaurant specially decorated?"
"No, I only asked the boss if it was possible..."
Zhou Yuan automatically muted the rest of his words, finally snapping out of his daze after being shocked by Li Ye's sudden question. He looked ahead at the long convoy still far from the intersection, then secretly glanced at Li Ye, "Are we still going?"
"Of course, I was just asking."
Li Ye was still wondering where Zhou Yuan's feelings for her came from. This was not an easy question to ask. Would she be able to get an answer today?
Zhou Yuan quickly realized that this was another sudden idea from Li Ye, and he didn't really intend to go... That's why he was unsure about the actual progress with Li Ye and was afraid that Li Ye might back out at any time.
It was only in the first half of last year that Zhou Yuan realized Li Ye would feel inferior around him, which is why he planned to confess his feelings ahead of schedule. Now, he understands to some extent why Li Ye has hesitated countless times.
Will there be any different answers today?
Amidst the roar of engines, Zhou Yuan refocused his attention on driving. When he arrived at the restaurant and was about to get out of the car, he noticed that Li Ye hadn't moved yet.
"I really wanted to ask this in a private space." Li Ye couldn't help but ask, wanting to confirm before their relationship progressed further, "Zhou Yuan, why do you like me?"
Zhou Yuan stopped all unnecessary movements and stopped looking at the other person through the mirror. He inexplicably felt that this was the question Li Ye had really wanted to ask him many times.
How should he answer? Or rather, how would Li Ye refute his reply? Zhou Yuan briefly found himself in a quagmire that seemed familiar to Li Ye.
When it comes to appearance and dressing, people will point out that Li Ye is not as good-looking as Zhou Yuan, even though she is very good at makeup.
In terms of talent and ability, Zhou Yuan would be criticized as an employee of a large company with his own works, while Li Ye would be just an unemployed person with a slightly higher education.
In terms of personality and habits, Zhou Yuan's personality is not as stable as Li Ye's. Even if she is not friendly to her current family, she is still better than Li Ye's family, which is like a ticking time bomb. She is still known for being impulsive and has no fixed hobbies. The few fixed habits she has are incompatible with Zhou Yuan's.
Saying they are childhood sweethearts who grew up together is simpler. Strictly speaking, they grew up together until they were 14 years old. After that, they were separated for almost half of their lives. Their level of involvement in each other's lives is not as high as one might imagine.
Zhou Yuan carefully considered many possible responses, but ultimately returned to his initial answer, which was also his reply to his family.
"That summer when you were 18, when you cried and said you had nowhere to go, my first thought was that you could be with me, no other reason was needed."
"Perhaps our love started at different times, perhaps we missed out on a lot of time together, but,"
"I hope that we will never miss each other in any stage of our lives from now on."
Li Ye naturally still remembered that summer that Zhou Yuan mentioned. It was an important part of her memory that she didn't want to look back on. In her mind, it always belonged to the realm of family matters. She never expected that Zhou Yuan would take it as the beginning of his clear feelings.
Li Ye hadn't said a word, and Zhou Yuan was very nervous, like he was performing in front of his mother for the first time after deciding to learn the violin. Her decision would affect the future of his life.
"You're talking like you're proposing marriage. I'm not going to agree to that."
Zhou Yuan clenched his fists even tighter, his brows lowering unconsciously. Li Ye couldn't see him clearly through the mirror, and continued, "As for marriage, as we mentioned before, I've recently started learning tango, but I haven't even started playing the cello yet, and I haven't even bought a cello. What should I do?"
"Let's get off the bus and eat first, my boyfriend."
The sound of Li Ye unbuckled his seatbelt brought Zhou Yuan back to reality from his emotions of flying high into the air after falling off the cliff. His inability to open the car door twice in a row showed that his heart was indeed not at peace.
Zhou Yuan was not lying. The restaurant was not specially decorated; there was just one more fresh lily on the table than on the other tables.
Zhou Yuan always picks restaurants that are quite good; the ambiance and food are both excellent. At least Li Ye enjoyed her meal. On the way back, she took over driving, mainly because she was afraid Zhou Yuan would get too excited.
As soon as they got home, Li Ye lamented that it would be better to live in his own house now, and Zhou Yuan felt the same way.
"I won't be able to move into my own home until the end of the year." The thought of it all seemed like an eternity. "Theoretically, once it passes the inspection, I can move in, right?"
