“Hey, hey, you promised to treat me to Western food today. You can’t forget.”
Yang Shuli walked along the road, stepping on the lines of the bicycle parking area as if she were walking a tightrope. It was as if she were playing a game where stepping off the white line meant certain death.
At times like this, Xu Nian didn’t find her childishness off-putting. Instead, he simply stood beside the wobbling Yang Shuli, ready to catch her the moment she fell from the line.
“Of course I remember. Is there a specific restaurant you want to go to?”
“I can’t read the names.”
This was what Yang Shuli hated most. Even though the diners, the busy servers, and the frantic chefs were almost all Chinese, they insisted on using English names that nobody could understand. Of course, she would never admit it was because of her own education level.
Xu Nian reached out and caught Yang Shuli as she inevitably fell from the white line, her left foot tripping over her right and causing her to lose her balance. He grabbed her by the arms and lifted her like a kitten, placing her steadily back on the ground.
He had personally braided her hair today. After trying various styles, he decided this one suited her best. It was a ballet-style double ponytail, with two delicate bows made of pale yellow silk ribbons tied into the hair. Combined with her soft, chubby features and sweet smile, she looked like a mango cream cake.
Unfortunately, Yang Shuli herself wasn’t very fond of mangoes. No matter how delicious something was, her priority was quantity over quality. To make matters worse, her tongue would hurt if she ate too many mangoes. Therefore, she hated them.
“Then let’s go to this one.” Xu Nian picked a place on his phone and held the screen in front of her. He chose it simply because the desserts had excellent reviews.
“I can’t read the English,” Yang Shuli said, pushing his phone away slightly.
“The customer reviews are in Chinese.”
“If it’s long, I’m not reading it.”
With a helpless smile, Xu Nian watched as Yang Shuli continued to hop along the road like a child with boundless energy. He followed behind her, watching her radiate vitality and sunshine. She even went as far as to bark back fiercely at a dog that lunged at her from the sidewalk.
By comparison, Xu Nian felt like an old man who had lived for over 100 years.
‘Or rather, I actually have.’
His eyes darkened slightly as he let out a long breath, then he looked back at Yang Shuli. The girl was standing in front of a shop, drooling over the items in the display window. Xu Nian walked over and followed her gaze to a variety of colorful macarons.
“Let’s buy some on the way back to the dorm.”
“What if you want to eat them now?” Xu Nian countered. “Don’t you want them right now?” He reached out and ruffled her hair. “When you want to do something, do it immediately. If you wait until later, it won’t feel the same as it did at the start.”
The words sounded quite logical, like a moral at the end of a storybook that usually served as a “captain obvious” moment in a young person’s life.
“Saying things like that makes you sound like an old man,” Yang Shuli muttered. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re unnaturally mature compared to people your age?”
“Maybe, but I’ll remember that you said it,” Xu Nian said, reaching out his hand.
Yang Shuli expertly placed her hand in his, letting him lead her into the shop. She watched him pay for the items with practiced ease and then took the three boxes of macarons from the clerk.
Like a feather drifting through the city on an autumn breeze, the bag circled around and finally landed in her hands. She immediately pulled out one of the boxes and pinched the first macaron. The surface was a bit sticky, but not in a disgusting, syrupy way. She held the macaron up to Xu Nian’s mouth.
Xu Nian was looking into the distance, so the macaron poked his lips, leaving a few specks of colored powdered sugar behind.
“Hmm?” Snapping back to reality, Xu Nian looked at the serious expression on Yang Shuli’s face.
This seemed to be an unspoken rule between them: no matter who was treating, the one being treated had to give the first bite to the one paying. Even if Yang Shuli treated him to Shaxian snacks, the first bite of the chicken leg would be offered to her by Xu Nian.
It was a useless rule, much like the custom of not filling a guest’s tea cup to the brim, but it seemed to provide a small sense of mental and physical pleasure. At the very least, Xu Nian was quite happy to be fed.
“The first time I ate a macaron, I found it in a tin of biscuits the old folks bought for the New Year. It was low-quality and tasted awful — just a biscuit shaped like a hamburger. It wasn’t until later that I realized macarons have fillings.”
Yang Shuli picked up a piece for herself. “These things have a heart.”
“I’ll take you to eat more things in the future. You’ll find that many other things have hearts, too.”
“I’m just talking about macarons, but I feel like you’re talking about something else.” Yang Shuli tossed the macaron into her mouth and chewed. “The way you talk makes everything sound so meaningful. You’d be perfect as a teacher for a fluff elective class.”
Xu Nian laughed. “If I were a fluff elective teacher, I’d make you sit in the front row every day.”
Then, he leaned down slightly as Yang Shuli reached for his cheek. She used her sleeve to gently wipe away the powdered sugar she had left there.
“Honestly, you’re a grown man, yet you still get food on your face. You’re just like a kid.”
Yang Shuli put her hands on her hips, seemingly forgetting that she was the one who had poked him in the face.
“Then I guess I’ll have to trouble you to take care of me for the rest of my life?”
Xu Nian continued to smile softly.
“Well, what can I do? With great power comes great responsibility.”
*Click, clack.*
The crisp sound of high heels rang out. Black hair, short, in an elegant outfit.
“What a coincidence, Brother Xu. And you, classmate. I didn’t expect to run into you here. Are you buying desserts?”
She spoke, but her gaze never left Xu Nian.
Yang Shuli frowned, thinking for a long time before she finally remembered the woman’s name. “Are you… Xiao Ye?”
So she eats to soothe her stress.