It was love for his sister.
And it was also love that lured his sister, his Baby Yu, to be with him.
The wind blew through the rose petals.
The petals trembled gently.
Shu Yu looked at her own reflection in Si Yiheng's dark, deep eyes, and her heart inexplicably began to flutter along with them.
Shu Yu wanted to look away again.
She didn't quite understand why every extra glance at Si Yiheng now felt so different from before.
Si Yiheng said in a low voice, "What about you, Baby Yu?"
"The way you like me—is it the way you like a brother, or..."
Shu Yu poked her finger at Si Yiheng's heart. "It's the kind of liking that makes my heart race."
"Si Yiheng, it's all your fault."
Si Yiheng's gaze was heavy. "Yeah, it's all my fault."
"Blame me for luring you, blame me for being shameless."
Shu Yu: "?"
Shu Yu had honestly never heard Si Yiheng say so many outrageous things in one go.
Shu Yu clamped a hand over Si Yiheng's mouth. "Stop talking, brother."
"It makes me sound like I'm so easily tempted."
"I like you, so I like you. It's not like I'm someone who dares to do it but doesn't own up to it."
Shu Yu's voice grew softer as she spoke, because she could feel the warm breath coming from Si Yiheng's thin lips.
She pressed her lips together.
Was covering Si Yiheng's mouth with her hand technically making him kiss her palm?
Si Yiheng stared at her with those dark, deep eyes—different from before. In the past, his gaze had always been gentle, doting.
Now his eyes looked like...
Shu Yu had a feeling Si Yiheng was thinking the exact same thing she was.
A little embarrassed and with her brain momentarily short-circuiting, she blurted out random small talk, "Does it smell nice?"
Si Yiheng's Adam's apple moved slowly as he took a deep breath in. "Mm."
It smelled nice and felt soft, too.
Shu Yu: "..."
She cleared her throat lightly. "Right? I just picked some of the roses you decorated, so my hands are all rosy-scented."
"Not gonna lie, I really like these roses you bought." Shu Yu's voice was soft and gentle.
Si Yiheng: "From now on, I'll buy them for you every day."
Shu Yu's ears turned red again. "Okay."
The two stared at each other again, and Shu Yu felt the urge to go pick more flowers.
This was her first relationship, so she had no idea what to do.
She was supposed to hold hands, probably.
But they'd held hands all the time before anyway.
She was supposed to kiss, maybe.
But they'd never kissed before.
Shu Yu glanced at Si Yiheng's lips, then leaned a little closer to him. "Brother, how are we supposed to date, anyway?"
Si Yiheng went silent.
"Do we start now?"
Shu Yu: "!!!"
Wait. Did that mean they weren't together yet right now?
If they'd confessed but weren't dating, then wouldn't that be like cooking a nice meal and not eating it?
Seeing the slight confusion on Shu Yu's face, Si Yiheng raised his hand and covered her eyes.
Shu Yu: "..."
What, was she not even allowed to look now?
When he was her brother, she could look. But now that he'd confessed, she couldn't?
While Shu Yu was swimming in a sea of question marks, Si Yiheng lowered his hand and held out an open gift box. Inside was a necklace.
A silver chain with a ring hanging from it.
The ring was a minimalist band with a clean design.
On the inside, it was engraved with "H&Y."
The first letters of the last characters of their names.
Shu Yu: "!!!"
"Baby Yu, I like you. Will you be with me?" Si Yiheng looked at Shu Yu seriously, waiting for her answer.
Shu Yu smiled. "Sure."
"So does that mean we're officially together now?"
She thought she understood now—the small gap in timing between her and Si Yiheng was about ceremony.
Shu Yu tilted her little face up to ask Si Yiheng.
Because of Shu Yu's answer, the weight on Si Yiheng's heart finally settled. "Mm. The day before yesterday was when you said yes to the ATM—that was just a warm-up."
"Right here, right now, you saying yes to me... that's when we're together."
Shu Yu slowly pieced together everything she'd seen since entering the amusement park. "So this—this was all prepared for your confession?"
Si Yiheng: "Mm."
His Baby Yu deserved the best things in the world.
Their beginning should at least happen in a place that would make Shu Yu happy and content.
Shu Yu smiled again. "This place is great. When the amusement park opens, so many people will get to feel the joy we felt at this moment."
Si Yiheng ruffled Shu Yu's hair. "Mm."
"The amusement park is yours too."
Shu Yu's eyes lit up even more. "I have so many amusement parks now."
Back when Shu Yu was a kid, she never wanted to leave the amusement park, so she wished for one where she could decide the closing time herself.
That year on her birthday, her dad and mom gifted her the operating rights to one.
Later, Song Wenzhao also gifted her an amusement park.
And now Si Yiheng had gifted her one too.
She really did have a lot of happiness.
Shu Yu looked at Si Yiheng with a smile in her eyes. "So, how should we date?"
