Thinking of that scene again, Fang Bai felt a sudden pain in his heart. He tried to grab at it, but grasped nothing.
There was nothing there.
Fang Bai turned his gaze to Ji Yuning.
Ji Yuning sat upright as usual, not looking at her phone, her eyes gazing out the window.
The scenery rushing by was blurry, but the curve of Ji Yuning's profile was clearly visible.
"Little Lemon".
Fang Bai's voice suddenly rang out, and Ji Yuning frowned at being disturbed, but her eyes remained calm.
Ji Yuning lowered her eyelids and was about to turn her head to look at Fang Bai when she felt her hand, which was supporting her at her side, being held.
Ji Yuning's breath hitched.
The person's palm was very hot; the area where her palm touched felt even hotter than the midday sun.
Like a hot potato, Ji Yuning wanted to shake it off, but at the same time she looked at the person holding her hand.
Before Ji Yuning could pull her hand away, Fang Bai grabbed her hand again, changing it from palm to back of hand to palm to palm.
Ji Yuning paused in her swinging motion, and in that pause, they felt the warmth of each other's palms.
Fang Bai held Ji Yuning's hand in silence for a few seconds. Once she felt safe, Ji Yuning pulled her hand away from hers.
Fang Bai's tongue swept across his lips: "When we get there, stay by my side and don't go anywhere."
Ji Yuning's gaze was fixed on the hand that Fang Bai was holding, her eyes filled with an inscrutable emotion. She half-clenched her fist and finally let out a soft "hmm" through her nose.
Fang Bai looked at Ji Yuning's clenched hand. Her thin hand had no extra flesh, but it felt like it contained infinite power.
Fang Bai was afraid that Ji Yuning would punch her.
She didn't shake Ji Yuning's hand on purpose; she was just caught up in Ji Yuning's experiences in the book and felt a little lost.
Grabbing Ji Yuning's hand was purely instinctive, like grasping at a lifeline.
Fang Bai coughed lightly, trying to change the subject: "Uncle Li, where's the thing I asked you to get?"
Uncle Li replied, "I put it in Miss's bag."
Fang Bai hummed in agreement, picked up the backpack beside him, opened it, and pulled out a velvet box.
Fang Bai handed the box to Ji Yuning, "Here you go."
Ji Yuning did not answer.
“Didn’t I say I’d give you a reward last time? You never asked me for one, so I just bought it for you without asking,” Fang Bai said, waving the bottle. “Open it and take a look.”
Seeing that Ji Yuning didn't intend to reach out, Fang Bai directly showed the front of the box to Ji Yuning, "Then close your eyes, and open them when I tell you to."
Ji Yuning didn't want to cooperate with Fang Bai. She glanced at Fang Bai and asked directly, "What does Aunt Fang mean by shaking my hand?"
"..." Fang Bai thought the topic had been skipped.
As the car drove over the speed bump, Fang Bai's raised arm trembled. She wasn't oblivious to Ji Yuning's unmoved expression and her deliberate questioning in an attempt to evade cooperation.
Fang Bai smiled gently, trying to save face, "Forget it, don't close your eyes, it's not anything valuable."
After saying that, Fang Bai opened the box, which contained a necklace with a pendant that was studded with diamonds and the letter N.
The first letters of Ji Yu Ning's last character.
Ji Yuning glanced at it: "I don't need it."
"Yes, you don't need to. I'm just worried that you'll feel inferior."
Ji Yuning was stunned for a moment: "...?"
What is she insecure about?
Fang Bai looked down and took out the necklace from the box. As he fastened it, he said, "The old man invited a lot of people, including many students from your school. They will definitely be dressed up nicely, and they will be wearing beautiful jewelry on their necks and hands, while you won't. At your age, it's a time when people are very competitive, and I was afraid they would tease you, so I prepared one for you too."
Ji Yuning has no desire to compare herself to others; she only cares about her peers.
In the original text, those people not only laughed at Ji Yuning's baggy clothes, but also mocked her for not having any accessories.
Fang Bai didn't want Ji Yuning to be gossiped about by those problem children. Even if Ji Yuning had a strong mental fortitude, these words would still hurt her to some extent.
Also, if other kids have something, her kids have to have it too!
Fang Bai held the two ends of the necklace between his thumbs and forefingers and pulled them apart in front of Ji Yuning, saying softly, "Come closer, I'll put it on for you."
Ji Yuning was still thinking about Fang Bai's long passage.
Fang Bai put it tactfully, saying he was afraid they would tease him, but Ji Yuning could already guess what those people would say without even thinking about it, since those people had said those things to her face many times at school.
How did Fang Bai find out?
Ji Yuning lowered her head in thought and didn't hear Fang Bai's words for a moment.
Seeing this, Fang Bai leaned over towards Ji Yuning and wrapped his arms around her neck.
Upon close contact, Ji Yuning subconsciously raised her hand to defend herself and leaned back.
Fang Bai whispered, "Don't move."
Ji Yuning quickly realized what was happening and slowly placed her hand on her leg.
The next second, my neck felt icy cold.
Fang Bai was wearing perfume tonight; it was a very elegant floral scent, and Ji Yuning could smell it all over her nose.
