Chapter Eight 2
"I like you, Ruya, I like you, I like you!"
I can’t turn back, I can’t turn back! I kept shouting in my heart.
Tsurugahara's voice kept echoing in my ears, but I was afraid that I would regret it, so I ran back home quickly, tears already flowing.
Why didn't you explain to me? Why did you only say you liked me? Why did I see Xin Xin kissing him? Why couldn't you find me at the subway station? Why did all this happen? All these things can't be explained by just saying "I like you".
I lay on the bed and cried, thinking of the day at the bus stop when the boy patted my head and said gently, "It's okay, take your time." Thinking of his previous gentleness, my tears flowed even harder. I obviously liked him so much, I could forgive him for hurting me once or twice, but this time, I really didn't know how to forgive him.
Downstairs, Tsurugahara was still shouting. His voice was like a spell in the air, lingering in my ears, without stopping, repeating over and over again. I sat on the bed in a daze, as if I had lost my soul. Too many things happened today, so many that my brain could no longer bear it all. It seemed that since the day I met him, my brain had begun to be insufficient. There were too many things I couldn't figure out, so many that I felt very tired, exhausted both physically and mentally.
I looked out the window in despair. It was already dark and the branches were swaying in the strong wind like ghosts. The whistling sound of the wind was extremely sharp and piercing to my ears.
“Boom—”
A flash of lightning streaked across the night sky, as if it was splitting the sky and earth apart, stinging my eyes. It was raining so hard, was he still there?
I became a little worried and moved towards the window involuntarily. The heavy rain washed the glass, making the outside world blurry, but I could still see the figure standing under the tree at a glance. He was still standing there, the heavy rain hit him mercilessly, he was soaked, the rain flowed down his slightly long black hair and slid across his angular face. His body was slightly leaning forward, his arms raised stiffly, protecting the puppy in his arms.
It’s raining so hard, why doesn’t he hide?
As has been proven countless times, I am a person who acts faster than I think. Because by the time I realized what I was doing, I was already standing in front of him with an umbrella.
"Why don't you hide from such heavy rain? Are you crazy?" After saying that, I felt heartbroken. I didn't know whether I was feeling sorry for him or for the poor puppy in his arms.
How could I be so useless that I would give in to such a soft heart? I think if I had time to make a judgment and a choice, I would definitely not come out, definitely not!
"I'm crazy. I've been crazy since the moment I began to understand my feelings." His voice was still so gentle. He gently raised his hand and handed the puppy shivering in the rain to me. "Please accept it. It's my apology gift and also my confession gift. Ruya, I like you. Will you forgive me?"
"Woof woof..." The puppy shivered and looked at me with wide eyes sadly, as if blaming me, its new owner, for making it not only hungry but also wet in the rain.
When I came to my senses, I had it in my arms.
"Woof woof woof!" The little guy immediately barked happily a few times in my arms.
"Have you forgiven me?" Tsurugahara finally smiled, then sneezed, his nose red, just like the Pinocchio puppet in the story. Seeing me staring at him, he shyly reached out and rubbed the tip of his nose, which was still covered with raindrops.
I didn't expect that the perfect prince could be so childish.
I stuffed the umbrella into his hands expressionlessly. When he was confused, I reached out and pinched the soft ears of the little thing in my arms and said, "Forgive you? Talk about it later. I want you to answer a few questions for me now."
"There's this?" He smiled, his eyes full of doting, "Tell me, as long as you forgive me, I can ask any question."
My heart was pounding at his doting look, so I had to lower my head and speak loudly to hide my nervousness at the moment: "Why didn't I wait for you at the subway station just now?" I got angry when I thought about it. I waited for so long at the subway station, but in the end, it was all in vain.
"Haha!" Tsurugahara laughed for some reason. He stretched out his hand and ruffled my hair. "I was talking about the next stop. You must be waiting for me at the stop you just left, right? I knew it, so I came to your house when I couldn't find you."
After he reminded me, I finally understood that we were waiting at different places. I was at this station, and Tsurugahara was talking about the next station. These were two completely different places. How could I possibly wait there? I was such a fool.
I raised my head in annoyance, and saw Tsurugahara's gentle eyes. My heart moved, and I lowered my head and asked, "Then, how do you know my family? Are you following me?"
"I asked Xiaoyi." What? Xiaoyi? I looked up in surprise, but he blinked and looked at me mischievously, "If you want to pursue a girl you like, you must first know who her best friends are." He scratched his head a little embarrassedly, "I treated her to ice cream once, and she told me your home address."
