Chapter 38.2

Noticing her pale lips, Gu Jing Yuan immediately knew what was going on. He fished out his phone and opened a pink mobile app to make a note.  

Tao Yi Xi slumped lethargically on the desk. Her body was not warm despite the numerous layers of clothes she wore. It felt like all the layers were completely useless.

Her fingers were frozen and numb making her writing movements somewhat sluggish. 

When morning classes ended, she remained in her position without moving. Gu Jing Yuan, on the other hand, left soon after without saying anything. 

Zhou Zhi invited her to lunch. After taking a glance at the gloomy skies outside, Tao Yi Xi shook her head, “You and Li Ling can go ahead without me. I feel like taking a nap.”  

She did not feel like moving and she did not have any appetite.

“Then I’ll pack something back for you later.”  

“Thank you, Zhi Zhi.” She lay on her stomach, only showing a pair of dewy eyes.

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Zhou Zhi naturally saw it as well. She was relieved that Yi Xi did not have to wait on an empty stomach for her to come back.

“Let’s go and eat.”

Cai Li Ling could not help but turn her head. She saw Gu Jing Yuan bending down and the two were talking to each other in very close proximity. There was an air of indescribable intimacy.

“Their sibling relationship is truly good. I’ve never seen the school delinquent treating another girl with so much care.” 

“Indeed,” Zhou Zhi was not surprised.

“But I thought they didn’t get along previously?” 

“Oh, just look at Yi Xi, she’s so beautiful and cute. After such a long time, who wouldn’t warm up to her?” 

Cai Li Ling gave a dry laugh. The feeling of strangeness did not subside. 

During winter, students would try to incorporate additional layers of clothes on top of their boring school uniform like wearing a nicer-looking coat.

With her sharp eyes, she noticed that the one Tao Yi Xi wore previously was not of any notable brand and they were quite worn out. However, in the past few days, there seemed to be new additions of branded clothes to her wardrobe.

“Let’s go, let’s go! With her brother around, we don’t have to worry about her.” Zhou Zhi dragged Cai Li Ling away, preventing her from gossiping further.

After Zhou Zhi left, Tao Yi Xi buried her head in her arms. Someone placed something on her desk, but the person’s actions were very light.  

She lifted her head doubtfully only to meet his dark eyes. 

“Didn’t manage to sleep?”

“En,” she responded weakly.

She rested on her arms and gave a small yawn. Her eyes were covered in a thin layer of mist and her delicate face was a little pale. She looked so pitiful that he wanted to drag her into his arms and bury her within his heart as he call her his precious darling.

Gu Jing Yuan’s Adam’s apple bobbled as he clenched and release his fists a few times. 

“Then come and eat something.” 

He turned his attention to unpacking the bag. Inside, there was an insulated lunch box. When he opened it, it was still emitting wisps of smoke.  

His hand, with distinctive joints, was holding onto the spoon as he patiently waited for the heat to dissipate.

In a daze, she stared at his exquisite and slender hands as she asked, “Why are you back so early?”

“I don’t feel like going out to eat today.”

“Then what are you having?” 

“Porridge.”

Tao Yi Xi pointed to the insulation container, “But there’s only one serving.” 

Gu Jing Yuan’s movement froze. Just now, he only thought about ordering her food and it slipped his mind to order his own share.

“Don’t be nosy and eat your porridge.”

He boorishly pushed the thermos box in front of her.

Tao Yi Xi looked at him, seeing through his intentions. She reached into her desk drawer and retrieved another set of cutlery she kept from a previous takeaway. It was a black plastic spoon with a long handle and the scope was slightly smaller.

“Let’s eat together?” She offered him a sincere invitation.

“No need, I’m not hungry.”

She pushed away the thermos box, “Then I won’t eat it either.”

A fire was ignited in his eyes, “Hey, Tao Yi Xi, don’t you know what constitution you have?!”

“The guilt is too heavy, I can’t eat like that.” She buried her head, muffling her soft voice. Her words caused his heart to feel squashed as well.

Geez… how bothersome.

“I’ll eat.”

Tao Yi Xi stuck out her head, her eyes twinkling slyly.

“…” He felt powerless.

