"Hmm?" Yang Zhi slowly lifted her eyes. Seeing the obvious worry in Ding Yebai's gaze, she froze for a few seconds before her eyes curved into a bright, cheerful smile. "It's nothing, nothing. I've just been a little short on sleep lately."
Ding Yebai said, "Why don't you go home and catch up on your sleep today?"
Yang Zhi said, "I can't do that."
As she spoke, she carried her bag into the house. Then she suddenly turned around and looked at him with a radiant smile. "My senior sister told me this morning that you scored 123, so I've been looking forward to seeing you tonight."
Ding Yebai's shoulders stiffened. He blinked. "Really?"
Yang Zhi said, "You haven't been smiling much lately, so you must be extremely happy this time."
Ding Yebai: "..."
So during this period, it wasn't only him observing her. She had been observing him too.
Afterward, the two of them went upstairs together, opened their test papers, and began studying.
When they finally reached their five-minute break, Yang Zhi unexpectedly didn't open her water bottle to drink. She was so sleepy that she simply laid her head on the desk and fell asleep.
Before falling asleep, she murmured hazily, "Sorry, I'm really too sleepy. I'll rest for these five minutes and get up in a moment."
Ding Yebai said nothing. He silently left the bedroom to use the bathroom.
He went number two and stayed in there for a full ten minutes.
After washing his hands, he hurried back to the bedroom, only to find Sister Yang Zhi still asleep with her head on the desk.
He sighed softly, walked over to her, and draped his jacket over her.
"She's sleeping really soundly."
Ding Yebai sat in the chair and watched her, rubbing his clasped hands together.
He had actually wanted to touch her head, but reason held him back.
When he turned his head and saw the heavy snow falling outside, he hurried to the balcony.
In Jinghuai, whether it rained or snowed, everything carried an intensely romantic air.
He glanced at the clock and exhaled a cloud of white breath.
He had finished all the homework he needed to do and checked all the answers. There weren't any questions he was unsure about, so he might as well let her sleep a little longer.
Another ten minutes passed.
Yang Zhi suddenly shuddered. Once she regained consciousness, she slowly sat up. When she checked the time on her phone, her eyes flew wide open.
"It's almost eight-thirty?!"
This was terrible. Absolutely terrible.
How had she slept for so long?
It was over. She had clearly come to tutor someone, yet she had fallen asleep herself.
Clatter—
Just as she became caught up in her distress, the jacket on her back suddenly slipped to the floor.
Yang Zhi said, "Hmm?"
She picked it up, her round eyes blinking.
There was only one other person in the house, so who else could have draped the jacket over her?
At the thought, warmth inevitably spread through her heart.
"Speaking of which, where's Ding Yebai?"
Balcony
"It's snowing... This must be the first snow." A gentle voice, as soft as a lullaby, drifted over from behind.
Ding Yebai cast a sidelong glance at Yang Zhi as she came to stand beside him, then kept his gaze fixed ahead. "You're awake?"
Those two words made Yang Zhi feel incredibly embarrassed.
She felt terribly guilty about what she had done.
"Sorry." She tucked her hair behind her ear and nodded awkwardly. "I only meant to sleep for five minutes, but I ended up sleeping until now."
"That's perfectly normal. Who hasn't done that? You think you'll sleep for just a few minutes, and then suddenly you oversleep. So it's fine." Ding Yebai paused before continuing, "Besides, you do look a little worn out lately."
Yang Zhi looked at him. "Hmm?"
Ding Yebai pointed beneath his own eyes. "Your dark circles have been really bad lately."
Yang Zhi frowned as she listened. "Are they...?"
"Mm."
"..."
"Actually, my sister bought some aromatherapy products and wanted me to give them to you, but she never had the time, so she asked me to bring them today."
Ding Yebai walked over to the sofa in the living room and picked up the large, full bag of aromatherapy products. He took them out one by one and explained, "This is lilac aromatherapy. It can improve insomnia. This is tulip aromatherapy. It can relieve eye fatigue, reduce irritability, and also help with sleep. Oh... let me see this one. It's orchid aromatherapy, which helps with neurasthenia. Remember not to make the scent too strong, or it may make you dizzy. And finally, this is chrysanthemum aromatherapy. It can clear heat, dispel wind, soothe the liver, improve eyesight, and enhance sleep quality."
