37

The topic shifted to herself, and Qin Ruan froze for a moment, nervously pressing her lips together. "No, I haven't."

"I haven't been in a relationship either."

Wen Yixin couldn't help but laugh as she saw Qin Ruan so tense. "If you haven't, you haven't. Why are you so nervous?"

"Don't you know that the more nervous you are, the more people might think you're lying?"

Qin Ruan's eyes widened slightly, and she earnestly emphasized, "Sister, I'm telling the truth."

Wen Yixin smiled, seeing how serious she was and decided not to tease her anymore. "I believe you."

Upon hearing this, Qin Ruan visibly relaxed, but Wen Yixin's next question brought back her tension.

"Do you like someone right now?" Wen Yixin asked.

As soon as she asked, Wen Yixin vaguely remembered that she had asked Qin Ruan this once before, and back then, Qin Ruan had said no. She wondered if the answer would be the same this time.

Standing with her back to the light, Wen Yixin was taller than Qin Ruan by half a head, so when Qin Ruan raised her head to look at her, all she could see was the shadowy outline of Wen Yixin's face.

"Sister, why are you suddenly asking this again?" Qin Ruan forced a somewhat unnatural smile.

"Just curious," Wen Yixin replied casually, though her gaze held a hint of curiosity.

Qin Ruan instinctively averted her eyes, turning her attention to the slightly choppy waters of the river.

Wen Yixin raised an eyebrow, surprised by Qin Ruan's reaction.

She shook her head slightly but remained silent, joining Qin Ruan in watching the river, her gaze settling on the approaching docking point.

They were almost there.

It wasn't until the boat was about to dock that Qin Ruan finally tore her gaze from the river, turning to look at Wen Yixin, her eyes focused.

Feeling Qin Ruan's intense gaze, Wen Yixin turned and asked, "What's wrong?"

Qin Ruan seemed not to have heard her, instead continuing with her previous train of thought. "Sister, you asked me earlier if I liked someone, right?"

Wen Yixin nodded. "I did, but you didn't answer."

After a moment, seeing the serious expression on Qin Ruan's face, Wen Yixin added, "It's just a small matter. If you don't want to say, it's fine."

"A small matter? Just a casual question?" Qin Ruan's lips pressed into a thin line, her gaze deepening.

She fidgeted with her hands, her almond-shaped eyes locking onto Wen Yixin's. In a soft voice, she admitted, "I do like someone."

"But they don't know, so for now, it's still unrequited love."

Wen Yixin was stunned, as if Qin Ruan's words had sealed her lips, leaving her momentarily speechless.

While Wen Yixin was still processing this, Qin Ruan continued, "When you asked earlier, I was just thinking about how long this unrequited love will last—one year, two years, maybe even longer?"

"Just thinking about that long wait makes me feel overwhelmed, so…" Qin Ruan's voice trailed off, a faint smile tugging at her lips.

At that moment, the boat docked.

"We've arrived," Qin Ruan said with a smile. "Sister, let's get off."

Wen Yixin was still in a daze, but the warmth of another person's hand on her arm brought her back to reality.

Clearing her mind, she allowed Qin Ruan to lead her off the boat.

Under the shade of a tree near the dock, Qin Ruan released Wen Yixin's hand, glanced around, and noticed that they were in a park. She then turned her gaze back to Wen Yixin.

"Sister."

"Hmm?" Wen Yixin was still somewhat absent-minded, so she responded automatically to Qin Ruan's voice.

It was only after she answered that she fully returned to her senses.

"What's up?" Wen Yixin asked.

Qin Ruan gestured to the surroundings. "This seems to be a park. Do you want to walk around?"

"There are some food stalls nearby. Is there anything you want to eat?" Qin Ruan pointed to the nearby food stalls.

Wen Yixin glanced briefly at the stalls, not particularly interested in them, and shook her head. "I don't feel like eating anything."

"You can go get something if you want. I'll go with you."

Qin Ruan's gaze lingered on a stall selling jianbing guozi. She nodded and said, "Why don't you wait here for me? It's cooler under the shade. I'll go get a jianbing guozi and be right back. It should only take a few minutes."

