“How was your date today?”
Ye Qian asked while removing her makeup, as Wang Xiaoyue went to wash up and Tang Jia went downstairs to fetch hot water.
Yu Yixian was still sprawled against the railing; for some reason, this position felt very comfortable for her stomach, so she decided not to move.
“Sss—how should I put it? Overall, it was good, but there was a tiny little problem during the process.” Yu Yixian used her dangling hand to gesture “a little,” which startled Wang Xiaoyue as she came out of the bathroom.
“You scared me! What kind of look is this? Are you cosplaying a female ghost?” Having just stepped out of the bathroom and being startled, Wang Xiaoyue patted her chest and walked over to pinch Yu Yixian’s fingertips.
“Hurry up and lie down properly; your hands are so cold.” After pinching her, Wang Xiaoyue gave her a light pat.
Being touched on the fingertips by Wang Xiaoyue immediately made Yu Yixian think of what happened this afternoon, and she couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.
Ye Qian and Wang Xiaoyue exchanged glances. What was wrong?
“Do you guys think… if the senior held my hand with her fingers interlaced, does that mean she likes me too?” Yu Yixian felt that Ling Yun had a favorable impression of her, but she didn’t dare to be one hundred percent sure.
That question… Wang Xiaoyue stroked her chin. “I cast a vote for ‘she likes you.’ Although it’s normal for girls to hold hands, very few straight girls would interlace their fingers with someone else. At least, I wouldn’t.”
Wang Xiaoyue imagined herself interlacing fingers with Yu Yixian and gagged, waving her hand in disgust.
Yu Yixian listened carefully, nodded, and looked at Ye Qian.
“Then I’ll stay neutral, because I often end up interlacing fingers while holding hands; it just… feels okay. Besides, all the girls in my high school class did that, but I’m definitely straight, absolutely certain!”
“Straight girls are truly terrifying!” Wang Xiaoyue exclaimed, and Yu Yixian couldn’t help but agree, though she still took Ye Qian’s opinion into account.
Finally, Yu Yixian looked at Tang Jia.
Tang Jia put herself in their shoes and felt that Ling Yun liked Yu Yixian. Furthermore, she had once bumped into that senior, and the look in that senior’s eyes toward her was completely different from the look she gave Yu Yixian—it had obvious hostility, looking more like she was looking at a romantic rival.
Although Tang Jia felt a twinge of bitterness in her heart, she still shared her thoughts. “I think the senior likes you. The way she looks at you is completely different from how she looks at other people.”
“Really?” Yu Yixian was surprised; she had never noticed this before.
Tang Jia nodded affirmatively.
Yu Yixian fell into silence. Beside her, Wang Xiaoyue stroked her chin and instigated, “Why don’t you try confessing? The brave are the first to enjoy the world!”
“Don’t give her bad ideas. What if you get rejected? You should wait a while, observe more, and only confess when you’re sure.” Ye Qian felt that Wang Xiaoyue’s idea wasn’t good; after all, it was a major life event, so how could she go in without any preparation?
Yu Yixian felt that both of them were right, so she planned to combine their advice: she would first test the waters with Ling Yun.
However, Yu Yixian didn’t expect that for the next period of time, Ling Yun would become very busy, making it difficult even to see her.
Occasionally, Ling Yun would come to the downstairs of Yu Yixian’s dormitory when she had some free time. They would take walks and chat in the sweet osmanthus forest behind the building. Sometimes, Ling Yun would bring back little trinkets from outside to give to Yu Yixian.
Yu Yixian vaguely sensed the signals in Ling Yun’s actions that she was pursuing her. This feeling made Yu Yixian so excited she wanted to jump up. What was there to test? She was going to confess!
Time flew by until April 10th, the day before Yu Yixian’s birthday.
[X: Senior! Don’t forget our date tomorrow~]
[Ling Yun: I haven’t forgotten. I’ll wait for you downstairs at ten.]
Yu Yixian had intentionally changed “appointment” to “date.” Seeing that the senior replied without the slightest hesitation, her inner conjecture became even more certain.
[X: Hehe, then see you tomorrow! Get some rest early!]
[Ling Yun: You too, sleep early. /Little cat patting head.JPG]
Early the next morning.
