“Anxin, why did you lock your bedroom door?”
“Nothing…”
The girl tightly gripped the paintbrush in her hand and lowered her head as she answered softly.
“If it’s nothing, then leave the door open. Is there something your parents aren’t allowed to see?”
The man slammed the door heavily against the wall in displeasure.
“I… I just want a little privacy.”
The girl nervously rubbed the paintbrush in her hand while cautiously looking at her father.
“What privacy? Your parents gave birth to you. When you were born, you were naked—what haven’t your parents seen? Now that you’ve grown up, suddenly you want privacy?”
The moment he heard her words, the man’s expression darkened as though she had said something outrageous.
“But…”
The girl still wanted to make one final attempt.
“There’s no ‘but.’ Do you have some kind of barrier with your parents? Locking yourself in your room like this and isolating yourself from us.”
“…Okay.”
The girl obediently lowered her head and bit her lip tightly to stop her tears from falling.
“Xinxin, raising you wasn’t easy for your parents. You have to be obedient. We’re family—there shouldn’t be any barriers between us. Your parents keeping an eye on you is for your own good.”
Seeing the girl submit obediently, the man immediately put on the face of a loving father and gently patted her head.
The girl couldn’t help thinking:
So love means constantly watching someone? Holding onto them tightly…?
The dream had not yet ended.
But leaning against Lingchen’s shoulder, Anxin quietly let tears fall from the corners of her eyes, even soaking part of his shoulder.
Lingchen also noticed something was wrong with her, so he quietly tightened his grip around her hand.
As warmth spread through his palm, Anxin’s expression gradually relaxed.
The plane landed smoothly, and the slight vibration woke Anxin from her dream.
Looking at Lingchen still holding her hand, she unconsciously leaned closer against him.
Whether in dreams or reality… A-Chen really is my only support.
“I thought you’d take my phone while I was asleep, A-Chen.”
Holding hands, Anxin and Lingchen stood up together and walked off the plane.
“Ah, I forgot,” Lingchen replied jokingly. “Missed a good opportunity.”
“But if I did that, it would ruin our trip. I want you to willingly come back with me.”
“You won’t get another chance,” Anxin replied softly. “Since you’ve already missed two opportunities, you should prepare to stay by my side forever.”
Anxin was still dressed for spring weather, and the cold wind made her shiver.
“It’s my first time traveling this far from home…”
“I already called a taxi. Let’s buy some clothes first when we get there.”
Looking at the trembling Anxin, Lingchen opened his coat.
Although his clothes weren’t especially thick either, the coat still blocked a fair amount of the cold wind.
“If you don’t mind… let’s share some warmth for now.”
Lingchen wrapped an arm around Anxin and pulled her into his embrace, using his body heat to warm her slightly.
Anxin obediently nestled into his arms, breathing in his scent.
Unexpectedly… this cold wind didn’t seem so bad after all.
Meanwhile, Lingchen’s entire face had turned red.
Sure, scenes like this appeared all the time in movies, but actually doing it in real life was unbelievably embarrassing.
Especially with Anxin—the girl he had only just kissed.
Feeling her soft body and faint fragrance made his heart pound uncontrollably.
The two remained silent, leaning against each other in the chilly wind for a long while.
Only when a yellow taxi finally stopped in front of them did they reluctantly separate.
As they sat down in the back seat together, both of them silently thought at the exact same time:
Why did this taxi take so long to arrive?
Why did this taxi arrive so quickly?!
Lingchen felt that if the taxi had taken any longer, his heart might have exploded out of his chest.
Even though he’d had close physical contact with Anxin before, he had always thought of it as something between friends.
But this time was different.
Completely different.
Now he knew Anxin had special feelings for him.
As for Anxin, she wondered why they couldn’t have stayed in each other’s arms a little longer.
Although she and A-Chen had done many intimate things before, it had usually only happened because she had drugged him or manipulated the situation somehow.
But this time was different.
Completely different.
This time, A-Chen had hugged her willingly.
As a result, even after arriving at the clothing store in the shopping mall, the two still held hands while avoiding looking directly at each other’s faces.
Anxin herself didn’t understand why.
She had already seen A-Chen naked countless times, yet today she couldn’t even bring herself to look him in the eyes.
There were simply too many things today she couldn’t understand.
She had clearly done something wrong, yet she wasn’t blamed at all. Instead, she was being treated so gently…
Today she had honestly revealed all the darkest parts of herself, yet A-Chen had still pulled her into his arms.
“What about this one?”
Lingchen pointed at a light-blue knitted cardigan, trying to start a conversation and ease the awkward atmosphere.
“I think it’d look really cute on you.”
“O-Okay. I’ll go try it on.”
Keeping her head lowered, Anxin accepted the cardigan from him and quickly entered the fitting room.
“But don’t run away while I’m changing, okay?”
“I won’t!”
Lingchen continued wandering around the women’s clothing section. He planned to pick out a coat and scarf for Anxin as well.
“A-Chen, I’m done changing.”
When Anxin stepped out of the fitting room, the fitted knitted cardigan made her look exceptionally pure and adorable.
“It really suits you. Want to pick out more?”
Lingchen turned around while choosing jackets and looked at the girl before him, who seemed as though she had stepped straight out of an anime.
“I’ll just take this one. Because A-Chen picked it for me.”
Anxin moved close beside him.
“You can choose whatever jacket you want to match with it.”
“Are you my dress-up doll or something?”
Lingchen awkwardly rubbed his nose. After all, his fashion sense had always been terrible.
“If that’s what you want… then I’m willing.”
“Then… how about this trench-style jacket?”
Originally, Lingchen had only meant to make an offhand comment, but after Anxin flirted back so directly, he hurriedly changed the subject.
Right now, he felt like he was in an overly “sensitive phase” and completely unable to handle attacks like that.
“Okay, I’ll try it.”
Taking the light-gray short trench coat, Anxin returned to the fitting room once again.
To be honest, Lingchen’s taste in fashion as a straight guy wasn’t particularly impressive.
But perhaps Anxin herself was simply too cute.
Even with just an ordinary light-gray trench coat layered over a pale sweater, she somehow gave off an incredibly unique charm.
“So… what else do you want to add to your dress-up doll next?”
Tilting her head slightly, Anxin leaned close to Lingchen’s ear.
“I’ll like anything you pick.”
“Then… maybe another scarf.”
The warm breath suddenly brushing against his ear instantly threw Lingchen’s thoughts into chaos, causing him to randomly point at a scarf nearby.
“Okay~ Then let’s buy one.”
Anxin smiled brightly.
Just looking at Lingchen filled her with a sense of happiness and peace.
Five minutes later, Lingchen would deeply regret his decision to pick out that scarf, because…