She Only Touched Me Once (Please Bookmark and Follow)

After class, Yang Zhi slung her bag over her shoulder and left.

Ding Yebai took a bottle of soda from the fridge. After wandering around the living room for a while, he eventually went out onto the balcony.

He watched Yang Zhi leave from afar.

She was the only woman on the quiet, spacious road. Beneath the dim yellow streetlights, even the air seemed a little colder.

Wasn't she afraid, walking alone at night as a young woman?

Ding Yebai took a sip of his drink and thought to himself.

"Forget it. No point thinking about it."

He chuckled softly and returned to his bedroom.

He sat down at his desk, looked over the mistakes Yang Zhi had covered in class, and gave them especially serious thought.

When he reached for his notes, he noticed the phone at the corner of the desk.

"Th-this couldn't be Sister Yang Zhi's, could it...?"

Ding Yebai picked up the phone and examined it. The case had a landscape design.

It suited her personality...

Hm? A WeChat call was coming in. It was her Grandma...

No, wait!

This wasn't the time to marvel at that.

Ding Yebai sprang to his feet. He first rushed to the balcony to look, and when he saw that she was already gone, he hurried downstairs, wheeled out his bike, and went after her to return it.

If it had been something ordinary, that would have been fine. She could have come to get it herself tomorrow during class.

But it had to be her phone.

Something as important as a phone should definitely never leave its owner's side.

Luckily, she hadn't gone far. He could still catch up.

Ding Yebai rode down the road Yang Zhi had taken, keeping a close eye out in case he had missed her.

After riding for about three minutes, he reached a small slope.

At last, through the streetlights, he spotted a slender figure below.

That standard work outfit, white on top and black below, was unmistakably Yang Zhi.

Ding Yebai's eyes lit up. He smiled and called out, "Sister Yang Zhi!"

"Hm?"

Hearing the voice behind her, Yang Zhi immediately stopped and turned around.

She was surprised to see that it was Ding Yebai.

"Ding Yebai? Why was he here?"

When Ding Yebai saw Yang Zhi's pure, beautiful face, his heart trembled. He immediately pedaled harder, wanting to reach her faster.

Then, a black cat suddenly darted out in front of him. The little cat was incredibly fast, flashing past the bike with a whoosh.

Ding Yebai saw it and immediately squeezed the brakes. But he had been riding too fast, and his wheel caught a pothole at just the wrong moment. Bike and rider went flying together.

His vision went black, and he landed flat on his back.

"...That really hurt..." Ding Yebai sat on the ground. The moment he regained his senses, he began checking himself over.

He was wearing a T-shirt and shorts, so the exposed parts of his body had all suffered minor scrapes to some extent. His head hurt a little, so he touched the back of it to make sure it hadn't split open and started bleeding.

"Ding Yebai..."

Yang Zhi hurried over in her high heels. Holding down her skirt, she crouched beside him. After calming her rapid breathing, she looked him over and asked, "Are you okay?"

Ding Yebai kept his head lowered, frowning. He took his hand from the back of his head and pointed at his leg. "I'm fine, just some scrapes... Huh???"

As he spoke, Yang Zhi reached out and touched the back of his head.

That cool sensation made Ding Yebai shudder all over. His pupils suddenly widened, and he slowed his breathing in disbelief.

Sister Yang Zhi's hand is so cool. It feels so nice...

Huh, that's strange.

Why is my heart beating so fast?

Yang Zhi had seen him constantly touching the back of his head and thought he might have hit his head, so she quickly checked him over.

Of course, she was someone who knew how to keep proper boundaries. Her hand had only touched him briefly, gently rubbing the spot as she checked that he hadn't been hurt.

The eighteen-year-old boy took a deep, nervous breath because of that brief touch.

His body temperature was high, while Yang Zhi's hand was icy cool. The contrast was especially obvious when it touched him.

Yang Zhi said, "You're fine. The back of your head isn't injured. Let me look at the scrapes on your body."

"I-I'm fine." Ding Yebai's gaze began to wander, before inexplicably settling on Yang Zhi's face.

Yang Zhi looked at him with concern as well. Their eyes met.

Even the breeze around them seemed to soften because of that glance.

Ding Yebai's features were no longer cold and distant. His eyes were now filled with a young man's innocence and awkwardness. From so close, as he looked at Yang Zhi's face, he could even feel her faint breaths.

"Ding Yebai, you..."

