I was born and listened to my neighbor's older sister talk about her family of origin.

In the empty restaurant, only the sound of a piano playing in the distance continued to flow.

Jiang Ye stared at Ji Xiaoxiao, the warmth of their palms overlapping.

He had expected the girl to be shy and try to pull her hand away, or to change the subject, just like before.

But Ji Xiaoxiao did not.

She took a deep breath, her ears burning red, and met Jiang Ye's gaze without blinking.

"So, if I don't give up, what will your answer be?"

Her voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear, carrying a certain desperate seriousness.

Jiang Ye's heart skipped a beat.

My fingers tightened unconsciously.

He sat up slightly, looking at the face so close to his own: "Are you serious about that?"

"Um."

Ji Xiaoxiao nodded.

Looking at Jiang Ye's sharply defined face, her heart pounded as if it would burst out of her chest.

Ning Xue's word "restraint" had long been forgotten by her.

Now that she has such a good opportunity, and he himself just admitted it, if she doesn't take it, then Ji Xiaoxiao will really be a loser!

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, you absolutely cannot miss it!!

Ji Xiaoxiao steeled herself, suddenly leaned forward, closed her eyes, and moved closer.

A warm, soft touch came from my lips.

Jiang Ye froze.

Ji Xiaoxiao's lips trembled slightly as she pressed them against the corner of his mouth.

They paused for only a second before quickly retreating.

"Jiang Ye, I like..."

She opened her eyes, about to shout out what she had been holding back for years, when the next second...

"Hiss—ah!"

She covered her mouth, tears welling up in her eyes instantly.

Jiang Ye had just recovered from the sudden touch when he saw this and immediately frowned: "What's wrong?"

Ji Xiaoxiao's face was contorted in pain, her eyes reddened, and her voice was muffled.

"I bit... I bit my tongue."

I was so nervous that my teeth hit the tip of my tongue!

Ji Xiaoxiao, you really let us down at crucial moments!

Jiang Ye was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Open your mouth, let me see."

"I won't look."

Ji Xiaoxiao covered her mouth and wouldn't let go, feeling embarrassed.

Jiang Ye reached out and pulled her wrist away, pinching her chin with his thumb and forefinger, applying slight pressure: "Open your mouth."

Ji Xiaoxiao had no choice but to obediently do as she was told, sticking out just a tiny bit of her tongue.

A small tear appeared on the edge of her pink tongue, and blood was seeping out.

"The skin is broken."

Jiang Ye let go of her hand and handed her the ice water next to him.

"Take a sip and hold it in your mouth to stop the bleeding. I'll take you to the pharmacy to apply some medicine later."

Ji Xiaoxiao took the cup and obediently took a big gulp of ice water, her cheeks puffing out like a hamster.

Ten minutes later.

The two walked out of the Golden Iris Restaurant.

The night breeze dissipated some of the early autumn heat.

Ji Xiaoxiao followed beside Jiang Ye, and because she had water in her mouth, she could only make "woo woo" sounds the whole way.

"Alright, go ahead and throw up."

Jiang Ye pointed to the trash cans by the roadside.

Ji Xiaoxiao spat out the water, but her tongue still burned.

"Does it still hurt?"

Jiang Ye turned his head to look at her.

"pain."

As soon as Ji Xiaoxiao opened her mouth, her tongue got tied up uncontrollably, turning into a lisp.

"Jiang Ye, will my tongue be ruined if I take a break?"

Jiang Ye's lips twitched, barely suppressing a laugh: "It won't be crippled, at most you just can't eat spicy food for a few days."

"Waaaaah..."

Ji Xiaoxiao loves spicy food, and upon hearing this, she couldn't help but look miserable.

"Stop thinking about food. Haven't you noticed that military training hasn't even helped you lose two pounds?"

Jiang Ye tapped her on the forehead.

"There's a pharmacy up ahead, hurry up."

I went into the store and bought a bottle of oral ulcer powder and a few medical cotton swabs.

Jiang Ye paid the bill, but instead of going straight home, he pulled Ji Xiaoxiao to sit down on a bench outside the pharmacy.

The streetlights cast a dim yellow glow.

Jiang Ye opened the packaging and poured the powder onto a cotton swab.

"look up."

Ji Xiaoxiao looked up.

Jiang Ye bent one leg, leaned forward, and got extremely close.

Ji Xiaoxiao was so close that she could clearly smell the clean scent of soap on him and see the subtle light and shadow on his high nose.

"Open your mouth and stick your tongue out."

Compared to the previous abrasion on the back of his hand, his current posture is extremely ambiguous.

Ji Xiaoxiao could only close her eyes and slowly stick the tip of her tongue out of her lips.

