Bella finished packing her things and opened her door, only to find the living room completely empty.
Faintly hearing some noise from the kitchen, she walked over.
Just as she reached the doorway, she saw Ye Jinzhi washing the dishes.
"Wow."
Bella stepped forward and teased, "So the wealthy young master actually does this kind of chore himself."
Hearing this, Ye Jinzhi glanced at the suds on his hands, the corners of his lips curling up slightly. "Wealthy young masters have to eat too, you know."
With that, he deliberately waved his suds-covered hands in front of Bella. Bella instinctively leaned back to dodge his reaching hands.
However, she didn't notice the mat beneath her feet and lost her balance. Ye Jinzhi was quick to reach out and catch her, but as a result, their center of gravity shifted.
"Careful!"
"Ah!"
With a few splats, after the two steadied themselves, Bella felt a layer of something smeared on her face. She touched it, only to find a glob of white foam.
"Look, an airplane."
Ye Jinzhi froze for three seconds before he couldn't hold back his loud laughter.
Seeing that he didn't fall for her distraction, Bella immediately wiped the foam back onto his face and ran away.
Ye Jinzhi didn't chase after her and went to the bathroom instead.
A moment later, when Ye Jinzhi came out of the bathroom, Bella was staring at him with a strange expression.
"What's wrong?" Ye Jinzhi stopped in his tracks.
Bella didn't say anything, but instead pulled something out from behind her back.
When Ye Jinzhi saw clearly what it was, his face instantly flushed beet red.
"It's really cute."
Bella toyed with the knitted doll in her hands, a smile on her lips. "And it bears a striking resemblance."
She gently stroked the doll's hair and raised her eyes to look at him:
"You're surprisingly good at this."
When Bella sat on the sofa just now, she accidentally caught a glimpse of a ball of yarn behind a throw pillow.
Out of curiosity, she moved the pillow and discovered a pile of yarn and a knitted doll.
The moment she saw the little trinket, Bella instantly guessed who made it.
Bella naturally noticed his flushed face and teased with a smile:
"So the young master actually has this kind of leisurely hobby in private, enjoying hand-knitting."
Ye Jinzhi's heart, which had been racing from being caught red-handed, gradually calmed down seeing her smile so happily.
He stepped closer and naturally sat down next to Bella, his gaze slightly evasive:
"So, do you like it?"
"I love it."
Bella nodded honestly, her fingertips gently fiddling with the doll's little hands.
"I was originally planning to give it to you in a few days."
Ye Jinzhi coughed lightly. "Since you found it, giving it to you early is fine too."
Bella carefully examined the doll in her hand, her brows furrowing slightly:
"Are you sure it's finished?" She pointed at the doll's face. "Where is its mouth?"
"Didn't make one," Ye Jinzhi answered bluntly.
"Why?" Bella was a bit confused.
Ye Jinzhi met her gaze, his eyebrows raising:
"I remember when a certain someone first showed up, she seemed like a silly little mute."
Hearing this, Bella immediately understood he was teasing about their first encounter. Her cheeks couldn't help but warm up. She then hugged the doll to her chest and said stubbornly:
"Tch, it's still cute even without a mouth, okay?"
She lowered her head, her fingertips gently brushing against the doll's mouthless face.
"Thank you."
Ye Jinzhi rubbed Bella's head and said gently:
"Let's go. Grab your things, we're heading to the new house."
In truth, Bella didn't have any luggage that she absolutely had to bring. After all, Ye Jinzhi had told her long ago that everything in the new house was already fully prepared for her.
But since she insisted on bringing a few things, Ye Jinzhi just let her have her way.
As the two went downstairs, they bumped into seven or eight movers heading upstairs, preparing to clear out the remaining items.
"Let's go."
This time there was a driver, so the two sat in the back seat.
Ye Jinzhi turned his head and asked casually, "Any plans for the National Day holiday?"
Bella paused for a moment, only then realizing that the National Day long holiday was indeed approaching, and she shook her head:
"No."
"Then save your time for me?" Ye Jinzhi suggested.
"Save it for you for what?"
"To take you out to have fun."
"Where to?"
"Where do you want to go?"
Bella thought about it, and finally threw her hands up. "Maybe just staying at home."
Ye Jinzhi was amused by her and shook his head helplessly. "Then just follow me when the time comes."
"You've already planned it all out, yet you deliberately asked me?"
Bella turned her head and met his gaze. Ye Jinzhi was staring at her unblinkingly, as if he had been looking at her for a long time.
The car suddenly fell quiet.
"Why are you staring at me?"
Ye Jinzhi didn't look away, but instead met her gaze frankly.
"You're pretty."
Bella: "..."
For a moment, she didn't know how to respond. She stayed silent for a few seconds, then feigned composure and turned her head away, casting her gaze at the retreating street view outside the window, and muttered softly:
"Crazy."
Although she was complaining verbally, the slight upward curve of her lips and the pale pink spreading across the base of her ears had completely betrayed the joy in her heart.
He didn't expose Bella's self-deceiving act. Instead, he chuckled lightly and slowly leaned toward her.
The space inside the car was already narrow. As he drew closer, his scent instantly enveloped Bella.
Ye Jinzhi rested one hand lightly on the armrest between them, his fingertips brushing against the hem of her skirt as if by accident, and lowered his voice:
"Since you called me crazy, why don't you... give me another reason to make the charge stick?"
Bella's body instantly tensed up. She turned to look at him, her originally somewhat lazy eyes now reflecting her own flustered state.
"Sit properly. You... you stay away from me..."
She instinctively tried to shrink back toward the car door, but as soon as the words left her mouth, she felt her tone was too soft to carry any threat.
Ye Jinzhi turned a deaf ear and leaned in even closer instead.
He didn't actually do anything, merely maintaining a distance where their breaths mingled.
His gaze slowly moved down from her eyes, finally landing on her lips, which were slightly pursed from tension, and spoke in a gentle tone:
"Moving to the new house means we'll be living together from now on. The opportunities for this kind of 'close contact' are only going to increase."
Bella, who had still been feeling a bit nervous, immediately sat up straight upon hearing this and hurriedly waved her hands:
"No, no, no! Get it straight, we are neighbors, not living together. We each go to our own homes, OK?"
Her eyes widened. "Don't go spouting nonsense everywhere just because we live close to each other."
Seeing her bristling like a startled cat, Ye Jinzhi wasn't annoyed. Instead, he lazily leaned back against his seat.
He raised his hand and pressed the metal button on the center console. With a soft mechanical click, the compartment below the console slowly slid open, revealing the drinks inside.
He took out a bottle and handed it to her:
"Since we're neighbors, if I ever want to borrow something in the middle of the night, or simply feel the house is too quiet and go knock on your door... that wouldn't be considered 'spouting nonsense,' right?"
Bella took the drink, feeling a dull ache in her temples.
She looked at his half-smiling face, having a premonition that the man in front of her would frequently go in and out of her house without any scruples.
She was starting to regret it. As the light and shadows flickered inside the car, she looked down at the bottle in her hand and muttered to herself:
Is it too late to tell him I'm not moving now? He shouldn't go crazy, right?
