Afraid of Being Separated from You

Wang Dong's face exploded with a boom, turning as red as a chunk of iron tossed into a furnace. Even the base of her neck flushed with heat. Her hand tightened sharply around her chopsticks, her knuckles cracking as her gaze turned icy—yet beneath it lay the panic of having her thoughts exposed. "Huo Yuhao, you pervert! Who—who was worried about that?!"

Despite her words, she instinctively shrank back against her chair, her knees nearly hitting the table legs. The thought that had been exposed grew wildly inside her like weeds—yes, she really was afraid. Afraid that if she were discovered, the academy would make her change dormitories. Afraid that afterward, Huo Yuhao would keep the proper distance between a man and a woman because she was a girl.

But someone as tsundere as Wang Dong could never admit that!

"Stop spouting nonsense!" Wang Dong grabbed the vinegar bottle on the table, intending to splash it at him, but froze halfway. Awkwardly, she slammed the bottle back onto the table. "I'm not afraid of changing dorms! The boys' dormitory reeks. I've had more than enough of living there!"

Her voice was rushed and loud, but it had all the force of a paper tiger. She secretly glanced up and saw Huo Yuhao holding back a laugh as he watched her. The gentleness in his blue eyes was practically overflowing, and that look made her heart panic. She could not help adding, her voice softening halfway through, "...Besides, who said I couldn't bear to leave you? Who do you think you are..."

Her final words became softer and softer, like a mosquito's hum. Even she felt they lacked conviction. Sunlight filtered through the window lattice, illuminating the redness at the corners of her eyes. Her pink-blue lashes trembled as though they might fall, yet she still held her neck stiffly and put on an expression that said, "I don't care at all."

Seeing how she said one thing and meant another, Huo Yuhao finally could not hold back his laughter. He reached out and rubbed her hair, messing up the few strands that had stuck up. "Don't worry. I'm the only one who knows you're a girl. I haven't told anyone."

"Besides, no one at the academy knows you're a girl either. And I'm not going to expose you. If you changed dorms, I'd either be left all alone or they'd move another boy in with me. How could I bear to lose our sweet, soft Dong'er?"

Wang Dong's face instantly reddened like a ripe cherry, and even the skin behind her ears took on a faint pink tint. She abruptly slapped away Huo Yuhao's hand from her hair, her pink-blue eyes widening round. "Who... who's yours?! Huo Yuhao, stop talking nonsense!"

Though her words were fierce, she had not really used any strength. Her slap against Huo Yuhao's arm was soft, more like a coquettish complaint.

"I wasn't talking nonsense." Huo Yuhao chuckled softly and tucked a strand of hair from her cheek behind her ear. When his fingertips brushed over her burning skin, Wang Dong shrank her neck as if scalded, yet she did not dodge. "I'm the only one in the whole academy who knows you're a girl. I still need to hide you away—why would I drive you out?"

As he spoke, Huo Yuhao leaned closer and looked straight into Wang Dong's eyes. "Besides, do you really want to leave me?"

Wang Dong's heartbeat felt as though a little drum had been stuffed into her chest, pounding against her eardrums until they hurt.

She abruptly turned her face away, but her voice was as thin and trembling as a kitten being squeezed. "Who—who wants to leave you..."

Her last words trailed off softly, and even she felt they had no conviction. The hand clutching her clothes tightened and tightened, her fingertips pinching deep creases into the fabric. Yet the other hand hanging by her side secretly curled—behind the ear Huo Yuhao had just touched was still hot, as though she had tucked away a tiny sun.

"Oh?" Huo Yuhao drew out the word, his gaze falling on her trembling shoulders. The smile in his eyes was as soft as melted sugar. "Then you don't want to leave?"

"I..." Wang Dong opened her mouth, wanting to retort, but his gaze made her flustered. She simply grabbed the empty bowl from the table and planted it in front of him. "Eat your food! Why are you talking so much nonsense?!"

The soft clink of the bowl against the table seemed more like an attempt to cover up the words she had left unsaid. Seeing her hold her neck stiffly while her ears had gone completely red, Huo Yuhao did not press further. He merely picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of boneless fish, and gently placed it in the bowl she had used. "It's cold. I'll have the owner warm it up."

He was about to stand when Wang Dong lightly grabbed his wrist.

Her fingertips were slightly cool, and her grip was so gentle that it seemed she feared breaking something. Huo Yuhao stopped and turned back, only to meet her secretly raised eyes. His reflection lay within her pink-blue pupils, along with a little panic and an unconcealable dependence, like a small beast that had found its home.

"N-no need." Wang Dong quickly let go, her fingertips brushing his wrist before she pulled them back as though burned. "I can eat it cold... no need to make trouble."

She lowered her head, picked up her spoon, and scooped the fish from her bowl in tiny mouthfuls. Her movements were so slow, it was as though she were counting grains of rice. Sunlight streamed through the window lattice, scattering flecks of light across her hair. But the fingers holding her chopsticks trembled slightly, shaking out some broth. A tiny drop of oil splashed into her hair without her noticing, but Huo Yuhao reached out and brushed it away.

When his fingertips grazed the ends of her hair, Wang Dong's shoulders gave a slight shudder, but she did not dodge again.

"Dong'er." Huo Yuhao's voice was very gentle, like wind crossing a lake. "You don't need to force yourself. If you don't want to leave, then say you don't want to leave."

Wang Dong's hand paused sharply as she scooped up the fish, her spoon striking the side of the bowl with a clang. She looked up, her eyes a little red, but she glared at him as if angry. "Do you have to force me to say it?!"

"I'm not forcing you." Huo Yuhao smiled and rubbed her hair, messing up the few strands that had stuck up. "I just want to tell you that I don't want you to leave either."

Those words were like a small stone gently dropped into Wang Dong's heart, sending ripples spreading outward. She looked into the sincerity in his eyes, saw not the slightest trace of teasing there, only complete frankness, and suddenly felt her nose sting.

She lowered her head and buried her face in her bowl, her voice muffled and carrying a hint of tears. "...Got it, you chatterbox."

Huo Yuhao watched as she buried her face against the bottom of the bowl, her pink-blue hair trembling gently. When she raised her head, it suddenly became long hair cascading over her shoulders, and a face etched into Huo Yuhao's soul appeared before him. For a moment, Huo Yuhao froze where he stood. Instinctively, he wanted to call the name that had circled in his heart countless times, but though his lips moved, not a sound came out.

His fingers trembled slightly as he instinctively reached out, wanting to touch the lock of long hair hanging beside her cheek. But when his fingertips were only an inch from its ends, he abruptly stopped, afraid of disturbing Wang Dong.

Seeing his stunned expression, panic flashed through Wang Dong's pink-blue eyes. She instinctively wanted to gather her hair and cover her face, her voice trembling slightly. "What's wrong? You... do you think I'm not pretty? That I'm not what you expected?"

Having been suddenly exposed by Huo Yuhao, she had finally gathered the courage to remove her disguise. But his lost, dazed appearance made the unease in her heart surge up like a tide.