Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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His chest was so hard… Shu Mian shed a few tears and hurriedly jumped away from his embrace.
Tan Xuzhe lowered his eyes and saw that the girl’s originally innocent and pure face was now filled with tears, making her look even more pitiful.
The girl had accidentally pulled open his collar and touched him, and she blushed first. He inexplicably felt like teasing her, so he made a joke— he swore he really didn’t mean to make her cry.
“Don’t…” The word “cry” was not yet uttered.
Hearing the little girl’s soft, slightly trembling voice, “I’m so sorry, I did it on purpose…”
Tan Xuzhe: “?”
What was that?
After Shu Mian finished speaking, she opened her eyes wide in disbelief. What had she said with that lousy mouth?
She wanted to say it wasn’t intentional, so why did she do the splits as soon as she opened her mouth?
Just then, an old man passed by, glanced at them a few times, and sighed with heartache, “Young people these days, they’re so impatient…”
Then he shook his head and left.
“…”
Tan Xuzhe’s temple twitched, and he reached up to gather his shirt collar.
Knowing that the girl’s pulling on his clothes was completely accidental, yet she apologized in a trembling voice and then said it was intentional, he was truly at a loss.
“Deliberately?” He narrowed his eyes. She was such a well-behaved girl; how could she be so bold?
Shu Mian quickly shook her head, “No, I misspoke. I meant to say it wasn’t intentional.”
I’m so annoyed. I’m usually quite composed, so why can’t I even speak properly in front of him, and why do I blush so easily?
“…”
“OK.”
Tan Xuzhe looked at her wet eyelashes and gave a rather irritable twitch of his lips. “Whether it was intentional or not, I don’t blame you. So don’t cry anymore, okay?”
“…”
His deliberately lowered voice carried a sense of helplessness, and his hand was still covering his collar, making him look like a respectable gentleman whose virginity had just been taken from him.
Shu Mian waved her hand and explained, “I didn’t cry. It just hurt a little from the bump, so it was just normal tears.”
“Forehead?”
Tan Xuzhe leaned down slightly, “May I touch you?”
The sudden closeness made Shu Mian pause in her breathing. “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Tan Xuzhe didn’t touch her, but he still looked at her carefully with his eyes down. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that there were no marks on her forehead.
His owner was quite authoritative; Wang Wang now sat obediently at his feet.
“Here you go.” He handed the leash back to her.
Shu Mian didn’t answer. “Isn’t that your dog Wang Wang? I’m done walking it, and you’re going home anyway, so I’ll be going now.”
She didn’t know whether today was lucky or unlucky… She was afraid that if she stayed any longer, she might cause some more trouble.
Tan Xuzhe raised an eyebrow slightly, his voice low and languid, “If you don’t help me get the leash, how am I supposed to button my clothes?”
After saying that, he paused deliberately, a slightly roguish smile playing on his lips, his eyes fixed on her, “Or are you going to help me with it, Shu Mian?”
Shu Mian dared not help him, and hurriedly took the leash, turning her face away from the burning heat.
She then belatedly realized something— Tan Xuzhe actually remembered her name.
Her long eyelashes trembled, and her eyes immediately felt slightly warm.
Shu Mian was a proper secret admirer, never daring to dream of anything, or perhaps she liked him too much to dare to disrespect him.
Her moon will forever hang high on the altar, never needing to fall to the mortal realm.
The moonlight shone on her, and she became a better person because of it; that was enough.
Even when she mustered up the courage to write to him in the second semester of her junior year of high school, it was only because he seemed very depressed at that time. She racked her brains to cheer him up and only signed her name with a nickname that no one else knew.
Although she had heard that his desk was piled high with letters, but he never bothered to read them.
Tan Xuzhe remembering her name came as an unexpected surprise… perhaps because her surname was relatively uncommon?
Shu Mian watched him slowly and methodically button his shirt, her gaze involuntarily falling on the sharp Adam’s apple protruding from his neck.
She suddenly remembered what Song Yiyi said— men with large Adam’s apples have strong physiological functions and are very capable.
Wait, what was she thinking?
Feeling guilty, she looked away and handed him the leash, saying, “Then I’m leaving.”
….
The security guard, holding a piece of jerky and feeding the dog, said with a smile, “That little girl was quite pretty.”
