Yu Yixian dragged Ling Yun toward the elevator, head lowered, and didn’t stop until she reached the elevator doors.
It was only a short walk, but Yu Yixian’s palms had become incredibly hot and even slightly sweaty.
Especially at that moment when Ling Yun squeezed her hand back, her heart felt as if it were about to leap out of her body!
What did the senior mean? Did she have feelings for her? Or was there no other meaning, just a simple holding of hands?
Countless questions flooded into Yu Yixian’s brain, causing a hint of anxiety to rise within her—an emotion she had never felt before. It was a desire to touch, yet a fear of touching.
It was as if a giant gift box had suddenly appeared in front of her; as long as she didn’t open it, the box contained exactly what she wanted most.
Ling Yun lowered her eyes. She could see and feel Yu Yixian’s trembling eyelashes and slightly damp palms.
Ling Yun did not speak; instead, she chose to grip Yu Yixian’s hand even more firmly. Then, under Yu Yixian’s surprised gaze, she curved her lips and said, “Let’s go, we need to go downstairs.”
Yu Yixian walked along with stiff steps, led by Ling Yun. She stared blankly at Ling Yun’s long black hair, her consciousness still lingering on the moment the senior had gripped her hand back.
At this moment, a brainstorming session was happening in Yu Yixian’s head:
The senior must know what I mean, right? Surely?
But I haven’t actively told her I like her, although everyone around me knows I’m pursuing her…
But would the senior not know? Would she think it was just an ordinary hand-holding between girls?
But Chu Qingyu is the senior’s good friend, so the senior should know that I like girls!
So, the senior likely knows, which means that the action just now implies…
The senior has feelings for me!
The more Yu Yixian thought about it, the more excited she became. Her eyes shone as brightly as the sun. Even without turning her head, Ling Yun could feel the burning gaze coming from Yu Yixian.
With her back to Yu Yixian, she curled her lips. Relying on the fact that Yu Yixian could not see her, she did not hide her crazed emotions at all.
Ling Yun had done it on purpose. The moment that elite woman appeared, Ling Yun had read the hostility in her eyes. She was very familiar with that kind of hostility; she wore the same expression every time she saw one of Yu Yixian’s new girlfriends.
Unrequited longing.
But it was different now. She was no longer the one suffering from unrequited longing.
Yu Yixian would forever belong to her, and she would be eternally loyal to her little fish. Between them, no one else would ever appear again.
Therefore, she needed to put out a bit more bait to lure her little fish.
As they were about to reach Ms. Ling Qian’s hospital room, Ling Yun composed her expression, once again becoming the Ling Yun that Yu Yixian knew.
“We’re here.” Ling Yun took the initiative to let go of Yu Yixian’s hand and stood before a somewhat noisy hospital room.
Yu Yixian’s hand curled inward. A sense of loss welled up in her heart when she was released, and she instinctively looked up to search for Ling Yun’s eyes.
Ling Yun naturally knew what Yu Yixian was checking for. She smiled, pretending not to understand the meaning in Yu Yixian’s eyes, and said, “Don’t worry, Ms. Ling Qian is very gentle; she isn’t scary.”
That feeling of loss came and went quickly. Yu Yixian was someone who never suffered from internal friction and was extremely trusting. Since she sensed that the senior’s feelings for her were also different, only one path remained for Yu Yixian—a path leading forward.
“I know, don’t worry. I’m very popular with the elders,” Yu Yixian said in a very light, expectant tone.
Noticing the shift in Yu Yixian’s mood, Ling Yun narrowed her eyes slightly. As she pushed the door open for her, she used her movements to mask the gloom in her eyes.
It’s always like this…
She wanted all of Yu Yixian’s attention to be on her, and only on her.
Ling Yun closed her eyes. After opening them again, the gloom had vanished, and that pathological emotion was once again suppressed.
Yu Yixian recognized Ling Yun’s mother at a glance; she was essentially a gentle, mature version of Ling Yun. Sitting beside her was a glamorous, alluring beauty.
“Oh, you must be the Yixian that Xiao Yun mentioned. You are so beautiful.” Ling Qian was taking a shoddily peeled apple from Pei Lan when she looked up and saw a beautiful young girl walking toward her, followed by her daughter.
“Hello, Auntie. Hehe, thank you for the compliment.” Standing by the hospital bed, Yu Yixian generously accepted Ling Qian’s praise. “Auntie is even more beautiful; you are not only gentle but also have such a special aura. It’s no wonder you could give birth to a daughter as pretty as the senior.”
“Your mouth is so sweet, have some…” Ling Qian was tickled pink and was about to tell the young girl to sit down and have some apple, when she realized the one in her hand wouldn’t do—it was too ugly. She quickly looked at Ling Yun. “Xiao Yun, peel an apple for Yixian.”
Ling Yun smiled. Hearing her mother’s words, she was about to bend down to pick up an apple, but Yu Yixian grabbed her hand. “No need, Senior, it’s too much trouble.”
And in an angle that Ling Qian couldn’t see, Yu Yixian blinked wildly and mouthed: I don’t eat apples.
In the end, she even unconsciously acted spoiled while holding Ling Yun’s hand.
The fruit Yu Yixian hated most was the apple. When she was little, she had stolen a crisp apple from the coffee table, only to chip two of her front teeth. Not only was she teased, but she also spoke with a whistle!
Ever since then, Yu Yixian never touched apples again.
Ling Yun felt soft inside looking at such a cute Yu Yixian. A crazy thought rose in her mind to shrink Yu Yixian and keep her in her pocket to take with her everywhere, though she didn’t show it on her face. She gave Yu Yixian a reassuring look.
“Mom, this is the gift Yixian got for you. Open it and see.”
