Fine, I’ll Let You Have a Bite

"No, I just want to keep you company," Ye Shuang said.

"..."

"I don't need it." Alice buried her face in the pillow, her voice muffled.

The sound beside her seemed to fade away. Alice’s face was pressed against the pillow, making it hard to breathe. After a few seconds, she let go of the pillow and brushed aside the strands of hair stuck to her face from tears.

She lifted her head slightly.

Ye Shuang was still there, quietly saying nothing.

"I need some time alone," Alice said.

"I don't know anyone named 'Alone,'" Ye Shuang replied.

"..." Alice looked annoyed. "That joke is way too old!"

"Well, I'm not exactly young anymore," Ye Shuang said. "I don't really get what you young folks like to do."

"I want to be by myself."

"That's not impossible."

Even though Ye Shuang said that, he didn't leave. He just sat there.

"Ugh." Alice’s cheeks puffed up again. She knelt on the bed, staring at Ye Shuang’s perpetual smile. Frustrated, she lunged at him like an angry cat, biting down directly on his hand.

"Annoying jerk, I'll bite you to death!"

One bite in, but there was no scream or struggle as she expected. Instead, Alice felt a hand resting gently on her head, softly stroking her. "If this makes you feel better, you can borrow this hand for a while."

Feeling the warmth of his palm, Alice kept biting, but big teardrops kept falling. She sat up straight. "I hate it! I hate all of you!"

Ye Shuang watched Alice cry her heart out, took a tissue from his pocket, and helped wipe the tears from her face.

After a good few minutes of crying, Alice’s sobs finally softened. She took deep, heavy breaths, trying to calm herself down.

Then, silently, she curled up at the foot of the bed, hugging her knees, looking like a little kitten abandoned under a streetlamp—golden, tiny, and pitiful.

"What does she even want? She obviously doesn't like me," Alice muttered, her voice soft and mumbling, making her seem both pitiful and adorable.

"I think it's because she cares too much that she's like this," Ye Shuang said, sitting cross-legged on the bed.

"I don't understand."

"Aunt Xian cares about you so deeply that when she found out the truth, it hurt her tremendously," Ye Shuang said, shuffling closer to sit beside Alice.

"If she didn't care at all, knowing the truth wouldn't have bothered her, right?"

"..." Alice felt Ye Shuang had a point.

"Everyone makes mistakes in this world," Ye Shuang continued. "Sometimes, when parents make mistakes, it's hard for them to apologize to their own children."

"Hmph, I don't care about her apology." Alice snorted, but a long string of snot suddenly drooped down, dangling visibly.

"Ahhhh?!"

"Here's a tissue."

Ye Shuang didn't laugh at Alice. Instead, he handed her a tissue. She quickly wiped her nose, blew it hard, and then turned her flushed face away. "You... you didn't see anything just now! Delete it! Delete it all!"

"Fine, I deleted it. Formatted the whole thing," Ye Shuang said along with her.

"Pfft, you idiot, that sounds so dumb," Alice said, seeming amused by Ye Shuang.

"As long as you're happy, that's what matters," Ye Shuang said softly.

Alice paused.

The air went quiet for a few more seconds. Then Alice glanced at Ye Shuang’s hand, reached out, and grabbed it. She looked at the teeth marks left behind and asked,

"Um, does it hurt a lot?"

"Yeah, a little, but it's fine," Ye Shuang said.

"Stop pretending. It's bleeding, and you say it doesn't hurt." Alice took a tissue to wipe the blood off Ye Shuang’s hand—but it was the same one she’d just used to blow her nose. Ye Shuang found it both amusing and exasperating, but seeing her calm and gentle now, he didn’t interrupt.

After wiping the blood clean, Alice seemed to realize the issue with the tissue. "That was not on purpose, you know!"

"I know."

"You know everything. Ugh, I hate you so much." Alice puffed out her cheeks.

"Do you really hate me that much?" Seeing her pout, Ye Shuang found it funny and poked her cheek with his finger.

"I hate everyone! You're just—just at the very bottom of the list!"

"Alright, last place isn't bad. On a reversed list, that would be the most liked, wouldn't it?" Ye Shuang smiled.

"No way!"

After a little more teasing, Alice seemed to calm down. She glanced at Ye Shuang and said, "I want you to hold me."

"Hold you?"

"F-Forget it if you didn't hear me." Alice looked away.

The next second, Alice felt a pair of arms reach out and pull her into an embrace.

She sat on Ye Shuang’s lap for a few quiet seconds before reaching out to grab his sleeve and whispered, "I don't know how to get along with her."

"Actually, just a few words here and there, and you'll slowly make up," Ye Shuang said gently, stroking her head.

"Aunt Xian may not be perfect in many ways, but the care she’s shown you—I think you remember that, don't you?"

"She just gave me the love she had for that other person," Alice said.

"Maybe it started that way, but sticking with it for so long—that can't be the case," Ye Shuang said. "Love born out of a whim doesn’t last through time."

"I think you already know that Aunt Xian’s love for you is genuine. She truly sees you as her own daughter."

"She just lost control of her emotions when she found out the truth and hurt you."

"..."

"Everyone makes mistakes, right?" Ye Shuang smiled.

"What about you?" Alice asked.

"Me..." Ye Shuang paused thoughtfully, then said, "Because of my mistake, I lost my parents forever."

Alice opened her mouth, hesitated for a moment, and said, "I-I didn’t know... I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"You can bite me too if you want." Alice held out her hand for him to bite, but she closed her eyes, as if afraid of the pain.

She looked oddly cute.

"Ha ha ha ha." The sight made Ye Shuang laugh.

"I was just trying to cheer you up!"

"I know. I appreciate the thought," Ye Shuang said, pulling out his phone. "Let me show you something."

Alice looked at his phone and saw a diary file.

"A diary? Whose?" Alice asked curiously, but Ye Shuang stayed silent, just tilting his chin to urge her.

And Alice realized whose diary it was.