So Many, So Long

Shen Nian's face was full of sorrow; in an instant, he seemed to have aged over a decade.

He couldn't live like this anymore.

Before confessing his feelings, she wouldn't blow up like this when he touched her. Now that he had confessed, he wasn't allowed to touch her at all. Kitty Chun, you little rascal.

No matter how he looked at her, Kitty Chun didn't seem angry, but she had actually bitten him, which meant everything definitely wasn't fine.

Shen Nian came to a conclusion: "Kitty Chun is hissing."

Xia Yanchun: "..."

It seemed she hadn't bitten him hard enough.

"Go to sleep!"

Xia Yanchun decided to consider them even. Originally, neither of them was going to get any sleep, but now both could. Getting some rest was more important than anything else.

She turned around and ignored Shen Nian. For tonight, she was unilaterally cutting ties with him. She would unilaterally make up with him after she woke up.

Having been bitten, Shen Nian behaved himself a lot more.

After calming down, he pressed up against Xia Yanchun again, wrapping his arms around her fragrant body to sleep.

Adhering to the principle of their unilateral falling-out, as soon as Shen Nian leaned in, Xia Yanchun scooted outward. After she scooted, Shen Nian leaned in again, and she scooted again...

She scooted all the way to the edge of the wall until there was absolutely no room left. She could only let out a faint sigh, forced to unilaterally make up with Shen Nian.

Fine, fine, let him just hold her while they sleep!

...

Day after day passed, leading up to the 100-day pledge rally.

The sky was gradually brightening, a touch of pale white appearing on the horizon.

Although Shen Nian had never seen the Harvard library at 4 AM, he had seen the wet market at 4 AM.

It was still early, but many elderly men and women were already out setting up stalls with fruits and vegetables. They piled them up at the entrance of the market, even more diligent than the bosses with fixed stalls inside.

Shen Nian didn't go to the park today. He just ran around the nearby commercial district for a bit. Today, he jogged for an hour, giving himself a little break.

His body no longer needed deliberate training; exercising was originally just a way for him to release his overflowing energy.

There was someone selling radish cake at the market. Shen Nian had never eaten it before, so he bought a portion, only to find it was just a regular water cake with some diced radish added. The taste was passable.

At exactly 5:30 AM, he returned to the residential complex to take a shower, then slipped over to Xia Yanchun's place. He tiptoed into bed, took a ten-minute nap, and woke up together with Xia Yanchun.

The phone alarm rang, and Shen Nian turned it off immediately.

Chunbao in his arms also began to slowly wake up.

But she only woke up for a moment, blinked her eyes, and groggily fell back asleep.

Is there really any human who can resist going back to sleep?

In any case, Xia Yanchun couldn't resist, especially with Shen Nian right next to her. She didn't have to worry at all about blinking and suddenly finding it was 9 AM.

Xia Yanchun took a short little snooze. Feeling a large, foreign hand roaming around, she didn't even open her eyes. Languidly, she simply pulled her hand back and slowly but effortlessly pinned that restless hand against her chest.

"It's early in the morning, stop touching me..." she murmured.

"I'm not just randomly touching you. It's purposeful, with a clear objective. It's a planned touch," Shen Nian said happily.

"Did anyone ask you?" Xia Yanchun was too tired to retort. Heaven knew what else he might say.

Since she had slept enough anyway, Xia Yanchun struggled to sit up, leaving the warm blanket and forcing herself to wake up, holding the large hand on her chest even tighter.

Looking at Shen Nian again, this guy was already looking incredibly pleased with himself.

She knew she should have slapped his hand away immediately, otherwise how could he be this happy?

Annoyed, Xia Yanchun tugged at her hair, finally deciding to pinch Shen Nian's nose as punishment.

"Did you take a shower?"

"Yep, yep."

"Stinky," Xia Yanchun sniffed.

"That means it's fragrant." Shen Nian got out of bed. "Are you a pervert? Sniffing around all day long. Hurry up and go brush your teeth and wash your face."

She didn't know who was really the one sniffing around all day; Xia Yanchun just couldn't be bothered to call Shen Nian out on it.

"Get up, I'm going to change clothes. You go out first."

"Ahem, my legs are numb. I can't walk for now. You'll be understanding, right?"

"Get out." Xia Yanchun gave a fake smile.

"Alrighty."

