A little secret in her palm

Several days have passed since I returned from the seaside resort to this charming little courtyard.

On a sweltering summer afternoon, the outdoor sun beat down on the earth like a blazing fire. The leaves of the persimmon tree in the yard curled slightly in the heat, and only the cicadas continued their tireless chirping.

However, the living room on the first floor is cool and refreshing, where even time seems to slow down.

The air conditioner is steadily delivering cool air in silent mode, maintaining the room temperature at the most comfortable 26 degrees Celsius.

The two-seater sofa that Aemeath had deliberately chosen, nicknamed the Yan Catcher because of its small size, was now perfectly fulfilling its mission of forcing people to stick together.

Aemeath was wearing that familiar pink silk slip dress, curled up in Lu Yan's arms.

Her soft, full legs were draped over the armrests of the sofa, her back pressed tightly against Lu Yan's warm chest, and her long pink hair, like fine silk, cascaded over his large cotton T-shirt.

On the LCD TV screen directly in front of me, a program about plastic memory is playing.

In the scene, Isla and Si are saying their final goodbye on the Ferris wheel.

"A-Yan ~" Aemeath sniffed, her eyes slightly reddening.

She turned her head and nuzzled her cheek against Lu Yan's neck, her voice nasal like a young girl's. "Poor Isla, poor Si too. They clearly love each other so much, but they have to be separated because of the limitations of their lifespans."

Lu Yan lowered his head and gently kissed the top of Aemeath's head, inhaling her faint fragrance.

"That's their story. As for our lifespan issue, it's already been resolved, hasn't it? We'll always be together, watching hydrangeas bloom in the yard in spring, and building snowmen in the yard in winter. Neither of us will abandon the other."

Upon hearing this, Aemeath's initial sadness from watching the animation was quickly replaced by sweetness.

Her eyes curved into crescent shapes as she turned her gaze back to the screen.

However, after watching for a while, Aemeath's attention gradually became unable to concentrate on the plot.

Because she felt Lu Yan's left hand encircling her waist, holding her soft left hand in his palm, his slender fingers slowly and meticulously caressing it repeatedly.

In the past, or according to their daily habits since they started living together, Aemeath wouldn't have found anything strange.

After all, she's a clingy person by nature; whenever Lu Yan sits on the sofa, she'll definitely stick close to him.

As a young man full of vigor and whose physical fitness had been enhanced, Lu Yan would naturally let his hands linger on his smooth, delicate thighs or hug her along the silk fabric whenever his fiancée, who was wearing a thin nightgown and whose curves were fully exposed, pressed against him.

They had long since crossed the last line of defense; these touches were as natural to them as breathing.

However, things have become rather strange in the last few days.

As Aemeath stared at the television screen, she silently reviewed the unusual events of the past few days in her mind.

In the days since returning from the resort, A-Yan has touched her hand much more frequently, almost exponentially.

The day before yesterday, while we were eating at the table, he suddenly put down his chopsticks and held her fingers for a long time.

Last night before going to bed, she had deliberately let half of her nightgown's bra strap slip off, but this guy just helped her pull the strap back up, then took her left hand and gently circled his thumb around the base of her ring finger.

And now, at this very moment, even though her thigh is within his reach, he can't help but fondle her left hand.

Moreover, Aemeath keenly noticed that Lu Yan's caresses always seemed to linger, almost imperceptibly, on the ring finger of her left hand.

His thumb and forefinger would gently encircle that finger, as if measuring some size, or confirming some kind of tactile sensation.

Could it be... that A-Yan has suddenly awakened some strange hand-control attribute?

How about we satisfy A-Yan tonight...?

Aemeath muttered to herself.

However, she didn't dislike this feeling. After all, A-Yan's hands were large, and his palms had thin calluses from years of holding paintbrushes, dry and warm.

As he kneaded her so carefully, a slightly tingling, itchy sensation even came from her fingertips.

But more than touching hands, she actually looked forward to A-Yan looking at her with an aggressive gaze, then pinning her down on the sofa, and then... well, you know...

