One afternoon, Li Yun received a call from Xia Weiwei, telling him not to wait for her in the study room but to go home directly for dinner. Li Yun habitually packed up at half past five and left school for home.
Nowadays, he seemed to have forgotten about looking for a job and was fully immersed in the ocean of knowledge.
As soon as he entered the house, he heard the clattering sounds coming from the kitchen next to the dining room. He walked over and peeked in to see Xia Weiwei stir-frying. He walked up behind her and gently patted her shoulder, saying, "Weiwei! I'm home."
"Ah! You..." Xia Weiwei dropped the wok in her hand and instinctively jumped to the side. Seeing it was Li Yun, she placed her left hand on her chest and then glared at him, exclaiming, "Are you trying to scare me to death!"
She raised the small spatula in her right hand, pretending to chase and hit Li Yun. Of course, Li Yun cleverly used the best strategy from the Thirty-Six Stratagems and retreated.
By the time Xia Weiwei chased him to the entrance of the dining room, he had already fled back to his room. He peeked out from the crack in the door, grinning at the furious "lioness."
Xia Weiwei was about to chase after him and give him a good whack when she suddenly sniffed the air.
The smell of something burning reminded her of the wok and the dish she had left on the stove. She exclaimed, "Oh no! My dish..." and rushed back to the kitchen, still wearing her apron.
Li Yun went back to his room, put down his school bag, changed his clothes, washed his hands and face, and then came to the dining room.
Just then, Xia Weiwei walked in from the kitchen with the slightly burnt dish. It was easy to see from her wide eyes that she was still angry.
Li Yun wasn't foolish. He quickly lowered his stance and flattered her, "Weiwei, you've worked hard! Hehe, I... I didn't mean to scare you just now. It was just a joke..."
Xia Weiwei placed the dish on the dining table and playfully hit Li Yun on the head, not letting it go. "Not on purpose? If it wasn't on purpose, why were you walking so quietly? If it wasn't on purpose, then..."
The more she spoke, the angrier she became. She raised her hand again to hit his head, but he quickly covered his head and pleaded, "Weiwei, mercy! You're so magnanimous, let me off the hook this time!"
"I might let you off..." Xia Weiwei snorted coldly and said, "Well, come over here first."
Watching Li Yun slowly approach, Xia Weiwei pointed to the slightly blackened dish on the table and said with a smile, "If you eat up this dish, I'll pretend nothing happened just now."
"No problem, no problem..." Li Yun quickly agreed, making gestures that looked quite comical.
"Yun, you eat first. I'll bring out the soup," Xia Weiwei said as she walked back to the kitchen.
Li Yun sat at the dining table, turned around, and could see Xia Weiwei's busy figure in the kitchen through the half-open door. He felt a wave of warmth.
Ever since Xia Weiwei moved into his home, besides strictly demanding his studies, she had been doing all sorts of things for him, so naturally, without any hesitation, complaint, or reluctance. She had turned the house, which should have been cold and empty, back into a warm home.
Every morning, Xia Weiwei woke Li Yun up, prepared breakfast and tutoring materials for him, and almost every night, she prepared dinner and snacks for him. She had even washed his clothes a few times...
Xia Weiwei's care for Li Yun in daily life was meticulous, far beyond what classmates or even friends should do. She acted more like a mother, an older sister, or even a wife...
Li Yun was so captivated by Xia Weiwei's slender back that he was dazed until she walked out of the kitchen with a big bowl of soup.
Xia Weiwei sensed the strangeness in his gaze but didn't say anything. She quietly called him to eat.
They chatted and ate. Li Yun casually glanced at Xia Weiwei's left hand holding the bowl and noticed some redness and swelling. His heart skipped a beat. He quickly put down his chopsticks and bowl, grabbed Xia Weiwei's left hand with both of his.
"Ah!" Xia Weiwei was startled by Li Yun's action and let out a soft cry.
Li Yun held Xia Weiwei's injured left hand and brought it closer to his eyes. He saw a patch of skin about an inch in diameter on her delicate and fair hand, red and swollen, with a soybean-sized blister in the middle.
He looked up at her questioningly.
"Nothing, it doesn't hurt anymore. Just... just now..." Xia Weiwei knew what he was about to ask and spoke before he could finish his question.
"Just now?" Li Yun, recalling his prank and the thoughts he had while daydreaming, felt his heart flutter and his body shiver.
Xia Weiwei also sensed his heartbeat and, looking at her hand held in his, wanted to pull it back. She gently tugged her left hand from his, but his fingers held it in place.
Li Yun looked into her eyes and murmured, "Weiwei, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
It seemed like Li Yun could only say "I'm sorry." He appeared to have no other words, or perhaps he had too much to say but didn't know how to begin.
Neither of them knew what they were thinking, or maybe they weren't thinking at all. They just stared at each other.
Li Yun seemed to suddenly remember something, quickly stood up, gently placed her hand back on the table, and hurried out of the dining room.
Before Xia Weiwei could react, Li Yun had already rushed back with a first aid kit in hand.
He sat back down, opened the kit, and took out disinfectant, burn ointment, gauze, bandages, and adhesive tape. He carefully held her hand again and meticulously applied the medicine and bandaged it.
After finishing the bandaging, Li Yun held her hand as if it were a national treasure, carefully wrapped in gauze. He gently kissed the bandage on her hand, then looked up into her eyes.
Xia Weiwei's eyes, full of life, became moist as she saw Li Yun kiss her hand. Although her face had turned red the moment he held her hand and kissed it, this time she didn't avoid his gaze or pull her hand away. She just silently looked back at him.
Neither of them spoke a word, but they both understood perfectly what the other was thinking and feeling. It seemed that words were unnecessary at this moment.
In the days that followed, neither of them mentioned that day again. Their daily routine and activities remained the same as before. However, the way they looked at each other and spoke had changed.
Their hearts had changed, or perhaps they hadn't changed at all. It was just that they had both confirmed one thing: their hearts had drawn closer.