Conquer the other worlds with abandon, they've fallen in love with me!

By the time the performance ended, the sun was almost setting.

As the crowds thinned out at the market, the stall owners began to pack up their goods, rolling up colorful tarpaulins to reveal the dusty walls behind them.

Lin Yu carried Lilia back.

She was still on his shoulder, her two little legs swinging back and forth, her light yellow skirt fluttering gently in the evening breeze.

"Lilia," Lin Yu said.

"Um?"

"You're a grown-up, why are you still so playful, like a little kid?"

Lilia was taken aback.

Then her face slowly turned red, from her neck all the way to the tips of her ears.

"I...I didn't." Her voice was muffled, filled with resentment, but her legs stopped shaking and hung obediently at her sides.

"Would an adult sit on someone's shoulders?"

"That's...that's because you came..."

She couldn't continue, so she buried her face in Lin Yu's hair, hugged his head with both hands, and curled up like a cat.

Lin Yu could feel the heat of her cheeks; he could feel the heat even through her hair.

He smiled and didn't say anything more.

After taking a few steps, Lilia's voice rang out again, much softer than before.

"Mr. Lin Yu..."

"Um."

"You...you don't like me like this?"

"like."

Lilia tightened her grip on his hair.

She buried her face in his ear again, this time not in her hair.

Her lips touched his earlobe; it was soft and cool.

"Thank you," she said softly, her breath tickling his ear.

"Thank you for coming to me... Thank you for being with me... Thank you... for letting me sit on your shoulders..."

Every "thank you" carries a different kind of warmth.

After she finished speaking, she touched his earlobe with her lips and quickly pulled away.

Like a butterfly landing on a petal, so light that it's almost imperceptible.

But Lin Yu sensed it.

Lilia's face was already flushed red, and she turned her face away, not daring to look at him.

Her thigh was pressed against Lin Yu's neck, soft and warm.

Her legs were slender, her skin smooth, and shimmered softly in the setting sun.

Lin Yu's gaze fell on her legs, paused for a second, and then moved away.

Lilia didn't notice.

She was looking down, her fingers gently playing with Lin Yu's hair, separating it into small strands and then letting it fall back together.

It looks like they're playing with some fun toy.

After a few minutes.

"Mr. Lin Yu," Lilia spoke again, her voice even softer than before.

"Um."

"Speaking of which... um... four... four days..."

Her voice trailed off, hesitant and stammering, and her fingers stopped playing with her hair, instead gripping his collar.

"I haven't done...something I enjoy for four days..."

Lin Yu paused for a moment, then continued walking.

Lilia's face turned bright red, and she buried her face in Lin Yu's neck, not daring to lift it up.

"Mr. Lin Yu... um... do you... do you want to...?"

Before he could finish speaking, Lin Yu already understood.

He didn't answer, but instead turned a corner and walked into a small alley next to the market.

The alley was narrow, with the back walls of houses on both sides, and empty wooden boxes and broken baskets piled on the ground.

There was no one there.

Lin Yu walked to the depths of the alley and put Lilia down from his shoulder.

Lilia stood on the ground, looking up at him, her eyes wet, her lips pursed, and her cheeks flushed.

"Mr. Lin Yu..."

Lin Yu took off his coat and spread it on an overturned wooden box next to him.

Then he sat down and pulled Lilia over.

……

……