Ling Yun lowered her eyes, looking at the plate of steaming meat. She used her chopsticks to pick up a piece and, under Yu Yixian’s expectant gaze, placed it into her mouth and chewed silently.
Seeing this, Yu Yixian let out a sigh of relief, and then watched as Ling Yun pushed the plate of meat in front of her.
“I believe you. You aren’t hungry; you eat it first.”
Yu Yixian blinked. “Really?”
Ling Yun gave an affirmative “Mn.”
“Then I won’t stand on ceremony.” She had been starving just a moment ago; she might as well eat until she was full.
Mmm… delicious.
Sitting side-by-side while eating is actually quite uncomfortable. Usually, when Yu Yixian goes out to eat with friends, she tries her best to sit face-to-face; firstly, it is convenient for talking, and secondly, they don’t accidentally bump into each other while eating.
However, after that interference from Su Tao, the two of them ended up sitting side-by-side. At first, Yu Yixian was afraid that Ling Yun wouldn’t be used to it. After all, she was on the right side, so at least picking up food wouldn’t be an issue. Especially since she hadn’t been paying attention earlier when Ling Yun reached for food and accidentally bumped into her shoulder.
She had subconsciously started to apologize, but Ling Yun had very naturally switched her chopsticks to her left hand, adjusted her tray, and replied that it was fine, continuing to eat with her head down.
Since there wouldn’t be any interference, Yu Yixian swallowed the request to change seats.
The meal was eaten in silence. Ling Yun didn’t like to talk much while eating, and Yu Yixian, because of what happened before the meal, felt somewhat guilty, so she ate quietly.
Once full, Yu Yixian put down her chopsticks. Seeing the oranges Ling Yun had brought back nearby, she reached over and began to peel one.
“Are you full?” Ling Yun noticed Yu Yixian’s movements and asked in a low voice.
Yu Yixian, peeling the orange with her head down, responded lazily, “Mn. You take your time eating, no rush.”
She remembered that you could peel an orange into the shape of a little rabbit, so she decided to try it out.
The orange was a bit sour, and the juice splattered onto Yu Yixian’s lips. She licked it and ended up scrunching her face into a sour expression.
After carefully peeling for quite a while, a slightly ugly little rabbit was born.
Its two ears were of different lengths, and the edges weren’t smooth. Yu Yixian couldn’t find any tools for the eyes. She snuck a glance at Ling Yun, seeing that she was still focused on her meal. She looked around herself but couldn’t find a suitable tool to make eyes. Just as she was feeling disappointed, she suddenly remembered the earrings she was wearing today!
Yu Yixian sneakily took off her earrings. Since she had left the house in a rush today, she was wearing the most ordinary small pearl earrings—versatile and inconspicuous. She pressed them firmly into the orange peel.
A simplified version of a rabbit orange was complete.
Yu Yixian sneakily grabbed two napkins and, turning her body slightly, carefully wrapped the orange, planning to give Ling Yun a surprise in a moment.
After finishing all of this, Yu Yixian let out a soft sigh of relief. As she turned back, she met Ling Yun’s eyes.
Yu Yixian: !
“Cough, you’re done eating?” Yu Yixian cleared her throat, her eyes drifting away.
Ling Yun had long noticed Yu Yixian’s little movements, but she didn’t know exactly what she was doing. Now, seeing that she didn’t want to say, she didn’t ask.
“Mn.”
The atmosphere suddenly turned silent.
Yu Yixian pinched the orange in her palm, scooted her body forward, and leaned in toward Ling Yun.
“Senior, open it and take a look.” Yu Yixian took her hand from behind her back and held it out in front of Ling Yun, her gaze full of anticipation.
Ling Yun first smelled the unique scent of oranges. She reached out and peeled back the napkin covering the orange, stunned when she saw what was inside.
“Cute, right~” Yu Yixian’s tone carried a hint of smugness.
“Cute.” Ling Yun nodded. Noticing that the rabbit orange’s eyes were a bit unique, she subconsciously looked toward Yu Yixian’s earlobes, which were indeed empty.