Yang Zhi kept her hands behind her back and listened patiently to his long string of explanations. From their first meeting at the end of July to now, the end of October, three months had passed. This was the first time she had heard Ding Yebai say so much to her in one go.
"In short, take them all. They'll definitely help you sleep well."
Ding Yebai ended his explanation decisively.
Yang Zhi accepted them blankly and smiled. "Your senior sister is really thoughtful."
Ding Yebai said, "Mm. She is quite worried about your sleep."
"Is she the one who's worried?" Yang Zhi glanced at Ding Yebai meaningfully and asked with a smile.
"She is." Ding Yebai said, "My sister does care about her friends."
"Oh." Yang Zhi answered softly, wearing a gentle and polite smile.
"Oh, right, there's this too." Ding Yebai picked up a white, lazy little seal plushie from the sofa and stuffed it directly into Yang Zhi's arms.
He moved so quickly that Yang Zhi didn't react in time.
She hugged the adorable little seal, both confused and delighted.
Of course, confusion made up the greater part of it. Her delight was hidden in the corners of her brows and eyes, and it really wouldn't have been noticed without a careful look.
"What's this? Did your sister give it to me too?"
"Uh..."
Ding Yebai stared into those eyes, like the autumn moon beneath an evening breeze, and told her the truth.
"Yes, I gave you the seal. You gave me that hand-puppet doll before, so this is just exchanging gifts."
Yang Zhi calmly looked at the little seal, then glanced at the bag of aromatherapy products in her hands.
There were many things she wanted to ask, such as, "How did your senior sister know I had insomnia? Why did she give me these?" and "Do you siblings split up the gifts you give me?" and so on.
Hmm...
After thinking it over, she revealed a cheerful smile as refreshing as a breeze passing through a valley.
"You're really thoughtful."
"...Mm. My sister is."
"You are too."
"..."
Ding Yebai's pupils widened slightly. He turned his face aside, his heart pounding nonstop.
That evening, when Yang Zhi returned home, she unexpectedly found Ding Yuerong visiting.
It turned out that Ding Yuerong was worried about Grandma's health, so she had specially brought some things to visit her.
Ding Yuerong and Grandma were sitting in the small courtyard watching the snow, while Qiqi was lying in the thick snow, building a snowman.
After greeting them both, Yang Zhi went into her bedroom.
As soon as she placed the aromatherapy products and the little seal on the bed, Ding Yuerong knocked on the door and walked in.
"You bought so many things," Ding Yuerong exclaimed.
Yang Zhi said nothing. She only looked at her quietly for a while.
Ding Yuerong tensed all over under her stare. "W-what?"
Yang Zhi shook her head and gave an exasperated little laugh. "It's nothing. I haven't been sleeping well lately, so someone gave me some aromatherapy products."
Ding Yuerong walked closer and examined her face, then nodded in agreement. "That's true. I only just noticed that your dark circles have been pretty bad lately."
Yang Zhi said, "Yeah."
Ding Yuerong turned around and pointed at the things on the bed. "If you haven't been sleeping well, I'll buy you some sleep aids another day. They definitely won't be these simple little things."
"Little things?" Yang Zhi asked.
Ding Yuerong picked up one of the bags of aromatherapy products and looked it over. She then tossed it onto the bed and said dismissively, "Aromatherapy. It's outdated, isn't it? I'll bring you something from overseas to help you sleep another day. It's on a completely different level from these."
"I never thought I'd hear you say that, considering how frugal you are, Senior Sister."
Yang Zhi turned around and sat on the bed. She picked up the bag of aromatherapy products Ding Yuerong had tossed aside, along with the white little seal, and gently held them in her arms, her eyes filled with tenderness. "These little things are priceless treasures to me."
Thank you to Zui'ai Liuhua Meng for the 200 Origin Point Coins, Huangcheng Ranxue for the 2,000 Origin Point Coins, Iplove Gushen Yiren for the 100 Origin Point Coins, Hu He for the 475 Origin Point Coins, and YuranOvO for the 100 Origin Point Coins.
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