Her Dimples

50. Reward

They looked at each other for a while.

Xu You quietly asked Xie Ci what he was looking at. She raised her head slightly, and the line from her chin to her neck was soft and slender.

He just looked at her, his eyes flickering. But it was like a dead tree blooming into spring, and sweet spring water gushing out from dry land.

"...... Can I give you a hug?"

After saying this, Xie Ci tilted his head and coughed unnaturally.

His voice was so low that it was almost as if he didn't say anything.

He didn't know if she had heard it or not, but Xu You didn't say yes or no.

He endured it for two or three seconds, but he couldn't help it after all. Without waiting for Xu You's consent, Xie Ci took two steps forward and stretched out his arms to hug her.

She didn't resist, so he wrapped her around him tighter and tighter, his body tensing up, as if he was afraid Xu You would run away, looking like he wanted to embed her in his body.

Xu You stood there blankly, her chin bumped into his shoulder, not knowing how to react.

This is an uninhabited corner, surrounded by tall trees. The wind blew over, making the leaves rustle.

The two of them were stuck close to each other, and Xie Ci's school uniform must have been freshly laundered. There was the fragrance of soap, which smelled very good.

Blinking, Xu You came back to her senses and lowered her eyelashes calmly. The hands that naturally fell by his side were raised and then put down hesitantly. Finally, she slowly hugged Xie Ci and patted him on the back tentatively.

"Are you okay?"

Silence.

Silence.

Silence.

"Xie Ci?"

"...... Don't."

There was a bit of grievance in his voice, and he said hoarsely, "I want to hold you for a while longer."

Xu You: ......

It had been a long time since he had hugged her. It had been a long time since he had truly felt the feeling of holding her in his arms like this ever since their silent treatment started. He lowered his eyes and secretly looked at the top of Xu You's hair, fearing that he would be discovered. He felt so happy in his heart, but also felt a little unexplainably aggrieved, feeling sore and swollen. Xie Ci swallowed his breath and asked softly, as if he was talking to himself, "You must have lived a happy life without me pestering you."

This sentence came out of nowhere.

Her fingertips dug into the palm of her hand.

"Xu You, it's all my fault." He seemed to realize that he had said the wrong thing and apologized immediately.

"......"

"Xie Ci, what's wrong?" Her voice was very soft, as if it was just a sigh that could dissipate at any time.

Xie Ci buried his head in her neck. "It's nothing...

"I won't be mad at you anymore, please don't ignore me either... Xu You... I'll get better."

Xie Ci deliberately gave her the silent treatment and refused to see her, thinking that this would make him feel better. He had been spoiled by the girls around him since he was a child, so he was emotionally squeamish. So when he fell into trouble with Xu You, Xie Ci's first reaction was to escape. On that deserted winter night, what little pride and self-esteem he had left made him lose his courage and painfully hung up the phone with Xu You.