"Ahem, Sister Yang Zhi, you left your phone at my house. I came to return it to you."

Ding Yebai cut her off and hurriedly took out Yang Zhi's phone, handing it to her.

His own body had taken a beating, but Yang Zhi's phone was perfectly fine.

Yang Zhi accepted it and instinctively rummaged through her bag. Only then did she seem to realize. "So you came all this way specifically to return my phone."

Ding Yebai kept a calm face. "Yeah. I thought phones were important, so I brought it over."

Yang Zhi smiled beautifully. "Thank you." As she spoke, she took hold of Ding Yebai's arm. "Come on, I'll help you up and take you to clean your wounds."

"No need to trouble yourself." Feeling the physical contact, Ding Yebai lowered his eyes and swallowed. Once she helped him up, he hurriedly declined her kindness.

"Really, there's no need. I can just go home and rinse them off myself." He gently pulled his arm back, and Yang Zhi's hand naturally loosened.

"Can you manage?" Yang Zhi asked.

"I can. They're just minor injuries. It's nothing."

Yang Zhi still looked at him worriedly. She even took the initiative to help him lift the bicycle that had fallen beside them and push it over to him.

"Thank you again for specially bringing my phone to me."

"It was nothing." Ding Yebai got on his bike. His wounds still hurt a little, but he endured it.

"I'm leaving, Sister Yang Zhi. Be careful on your way home."

Ding Yebai had already ridden away. He didn't see Yang Zhi smile.

After he left, Yang Zhi opened her phone again. As the screen lit up, a trace of sadness unconsciously entered her eyes.

That child even came all this way to bring it back to me...

"Thank you." Yang Zhi wore a faint, tranquil smile. She tightened her grip on her shoulder bag. Just as she turned to head home, she worriedly looked back at Ding Yebai again.

She couldn't help recalling the moment when their eyes had met.

Ding Yebai's clear, water-like eyes had shone with such pure light, filled with the simple innocence of utmost kindness and purity.

That truly was the gaze of a young man...

Only after Ding Yebai had completely vanished from sight did Yang Zhi head toward her own home.

After returning home,

Ding Yuerong saw Ding Yebai looking absent-minded and hurried over to ask, "Where did you run off to so late at night, brat? I came home and saw you weren't here—I was worried sick. Thank goodness... How did you scrape up your arms and legs like this?"

"It's nothing. I'll rinse them off in a bit and put on some Band-Aids. That'll be it."

Ding Yebai glanced at her and slowly sat down on the sofa. First, he stared blankly at the television in front of him. Then he leaned back against the sofa, draping an arm over his face to cover his eyes, looking utterly languid.

Ding Yuerong sensed something was off. She sat beside him again and said, "What's wrong with you? Don't scare your older sister, okay? Say something. Did you get into a fight with someone?"

Ding Yebai recalled Yang Zhi touching the back of his head. His breathing couldn't help speeding up, his chest rising and falling sharply as he grew intensely nervous.

Ding Yuerong said, "Are you okay?"

Ding Yebai said, "I fell off my bike. It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

After a while,

he lowered his arm again and turned his head to look at Ding Yuerong. "Sister, do you believe there's magic in this world?"

Seeing how red his face was, Ding Yuerong grew twice as suspicious. "Hearing that come out of your mouth is a miracle. Haven't you always been a science-minded guy who believes in science?"

Ding Yebai said, "She clearly only touched me once, but this heart of mine..." As he spoke, he placed a hand over the left side of his chest, his gaze gradually softening. "It feels like it's about to leap out."

Ding Yuerong said, "Ah... so you've reached that age too." She shook her head and continued earnestly, "It's fine. It's normal, between boys and all. Sigh, this is destined to be a difficult road. But it's okay—your older sister will always stand by your side!!!!"

Ding Yebai said, "What are you talking about?"

Ding Yuerong said, "Didn't you go hang out with Lu Shuai?"

Ding Yebai let out a speechless sigh. "Forget it. I can't be bothered to explain. I'm going to bed."

There's no way I can explain this!!

With that, he got up and left.

As he walked, he gripped the fabric over the left side of his chest, trying to calm that wildly pounding heart.

Ding Yuerong was completely confused the whole time, but she still reminded him to treat his wounds before going to sleep.

That brat... what exactly happened to him?

This book will have depictions of both familial love and romance.

The original intention behind writing it is to bring warmth and healing to people's hearts.