The two were a bit reluctant to let go of each other. It wasn’t their first time holding hands, and it’d felt perfectly normal when they did it before they turned fourteen. It didn’t make their heartbeats accelerate at all.
However, now, the simple action took over Lin Miao’s head. All that she could think about was the sensation of Yu Jingxuan’s hand gripping hers.
Suddenly, she saw her neighbour pass by, walking her dog. Lin Miao was caught quite off-guard, even scared, but… it would be even more awkward for her to retract her hand.
Lin Miao’s neighbour also saw her, waving to her smilingly.
Lin Miao waved back with her blushed cheeks. Yu Jingxuan joined her, too.
Lin Miao’s face was still red after her neighbour had walked past her.
She didn’t know what to talk about.
Conversations between them seemed endless before, but now she was wordless. All she could think about was Yu Jingxuan.
It was the first time either of them dated. Yu Jingxuan was also quite nervous, but seeing Lin Miao so tense, he seemed to have relaxed a bit more.
“Gege, we still need to keep it low. My mom said I can’t prematurely date.” Lin Miao stuttered.
Even though her mother was strongly against these premature romantic relationships, they could continue as long as her mother didn’t know.
“Then how do we keep it low?” Yu Jingxuan looked at her smilingly.
He realized what she meant by “keeping it low” during dinner. She took it to the extreme.
Before, she would pick vegetables for Yu Jingxuan and talk to Yu Jingxuan. Now, she sat still in her chair, quietly eating as if she was alone.
She didn’t even dare raise her head.
Looking at Lin Miao. Yu Jingxuan wanted to surround her with a hug, but also didn’t want to scare her.
After dinner, when he left, Lin Miao’s mother came to Lin Miao’s room.
“What happened between you and little Yu?” She asked softly.
Her behavior was so strange, did they break up?
“Nothing, nothing.” Lin Miao responded, “What makes you think that?”
“You guys didn’t exchange a single word during dinner.” Lin Miao’s mother said.
Lin Miao blushed, explaining, “Oh, it’s because of my cold. I didn’t want to chat, my throat hurts…”
Lin Miao’s mother: “…”
But, observing Lin Miao’s response, it didn’t seem to be anything big.
After her mother left, Lin Miao turned on her phone, seeing if Yu Jingxuan messaged her.
Did Gege get home? Was there a lot of traffic?
A bit later, Lin Miao messaged him: “Is Gege home?”
Yu Jingxuan responded almost instantaneously: “Just came out from the shower.”
Lin Miao had seen how he looked right out of the shower when they were little children, but she had naturally not seen it again now that they’ve grown older.
However, looking at the words, her face uncontrollably reddened again.
“Then Gege should blow dry his hair, I’ll talk to Gege later.”
“I’m almost done.”
Lin Miao lay down on her bed, waiting for Yu Jingxuan to finish. Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door. Her mother was outside, “Shuishui, we’re going back to the village for the ancestral ceremony, but since you’re still recovering from the cold, your father and I will just go back by ourselves. You can stay back with your brother and little Ling, okay?”
“Okay.” Lin Miao immediately responded.
She was absolutely fine with the decision. Little Ling would never return, and she could now stay back and accompany her.
Lin Miao’s mother proceeded to tell her to sleep early.
Lin Miao answered, browsing through her Weibo. There were many people saying that she and Yu Jingxuan were a perfect match; a cute little couple.
These messages now gave her a different emotion.
She had felt bitter before, the sadness that they weren’t actually together, but now, all that remained was the sugary sweetness.
Yu Jingxuan had finally messaged her.
“What is Shuishui doing?”
“Looking at Gege’s Weibo.” Lin Miao suddenly felt nervous, “Gege, would auntie Yu yell at you?”
Her mother didn’t have a Weibo, so she was probably unaware of this, but Yu Jingxuan’s mother would definitely know.
“She won’t, don’t worry about it.” He texted back.
Then, Lin Miao came across a comment recommending Yu Jingxuan to take part in dramas and movies so that he doesn’t waste this face that god blessed him with.
So, Lin Miao asked, “Gege, are you going to act in a drama?”
“No.” A reply soon came.
He had never considered entering the entertainment circle nor acting.
That one instance was purely him helping his mother. There weren’t any romantic scenes in it anyway.
He wouldn’t let what he experienced when he was little happen to his beloved one.
When Yu Jingxuan was little, he would see his mother on television in his bed, looking at her hugging other children. They called her mom more than he had.
He would never let Lin Miao see him dating and being affectionate with someone else. He would never let another kid call him father, either.
Yu Jingxuan had already mapped out his future. He enjoyed math and his university life.
He also had a plan regarding his future with Lin Miao.
Seeing his reply, Lin Miao felt a lot more relieved. However, she was still worried about him having a change of mind to become a celebrity. What would she do?
All the star actors on television kiss other girls… Hold their hands, and fall in love with them…
Just thinking about it made her feel sick.
Yu Jingxuan already sent another message.
“When you go to university, can I be your teacher?”
“Okay.” Lin Miao replied.
The two continued chatting. It was getting a bit late.
Yu Jingxuan noticed this, texting: “Shuishui, go to sleep, we can chat tomorrow.”
Lin Miao obeyed, texted goodnight, and went to sleep.
Yu Jingxuan tapped out of the app. Looking at the girl smiling brilliantly like a flower. It still felt unreal to him.
Lin Miao liked him. His love is reciprocated, and their relationship is affirmed.
It’s the best gift of this year, he thought.
So, his Weibo became inactive again.
However, many netizens still wanted to know the meaning behind that number and picture he included in his last post.
Everyone’s focus was on the little girlfriend then, so many had overlooked these two details.
The netizens realized that the paper was an example of next-level tic tac toe. Yu Jingxuan played so many rounds, presumably with Lin Miao, as she was with him at the time of the post.
Yu Jingxuan wasn’t active on Weibo, so the netizens went to his mother to ask what the number meant.
Yu Jingxuan’s mother didn’t know either, so she asked her son. Her son didn’t tell her, so she asked Lin Miao, who naturally told her that that’s how many times he beat her in tic tac toe.
Yu Jingxuan’s mother was a bit dumbfounded, “Shuishui, how many times have you won?”
“Once.” Lin Miao responded.
Yu Jingxuan’s mother: “…” No wonder he couldn’t chase down his crush.
She posted this answer on Weibo.
The comment section was flooded with remarks like: “So you’re this type of Yu Jingxuan.”
“Please value someone who’s willing to play three thousand some games of tic tac toe with you, especially when she still wishes to continue after losing all of them.”
“I finally understand why brother Shui’s so calm in her tournaments. It’s from experiences like this.”
“I’ve analyzed this, is Yu Jingxuan feeling giddy that he won all of the games, going like ‘hahaha I’ve won I’m so cool’?”
“Cavemen cp is really cavemen cp. All their photos together come from passersby, their games hand-drawn, and non-existent video collections… Caring for each other is expressed through their parents’ Weibo… What’s scarier is that the cp seems so appropriate. Forgive me, but I’ve already been thinking about their children if they are to have one in the future. The father’s brains, the mother’s athleticism, and whatever in appearance. God, please give us a few more! For saving the excellent genes!”
“Upstairs, what if… it was the mother’s brains, and the father’s athleticism?”
“There’s nothing wrong with brother Shui’s intelligence. She held it for so long, could others even compare?”
Yu Jingxuan’s mother: “…” He didn’t even get her yet, and you guys are already thinking about my grandchildren… Thanks for all your imaginations.