22 – Really want to hold her in my arms and kiss the soft, plump baby fat on her face.
When Shen Xiuyu entered, he saw Ruan Tiantian chatting and laughing with Lu Wenjie.
The girl rested her head on one hand, tilting it slightly, her eyes brimming with sparkling laughter.
She looked both lively and pure. As she curved her lips into a smile, Lu Wenjie kept talking, making Ruan Tiantian laugh even more joyfully.
Shen Xiuyu held a plastic bag containing medicine he had just bought.
Watching the two chatting so happily not far away, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of bitterness in his heart.
With him, she was always so serious—he had to provoke her just to catch her attention. But with Lu Wenjie, she laughed so freely.
Shen Xiuyu lowered his gaze and strode over. Hearing his footsteps, both of them instinctively looked up.
Ruan Tiantian’s smile hadn’t yet faded as she turned to Shen Xiuyu.
The boy’s black, tousled hair was slightly damp, the bangs in front of his forehead messy yet still striking.
His black jacket, soaked by the rain, appeared even darker. A drop of water slid down his deep, well-defined brow bone.
Seeing Shen Xiuyu drenched, Lu Wenjie immediately grabbed a few tissues from the table and handed them to him.
“Bro Shen, where have you been? How did you get caught in the rain?”
Shen Xiuyu took the tissues, then walked past him and sat directly beside Ruan Tiantian.
Ruan Tiantian hadn’t expected Shen Xiuyu to sit next to her, and before she could make room, the boy was already seated right beside her.
Shen Xiuyu placed the plastic bag on the table, glanced at the spread of barbecue, and casually wiped the water from his hair.
“Just a little rain, it’s nothing.”
Ruan Tiantian looked at the transparent plastic bag Shen Xiuyu had brought, which contained a pack of cotton swabs and a brown bottle of medicinal liquid.
She was puzzled—was he injured?
At that moment, Shen Xiuyu turned to look at her, meeting the girl’s confused gaze.
She was like a creamy little kitten—lively and adorable.
Shen Xiuyu’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly before he spoke. “Let me see your hand.”
Lu Wenjie was also confused—was Ruan Tiantian hurt??
Ruan Tiantian raised her hand, lowered her eyes, and took a look. There was a red mark on her arm, now slightly bruised.
It was from earlier, when Ruan Han and An Meirong had grabbed her. She hadn’t even felt the pain herself, but now she could see the mark left behind.
Only then did Lu Wenjie notice that Ruan Tiantian’s arm was indeed injured.
He glanced at Shen Xiuyu with admiration—he had noticed it so early, even before Ruan Tiantian herself had realized she was hurt.
Bro Shen had become so attentive.
Shen Xiuyu took out a cotton swab from the plastic bag, opened the medicine bottle, poured a little of the liquid into the cap, and soaked the swab.
Gently, he took hold of the girl’s fair arm. Her arm was slender, looking almost like a child’s in Shen Xiuyu’s hand.
Shen Xiuyu lowered his head slightly, his gaze focused as he carefully tended to the injury on Ruan Tiantian’s hand.
Watching his cautious movements, Ruan Tiantian said, “It’s just a little mark—it’ll fade in a few days.”
Shen Xiuyu continued his task. “My older sister screams for half a day at the sight of a cockroach. Why are you trying to act tough?”
Looking at Ruan Tiantian, so small and delicate, she seemed like someone who needed his protection—far more fragile than his sister.
Ruan Tiantian’s heart felt a bittersweet ache. This was the first time someone had shown concern for her. Since childhood, her family had only ever told her to be sensible.
She was told to give way to her older sister, who had a heart condition, so she learned to be sensible from a very young age and matured earlier than her peers.
Today was the first time someone had said to her, “You’re a girl—why push yourself so hard?”
The words might have been blunt, but the sentiment was genuine.
Her gaze fell on Shen Xiuyu.
The boy’s movements were gentle, his dark eyes focused intently on the marks on her skin as if handling something precious.
His eyelashes were long and beautiful, his nose straight and well-defined, his face narrow, delicate, and sculpted.
The lines of his profile were smooth and flawless, his jawline sharp yet retaining a youthful charm, his neck long, and his prominent Adam’s apple strikingly attractive.
She could even catch a pleasant scent from him—a refined masculine fragrance. Usually sensitive to perfumes, she found herself not disliking the scent on Shen Xiuyu.
Instead, it carried an air of sophistication on him.
Perhaps it was because he himself looked refined and elegant, with features that seemed expensive.
After helping her apply ointment to both arms, Shen Xiuyu tossed the cotton swab into the nearby trash can.
As he looked up, he saw Lu Wenjie across from him staring with a teasing expression.
Shen Xiuyu picked up a beef skewer and placed it on the empty plate in front of Lu Wenjie. “Eat, stop staring!”
Lu Wenjie took the skewer, took a big bite, and said with a smile, “Shen, back in the affiliated school, I remember you once got into a fight and split your lip, but you didn’t even bother with medicine.”
Ruan Tiantian glanced at Shen Xiuyu, then heard him say.
“I’m not that particular.”
Lu Wenjie’s tone was suggestive, his words drawn out. “Then why are you so particular now…”
Shen Xiuyu poured himself a glass of beer, then looked at Ruan Tiantian, his meaning clear.
His words were equally suggestive, his gaze lingering on her as if it could weave threads. “Why do you think I’m so particular now?”
It’s because I like you, damn it.
Of course, he didn’t dare say that out loud, afraid of scaring her away.
Ruan Tiantian froze under Shen Xiuyu’s gaze, even her breathing growing shallow.
Even while sitting, Shen Xiuyu was noticeably taller than her. The difference in their builds and heights was significant, making her seem like a fragile little rabbit beside him.
Her hands clutched tightly at her collar. In Shen Xiuyu’s presence, she could clearly feel the atmosphere shifting.
Shen Xiuyu raised an eyebrow, patiently waiting for her. A long moment passed, but Ruan Tiantian didn’t utter a single word.
Her eyes were clear and innocent, her pink lips slightly parted, giving her a naturally adorable, slightly dazed look.
Shen Xiuyu wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and kiss the soft, baby-fat cheeks of the young girl.
The moment the thought crossed his mind, he couldn’t help but lean closer to Ruan Tiantian, inch by inch.
Ruan Tiantian snapped back to reality and reached out, gently pushing against Shen Xiuyu’s approaching figure.
Shen Xiuyu paused, looking at the girl’s hand pressed against his chest, and raised an eyebrow.
Ruan Tiantian immediately withdrew her hand and sat up straight, like a model student attentively listening in class.
Upon closer inspection, he could see the faint blush spreading across her originally fair earlobes.
Shen Xiuyu curved his lips into a smile, straightened up, but didn’t increase the distance between them.
He and Ruan Tiantian were still very close.
Lu Wenjie saw it all, and the cool guy was already showing signs of becoming a devoted husband.