Why Did You Ask That?

Wen Ce already felt a little regretful as he stood at the entrance to the wet market with Luo Lianqing.

There were plenty of people at the entrance too, all hurrying along.

Feeling a little uneasy, Wen Ce reached out and took her wrist. "How about we go to the supermarket instead?"

It didn't smell good here either. Wen Ce glanced at the delicately groomed girl beside him and felt that she didn't belong here.

Luo Lianqing looked down at his hand around her wrist, then up at Wen Ce. "Why? We're already here."

She moved her hand as though casually, and felt Wen Ce loosen his grip on her wrist a little. Before he could pull away, she reached out and took his hand. Both their palms felt a little hot.

Luo Lianqing didn't dare look at him. "Let's go. Hold my hand, or I'm afraid I'll get lost."

Wen Ce lowered his eyes to their clasped hands. This probably went beyond the distance between friends, didn't it?

His hand shifted, gently returning her grip.

They entered the wet market together, the dense crowd pressing their bodies close.

Luo Lianqing kept feeling that she could hear a heartbeat, though she didn't know whether it was hers or Wen Ce's.

But it really was so fast and loud that she could hear it even in this crowded market...

She wondered whether Wen Ce could hear it.

Wen Ce was in a very good mood. He thought of what Zhou Chi had just said, then put it together with Luo Lianqing taking the initiative to hold his hand.

He felt so good now that he could finish that mini-program Uncle Chou had been asking him to make.

But right now, he still had a girl's hand in his.

Wen Ce turned to look at Luo Lianqing. "The same as before? I didn't get to make you lunch last time."

"Ah, uh, anything's fine." The moment Luo Lianqing spoke, she felt a little disgusted with herself. Why was she even stammering?

Sure enough, she heard Wen Ce chuckle beside her.

It was only a brief sound, but she still heard it. Feeling a little embarrassed, she picked at her bag strap, somewhat dejected. "I also want stir-fried tomatoes and eggs."

"Sure. I'll make it for you," Wen Ce said cheerfully.

He liked seeing Luo Lianqing at a loss in front of him, so completely different from how she was around other people.

Wen Ce had already felt that Luo Lianqing treated him differently, only for Zhao Li to throw cold water on the idea.

He had doubted himself for a moment, but soon learned from Zhou Chi's words that he really was different.

It wasn't his imagination.

From earlier until now, every move Luo Lianqing made told him he wasn't reading too much into things.

Perhaps Luo Lianqing liked him too.

At the thought of that possibility, he felt as though he had just drunk a fizzy drink, so pleasantly buoyant that bubbles were rising in his heart.

Crowding and grime were pretty much unavoidable at the market.

Keeping Luo Lianqing sheltered, Wen Ce quickly finished buying the groceries. There was so much stuff here, and it didn't smell good either.

"We've got everything. Let's head back." Holding her hand, Wen Ce was just about to turn when a vendor hauling goods on a tricycle happened to come their way, toward a slight dip in the path behind him.

Wen Ce watched as the wheel was about to roll straight through that puddle.

Almost without thinking, he reached out and pulled Luo Lianqing a big step backward, then turned to shield her.

He felt what was probably water splash onto his back. At any rate, it was wet.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

"Ugh, that's filthy!"

"In a hurry to get reincarnated?!"

Amid the swearing, Wen Ce looked down at Luo Lianqing in his arms.

Luo Lianqing happened to look up at him, and Wen Ce's lips lightly brushed her smooth forehead.

They both froze.

Then they quickly looked away.

"Ahem, are you okay?" Wen Ce asked. He was carrying things in both hands, with Luo Lianqing shielded in front of him and middle-aged women swearing behind him. It was such a jarring contrast.

But had he sort of accidentally kissed her just now?

Even if it was only her forehead.

Luo Lianqing felt that after everything today, the little deer in her heart was about to batter itself to death.

She really wanted to reach up and touch her forehead. That soft sensation just now-Wen Ce's lips had touched her forehead, hadn't they?

Something flickered in her eyes. Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around Wen Ce's waist and leaned into his embrace.

When she felt his body stiffen, she quickly let go and took a step back.

Lowering her head, she said, "I'm fine. Someone behind you needed to get past."

There had actually been no one at all. Just then, she had simply found a sliver of courage and wanted to hug him.

"Oh, ah, it's fine. Let's get going. It's too chaotic here."

That sweet fragrance drew close, then swiftly left again.

Wen Ce felt a little disappointed. Why couldn't the person behind him have moved more slowly?

They didn't hold hands on the way out, but Wen Ce stayed behind Luo Lianqing the whole time, shielding her.

Once they were outside, both let out a breath in unison.

Then they looked at each other and suddenly both began to laugh.

Wen Ce sighed. "My clothes..."

Luo Lianqing said, "I'll wash them for you."

"No need. Your shoes have had it pretty rough too." Wen Ce glanced down at her little white sneakers, now filthy.

"We're not coming to the market next time," he said helplessly. "Saving these few yuan won't cover a new pair of shoes for you."

"But this was my first time here," Luo Lianqing said with a smile. "No one ever brought me before. Thank you."

With bags in both hands, Wen Ce looked at Luo Lianqing's radiant smile and suddenly asked, "Were you happy when you were abroad?"

The smile was still on Luo Lianqing's face. She seemed to pause at the question, her gaze shifting from Wen Ce's face to the little shop a short distance behind him.

This place brimmed with the bustle of everyday life, something she hadn't expected.

Jing City was a very prosperous city, at least as far as Luo Lianqing was concerned.

Everyone here seemed busy, and the area around campus was no exception. The students here all had excellent grades. They had worked hard for three years of high school, or even longer, before getting into this university.

And after they arrived? They grew even busier, to the point that it was often impossible to find a seat in the library's study rooms.

The people in her residential complex seemed busy too. Even when they ran into each other, they only smiled and nodded in greeting.

Luo Lianqing had gone from struggling to adjust at first to slowly growing used to it all.

Then she met Wen Ce.

Wen Ce was different from all of them. He didn't seem busy, and never looked rushed no matter what he did.

He always walked slowly and browsed the supermarket at a leisurely pace.

Then he took his time choosing vegetables with her, went out to eat and watched movies with her, never hurrying.

Wen Ce seemed to have made his way into her heart at just that leisurely pace.

Now, in this place so rich with everyday life that she had never noticed before, he asked her, "Were you happy when you were abroad?"

Luo Lianqing didn't know why he asked, but she still felt something very different sweep all the way into her heart.

It felt like the sudden shattering of the calm before a storm.

A hurricane, accompanied by icy raindrops, descended on her barren heart.

"Why did you ask that?"