Lu Yixin stood right in the middle of the empty living room, wearing the men’s slippers he had the company uniformly purchase. Her feet were small; the black men’s slippers made them appear even smaller, even whiter.

She was nervous.

Even though she looked all smiles right now, he knew—she was nervous.

Both her hands were clenched into fists behind her back, her shoulders stiff.

It had been a month since they last met, and those who sensed that something had changed between them weren’t just him.

“I… am hungry.”

He listened as she spoke her familiar line, only this time, the words “Uncle Fang” were no longer in front.

“I don’t have anything to eat here.”

He refused her as usual, yet deep down, he knew—he no longer had any confidence behind the refusal.

That drunken hug had, after all, shattered something.

“I brought some.”

He stood by the entryway, watching as Lu Yixin took off her backpack and began pulling things out of that enormous bag.

All were snacks he knew well: the chocolates she had fed him for almost four years, the brand of pineapple cakes he often bought, and the mints he had never mentioned liking—but did.

With her head lowered, she took them out one by one.

Outside, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled; she flinched and drew her neck back at the flash.

Fang Yongnian took two steps forward, standing silently between her and the window.

Lu Yixin looked up at him, raised the pineapple cake she had just unwrapped, and held it up to his mouth.

“Ah!”

Fang Yongnian bent down instinctively, but before opening his mouth, he caught himself and reached out to take the pineapple cake from her hand, stuffing it into his own mouth instead.

They had fed each other so many times that such intimacy had already become instinctive.

He hadn’t eaten Hecheng’s pineapple cakes in a while. The flavor was fragrant and sweet, the filling soft and delicate.

“Lu Yixin.”

He swallowed that piece of pineapple cake and called her name.

Lightning struck almost at the same moment.

When Lu Yixin looked up, the world outside exploded in light like fireworks.

The living room in Fang Yongnian’s home had floor-to-ceiling windows. He hadn’t drawn the curtains. On the twenty-somethingth floor, the electricity somehow shorted out amid this storm and dazzling display.

A sharp crackle and every appliance in the room stopped running.

Startled by both the thunderclap and the sudden power outage, Lu Yixin’s brain also seemed to short-circuit for a second. When she came to, she was already clinging to Fang Yongnian like a koala.

Different from that time when she was drunk, this time, Fang Yongnian held her back. The embrace was awkward—tight, a little stiff, not comfortable.

Her nose was filled with his scent. The cool sting of muscle-relief spray, the faint trace of tobacco on his clothes, and even the fragrance of his fabric softener.

She didn’t dare to move, nor did she want to.

The thunder and lightning had long been thrown beyond the clouds. She just stayed there, unmoving, holding him tightly.

Outside, the storm cast everything into darkness; after the power went out, the room was dim.

Darkness emboldened Lu Yixin. She stood on tiptoe, wrapping her arms even tighter around Fang Yongnian.

“How did you… end up deciding to major in atmospheric science?”

Fang Yongnian’s voice—

Sounding perfectly normal, even carrying a hint of laughter.

In the darkness, Lu Yixin buried her head and stubbornly refused to let go.

Heaven knows how long she had waited for this hug.

Heaven knows how long a road she had walked, just for the chance to hold him like this.

“Lu Yixin.” Fang Yongnian called her again.

He didn’t push her away, nor did he, like that day when she was drunk, pull her shoulders to make her back off.

“Mm?” Lu Yixin murmured from within his embrace, her voice barely audible.

She was afraid that if she answered, the dream would shatter.

She was thinking—what should she do now.

This wasn’t like that night when alcohol had torn through the thin paper window between them.

This time, Fang Yongnian couldn’t escape, and she could no longer pretend.

That hug had made Fang Yongnian block her completely.

So, after this one—what would he do?

Frightened by her own imagination, she squeezed her eyes shut and hugged him even tighter.

This time, she was pressed fully against him, clinging with no hesitation, no restraint.

Fang Yongnian sighed.

At last, he put his hand over hers, tugging gently. “Let go first.”

“I don’t want to!” Lu Yixin’s voice trembled, on the verge of tears.

“You already let me hug you!” Her tone was aggrieved, pitiful—and guilty at the same time. “I already hugged you!”

So—you have to take responsibility.

“You said it yourself, things that happen can’t be treated like they never happened.”

Sniffling, she wrapped herself around him completely, like an octopus, wishing she could just stay clinging to Fang Yongnian forever.

Never coming down.

Let him take her to work like this, take her to meet her parents like this—let the whole world know she hugged Fang Yongnian.

Fang Yongnian sighed again.

Then he hugged her back, and even patted her head.

He patted her gently—adjusting his stance slightly, just to make her more comfortable.

He wasn’t good at hugging. 

This was probably the only hug in his life.

Their summer clothes were thin, and after a while, he could clearly feel the warmth of both their bodies.

Lu Yixin was soft.

And he was thin.

The taste of the pineapple cake she had fed him still lingered in his mouth.

And just like that, on that dark, stormy afternoon, in a dimly lit room, he held Lu Yixin for a very, very long time.

He was thinking—what should he do.

What had happened could not be treated as if it hadn’t.

He had held Lu Yixin—not as an uncle, but as a man.