Zhou Yuan patted Li Ye's head and said, "It's good that you're moving in by the end of the year. Your health is more important."
Well, although their relationship has just started, Zhou Yuan has already smoothly gotten into character, and they can do intimate things without any preamble.
The routine for intimate gestures when starting to live together and getting closer usually involves the two of them having free time and both being in the living room. They would typically set an alarm in advance, with Zhou Yuan signaling an invitation, and Li Ye responding with actual actions. After the alarm rang, they would reluctantly end a hug.
"Would you like to practice Li Xue's dance together?"
Zhou Yuan pulled Li Ye onto his lap without any hesitation, letting her lean against his chest without any restriction. "You were going to learn anyway."
"However, I don't think I can pick up the cello that quickly. Will I be able to learn it before moving into the new house?"
Zhou Yuan thought that this was a prerequisite for marriage, and his breathing became heavier. His hot breath made Li Ye feel a little itchy on her neck, but she didn't dare to speak.
"Tomorrow, I'll take you to buy a piano." Zhou Yuan gently kissed Li Ye's lips, like a dragonfly skimming the water. "I'll teach you to play the piano every night from now on."
"Then...then let's practice tango together this morning." Li Ye blushed, and his words became unnatural.
"good."
This time it was a more formal kiss. The two beginners were exploring and learning from each other, and after it was over, they were both panting. "Do we need to catch our breath?"
"Swimming while breathing?" Zhou Yuan guessed.
Li Ye was a little annoyed and buried his head in Zhou Yuan's chest. "I haven't learned to swim yet. Can you?"
Zhou Yuan shook his head; he couldn't swim either. "We've started doing more things together now."
"Ah, shouldn't we change how we address each other too?" Otherwise, if we stay the same as before, Li Ye won't be so happy about the sense of responsibility that she sees as part of this love.
Zhou Yuan didn't know what Li Ye was thinking, but he thought it was a good idea. "Li Li?"
"Is that how you call me? That's fine too. How about Zhou Zhou?" Li Ye felt something was off. "I feel like I've heard this kind of name somewhere before."
Having learned from his female colleagues' nicknames for their favorite characters, Zhou Yuan lowered his head guiltily and snuggled close to Li Ye.
“It really is a problem with our names. We all have two-character names, and they’re both single characters that are hard to pronounce.” Li Ye seemed to have given in. “Let’s just call each other that for now.”
"If we had talked about this earlier, could we have bought a better house together?"
Following Li Ye's hypothesis, Zhou Yuan thought, "Li Li will want to buy her own house sooner."
"That's true. But I might also choose to buy a smaller house in another place, so as not to delay the money I would have spent on buying a house in a big city."
Zhou Yuan wrapped his arms around Li Ye's waist, their heads touching, and they could feel their bodies resonating as they spoke. "There's no going back now. It won't be easy to transfer the two apartments after they've been combined."
"Besides, there are no 'what ifs' in reality." Li Ye felt completely enveloped by Zhou Yuan, it was so hot. "I haven't changed my mind, loosen your grip a bit, I can't move at all."
"I will definitely be able to teach you by the end of the year."
Zhou Yuan obediently loosened his embrace of Li Ye slightly, giving him his assurance that their relationship had progressed further.
Li Ye hugged Zhou Yuan back and gently tapped his forehead to acknowledge his idea: let's find a time to get married before the end of the year.
On November 10th, Li Ye officially accepted Zhou Yuan's marriage proposal.
On December 1st, the two obtained their marriage certificate and officially moved into their new home, which had been converted into a master bedroom, on the same day.
"Ms. Li is urging us to hold the wedding again. Should we invite all four parents to come along?"
After a night of fooling around on their wedding night, the two lay naked in bed the next day, enjoying each other's company.
Zhou Yuan said lazily, "We agreed before that we would spend the New Year together here this year."
"Then I'll have to drive home every time, it's so far." Li Ye now felt the road was too far.
Zhou Yuan felt it was a bit strange to talk about this in bed on the second morning after their wedding. He quietly slipped his hands under the covers and touched Li Ye, but was immediately held down. The two then played around for a while before getting up to wash up when the sun was high in the sky, just like every morning for the rest of their lives.
Breaking free from the cycle of stagnation, stepping upwards into a new tomorrow, a brand new future formed by two people.
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