Seeing that the stall wasn't far away, Wen Yixin agreed. "Okay, I'll wait here for you. Go ahead."

With her thoughts still a bit jumbled, she welcomed the brief solitude to clear her mind.

Qin Ruan smiled, then turned and walked briskly toward the jianbing stall.

At the jianbing stall, Qin Ruan found herself third in line. She noticed a nearby stand selling drinks, so she went over to buy some water while waiting.

Habitually, she picked up two bottles of mineral water. But as she was about to take them out of the cooler, the memory of what had happened on the boat flashed through her mind. She hesitated, then put one bottle back.

When she returned to the jianbing stall, the vendor was just preparing her order. Given its large size, Qin Ruan asked the vendor to cut the jianbing guozi in half.

A short while later, Qin Ruan walked back to Wen Yixin, carrying the water and jianbing guozi at a leisurely pace.

"Sister." Qin Ruan handed one half of the jianbing guozi to Wen Yixin. "It's too big, so I had the vendor cut it in half. Now we can share it."

"Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to finish it."

Wen Yixin didn't say much, simply accepting the jianbing guozi with grace, not forgetting to thank Qin Ruan. In just a few minutes, it seemed she had quickly composed herself.

Watching her, Qin Ruan suddenly found the jianbing guozi less appetizing than when she first bit into it.

Her gaze flickered, and after watching Wen Yixin take a bite, she asked, "Is it good?"

Wen Yixin smiled. "Not bad, very fragrant."

She looked at the golden crust and the sesame seeds on top, savoring the aroma of eggs and fried batter before taking another bite. It tasted much better than she had expected.

Qin Ruan rarely saw such a satisfied expression on Wen Yixin's face, so she couldn't help but smile. "Is this your first time eating one of these, Sister?"

With her mouth full of jianbing, Wen Yixin nodded, replying vaguely, "Yes."

She had never been particularly interested in such things before, so this was indeed her first time.

Qin Ruan chuckled and pointed to a bench ahead. "Let's sit there while we eat."

"Afterward, I'd like to explore the park a bit. Will you join me, Sister?"

Wen Yixin got up and walked a few steps forward to the bench, then nodded. "Alright."

Once they were seated, Qin Ruan placed the bottle of mineral water on the bench between them. "If you get thirsty, just drink this."

Wen Yixin nodded to show she understood.

About ten minutes later, Wen Yixin slowly put down the jianbing bag, and at that moment, a napkin appeared in front of her.

She looked up and saw Qin Ruan's face.

For some reason, Wen Yixin felt that something about Qin Ruan had changed.

If before she had seen Qin Ruan as a pitiable girl who aroused compassion, now it seemed that she had grown up.

Sometimes, when they made eye contact, Wen Yixin even felt a bit of pressure.

"Sister? What are you thinking about?" Qin Ruan noticed that Wen Yixin seemed lost in thought. Her gaze lingered on Wen Yixin's face for a few seconds before she asked.

Wen Yixin snapped back to reality, took the napkin from Qin Ruan, and shook her head. "It's nothing."

She wiped her mouth, preparing to toss the napkin into the jianbing bag, but Qin Ruan quickly took the napkin and bag from her hands, handing her the bottle of mineral water instead.

"Here, have some water," Qin Ruan said as she stood up. "I'll go throw away the trash."

Wen Yixin was taken aback, glancing from the bottle of water in her hand to Qin Ruan's retreating figure. Her grip on the bottle tightened slightly.

After a moment, she slowly twisted off the cap and took a sip.

When Qin Ruan returned, Wen Yixin noticed there was only about a third of the water left in the bottle. She casually asked, "Why did you only buy one bottle of water earlier?"

Qin Ruan gently shook the bottle in her hand, smiling sheepishly. "I didn't really think about it. I just bought one bottle because it was easier to carry."

"Besides, I figured I could always buy more if we finished it. That way, we wouldn't have to carry it around the whole time."

Wen Yixin turned her head to look away.

