Xu Musen just liked her always silly, happy disposition, which gave a very relaxing feeling.
"Xu Musen."
"Hmm?"
"When my legs are better, will you still hold my hand and walk with ?"
An Nuannuan suddenly leaned closer, extending her little hand to gently poke his fingers.
Xu Musen looked at her; the night wind by the river carried a chill, but her hand was warm and soft.
Xu Musen gently pinched the finger she had poked towards him, cradling her hand in his own.
An Nuannuan's hand was really small, appearing even tinier in his, white and delicately translucent.
Xu Musen gazed at her, and in a daze, the bits and pieces of their ti together over the past six months surfaced one by one in his mind.
Counting it up, the two of them had already shared als, gone shopping, and even owned joint property; Xu Musen had also t her parents...
It could be said that their relationship had progressed faster than so engaged couples.
However, they had never taken the initiative to pierce that thin layer of paper between them.
Xu Musen had planned to find a suitable place, prepare thoroughly, and give her a formal confession.
But sotis, romance really doesn't give you any ti to prepare.
It was also ti to pierce through that layer of paper.
"Nuannuan, I want to ask you, when you can take care of yourself in the future, will you still let stay with you?"
Xu Musen asked with a light chuckle.
An Nuannuan felt the warmth spread from his hand, and she gently held Xu Musen's fingers.
"That's a question I should be asking you, Xu Musen. Are you taking care of just out of pity?"
"Of course not."
Xu Musen shook his head, although their first eting was indeed through their own pains at the hospital.
If he could choose, Xu Musen would obviously prefer that they had t each other normally.
"That's right then, since we didn't co together because of such things, why should we separate over them?"
An Nuannuan said earnestly, holding Xu Musen's hand tightly.
Xu Musen felt a warmth in his heart, undeniable that because of his past life's events, he was overly sensitive and cautious about matters of the heart.
He also worried whether their relationship might, like with Yao Mingyue, mix other emotions and blur the true nature of love.
This was once Xu Musen's sore spot, but looking at An Nuannuan's clear and bright eyes, his heart settled.
"Nuannuan, I have another question. Are you with because of the cake I brought you six years ago... so you're here to express your gratitude?"
When Xu Musen asked this question, it pressed heavily on his heart, for it was his most sensitive issue.
He didn't notice his hand was trembling slightly.
Once bitten, twice shy; he did have so innate psychological shadows.
He watched An Nuannuan's eyes, unsure of what answer he hoped for.
An Nuannuan also silently t his gaze for a while before saying softly, "Yes."
"..."
Xu Musen suddenly felt a sinking feeling, an indefinable emotion spreading through his heart.
Although he knew that the emotion of liking soone is complex, made up of a mix of various feelings: being moved, being dependent, admiring, choosing, loving soone's appearance, personality, talent, ability, and even economic standing.
All of these are part of liking soone.
But Xu Musen still wished for sothing purer.
Because love, that started with appearances, will one day fade as looks wither; love founded on wealth could also end over financial issues.
But love that begins with affection, despite seeming ethereal and fragile, could also be the purest and first.
If An Nuannuan was with him only because of gratitude for sothing six years ago...
"I see..."
Xu Musen managed a smile, but it was sowhat strained.
But the next mont, his hand was gripped even tighter.
An Nuannuan curled up her legs, slowly moving her body to get even closer to him.
Those clear eyes, now reflecting the light, were exceptionally bright.
"At first, I really wanted to thank you, and I just thought about whether I could thank you in person.
But then, on my first day at the new school, I saw you confessing to her. I witnessed your excitent and nervousness and also saw your solitude and sadness afterward.
That was when I decided that I also wanted to help you."
An Nuannuan's naïvely charming cheeks now flushed with a gentle hue.
"But at that ti, you only had eyes for her, and I didn't dare to disturb you too readily because I could sense that you're soone who fixates on things.
But you are also a very kind person. Back then, you seed to be short on money, yet you would always buy her small snacks, bring water and a towel for her during gym class, and when it rained after school and we only had one umbrella, you would tilt it towards her, getting half-soaked yourself…"
"I don't know what she thought, but all the things you did made see you as an extraordinarily kind person."
An Nuannuan revealed these feelings, even though they were actions Xu Musen had done for another girl.
Perhaps, at that ti, Yao Mingyue had taken them for granted.
But An Nuannuan was moved by these small details ti and ti again.
Unknowingly, she had completed a sort of self-guided conquest.
Xu Musen was startled for a long ti, with a bitter smile in his heart.
Perhaps this was what it ant to unwittingly nurture a shade tree.
The ice block he'd tried desperately to heat bore no fruit, yet the little sun secretly watching over him had quietly risen.
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