"I'll listen to everything you say," Xiaoxiao sat up and asked Little Xingxing, "Brother Xingxing, why are you here? Did you come specifically to find me?"
Little Xingxing put his bag down by the sofa and said, "Uncle An Jing was worried about you and asked me to find you to see what happened."
"I'm fine, nothing's wrong," Xiaoxiao looked at him and asked, "Then Brother Xingxing, don't you miss me?"
"I... I came abroad to study, and I wanted to see you too." Little Xingxing said, feeling embarrassed to look at her, and urged, "Hurry up and wash your makeup off."
"Okay," Xiaoxiao sat up and added, "But I don't have any clean clothes."
Little Xingxing took out one of his shirts from his bag and handed it to her, saying, "If you want to wear my clothes, I'll go with you tomorrow to buy you a decent outfit."
Xiaoxiao reluctantly took his clothes and glanced at what she was wearing, saying, "I think these clothes are very fashionable, you wouldn't understand."
Without waiting for Little Xingxing to say anything else, she went into the bathroom.
Little Xingxing leaned back on the sofa, feeling a bit tired, and couldn't understand why Xiaoxiao didn't want to go home. How could she have become like this?
Did her biological father treat her poorly, that she was still staying in such a messy place so late at night?
As Little Xingxing was guessing, he noticed Xiaoxiao's phone on the bed vibrating. He got up to look at it. The number displayed on her phone screen was likely a local number.
However, he only glanced at it and didn't answer it for her. He would tell her after she came out of the shower.
Before long, Xiaoxiao came out of the bathroom. She was wearing Little Xingxing's shirt, and the heavy makeup on her face was washed off. Her freshly dried blonde hair was now straight and smooth, completely different from her previous image. She now looked like a girl of just over ten years old.
Little Xingxing stared at her current appearance. Compared to when they parted years ago, she had grown taller and had become even more beautiful.
"Brother Xingxing, I'm done showering. Do you want to shower?"
Her question brought Little Xingxing back to his senses. "Yes, I'll go now."
"Hurry up, I'll wait for you," Xiaoxiao winked at him.
He felt the atmosphere was wrong and couldn't help but swallow. He quickly said, "Don't wait for me, tell me if you get tired."
"I have a lot more to say to you," Xiaoxiao walked towards him, drying her hair.
Little Xingxing nervously dodged her immediately, entered the bathroom, and closed the door, his heart pounding.
Xiaoxiao sat in the spot he had just vacated, looking at the closed bathroom door, and couldn't help but grin.
Brother Xingxing had finally come to find her. She had waited for him for a long time, thinking he would break his promise or forget their childhood vow.
This time, she didn't want to be separated from him again.
In the bathroom, Little Xingxing calmed himself down. He was sure that only when he faced Xiaoxiao did he feel this pounding in his heart.
Over the years, many girls at school had secretly liked him, passed him notes, and written him love letters. But he felt nothing for those girls. On the other hand, he knew clearly that he was still young and not yet at an age to be in a relationship.
He didn't want to waste time on this, and he didn't need to put all his energy into studying.
After Little Xingxing finished showering and came out of the bathroom, he found Xiaoxiao asleep on the sofa.
He quietly looked at her sleeping form. Her skin was so fair, giving the impression that it could be broken by a touch.
Little Xingxing couldn't bear to wake her, so he took a blanket from the bed and covered her with it.
He had no choice but to sleep on the bed himself. He lay on his side, looking in the direction of the sofa, unable to take his eyes off Xiaoxiao. He didn't know when he fell asleep.
When he woke up and opened his eyes, he found Xiaoxiao curled up like a little shrimp in his quilt, wrapped in the blanket, which startled him.
He nudged her awake and asked, "When did you get into bed?"
Xiaoxiao struggled to open her eyes, glanced at him, and turned over, wanting to continue sleeping, saying, "I felt cold in the middle of the night, so I wanted to lie with you to get warmer."
After saying that, she wrapped herself tighter in the blanket and fell asleep again.
Little Xingxing took the quilt he was covering himself with and covered her entirely with it. He got up, no longer wanting to sleep.
After washing up, he went out to buy some breakfast.
Little Xingxing wandered around the streets. Only one or two shops opened early to sell bread.
He had no choice but to buy some bread and milk and return to the inn, but Xiaoxiao was still sleeping.
Little Xingxing didn't disturb her and drank his milk while reading the book he had brought.
At this moment, he received a text message from Uncle An Jing, asking if he had found Xiaoxiao.
He replied, "I've seen Xiaoxiao. She's fine, no need to worry anymore."
Upon seeing his reply, An Jing was relieved and reminded him to return to school soon after seeing Xiaoxiao and to be careful outside.
Little Xingxing assured him that he would return to school before the end of the holiday and also reminded Uncle An Jing not to tell his parents about this.
An Jing replied, "Okay, this is our little secret."
While he was texting Uncle An Jing, Xiaoxiao slept until she woke up naturally, turned over, and stretched, murmuring, "I slept so comfortably."
Seeing her adorable appearance, Little Xingxing couldn't help but smile.
Xiaoxiao realized that Little Xingxing was nowhere to be found on the bed or the sofa and suddenly sat up, shouting, "Brother Xingxing!"
"You're awake, I'm here," Little Xingxing said, sitting in the chair by the bed, smiling at her. "I bought bread and milk, hurry up and eat."
Xiaoxiao looked as if she had been frightened. "I thought I was dreaming last night, and you disappeared when I woke up."
Little Xingxing laughed at her, "You're not a child anymore, how can you still not distinguish between dreams and reality?"
"Of course I can distinguish," Xiaoxiao jumped off the bed and said, "You are real and present before me!"
"The milk is still warm, come and have breakfast."
Xiaoxiao nodded, rolled up the sleeves that were too long for her, and went to the bathroom first.
After breakfast, Little Xingxing suggested, "My clothes don't fit you well, let me accompany you to buy some new clothes."
"Okay," Xiaoxiao was looking forward to going shopping with him.
Little Xingxing and she walked through the historic small town, where people were sitting outside cafes, leisurely drinking coffee everywhere.
Time seemed to pass slowly at this moment. Little Xingxing sighed, "The environment here is really nice, and life looks very leisurely."
"Leisurely? It's too monotonous, I don't like it," Xiaoxiao was already tired of everything here.
Little Xingxing walked alongside her and asked, "Where do you study here? What grade are you in? I'd like to see your school."
"What's there to see at school? It's boring," Xiaoxiao pointed to a spot not far away and said, "There's a clothing store ahead, let's go buy clothes quickly."
Just as Little Xingxing was about to walk in the direction she pointed, several men in black suits suddenly rushed out from one side of the street and blocked their way.
One of the men looked at Xiaoxiao with a stern face and said, "Miss Ilena, where were you last night? The sir has been calling you all night, but you didn't answer."