Qingran had often experienced peculiar dreams, yet they faded upon waking. With her busy life, she had no ti to linger on visions that vanished with sleep.
Perhaps so things could be anticipated, but they never occurred. As for fate, if it could be changed, then change it; if not, why not simply go with the flow?
Forcing herself wouldn’t bring any reward; in the vast universe, a re mortal flesh cannot struggle against fate.
Xie Ying’an was different; he rarely dread, but that day’s dream was too vivid, almost as if it had truly occurred. The uncontrollable sensation made him feel unbearable pain several tis over.
A shade of agony was evident in the youth’s dark eyes as he stared intently at Qingran, almost bringing tears to his eyes.
Qingran guessed that Xie Ying’an’s dream must have sothing to do with her; otherwise, why would he be so distressed?
She felt at a loss; in all the years they had known each other, she had never seen Xie Ying’an like this, and she didn’t know how to comfort him.
"You, don’t..." She could only start with two words before her voice trailed off, unable to finish.
Don’t what?
Don’t be sad? It was just a dream.
Don’t be lodramatic? You’re a grown man.
At this mont when Xie Ying’an unguardedly revealed all his emotions, anything she said felt weak and pale.
Sotis, things heat up in an instant. Qingran didn’t know how she pushed Xie Ying’an into the corner of the wardrobe. When she ca to her senses, her arms were already wrapped around the young man’s waist.
She was montarily stunned before realizing she was bowing her head against Xie Ying’an’s chest, hearing the drumming of his heartbeat, as the scent of gleditsia fruit pervasively entered her nostrils, intoxicatingly pleasant.
Sumr clothing was thin, and she could feel the exceptional heat radiating from the young man’s body.
Xie Ying’an’s warmth couldn’t lie; at that mont, Qingran didn’t see him as the cold-hearted male protagonist from the book who was indifferent to Li Qingran.
During their prolonged association, it had never been her who had faced his cold deanor.
Qingran couldn’t control her heartbeat either, which started to speed up within her chest.
She didn’t see Xie Ying’an’s expression transition from shock to ecstasy in just a flash.
Amidst the silence, Qingran slowly said, "Don’t be afraid!"
Xie Ying’an kept quiet, tentatively placing his arms around her waist.
The girl’s waist was slender and soft, as if made of fine satin,
This embrace, which she initiated, felt like a dream, leaving him lost in reverie for a long ti.
During the lonely years of his unrequited love, he had imagined receiving a response from Qingran one day. However, now facing even a slight and faint response, he started to fear losing it.
Xie Ying’an could see that Qingran’s pity for him was akin to charity, void of much heartfelt affection.
The girl’s deanor had faded from its usual indifference and turned soft and tender in the ambiguous atmosphere, she said, "Don’t be afraid!"
The words ’don’t be afraid’ struck a tender chord in Xie Ying’an’s heart.
Damn the fear; it had long vanished from the youth’s downcast dark eyes. If he hadn’t been so insistent today, when would Li Qingran even notice him?
The muddle of dreams did affect him; upon awakening, he often found himself regretting and hating the uncontrollable events of the dreams.
In the dream, the words he wanted to say changed their aning as he spoke them.
In the dream, he wanted to follow Li Qingran, but it was as if sothing firmly nailed him in place, unable to take a step.
In the dream, he seed to have married soone, but the face of that person was blurred and unfamiliar, and he had long forgotten it.
In the end, those were just dreams for him, and now, the girl he could not touch in his dreams was in his arms.
He softened his stern gaze, and after a while, couldn’t help but raise the corners of his lips in a smile.
Hot!
Despite the air conditioning, the temperature inevitably rose as the two hugged each other. Qingran felt hot and struggled a bit, wanting to end the embrace.
Xie Ying’an’s arm suddenly tightened, pulling her into a closer embrace.
Qingran: "..."
She felt a hint of regret for her impulsive behavior earlier. What should she do now?
