novelraw Page 291
Page 291
"By the way, I also have a question for you," Su Qing suddenly said, "Since you knew you might have been scammed, why did you still buy it?"
"Aren't you the same?" Yukino retorted.
"I'm the one asking you," Su Qing said helplessly.
Yukino was probably teasing Su Qing on purpose, as the girl giggled, her laughter particularly clear and captivating in the cool air.
There's really no reason.
Yukino laughed for a while before shaking her head.
Suddenly, the world was swept by a gust of wind.
The girl's hair fluttered slightly in the wind, and moonlight fell into her amber pupils, shattering into stardust that flickered on and off.
"I was just thinking, what if it's true?"
……
?
On this day, the girl suddenly realized something.
A person's mood can fluctuate because they have expectations of another person.
This expectation stems from an unavoidable complex emotion.
But what exactly is she expecting?
Perhaps only the moon in the sky knows.
Yes.
Actually, it did happen for a while.
High-hanging moon
We briefly became each other's shared "heart".
……
……
Chapter 346 Going Home, Surprise, I'm Waiting for You
?
When Su Qing got home, it was almost nine o'clock in the evening.
The moment the door is opened, the motion-sensor light in the entryway turns on, casting diamond-shaped spots of light on the tiles.
Su Qing looked at the warm yellow light from the living room swaying gently on the corridor wall, somewhat surprised.
Has Mahiru not gone back yet?
He wasn't worried that she would do anything strange in her own home, but he always felt that she treated this place as her own.
But this is a good thing...
Otherwise, we could just let Mahiru move into our own place, which would save us a lot on rent!
Hehe... I was just joking.
"I am back."
Su Qing greeted him as usual.
"Welcome back!"
A clear, girlish voice came from somewhere, and Mahiru didn't seem to be in the living room.
Soon, Mahiru, wearing cute bear pajamas, jogged over, the fluffy hem of the pajamas swaying gently as she ran.
Upon seeing Su Qing, the girl's clear, autumn-water-like eyes immediately filled with smiles.
"Well, I'm back."
Su Qing stared at Majutsu, then laughed, repeating the same thing over and over again.
He never had this habit before; you could say it was all because Mahiru spoiled him!
But Su Qing understood.
When people say "I'm back," they don't really mean it to others.
We just want to hear a response.
The response doesn't have to be "Welcome back," just a simple "Mm" would be fine.
As long as the response isn't my own echo, as long as I know there's someone at home waiting for me.
That alone is enough to make one happy.
It's a pity that such happiness is so rare that people often only realize it when they've lost it.
Fortunately, both Su Qing and Zhen Zhou cherished this "ordinary" moment immensely.
……
Why didn't you go back?
After carefully placing the roses wrapped in the brown paper bag, Su Qing asked.
"Because it suddenly started snowing, and your balcony has a good view of the snow, I decided to stay."
After answering, Mahiru stared intently at Su Qing's roses, her curiosity practically written all over her face.
Is this for her?!
Su Qing pinched Mahiru's cheek. "Nonsense, your balcony and mine are practically connected. What's this about good or bad location?"
"Zun Du La~~"
Mahiru's face was slightly deformed from being pinched, and her pronunciation wasn't as standard anymore.
Su Qing chuckled, but didn't ask any further questions.
Noticing Mahiru's curious gaze, he quickly explained:
"On the way back, I met a little girl selling flowers and bought some."
"Oh, is that so? I thought you went out to buy flowers last night."
Mahiru blinked, sat upright on the sofa, and looked very well-behaved.
Well...that's not actually the case.
When a girl brings up this topic, she's actually waiting for you to tell her where you went tonight.
"No, it was just an accident, I was..."
Afterwards, Su Qing gave Mahiru a detailed account of the situation involving Misaki and her daughter, and also mentioned that she was going to Ginza to shop with Yukino that night.
However, he didn't tell her exactly what he bought.
“I see…” Mahiru’s eyes dimmed slightly. “Although it was wrong for that little girl to lie, if it were me… I might not even know what I was supposed to do.”
