The middle-aged man in Zhao Yang's memory raised his whip and roared,
"You useless child!"
PA!
The sound of the whip felt so real that Zhao Yang flinched. He shook his head and gritted his teeth, trying to suppress the memory. The guy closed his eyes and inhaled.
'Forget it. I have someone who loves me now. My family.'
Zhao Yang inhaled and exhaled again while still closing his eyes.
Once he opened his eyes, he just stared at Lai Jiayi's crying face. The girl was quietly sobbing, as if not wanting anyone to see her crying.
'...she looks exactly like my past self.'
Zhao Yang's right hand lingered in front of Lai Jiayi's face. The guy didn't know what to do with his hand.
'Should I wake her up? Wait, no. She's tired. She should sleep.'
Zhao Yang shook his head.
'But...I can't see her cry. She just reminds me of my childhood.'
The man gritted his teeth. He thought of getting lavender essential oil again when he saw Lai Jiayi's cheek was wet from the tears.
It looked unsightly. Not beautiful at all like manga and novels used to describe.
Zhao Yang knitted his eyebrows. The guy paused for a second before he moved his right hand toward Lai Jiayi's cheek, about to wipe the girl's tears.
Lai Jiayi's heart pounded fast. The girl could sense Zhao Yang's fingers were getting closer to her cheek.
'This is it, c'mon, wipe my tears! Yes!!'
Zhao Yang's finger was just an inch away from the girl's cheek when the man abruptly paused. He patted his forehead with his left hand and mumbled,
"I forgot the tissue."
Zhao Yang stood up. The wooden chair creaked just as he left the chair. The sound of his footsteps filled the room as the man went to get a tissue box on Lai Jiayi's study desk.
Lai Jiayi: (」゜ロ゜)」
Why do you leave?! Oy, don't give me false hope!!
Lai Jiayi chewed on her blanket and had the urge to drag Zhao Yang to wipe her tears.
'You really get my hopes high and then drop me to hell. How could you, boss?!'
While Lai Jiayi was cursing Zhao Yang, the man went back to the chair with a box of tissue. The guy then stared at the tissue before pulling one strand.
He sat down on the chair again, creating another creaking sound. Once he sat down, Zhao Yang stretched his hand toward Lai Jiayi's face.
He was holding the tissue in his hand, and his fingers slowly got close to the girl's cheek.
Lai Jiayi held her breath. The girl clenched her fists under the blanket.
'Okay, now it's for real. I don't know why the heck this guy left before, but now he is back...I will finish the mission!'
Zhao Yang's fingers, along with his tissue, slowly touched Lai Jiayi's cheek. The girl could feel the slightly rough texture of the tissue.
'Good!! Now you only need to move your hand and wipe!'
The girl was all smile in her heart as Zhao Yang moved his fingers–
"Master, I'm back." Tianjin's voice suddenly sounded in the room.
!
Zhao Yang instantly retracted his hand and threw away the tissue to the floor. The man even pushed back the chair and immediately turned on his bangle, projecting the hologram panel.
"Welcome back." Zhao Yang kept a stoic face as he typed on the hologram board. The man crossed his legs, looking 'leisure', but...
His heart was beating fast, like mad. His body temperature just rose, and his neck slowly turned red.
'What the hell did I almost do? Wiping this girl's tears? What audacity!'
Tianjin stared at Zhao Yang's figure calmly sitting next to Lai Jiayi's bed. It looked completely normal, nothing out of order.
'Okay, so nothing weird happened when I wasn't here.'
Tianjin sighed in relief and floated toward Zhao Yang. The swan handed the portable ice pack she brought to the man.
"Master, I only get one pack. It's enough, right?" Tianjin glanced at Lai Jiayi's sleeping face, and somehow, the girl was gritting her teeth in her sleep. She looked like she hated someone to the bone to the point of wanting to buy black magic.
'...is it only my imagination?'
Tianjin frowned for a second and brushed it off. The swan repeated her words. "Master, I only have one pack– "
"It's fine. Leave it here." Zhao Yang took the pack without looking at Tianjin and placed it on his lap. The ice pack wasn't cold yet since no one turned it on for now.
After Zhao Yang took the pack, the man paused a bit before looking at Tianjin. "Can you go check Yun Yun? He hasn't come back for a while."
"Ah? Young master?" Tianjin was taken aback. The swan tilted her head, wondering what Zhao Yun was doing, but she didn't ask.
"Okay, I'll go find him." Tianjin floated away from Zhao Yang's place and left the room. She went downstairs to find Zhao Yun.
Silence filled the room again, and Zhao Yang silently sighed while lowering his head. He propped his knees on his lap as his forehead touched the back of his palms.
'...that was close.'
The man thought in his heart, celebrating the fact that Tianjin didn't catch him doing anything wrong. At the same time, a certain girl also felt the same.
'Yes. That was close.'
Lai Jiayi inhaled deeply. The girl then shouted in her mind.
'I WAS CLOSE TO FINISH THE MISSION YOU B**** YOU MOT*RF*CK– skanjdkenxixje!#-#+#+*!!!'
Lai Jiayi wanted to throw all the things in her room to Tianjin.
FCK!! Because of you– I failed the mission!! GAAAH!!
ヽ(#ﾟДﾟ)ﾉ┌┛Σ(ノ´Д`)ノ
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