Ling Yun squeezed Yu Yixian’s hand, took the brown wooden box out of her pocket, and handed it to Ling Qian.
Pei Lan sat to the side without a word, watching the small interaction between the two, and raised an eyebrow slightly.
Ling Qian looked surprised. She hadn’t expected to receive a gift from a junior. She quickly handed the apple back to Pei Lan, grabbed a wet wipe to clean her hands, and opened the box with great solemnity.
“Oh, how beautiful!”
Hearing Ling Qian’s exclamation, Yu Yixian looked happily at Ling Yun and winked mischievously.
Auntie likes it very much.
“It’s so beautiful. Quickly, Pei Lan, give me the mirror.” Ling Qian carefully lifted the lily hairpin from the box and held it up to her hair to compare. With eager excitement, she reached out toward Pei Lan, who was sitting nearby.
“This hairpin was actually designed by the senior herself; I only helped her find a place to have it made,” Yu Yixian said, not having the habit of claiming credit.
Ling Qian’s gaze was gentle. She reached out and touched the hairpin that was now in her hair, laughing, “If you hadn’t taken Xiao Yun there, she would never have thought to make something for me. So, the credit is still yours. Later, have Xiao Yun take you out and make her do whatever you want. If Xiao Yun doesn’t listen, tell me—Auntie will take your side.”
Yu Yixian looked triumphantly at Ling Yun. “Then I’ll have to let the senior take me out for a good time.”
Ling Yun shook her head helplessly, her eyes full of smiles. She leaned over slightly, reached out toward Yu Yixian, and whispered, “At your command, my… Lady.”
Something seemed to have been swallowed at the end of the sentence, disappearing as it rolled on Ling Yun’s tongue.
Yu Yixian chatted with Ling Qian for a while longer and was surprised to learn that Ling Yun rarely spoke about her own affairs.
Yu Yixian stole a glance at Ling Yun, watching her sit quietly to the side, her gaze occasionally falling on herself or her aunt. Yu Yixian suddenly remembered the day she first met Ling Yun.
Beneath that cold exterior, her soul was unexpectedly gentle, not at all as unapproachable as she appeared.
Thinking back, Yu Yixian felt a sense of relief. She was fortunate that her relationship with the senior had progressed so quickly; she had expected the senior to be very cold and unwilling to pay her any mind.
“…Mom, she and I will be heading out now. Auntie Pei Lan, thank you for your help.”
After chatting for a bit, Ling Qian yawned slightly. Ling Yun stood up, and Yu Yixian followed suit immediately.
Pei Lan sat to the side, nodding nonchalantly. “It is indeed a bother.”
“Pei Lan, I’ll be hurt if you say that.” Ling Qian clutched her chest, pretending to wipe away tears.
“Hurry up and go, your mother is about to start her poor acting again,” Pei Lan said, shooing them away.
Ling Qian returned to her gentle demeanor from the start and smiled at Yu Yixian. “Yixian, thank you.”
Yu Yixian thought she was being thanked for the gift and waved her hand subconsciously. “It was mainly the senior’s hard work.”
Ling Qian shook her head slightly but did not explain. “Still, I must thank you.”
Ling Yun met Ling Qian’s gaze—two pairs of identical black eyes, but the emotions within them were different.
“Let’s go.”
“Oh? Okay! Goodbye Auntie! Goodbye Auntie Pei Lan!”
Yu Yixian waved with a smile, and although she hadn’t said a word to Auntie Pei Lan, she said her goodbyes very politely.
“A naive little girl. She’ll be eaten up without even knowing it,” Pei Lan said, withdrawing her gaze.
“Is that so? But I feel like it might be Xiao Yun who gets eaten up instead,” Ling Qian said, smiling at Pei Lan.
The chain was clearly held in that young girl’s hand.
Leaving the hospital, Yu Yixian checked the time; it was almost past two o’clock.
“I remember that Shuilin Park isn’t too far away. Why don’t we walk there? It’s perfect since we’ve been sitting for a while and I’m a bit tired,” Yu Yixian suggested.
Ling Yun naturally agreed.
“You and your mother look so much alike.” Recalling the scene just now, Yu Yixian couldn’t help but exclaim. This was the first time she had met a mother and daughter who looked so identical; she hadn’t even been able to fully inherit her own mother’s beauty, sigh, what a pity.
“You seem to like my mother very much?” Ling Yun asked gloomily.
Yu Yixian blinked and peeked at Ling Yun, testing the waters. “Not really. The senior is also very pretty, although you don’t have Auntie’s gentle temperament.”
Ling Yun’s steps faltered.
“But! I like the senior the most!” Yu Yixian laughed and took Ling Yun’s hand, swinging it.
Ling Yun lowered her eyes, her voice faint, seemingly not entirely convinced. “Really?”
“Of course! The senior is very gentle too. You tutor me, and you know what flavor of milk tea I like…” Yu Yixian began to chatter incessantly.
Ling Yun walked by Yu Yixian’s side, her eyes remaining gentle.
Their hands were never let go again until they reached Shuilin Park.
The news of the transplanted flower sea had spread far and wide, and many people had come to check it in. Originally, she had been worried about whether she needed to ask for directions, but to her surprise, they simply followed the flow of people straight to the flower sea.
It was late March, early spring, and the weather was slightly cool.
But the transplanted sea of flowers was blooming in a riot of color, and the fragrance was intoxicating.
Yu Yixian twitched her nose and leaned against Ling Yun.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s too fragrant, I feel like sneezing. The scent on the senior is much better.” As she spoke, Yu Yixian buried her face in Ling Yun’s shoulder and took a deep breath.
Ling Yun’s body went rigid, and a flush crept onto her ears beneath her hair.