Jiang Ye stared at that small patch of pink, his Adam's apple bobbing.

He steadied his breathing and gently pressed the cotton swab onto the broken skin.

"Hmm!"

The powder irritated her wound, and Ji Xiaoxiao instinctively flinched, trying to back away.

"Don't move."

Jiang Ye placed his left palm directly on the back of her neck, preventing her from retreating.

The cool fingertips touched the warm skin, and both of them shuddered at the same time.

Jiang Ye quickly spread the powder evenly, then threw away the cotton swab: "Okay, shut up."

Ji Xiaoxiao quickly withdrew her tongue, her mouth filled with the bitter taste of the medicine powder.

She kept her head down, her fingers twisting together.

"Let's go home."

Jiang Ye stood up and casually stuffed the plastic bag containing the medicine into his pocket.

Ji Xiaoxiao said "Oh" and obediently followed.

The road back to the community is not long.

The moonlight cast long shadows of the two of them.

The camphor trees along the roadside rustled in the wind.

The two walked side by side without saying a word.

Jiang Ye slowed his pace.

His hands hung naturally at his sides, and occasionally, with the sway of his steps, the back of his hand would gently brush against Ji Xiaoxiao's hand.

Once, twice.

That elusive, almost imperceptible touch, like an electrified thread, travels along the nerve endings and burns all the way to the heart.

Jiang Ye didn't look at Ji Xiaoxiao; his gaze was fixed straight ahead.

Reason told him that he shouldn't act impulsively now.

His heart was filled with too many people and things: Xu Zhiyu, Lin Youxun, Lin Youxun's illness, Lin Xinghe's anxiety...

But when Huo Yi stood before Ji Xiaoxiao today, holding that necklace and making a grand entrance, all of Jiang Ye's weighing of pros and cons was shattered in that instant.

He finally realized something clearly.

He cannot lose Ji Xiaoxiao.

This little tail that followed him around since he was wearing open-crotch pants had long since become an inseparable part of his life over the past twelve years.

Someone else wants to touch it?

No way.

With that thought in mind, Jiang Ye no longer hesitated. He slightly bent his fingers and, on the third touch to the back of her hand, grabbed her hand in return.

Their palms were warm against each other.

Ji Xiaoxiao paused for a moment and looked down at their clasped hands.

She didn't break free; instead, she exerted force in the opposite direction, tightening her grip on her fingers.

The night breeze was getting cooler, but Ji Xiaoxiao felt hot all over. She didn't look up, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up, and she couldn't even feel the pain on her tongue.

The two walked hand in hand back to the residential area and into their apartment building.

Take the elevator up to the sixteenth floor.

The house on the left is Ji Xiaoxiao's house, and the house on the right is Jiang Ye's house.

The two stopped at the door.

The motion-activated lights in the corridor were on.

Ji Xiaoxiao finally turned her head to look at Jiang Ye, her eyes sparkling: "Then... see you tomorrow."

Jiang Ye looked at her silly expression, rubbed her hand twice with his fingertips, and slowly let go: "See you tomorrow. Go back and get some sleep, and stop biting your tongue."

"Okay!"

Ji Xiaoxiao blushed, turned around, took out her key, and turned the key to open the door.

Jiang Ye also turned around, opened the door, and went inside.

"Click".

The two security doors closed almost simultaneously.

Ji Xiaoxiao leaned against the door, not even changing her shoes, and raised her right hand, staring at her palm for a long time.

Her cheeks were flushed, and a sweet smile spread across her face.

Does this mean he agreed?

Just as I was completely immersed in the pink bubble, a puzzled voice suddenly came from the living room.

"Honey, what are you doing standing at the door grinning like an idiot?"

Ji Xiaoxiao was startled and looked up.

Chen Mei, the mother, came out of the kitchen carrying a plate of washed apples, looking her up and down suspiciously. "Didn't you say you were going to a Western restaurant with your classmates today? Why are you back so early? Haven't you eaten yet?"

"what?"

Ji Xiaoxiao's mind went blank for a moment, and because she had just applied medicine, she started to slur her words again in her nervousness.

"Yeah, uh... no, um... right! I'm full!"

Chen Mei was completely bewildered by her string of nonsensical words: "What do you mean, 'isn't'? What's wrong with your tongue? You can't speak properly anymore?"

"It's nothing! I just accidentally bit myself! Mom, I'm sleepy, I'm going to sleep now, goodnight!"

Ji Xiaoxiao rattled off a long string of words in a very fast pace, and without even taking off her backpack, she rushed into her bedroom in her sneakers.

With a "bang," the door slammed shut.

Chen Mei stood in the living room, looking at the tightly closed door, took a bite of the apple in her hand, and looked puzzled.