At least before she confirms that she is in a relationship with someone else, I shouldn’t give up hope, right? This thought cleared away most of the doubts in Zhong Chufeng’s heart.
“What if she has feelings for someone else? Won’t my advances interfere with her love life?”
“What do you mean by ‘interfere’? If she has feelings for someone else, it will be useless no matter how much you try to come between them. On the other hand, if your advances succeeded, that would mean that her feelings aren’t certain yet—it is still in the stage of development. Silly child, stop overthinking things. If you like her, court her. It’s as simple as that.”
He said nothing in reply.
“Tomorrow, the young lady will be coming over. Remember; don’t push her into another person’s arms.”
The next day, Yuchi Yishu brought Tang Yuanyuan to the hospital. When Mrs. Zhong saw the girl, she thought, No matter how I look at her, she’s very adorable and lovable. If Chufeng marries her, that would be a blessing worthy of ten generations within our family.
Unfortunately, Yuchi Yishu did not leave after his arrival. Instead, he sat in a chair by the side. Meanwhile, Tang Yuanyuan sat beside the bed. She reached out to squeeze Mrs. Zhong’s arms and calves, giving her all sorts of massages.
Mrs. Zhong was very satisfied. Then, she suddenly said to Zhong Chufeng, “Chufeng, I want to eat dumplings for lunch. Will you go back and make some for me?”
As she was hospitalized, Zhong Chufeng did not dare to refuse any of her requests. Thus, he nodded. “Sure.”
“Yishu, why don’t you go with Chufeng? It’s enough if Yuanyuan keeps me company here. Why don’t you decide what you want to eat for lunch, and bring some back for Yuanyuan on your way back.”
When Tang Yuanyuan heard that, she waved her hands quickly. “I’m not fussy with food! I can eat anything. Mrs. Zhong, I can eat dumplings with you too!”
“Oh, my! How can you, at your age, eat only dumplings? You need to have some sparerib soup! You can’t eat like I do! You’re still growing!”
When Zhong Chufeng heard his mother asking him to head out together with Yishu, he guessed that she wanted to send both him and Yishu away. It’s troublesome, but I don’t have any other choice.
“Let’s go.” On the other hand, Yuchi Yishu spoke to him with a nonchalant expression.
After that, the two guys left together. Not long after they left the hospital room, Zhong Chufeng spoke up, “I’m sorry, Yishu. My mother—”
“I understand. You don’t have to explain.” No matter what, parents only wished for the best for their children. Therefore, this was something Yuchi Yishu could sympathize with.
“Although you won’t let me explain, I can’t help but speak up. Even so, it feels like there is nothing much I can say. Right now, my mom is sick. I can’t help but acquiescence to her wants. However, you don’t need to worry. Since Yuanyuan doesn’t have feelings for me, I won’t do anything to her in the future. So, relax.”
When Yuchi Yishu heard those words, his steps paused for a moment. At the same time, his gaze, filled with a mixture of complicated emotions, fell on Zhong Chufeng’s face. “You think Yuanyuan doesn’t like you… Then, do you think she likes me?”
“Doesn’t she?”
Is that so? To be honest, he was perplexed by this matter.
In response, Zhong Chufeng stared at him. “What? Don’t you dare say you don’t know. From what I can see, you have feelings for Yuanyuan, don’t you?”
After a moment, Yuchi Yishu continued walking, and Zhong Chufeng followed after him. “Hey, why don’t you make it clear to me? What is going on inside your head? Yuanyuan loves you with all her heart. If you don’t reciprocate those feelings, then stop wasting her time and tell her.”
“Right now, I don’t know what my feelings are.”
“What did you say?”
“The young lady is very adorable. When I see her smiling, I feel like I can protect her forever. I want her to smile always; I won’t ever let her feel pain or sorrow. Even so, I don’t know if that feeling is romantic love.”
Zhong Chufeng couldn’t help but curl his lips at those words. “Why are you getting so philosophical about it? I can’t understand it! You’re so tiresome! Look at you; you’ve got the better end of the stick, yet you’re acting like the world has wronged you!”
“If you grew up with her, you’ve seen everything about her before, be it her tears or her laughter. Wouldn’t you have gotten used to it a long time ago? Can you clearly distinguish whether your feelings for her are that of love or innocent indulgence?”
Zhong Chufeng’s expression remained disapproving despite Yuchi Yishu’s reply. Then, they fell silent as they entered the garage and got into the car. After getting into the car, Zhong Chufeng couldn’t help saying, “It feels like I’m pushing Yuanyuan into your arms just by bringing this topic up with you.”
Yuchi Yishu was puzzled by those words. What did I say? I barely said anything just now.
“If you want to know whether or not your feelings toward her are that of romantic love, there’s a simple way to find out.” Zhong Chufeng kept silent for a long while before he turned his head to look at Yuchi Yishu and said seriously, “Kiss her.”
Yuchi Yishu was about to put his car into reverse. However, when he heard those two words, his expression changed and he nearly drove straight into the wall in front.
“F*ck! Will you calm down? You’re a perverted beast, aren’t you? Just two words and you’re so excited?”
He looked over at Zhong Chufeng coldly. “What kind of joke are you trying to pull?”
“Joke? Did I say anything wrong? If it’s romantic love, wouldn’t you want to kiss her? This method may seem like you’re taking advantage of her, but it’s the fastest way to verify your feelings.” Then, Zhong Chufeng angrily continued, “This is driving me nuts! I like her too! Why should I give you any advice?!”
Yuchi Yishu frowned; he pursed his thin lips and said nothing.
“Why? Do you think I’m mistaken? Let me tell you; if Yuanyuan is standing right in front of you, but you can’t bring yourself to kiss her, then that would mean you have no feelings for her. Do you understand?”
Silence fell over the car, and the atmosphere turned heavy and awkward. A long while passed before Yuchi Yishu’s voice rang out. “Does kissing her on the forehead count?”
“No f*cking way!” Zhong Chufeng broke out cursing. “A kiss on the cheek or the forehead doesn’t count! I’m talking about a real kiss! You understand what that is, right?”
Yuchi Yishu pressed his thin lips even more tightly together. They were both guys, not to mention adult men. How could he not understand what Zhong Chufeng meant by a real kiss? Still, he felt like there was no way he could bring himself to kiss her. Yuanyuan has always been a little girl to me. How can I possibly make a move on her? As that thought crossed his mind, he closed his eyes and leaned back into his seat.
“Don’t tell me you can’t bring yourself to kiss her? If you can’t, then say so earlier. If you don’t have feelings for Yuanyuan, I won’t give her to anybody else so easily.” God knows how many times I’ve fantasized about it or how many dreams I’ve had about this. Zhong Chufeng felt that he was going overboard sometimes seeing as she was so pure-hearted. Even so, he liked her so much that he couldn’t control his feelings. Thus, every time he dreamed about her, he felt that he was being excessive, but at the same time, he also found it rather sweet. For that reason, it was rather tormenting.
After a long while, Yuchi Yishu finally managed to get his emotions under control. Following that, he started driving expressionlessly. Zhong Chufeng saw that he wasn’t replying. Thus, he anxiously asked, “What do you think? Come on! Spell it out to me!”
Yuchi Yishu continued to remain silent. Soon, the car left the hospital.
“Yuchi Yishu! Let’s make things clear between us today! What on earth is going through that head of yours? Are you going to kiss her, or not?”
“Shut up!”
