Fu Shize pulled her close, and Yun Li leaned in to sniff his shirt.
“Did you choose this scent on purpose?” she asked.
Fu Shize nodded. “Mm-hmm.”
It was the scent of green-orange. Yun Li recalled buying laundry detergent with this fragrance at Qilixiang. Later, after moving to Jiangnan Court, she discovered he had purchased the same one.
Even now, he still used the green-orange scent.
It felt as if everything remained unchanged from before, including their feelings for each other.
Warmth filled Yun Li’s heart. Without thinking, she said, “You’re so innocent.”
Fu Shize chuckled at her words. A warm sensation pressed against her forehead as he asked, “Including this?”
“Mm-hmm.” Yun Li looked up at him with wide eyes. He was a head taller than her, and as he leaned against the tree trunk, she could touch his chin by tilting her head back.
Yun Li stared at him intently, slowly moving closer. Fu Shize didn’t resist, his gaze fixed on her.
Their lips met in a gentle kiss.
She smiled, her eyes crinkling. “Not including that.”
He smiled back, then grew still. Lowering his eyelids, he caressed her cheek.
It was as if he were tenderly touching the world’s most precious treasure.
Seeing the emotion in his eyes, Yun Li’s own eyes involuntarily welled up with tears.
They had both once believed this relationship was lost forever.
In this moment of rediscovery, there wasn’t the wild joy they had imagined. Instead, they felt a deep, profound appreciation and cherishing. Having experienced loss before, and knowing its pain, they were especially fearful upon regaining each other that it might all be an illusion.
With longing and dependence, Fu Shize held Yun Li tightly.
As their bodies pressed together, Yun Li felt the contact in his abdomen.
Remembering the incident at the hospital, she closed her eyes briefly and pulled back slightly, placing her hand over his stomach.
“It doesn’t hurt,” Fu Shize assured her, trying to alleviate her guilt. ” I don’t even remember it anymore.”
“Mm…”
“I seem to recall someone saying they would make me porridge,” Fu Shize said with a hint of resignation. “But I never got to taste it even once.”
“I think those ingredients are still at Jiangnan Court?” Yun Li hadn’t cleared out the things she’d bought before leaving. Indeed, she had studied recipes all vacation but never managed to make anything.
“We’ll go back together next time,” Fu Shize said.
Yun Li hadn’t returned to Nanwu for a year. She paused, then nodded.
Lying in bed later, Yun Li still felt like she was living in a dream. She took out the moon badge Fu Shize had given her. Though the metal felt cool to the touch, she sensed his warmth within it.
Yun Li placed the badge under her pillow.
The next day was Saturday. Yun Li had just woken up when she received a WeChat message from Fu Shize, who had been awake since 6 AM. Another message was from Yun Ye, saying he’d be coming home in the morning.
As the car approached the teaching building, Yun Li spotted Yin Yunyi and Yun Ye. They stood at a distance, engaged in what appeared to be an unpleasant conversation.
Seeing the car arrive, Yun Ye got indirectly.
Yun Li glanced at Yin Yunyi, still in the corridor. She seemed to want to follow but only pursed her lips and turned away.
“…”
Hadn’t someone said they wouldn’t argue?
The more Yun Li observed Yun Ye’s expression, the stranger she felt. “What’s going on with you two?”
Yun Ye muttered sullenly, “She’s being unreasonable.”
“Who?”
Yun Ye remained silent.
“What exactly happened?”
Yun Ye glanced at her. “We argued. Can’t you tell?”
Yun Li didn’t feel like teasing him now. After a moment, she said, “I usually don’t interfere in your business.”
“Get out and talk to Yin Yunyi. Clear things up,” Yun Li advised, drawing from her own experience. She unlocked the car doors. “You two worked so hard to get into the same university. Don’t hurt each other. I’ll come back for you later.”
Yun Ye didn’t move, but Yun Li noticed he hadn’t fastened his seatbelt, clearly intending not to leave right away.
“Go talk to her,” she urged, giving him a gentle push.
Yun Ye opened the car door and ran in the direction Yin Yunyi had gone. Watching his retreating figure, Yun Li was reminded of the year and a half she and Fu Shize had spent apart. She turned the car around and headed for the Control Engineering College.
