Chapter 70

She had left too abruptly, almost like she was fleeing in panic.

Yang Zhao raised her eyebrows in surprise, which only piqued her curiosity about the gifts even more.

She opened the small box that clearly contained jewelry and saw the bracelet lying inside. She let out a light laugh.

What was this? She had given Hua Man a bracelet, and now Hua Man had given her one in return?

She didn’t rush to put it on.

She closed the box and opened the other bag.

This box was larger. As soon as she opened it, Yang Zhao froze for a moment, and then a smile spread uncontrollably across her face.

She reached out with slender fingers and gently lifted the black fabric.

So Hua Man liked this kind of thing.

She didn’t feel embarrassed at all. Instead, she was eager to try it on right away and show it to Hua Man.

But that would seem too eager. She suppressed her inner excitement, put the clothes back, and turned to unwrap the other gift box.

The two gift boxes were obviously bought from the same place, with nearly identical packaging. She couldn’t help but feel a bit more anticipation.

Even though she had prepared herself, when she saw the item, Yang Zhao still felt like her preparations weren’t enough.

She hadn’t expected the proper and upright Hua Man to be so avant-garde, even discovering something like this.

Hmm—

Hua Man was hiding it well.

To avoid the situation where they were in the middle of things in bed and suddenly got hungry, Yang Zhao decided to put the items away for now.

Holding the jewelry box, she walked into the kitchen.

Hua Man was washing vegetables, her ears slightly red. She didn’t even dare to look at Yang Zhao. Pretending not to notice Hua Man’s unusual behavior, Yang Zhao leaned over and whispered softly, “I really like the gifts you gave me.”

Hua Man’s body stiffened.

Her voice was a bit stiff too. “Mm, as long as you like them.”

“I think they’re perfect for me. Do you want to take a look?” She deliberately kept her words ambiguous. “Help me out, hmm?”

Hua Man fell right into the trap, her face flushing bright red. She turned her head. “Yang Zhao, it’s broad daylight right now.”

Yang Zhao’s lips curved up as she held up the jewelry box and shook it. “What’s wrong? Do I have to wait until nighttime just for you to help me put it on?”

Hua Man: “…”

For a moment, she couldn’t tell if she was just too guilty or if Yang Zhao was deliberately teasing her.

“Help me put it on.”

Yang Zhao placed the jewelry box in Hua Man’s hands and then extended her own.

Her beautiful wrist bones were fair and slender, with distinct joints, and faint purple veins visible beneath the skin—like a piece of fine artwork.

Hua Man stared at it fixedly for a few seconds. Finally, she washed her hands clean, wiped away the water stains, and then took out the bracelet.

Their wrist sizes were similar. She had tried it on in the store, and now it fit Yang Zhao perfectly.

Yang Zhao seemed to love it. She waved her hand around. “It’s great. I really like it.”

As she spoke, Yang Zhao used the hand with the bracelet to pinch Hua Man’s cheek.

Hua Man took a step back, her gaze evasive. “Did you… look at the other ones?”

“Those two bags?” Yang Zhao played dumb, teasing her on purpose. “Not yet. What’s inside?”

Hua Man found it hard to speak up, and she was afraid that if Yang Zhao saw what she had bought, she might drag her off to do that kind of thing in broad daylight. In the end, she swallowed her words.

After a few seconds of silence, she finally spoke. “Look at them tonight.”

“Tonight?” Yang Zhao raised an eyebrow.

Hua Man’s tone grew firmer. “Yes, tonight.”

Yang Zhao laughed. “Alright, then tonight it is.”

She obediently watched Hua Man cook from the side, occasionally shaking the bracelet on her wrist, in a great mood.

By the time Hua Man had lunch ready, the soup Yang Zhao had been simmering also came to a boil.

“How is it?”

Yang Zhao’s gaze fell on Hua Man’s face.

Although she had deliberately done things to change Hua Man’s opinion of her, she still held some expectations, hoping to see Hua Man’s reaction.

“What kind of soup is this?” Hua Man hesitated.

At that moment, Yang Zhao’s earlier mention of “a lot” became very real—it truly was a lot.

No wonder she felt like there were far fewer ingredients in the fridge. Yang Zhao had used them all up to make this soup.

It was like a big pot of hodgepodge, with every kind of ingredient mixed together in a riot of colors. It looked both bizarre and appetizing.

“It looks like a success.” Yang Zhao was very satisfied with her soup. “Try some.”

Hua Man hesitated, scooped up a spoonful, and carefully tasted it.

“How is it?” Yang Zhao asked.

“…It’s good.” Hua Man’s expression was a bit strange.

With so many things thrown in, she didn’t know why, but the taste was surprisingly nice—some indescribable flavor.

Yang Zhao chuckled lightly.

“As long as you like it.” She spoke gently. “If you like it, I’ll make you soup more often from now on.”

