"Qian, I want to know—how do you see me?"
"How do I see you?" Su Moqian asked, puzzled. "Why are you suddenly asking me that?"
"It doesn't matter. I just want to know the answer," Kiana said firmly.
Looking at Kiana's resolute expression, the question he'd pushed to the back of his mind resurfaced. Su Moqian couldn't help but falter. How exactly did I see Kiana?
As Su Moqian fell into thought, Kiana grew nervous, too.
She hoped she would hear the answer she wanted from him, but at the same time, she was a little afraid.
Though she'd long since grown used to being alone, after experiencing warmth, she'd begun to fear loneliness again.
After growing close to Su Moqian, she never wanted to return to her old life of wandering alone.
Under her hopeful gaze, Su Moqian spoke helplessly. "To be honest, I don't know much about relationships. You're asking how I see you, but I can hardly put my feelings for you into words..."
Su Moqian had thought about this before, but never found an answer.
Now that the question had suddenly resurfaced, he struggled to find the right words.
Just then, the beautiful waitress from the dessert shop came over and said in a gentle voice, "Hello. Since this young lady's purchase has met the required amount, we'd like to give her a complimentary rose~"
As she spoke, the waitress handed over the rose.
However, even though Kiana had made the purchase, the waitress handed the rose to Su Moqian.
The meaning behind it was clear.
The moment he took the rose, all the jumbled thoughts vanished from his mind.
Only one choice remained.
Su Moqian looked up. Before him was the hope in Kiana's eyes.
Seeing the light shining in her gaze, Su Moqian smiled faintly.
Whatever. I'll leave the thinking to tomorrow's me. Right now, all that matters is not letting down the girl in front of me.
With that thought, Su Moqian gently held the rose out to Kiana.
"Kiana, this is for you... though it was yours to begin with."
At his gesture, Kiana, who'd been gloomy all day, finally smiled.
"Qian, thank you."
At last, they both acknowledged their feelings for each other.
Seeing Kiana smile again, Su Moqian couldn't help feeling that everything he'd done had been worth it.
Giving a gift was like practicing tai chi: what mattered wasn't the form, but the care behind it. The feelings one hoped to convey were the most precious gift of all.
Besides, this was the first time he'd ever taken the initiative to express his feelings to someone.
Looking at the two blushing teenagers, the beautiful waitress standing nearby smiled with satisfaction.
Beautiful Waitress: "????"
Then the waitress suddenly noticed something and hurriedly said, "Oh, I'm sorry, sir. I brought you the wrong order."
As she spoke, she picked up the tiramisu in front of Su Moqian and explained, "Sorry, this young lady ordered chocolate, but I accidentally brought you bitter coffee. I'll replace it right away!"
Then the waitress quickly brought Su Moqian a fresh plate of tiramisu.
Looking at the replacement dessert, Su Moqian scooped up a bite and put it in his mouth.
The taste of chocolate slowly melted across his tongue. It was a little bitter at first, but soon a delightful sweetness followed.
Savoring the taste, Su Moqian smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, this is more like it."
Seeing his expression, Kiana asked curiously, "Is it really that good? Let me try some!"
As she spoke, Kiana reached over with her spoon.
But Su Moqian reacted quickly, snatching up the plate of tiramisu and dodging her spoon.
"Trying to steal it? No chance!" Su Moqian said smugly.
Kiana immediately got worked up and slapped the table.
"Hey, Su Moqian! I'm the one who paid for all this!"
"I know. Since you paid for everything, I should do something for you, too."
Su Moqian smiled, scooped up a spoonful of tiramisu, and brought it to Kiana's mouth.
"Hmph, I didn't know you could be so considerate!"
With delicious food right in front of her, Kiana didn't think much of it and opened her mouth to eat.
Watching them, the beautiful waitress couldn't help exclaiming, "I can't take it anymore! Those two are so lovey-dovey."
After saying that, she went back to the counter, unwilling to keep playing third wheel.
Hearing the waitress tease them, Su Moqian couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed.