Fu Shize was still engrossed in revising a thesis when he heard a soft knock at the door. Lin Jinran’s voice drawled, “Senior, someone’s here to see you.”
Seeing Yun Li, Fu Shize looked surprised. He got up and went outside.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
“I just suddenly wanted to see you,” Yun Li admitted, unable to explain why. Seeing Yun Ye and Yin Yunyi’s argument made her realize how much she wanted to be with Fu Shize, so she followed her heart and came to find him.
“Are you busy right now?” Yun Li asked. “If not, could you take me for a ride?”
“I am busy,” Fu Shize answered honestly.
Yun Li felt as if she’d been rejected.
Fu Shize chuckled and ruffled her hair. “But you’re more important.” He turned back to his office. “I’ll get my keys.”
Fu Shize naturally helped her fasten her helmet. Yun Li followed suit, picking up his helmet to secure it for him.
Noticing the extra scooter helmet nearby, she suddenly realized, “Why do you have two helmets?”
“I’ve had one ready for you for a while,” Fu Shize said casually.
Fu Shize had prepared everything they might need for any scenario where Yun Li might appear.
After getting on the scooter, Yun Li maintained her old habit of carefully gripping the metal bar on the body.
As the wind hit her face, his voice drifted back: “Hands.”
“Oh.” She obediently wrapped her arms around his waist. Holding him like this, she noticed Fu Shize’s waist was still so slender. She unconsciously tightened her grip, hugging him close.
“Let’s go there,” Yun Li suggested, spotting the gymnasium nearby. “There shouldn’t be any activities at this time, right?”
Fu Shize considered her motivation for asking this, then responded with a thoughtful “Mm-hmm.”
Yun Li was already familiar with the gymnasium’s layout. Entering the arena, she looked up and saw protruding spectator balconies on the upper levels, each with only a few seats.
Leading Fu Shize to the stands, he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, asking casually, “Why did you want to come here?”
“Huh?” Yun Li was taken aback. She hadn’t thought too deeply about it, just wanting to find a quiet place for them to be alone.
“Just to sit for a while,” she said. Before she could sit down, Fu Shize pulled her close, wrapping an arm around her waist. He leaned in and asked, “You came to my office, and had me take you to a deserted place.”
“You also took me to a deserted place last time,” Yun Li responded matter-of-factly. She had been out of the dating game for so long that she failed to notice the intimate atmosphere.
“Lili.” Fu Shize wasn’t put off by her obliviousness. “Last time, we weren’t boyfriend and girlfriend yet.”
She looked up, meeting his eyes. Fu Shize caressed the corner of her eye, then moved his hand to cup her cheek. Yun Li felt his cool touch as Fu Shize leaned in closer, their noses almost touching. She gazed into his eyes, unconsciously becoming lost in them.
After several seconds, he softly asked, “May I?”
“…” Yun Li couldn’t remember him asking for permission before.
Now that they were dating for the second time, he was being polite and asking first. Yun Li countered, “What if I say no?”
“Oh.” Fu Shize’s eyes held a hint of amusement. “Then I’ll just pretend I only heard the ‘may’ part.”
“…”
Yun Li didn’t hesitate like Fu Shize. She leaned in and pecked the corner of his lips. As she started to pull back, he cradled the back of her head and claimed her lips with a hint of possessiveness, easily slipping his tongue into her mouth.
His movements were intimate but not rough as his fingers threaded through her hair. They had waited and imagined this moment for so long. Fu Shize teased her tongue, guiding it towards his own. Yun Li felt her breath being consumed by the man before her, truly sensing his presence at this moment. Her whole body seemed to melt.
“Enough?” After several heated minutes, Fu Shize murmured intimately in her ear, his warm breath tickling her earlobe.
His words made it seem like she was the insatiable one. Yun Li nodded, her face flushed.
Fu Shize stroked the corner of her lips and continued, “Then it’s my turn.”
…
After indulging for a while, they sat back down in the spectator seats. The arena was empty now, the stage seeming covered in a layer of dust.
Yun Li looked up and noticed a camera in the corner, pointing directly at their position. She said dazedly, “Oh… is that a security camera?”
Fu Shize followed her gaze. “Probably.”
Yun Li stiffened. “So someone might have seen us just now?”
“Maybe.” He didn’t seem too concerned, tilting Yun Li’s chin up for another kiss. “Let them see once more.”