Picking up the plastic spoon, he jerked his chin in her direction and said, “Eat.”

“Okay,” using the ceramic spoon, she brought the spoonful of porridge to her mouth and took a small sip. Without having to blow on it, it had the perfect amount of heat, as it entered her stomach with ease, bringing warmth to her system. 

Then she waited for him to move, “your turn.”

Resting his chin on his hand, he stared at her, “You eat first.”

“Hmm? We’re not eating together?”

“Eating together would be weird.” 

“…” It seems very make sense, but why did it sound a little odd?

“Eat, do you want to wait until it’s cold before eating?”

Under his indifferent urging, Tao Yi Xi started eating in a daze. She became full before finishing half of it.

“I don’t want to eat anymore.”

Gu Jing Yuan furrowed his brow, “You really have the stomach of a bird.”

“Thanks for the compliment.” Feeling warmer, Tao Yi Xi finally had the energy to respond.

Gu Jing Yuan’s lips raised ever so slightly. He brought the insulated box in front of him and started eating with grace using the small plastic spoon. 

Tao Yi Xi suddenly realized that something was not quite right.

It was weird to eat together, but it wasn’t when he eats her leftovers?    

However, she dare not comment. She only silently turned her gaze away.    

In this world, only her grandmother, who was the closest to her, would treat her in this manner.

Even her own mother would not have eaten her leftovers. In addition, was he not slightly mysophobic?

After finishing the rest of the food, Gu Jing Yuan packed up the container and put it aside. Seeing her weakly lying on the desk, he thought she was unwell.

“Are you feeling uncomfortable again?”

“No.”

She was just this type of person. Looking weak and delicate, there were times when she liked to feign pity. Yet, in situations when she became truly pitiful, she would act strong.  

Gu Jing Yuan grabbed onto her hand, it did feel somewhat cold. 

He frowned and said, “Are you made of ice?”

He had never interacted with other girls before so he did not know what it was like for them. He did a quick search online and several forum posts stated that girls experience cold hands and feet during their menstrual cycle. It was ‘normal’ and they just needed to take note to keep warm.

This was considered as fucking normal?

What the hell?

On a normal winter day, she was already cold enough. To add on this ‘normal’ during her menstrual cycle, she was about to turn into a snowman.     

Tao Yi Xi pushed his hand away, “I’m already feeling much better.”

“Where’s your hot water bottle?”

“The school forbid the use of electrical heating pads.”

Previously, someone left their hot water bottle to charge in the classroom and it exploded. Fortunately, the students and staff were fine. But this incident caused a scare among the teachers and since then, the school had explicitly banned the use of rechargeable heating pads. Especially during winter, this ban was more strictly enforced. 

“What about the one that is filled with water?”

“It’s getting cold quickly and I’m too lazy to refill it every time.”

The hot water room was quite a distance away from their classroom. Whenever she opened the door to head out, the chilly wind would freeze her bones. 

“Tch, so high-maintenance.”

Although he mouthed his displeasure, his movements were extremely gentle. 

With his big and scorching hand encompassing her delicate little ones, the source of heat warmed them up. Tao Yi Xi’s eyes squinted comfortably. This cause the small mole under her left eye to stretch slightly under her curved eyes, hooking onto people’s soul.

In this situation, Gu Jing Yuan wanted to complain, ‘This little vixen must’ve treated him as a human-size heater.’

Although he felt somewhat irritated, he was reluctant to let go as he did not want her to become cold again. 

This gave rise to an unknowingly dangerous thought. 

So be it, even if she treated him as a human-size heater, only he could be her heater in this life. 

As lunch break came to an end, one by one, the students started returning to the classroom.

She subconsciously wanted to withdraw her hand, but Gu Jing Yuan gripped her hand more tightly as he moved their interlinked hands under the table.

With their desks located at the corner of the classroom, coupled with the blessing of being known as the domineering school delinquent, few dared to cast glances in that direction. 

Tao Yi Xi further concealed their hands by pulling her coat over, making their hands more hidden. 

She finally stopped struggling to break free. As she relaxed, her muscle soften making her hand more malleable to his kneading.

His mood was bittersweet. There was only one sentence to describe their situation. 

A. Clandestine. Love. Affair.