Tan Xuzhe moved here just before the start of the school year, so he wasn’t very familiar with the security guard, but he couldn’t resist the barking of Wang Wang and his craving for food.
He suddenly remembered the faint scent of gardenias on the girl’s body when she bumped into him.
And when he was supporting her, her movements revealed a glimpse of her waist, and he could feel the touch of his fingertips brushing against her smooth, creamy skin.
Tan Xuzhe casually twirled his fingertips. “She is quite beautiful.”
“Your girlfriend?” the security guard asked with a gossipy look on his face.
After finishing the jerky, Wang Wang barked and acted like a scumb*g who would pull up his pants and then forget about you, dragging him into the residential area.
Tan Xuzhe wasn’t interested in gossiping about himself. “Thank you for the jerky, I’m leaving.”
He got home and then received a phone call.
“A Zhe, I was just taking a dump, why did you leave?”
Cheng Ji on the other end was puzzled. “My brother said you watched the home security camera for a while, then answered an alarm and left.”
“What? Was that dog walker no good? That shouldn’t be the case; I saw she got a perfect rating…”
“No.”
Cheng Ji was even more puzzled, “Then why did you suddenly leave?”
Tan Xuzhe raised an eyebrow. When he was watching the surveillance footage, he thought it was quite a coincidence that it was that girl.
And a sudden restlessness arose in his heart, such that he couldn’t sit still any longer.
Recalling the softness that had just bumped into her arms, he wondered, “What does it feel like to have your heart flutter?”
Cheng Ji on the other end was stunned for a moment, “What? Why are you suddenly asking this? Holy crap, you’re not really smitten, are you?”
Tan Xuzhe unwrapped a candy, popped it into his mouth, and chewed it. “Forget it, what’s the point of asking from someone who was broken up with?”
Cheng Ji: “?”
He gritted his teeth, “What did you just say? I didn’t hear you.”
“Oh, never mind if you didn’t hear it. After all, fatherly love is often silent.”
Cheng Ji: “…You’re really my best friend, you dog-like friend.”
….
Shu Mian was almost at school when she realized she had forgotten her bag. She had just put it on the shoe rack, thinking she would go back and get it after walking the dog.
When she returned to Zhenyuan and registered, she felt that the gatekeeper’s gaze was very meaningful.
Shu Mian calmed her heartbeat and breathing as she walked inside.
After lingering at the door for a while, she rang the doorbell, and the door opened quickly.
Tan Xuzhe seemed to have just taken a shower; his hair was still a little damp. He had changed his clothes, wearing a black t-shirt and black pants, which made his skin appear pale and his eyes look languid.
Shu Mian pursed her lips shyly, “Sorry to bother you, I forgot my bag, it should be on the shoe rack.”
The boy raised an eyebrow slightly. “Come in and get it yourself.”
“OK.”
Shu Mian went in, grabbed her bag, her butterfly-like eyelashes fluttering. “I’m done, thank you.”
She paused, gripped the bag strap tightly, smiled faintly, and two small dimples appeared on her cheeks. “Then I’m leaving… goodbye.”
Suddenly she heard a low, lazy chuckle, and she looked over in confusion.
Tan Xuzhe casually leaned against the door frame, the light shining into his peach blossom eyes as he looked at her with a smile, his tone like he was teasing a docile kitten, “Why are you so obedient?”
He didn’t say the part about how well-behaved people were, for fear of scaring them to tears.
He hadn’t had much contact with this girl, but he had some impression of her before— she had bangs, fair skin, big eyes, and was quite well-behaved.
He only realized today that apart from being incredibly well-behaved, she was also adorable, with a soft voice that made your heart flutter, making you want to protect her while also wanting to tease her.
“……Ah?”
Shu Mian hated herself for being so slow-witted in his presence, and blankly asked, “Really?”
“Um.”
Perhaps it was just a casual remark, but he changed the subject, “How will you get back to school?”
“I’ll scan the QR code[1] to go back.”
“I send you.”
Shu Mian thought he was just being polite, “No need to trouble yourself, it’s not far, I can ride a bike very quickly.”
“It’s dark now. If something goes wrong, wouldn’t it still be my responsibility?”
Tan Xuzhe glanced at her lazily, a casual smile playing on his lips. “What do you think?”
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[1] Reference to shared bikes you can rent by scanning QR codes.
