Yu Yao went to the vegetable market to buy groceries, and after finishing her lunch, she began to prepare the ingredients.
She toiled for the entire afternoon, rushing and hurrying before she finally managed to finish processing the ingredients.
Seeing that the time was about right, she set off for Zhao Chuji’s school.
Zhao Chuji had mentioned earlier that she was going to the physics teacher’s office after school today to ask some questions, so she would probably come out a bit late.
Yu Yao was not in a hurry either; on her way there, she also conveniently bought some oranges that Zhao Chuji loved to eat.
Yu Yao had observed that when she first came into contact with Zhao Chuji, whatever she gave to Zhao Chuji, Zhao Chuji would eat it, with no obvious preferences.
But as the two of them gradually became familiar with each other, even though Zhao Chuji was still not very picky about food, she now had foods that she loved to eat.
Yu Yao liked this change in her very much.
People who have suffered from starvation only have the primitive instinct to swallow when they encounter food.
Only when a sense of security has grown will they attempt to develop preferences.
This indicated that Zhao Chuji was forgetting her past pain piece by piece, becoming more vivid and lifelike.
Buying the oranges did not delay her for much time, and she originally thought she would have to wait for a little while longer, but she never expected that Zhao Chuji was already waiting at the school gate.
There was already almost no one left at the school gate.
Zhao Chuji’s lips were tightly pursed, her eyes were slightly cast down, and she stood lonely in the corner, looking as if she had been forgotten and abandoned by the entire world.
Yu Yao’s heart inexplicably tightened.
She walked quickly to the front of Zhao Chuji and spoke out in surprise: “Chuji, didn’t you say you were going to ask the teacher questions? How come you are out so early…”
Zhao Chuji raised her head, staring fixedly at Yu Yao for two seconds, and her gaze landed on the oranges in Yu Yao’s hands. Her tone was calm and without waves, yet her hand inside her sleeve suddenly clenched tightly: “The teacher had something to do today and told me to go back another day.”
“I sent you a message at three o’clock to tell you.”
“Ah?”
Yu Yao hurriedly opened her mobile phone, and sure enough, there was an unread message from Zhao Chuji.
She was busy processing the ingredients at that time and had not looked at her phone at all.
“I’m sorry, I was busy cooking at that time and didn’t look at my phone.” Yu Yao patted her own head in vexation.
“Next time, if I don’t reply to you within half an hour, you just call me directly, okay…”
Was she really cooking?
Zhao Chuji scrutinized Yu Yao’s expression. Yu Yao’s expression was incomparably genuine, but Zhao Chuji did not dare to believe it…
She had been deceived once before.
Half a year ago, that father of hers had not beaten her for half a month, and he even said he would change his ways for the better in the future, and even broke all precedents by buying a few pounds of meat, letting her sit at the table to eat together.
She picked up her chopsticks and, trembling with fear, had just eaten a slice of meat when her father said that she should pack up her things, because three days later the debt collectors would come to the door, and they would take her to a “good place”…
She did not want to look back on the events of that time again; she only scrutinized Yu Yao…
In just a short span of over half a year, living together with Yu Yao, she had ridiculously begun to forget the sufferings she had endured in the past.
Now that Yu Yao was buying oranges for her, was she also brewing a plan to abandon her?
Actually, in a certain sense, even if Yu Yao abandoned her, she could still live well now.
According to her grades, she could apply for a waiver of tuition and accommodation fees, and could even receive the poverty financial aid distributed by the school.
But Yu Yao said she could afford the burden and told her to leave the opportunity to people who needed it more, so she had not applied.
Her taekwondo training had also gotten on the right track, her body had become powerful, and dealing with ordinary people was no problem at all.
She had once planned exactly this way: to use Yu Yao as a stepping stone, and when she possessed enough strength, she could separate herself from Yu Yao at any time.
But now, she had not thought about separating from Yu Yao for a very long time…
She even suddenly discovered that Yu Yao’s weight in her heart was even heavier than she had imagined.
At the very instant she separated from Yu Yao this morning, she had even almost been unable to resist using her own ability to control Yu Yao, wanting to make Yu Yao not go away with Xiao Qin.
She had deliberately ordered dishes that required a very long time to prepare, because she did not want Yu Yao and Xiao Qin to stay together for too long, and wanted Yu Yao to be able to go back early to prepare dinner.