“A gift for you. Take it back and use it as an aromatherapy scent, don’t eat it, it’s too sour.” Yu Yixian grabbed Ling Yun’s hand and placed the rabbit orange in her palm.
“Mn.” How could she bear to eat it?
Ling Yun didn’t speak her inner thoughts, but she slowly closed her palm, locking the entire rabbit orange firmly inside.
It was an ordinary action, yet Yu Yixian felt her ears burning, as if it weren’t a rabbit orange being held in that palm, but her own self.
Cough! Yellow thoughts, dissipate! Dissipate!
After resting a while longer, the two prepared to leave. There was a small disagreement when it came time to pay, which finally ended with Yu Yixian saying it would be Senior’s turn to treat next time.
When they left, Yu Yixian saw Su Tao again. Seeing Su Tao looking at her, she immediately pulled Ling Yun away without looking back.
Naturally, she didn’t see the way Ling Yun looked back with a cold, indifferent glare at Su Tao.
Ling Yun had things to do in the evening. Even though Yu Yixian was reluctant to have this hasty date end, she still took the initiative to wrap up the day.
“Senior, should I head back now?”
In the evening, the Wanda plaza was still brightly lit. Yu Yixian stood on the steps by the fountain; the fountain behind her, accompanied by colorful lights, attracted many people to stop and watch.
Ling Yun stood below, looking up slightly, meeting Yu Yixian’s light-colored eyes. She pursed her lips and finally asked the one thing that was weighing on her mind.
“Why did you and her break up?”
Yu Yixian was stunned. “Who?”
She looked into Ling Yun’s pitch-black eyes. Even with the bright lights behind her, they could not dispel the deep darkness in the bottom of Ling Yun’s eyes; they looked like an abyss, waiting quietly for its prey.
“The ex-girlfriend.” Ling Yun didn’t want to say that person’s name, but she truly cared—to be precise, she cared immensely.
She had always known that there had been many people in Yu Yixian’s world. She had seen some of them, and had even helped Yu Yixian drive some away. But there were some she didn’t know, like the girl who appeared today.
She couldn’t control her jealousy. She wanted to know everything about that girl—what they had done together. She was maddeningly desperate to know.
But Ling Yun also knew that she couldn’t ask, not right now. She didn’t dare expose her true thoughts in front of Yu Yixian.
So, she could only choose a question that wouldn’t reveal her dark inner desires, trying to soothe her own restless spirit in that moment.
And Yu Yixian always managed to soothe her emotions without realizing it. Upon hearing her ask “Who?”, Ling Yun’s restless spirit suddenly grew quiet.
This made her uncontrollably narrow her eyes in pleasure, watching every emotion on Yu Yixian’s face.
“Oh, you mean her.” Mentioning Su Tao, Yu Yixian wrinkled her nose in annoyance. “But don’t laugh at me when I tell you.”
Ling Yun shook her head. “I won’t.”
“She kept a snake. Once, during a date, she brought the snake out without telling me. It bit me. Luckily the snake wasn’t venomous, but I was terrified, and it even got to my family. Anyway, it almost turned into a huge mess, and then she acted like I was making a big deal out of nothing, so I broke up with her…”
When Yu Yixian recalled this incident, the expressions on her face were rich and varied; from time to time she would wrinkle her nose, then show a look of fear. Ling Yun took it all in.
She couldn’t help but follow Yu Yixian’s words and imagine that if she had been by her side back then, she definitely wouldn’t have let such a thing happen, and she would have comforted her immediately.
“…Look, there’s still a mark.” Yu Yixian got excited telling the story, hopped down from the step, pulled up her collar, and leaned in toward Ling Yun.
Ling Yun’s pupils shrank instantly.
On Yu Yixian’s fair collarbone, there were two black dots, looking just like moles. At this moment, Yu Yixian turned her head, exposing the skin around her collarbone to Ling Yun’s gaze, completely unhidden.
A surge of pity rose in the bottom of Ling Yun’s heart… along with a hint of inappropriate, straightforward desire.
She wanted to replace that snake and leave her own mark on Yu Yixian.