Yong Shanling stood beside the girl, also staring at the boy. Suddenly, the boy looked up and met her gaze. The sudden eye - contact startled her so much that she almost thought he could see her.
But seeing the boy's somewhat confused look, she finally calmed down. "This little guy has such a sharp look in his eyes!"
"What's wrong?" Bai Ling saw that his gaze suddenly turned to the back of her. She turned around and saw nothing behind. She couldn't help but feel a bit speechless.
She walked up to A Xu and whispered, "Does he have some kind of illness? He's so paranoid."
"I'm not sick."
The boy who had been silent all this time finally spoke. Hearing the boy's voice, a look of joy flashed in Bai Ling's eyes.
"He can talk! Hee - hee, we'll be friends from now on!"
"Friends?" Gu Li looked at the brightly - smiling girl in front of him in confusion.
"Yeah!"
Gu Li slowly reached out his hand towards where Bai Ling was standing.
She looked at him in confusion. As if recalling something, she took his hand.
"Let's go, Brother A Li!"
By the river, Yong Shanling was already sitting there. Watching the three of them playing nearby, the boy seemed to be smiling more and more.
Then one day passed, two days, a month, a year... All the scenes flashed before her eyes like a carousel. Suddenly, the picture froze at a moment. The intense sunlight suddenly stabbed into her eyes.
She couldn't help but dodge her gaze. A string of laughter like the tinkling of silver bells came into her ears. She raised her hand to shield her eyes and barely opened them.
"Brother A Li! Brother A Li, I found a really beautiful flower!"
"The petals of that flower are like amber. It's so pretty. There's a bit of pale white under the pink. I didn't tell anyone else. I'm just telling you secretly."
The girl took a boy's hand and walked into the woods. Yong Shanling knew it was Bai Ling and Gu Li. And the boy seemed to have shed the awkwardness of their first meeting.
He smiled and stroked the girl's head. "Ling'er, we have to go back to study after seeing the flower. Have you learned the characters I taught you yesterday?"
Bai Ling pouted, seemingly impatient with studying. "Got it, Brother A Li. Let's go quickly."
The girl dragged the boy forward in a hurry. There was no impatience on Gu Li's face. Instead... was there a hint of happiness?
Yong Shanling said that she was getting more and more confused about these kids. Strolling behind them, she felt that this road was both strangely familiar. Why did she always feel like crying? She patted her head, thinking that she had been acting strangely since she came here.
It seemed like they had walked on this road for a very long time. Finally, at the girl's exclamation, they reached the end.
"Brother A Li! Look, isn't it especially beautiful?"
The moment Gu Li saw the flowers blooming on the cliff, he was also a bit dazed and stood still.
"Hahaha, Brother, when I first saw it, I looked just like you."
"It's beautiful..."
"Huh?"
"Just like you. When I see it, it's as if I'm seeing you."
When Yong Shanling heard what Gu Li said, she felt as if her heart was about to burst with pain. She felt very strange. Who exactly was Gu Li? Why...
Suddenly, she opened her eyes. The light from outside the window was dimly shining into the room. Yong Shanling immediately sat up, felt her heart, and looked at the pajamas she didn't know when she had changed into.
She sighed and lay back on the bed, covering her eyes with her hand. For some reason, a sense of loss welled up in her heart.
"So... it was just a dream."
"What's wrong?" Mu Yijie looked at her, who suddenly sat up and then lay back down, feeling a bit confused.
Maybe because he had just woken up, Mu Yijie's voice was a bit hoarse. She didn't answer his question.
Hearing some movement beside her, when she was about to remove her hand, a big hand covered her eyes again. Then, a warm touch came from her lips.
Yong Shanling smiled. She was charmed by Mu Yijie's sudden and assertive move.
"Uncle Shu, why are you so sudden?"
"Seeing that you've been listless. What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"
She recalled the scenes in the dream and couldn't help but sigh.
"It wasn't exactly a nightmare, but I just feel so tired. I dreamed of something that didn't seem to be related to me."
Mu Yijie got up, walked to the closet, took out a set of sportswear, and slowly put it on.
Yong Shanling saw him bare - chested and immediately covered her eyes with her hands. But she could still vaguely see Mu Yijie's figure through her fingers.
"Cough, cough. Uncle Shu, why aren't you wearing any clothes?"
Mu Yijie closed the bathroom door and said indifferently, "You've seen it before. Why are you so shy?"
She removed her hands and looked around. Seeing that the man was gone, she quickly changed her clothes and rushed downstairs. The butler saw her in a hurry and thought there was something urgent, so he stepped forward to ask.
"Miss Yong Shan, is there something urgent?"
In a daze, she accidentally swallowed a strand of her black hair by her face. "Cough, cough, cough. No, no problem."
"Have breakfast first."
When she sat at the dining table, Mu Yijie slowly came downstairs. Without even looking at her, he walked straight past her.
"Uncle Shu, where are you going?"
"Going out for exercise."
Hearing his words, she quickly stuffed the half - eaten bread in her hand into her mouth, took a few sips of milk, and then ran to Mu Yijie's side.
Mu Yijie sighed, took a piece of paper to wipe the milk stain from the corner of her mouth, and stroked her head. "I'll wait for you. Finish the food in your mouth first."
Yong Shanling smiled, squatted down to tie her shoelaces, and said something unclearly.
"It's okay. Let's go. I haven't spent much time with Uncle Shu in the past few days."
Hearing her words, Mu Yijie's eyes were full of affection. He took her little hand and they walked out. The moment they stepped out of the door, the previous voices appeared in her mind again.
"Hey, you betrayed him."
"You abandoned him."
"Sure enough, you're untrustworthy."
"After all, the only person you can trust in this world is yourself. Gu Li is so pitiful."
Only the last sentence touched her nerves. She who had been following behind Mu Yijie stopped. Staring at the floor, she murmured.
"Gu Li? Who exactly is Gu Li! What did those words just mean?"
"Hmm? The moment you gave up on him, he had nothing to do with you."
"So who exactly is he..."
"Ling'er, what's wrong?" Mu Yijie saw her standing still behind him, murmuring something with an indescribable look on her face.
Suddenly, the voices in her ears disappeared. All she could hear was Mu Yijie's voice. She stiffly raised her head. "No, it's nothing. But Uncle Shu, I'm not feeling well today..."
"I'll go back first."
Mu Yijie saw her strange look. Finally, he sighed, walked to her side, took her hand, and walked back.
"Let's go."
She felt the sudden warmth in her hand and looked at his broad back. She felt a bit sorry and confused. "What's wrong?"
"Since you're not feeling well, instead of worrying about you while I'm exercising, I'd rather stay with you."
Hearing Mu Yijie's words, her eyes got a bit moist. She smiled and took Mu Yijie's arm. "Let's go."