While she was waiting, her heart had plunged to the bottom of the abyss: the mere thought of Yu Yao talking and laughing cheerfully with Xiao Qin, recounting their old affection to each other…
She could not help but grit her teeth, and a kind of violent rage that wanted to destroy everything surged up inside her heart.
The message was also sent by her deliberately, because she wanted to test whether Yu Yao had gone home.
Time slipped away bit by bit, yet she never received Yu Yao’s reply.
She did not dare to test any further, fearing that she would obtain information she could not bear.
She only regretted that she had not made good plans in the past and lacked a defensive mind: she should have kept a closer eye on Yu Yao; Yu Yao was so good, there would definitely be people coming to snatch her away…
Now, she had fallen into a disadvantage in every aspect.
After all, she was merely an emotional sustenance, whereas the person Yu Yao had deeply loved and had even lost half her life for had already returned, so she could naturally discard her, this substitute…
“You’ve waited for a long time, right! Eat an orange first, the owner said this batch of oranges is particularly sweet.”
Yu Yao did not perceive anything amiss with Zhao Chuji.
Zhao Chuji had always been very quiet and never showed her thoughts on the outside. Yu Yao just acted the same as usual, picking up an orange and intending to peel it for Zhao Chuji to eat.
The orange peel was very thick and was very difficult to peel with hands. Yu Yao had just strenuously peeled open a corner when Zhao Chuji took it over.
“Let me do it.”
Zhao Chuji’s fingers were slender and extremely agile. When they first met, this pair of hands was covered with ugly chilblains, but now, due to her persistence in applying medicine, and with Yu Yao reminding her from time to time to apply hand cream, this pair of hands had become extremely beautiful.
Yu Yao did not stop her either, and watched with satisfaction as Zhao Chuji peeled the orange, feeling happier and happier the more she looked at her…
Her own luck was truly great, to actually encounter such a beautiful, obedient, clever, and sensible child in this mission world!
Zhao Chuji very quickly peeled the orange. The orange flesh was perfectly intact without the slightest damage on the surface. She cleared away the fibers completely and handed the entire orange over to Yu Yao.
“I don’t need it, it’s for you to eat yourself!” Yu Yao widened her eyes and did not accept the orange in Zhao Chuji’s hand.
Zhao Chuji pursed her lips, raising her eyes to look at her: “Sister Yu Yao, in the future, I will give everything I can give to you.”
“Don’t leave me behind.”
“I will work hard to earn scholarships and practice taekwondo, and I will work hard to do well in everything you want me to do…”
Gleams of tears gradually welled up inside Zhao Chuji’s eyes, and as if she did not want Yu Yao to see them, she stubbornly lowered her eyes.
Endless resentment surged within her heart: that Xiao Qin had hurt Yu Yao, so on what grounds could she return to Yu Yao’s side again?
She had to do something; she absolutely could not let Yu Yao neglect her because of Xiao Qin…
“I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have failed to reply to your message and arrived so late…”
Following Zhao Chuji’s narration, Yu Yao felt more and more heartbroken.
The meaning of pleasing in Chuji’s words was far too obvious, and her expression also looked extremely sad.
“Did someone say something to you?”
She recalled the sight of Zhao Chuji waiting all alone at the school gate, as well as the malice of the entire world toward Zhao Chuji, and guessed that someone had spoken mocking words to her…
“You must not take those words to heart. You look so beautiful and are so smart, I will never abandon you.”
Yu Yao spoke out anxiously, her eyes completely filled with apology: Chuji still lacked a sense of security, she really ought to give her some more care…
“Furthermore, everything I do for you is only because I am willing myself, and I never wish for you to repay or please me.”
“Chuji, you are already exceptionally good right now, and you do not need to change anything for me…”
Listening to Yu Yao’s words, Zhao Chuji could not help but laugh mockingly at herself: it was precisely within Yu Yao’s day-after-day gentleness like this that she had lost herself.
Yet she swallowed it like a sweet wine.
Now, she had achieved her purpose, proving that Yu Yao still cared about her very much.
She breathed a sigh of relief, and looking at Yu Yao’s concerned eyes, by some strange combination of factors, she suddenly remembered that matter which was weighed down across her heart, which had once made her unable to breathe and caused her nightmares night after night.
“Sister Yu Yao, what if I have done a very bad thing?”
She earnestly gazed into Yu Yao’s eyes.
“At that time, will you still be willing to continue tolerating me like this?”