Shu Yu nodded heavily, her eyes lowered as she spoke in a small voice. "I thought if I left, you would never forgive me. I thought you would hate me."
"You would ignore me."
Si Yiheng's chest ached again. In his sadness,
Shu Yu was actually unhappy too.
They were both thinking about each other.
Si Yiheng ruffled Shu Yu's hair again. "I won't hate you."
"You don’t need my forgiveness."
"Even if you chose to leave, it’s not your fault. It’s me who couldn’t let go, me who insisted."
Shu Yu’s eyes sparkled with mischief. "Oh? Then I’m recording this."
Si Yiheng: "..."
Si Yiheng gently caught her wrist. "Don’t record."
Shu Yu stared at him. "And then?"
Si Yiheng: "A mission always takes time to assess its rating, or whether it’s even completed."
"When I went to find you, it was still in the evaluation period, so you had the chance to run."
Shu Yu looked at him, puzzled. "Si Yiheng, you could clearly piece together the truth of everything. Why did you always think I would abandon you?"
Although some details weren’t complete,
Si Yiheng had indeed reconstructed the logical chain of events.
Si Yiheng: "Emotion overpowered reason."
Her leaving had made it impossible for him to think clearly about many things.
Shu Yu: "Then you should be more confident."
Si Yiheng looked at her, his tone earnest. "Baby Yu, thank you for coming back into my world."
Shu Yu rose on her tiptoes and kissed his thin lips. "No need to thank me."
Si Yiheng’s lips curved into a slight smile. Just as he was about to kiss her back,
a knock sounded at the door.
Shu Yu immediately pulled away, and the warmth in his arms suddenly vanished. Si Yiheng felt the emptiness keenly.
With a hint of helplessness, he went to open the door.
Seeing Si Yiheng, Song Wenzhao: "..."
Si Yiheng: "What is it, Big Brother?"
Song Wenzhao: "Bringing you fruit. You should go back to sleep now."
Shu Yu looked at Si Yiheng with wide eyes. "That’s right, you should go to sleep, big brother. You never listen to Big Brother."
"I’m the well-behaved one. I don’t go out at night."
She grabbed a strawberry and bit into it with a guilty look.
Song Wenzhao’s lips quirked slightly. "Little Treasure is very well-behaved."
Si Yiheng: "..."
Si Yiheng fell silent. Song Wenzhao, the third wheel, was acting like some feudal patriarch,
trying to control everything he could.
Si Yiheng: "I can’t sleep yet. I still have to wash Baby Yu’s clothes."
Shu Yu paused mid-chew, her cheeks full. "Hmm?"
Song Wenzhao: "?"
Song Wenzhao: "The housekeeper will wash them. You don’t need to."
Si Yiheng said seriously, "I’ve always hand-washed Baby Yu’s clothes."
Song Wenzhao suddenly felt he hadn’t taken good enough care of Shu Yu.
It had never occurred to him to wash her clothes.
Song Wenzhao: "Leave them there. I’ll wash them in a bit."
Si Yiheng pressed his lips together. "I don’t think we can wait. They’ve been soaking too long; they’ll get ruined."
Song Wenzhao wanted to say they could just buy new ones,
but Si Yiheng added, "These are Baby Yu’s favorite clothes."
Song Wenzhao: "I’ll go wash them now."
Si Yiheng: "I’ll go."
The two left together. Half a minute later, Si Yiheng returned, bent down, and kissed Shu Yu’s lips, tasting the strawberry fragrance lingering there.
Their tongues tangled, breathing mingling.
After the kiss, Shu Yu licked her lips. "Go back now. Song Zhaozhao will realize you tricked him soon."
Si Yiheng had already washed and folded her clothes the day before. Where was there anything left for Song Zhaozhao to wash?
Si Yiheng’s dark eyes fixed on her. "Mm."
Arriving at the laundry area and finding no clothes, Song Wenzhao: "..."
That kid Si Yiheng was such a little brat!
He really hated Si Yiheng right now.
The entire summer vacation, Shu Yu spent in City B.
Only when school was about to start did she prepare to go back—whether someone took her classes or not, she still had to attend.
Ji Fei was also packing to return overseas, and Song Xuyan was going with her.
Song Wenzhao watched the family pack. "So I’m the only one stuck working here?"
