My online dating circle has millions of followers, why would she put a collar on me?

"Um?"

Jiang Yi released her, looked down at her, and smiled slightly. His tired eyes were filled with tiny sparkles of light.

"What's wrong? Why are you being so clingy today?"

Su Xiaoyue looked at his face, at the dark circles under his eyes, the curve of his mouth, the small mole on the bridge of his nose, and the lines between his eyebrows that were slightly raised from long-term frowning.

She wanted to etch every detail of that face into her mind—every line, every pore, the direction of the muscles when each expression changed.

Because she knew that the dream would end.

When she wakes up, she may never see that face again.

"It's nothing."

She heard herself say it, her voice as soft as a feather about to fall.

"I just wanted to call your name."

Jiang Yi smiled and reached out to ruffle her hair.

His hands were large, his fingers long and slender, with a thin layer of calluses on his fingertips, which felt slightly rough as they brushed against her scalp.

"fool."

He said it with a nonchalant, indulgent tone that made her heart ache.

Then he took her hand and walked towards the restaurant.

"What should we eat today? I'm starving. I only had an egg pancake for lunch, and my stomach is still empty."

Su Xiaoyue was pulled along by him, her steps faltering slightly, like a child who had just learned to walk.

Her gaze fell on the hand he was holding.

His fingers gripped the back of her hand, his knuckles distinct, his pressure neither too heavy nor too light, as if he were holding a fragile object, afraid of breaking it, yet also afraid of losing his grip.

Several dishes were laid out on the table.

Scrambled eggs with tomatoes, shredded pork with green peppers, a bowl of seaweed and egg drop soup, and a small dish of cold dishes she couldn't name.

Jiang Yi sat down at the dining table and picked up his chopsticks.

He picked up a piece of scrambled eggs with tomatoes, put it in his mouth, chewed it a couple of times, and mumbled:

"It's delicious. Why did you decide to make this today? Don't you hate making scrambled eggs with tomatoes? You always say the tomato skins are hard to peel."

Su Xiaoyue sat down opposite him, placed her hands on her knees, and watched him eat.

She had seen Jiang Yi eat before.

At the lunch table at the Su family villa, he ate very slowly, chewing each bite for a long time.

It was as if he was savoring the taste of the food, or as if he was using the act of eating to mask his nervousness and unease.

But Jiang Yi's eating manner was completely different at this moment.

He ate very quickly, his cheeks bulging, his chopsticks moving back and forth between the plate and the bowl, like someone who had been starving for a long time finally sitting down in front of food.

The juice from the scrambled eggs with tomatoes spilled from the corner of his mouth. He stuck out his tongue and licked it, completely oblivious to the person opposite him watching him.

Su Xiaoyue's eyes reddened again.

Why aren't you eating?

Jiang Yi looked up and noticed that the bowl in front of her was empty, and frowned slightly.

"Are you feeling unwell? You look terrible."

"no."

Su Xiaoyue lowered her head, picked up her chopsticks, took a grain of rice, and put it in her mouth, chewing slowly. The rice was warm, with a slightly sweet taste, melting on her tongue.

Jiang Yi put down his chopsticks, stood up, walked around the table to her side, bent down, and touched her forehead with the back of his hand. "You don't have a fever."

He muttered something to himself, then touched his forehead with the back of his hand, then touched hers, comparing them several times before finally drawing a conclusion.

"Did you skip your afternoon nap again? I've told you so many times, you need to rest for a while at noon and stop scrolling through your phone all the time. Look how pale you are, you're going to complain of a headache again later."

Su Xiaoyue looked up at his face, which was filled with worry and impatience.

His impatience wasn't because of her, but because he was worried about her.

Beneath his impatience lay something much thicker and heavier than impatience itself.

"Jiang Yi," she said.

"Um?"

He was still studying her complexion, his fingers moving from her forehead to her cheek, rubbing the skin below her cheekbone with his fingertips.

"Is this area sunburned? It's all red."

Su Xiaoyue did not answer the question.

She reached out and grasped his wrist.

His wrists were thinner than she had imagined, with prominent wrist bones and faintly visible bluish veins beneath his skin.

She pressed her thumb against his pulse and felt the strong, rhythmic beat.

"Tell me a joke," she said.

Jiang Yi paused for a moment, then smiled, a smile that carried a sense of helplessness and indulgence, as if to say, "You're here again."

"Okay, let me think... Do you know why math books always look so sad?"

Su Xiaoyue's heart clenched suddenly.

"Because it has too many problems."

After Jiang Yi finished speaking, he laughed first, his eyes crinkling and revealing two small tiger teeth.

"How was it? Funny, isn't it? My colleague told me about it, and I think it's alright."

Su Xiaoyue looked at him and smiled, and tears finally slid down her cheeks.

She had heard that joke before.

On WeChat, on page two hundred of her chat history with "him", her "husband" had sent the exact same joke.

She said, "Hahaha, honey, you're so cute." She added, "I'm going to write that down so I can look at it whenever I'm unhappy."

He wasn't the one making the joke.

It's Jiang Miaomiao. She's the woman who used his photo, fabricated a non-existent identity, and deceived her for almost a year.

But at this moment, the person sitting across from her, telling her this joke, is him.

It was Jiang Yi himself.

"Isn't it funny?"

Jiang Yi's smile froze for a moment.

"Why are you crying? Was my joke too lame? I told you I don't know how to tell jokes, but you insisted I do..."

"That's funny." Su Xiaoyue wiped away her tears and forced a smile. "It's really funny. You can continue eating, your food is getting cold."

Jiang Yi glanced at her, his gaze carrying a hint of uncertainty and cautious inquiry.

But he didn't ask any further questions. He returned to his seat, picked up his chopsticks again, and continued eating.

Su Xiaoyue sat opposite him, watching him eat.

Watching him pick up a piece of green pepper, watching his Adam's apple bob as he sipped his soup, watching him frown and stick out his tongue to fan it in the air when he ate a peppercorn.

She couldn't bear to blink at any movement or expression, wishing she could capture every frame and store it in the deepest, most unforgettable drawer of her heart.

Jiang Yi stopped eating halfway through his meal, his chopsticks hovering in mid-air, as if he were thinking about something.

"Mianmian," he said, his tone as casual as if he were remarking on the nice weather.

Do you remember that cultural and creative event? It was during my junior year of college, the one the school organized.

You insisted on participating, saying the first prize was 5,000 yuan. So the two of us stayed up all night for a week and ended up getting a participation prize.

You were so angry that you didn't speak to me for three days.

"Mianmian."

These two words were like a needle, piercing the softest spot in Su Xiaoyue's heart.

It's not "wife". It's not "daughter-in-law".

It is not any affectionate, vague, or easily dismissed term of address.

"Mianmian."

Xia Anmian's "Mianmian".

Su Xiaoyue's brain seemed to have been paused at that moment.

All the images and sounds froze at that moment.