A sudden wave of sorrow washed over me.
Mahiru inexplicably felt like crying.
She's clearly not such a fragile girl.
However, she didn't cry. She simply tilted her head slightly and whispered:
"Actually, my parents never cared about me before; they treated me like I was invisible..."
Therefore, I was not a very happy child.
But as I've grown up, I sometimes think that I'm lucky enough compared to many other people.
At least I don't have to worry too much about money.
Su Qing didn't speak, but suddenly sat a little closer and gently patted the back of Zhen Zhou's hand a few times, as if to comfort him.
Mahiru tilted her head and looked over, her eyelashes trembling slightly. Her eyes met Su Qing's directly without flinching, and she smiled faintly on her pretty face.
The girl didn't speak either, but it seemed as if she was telling Su Qing in this way:
See? I didn't cry, so don't worry.
“You’re not wrong to think that way,” Su Qing pondered for a moment. “But I think suffering is suffering. It can’t be celebrated or compared with anything else. It’s a meaningless thing to do.”
"Hmm~ I know, that's why I said I only think that way sometimes."
Mahiru looked at Su Qing with trusting eyes, then rested her chin on his shoulder. Strands of her hair brushed against his neck, causing a slight tickle and carrying the fragrance of gardenias.
She looked down at their intertwined shadows on the floor and whispered:
"Even so, I'm still very grateful to you."
"Thank you for what?"
Su Qing glanced at the girl out of the corner of her eye, then relaxed, tilted her head, and snuggled up to Zhen Zhou.
"Hmm... what should I thank? There are too many, in various ways, hehe."
Suddenly, Zhenzhou took Su Qing's hand, raising it and then lowering it under the gentle light of the energy-saving lamp.
"For example, holding your hand like this, feeling your warmth, I'm so grateful to you..."
"That's a lot, you might be grateful for the rest of your life."
Su Qing smiled with an extremely confident tone.
"Hey~ I just hope you don't find me too annoying, I'd love to have you."
Mahiru responded with a grin.
This is clearly a reward!
"By the way, what should we do with the roses? Do you have any flower pots or anything like that at home?" Mahiru asked.
“This kind of thing will wither quickly, so we can just throw it away then…” Su Qing replied.
"No way! That would be such a waste, you spent 3 on this." Mahiru puffed out her cheeks slightly and looked at Su Qing with the eyes of someone looking at a spendthrift. "How about this, I have some unused vases at home, I'll bring them over in a bit."
"Alright."
Su Qing nodded; he wasn't a wasteful person either.
After staring down at Mahiru for a moment, he suddenly asked, "Do you want it?"
"What?" Mahiru asked, confused.
"Flowers." Su Qing's gaze fell on the roses. "You seem to really want them."
"Ah...actually, I was just suddenly curious why you brought flowers back, and I used to grow flowers too."
Although it wasn't a rose, I didn't take good care of it, and the vase ended up being unused.
Mahiru smoothed her hair and said apologetically.
The house used to be cold and quiet, so she had to find something to do to keep herself from overthinking.
Growing flowers is one of the things I've tried.
Actually, raising a kitten or puppy is the best choice, since Mahiru also loves cats.
However, she has not yet achieved economic independence and feels unable to take responsibility for a life.
“I won’t give you these flowers,” Su Qing said directly.
Mahiru showed no anger or displeasure, but simply waited quietly for him to continue.
"I just bought this flower on a whim for some reason, so it's not entirely pure."
I've never given you flowers before, so I want to make it a little more formal the first time.
"I'm not the kind of girl who makes unreasonable demands."
Mahiru hummed twice, then smiled and said.
"But it seems I've managed to trick you out of something amazing? Well then, I'll just have to wait and see what the first bouquet of flowers Qingjun will give me~"
If your boyfriend suddenly brings you flowers, especially roses, but doesn't give them to you, even the most rational person would feel a little disappointed.
Because it is an expectation.