Shu Yu: "Is it kissing?"
The distance between them suddenly closed, and they both froze for a moment.
Si Yiheng stared straight at Shu Yu's soft lips. "Mm."
The moment the word left his mouth, before Shu Yu could even prepare, Si Yiheng's palm pressed against her cheek, cradling her face.
A kiss came sweeping over them, both of their hearts pounding wildly.
Still crouched in that position, Si Yiheng pulled Shu Yu fully into his arms.
At first, it was just a light kiss at the corner of her lips—lip against lip.
Then, it became wanting to taste.
Wanting to part each other's lips and steep themselves in each other's breath.
Shu Yu had never been this bold or impulsive before, but this kind of impulsive closeness made her heart race like crazy.
The moment their lips parted, Shu Yu whispered, "Brother..."
Si Yiheng answered in a low voice, "Mm."
Another kiss, and another, until they both lost themselves in it.
So this was how they could possess each other.
So kissing could make your heart pound this much.
When they were done, the two crouched back in the same spot, not saying a word, just looking at each other.
Si Yiheng: "Can I hold you again?"
Shu Yu nodded, and Si Yiheng pulled her into another embrace.
From a distance, Ye Ning spotted the two crouching there. "Baby Yu, what are you doing crouching around here?"
Shu Yu: "!!!"
Si Yiheng: "..."
Shu Yu frantically tugged at Si Yiheng's sleeve—talk, you talk!
Without even a hint of being caught by his cousin, Si Yiheng replied calmly, "Little Treasure got tired from walking, so I'm holding her."
Ye Ning nodded blankly. "Oh... okay."
Ye Ning: "Baby Yu, did you find that online crush of yours?"
Shu Yu: "..."
Shu Yu pressed her lips together. "Mm, found them."
Ye Ning looked around. "Where? Did they bully you, so you called Si Yiheng over?"
Shu Yu had no intention of hiding it from Ye Ning. She looked up at her. "So... my online crush is Si Yiheng."
Ye Ning: "!!!"
Ye Ning looked like she'd been struck by lightning, staring back and forth between Shu Yu and Si Yiheng in disbelief.
A thousand words, and in the end only one came out. Ye Ning stared at Si Yiheng's calm face.
"Bro, aren't you planning to live past tomorrow?"
"Song Wenzhao's going to murder you, isn't he?"
Si Yiheng: "..."
Shu Yu: "..."
Fair point.
On the way back together, Ye Ning shot Shu Yu several glances, and finally she was sure of it.
Whatever "tired from walking and crouching in place" meant—those two had definitely been hugging and kissing behind her back.
Her Baby Yu had been kissed until her cheeks were flushed, the corners of her eyes moist, and her lips were a vivid, ravaged color from being pressed and sucked over and over.
Barely better than chapped.
Golden Corn: Nice, so you two kiss without inviting me?
LittleFishSwimming: ?
Golden Corn: Don’t I deserve a seat in the audience?
LittleFishSwimming: Ningning, you can go watch the drama.
Golden Corn: Nah, I’ll stick to reading comics. Yu Bao, you in? That recent adult manga is insane. Such good material—it’s got me all flustered. I’m this close to booking a male escort, but I’m afraid my mom will kill me.
Shu Yu quietly glanced at Si Yiheng, making sure he wasn’t looking at her or Ye Ning.
LittleFishSwimming: Count me in, count me in!
Si Yiheng and Shu Yu walked home together.
Ji Fei and Song Xuyan were waiting in the living room for Shu Yu to come back.
Song Wenzhao was pouring water in the living room.
Seeing Shu Yu and Si Yiheng come back together.
Song Wenzhao asked, “You two went out to hang out and didn’t bring big bro along?”
Shu Yu lowered her head guiltily while changing her shoes. “I just ran into bro on the way and came back together.”
“We weren’t hanging out.”
Song Wenzhao raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
Si Yiheng said, “That’s right, we happened to run into each other.”
Shu Yu quickly slipped away to go talk to Ji Fei.
Si Yiheng walked over and greeted Ji Fei as Aunt Ji.
Si Yiheng noticed Shu Yu clinging to Ji Fei, asking when she was going out again.
Ji Fei had an art exhibition to attend recently.
“I’m leaving tomorrow.”
Shu Yu asked again, “Is Dad going too?”
Song Xuyan said, “I’m going too. We’ll be away for half a month, and Dabao is going back tomorrow as well.”
Shu Yu knew this was a familiar topic by now. “Mm-hmm, I’ll be good and stay home alone.”
Si Yiheng peeled an apple and handed it to Shu Yu. “Stay hydrated.”
“Uncle Song, don’t worry. I’ll take care of Baby Yu too.”
Shu Yu took the apple.
Her fingertips brushed against Si Yiheng’s, and she pursed her lips, then stole another glance at Ji Fei.