Song Xuyan said matter-of-factly, "What else? I raised you when you were small, now it’s your turn to support me in my old age."
"Now it’s your job to earn money for your mom, me, and your sister."
Song Wenzhao: "..."
Could he really not transfer the Song family business back home?
Song Xuyan threw out a ridiculous idea. "If you really don’t want to work, you could get married, have a child, and let the kid work to support you."
Song Wenzhao: "..."
Was that why he had been born—thanks to this kind of thinking from Song Xuyan?
Song Xuyan had no shame.
But he wasn’t that crazy. He wouldn’t raise a child—there was an eighteen-year growth period.
The better plan would be to find an eighteen-year-old, adopt them as his kid,
and retire in one step.
Shu Yu stared at Song Wenzhao. "Brother, what bad idea are you cooking up now?"
Song Wenzhao patted Little Orange the cat on the head. "Little Treasure, don’t you think this little guy should be working?"
Si Yiheng’s long eyes dropped slightly as he glanced at the plump Little Orange, pressing his lips together.
Shu Yu also stared at the chubby cat, pressing her lips together.
If Little Orange could work, it could do their jobs or go to school for them.
Little Orange, feeling targeted by three scheming humans, almost bristled. "Meow!"
Humans! Cats can’t work!
Ji Fei: "..."
Three little troublemakers full of bad ideas.
How could they be so shameless as to bully a cat like Little Orange?
If any one of them ever got a child, who knows how they’d exploit it.
In the end, Song Wenzhao couldn’t go back home with the whole family.
Time passed quickly, and soon it was New Year’s.
Song Wenzhao had come back from abroad for the holiday.
At the Song family’s old mansion,
Ji Fei and Song Xuyan were kneading dough, adding flour when it was too wet and water when it was too dry, while Butler Qin watched with a twitching mouth.
The dough ball was getting bigger and bigger.
The family had already eaten well, so they weren’t hungry. The two were just messing around.
Butler Qin: "Let me do it. Let me."
Song Xuyan: "No, brother, let me! You stay out of it. My wife and I will handle it ourselves."
Butler Qin: "..."
Song Wenzhao was in the living room observing Shu Yu and Si Yiheng. Little Orange rubbed against his legs, getting cat hair all over his pants.
Uncle! It’s New Year—crack open a can for me!
Song Wenzhao: "No can do. You look like a can yourself."
Little Orange: "!!!"
This is what not loving a cat looks like!
Furious, Little Orange started scratching Song Wenzhao, snagging his pants until the threads ran.
Song Wenzhao could no longer spy on his sister and Si Yiheng.
Shu Yu and Si Yiheng sat on a swing on the balcony, holding hands.
Shu Yu wore a short burgundy cardigan sweater with tassels at the hem, paired with a beige long skirt cinched at the waist.
Her fair skin made the red even more striking, setting off her dark hair, snowy complexion, and moist red lips.
She looked both sweet and beautiful.
Shu Yu watched the heavy snow falling outside, while Si Yiheng watched her.
This was the first New Year they were spending together.
Shu Yu spoke, and Si Yiheng listened quietly.
He noticed she was starting to seem distracted, glancing at her phone from time to time.
Si Yiheng followed her gaze.
It was 11:58.
Shu Yu again lifted her head and secretly glanced at everyone. Her parents, Big Brother, Little Orange, and Uncle Qin were all occupied with their own matters.
No one noticed her and Si Yiheng.
After observing everyone, Shu Yu felt reassured.
A smile lingered at the corners of Si Yiheng's lips as he watched Shu Yu's subtle movements.
The moment the clock struck 00:00,
brilliant fireworks exploded in the dark night, illuminating the entire sky. Si Yiheng covered her ears with both hands and pressed his thin lips against hers.
The roaring sound of the fireworks was instantly muffled into distant, indistinct rumbles.
Shu Yu's heart pounded like a drum: “!!!”
Why did he do what she had planned to do?
“Baby Yu, Happy New Year,” Si Yiheng’s cool voice was tender and affectionate.
Shu Yu lifted her porcelain-white face, her eyes curving into a smile. “Si Yiheng, Happy New Year.”
For the rest of their lives, year after year, morning and night—
they would always be together.
End of main text.
