Chapter 190: Time, Oh Time, Please Slow Down!
Feeling all warm and fuzzy after finishing her lean pork porridge, Hu Yu Ying playfully glanced at Dragon Brother and said, “Look, Dragon Bro, I finished it all!”
“Really good girl.”
Hu Yu Ying couldn’t help but feel a bit smug; after all, she was the best little girl around!
Then an idea struck her, and she exclaimed, “Dragon Bro, I joined the Hanfu club!”
One of her favorite things was sharing her daily adventures with Dragon Brother. He loved hearing about her life, too, since it helped him keep tabs on his little shadow and her exploits at school.
“Actually, a few days ago, they wanted to invite me to join, but I didn’t agree at that time,” she began. “Then while chatting with Qing Xue and Wan Ning about online stores, I decided to check out the prices for Hanfu last night.”
At this point, Hu Yu Ying was obviously getting excited. “Dragon Bro, you wouldn’t believe it—one piece of Hanfu is almost two hundred bucks!”
“And then I thought, why not sell clothes while also selling Hanfu? So I joined the club!”
Hearing this, Dragon Brother realized Hu Yu Ying had her own ideas brewing. That was a good thing!
From there, it was all Hu Yu Ying talking while Dragon Brother listened, and before he knew it, the little follower he had been watching over had grown up right under his nose.
In the end, Dragon Brother couldn’t help but chuckle and bought her a bottle of water to quench her thirst.
After chugging the water, Hu Yu Ying sighed in satisfaction. Before Dragon Brother, she was as real as it got—beautiful, goofy, tearful, and shy—all the sides of her that Dragon Brother had seen, and he had witnessed her growth too.
No matter how much she matured, in front of Dragon Brother, she would always be that little girl who loved trailing behind him.
Just then, the foreman came looking for Dragon Brother to discuss some house renovation stuff.
Dragon Bro followed the foreman away.
Sitting on a green-stuffed stair, Hu Yu Ying pulled out her phone and took a glance.
And there it was—Li Qing Xue had replied to her message.
“Oops, I was so into chatting with Dragon Bro that I didn’t even notice!”
She quickly tapped on the chat box to reply, saying she was with Dragon Bro and asked if Qing Xue was coming over.
Before long, Qing Xue replied.
[I have some things today, so I won’t come over.]
“What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?” Yesterday, when they parted, Qing Xue was fine, and she hadn’t mentioned anything about any special issues today.
Li Qing Xue read Hu Yu Ying’s message and could feel all the concern woven into her words.
Hu Yu Ying was just that kind of person—innocently sweet-hearted towards others. Having a friend like her in life was really a stroke of luck.
Li Qing Xue chuckled and replied, “I’m really fine; I’ll come over another day. Besides, isn’t Dragon Brother busy renovating the house today? He must be swamped. Please tell him I hope everything goes smoothly.”
“Sure! I’ll bring you a little cake when I head back, so wait for me!”
After seeing this message, Li Qing Xue took a deep breath, unconsciously leaning against the railing.
A while later, she smiled brightly and typed back, “Okay, I’ll wait for you!”
Hu Yu Ying: [Blowing a kiss emoji.]
Li Qing Xue shot back a [blowing a kiss emoji.]
Not long after, Dragon Brother returned.
“Feeling bored, huh? Want to head back to school first?” He chuckled when he saw Hu Yu Ying staring at her phone in a daze.
“No way!” With Dragon Brother around, just sitting in silence was never boring for her.
“Just that Qing Xue seems a bit unwell,” Hu Yu Ying whispered.
“Unwell?” Dragon Brother’s thoughts raced, and he seemed to understand something. “Wait right here.”
With that, he headed over to a nearby supermarket and returned not long after with an electric kettle and a pack of brown sugar.
“Take this back for Qing Xue and brew her some ginger tea,” he said. In a world alone, a little help could go a long way.
That was his thought process, though subconsciously, his actions showed he cared more than he let on.
“Okay, then I’m heading back,” Hu Yu Ying said, not entirely wanting to leave.
However, with Dragon Bro being perfectly fine and Qing Xue feeling poorly, she felt responsible for checking up on her friend first.
Taking the items from Dragon Brother’s hands, Hu Yu Ying hesitated for a second, then gently wrapped her arms around him.
Surprised by her sudden action, Dragon Brother stiffened for a moment, then chuckled, “What’s wrong? Are you going to miss me?”
“Dragon Bro, just hold on a second.” Hu Yu Ying tilted her head back to look at him, and after saying that, she listened carefully.
She was so greedy to savor the moment; she knew she wouldn’t have another chance until the next holiday.
Listening quietly, she could feel his heartbeat growing stronger, and as she continued to listen, her body trembled lightly, and a smile crept onto her face. At that moment, it felt like the sound didn’t even matter anymore.
Feeling Dragon Brother’s hands on her back, she wished time could just freeze right there.
The first time she embraced him, he was stiffer than a wooden stick and might have pushed her away, saying, “No, don’t do that.”
The second time, he was still a little rigid but didn’t push her away. He even patted her head, reassuring himself that no matter what, he would talk sense to her.
Now for the third time, this time around, he didn’t push her away and even wrapped his arm around her.
This tiny shift brought an indescribable feeling to Hu Yu Ying—happiness, joy, comfort, attachment—all mingled with a bittersweet longing as she slowly stepped into Dragon Brother’s heart.
She had heard it again and again, his heartbeat just for her.
It was similar to the frantic beats that erupted when she got close to him.
Dragon Brother looked down at the girl in his arms, feeling more than tempted to break the moment, but this time, he let go of absolutely everything and allowed his body to respond.
She was so graceful, and he felt her warmth, the slight tremors of her body.
She told herself: she had grown up, she was an adult now…
She said: it wasn’t gratitude or thanks; it was reliance, but not in a childlike sense. It was a mature woman’s reliance on a man…
Gently patting her back, he let his chin brush against her silky hair, savoring her sweet scent, thinking, “What do I do with this little shadow of mine?” “Alright, let’s take it slow on the way back.”
Reluctantly, he loosened his hold on her and, shy as a cat, she lowered her head, her long hair covering her face, concealing the cute, blushing expression that made her look utterly enchanting…
