43: Chapter 43 Cold Steamed Buns

After the rain, the starry sky twinkled.

The air was still mixed with the scent of dust and earth.

Art University.

Outside a room on the first floor of the teachers' dormitory.

Liang Shiqing, dressed in a pink dress, sat blankly on a small stool, like a 'waiting stone' wife, anticipating someone's return.

This dress...

It was already her newest and prettiest outfit!

Ever since she finished eating her steamed bun and took a bath, she had been sitting here blankly.

From time to time, she would stand up to stretch her waist, relieving the fatigue of sitting for a long time.

Counting the time,

It seemed all the teachers who had evening classes were back in their dorms, so it must be... past nine in the evening?

"Xiao Ran... why isn't Brother Xiao Ran here yet?"

"He said he would come to help... help me apply the medicine. He'll definitely come. He wouldn't lie to Shiqing!"

Liang Shiqing whispered softly.

There was no light in her eyes.

No bright vision, only darkness.

She couldn't see anything in the world, but her other senses were very sharp.

Suddenly,

She abruptly stood up and perked up her ears.

Familiar footsteps were gradually approaching, the sound becoming clearer and clearer.

Xiao Ran stood not far away, looking at her with a slight smile.

"Finally, I'm not late! It's already past eleven!"

"Xiao..."

Liang Shiqing wanted to call out, but she was afraid of disturbing others.

"Shiqing!"

Xiao Ran slowly walked over, his footsteps splashing water as he stepped on a puddle.

"Brother Xiao... Xiao Ran."

Liang Shiqing stood on her tiptoes; no matter how anxious she was, she couldn't even see the darkness.

The girl in front of Xiao Ran glanced at the small stool again.

His heart suddenly tightened.

She couldn't have been sitting on that small stool, waiting for him all night, could she?

Just to wait for him, someone she had only known for a few hours?

Just for his one sentence, 'I'll come over tonight to make sure you apply the medicine'?

Xiao Ran sighed in his heart.

She wasn't foolish,

but her perception was obscured by darkness.

Now it seemed she could only see him!

Just a few hours of acquaintance and already... The summer night after the rain was a bit cool.

The dripping water from the eaves had already dampened her skirt.

"Oh? What a beautiful dress!"

Liang Shiqing blushed slightly at the compliment.

"Come inside, kid, your dress is all wet."

"Mhm..."

...Inside the room.

The person she was waiting for had arrived, but Liang Shiqing didn't know what to do next.

Suddenly.

Ding!

A lightbulb lit up beside the blind girl's head.

'I've got it!'

"Brother Xiao Ran, have you had dinner yet?" She seemed to have no concept of time, asking such a question.

Xiao Ran: "???"

Good heavens,

about being asked if he had dinner at 11:30 PM.

If it were a normal person,

they'd need at least ten years of brain thrombosis to ask such a question!

He didn't know whether to feel sorry for her or to laugh!

He could only lament the unpredictability of fate.

"If you haven't eaten, Shiqing still has steamed buns here! If Brother Xiao Ran doesn't mind, Shiqing will warm them up for you!"

Her voice came again.

She cautiously walked into the kitchen, bringing a scent of soap into the air.

In the sink, there was a small basin filled with cold water, and inside the basin was a small bowl, with two cold steamed buns in it.

Is this how she preserved her steamed buns?

Xiao Ran followed behind her, watching the scene.

He clenched his teeth.

His heart felt as if it had been pricked by a needle, a sharp pain.

Cold steamed buns were the only thing she had to offer guests!

Xiao Ran endured the inner pain and took the steamed buns she handed him.

He instinctively squeezed them.

They were cold and somewhat hard; they must have been leftovers from the morning.

It was only because the temperature on the first floor was a bit low, otherwise, they probably would have gone bad.

A day in Liang Shiqing's life instantly appeared in his mind.

In the morning,

leaning on her cane, she would carefully go to the cafeteria to buy a few steamed buns.

Given her personality, she would surely refuse help from kind-hearted people along the way.

Buy steamed buns once, eat for a day.

Whenever others ate steaming hot meals in the cafeteria,

she would hide in the dim dormitory, gnawing on the delicious leftover steamed buns from the morning.