Ji Yuning held her breath and remained focused until Fang Bai's arm moved away from her, at which point she finally relaxed.
Fang Bai returned to her original position, examined Ji Yuning for a few seconds after she put on the necklace, and then said, "Give me your phone, Auntie will take a picture of you."
Ji Yuning: "...I won't film."
"Oh." Fang Bai was used to Ji Yuning's rejections and knew how to handle this. "Then I'll just take the picture with my phone. Maybe I'll even post it on WeChat Moments—"
Before Fang Bai could finish speaking, a cell phone appeared in front of him.
Fang Maozhou's home is on a mountain. Driving up the mountain, the lush green vegetation and the scattered buildings below are the most eye-catching features.
As Fang Fangbai turned on the camera, she happened to capture this scene. As she quickly pressed the shutter button, she saw Ji Yuning half-covering her face with her hand, blending into the scenery outside the window, with a kind of shy and alluring charm.
"Xiao Ning is so pretty."
Fang Bai placed the photos he had taken in front of Ji Yuning.
In the video, Ji Yuning covers her face, and none of her features can be seen.
nice?
“Uh,” Fang Bai straightened up, “Auntie was referring to the overall atmosphere.”
Ji Yuning: "".
The car slowly came to a stop in front of a courtyard, surrounded by luxury cars.
Uncle Li opened the car door, turned to Fang Bai and said, "Miss, I'll wait for you outside."
Fang Bai nodded: "Okay, thank you for your hard work."
When Fang Bai and Ji Yuning got out of the car, the first person they encountered was Zhu Ping.
Zhu Ping spotted Fang Bai immediately and rushed forward, calling out, "Fang Bai!"
Fang Bai paused, then said, "Madam He."
He Ziyan, who was following behind Zhu Ping, saw Fang Bai and said sincerely, "Aunt Fang, you look so beautiful tonight."
Fang Bai smiled and said, "Thank you."
Zhu Ping glanced at her daughter in surprise; she had never heard her daughter praise anyone before. Remembering that He Ziyan had gone to Fang Bai's house to do her homework last week, Zhu Ping's gaze lingered on Fang Bai and Ji Yuning, wondering when her daughter had become so close to them.
Zhu Ping, carrying her bag, said, "Xiao Yan came to your house to do her homework last week. Did she cause you any trouble?"
Fang Bai subtly moved to the side, distancing himself from Zhu Ping, and smiled, "No."
When adults speak, it has nothing to do with their followers.
He Ziyan walked up to Ji Yuning, paced around her for a moment, and said, "Clothes really do make the man. You look much better in this than in your tattered school uniform."
He Ziyan looked at the necklace in the middle of Ji Yuning's collarbone and said, "This necklace is also beautiful."
Ji Yuning glanced at He Ziyan and said indifferently, "Yours is beautiful too."
Upon hearing this, Fang Bai couldn't help but glance at Ji Yuning. When Ji Yuning spoke to He Ziyan, she seemed even less attentive than when she praised her in the clothing store.
Zhu Ping followed Fang Bai's gaze to Ji Yuning, opened her mouth and then said to He Ziyan, "Xiao Yan, you take Xiao Ji around and look around. I need to talk to your Aunt Fang about something."
Before He Ziyan could speak, Fang Bai interrupted, "Let's talk about it later. I need to take Xiao Ning to say hello."
Zhu Ping paused, thinking it made sense. After all, Fang Bai was going back to her own home. How could she be stopped by a guest as soon as she arrived at the courtyard and hadn't even entered the house? Zhu Ping awkwardly turned to the side, "Okay, then you take the child to see President Fang first, and I'll come find you later."
"Okay." Fang Bai nodded slightly and looked at Ji Yuning. "Xiao Ning, let's go."
Ji Yuning walked silently toward Fang Bai.
After the two left, He Ziyan paused for two seconds, wanting to follow, but Zhu Ping grabbed her arm.
Zhu Ping: "Where are you going?"
He Ziyan made an excuse: "Go and say hello to Uncle Fang."
Zhu Ping didn't believe He Ziyan's words. She asked, "Why did you ask me for Fang Bai's phone number yesterday?"
He Ziyan: "...It's nothing."
"Are you still thinking of harming Ji Yuning? Let me tell you, put away your little schemes. Can't you see that Fang Bai's attitude towards that girl is different now?"
Zhu Ping thought that He Ziyan wanted Fang Bai's contact information so that she could speak ill of Ji Yuning to Fang Bai.
He Ziyan looked at Zhu Ping: "How is it different?"
Zhu Ping scoffed, pointed at Ji Yuning's back, then at the gold chain around her neck, and said, "See that necklace she's wearing? It's more expensive than the one your mother wears."
Zhu Ping asked He Ziyan, "What does this mean?"
“It’s because…” He Ziyan bit her lip, “Fang Bai is afraid that Ji Yuning will embarrass her.”
Zhu Ping sighed and said helplessly, "You're very good at studying, but how come you don't understand anything about interpersonal relationships?"
He Ziyan looked at the two figures walking away. A dark black figure and a light gold figure each shone under the flashing colored lights, attracting the attention of many people in the courtyard.