Having overeaten the day before, Yang Zhao controlled herself today and didn’t eat too indulgently.

“What are we doing this afternoon?” As she spoke, she grinned and touched Hua Man’s chin. “I want to be with you.”

Hua Man hesitated, wanting to say something.

Her place couldn’t compare to the Yang family home at all. She couldn’t understand why Yang Zhao liked sticking around here so much.

“I’ll hire someone to take care of Hua Xi later,” she thought for a moment and said proactively. “If you want to go back to the Yang family home, we can.”

“Manman.” Yang Zhao sounded surprised. “How do you have such a bad memory? I already told you, my dad kicked me out of the house. I’m homeless now, so you have to take care of me.”

Hua Man: “…”

Her gaze fell on the sofa where Yang Zhao was sitting. Hua Man didn’t bother exposing her lie.

After thinking it over, she shared her afternoon plans. “I need to prepare tomorrow’s lessons this afternoon, then go to the hospital to see Hua Xi and handle some paperwork.”

That sounded so boring?

Yang Zhao frowned patiently. “Don’t you have any personal hobbies or anything like that planned? Like playing some ball or getting a manicure?”

“No.” Hua Man didn’t hesitate.

Yang Zhao fell silent.

So boring.

But she had promised Hua Man to behave for three days, so she didn’t say more. She stayed put obediently, watching Hua Man prepare her lessons.

Soon, though, it was her nap time. Yang Zhao couldn’t hold out any longer. Fighting her sleepiness, she went to hug Hua Man.

“Stop writing.” She said firmly. “I’m so sleepy. Accompany me to sleep.”

The sweet fragrance from her body invaded all at once. They used the same body wash, but Hua Man rarely smelled that scent on herself.

“I haven’t finished yet.” It took all of Hua Man’s effort not to get lost in it. “You go sleep.”

But when Yang Zhao got stubborn, not even ten oxen could pull her away. She repeated obstinately, “Accompany me to sleep.”

Hua Man: “…”

In the end, she set down her pen and stood up. “Fine.”

Yang Zhao’s nap time was fixed, so she wouldn’t do anything else. Hua Man felt at ease.

But Yang Zhao’s sleeping position was the same as always. On such a hot day, she still clung to her like a koala, her hot breath spraying on Hua Man’s chest, bringing waves of itchiness and warmth.

It was a good thing Yang Zhao had installed air conditioning in every room of the house.

Hua Man turned the temperature down a few degrees.

Yang Zhao was probably exhausted, as her breathing soon evened out.

Hua Man hadn’t felt sleepy at first, but feeling Yang Zhao’s steady breaths, she didn’t know when she herself drifted off.

She had forgotten to set an alarm.

This meant that when she woke up, it was already past five in the afternoon.

Sitting up in bed, her head felt groggy. She was dazed for a while before checking her phone, where several missed calls from Hua Xi sat waiting.

During her lesson with Bai Zhilan, she had silenced her phone but not turned it off completely, so she hadn’t noticed Hua Xi’s calls.

Some of the paperwork she needed to handle couldn’t be done now and had to be postponed to tomorrow.

Luckily, it wasn’t anything urgent, or her head would ache even more.

She called Hua Xi back and told her that something unexpected had come up in the afternoon, so she hadn’t gone over.

While Hua Xi pestered her asking what it was, Yang Zhao woke up.

“So noisy.” She mumbled grumpily, full of morning anger. “Keep being noisy and get out.”

Hua Xi, on the other end of the line, heard Yang Zhao’s voice and went quiet for a moment before huffing. “Sis is accompanying her and forgot about me, right?!”

Before Hua Man could figure out what to say, Yang Zhao snatched the phone and unceremoniously hung up.

After hanging up, she wanted to go back to sleep.

Hua Man called to her. “Time to get up.”

Yang Zhao ignored her.

Hua Man got out of bed on her own. “I need to head to the hospital soon. Handle dinner yourself.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Yang Zhao sat up, her hair disheveled, her face blank with heavy sleepiness.

“No.”

“Then get up.”

Yang Zhao: “…”

She sat there blankly for a while before irritably getting out of bed, her expression sullen.

So annoying!

Because of her bad mood from waking up, Yang Zhao’s face remained stormy the whole way to the hospital.

When she had a cold expression, it was like her whole body emitted a heavy chill, making people afraid to approach.

When they arrived at the ward, there were actually two guests inside.

“Miss Hua.”

It was Keke’s mom and daughter, whom she hadn’t seen in a while.

Seeing Ke Ke sitting face-to-face on the bed playing with Hua Xi, Hua Man nodded to her. “Sister Wang.”

“You…” Keke’s Mom hesitated for a few seconds, glancing at the woman standing beside Hua Man, but she still spoke up. “Miss Hua, I like it when you call me Keke’s Mom.”

As she spoke, her eyes reddened. “Every time someone calls me Keke’s Mom, it feels like a surge of strength is injected into my body, helping me keep going.”