Fortunately, the intimate atmosphere did not last long. The phone on the bedside table, which was on charge, suddenly made a WeChat notification sound, breaking the silence in the room.
Qingran breathed a sigh of relief. She exerted so effort to break free from Xie Ying’an’s arms and turned to pick up the phone on the bedside table.
Xie Ying’an, half-leaning against the wardrobe behind her, watched Qingran with eyes that flickered with light and dark.
The ssage was still from Bai Wenxing. This ti it was another image, a math problem that he had applied the solution thod Qingran had taught him a while back.
The problem-solving logic was clear, and there was also his rough worksheet for checking calculations on the side.
Qingran tapped the back button with her fingertip. She felt that facing Xie Ying’an would inevitably be sowhat embarrassing, so she busied herself with checking the classroom group ssages sent by Old Wu in the past couple of days.
The class group chat was flooded with ssages from enthusiastic students, and it took Qingran a while to find Old Wu’s ssage, only to rember to check the group announcent.
Sure enough, Old Wu’s ssage was in the group announcent. After reading it, she realized Old Wu’s comnt did not include those who were going to participate in the competition.
After reading the ssages, the atmosphere in the room beca awkward again.
Qingran looked up at Xie Ying’an and caught his eyes, which were filled with suppressed laughter.
Almost instinctively, Qingran moved her gaze away in a panic.
The sound of the young man’s soft chuckle reached her ears, exceptionally pleasant.
Tch! Qingran thought: It seems like Xie Ying’an might not be as scared or sad as she had imagined.
Amidst the awkwardness, there was a knock at the door from outside, accompanied by Li Qingmo’s loud voice—
"Li Qingran! Open the door! Why lock the door in broad daylight? Are you being a thief?"
Qingran blinked slowly; she rembered that she hadn’t locked the door when she ca in.
While she was thinking, Xie Ying’an walked towards her. Qingran moved cautiously towards the bedside table.
Xie Ying’an chuckled lightly, unable to hide the pleasure in his eyes and eyebrows: "I’ll go open the door. You—why don’t you go wash your face?"
Saying this, he stood up and lightly ruffled Qingran’s hair before walking over to open the door. He then stepped out, simultaneously pushing Li Qingmo, who was trying to enter, back out as well.
Through the closed door, Qingran could hear her brother’s loud voice: "Xie Ying’an? What are you doing in my sister’s room? What are you two doing with the door locked?"
Qingran gripped her phone tightly, feeling guilty, and strained her ears to listen.
She did not hear Xie Ying’an’s voice, but after not even ten seconds, she heard her brother’s foolishly increased volu—
"Holy shit! I get it now, are you two secretly grinding away at problems again, trying to outdo in the study race?"
"Damn it! I knew it, none of you are good, not even Li Qingran is on my side anymore..."
Qingran: "..."
Stuck with such a thoughtless brother, she didn’t know whether to cry or laugh.
Recalling Xie Ying’an’s suggestion to wash her face, Qingran put down her phone and touched her cheeks, feeling a burning heat.
She tried to maintain an outward appearance of calm, thinking to herself that she couldn’t possibly be so weak-willed, right? It was just a hug with Xie Ying’an.
And it was her who initiated it; surely that wouldn’t make her blush?
Qingran didn’t believe it. She walked towards the bathroom in her room, and the first thing she did upon entering was to look in the mirror.
The girl in the mirror had moist almond eyes, and her usually pale cheeks were now unusually flushed, even more so than a high altitude red.
Uh! The thought of Xie Ying’an having seen her like this made Qingran sigh with her hand on her forehead, realizing she really was that weak-willed, blushing so much from just a comforting embrace. If this went on...
Smack! Cool water splashed heavily on her face, and the girl in the mirror frowned slightly, murmuring to herself, "What future is there to speak of anyway!"
After a mont, she couldn’t help but sneakily curve the corners of her lips.
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