Just as Zhu Yaya swallowed the last piece of watermelon, the voice of Mr. System rang out.
"Congratulations on successfully completing your fifteenth mission. Your reward is three additional years of life and twenty thousand RMB."
Damn it, the lousy system actually used Yan Heng's voice!
Zhu Yaya’s hand shook as she held the fruit box, nearly dropping it on the ground.
He scared the life out of her!
She really thought it was Yan Heng speaking!
Murong Beichen and Xu Chun were still caught up in their lingering, sentimental moment. Seeing that it was getting late and her mission was complete, Zhu Yaya patted Yan Heng on the shoulder. "Yan Heng, it's getting late. Let's go home!"
"Okay."
In the blink of an eye, Zhu Yaya was suddenly scooped up from the edge of the flower bed by Yan Heng. Before she could even react, she was already standing on the ground.
Stunned, she didn't say anything, but her ears turned a deep crimson. She said awkwardly, "The flower bed wasn't even that high."
Yan Heng didn't reply; his gaze was indulgent and tender.
The sky was darkening rapidly. By the time Zhu Yaya and Yan Heng took the bus to the Southern District of the Imperial Capital, the streetlights were already glowing.
Under the flickering lights and shadows, the two of them walked step by step toward Zhu Yaya's apartment complex.
On the way, both were silent, and the atmosphere felt strange. It wasn't that Zhu Yaya hadn't tried to find topics to talk about, but everything felt inexplicably awkward. It was odd—Yan Heng had always been quiet, and he still was, yet Zhu Yaya didn't feel as comfortable as she used to. They had reached a stalemate.
Zhu Yaya started to feel a bit stubborn. Why am I always the one taking the initiative?
Hmph, I'm done catering to him!
As they neared the complex, Yan Heng suddenly spoke, breaking the silence. "What about the chocolates you received today?"
Zhu Yaya hadn't expected him to bring up the chocolates. She felt a small surge of excitement and anticipation. Feigning indifference, she said, "Someone went through my drawer at noon and took them."
"Someone went through your drawer?" Yan Heng stopped dead in his tracks. He turned around, brows furrowed, staring at Zhu Yaya. "What did you lose? Did you catch them? Why didn't you tell me?"
Zhu Yaya spread her hands helplessly. "No one in class saw anything at the time, and the surveillance was off, so there's no way to know who it was. However, the thief only took the chocolates and my handkerchief."
"Why didn't you tell me then?"
She sheepishly rubbed her nose, her voice growing lower. "I... it's not like..."
"You didn't come today either." The evening breeze blew the stray hairs on Yan Heng's forehead. To Zhu Yaya's surprise, she saw a look of loneliness on his perpetually expressionless face.
Zhu Yaya: !!!
She rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Her heart felt like it had just tasted the dried tangerine candy from her childhood—sweet with a hint of tartness.
Yan Heng's lonely expression gave her a boost of courage. He did care about her!
She cleared her throat, looked up into Yan Heng's eyes, and said softly, "Yan Heng, the moon is beautiful tonight."
"The moon is beautiful tonight" is a famous Japanese confession, equivalent to saying "I love you."
Zhu Yaya had once read about the origin of this phrase in a book. Legend has it that when Natsume Soseki was an English teacher, he asked his students how to translate "I love you" into Japanese. One student translated it literally. Soseki remarked that Japanese people wouldn't be so blunt; instead, they would say, "The moon is beautiful, isn't it?"
Natsume Soseki had even appeared on their Chinese entrance exam, and since Yan Heng was so smart, he would surely understand her meaning.
After saying it, Zhu Yaya looked at Yan Heng nervously, her heart filled with beautiful expectations.
Hearing her words, Yan Heng looked up at the sky.
Zhu Yaya: ???
What kind of reaction was this? What was he looking at?
Confused, Zhu Yaya followed his gaze toward the sky.
Tonight’s sky was like a flow of silent black ink. There were no stars, and... no moon.
Zhu Yaya: ...
She realized what Yan Heng was looking for.
Hey, she didn't mean it literally!
Zhu Yaya’s face twisted slightly in embarrassment.
Then, she heard Yan Heng’s laughter—very light, very soft, like the brush of a feather.
"Yes, the moon is very beautiful." Yan Heng stopped looking at the sky. He lowered his head to look at the girl he liked, his expression serious as he said every word clearly, "The moon is exceptionally beautiful tonight, radiating a lovely glow."
Zhu Yaya’s face instantly caught fire. She touched her cheeks in a panic; they were burning hot.
Where was the moon?
Was... was he saying that she was the moon? If she did the math, Yan Heng was basically calling her beautiful!
Stay calm! Stay calm!
But... she couldn't stay calm at all!
Yan Heng took Zhu Yaya’s hand and led the hesitant, red-faced girl back toward her building.
The hands they held were both burning hot, and soon their palms began to sweat. Yet, neither of them let go.
For a moment, all sorts of sweet love songs were playing on a loop in Zhu Yaya’s head. She almost started humming them out loud.
Even though they had reached the bottom of her apartment building, they remained standing in the shadows, still holding hands. They were speechless again, but the atmosphere between them was entirely different from before.
"Yan Heng, I... I should go up now," Zhu Yaya finally stammered out after a long while, her tone soft and shy.
"Wait a moment."
Yan Heng let go of her hand, and Zhu Yaya felt a sudden hollow sensation in her heart.
Yan Heng took off the backpack he was wearing. His black bag was so old it had begun to fade to grey. He rummaged through it for a moment and pulled out a square, pale pink gift box tied with a white silk ribbon.
He handed it to Zhu Yaya. "Ahem, open it when you get home."
This packaging... it couldn't be chocolates, could it?
Zhu Yaya’s eyes lit up as she took it. It had some weight to it. "Thank you! But, I don't have a gift for you."
"It's fine." Yan Heng shook his head. "See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
Clutching the gift, Zhu Yaya turned to walk away, but she had only taken a few steps before Yan Heng called out to her again.
"Yaya."
"What is it?" Zhu Yaya turned back curiously.
"Ahem... Happy Valentine's Day."
Zhu Yaya’s face turned red once more. She said tenderly, "You too!" Then, she hurried into the stairwell.
She rushed back home to find that Zhu Jianjun and Zhao Jing hadn't returned yet.
She flipped on the living room light, set her backpack and Yan Heng's gift on the sofa, and sprinted to the balcony. She peered down through the window.
Yan Heng was still standing there, looking up toward her unit.
Zhu Yaya waved at him excitedly.
Yan Heng chuckled and waved back before finally turning to leave.
Only after his figure had disappeared did Zhu Yaya pick up the gift he had given her and walk into her bedroom to open it.
Not wanting to damage the gift box, Zhu Yaya opened it with the utmost care. Inside was a nine-slot grid, each holding a macaron of a different flavor.
It wasn’t chocolate! But macarons were a great alternative!
Yaya picked up a brown macaron and took a bite. Her eyes instantly lit up—it was a rich, mellow chocolate flavor, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, with a smooth, velvety cream filling.
She couldn't help but wonder: Could Yan Heng have made these himself?
There was also a heart-shaped card tucked inside the box.
Key point: it was heart-shaped!
Excitedly, Yaya pulled it out to read. It was Yan Heng’s handwriting: "Study hard."
Zhu Yaya: ...
Of course. Yan Heng was being classic Yan Heng.
Why wouldn't he just confess his feelings already!
Discouraged, Yaya flopped back onto her bed.