She was so soft—so soft that in the instant he held her, he lost himself for a second.

And on that thunder-filled day, he finally, completely lost control.

He admitted defeat.

Under her relentless pursuit, under her repeated reminders, he gave in.

But while he could destroy himself, he could not destroy Lu Yixin.

She had just been admitted to university; her life had only just begun.

“Let go first, alright?” His voice was almost pleading.

No longer using the commanding tone of an elder he once relied on.

Lu Yixin was startled by the unfamiliar gentleness in his tone. She loosened her hold around his neck slightly and looked up at him.

It was the first time Lu Yixin had ever read struggle on Fang Yongnian’s face.

He looked down at her, brows faintly furrowed. For the first time, they were so close they could almost breathe the same air.

Lu Yixin sniffled.

Fang Yongnian looked at her and let out a bitter smile.

He had never imagined that the chubby little snot-nosed girl from years ago would one day end up in his arms—and that he, truly, could bring himself to touch her.

“I’m panicking too,” he said honestly, looking at Lu Yixin.

He had always spoken the truth to her.

Lu Yixin sniffled again. “If I cry now, that’s not good, right?”

Would it make him panic more?

“Yes.” Fang Yongnian’s smile grew more bitter.

“Then I’ll just keep hugging for a bit.”

Lu Yixin unexpectedly grinned, then burrowed right back into his arms.

When she pressed her face against his chest again, she even took a small, satisfied breath.

Fang Yongnian wordlessly patted her head.

Lu Yixin was still Lu Yixin.

She had always been like this—after causing trouble, she’d confirm his reaction first, and once she was sure, she’d stop caring altogether.

Such a self-assured attitude—after all, he was fourteen years older than her.

In truth, with Lu Yixin’s temperament, being content to just hug him instead of pushing him down was already remarkable restraint.

Fang Yongnian sighed again.

He really shouldn’t have opened the door today.

He shouldn’t have seen the snacks she brought, or how she tried to act carefree and unaffected—and gone soft because of it.

He was fourteen years older than her…

As the next flash of lightning split the sky, Fang Yongnian closed his eyes.

He was also missing a leg.

Yet now, he was still greedily holding in his arms this nineteen-year-old girl—beautiful, tender, like a newly blossomed flower.

“Lu Yixin.”

He forced himself to speak.

No matter how humiliating it felt—what had been done, was done.

“I’ll wait for you.”

Those words tangled on the tip of his tongue for a long time before he finally said them, low and hoarse.

Lu Yixin froze, then looked up.

“I’ll wait for you to grow up.”

Fang Yongnian smiled faintly and patted her head.

I’ll wait for you.

Wait for you to grow up, wait for you to reach a wider and better world.

If by then, you can still hold me this way—without reservation—

Then, let’s love each other.

Even if flawed, even if aged, he would still have the strength to protect Lu Yixin.

After all, she was so young, so good.

Lu Yixin blinked.

Fang Yongnian said nothing more.

He gently removed her arms from around his neck. “I’ll go check the circuit box.”

“But… I’ve already grown up.”

Lu Yixin followed behind him with a flashlight, confused by this turn of events.

They had already hugged, after all.

How could he still refuse to take responsibility?

“At least wait until you’ve graduated from university.”

Fang Yongnian was replacing the fuse, his expression calm again.

“But…” Lu Yixin mumbled.

Could things really go like this?

After hugging, could he still go back to saying he would wait for her?

Even though having him wait for her had once been her biggest dream—she had clearly already skipped a step forward!

“Do we really have to follow all the steps?” she muttered in frustration. “Can’t people date during college?”

How had she never noticed how old-fashioned Fang Yongnian was?

“I only know how to follow the steps.”

The fuse was fixed; the room lit up once more.

Fang Yongnian took the flashlight from her hand, regaining control.

“Besides, you can date.”

He looked at Lu Yixin.

“You can look around more, think things through.”

He rubbed her head, smiling gently at her bewildered face.

“With… who would I even date?”

Lu Yixin was completely lost in his logic.

She replayed his words again and again in her mind, breaking them apart and piecing them back together.

“What you mean is—you want me to date a few people in college first, to see if I’ll still want to be with you after that?”

She finally translated it into words she could understand.

Fang Yongnian choked for a moment.

Date a few more times… what the hell was that supposed to mean.

Even though, honestly, that was probably exactly what he meant.

“You… you’re such a pervert.”

After figuring out what Fang Yongnian meant, Lu Yixin finally showed a look of disgust.

What he had thought of as selfless restraint and noble sacrifice, was instantly twisted into something from another planet by that look of hers.

“You just think I’m too young, huh?”

The girl puffed up her cheeks, fuming.

“Anyway, you already hugged me.”

She was still savoring it.

“You said you’d wait for me.”

After finally getting him to loosen up, she made sure to confirm the most important point first.

“Mm.”

Fang Yongnian nodded, though now that he’d sobered up, he actually regretted it a little.

“I’m hungry.”

Lu Yixin tilted her head, dropping the topic altogether.

She had unilaterally declared that she and Fang Yongnian were now in a relationship.

As for Fang Yongnian—well, once he kept hugging her, he’d get used to it.

He smelled so good.

She was still savoring that thought—smiling, her round eyes narrowing into crescents.