Yu Yixian first replied to the pile of WeChat messages she had accumulated; they were all people wishing her a happy birthday and telling her to remember to check for gifts. Yu Yixian thanked them one by one and saw messages from her mom and dad telling her to take good care of herself.
After replying to all the messages, Yu Yixian checked the time and hurriedly rolled out of bed.
After washing up, she applied a beautiful makeup look in the bathroom and then stood before her closet to pick out clothes.
The weather today was much warmer than it had been recently, so there was no need to wear a trench coat; a simple small jacket would do.
Yu Yixian thought for a while, finally choosing to wear a long skirt paired with a thin jacket, finishing the look with a small white bag.
The others hadn’t woken up yet. Yu Yixian changed, finished her makeup, and checked the time—it was already past nine. Thinking about it, she decided to just go out and wait for Ling Yun. She didn’t expect that as soon as she arrived downstairs, she would see Ling Yun standing at the entrance.
Yu Yixian: !
Yu Yixian hurriedly trotted out, both pleasantly surprised and shocked. “Senior, why did you come so early?” Luckily, she had come down early, otherwise, who knows how long the senior would have had to wait.
Ling Yun smiled. “I came as soon as I was ready. How about you? Why are you down so early too?”
Yu Yixian touched her face, feeling a bit shy. “I… I am too.”
They looked at each other with tacit understanding and finally couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“Let’s go, Senior!” Yu Yixian cleared her throat and took the initiative to reach out and hold Ling Yun’s hand.
Yu Yixian had been struggling with the arrangements for today. Finally, combining her roommates’ suggestions, she decided to go to the aquarium, and she also heard there was a dolphin show today, which was supposedly quite good.
Then, in the evening, she had also arranged a fireworks display by the river—she would use this opportunity to confess to the senior.
After observing these past few days, she was 80% sure of success. Xiaoyue was right; the brave are the first to enjoy the world—she was going to confess!
If the confession succeeded, she would tell the senior it was her birthday and ask for a birthday blessing; if it failed… she hoped that wouldn’t happen.
For the journey, she still had a driver come to pick them up.
The relationship between the two had become much closer now. Once in the car, Yu Yixian sat leaning against Ling Yun and whispered the upcoming plans to her.
Ling Yun had no objections and went along with everything Yu Yixian decided.
Yu Yixian noticed that the senior was also carrying a bag today. She rarely saw the senior carrying a bag in the past, which made her take an extra look.
Ling Yun noticed Yu Yixian’s gaze; she placed her hand quietly on the bag and moved it behind her, suddenly asking, “What made you think of going to the aquarium?”
Yu Yixian withdrew her gaze, blinking her eyes rapidly. “Ah… because I suddenly wanted to see it. By the way, Senior, do you like dolphins?”
Under Yu Yixian’s expectant gaze, Ling Yun nodded silently.
Because Ling Yun said she liked them, Yu Yixian began to introduce other fun activities at the aquarium, and her eyes didn’t fall back to the bag Ling Yun was carrying.
Today was Saturday, and there were more tourists at the aquarium than on weekdays, with the majority being children.
Once there were a lot of children, the surroundings became noisy. Yu Yixian spoke two sentences and realized Ling Yun hadn’t reacted, immediately guessing that her voice had been drowned out by the noise.
Seeing this, Yu Yixian leaned in close to Ling Yun. “Senior, Senior~”
“Hmm?” Ling Yun replied in a low voice, meeting Yu Yixian’s excited, sparkling eyes.
“Let’s go over there; it’s less crowded there.” Yu Yixian pointed in a quieter direction.
Ling Yun followed Yu Yixian to the less crowded area. Although it was “less crowded,” there were actually still many children around. To ensure the senior could hear her when she spoke, Yu Yixian nudged closer to Ling Yun.
“Senior, if we talk this close, you can hear me clearly.” Yu Yixian’s eyes were filled with mischief.
“Mom, look, I want to be close and hug you like those two big sisters (▽),” a little girl not far away said to her mother, acting spoiled.
“Okay, Mommy will hug you, baby.”