Shen Nian ran off swiftly, afraid of being bitten by Kitty Chun and having to get rabies shots.

Putting on his boots, he leaned against the corridor wall, playing on his phone while waiting for Xia Yanchun to come out.

Today, Xia Yanchun tied her hair in a low ponytail that covered her fair neck. She looked adorable, only a tiny bit less cute than when she wore a high ponytail.

Wearing a matching outerwear set, she stood tall and graceful. Shen Nian felt himself melting with just one extra glance.

This face was simply too authoritative.

Shen Nian felt that Xia Yanchun should thank him. If he hadn't used his fists to mend and patch her face when they fought as kids, she might have grown up looking awful.

Sigh.

Chunbao gets ugly and messy, Nianbao fixes and patches her up.

"How come you never cried when we fought back then?" Shen Nian scratched his cheek. They really fought a lot in the past. Although they never drew blood, fists hitting flesh still hurt.

Xia Yanchun tilted her head, confused. "You could never beat me. Why would I cry when I won?"

"Damn."

"What, remembering the days when you were my prisoner?"

"..."

He knew he shouldn't have asked.

It was true that he hit Xia Yanchun, but it was also true that he got beaten up by her. When he was little with short arms and legs, Xia Yanchun kicked him around like a ball.

"I feel like you have some violent tendencies. You always wanted to fight me. You'd watch two episodes of Ultraman and then come challenge me to a PK. When you couldn't win, you'd say you were out of energy. Oh, wait, I remember there was one time I actually couldn't beat you."

"Which time?"

"I think it was in third grade. You grabbed a water pipe and started spinning it around like a windmill. You must have watched the Monkey King."

"..." Shen Nian covered his face.

The things he had finally managed to forget all came rushing back as soon as Xia Yanchun mentioned them.

He was so ignorant and ridiculous when he was a kid.

They took the elevator down together. A light breeze was blowing outside.

Xia Yanchun took some hand cream out of her bag, pulled Shen Nian's hands out of his pockets, and applied it for him. She rubbed it in evenly, finishing both of his hands before doing her own.

Shen Nian rather enjoyed this.

If he hadn't made up with Xia Yanchun, he would never have experienced this kind of tenderness from her in his entire life.

He was thankful for his own relentless efforts in successfully eating the grass near his own burrow.

Rubbing her hands together, Xia Yanchun muttered softly, "You were so violent when you were little. I don't even dare to imagine how you'll be in the future. I'm a little scared of you."

"I remember you hit me plenty of times too, alright... Even when I didn't do anything, you'd come over and slap me twice."

"Hitting is a sign of affection, scolding is a sign of love."

"Then my hitting you was too."

"No, yours was pure violence."

"??"

She had an answer for everything. He was terrified by Kitty Chun's double standards.

"Stand still," Xia Yanchun suddenly spoke up again.

Shen Nian stopped in his tracks, not understanding why.

Xia Yanchun didn't say anything. She took out something else, rubbed it into her palms, and then gently patted it onto Shen Nian's face.

At first, it felt cool, but as Xia Yanchun kept rubbing it in, covering his whole face, it became warm, leaving his skin feeling a bit moisturized.

This moist feeling dissipated after a few seconds, leaving his face feeling incredibly comfortable.

"It's just face cream. The weather is cold today, so don't let the wind crack your skin," Xia Yanchun muttered softly.

"Chunbao..." Shen Nian couldn't quite handle Chunbao being this gentle. "If you act like this, I'm going to fall hopelessly in love with you."

"Falling in love already? If it weren't for me, you'd definitely get played like a fiddle by the girls out there, losing both your heart and your wallet."

"But I do have you, don't I? To keep from getting played, I have no choice but to stick right by your side."

Shen Nian had never even imagined a future without Xia Yanchun in it. He wanted her to be happy and safe, for them to go to college together, get their master's and doctorates, start a business, and eventually build a family together...

There was still so much of the future left, stretching out long and bright before them.

Xia Yanchun unconsciously bounced on her tiptoes, a flutter of joy leaping in her heart at his words.

Shen Nian's romantic words were like sugar, and even when he wasn't trying to be romantic, he was still incredibly sweet.

Lowering her head, she was just about to apply some face cream on herself when Shen Nian snatched the little jar from her hands.

"Let me do it for you. It's time you experienced your best guy friend's gentle touch, so you can fall in love a little, too."

"Ew, you dummy."