“…”
Yun Li was still bothered by the camera’s presence and quickly put some distance between them. After sitting for a while longer, she remembered to tell him, “I went to pick up Yun Ye earlier. He and Yin Yunyi seem to have argued.”
Fu Shize looked at her, waiting for her to continue.
“I saw Yin Yunyi in the hallway, but Yun Ye got in the car without saying anything.”
It was rare for Yun Li to see Yun Ye and Yin Yunyi at odds. She went on, “It made me think of us. I told Yun Ye to get out of the car and talk things through with Yin Yunyi.”
“And then you came to find me?” Fu Shize finished.
Yun Li nodded.
She felt the year and a half apart had been such a waste when they could have been by each other’s side.
“From now on, let’s discuss everything with each other,” Yun Li said with a smile. “Okay?”
The road ahead was still long.
“Mm.”
When she picked up Yun Ye again, it was already 7 PM. Yun Li met him at the women’s dormitory area, guessing he had walked Yin Yunyi back.
Seeing his relaxed expression as he got in the car, Yun Li asked, “Why did you argue?”
Yun Ye put his hands behind his head and glanced at her. “Don’t worry about it.”
Yun Li couldn’t be bothered to pry. “Fine, I won’t.”
Instead of going straight home, Yun Li drove to the supermarket to buy ingredients for making porridge.
Yun Ye followed her with his hands in his pockets. Seeing the variety of items in the car, he had no interest in asking about them, just wanting to get home quickly.
Recently, people in the lab have been puzzled by the change in their seniors. Previously working from 6 AM to midnight, he now left at 5 PM or even earlier.
Lin Jinran was certain Fu Shize was pursuing someone, and it seemed to be quite challenging.
In the entire lab, apart from Fu Shize, no one else could manage to wake up early. By the time they drowsily checked their phones, bought breakfast, and meandered to the lab, it was already 10 AM.
Lin Jinran spotted a pink cylindrical thermos on Fu Shize’s desk.
He couldn’t help but comment in the group chat: [Tsk, Senior is so girly now. Love changes people.]
At lunchtime, Lin Jinran hung over Fu Shize’s cubicle divider and asked, “Senior, are you eating?”
“Mm.”
Fu Shize tapped his keyboard a few more times. Seeing Lin Jinran still waiting, he pulled the pink thermos towards himself and opened it. Inside were still steaming vegetables and spare rib porridge.
As the container rotated, Lin Jinran noticed a note on it with a heart and moon doodle.
“Whoa, Senior, you’re dating? Did your girlfriend bring this?”
“Mm.”
This was the first time Yun Li had brought Fu Shize lunch. Last time, they had agreed to cook together after returning to Nanwu. This morning, shortly after Fu Shize arrived at the lab, Yun Li called him.
When he went downstairs, he saw her holding this lunch box.
Due to a meeting, Fu Shize had taken the food and Yun Li had returned to her lab after a brief stay.
Fu Shize wasn’t one to care about others’ opinions, but seeing Lin Jinran’s envious face now inexplicably lifted his mood.
He repeated, “Yes, my girlfriend brought it.”
“…”
Fu Shize took a spoonful, thinking of Yun Li, and couldn’t help but smile. Beside him, Lin Jinran watched in bewilderment. Though Fu Shize had always been easy-going, his smiles usually seemed distant and aloof.
This was the first time Lin Jinran had seen such a warm smile from Fu Shize.
Lin Jinran couldn’t help but think that his senior was quite easy to please.
Previously, Fu Shize could focus entirely on lab work all day, but after dating Yun Li, he found himself easily distracted.
He had told Yun Li before that he might be too focused on work to reply to messages promptly, so she generally only texted him during meal times.
As he ate his porridge, he scrolled through his phone. Their chat log still showed Yun Li’s message from when she first woke up at 8 AM. Scrolling down, he noticed he had been added back to the badminton group chat created by Fu Zhengchu two years ago.
Fu Zhengchu: [Sister Lili, want to go pet dogs at the kennel?]
Fu Zhengchu: [Link]
Yun Li: [Is this the one Tang Lin mentioned?]
Fu Zhengchu: [Yes.]
Fu Shize checked the time – it was 10 AM. Switching back to his chat with Yun Li, he saw her last message was from 8 AM.