After a long pause, the young man handed Su Qing a cup of warm milk tea at the bar table.
The milk tea shop was small, barely enough for two or three tables. Perhaps because they arrived early, they occupied the backmost section.
Su Qing's eyes froze for a moment as she stared at the milk tea in her hand. She watched the young man lower his head in silence, his profile shimmering with a thick layer of sadness and deep sorrow.
Looking at the cup of warm milk tea, Su Qing felt as if a layer of light snow had fallen over her heart.
She felt deeply depressed.
She reached out and touched Jiang Sui's arm.
"Jiang Sui, don't be sad. I shouldn't have said that."
Su Qing was confused. Although she knew she'd said the wrong thing, she had no idea what it was, or even where it was. She rarely joked, almost never, and she didn't know why she'd felt the urge to tease Jiang Sui.
The girl fluttered her eyelashes, her brows curved in worry at Jiang Sui's sadness, and she looked less cheerful than before.
Jiang Sui tilted his face to the side, shrouded in shadow, taking in Su Qing's emotions. He sighed deeply, as if catching his breath after a struggle.
He looked at Su Qing.
"Nannan, I'm sad."
For the first time, Su Qing heard Jiang Sui say he was sad, his expression so mournful. This emotion seemed innately unsuitable for this young man, eclipsing his radiance like ink.
For some unknown reason, Su Qing reached out her fingertips and gently stroked Jiang Sui's furrowed brow.
"Don't be sad, Brother Sui. Nannan will obey."
Her voice was soft and gentle, like cotton candy, sweet but not cloying, soft and glutinous.
"Nannan, do you know why I'm unhappy, why I'm sad?"
The young man seemed to dislike expressing so much emotion, half leaning on his elbows, looking at Su Qing.
Su Qing shook her head in shame, pursing her lips. "I don't know. I made you unhappy, and I didn't even realize it..."
Jiang Sui knew that his emotions had affected Su Qing, but he didn't want to give up. He wanted to face it head-on. He took a deep breath. The emotional barriers prevented Jiang Sui from speaking out completely, but seeing Su Qing's sadness, Jiang Sui couldn't bear it.
"Qing Qing, I'm unhappy. You're piecing me together with someone else, not just anyone else. I only want to be with you, no matter what form, any way."
The boy spoke so directly, as if exerting great effort.
Su Qing's mind was in a mess. Was he unhappy because she said that it was not worth for him to like her?
"Qing Qing, in my heart, you're the best. No one can compare. What saddens me is that you're pushing me onto others while devaluing yourself."
He couldn't accept it...
Jiang Sui hide his face. He was filled with shame, unable to speak. He had so many obstacles he didn't know how to express, and even some dark things that could never see the light of day.
The moment Su Qing was about to push him onto someone else, Jiang Sui felt sealed off. Something inside him had snapped loose, uncontrollable, as if a demon was about to burst forth.
He sighed softly and bit his lip. His shoulders, straining to contain himself, trembled slightly. He slumped over the table, his expression obscuring any emotion.
Su Qing had never seen Jiang Sui like this before. He felt as if his emotions could unravel at any moment.
"No... No, Jiang Sui, I won't push you onto anyone. I was just joking. I don't know what came over me, I just suddenly felt like making a joke."
May be she'll just end up like every other girl? Seeing Xu Miaoran leave, Su Qing's head was a tangle of comparisons.
Su Qing's eyes fell on the cup of milk tea on the table. It seemed that no matter how angry or sad he was, he'd remembered to take care of herself, letting her sit in the inner seat, then let her walked to the side of the street, ordered her favorite milk tea, and rubbed her fingers to warm them.
For a long while, the boy didn't get up.
She didn't know what was wrong with Jiang Sui, only that she didn't want the boy to be so sad.
The little head on the seat was gone too.
Su Qing half-knelt, then leaned in front of Jiang Sui. She saw that the boy's eyes were bloodshot, his lips were bleeding from biting, his face was filled with anger, and veins bulged on his forehead...
For a moment, Su Qing was stunned...
When Su Qing's palm-sized face caught his eye, he was stunned. Unable to contain his emotions, he felt like a fool, his whole body swirling with anxiety. "Qing Qing, did I scare you, Qing Qing..."
In his anxiety, a tear welled up in his eye...
Plop...
It landed on the tip of Su Qing's nose.
Such a cold teardrop.
Su Qing reached out and, somewhat dazedly, wiped the tear from the tip of his nose. Then, he brought the teardrop to the corner of her mouth and tasted it...
Bitter and astringent.
It was tinged with a touch of sadness and grief.
She didn't blink, her expression pure and innocent as she stared at Jiang Sui. "Brother Sui, be good, don't cry."
Her voice was soft and gentle, her eyes fixed on Jiang Sui. For a moment, Jiang Sui forgot to breathe, his emotions, as if forgetting everything, letting her fingers brush across his eyes, the tip of his nose, the corners of his lips.
"I like you."
Her soft voice, like the collision of souls, rushed madly into Jiang Sui's heart, taking root and sprouting recklessly.
A gorgeous flower bud illuminated every corner of Jiang Sui's heart.
The boy's eyes cleared again. He stared at Su Qing in disbelief, his lips trembling slightly, as if he didn't believe what he'd heard. Bewildered, he asked again, "Qing Qing, what did you just say..."
Su Qing's face flushed slightly, and she suppressed the shyness and doubts in her heart, speaking with unwavering resolve.
"Jiang Sui, I love you. I won't leave you."
It was so beautiful, and in an instant, his heart, which had been throbbing, felt better.
Seeing him looking at her without saying anything, Su Qing curled her lips and pretended to be angry, "Jiang Sui, you don't believe me? Then why don't we make a pinky promise?"
Su Qing hadn't expected the boy's fingertips to actually curl around her pinky, despite such a childish gesture.
"Okay, pinky promise," his voice was a little low, his eyes fixed on Su Qing, unwilling to look away.
The two of them remained hooked for a long moment.
The boy didn't let go, and Su Qing didn't offer to do so either. However, it was noticeable that Jiang Sui's forehead had calmed down considerably.
His eyes weren't as red as before, and his shoulders had stopped shaking.