Chapter 58: The Beginning of Feelings

On the other end, behind Yi Qingzhuo’s characteristically terse reply, she was so elated she couldn’t control her expression.

Yi Qingzhuo stared at the few lines of chat history, going over them again and again for a full five minutes.

Finally, she abruptly stood up and flung open her bedroom door.

“Little Xia, come with me somewhere.”

Xia Qinyu had just flopped down on the sofa, fully immersed in a movie, when her sister suddenly yanked the door open, startling her so badly that she jolted upright in a full-body spasm.

But what happened next nearly made her jaw drop.

Yi Qingzhuo’s mood had cleared up like the sun breaking through clouds, and the word “Little Xia” had been thrown in so casually.

Xia Qinyu forgot to even chew the snack in her mouth, frozen in place, just staring dumbfounded at Yi Qingzhuo.

She couldn’t believe it. Five minutes ago, this same person had been wearing an icy face, ready to scold her.

Now, after opening the door again, she was suddenly all smiles and pleasantries… wait, was that even a hint of a smile at the corner of her lips?

Was this some kind of live-action face-changing performance art?

How was anyone supposed to deal with this?

“Uh… where to?” Xia Qinyu closed her laptop.

This was the first time since her sister had come home that she had voluntarily asked for anything.

Xia Qinyu puffed out her chest. “Don’t worry, Sis. If it’s through fire and water, your little sister will follow. We didn’t come into this life together, but we’ll die together!”

Hearing Xia Qinyu’s impassioned speech, especially her martyr-like determination, Yi Qingzhuo couldn’t help but frown. “No need. I value my life.”

She turned around, grabbed a black backpack, and picked up her keys. “Coming or not?”

Seeing this, Xia Qinyu scrambled to put on her shoes. “Coming, coming! Wait for me, Sis.”

By the time she finally ran downstairs, Yi Qingzhuo was already seated in the car.

“You’re driving today? Is it far?” Xia Qinyu closed the car door and said to Yi Qingzhuo.

Yi Qingzhuo had a white Cadillac. Not long after getting out of prison, she had gotten her driver’s license, and then Yi Changhuan had helped her with the down payment. Yi Qingzhuo paid the monthly installments herself. But she rarely drove it, usually leaving it at home to collect dust.

Yi Qingzhuo started the engine. “Mm.”

EK Western Restaurant

Yi Qingzhuo had arranged to meet Shen Chaoyi at six in the evening.

But she arrived at half past five, parked the car, and had just walked into the restaurant.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a familiar license plate. So she turned back and stood in the doorway.

She watched Shen Chaoyi get out of the car. Their eyes met.

Today, Shen Chaoyi was wearing light makeup, a cream-colored high-neck base layer under a white coat, with a handbag slung over one arm.

They stood far apart, looking at each other. Yi Qingzhuo stood at the entrance, watching the Doctor Shen who had haunted her dreams walk slowly toward her, step by step.

Yi Qingzhuo tightened her grip on the paper bag in her hand and unconsciously walked down the steps. “Doctor Shen.”

“You’re early,” Shen Chaoyi said, glancing at her watch with a gentle smile.

Yi Qingzhuo nodded. “You’re half an hour early too.”

Both of them had taken this meeting seriously, so they had come ahead of time.

“Let’s go in early then.” Shen Chaoyi noticed the bag she was carrying.

“Mm-hmm.” Yi Qingzhuo turned and glanced at the sky, where it had started to rain.

Yi Qingzhuo had booked ahead, so they were seated quickly.

“Thank you.” Taking the glass of water the waiter handed her with both hands, Yi Qingzhuo took a small sip of plain water.

“Yi Qingzhuo, you have a follow-up appointment at the hospital in a week. Don’t forget.” Since Yi Qingzhuo wasn’t speaking, Shen Chaoyi broke the silence first.

Yi Qingzhuo’s fingers around the glass turned white at the tips from the tension. She steadied herself. “I know. I’ll be there on time.”

She pulled the book out of the paper bag. Her face was flushed, and her palms were clammy with sweat.

Shen Chaoyi noticed her movements and smiled with curved brows. “Finished the book?”

“Yes.” Yi Qingzhuo handed the book to Shen Chaoyi.

Shen Chaoyi took it and waited for Yi Qingzhuo to continue.

But Yi Qingzhuo seemed to have nothing more to say. She drank her water, watching Shen Chaoyi the whole time.

“That’s it?” Shen Chaoyi bit her lip, the smile on her face stiffening.

She had finished the book but hadn’t said anything. So Yi Qingzhuo had only come to fulfill her promise.

Yi Qingzhuo glanced at the book in Shen Chaoyi’s hand, then looked away. “It’s a very good book. Very educational.”

Hearing that, bitterness spread from Shen Chaoyi’s heart throughout her entire body. She didn’t know how to suppress this emotion. A flash of loneliness passed through her eyes.

She lowered her gaze to the book in her hands, and a wave of disappointment washed over her.

The corner of her mouth trembled, and her red lips pressed into a straight line.

Finally, she forced a bitter smile. “Yeah, it is.”

With that, she started to set the book aside.

But the woman across from her, who had been so composed, suddenly had a flicker of light in her eyes, and the panic in them was impossible to hide.