Yu Yixian had sharp ears; upon hearing the little girl’s voice, her face instantly turned bright red, and she subconsciously wanted to stand back in her original place to open up some distance.
At this moment, an arm crossed over Yu Yixian’s waist, pulling her inward. Ling Yun’s calm voice sounded in her ear: “What are you running for? Don’t you want to watch anymore?”
Hearing Ling Yun’s words, although Yu Yixian’s cheeks were still hot, she stayed in front of Ling Yun with peace of mind.
They wandered around all morning, ate lunch at the aquarium, and watched the dolphin show in the afternoon. Yu Yixian had a very happy day.
As the evening approached, she couldn’t suppress her excitement.
After eating dinner outside, Ling Yun went to the restroom. Yu Yixian stood where she was, waiting, and took out her phone to ask about the fireworks arrangement.
[Secretary Li: Everything is ready.]
Yu Yixian breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly put her phone away when she saw Ling Yun returning.
Ling Yun noticed Yu Yixian’s flustered movements, her eyes narrowing slightly. What did her little fish see? Why was she so flustered? Did she not want her to see?
Yu Yixian was preoccupied with the thought of confessing and didn’t notice the look of inquiry in Ling Yun’s eyes. She cleared her throat and said, “Senior, I heard there is a fireworks show at the Xiao Liu River. Since we’re already here, why don’t we go take a look?”
Ling Yun stared at Yu Yixian with deep eyes. Yu Yixian felt a bit guilty under the gaze, and her eyes couldn’t help but wander, but thinking of the next arrangement, she plucked up the courage to meet Ling Yun’s gaze.
“Okay.” Ling Yun nodded slightly and reached out to touch her bag.
The Xiao Liu River was not far away, so the two of them just walked there, finding a spot with fewer people and standing still.
“I heard the fireworks are at 7:30. Let’s wait a moment.” Yu Yixian checked her phone; it was already 7:26.
Ling Yun had no objections. She stood beside Yu Yixian, her fingers continuously rubbing against her bag.
The two stood quietly for a while.
“Senior, has anyone ever told you that you are very gentle?” Yu Yixian dragged out the time, starting to examine herself.
Ling Yun shook her head; her gentleness was reserved for only one person.
“Senior, you are really a very good person. You helped me tutor, helped me solve problems, and even…” Yu Yixian counted everything that had happened with Ling Yun recently.
“Senior, no… Ling Yun.”
Yu Yixian took a deep breath, her expression becoming serious. It was the first time she had called Ling Yun by her name so seriously, though she was still not quite used to it.
“What is it?” Ling Yun looked at Yu Yixian.
“Ling Yun, I like you. Would you, would you be my girlfriend!!”
Yu Yixian turned to look at Ling Yun, looking into her dark, deep eyes. She took a deep breath and stuttered out the confession she had practiced so many times.
At the next moment, colorful fireworks lit up on the opposite side of the river.
The fireworks soared into the sky, painting the pitch-black night with a colorful starry sky. And under this starry sky, the young girl had bright eyes and flushed cheeks, looking at her with anticipation and nervousness.
In this instant, Ling Yun felt her heart being gripped by a pair of hands; time stopped, there was no wind and no sound, and even the fireworks in the sky seemed to pause in mid-air.
Ling Yun took in the nervous joy in Yu Yixian’s eyes; those bright eyes held only her reflection, held only her.
Her little fish was confessing to her.
Her little fish liked her.
A wisp of a gentle breeze brushed against the loose hair by Ling Yun’s ear, breaking the suspended time.
Yu Yixian’s heartbeat was like a drum; she held her breath, waiting for Ling Yun’s answer.
Each second felt extremely long.
Yu Yixian watched as Ling Yun raised her hand, her cool, gentle fingers landing on her hot ear.
She subconsciously closed her eyes and shrank back, but suddenly, a familiar, faint fragrance drew closer to her.
Yu Yixian’s eyelashes trembled. Ling Yun’s presence grew closer; as if bewitched, she opened her eyes and met those dark eyes that were filled with her.
The next second, a touch as light as a dragonfly skimming the water landed on Yu Yixian’s slightly dry, red lips. Ling Yun stood up straight, her eyes filled with a smile.
“Okay.”