Thinking carefully, she realized she had never seen him show a gentle expression to any girl. After all, they mostly t at ho, so she didn’t know anything about him outside.
Su Jiuyi felt that if this continued, she would sooner or later be unable to suppress the emotions surging in her heart.
"Can you keep going?" Shi Aoju asked her.
"Yes, I can." She squeezed Shi Aoju’s hand back, responding to his concern in this way.
She lifted her head, squinting to look at him, imagining his face outlined with a golden glow against the light, seeming to feel his delicate face furrowing in effort as he protected her and strode upward.
Su Jiuyi followed him step by step, a smile unconsciously tugging at her lips. This Shi Aoju lacked his usual aloofness and coldness, his whole being exuding gentleness, making her involuntarily fall deeply into it.
He always seed so calm and composed, such as now, even as he bore the weight equivalent to nearly two people climbing upwards, his expression remained serene and unruffled.
In his hand were beads of sweat left by him, vanishing in the wind yet unable to sweep away the waves of warmth rising in her heart.
The palms clasped together gradually beca slick with sweat. It had to be said, Shi Aoju’s stamina was truly impressive, having climbed this steep slope for so long without any heavy panting, while Su Jiuyi, always dragged along, was panting heavily nonstop.
"Let’s rest for a bit; we’re almost at the top." Shi Aoju halted his steps, extending a hand to block the glaring sunlight on his forehead.
At that mont, Su Jiuyi’s foot slipped again, startling her into quickly hugging Shi Aoju’s arm.
"It’s alright." If it were before, Shi Aoju would surely laugh at her timidity, but now he found this clingy Su Jiuyi really cute, much more amusing than her usual prickly self. Besides, without her feisty "guise," Su Jiuyi could easily trigger a man’s urge to protect.
The blush on Su Jiuyi’s face lingered, uncertain if it was due to the heat or sothing else.
She noticed the beads of sweat densely covering Shi Aoju’s forehead. Without second thoughts, she took a handkerchief from her pocket and carefully wiped the sweat from his face.
Shi Aoju’s expression froze for a second, as he lowered his head, gazing intently at Su Jiuyi. Beneath his thick eyelashes were a pair of clear watery eyes, with his tied-up hair slightly disheveled, his fine bangs sticking to his forehead due to perspiration.
Almost thoughtlessly, Shi Aoju reached out to grab Su Jiuyi’s hair tie.
Su Jiuyi’s actions paused. She withdrew her hand, puzzled, looking at him.
Shi Aoju took her hair tie off her sleek ponytail, then used his hand to gently tidy her loose hair. His movents were always cautious, as if afraid of hurting her.
After tidying up her stray hairs, he slowly wrapped the hair tie back.
Such intimate actions made Su Jiuyi instantly feel uneasy, her face flushing, even not daring to look directly into Shi Aoju’s eyes, her originally focused gaze becoming elusive.
Noticing her tense behavior, Shi Aoju suddenly lifted the corners of his lips after finishing the ponytail, making Su Jiuyi, who had just cald down, feel puzzled. She glanced at him skeptically, "Why are you smiling?"
Reviews
All reviews (0)