Just as Aemeath was lost in strange thoughts, even conjuring up images of inappropriate "post-meal exercise" in her mind, Lu Yan suddenly stopped what he was doing.

He cleared his throat somewhat awkwardly and carefully Aemeath's left hand back on her knee.

"Aemeath."

Lu Yan's voice suddenly rang in her ears, interrupting her wonderful reverie.

Aemeath quickly snapped out of her strange reverie and replied, "Hmm? What's wrong?"

I'm going out for a bit to buy something.

As Lu Yan spoke, he gently patted her side, signaling her to get up slightly so that he could extricate himself from the narrow Yan Catcher.

Go out?

Buy something? Now?

At 3 PM on a day when the outdoor temperature reached a scorching 38 degrees Celsius, and even the asphalt was melting...

Besides, I just went to the supermarket to buy groceries yesterday, and the refrigerator is full of snacks and fruit. What is it that I absolutely have to go out in the scorching sun to buy?

Aemeath's mind raced in that instant.

Almost reflexively, the tuft of pink hair that had been drooping limply on his head suddenly stood up straight, like a radar antenna that had received a special signal.

"Wait a moment!"

Aemeath sat up straight on the sofa and threw off the thin blanket covering her legs.

Without any hesitation, she didn't even bother to put on slippers; her long black stockings slid across the solid wood floor as she hurried toward the master bedroom.

"I'm going to change! Wait for me for two minutes, I'll be right there!"

Aemeath's voice carried an obvious excitement and eagerness.

For her, it didn't matter where Lu Yan went or what he bought.

The important thing is that we absolutely cannot miss any opportunity to go out with A-Yan!

Besides, where we go isn't important; what matters is the wonderful feeling of walking with him in the sunshine, arm in arm with him.

However, she had only taken two steps when Lu Yan firmly grabbed her wrist.

"Huh~?"

Aemeath turned around and blinked, somewhat puzzled.

Lu Yan had already stood up from the sofa.

With a slight pull, he gently tugged the girl who had been rushing out, drawing her back into his arms.

He lowered his head, looked at Aemeath's cheeks, which were flushed slightly from anxiety, and smiled helplessly.

He reached out his other hand and tidied her slightly disheveled hair, which had become messy from the earlier commotion, then gently stroked her delicate cheek with his fingertips.

"No need to go."

Lu Yan's voice was very soft, "Be good, the sun is too strong outside, you'll melt if you go out. Stay home and enjoy the air conditioning while you wait for me."

But I want to go with you!

Aemeath pouted slightly, wrapped her arms around his waist, and grumbled somewhat unhappily, "It's just going shopping, I don't mind the heat. I want to go anywhere as long as you're here."

Lu Yan felt a surge of joy upon hearing this.

But a hidden smile flashed in his eyes, though his attitude remained unusually resolute.

"Really, you don't need to."

Upon hearing these four words, Aemeath's hands, which had been softly wrapped around his waist, stiffened.

Her golden eyes widened instantly, and the pink ahoge on her head, which had been in radar detection mode, fell down with a "plop" as if struck by lightning.

Immediately following, a large-scale family sitcom exclusively for Aemeath began.

"Could it be... could it be that A-Yan dislikes me? Waaaaah~~~"

Aemeath twitched her shoulder and abruptly took half a step back.

Her slender hands immediately covered her cheeks, and her voice trembled with a realistic and endearing quality.

Because of the large movements, the neckline of her already loose and thin pink silk nightgown tilted slightly, revealing a patch of fair and delicate collarbone.

Lu Yan stood there, looking at the dramatic Aemeath in front of him, a hint of helplessness and overflowing doting flashed in his deep eyes.

This girl will stop at nothing to stick to him like a koala, 24/7.

Not hearing Lu Yan immediately try to comfort her, Aemeath put on an even more enthusiastic performance.

She bent down slightly, her shoulders trembling, and her sobs sounded particularly pitiful in the empty, quiet living room.

"I knew it... A-Yan must think I'm too clingy! It's 38 degrees Celsius outside, and you'd rather go to a barbecue by yourself than take me with you..."