Xiao Ran suddenly felt his eyes sting,

as if something was about to well up.

"Thank you, Shiqing. I haven't eaten yet. I'll warm them up. You go sit on the bed."

He chose to accept Liang Shiqing's kindness.

If he refused,

it would only cause her more disappointment.

She would think he disliked her or didn't care for her.

Her heart was truly too fragile.

Blind, her inner sensitivity was far beyond that of ordinary people.

A small courtesy or refusal from a normal person would be infinitely magnified by her.

She was truly 'glass-hearted,' shattering at a touch.

Especially from him,

the most special person to her at the moment!

"Brother Xiao Ran, let me do it!"

Liang Shiqing suddenly snatched the cold, somewhat hard steamed buns, a flicker of stubbornness in her eyes, as if afraid he would take them away.

However, on her face,

a smile had already bloomed, as if being able to do something for him made her very happy.

Because,

at this moment,

she had already clipped back her bangs in front of him, revealing her delicate and slender face just for him.

"Mhm!"

Xiao Ran didn't refuse; this was her domain.

The guest follows the host's lead,

giving trust and respect.

Xiao Ran ruffled her soft hair and sat on her bed.

Liang Shiqing smiled sweetly; everything seemed so natural.

It seemed that

in the few hours Xiao Ran was away, she had already imagined many things.

She was truly easy to trick!

His gaze fell on the table in the room, a pile of untouched medicines and tonics.

He shook his head slightly and sighed.

"It seems I'm still not careful enough."

"Liang Shiqing is completely different from other girls. This kid probably just ate cold steamed buns for dinner. I should have known to bring a nutritious late-night snack."

"And from now on, I'll have to bring delicious food every day, coaxing her to eat it. It'll take at least a dozen days to make her plump and healthy!"

Xiao Ran got up and quietly went to the kitchen doorway.

Liang Shiqing skillfully pressed the raised switch, opened the old rice cooker, tentatively added water to the inner pot,

then placed a bowl inside, finally put the steamed buns into the bowl, closed the lid, and pressed 'heat'.

The more practiced her movements, the more heartache Xiao Ran felt.

How many times had she repeated this action,

to ensure that not a single drop of water would spill onto the power strip?

To ensure that not a single drop of water would overflow into the bowl?

After doing all this,

she stood quietly by the rice cooker, occasionally reaching out to test the temperature at the vent.

Ten minutes later,

Liang Shiqing took out a suspiciously clean handkerchief, opened the rice cooker lid, and a puff of steam rose.

She wrapped her palm with the handkerchief to avoid scalding, and at the same time, lifted the bowl from the inner pot.

"Hiss~"

Alright,

perhaps it was because Xiao Ran was there that she lost her composure; the handkerchief still accidentally touched the hot water, and the hot water was immediately absorbed, reaching her fingers.

But even though she was scalded,

the hand holding the bowl only trembled slightly, as if afraid of dropping the steamed bun inside.

After taking the bowl out, she immediately pinched her earlobe with her fingers to relieve the burning pain from the scalding.

"Shiqing, are you alright?"

Xiao Ran walked up to her, carefully took her hand, and gently blew on her fingers, easing her pain.

Liang Shiqing seemed startled by him, slightly retracting her neck, but she didn't refuse his actions.

She was, however, a little shy: "I'm... I'm fine."

"Mhm, it's a bit red from the heat. I'll take care of it."

As his voice fell,

the girl felt herself being pushed out of the kitchen by a pair of warm large hands, and then seated back on the bed.

"You sit here obediently!"

Xiao Ran said in an unquestionable tone.

"Ah... I... but..."

Liang Shiqing's expression was a little reluctant.

'This is my home, he's clearly the guest!'

"Listen to your brother... otherwise, your brother will leave."

Liang Shiqing stopped talking, just drooping her head like a kitten who had made a mistake.

She didn't dare to disobey; she was afraid that the 'brother' she had so painstakingly recognized would leave her.

Seeing her being well-behaved, Xiao Ran then went to the narrow kitchen, picked up a somewhat hot steamed bun, and gently sniffed it at his nose.

"Thankfully it hasn't gone bad, otherwise, if it were thrown away, she'd be heartbroken again."

...