Because she was Ke Ke’s mom, no matter how tough life got, she had to persist.

Yang Zhao’s brows furrowed even tighter.

She wasn’t the empathetic type and didn’t understand these words. Just as she was about to speak, Hua Man seemed to read her mind, instantly gripping her hand tightly to stop her.

She turned her head to look at Hua Man.

“Okay, Keke’s Mom.”

Hua Man didn’t look at her, just gazed earnestly at Keke’s Mom.

When she talked to others, she always liked looking them in the eyes. Her face showed no particular expression, and with such a cool countenance, yet it always gave Yang Zhao a feeling of warmth.

Yang Zhao sighed faintly.

Her gentle side was so cute too.

She wanted to kiss her.

Yang Zhao’s fingertip carefully rubbed the palm of Hua Man’s hand, letting her fingertip kiss it in her stead.

Keke’s Mom had brought Ke Ke specifically to say goodbye to Hua Xi.

After spending so much time together, Ke Ke and Hua Xi had become good sisters.

“Ke Ke has found a suitable heart donor and can have the surgery soon.” Keke’s Mom’s face held both anticipation and nervousness, but with this new hope, there was more joy.

“Congratulations.” Hua Man offered her blessings. “Ke Ke will definitely get through this smoothly.”

“Yes.” Keke’s Mom nodded. “Thank you.”

Lately, the goddess of luck had started favoring them.

Not only had kind people donated funds to cover all surgery costs, but now there was a matching heart donor. Life was looking more hopeful, and their will to live stronger.

When the two little girls finally parted reluctantly, Hua Man said softly, “Once Ke Ke is discharged too, you can play together again.”

Keke’s Mom’s eyes reddened again. “Yes… yes, there will be plenty of chances in the future.”

As the big and small figures left, Yang Zhao burst out like she had been holding it in. “When are we leaving?”

“Sis just got here!” Hua Xi complained loudly.

“What do you mean just got here?” Yang Zhao said coldly. “We’ve been in the ward for thirty-one minutes since we stepped in. You were just too busy playing with others.”

Of course, Hua Xi couldn’t argue with Yang Zhao. Stumped for words, she started seeking backup.

She reached out, trying to touch Hua Man. “Sis…”

Her voice was pitiful.

Yang Zhao’s eyes flickered. That trick seemed pretty good.

Especially seeing Hua Man’s mildly reproving gaze land on her, she couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Hua Man fell for it too.

How could there be such a cute person who fell for every trick?

“What are you laughing at?” Hua Xi keenly “glared” toward Yang Zhao at the sound of laughter.

Yang Zhao ignored her and pinched Hua Man’s cheek, deliberately mimicking Hua Xi’s tone from earlier. “Teacher Hua, look at your sister. She’s so fierce.”

Hua Xi: ???

The big one and the little one, despite the huge age gap, always bickered whenever they met. Hua Man got a headache from their antics and quickly soothed Hua Xi before dragging Yang Zhao away immediately.

By the time they finished everything and got home, Hua Man had lost all desire to cook herself.

She tentatively asked, “Can we order takeout?”

Yang Zhao didn’t bat an eyelid. “Sure, I’ll order.”

With that, she pulled out her phone. Without asking Hua Man’s opinion, she quickly set it down. “All done.”

Hua Man was surprised. “You already ordered?”

“Yep.” Yang Zhao nodded affirmatively.

She had already messaged Yu Shan to deliver the food, confident that Yu Shan would have someone prepare and send it over soon.

As for dinner, Yang Zhao wasn’t particularly interested. What truly piqued her curiosity was another kind of delicacy.

Her gaze involuntarily drifted to Hua Man’s face.

She couldn’t wait.

She was dying to slip into the clothes Hua Man had prepared for her, dying for Hua Man to play with that little toy together.

Hua Man hadn’t mentioned that gift all day—either deliberately avoiding it or simply forgetting about it.

This time, Yang Zhao deliberately took the clothes into the bathroom with her.

Once she put them on, she admired herself in the mirror, striking a few seductive poses before letting out a soft chuckle.

If Hua Man could resist this, she’d have to be made of wood.

To give Hua Man a surprise, she wrapped a bathrobe around herself outside, concealing the tantalizing view completely.

After Hua Man entered the bathroom, she lifted the bathrobe and carefully disinfected the little toy.

Mm, now all she had to do was wait nicely on the bed, ready for Hua Man to enjoy her.

She wouldn’t act all shy like Hua Man.

She tried out a few poses on the bed and finally settled on the most comfortable one—which she also thought was the sexiest—patiently awaiting Hua Man’s emergence.

Time seemed to drag on forever.

Finally, the door opened.

Beneath Hua Man’s stunned gaze, Yang Zhao slowly guided the toy to its proper place, her voice lilting upward at the end. “Does it look good?”