"Does A-Yan already have another woman outside? Does he find his wife at home tiresome and no longer Little Aemeath? Waaaaah~"

When Lu Yan heard the name of his wife who had shared hardship with him, he almost burst out laughing.

He raised an eyebrow, suppressing a smile, his gaze sweeping over her small face, which was covered up tightly.

Although she was sobbing pitifully, a closer look would reveal that her hands, which were covering her face, were not actually closed!

A tiny gap quietly appeared between her fingers.

Through that crack, a pair of bright, crescent-shaped golden eyes were secretly observing Lu Yan's reaction without blinking.

Where was there even a trace of sadness at being abandoned in those eyes?

It was clearly filled with calculation and expectation: "Come and coax me!" and "Please agree to take me out with you!"

Looking at her charmingly naive and affected little face, Lu Yan's heart melted.

He used to be a reclusive artist who was afraid of even normal social interactions, but now, Aemeath acting coquettishly and acting like a little girl who is anxious and insecure, just to walk with him a little longer under the scorching sun.

Lu Yan sighed softly, not going along with her words to explain those unfounded "other women," but instead taking a step forward, directly closing the distance between the two.

He reached out and gently covered Aemeath's hands, which were covering her face, slowly pulling her mischievous little hands down and enveloping them in his palm.

"The woman outside?"

Lu Yan lowered his head, his gaze fixed directly and intensely on her teasing eyes that hadn't yet been withdrawn.

"This little courtyard is filled with your presence; the bed, the sofa, even my lifespan and my soul are all etched with your name."

"And having tasted the sweetness of my Little Aemeath, you tell me, how could I possibly go looking for other women?"

Aemeath, and her feigned sobbing froze instantly.

She realized she'd been caught peeking through her fingers, and her fair cheeks flushed crimson as if she'd applied rouge.

Those golden eyes blinked frantically, their long eyelashes trembling slightly like butterfly wings. The arrogance of the wife catching her husband's mistress vanished instantly, leaving only the shyness of being seen through.

"I... I just said it offhand~"

She muttered guiltily, trying to pull her hand back, but Lu Yan gripped it even tighter.

Lu Yan gently pinched her nose and said softly in a coaxing tone, "We're not going shopping, we're just going to buy... something very small. We'll be back soon."

"Something very small?"

Aemeath tilted her head in confusion, and the single ahoge (cowlick) on her head swayed slightly.

"Hmm, a little thing that should have been prepared a long time ago." Lu Yan's gaze swept quickly across her left ring finger, so quickly that Aemeath couldn't even catch it.

He didn't give Aemeath a chance to ask any more questions. He lowered his head and planted a firm kiss on her forehead.

"Alright, you haven't finished watching your show yet. Go sit quietly on the sofa. If you're bored, play some console games."

Lu Yan released her, turned around and walked to the entrance to change his shoes.

"Then you have to come back soon!" Aemeath stood in the middle of the living room. Although she still felt a little strange, she always obeyed Lu Yan's decisions completely.

"Knew."

With the click of the security door locking, the footsteps in the courtyard gradually faded away.

The living room returned to its quiet state, with only the background noise of the television.

Aemeath walked back to the sofa and threw herself back into the soft cushions.

Without Lu Yan, even though the sofa was small, it felt rather empty.

"A very small thing..."

Aemeath crossed her legs and muttered softly the words Lu Yan had said before leaving.

She subconsciously raised her left hand and opened it in mid-air.

Under the warm yellow light of the living room, her fair and slender fingers gleamed with a lustrous sheen.

The image of Lu Yan constantly caressing her fingers these past few days flashed through her mind again, especially the focused expression on his face when he circled her ring finger with his thumb and forefinger...

Suddenly, as if a bolt of lightning had struck her mind, Aemeath froze.

Her eyes widened suddenly, her gaze fixed on the ring finger of her left hand.

To measure dimensions.

It's a very small thing.

We should have been prepared long ago.

Then, recalling Lu Yan confident promise made on the resort beach while watching fireworks, that they would "get their marriage certificate on an auspicious day after returning to the city."

"No... no way?"