Chapter 11: If I Go Bald, Will You Still Love Me? (11)

Bai Yao cupped his face, deliberately kneading it with some force. He didn’t get angry; instead, he burst out laughing with genuine delight.

He was often foolish, unable to solve even simple math problems. She had taught him the basics of addition and subtraction. It made her wonder, if she ever had a child with him, would this alarming lack of intelligence be passed down to the next generation? Yet, every time, the smallest gesture from her could make him so easily happy.

He truly was easy to please.

So, his worrying intelligence could also be set aside for now.

In the end, Bai Yao felt as if she, too, had caught his foolishness.

Shen Ji looked at Bai Yao’s troubled expression—his face still being kneaded by her hands—and could only mumble, “Yao Yao, what’s wrong?”

Bai Yao slumped onto his back, sighing dramatically, “I think we’re turning into a couple of idiots.”

Shen Ji tried to comfort her, “You always come first in exams, Yao Yao. You’re not stupid at all.”

Bai Yao immediately perked up. “That’s right. I’m very smart! If I’m stupid, then there’s no such thing as intelligence in this world.”

Shen Ji nodded in agreement, “Yes, Yao Yao is the smartest person under the heavens.”

Bai Yao pinched his face. “Which complements you perfectly.”

Shen Ji took a moment to process her words, then realized the implication. He pursed his lips in protest. “I’m not stupid either.”

Bai Yao grinned and asked, “What’s five plus five?”

Shen Ji furrowed his brow, thinking hard, but still couldn’t come up with an answer.

Bai Yao stretched out her hand in front of him, splaying her fingers. She instructed, “Count how many fingers are on one hand.”

Shen Ji counted carefully, “One, two, three, four, five.”

Each time he counted a finger, Bai Yao folded one down. When her hand was a closed fist, she asked, “How many?”

“Five,” Shen Ji replied.

Then Bai Yao held out her other hand. “One hand has five fingers. This hand also has five. Now keep counting from five.”

Shen Ji counted up to ten.

Bai Yao waved both her hands in front of his face. “So, five plus five equals ten, right?”

Shen Ji nodded in sudden realization.

Bai Yao poked his cheek. “And you say you’re not stupid? I still have to teach you an addition that simple.”

Shen Ji, unconvinced, opened his mouth and bit one of Bai Yao’s fingers. The sudden move startled her.

With his speech muffled, he declared, “If I eat one, then it’s not ten anymore.”

He actually seemed to bite down with some force, making Bai Yao yelp, “Ouch!”

Shen Ji instantly released her finger.

Bai Yao furiously wiped the saliva on his clothes. “Shen Ji, are you a dog? That’s disgusting!”

A faint bite mark lingered on her finger. She scolded, “If you ever dare to bite my hand off, I’ll take a knife to you!”

If he really bit off her finger, all she’d do is threaten him with a knife, not break up with him.

Truly, she must love him deeply.

Shen Ji’s excitement was palpable. He abruptly changed direction, carrying her onto a nearby path. There, a patch of wild roses grew untended—nature had claimed this abandoned spot, their thorns even sharper than those of ordinary roses.

But Shen Ji showed no fear of the pain the thorns might bring. He strode right into the thicket, and in the next moment, Bai Yao found herself set down on the grass before she could even question his intent. The boy’s usually slender frame now seemed strong and insistent, like an eager, oversized puppy nuzzling against her. “Yao Yao, kiss me, kiss me…”

He could have kissed her himself, but he wanted her to initiate it. The feeling was different—both comforting and thrilling.

A rose heavy with thorns drooped toward the girl’s face, disturbed by Shen Ji’s reckless movements. He reached up and seized it before it could brush her skin. Even as the sharp thorns broke his flesh, he seemed oblivious to pain, holding the stem steady and firm. Bai Yao could sense it clearly—at that moment, all the world’s dangers were kept at bay.

With adrenaline surging, she lost her restraint. She raised her hands to his face and bit down fiercely.

At last, the wild puppy was tamed.

The dormitory supervisor in Building B was an elderly woman with poor eyesight. Because of this, unruly boys often managed to sneak in with their girlfriends when she wasn’t paying attention.

Bai Yao limped into the dorm. Somewhere in her lustrous black hair were bits of dry grass, and her beautiful new dress was stained with the juice of crushed roses. She had never been so disheveled.

Shen Ji followed behind her. “Yao Yao, your foot’s hurt. Let me help you bathe.”

Bai Yao retorted with a curt “Get lost!” Her wounded lip stung as she spoke, and she shut the bathroom door without mercy.

He had accidentally bitten her lip earlier, and feeling both guilty and dirty, he didn’t dare sit on Bai Yao’s bed. Instead, he dragged a chair to the bathroom door, curled up on it with his arms around his knees, and stared unblinkingly at the door, waiting for her to come out.

After her shower, Bai Yao changed into a comfortable nightgown and slippers. The moment she opened the door, her eyes met the forlorn gaze of the abandoned puppy.

Shen Ji leapt up, grabbed her hand, and seated her on the bed. “Yao Yao, let me put a bandage on you.”

He turned to search through her desk drawer, rummaging through odds and ends until he found a box of adhesive bandages. With hopeful eyes, he hurried back, sat on the floor, and gently picked up her injured foot.

He was so familiar with her room that Bai Yao sometimes wondered if it was her dorm or his.

Shen Ji blew softly on the cut at her heel, then carefully applied a bandage.

He had learned this from Bai Yao. Whenever she saw a scratch on his hand, she would first blow gently on it, then stick on a bandage.

He might not be smart, but at least he was good at imitation.

Bai Yao’s mood improved a little. She wanted to smile, but the pain in her lip forced her to stop. The skin was torn and reddened, and her temper flared again. The young lady in her came out; she lifted her foot and stomped it lightly on his face. “If you ever bite me like that again, I’ll stomp you flat!”

Shen Ji froze, as if a thought suddenly struck him. He hugged her calf, eyes shining with emotion, tears welling up. “Yao Yao, you’re so good to me.”

Even when she was this angry, she still rewarded him like this.

If this isn’t love, then what is?