Mingshu wore a look of concern on her face: "Although Er Zhu's protection did move her heart a bit, if something were to actually happen, he wouldn't know who to protect with the way he is, looking like a pretty boy. It's unclear who would end up protecting whom!"
...
Si Chu was unaware of Mingshu's inner thoughts and noticed that she was following him almost every step of the way, which brought a slight upturn to his lips.
This was their first time alone after being apart for so long.
Previously, he had looked for various opportunities to get close to Mingshu, but had to be wary of Helan Lian detecting anything. Mingshu was very much aware of boundaries and intentionally avoided any action that might lead him to the wrong conclusion—the candy seemed to have scared her.
Time after time, the timing for the two of them to be together simply wasn't there.
