Qiao Anchen patiently waited for her to finish crying and calm down, constantly comforting her. Later, Chu Yi's tears and snot covered him.
Qiao Anchen didn't mind, he just took out a tissue from his pocket and gently wiped her tear-stained face clean.
"Are you feeling any better?" Qiao Anchen asked, staring at her eyes, which were no longer tearing. Chu Yi nodded, and just as she was about to speak, she tilted her head back and let out a loud hiccup.
Qiao Anchen couldn't help but laugh. Chu Yi's face flushed, and she unconsciously lowered her head.
Today was probably the most embarrassing day of her life.
That night, the two went out for hot pot.
Perhaps to cheer Chu Yi up, it was Qiao Anchen who brought it up first. Chu Yi thought about it and nodded.
She ate with great satisfaction, feeling as if the heat and delicious food had evaporated all her frustration. She rolled up her sleeves and started adding more food to the pot, her lips burning red from the spiciness, but her appetite remained undiminished.
In contrast, Qiao Anchen's cheeks were flushed, and he was taking small breaths from time to time. There was a bowl of water next to him. After taking things out of the pot, he would put them in the water to rinse them again until all the chili oil was washed away.
He took a bite, picked up the food with his chopsticks, rinsed it in the bowl next to him, and looked rather disheveled, which was completely different from his usual calm and composed image.
My mood inexplicably improved in the first year of junior high school.
After stopping her classes, Chu Yi spent several days diligently drawing at home. In April, Lancheng experienced increased rainfall, with several weeks of continuous rain. She didn't want to go to her yoga class anymore and practiced at home instead.
Although it was a bit depressing, thankfully that man no longer appeared in Chu Yi's life, and the shadow that incident cast on her gradually disappeared.
What troubled Chu Yi was that Qiao Anchen seemed to have endless overtime work, and he would come back at 11 or 12 o'clock every night. The little bit of warmth she had finally felt that day had completely disappeared.
The sound of running water filled the bathroom as Qiao Anchen took a shower. Chu Yi was playing on her phone when suddenly a ringtone sounded from the cabinet.
She picked it up and saw that Qiao Anchen's phone was ringing; the number displayed was unknown.
"Qiao Anchen, your phone is ringing." Chu Yi immediately threw off the covers, got out of bed, and knocked on the bathroom door.
"An unknown number—"
"Don't worry about it." Qiao Anchen said after the sound of water stopped for a moment.
"Oh." Chu Yi returned with her phone in her arms, accidentally pressing a button midway through, which unlocked the phone screen.
The screen displays a browser interface, and the search result is "Which cake shop in Lancheng is the best?"
Many answers appeared below.
Chu Yi's gaze froze, her heart skipped a beat, and a surge of indescribable anticipation welled up within her.
Qiao Anchen's phone fingerprint was registered to hers because her phone broke down and she had to take it to be repaired during the Lunar New Year holiday, so she had to use Qiao Anchen's fingerprint instead.
Anyway, he rarely uses it.
Chu Yi pretended that she hadn't seen anything, quickly locked her phone, and put it back where it was.
She went to bed, wrapped herself in the blanket, and started thinking wildly.
Chu Yi had never told Qiao Anchen when her birthday was, even though it was next week. She hadn't thought about any surprises. She originally planned to tell him on that day, and then they could go out for a meal and buy a small cake together.
So how did he know?
Tian Wan didn't seem to know about this either, so it was even less likely that her mother would bring it up with Qiao Anchen. After thinking it over, she figured it was probably because Qiao Anchen had seen their marriage certificate.
It has the first day of junior high school's birth date on it.
Author's Note: The man mentioned above is a real person; he's not a fictional character created by the author.
23. Chapter 23
After wandering in his mind for a while, Chu Yi finally dismissed the thought.
Based on past experience, one should not have high expectations of Qiao Anchen; the higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment.
After her initial excitement subsided, she tried her best to regain her composure and continued reading the comic. However, after only a few seconds, she found herself lost in thought again.
The sound of water in the bathroom stopped. Qiao Anchen dried his hair, walked over, glanced at his phone, and quickly closed it again.
Chu Yi watched his movements, her gaze lingering on his expressionless face for a few seconds, but ultimately she couldn't bring herself to ask the question.
The next few days were the same as usual, with Qiao Anchen leaving early and returning late. As Chu Yi's birthday drew closer, she couldn't help but feel nervous.
I can't explain why, but perhaps there's still a tiny glimmer of hope deep down.
It's drizzling again today. It's gloomy outside. The room lights are off, and even though I woke up close to noon, it was still dimly lit.
Recently, Chu Yi's schedule has returned to what it used to be. She doesn't have to go out to school anymore, and she's become lazy. She can't even muster the energy to draw, and she hasn't updated her dessert recommendations on Weibo for a long time.
Ever since she posted a mango crepe recipe that was inexplicably reposted by a big influencer, her follower count has skyrocketed. Previously, most of her fans were her comic book fans, but now a portion of them are eagerly waiting for her to post new dessert tutorials.
Unlike other food bloggers, Chu Yi's photos are fresh and beautiful, her text is concise, and the entire cooking process is clear at a glance, so even kitchen novices can successfully replicate it.
And the final product turned out quite well; it was not only visually appealing but also delicious. Who wouldn't like a food blogger like that?
Even if their main job is drawing comics.
Speaking of which, I always get a few comments like this under Chu Yi's recent updates.
