Chapter 51: Happiness Is Meeting the Right Person
He didn’t mind. Not when he’d let her into his home, not when he’d let her stay, and not even when she had been so rude as to bring a knife into his house and hide it under her pillow, as if intentionally guarding against him.
Su Yuqing felt a lump in her throat, a tight, uncomfortable feeling. There were a thousand words of gratitude she wanted to say to him, yet she couldn’t get a single one out.
This trust and understanding brought her a warmth and emotional touch that was no less powerful than any tangible act of care.
"In a lifetime, if you can just meet the right person, that’s enough to be happy for the rest of your life..."
Her grandmother’s words echoed in Su Yuqing’s ears. This was what her grandmother had told her when, as a child, she had innocently asked what happiness was.
Her parents were always fighting, and as a child, she was always caught in the middle, deeply hurt.
Moreover, she often heard them blame each other for their unhappiness and talk about getting a divorce.
She didn’t know what happiness was, or why her mom and dad would fight over it. She desperately wanted an answer.
So she asked her grandmother: what was this "happiness" that her parents were always fighting about?
Her grandmother had given her that simple, direct answer.
Back then, she had been too young to really understand what her grandmother meant.
Now, recalling that definition of happiness, it seemed so simple, yet it was something many people spent their entire lives searching for and never found.
Su Yuqing’s heart was filled with gratitude. She thanked heaven for letting her meet someone like him.
She didn’t dare hope for anything more to develop with the boy in her heart. As long as they could spend one more day together like this, every day she lived would be a bonus day of happiness.
As long as she could be with this boy, she was willing to live every day to come as if it were the happiest day of her life.
That way, even if they eventually went their separate ways and he found his own happiness, she could look back on these days and still find strength and warmth in her heart.
But when she truly considered the boy in her heart leaving her world, she couldn’t help but feel a wrenching pain.
Clutching her chest, she took a few deep breaths and slowly managed to calm herself.
Watching Chen Mo pat the pillow a few times before putting it back, Su Yuqing suddenly realized she hadn’t woken up startled in the middle of the night for three days.
She slowly walked to the side of the bed, took out the fruit knife from under the pillow that had once given her a false sense of security, and placed it in the drawer of the nearby cabinet, putting it away.
’From now on, I won’t need this to make me feel safe anymore.’
When she returned to the living room, she saw Chen Mo taking two cups of yogurt out of the refrigerator.
"A little yogurt after a meal is good for you."
Chen Mo smiled, twisted open a cup of yogurt, and walked over to Su Yuqing. He held the lid, which was coated with a thick layer of yogurt, up to her mouth and said with a laugh, "Here, lick it clean. Don’t let it go to waste."
Su Yuqing stared blankly at the yogurt lid, inches from her face. The plastic disc, dotted with creamy foam, hovered at her lips like unmelted snow.
In the warm yellow light of the kitchen, Chen Mo’s smiling eyes shimmered with flecks of light. He raised the hand holding the lid and gave it an encouraging little wiggle.
Su Yuqing suddenly felt the tips of her ears burn, but she obediently parted her lips slightly. Lowering her eyelashes, she leaned toward the thin piece of plastic. The moment her tongue gently curled up the creamy curd, the leftover yogurt bloomed into a sweet and sour ripple on her taste buds.
Watching Su Yuqing’s adorable, cat-like expression, Chen Mo found himself momentarily captivated.
It was only when she looked up and stared at him blankly that he snapped out of it.
"I was worried you wouldn’t like the original flavor, so I opened a sweeter one for you. What do you think?" Chen Mo’s breathy voice brushed past her ear.
"It’s very good." Su Yuqing took the yogurt cup and lid from Chen Mo’s hand, shyly taking a step back before replying with a smile.
Chen Mo grinned, twisted open his own cup, and began to chug it down.
Su Yuqing noticed the trace of yogurt left around his mouth. She immediately grabbed a tissue from nearby, gently reached out, and, looking at his lips, carefully wiped it away for him.
Only after she had done it subconsciously did she suddenly realize how intimate their situation had become.
She immediately grew shy and walked out of the kitchen. Sitting on the living room sofa, she held the yogurt cup with both hands like a small child and began to drink it little by little.
Chen Mo was practically melting from her cuteness.
Although Su Yuqing appeared to be obediently drinking her yogurt, her entire focus was actually on Chen Mo.
Noticing Chen Mo staring at her intently, Su Yuqing’s earlobes seemed to bloom crimson the moment his gaze touched them, like wisps of cloud set ablaze by the evening sun.
Her swallowing suddenly became clumsy and drawn out. Under Chen Mo’s watch, the path of the yogurt sliding down her esophagus seemed to wind its way like a cool stream.
She unconsciously rubbed the condensation on the cup, her fingertips smudging wet patterns on the cool glass. The bangs falling over her forehead brushed against her burning cheeks, as if trying to hide all the tell-tale signs of her inner turmoil. But the light filtering through the strands of her hair was a clear reminder—he was still looking, he was still looking.
The sweetness on her tongue suddenly turned into melted honey, thickly coating every single taste bud.
As her throat bobbed, she could hear the rapid thrum of her own heartbeat.
Staring down at a droplet of condensation about to fall from the cup, she caught sight of Chen Mo in her periphery. She had the illusion that his gaze had become tangible, climbing from her curled toes up her trembling knees, finally coming to rest in the hollow of her neck that moved as she swallowed.
It made Su Yuqing so shy that her bare ankles began to unconsciously rub against each other.
Chen Mo also realized that Su Yuqing had noticed him staring. Seeing her shy reaction, he couldn’t help but find it amusing.
He smiled and sat down next to her. Looking at her from up close, he said with a grin, "Miss Nanny, can I borrow your shoulder for a nap? I just ate, so lying down is uncomfortable. It would be nice to have someone to lean on."
Su Yuqing, her face slightly flushed, glanced at Chen Mo and nodded.
As Chen Mo gently leaned over, the tips of his hair brushing her collarbone, Su Yuqing’s body suddenly went rigid. She felt as if all the blood in her veins had turned to jelly.
The weight of the boy’s head seeped through her thin school uniform and into her shoulder blade. She felt like a butterfly specimen pinned to the sofa, not daring to let even her eyelashes tremble in the slightest.
The scent of sandalwood shampoo from the nape of his neck, mixed with the smell of sunshine, drifted into her nostrils with his every breath. Tainted with the hint of a boy’s natural scent, it caused Su Yuqing’s body temperature to slowly rise.
The stray strands of Chen Mo’s hair brushed against the side of Su Yuqing’s neck with the rise and fall of his breathing. Each touch felt like a quill pen dipped in electricity, tickling and tingling against her skin until she found herself unconsciously syncing her breathing to his.