A Young Woman's Heart

"Tsk tsk, whoever marries you will be incredibly lucky," Zhou Yong remarked. However, perhaps due to the age difference, or perhaps because of the impression he had of her online, he didn't feel anything for Tian Tingchan. "Hehe, Chan-ge, don't you have a crush on anyone?"

"..."

"There are so many guys in college, there must be some, right? Hahaha, remember to invite me to your wedding sometime!"

Tian Tingchan bit her lip lightly and forced a smile: "Let's not talk about these things. I came here today to relax."

“To relax, we should talk about anything…” Zhou Yong wanted to continue, but then noticed that Tian Tingchan seemed a little unhappy, so he quickly stopped the conversation and followed her into Prince Bay Park.

Springtime is the best time to come here.

Not only can you see blooming cherry blossoms and peach blossoms, but you can also see vast fields of flowers.

When the wind blows, the flower branches sway slightly, like waves crashing onto the beach.

There weren't many people in the park at that moment. Although he had been there several times, this was the first time Zhou Yong had truly appreciated the original beauty of the park.

—When I came here before, it was crowded with people everywhere, which completely ruined the beauty of the place.

The two walked in silence for a while.

Tian Tingchan seemed quite used to the quiet, while Zhou Yong was scratching his head, restless, and constantly thinking about what to say.

Finally, he managed to squeeze out a question: "So, how have you been lately?"

……

Chapter 210 Her Little Hands Wet

The two were standing in front of a small bridge, with the babbling water below reflecting the willow trees swaying in the wind beside them.

A few pink cherry blossom petals floated on the surface of the stream, and several yellow and red carp swam happily in the water, occasionally leaping out of the water and then falling heavily back down, splashing water and creating ripples.

Tian Tingchan turned around and saw Zhou Yong grinning foolishly at her. Her tense expression finally broke down, and a smile appeared on her lips: "You're even sillier than you are online."

"Huh? Is there?"

"Yeah, pretty silly." Tian Tingchan picked up a small stone from the ground and threw it into the stream, scaring away a group of carp that had gathered together. "Isn't life always like this? Sometimes, nothing changing is the best thing."

"Your outlook on life is far too pessimistic! This is quite different from your online persona!"

“Everyone has a positive and a negative side.” Tian Tingchan glanced at him sideways with her slightly upturned phoenix eyes, making Zhou Yong feel as if a gentle hand had lightly brushed his cheek.

"Ah, Chan-ge," Zhou Yong called her as he habitually did online, "Your eyes are like a fox's."

"Yeah."

"Hmm, I always feel that Daji might be like you."

"I cannot seduce a king."

"Seduce ordinary men is no problem."

"Oh...you?"

"Uh, no, no." Zhou Yong chuckled and scratched his head. "Don't you feel cramped living alone in such a small room?"

“I feel safer in a small room, and... it costs money to live in a big house.”

Are you short of money?

“…There are many places where money is spent.” Tian Tingchan reached out and caught a cherry blossom petal, then chewed it in her mouth.

What flavor is it?

“It’s a little bit sweet,” she replied, and then she saw Zhou Yong suddenly point his finger at the top of her head.

"You have several patches on your head."

"Oh."

"Hmm... Shall we go somewhere else? This place is quite big, have you been here a few times?"

"This is my first time here." Tian Tingchan squinted at the bright sun overhead. "Being busy is the norm for my life."

"Looks like today is a rare day off, so we should definitely take a good look around." Zhou Yong said, then paused for a moment, picked up a stone from his feet, and tossed it horizontally into the water, skipping it beautifully. "However, it's not necessary to visit every place. If you see a scene you like, it's fine to stop and look at it for a while. If you insist on visiting everything, you'll feel even more tired."

Tian Tingchan glanced at him in surprise, then nodded thoughtfully.

"After all, many times and in many things, the process is more important than the result, haha..." Perhaps Zhou Yong noticed Tian Tingchan's doubt, and quickly explained, "After all, my life has been mostly failures. If I don't comfort myself like this, I'm afraid I shouldn't live, cough cough..."

"Okay." Tian Tingchan turned around. "Let's keep going."

"it is good."

The two walked and chatted casually, mostly about awkward topics, but it was much better than having nothing to say at all.

In Prince Bay Park, there is a lush lawn that is open to the public and can be used for picnics and enjoying the warmth of the sun.

Not far away were several buildings that looked like mills, but only the windmill was working; the others were just empty shells.

If you look closely, you'll find that there's nothing inside the 'mill'.

On weekends, the place becomes very lively, with children running around everywhere and picnic blankets spread out on the grass.

Sometimes it's even hard to find an empty space; you always end up next to other people.

