Talk about it?
Tang Yuanyuan blinked. “Aren’t we eating first?”
Yuchi Yishu responded earnestly, “We won’t eat until we’ve talked about it.”
Tang Yuanyuan curled her lips, not knowing what to say.
“You’ve been avoiding this for too long,” Yuchi Yishu chuckled. “And it’s been so many days—you should have an answer already.”
“No, I don’t,” Tang Yuanyuan denied. “I don’t have an answer yet.”
“Oh?” Yuchi Yishu raised his eyebrows. “You don’t have an answer yet? Does my presence every day make it difficult for you to think?”
Tang Yuanyuan had everything in control from the outset. Besides, she intentionally put it off to make Yuchi Yishu wait anxiously.
But now, it seemed like Yuchi Yishu had taken over the situation, and this annoyed Tang Yuanyuan.
Very quickly, Yuchi Yishu held her hand and moved to a somewhat quiet spot not far from them. “If after so long you still haven’t got an answer, perhaps we should just stay here to let you think until you have one. When the time comes, you’ll let me know.”
“Yishu, why—”
“I can’t wait any longer.”
Tang Yuanyuan was stunned.
“Do you agree or not?”
Yuchi Yishu looked her deeply in the eyes; his eyes were as deep as the dark of night. “Just one word. Tell me.”
For reasons unbeknownst to her, Tang Yuanyuan felt her heart pounding in her chest. Then, she opened her mouth. “Y-You’re forcing me into giving you an answer. I’ve told you already that I don’t have an answer yet.”
As she finished, Yuchi Yishu let out a deep chuckle.
“Fine. Just take it as me forcing you into giving me an answer. I’ll give you five minutes to do that, and the countdown starts now.”
Tang Yuanyuan was rendered speechless.
What? Does that mean I’ll have to say it to his face in five minutes?
If Yuchi Yishu had a choice, he would not have chosen to pressure her. However, he had been waiting for too long. The fact that she spent so much time with him throughout these couple of days without meeting up with Zong Yongran had proven to him where her heart was.
Even though Yuchi Yishu knew he should not be so impatient, as the days went on, he increasingly realized that the longer he waited, the more likely she was going to either regret, slack, or become indifferent about it.
And if she rejected him…
This was a possibility that Yuchi Yishu would never like to contemplate.
Yuchi Yishu was strict with the time he stipulated as he constantly looked at his watch after the countdown started. He would not respond to Tang Yuanyuan no matter what she said to him.
It was obvious that he would not disturb her within five minutes so she could make a decision entirely on her own.
For Tang Yuanyuan, she became conflicted as she was too shy to agree. She bit her lower lip, stamped her foot, and squatted down next to Yuchi Yishu with her hands around her knees, looking upset.
The clock was ticking.
“Time’s almost up. Are you ready, little girl?”
As Yuchi Yishu’s voice came out from above her head, she lifted her head, and finally gave in. She looked at him with that pair of clear eyes.
“Huh?”
Yuchi Yishu looked down.
At this point, it was already getting dark, and the lights from the street lamps fell on Tang Yuanyuan’s fair little face. With his back against the lights, he could clearly see her facial features.
“If I don’t agree, are you going to find someone else right away?”
The smile on Yuchi Yishu’s face disappeared slightly. He kept quiet for a while before responding, “Perhaps due to the trauma from your rejection I might get married right away.”
“You can’t do that!” Tang Yuanyuan yelled in disagreement. “I would never agree to that! Look how insincere you are!”
Following that, Yuchi Yishu squatted down next to her and squeezed her cheek. “The moment I found out that you were having hotpot with Zong Yongran, I rushed right over, and everything that I’ve done for and with you for the past couple of days was in anticipation for your answer. Now you’re asking me if I’ll find another girl if you reject me—who do you think is the insincere one in this situation? You are heartless.”
His words made Tang Yuanyuan realize that she was the insincere one.
“So what?” Tang Yuanyuan snorted. “You deserve it as you’ve been unclear about your decision previously. Now you should be getting a taste of what I’ve been going through.”
“Yes, you’re right.” Yuchi Yishu gently brushed the edge of her brow with his finger and looked her in the eye. “I was wrong before, but I know that now and would like to apologize to you. I’m sorry.”
Tang Yuanyuan was caught off-guard, as she did not expect him to actually lower himself to apologize to her.
Did this tall and lean man just lower himself in front of me?
“Little girl, are you willing to accept my apology?”
These days, Tang Yuanyuan had noticed that Yuchi Yishu had not been talking to her as someone older than her. It might have slipped his mind a couple of times, but for the most part, he did not do that.
Was this a change in his attitude?
Not responding, Tang Yuanyuan bit her lower lip and looked him in the eye.
“You’re kidding me.” Yuchi Yishu tapped the tip of her nose. “Do you even have to think to decide whether or not to accept my apology?
“I-I don’t. Since it seems like you meant it, I-I’ll forgive you.”
“Well, since you’re willing to forgive me on this front, I suppose that you are no longer mad at me. Now, let’s come back to our previous conversation.”
They were now back to the awkward conversation. Then, Yuchi Yishu held her soft cheeks. “Time’s up. What do you say?”
Time seemed to have frozen as the two looked at each other. A while later, Tang Yuanyuan began to blush before moving her face away. “Since you’ve already put it this way, can I still reject you?”
At this moment, it felt like a weight off his shoulders. He looked at this girl in front of him, who had put him through an endless emotional rollercoaster, and suddenly picked her up from the ground.
“Ah,” Tang Yuanyuan yelped while she subconsciously put her hands around his neck. “Yishu!”
Yuchi Yishu held her waist tightly and lowered his head a little. “Since you’ve agreed, please stop calling me that.”
His warm hands that were around her waist made her nervous. She asked in a weak voice, “W-What should I call you then?”
“Boyfriend.”
Tang Yuanyuan did not know how to respond to that.
Call him my boyfriend?
This is such a big jump. I can’t do it.
Yuchi Yishu continued, “What’s wrong? Haven’t you been urging me this whole time? Now you’re feeling shy?”
Tang Yuanyuan responded with a growl in her stomach. She turned to him, looking embarrassed. “I’m hungry.”
She had a pitiful look on her face as she looked him in the eye, and her cheeks were as pink as a cherry blossom. Not to mention the color of her lips…
Yuchi Yishu took back his gaze and coughed gently. “Let’s grab dinner first then. But I’ll remember what you just told me. Since you’ve agreed to it, there’s no going back.”
