Proud senior schoolgirl was tender and sweet, we fell in love

Xie Xiao knew his face must be somewhat red right now.

But he really couldn't control it. Thankfully, the lady, seeing that he was not speaking and continuously apologizing, successfully diverted his attention.

Finally, Xie Xiao quickly glanced at Luo Yanran again and noticed her face was red as she looked down. He felt as if a kitten had scratched his heart.

Really, he very much regretted reacting so quickly just now.

He smiled and interrupted the still-talking lady, "Auntie, I'm fine."

The lady finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Just then, the subway arrived at the station.

Xie Xiao coughed lightly and looked toward Luo Yanran, "We're here."

Luo Yanran hummed softly, following behind him to walk out.

The station was crowded as many people disembarked, so it was cramped, and some were even pushing onto the train while others hadn't finished getting off.

Noises filled his ears, and people were still cursing.

Luo Yanran was pushed so close to Xie Xiao that her whole body almost pressed against his back, her nostrils filled with his scent...

This uncontrollably brought back the image from just now, it seemed they were just a little bit away from kissing.

Xie Xiao, squeezed by the crowd, had already lost his temper.

But out of concern for Luo Yanran, he simply turned around, firmly pulled her into his arms, and pushed through the crowd to get off the train.

Actually, this process probably only took a few seconds.

But that was enough, they embraced for those few seconds.

Once off the subway, Xie Xiao felt reluctant but still let go of her, creating some distance and explained, "It was too crowded just now. I was worried you might get pushed up and not able to get down. Lin Yu had been unable to get off the train before..."

Then he saw the girl in front of him with a flushed face uh-huhed, quickly glanced up at him then shifted her gaze away, "Let's go."

A brief embrace pushed the already ambiguous and awkward atmosphere to its peak.

The two walked side by side in silence.

After exiting the subway station, they could see the bookstore they were heading to just a few steps away.

Nowadays, bookstores are mostly in the form of book bars.

You can order drinks, read, and they even have study rooms. Anyway, the features are quite complete.

But the only requirement is to keep quiet.

Before entering the bookstore, Xie Xiao still stopped, sighing softly, "Yanran..."

Luo Yanran, originally distracted and preoccupied with her racing heart, stopped when she heard his voice and looked at him somewhat dazedly.

Xie Xiao's face showed a hint of helplessness as he tugged at his slightly red ears, "I feel like if we don't break this atmosphere, you probably won't talk to me inside."

Without thinking, Luo Yanran said, "I won't."

Xie Xiao immediately laughed, feeling a bit silly standing at the doorway. He reached out and pulled Luo Yanran by the wrist to the side.

This time, his grip on her wrist was firm, not like the previous times when he would let go upon contact.

"Just now, I was embarrassed, I couldn't even make eye contact with you," Xie Xiao said earnestly, "If you were to feel my heartbeat now, it would still be fast."

Luo Yanran looked at the hand holding her wrist, unsure whether to speak up for him to let go. Her hand seemed to be burning.

But hearing his words, she still didn't quite grasp it at first, her gaze lifting from dazed to startled, and slowly to disbelief.

Xie Xiao, being close, clearly saw the changes in her emotions, "I just don't want to spend our rare outing together in such an awkward way, especially since I was really looking forward to our date today."

A date?

Luo Yanran, hearing the word "date," felt somewhat at a loss. Did he think they were on a date?

Luo Yanran felt she should say something, but what?

Every word Xie Xiao said today was beyond her expectations, catching her off guard.

"I..." Luo Yanran's mind was in chaos. Xie Xiao was being so straightforward now, and she really couldn't handle it.

Xie Xiao seemed to notice her disarray and asked softly, "Did my actions just now disgust you? Like now, when I'm holding your wrist..."

"No," Luo Yanran looked at her wrist that was being held. "Not just now on the subway either. I know it was because it was crowded, and you didn't mean to offend."

Xie Xiao couldn't help but smile. "That's good, I thought you were silent because you disliked what I was doing."

Of course, he knew she wasn't disgusted, he wasn't a fool; her face had flushed like this...

But he also saw her current bewilderment.

So Xie Xiao took a step back.

The Luo Yanran standing before him was different from the Luo Yanran who had spent three years with him in his previous life.

For her now, his sudden change of attitude and approach might only confuse her, right?

Xie Xiao was patient, surely a bit less than her patience when she had stayed by his sickbed for three years, right?

So Xie Xiao let go of her wrist. "Shall we consider this matter settled then? Otherwise, we're just going to be awkward like this all day without talking."

Luo Yanran looked at her freed wrist, feeling a sense of loss yet also relief.

She looked at Xie Xiao and nodded, "Okay."

Compared to the earlier atmosphere that made her want to flee, this was obviously more bearable for her now.

As Xie Xiao said, it would be really sad if their precious time alone were spent in such awkwardness.

These days, Xie Xiao was somewhat elusive to her, bringing her joy, yet also fear.

Now things were better. Speaking directly seemed to have eased the awkward atmosphere between them.

At that moment, a voice came from behind, "Xie Xiao?"

Xie Xiao internally cursed, could this be happening?

Had he run into Mr. Lin?

He turned back and saw sure enough, his homeroom teacher Mr. Lin was standing there with an eight or nine-year-old girl, likely his daughter.

Xie Xiao squeezed out a smile, "Mr. Lin."

Because Xie Xiao was quite tall, Mr. Lin, for the moment, couldn't see clearly who was blocked behind him, but it must be a young girl.

He internally cursed the damn kid, claiming he wasn't dating Zhou Mianmian, yet here they were together at the bookstore.

"What are you doing here?" Mr. Lin glared at him.

Xie Xiao felt somewhat innocent, "Isn't it because my grades have slid? I came to buy some practice books, didn't I promise you I'd improve on the next test?"

At this time, Luo Yanran walked out from behind him, calling out, "Hello, Mr. Lin."

"Wow, this sister is so pretty!" Mr. Lin's daughter smiled and exclaimed, then tilted her head looking at them both, "So is this beautiful sister and this handsome brother secretly dating?"

Kids say the darndest things!

The other three people present were momentarily stunned.

Luo Yanran's face, which had just cooled down, instantly felt like it was heating up again.