"I followed you on Weibo. I was originally planning to start making desserts, but now, I'll read some comics first! Hahaha!"
"Wow!!! The manga is drawn so beautifully! It made me cry, even though it's my first time reading a manga!"
"As expected of a food blogger with skillful hands, her drawing skills are in no way inferior to those of professionals."
There were many comments from fans below this post.
"The big boss is a professional, haha."
"Being a food blogger is just her side job..."
"Okay, congratulations on successfully gaining fans by making desserts! You've won the title of 'Most Unprofessional Comic Artist of the Year' :)"
Chu Yi lay in bed, lazily scrolling through the latest comments and private messages, wasting a long time before listlessly getting out of bed.
After washing her face, she looked at the person in the mirror and felt that she seemed to have aged a lot recently. Chu Yi leaned closer in disbelief and suddenly noticed two wrinkles at the corners of her eyes.
She was terrified and immediately picked up her phone to tell Qiao Anchen, but then she remembered that it was his work hours.
Chu Yi stopped moving, lowered her eyes sadly, and her disappointment was evident on her face.
It's always like this. Unless it's something very important, Chu Yi usually won't bother him. Otherwise, when she receives a brief reply from Qiao Anchen in a hurry, Chu Yi always feels guilty for causing him trouble.
At first, I didn't know, but after a while, I would see messages every few days. I gradually stopped sending him messages and kept them to myself until they passed by.
On the first day of the lunar month, when Qiao Anchen returned that evening, she couldn't wait to rush over and anxiously asked him.
"Qiao Anchen, look, don't I have two new wrinkles around my eyes? Here, here, I'm getting old!"
Qiao Anchen had just walked in, still feeling exhausted, when he patiently examined the spot Chu Yi was pointing to.
Under the light, her skin was as white and tender as ever, without a trace of anything else.
“No, there’s nothing there,” Qiao Anchen said. “You’re still fair and clean-cut, and haven’t aged at all.”
"Really?" Chu Yi still couldn't believe it. She held up the mirror and carefully examined the person inside, then casually asked.
"But I'm almost twenty-seven years old, and soon I'll be an older woman approaching thirty."
“You look only eighteen years old,” Qiao Anchen said sincerely. Chu Yi immediately stopped what she was doing, looked up at him, and asked very seriously.
"Qiao Anchen, are you possessed by a ghost today?"
"..."
"...I'm going to take a shower."
Distracted by Qiao Anchen, Chu Yi forgot to observe his reaction when he heard that she was almost twenty-seven years old. It seemed that... he didn't react at all?
Chu Yi rolled around in bed, feeling like she was about to be driven crazy by this whole thing.
Otherwise, she could just go and ask directly.
But what if... he really does remember and wants to give me a surprise?
Chu Yi was caught in a dilemma and ultimately decided to ignore it.
There are still two days left, and it's not a big deal anyway.
That's what Chu Yi thought, but she split time into two parts. Every day at home with nothing to do, she would flip through the calendar and count down the days until her birthday.
During this period, Qiao Anchen seemed perfectly normal. He has always been like a still pond, and nothing can cause him much emotional fluctuation.
Chu Yi was always suspicious. Even if the sky really did collapse one day, he would only show a hint of surprise, and then quietly find a corner to hide in, so as not to be the first one hit.
The night before his birthday, Qiao Anchen was in the bathroom, his phone still on the bedside table, completely unguarded around her.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Chu Yi was restless and tossing and turning in bed, unable to concentrate on anything.
Her heart began to stir with a wicked thought, which she suppressed but then surged forth again, slowly shattering her reason.
Chu Yi cursed herself in her heart, then closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and quickly reached out from under the covers to grab Qiao Anchen's phone.
Aaaaaaahh ...
Chu Yi felt utterly disgusted with himself at that moment, but his body betrayed him by immediately unlocking the fingerprint lock and clicking through all of Qiao Anchen's web page information.
His gaze suddenly stopped.
The topmost text message was a notification that a cake shop had successfully placed an order.
Chu Yi couldn't believe her eyes for a moment. She bit her lip, her smile widening uncontrollably. After carefully reading the text message word by word, she was so excited that she almost jumped out of bed.
She quickly locked her phone, carefully put it back in its place, and even picked up the corner of the blanket to wipe the places she had touched, afraid of leaving fingerprints.
Chu Yi lay flat on the bed, staring at the ceiling and trying to calm her breathing. She felt like a thief who had just stolen something from someone's house. Guilt and self-blame were about to overwhelm her, but she was also overwhelmed by an overwhelming and uncontrollable excitement.
I'm so happy!
Why are you so happy?
I can't control it at all.
When Qiao Anchen came out, he saw Chu Yi wrapped herself up in the blanket like a caterpillar, rolling from the head of the bed to the foot of the bed and back again, her face full of undisguised excitement, thoroughly enjoying herself.
he:"……"
"What are you doing?" Qiao Anchen asked speechlessly, took off his shoes, got into bed, and dragged the person back by the corner of the blanket.
Chu Yi rolled and rolled, wrapped in a blanket, slowly rolling from the foot of the bed into Qiao Anchen's arms, following the direction of Qiao Anchen's force.
The two looked at each other. Chu Yi only showed his head, his dark eyes were wide open, his hair was messy and covered his cheeks, and he had a bit of baby fat, like a white glutinous rice ball.