Xiao Yi, this traitor! I cursed in my heart, raised my head and looked at him angrily, and asked: "What about Xin Xin? She was just in the subway..."
"I didn't know about that." Tsurugahara suddenly grabbed my hand and said anxiously, "Ruya, believe me, I really didn't know. I was wholeheartedly waiting for you on the subway at that time and didn't know she would come. When you saw us, I hadn't reacted yet. Please believe me, I didn't lie to you and I don't want to lie to you." He looked at me sincerely and I secretly laughed in my heart.
The rain was getting heavier. During the time I was silent, Tsurugahara kept holding my hand and sneezed several times, but he didn't speak to me, as if he was afraid that I would leave if he spoke.
I suddenly felt a little distressed. Tsuruga was someone I had always liked, and I didn't want him to become so cautious because of me. I looked up at him, touched the puppy in my hand, and said, "I don't like it being called Yaya. I have to change its name. What should I call it?" I deliberately dragged out the last word, pulled the puppy's ear and said seriously, "I have it. Let's call it Xiaohe. What do you think?"
"Ruya..." The corner of Tsurugahara's mouth twitched slightly.
I gained a lot today. I saw a different Tsurugahara. He was so real. Whenever I saw him before, he was so elegant and calm, like a prince who was too perfect to be real. But now he can smile, frown, feel disappointed, and feel embarrassed.
"What's the matter? Is the name I chose not nice? How about this, let's be more democratic." I said with great energy, casually patted the little guy's head in my arms, and then poked its nose with my index finger and said to it, "You choose it yourself. Calling it once means you agree to call it Xiao He, and calling it twice means you don't object to calling it Xiao He. How about it, isn't it fair?"
"Fair?" Tsurugahara looked at me with a face that didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Perhaps what I saw at this moment was the real him. There was no distance, no sense of superiority. He was him, and I was me. All this was so beautiful that it seemed like a dream, and I was unconsciously lost in this fairy-tale dream.
“Woof woof woof!”
The sudden cry of the little guy in my arms brought me back to my senses. The corners of my mouth twitched and I glared at it angrily.
"Hey, what do you mean by barking three times?" I yelled at it, then I changed my mind and laughed. I looked up at Tsurugahara who was standing beside me with an umbrella. "Its barking three times should mean that it agrees and does not object to calling me Xiaoga. That's settled!"
I held Xiao He in my arms and walked quickly towards the stairs, fearing that Atsugahara would change his mind the next second. I felt like I was flying even as I walked.
"Ruya, it..." Tsurugahara started talking a second before I walked into the stairs.
I turned around, rubbed Xiao He's ears with my fingers, and looked helplessly at Tsurugahara who was still standing under the tree. Alas, I knew he wouldn't let me succeed so easily.
"What's the matter?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It..." He looked at the puppy in my arms awkwardly, then looked at me, "It's actually a female."
"Uh..." Cold sweat suddenly broke out on my forehead.
“Woof woof!”
Little guy, please stop causing trouble!
The moment I closed the door, the world suddenly became so quiet that only the sound of my heartbeat and the occasional whimper of the little one in my arms was left. All the sounds were blocked behind the thick wooden door, and along with the sounds of wind and rain, the last words of Tsurugahara were also blocked outside.
He said, Ruya, no matter what, I will use my actions to tell you that I have fallen in love with you.
I lay quietly on the bed, all I could see was his appearance just now, the way he apologized seriously, the way he explained nervously, the way he stood motionless in the rain, and the way he blushed in embarrassment.
"I already like you."
Is all this true? Why would he like me? I am so ordinary and so stupid, why would he like me?
I rubbed the puppy's furry head and asked myself this question over and over again.
I don’t know how I fell asleep that night. I only knew that I was dreaming the whole night. What kept appearing in my dream was Tsurugahara and his words “I like you”. So much so that the next morning I did not stay in bed for the first time. My mother was very confused about this and commented on this incident as – the sun rose from the west.
Today the sky is exceptionally blue, the clouds are exceptionally white, the wind is exceptionally fresh, and even the noisy cicadas' chirping seems to have become pleasant songs. I came to school humming a song and skipping to the beat of the rhythm.
As soon as I arrived at school, I saw my dear deskmate and good friend Xiaoyi. I was so angry when I saw her. I took a step forward and slapped her on the shoulder. When she turned her head in surprise, I hooked her neck and said viciously: "Xiaoyi, is the ice cream delicious?"