There was nothing suspicious to pick up on.

She surveyed the surroundings and then said, "Let's go for that walk."

Qin Ruan's smile widened. "Okay."

That day, it wasn't until the sky darkened that Wen Yixin and Qin Ruan finally returned home.

As soon as they arrived, Wen Yixin wiped the sweat from her forehead and turned on the air conditioning.

She turned to Qin Ruan and asked, "Do you want to shower first?"

Qin Ruan shook her head. "You go ahead, Sister. I'll shower later."

Wen Yixin nodded. "Then I'll go first."

After spending the afternoon walking around the park in the heat, Wen Yixin was drenched in sweat. Although they had cooled down in an air-conditioned restaurant while eating, she still felt hot and sticky, making her uncomfortable.

She went to her room to grab some clothes and headed to the bathroom. Before closing the door, she reminded Qin Ruan, "There's fruit in the fridge. You can have some. Once I'm done, you can take a shower."

"You'll feel much better after washing up."

Qin Ruan nodded in agreement. "I know."

In the living room.

Qin Ruan placed a plate of washed fruit on the coffee table. Hearing the sounds from the bathroom, she figured Wen Yixin was almost done. She grabbed the remote control and turned on the TV, selecting one of Wen Yixin's favorite channels.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before Wen Yixin emerged from the bathroom.

As she dried her still-damp hair, she asked Qin Ruan, "I'm done. You can go shower now."

Qin Ruan responded, "Did you dry your hair?"

"Yes, I did. I'm just using the towel to finish it off."

Satisfied with this answer, Qin Ruan didn't say anything else. After Wen Yixin sat down on the sofa, she picked up the clothes she had left nearby and stood up. "I'm going to take a shower."

Wen Yixin hummed in acknowledgment, then grabbed a cushion from the sofa to prop up behind her back. She tossed the towel onto the back of a chair and stretched.

After rolling her shoulders, Wen Yixin finally relaxed, lying flat on the sofa and letting out a deep sigh.

I'm exhausted. It's been a long time since I've walked so much.

Wen Yixin turned onto her side, grabbing a piece of watermelon from the fruit plate, and started eating while watching TV.

Maybe it was the dullness of the program, but she soon found herself getting drowsy. She turned over to lie flat, her eyelids slowly closing.

When Qin Ruan emerged from the bathroom, the first thing she saw was Wen Yixin fast asleep on the sofa.

Her steps faltered.

When she resumed walking, her footsteps were much quieter.

She approached the sleeping figure, finally stopping in front of the sofa.

Qin Ruan lowered her gaze, watching the sleeping woman in front of her. The thin nightgown Wen Yixin wore shifted with each movement, gradually riding up to reveal her long, slender legs.

Qin Ruan closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, her gaze locked onto Wen Yixin's defenseless face.

She knelt down on the carpet in front of the sofa, taking in the sight before her, her eyes lingering on each feature—her hair, her forehead, her eyebrows, her eyes, her nose, her lips.

Qin Ruan had never had the chance to look at her this closely.

But now...

Her gaze eventually settled on Wen Yixin's slightly parted, rosy lips. She bit her own lips before slowly leaning closer.

She didn't stop until her lips brushed against the soft warmth of Wen Yixin's.

At that moment, her eyes flew open, as if waking from a dream, and her breathing became erratic.

Wen Yixin stirred in her sleep, feeling something soft and moist against her lips, almost like a drop of water. It tickled, prompting her to purse her lips and give them a slight lick.

The unexpected touch made Qin Ruan freeze, but her face and ears flushed uncontrollably.

Her hands, which had been braced against the edge of the sofa, clenched into fists.

She looked up at Wen Yixin, who hadn't yet woken up, and, unable to resist, she followed her instincts and gently licked her lips once more.

She maintained her composure, even as her heart raced with the desire to do more. She carefully pulled away, only for her carefully laid plans to be thrown into disarray by a soft voice.

"Qin Ruan..." Wen Yixin's voice escaped her slightly parted lips.

Qin Ruan looked up, only to find herself staring into those gradually clearing eyes.