But now, there was no one here. The entire lawn belonged to Zhou Yong and Tian Tingchan. The brighter the sunshine was, the happier Zhou Yong was.

Although Tian Tingchan is quite pretty, there is no pressure in being with her. It's just that I often feel that she is worried about something, like a rabbit, always hiding it deep in her heart, unwilling to truly open up.

But that's okay, things should get better once you get used to it.

Some people are just naturally introverted.

I guess Tian Tingchan spends most of her outgoing side chatting online.

"To be honest, this is the first time I've ever seen this lawn so empty." Zhou Yong immediately wanted to lie down, but Tian Tingchan grabbed his arm.

You wouldn't guess from her appearance that she's actually quite strong.

"What's wrong?" Zhou Yong asked, puzzled.

"Don't lie down directly on it." Tian Tingchan frowned. "There are bugs."

"Then how should I lie down?"

“I brought a picnic blanket.”

"Ah, you've prepared so meticulously. You truly are a virtuous wife and loving mother!" Zhou Yong gave a thumbs up, causing Tian Tingchan's cold little face to blush slightly.

Soon, Tian Tingchan spread a large piece of strawberry-colored and milky-white checkered cloth on the grass and took out the items prepared in the paper bag one by one.

Actually, she didn't bring much, and it was all relatively inexpensive stuff. Clearly, she didn't have much money on hand, but she still made careful preparations for this trip together.

This touched Zhou Yong somewhat. In a sense, did it mean that the other party cared about him?

Otherwise, they certainly wouldn't have prepared so diligently.

Of course, it could also be due to his personality...

On the picnic blanket was a thermos with a plastic exterior and an inner liner similar to a hot water kettle.

It is one-third smaller than a regular thermos, but it is also thicker.

This cheap thermos flask seems to be the cheapest portable thermos flask you can buy in a grocery store.

Zhou Yong lay on the picnic blanket, turned his head to look at the thermos, and asked, "What's in here?"

"Tofu soup," Tian Tingchan replied softly, then neatly arranged the other items she had taken out.

Besides this thermos, there was an aluminum lunchbox that was a bit deformed from being used too much; two apples in supermarket food plastic bags; and a small plastic bottle that was supposed to hold other snacks but was filled with white and tender peanuts. They weren't roasted; it looked like they were just shelled roasted peanuts that were put in directly.

Finally, there was a bottle of liquid in a bottle shaped like a traditional Chinese liquor bottle.

The reason we're certain it's not Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) is because the liquid inside is light pink.

"What's this?"

"It was a gift from a friend; it's cherry blossom wine she brewed herself," Tian Tingchan replied softly. "Are you hungry?"

"We've been walking around for about two or three hours, haven't we? What time is it now?"

"Eleven o'clock."

"I am indeed quite hungry..."

"Do you judge whether you're hungry based on the time?" Tian Tingchan raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Ugh, if it's still early, I'll let myself get hungry a little longer, so I don't get hungry again in the afternoon. I don't want to gain any more weight, I already have a roll of fat around my stomach," Zhou Yong said, pinching his belly. "Sigh, why am I not the kind of person who can eat whatever I want and not gain weight?"

"There aren't many people in the world who can truly eat without gaining weight." Tian Tingchan, who studies medicine, is the most qualified to speak on this matter. "The so-called inability to gain weight is actually just that you don't eat enough."

"I guess I really should eat less..."

"You should exercise more."

"Okay, by the way, do you have any other small bowls for drinking soup?"

"Yes." Tian Tingchan nodded, opened the lid of the thermos, and then separated the lids, making them two layers.

This thermos looks rough, but its functional design is surprisingly good. The double-layered lid can keep things warm and can also be used as a small bowl.

She poured the steaming hot tofu soup into a bowl and handed it to Zhou Yong.

Then he opened the aluminum lunchbox, inside were small, cooked potatoes.

"We only have a rice cooker at home, so we can't cook anything else," she explained softly.

"Ah, it's alright, this is already quite a feast, and it's also quite healthy to eat like this—wow, this tofu soup—!"

"What's wrong?" she asked, sounding slightly nervous.

"It's delicious!! It has shredded tofu skin, shredded bamboo shoots, an egg, and a little bit of minced meat, though not much."

"If it tastes good, that's good." Tian Tingchan rubbed her cheeks without making a sound. "I dug up the bamboo shoots from the bamboo forest by the mountain, which saved me a lot of money."

"You're good at managing a household." Zhou Yong gave a thumbs up, picked up the still-warm potato, and took a bite, skin and all.

Although the potatoes were boiled, they didn't feel damp at all; on the contrary, they were quite dry, almost giving the illusion that they had been baked.

"It needs to be peeled."