Yi Qingzhuo reached out and pressed her hand firmly over the cover of the book. She swallowed hard, her voice trembling. “Why don’t you open it and see? Inside… without your permission, I wrote something.”

She had looked away earlier because she was nervous about Shen Chaoyi seeing what she had written, not because she had no reaction.

Her hand spread evenly over the book, her neatly trimmed fingers pressing down hard, not letting Shen Chaoyi pull it away.

Startled by the sudden movement, Shen Chaoyi felt a sharp pain in both hands as Yi Qingzhuo crushed them under her own.

Her first instinct was to pull her hands back, but Yi Qingzhuo held on tight, as if afraid Shen Chaoyi would run away.

“Mm.” A low sound escaped her throat. Shen Chaoyi silently endured the pain.

Hearing her agreement, Yi Qingzhuo withdrew her hand, straightened her back, and stared at Shen Chaoyi without blinking.

Shen Chaoyi glanced at the faint red mark on the back of her hand, then carefully opened the book. She flipped to the page where she had written her confession.

Her eyes landed on the subtle love note she had composed after much deliberation. And below that line, someone had added another sentence.

—The lily on the windowsill has bloomed. It’s beautiful.

—Then I’ll pick one and give it to you.

The handwriting was still elegant, each character like a symbol of a racing heart.

Before Shen Chaoyi could savor the words, the book was snatched from her hands.

The next second, a hand circled her wrist, and in the blink of an eye, a yellow rose appeared in her palm.

At the same time, that refreshingly cool voice rang out: “Shen Chaoyi, let’s be together.”

“Whether it’s lilies or roses, compared to them, you’re the most beautiful.”

The beginning of a relationship is marked by the ceremonial gift of a bouquet.

Stunned, Shen Chaoyi looked at the flower in her hand. Its petals still held droplets of water, delicate and lovely, and every thorn had been carefully removed.

She didn’t know where Yi Qingzhuo had pulled it from, but she could see that it had been treasured and well cared for.

It was a flower in its most beautiful moment.

The cool sensation around her wrist was real. After saying her piece, Yi Qingzhuo felt awkward and wanted to look down.

But she didn’t want to let go.

As if afraid Shen Chaoyi would slip away.

Fighting back the moisture in her eyes, Shen Chaoyi let a gentle smile fill her gaze. “Okay.”

At that word, Yi Qingzhuo let out a long breath. The tension in her nerves finally relaxed.

The coldness in her eyes melted away, and she smiled with ease.

“Thank you,” Yi Qingzhuo said to Shen Chaoyi, her face serious.

Shen Chaoyi raised an eyebrow, caught between laughter and tears. “Thank you?”

Who says thank you after a confession is accepted?

All the anxiety that had weighed on Yi Qingzhuo’s heart for the past few days dissipated like smoke. She laughed. “Thank you for saying yes.”

And thank you for your tolerance, your courage.

More importantly, thank you for coming to love me.

The tears in Shen Chaoyi’s eyes receded in an instant, and her voice softened. “Yi Qingzhuo, I truly am touched.”

If only you hadn’t delivered it with such a deadpan face.

Yi Qingzhuo withdrew her hand and picked up her water glass again. “It’s my first time. Sorry, I have no experience.”

First time being confessed to, first time confessing, and both with the same person.

She didn’t know what kind of reaction was normal.

“Why do you have to put on a cold face even when you like someone?” Shen Chaoyi’s heart had just been in her throat.

Yi Qingzhuo’s coldness had chilled her heart halfway down.

She had even been thinking about how to leave the restaurant gracefully.

Yi Qingzhuo curled her toes inside her shoes, her eyelids lowered. “Because it’s my first time. No experience.”

She was nervous, not deliberately putting on a cold face to create distance.

“It’s my first time too,” Shen Chaoyi said, holding the rose.

“What a coincidence,” Yi Qingzhuo blurted without thinking.

“…”

Shen Chaoyi was momentarily speechless.

Just then, their food arrived, blocking Shen Chaoyi’s view.

Otherwise, Yi Qingzhuo would have definitely seen Shen Chaoyi facepalm.

After the waiter had set everything down, Yi Qingzhuo didn’t pick up her knife and fork. Instead, she reached out to Shen Chaoyi and said, “How about we put the flower down first?”

Thinking she wanted to take the flower, Shen Chaoyi raised her hand to pass it to her.

But Yi Qingzhuo didn’t take the flower. Instead, she caught Shen Chaoyi’s fingertips and turned her hand over.

With lightning speed, she slipped a ring onto her ring finger with her other hand.

The rose fell onto the table just as the ring settled at the base of her finger.

“A gift for you, girlfriend.” Yi Qingzhuo showed the back of her left hand.

She had one too—identical to Shen Chaoyi’s.

Shen Chaoyi’s pupils contracted. She hadn’t expected Yi Qingzhuo to pull this stunt.

The cool circle of the ring on her finger was all too real. She looked across at Yi Qingzhuo.

There, on the same finger, was the exact same ring.

They had been sitting down for less than fifteen minutes, and Shen Chaoyi felt like her emotions had already taken a wild ride.

She raised the back of her hand. “Yi Qingzhuo, did the Internet teach you this too?”

Who gives someone a ring right after they’ve just gotten together?

And the things she said—they were so heart-fluttering.