But when he looked at Kiana, she didn't seem bothered at all. She was still absorbed in the delicious dessert.
The day's events had used up a year's worth of brainpower for her, so Kiana had given up thinking entirely.
Her wholehearted enjoyment of the moment moved Su Moqian.
That pure innocence was something he longed for but could never attain.
Just then, Kiana noticed that Su Moqian had been staring at her and asked, "Hey, Qian, what are you looking at?"
Su Moqian came back to himself and smiled. "Obviously, I'm looking at the ultimate, unbeatable, ridiculously cute Kiana."
Kiana frowned slightly. "Hmm, why does that sound weird?"
"Well, whatever. It means I'm the cutest, right?"
As she spoke, her frown disappeared.
Looking at her silly expression, Su Moqian smiled with satisfaction.
He silently thought, Kiana, with me around, you can stay silly forever.
After finishing all the desserts, Su Moqian and Kiana left the shop.
Behind them, they heard the waitress call, "You two lovebirds, be sure to come again~"
At the sound, Su Moqian's mouth twitched, but after thinking it over, he decided not to argue.
Just then, Kiana said to him, "Qian, can you walk me home? This time, just me."
Su Moqian glanced at her and nodded without hesitation. "Of course."
They walked side by side, chatting as they made their way back.
Since Kiana was back to her usual self, Su Moqian enjoyed talking with her.
As they chatted, Kiana suddenly asked, "Qian, have you ever run into trouble while helping people?"
On her long trek to the Far East, Kiana had gotten into plenty of trouble trying to help others. More than once, she'd been scared out of her wits.
So she couldn't help asking how things had been for Su Moqian.
"Me? Not really. Gun regulations are strict here in the Far East, so there's not much to worry about," Su Moqian said with a shrug.
"The only real trouble might be running into some foul-mouthed thugs. When they confront you, they never throw the first punch. They just swear at you. They can keep it up for ten minutes without repeating themselves."
"Really?" Kiana frowned and asked, "What do you do? Curse them back?"
"Of course not. I've never liked swearing," Su Moqian said, shaking his head calmly. "I'm just better at throwing punches!"
Kiana burst out laughing, then nodded repeatedly.
"Right, I'm the same way! I guess we really are alike."
"No, there's still a difference," Su Moqian said, gently shaking his head.
"I don't like swearing because I'm well-mannered. You don't like swearing because you can't think of anything to say."
At that, Kiana's smile vanished, and she puffed out her cheeks in anger.
"Su Moqian! What do you mean? Are you saying I'm uneducated?"
Su Moqian nodded. "By ordinary standards of reason, I'm telling the truth."
"Su Moqian, you're asking for a beating!"
Kiana let out a playful yell and threw a punch.
Su Moqian reflexively brushed aside her fist, caught her wrist, and gave it a twist.
But Kiana's punch was different from usual. It was limp, with no force behind it at all.
So when Su Moqian applied even a little pressure, Kiana toppled forward in the direction of her punch.
"Ah!"
Hearing Kiana cry out in surprise, Su Moqian hurried forward and caught her.
The next instant, a soft sensation pressed against him.
Only after he'd caught Kiana did Su Moqian realize just how curvy this little bug was.
The last time they'd held each other tightly, they'd been facing a life-or-death crisis, and he hadn't had time to notice. This time was different.
Held in Su Moqian's arms, Kiana didn't struggle. She just turned her head away and puffed out her cheeks.
"I barely even put any force into it, and you still countered my move."
"Sorry, I didn't expect that either."
Su Moqian awkwardly helped Kiana back onto her feet and let go, then continued, "Actually, you don't need to hold back. Just be as carefree as you used to be."
"Really? Then I'm going to beat you up," Kiana asked tentatively.
Su Moqian feigned surprise. "You're really going to hit me? I might hit back, you know."
"Tch, you'd hit back? Forget it, I'm not fighting you." Kiana turned and walked ahead.
Seeing her stride off, Su Moqian followed with a grin.
Before you continue