Tang You hesitated, feeling a bit awkward and shy.

Noticing her discomfort, Wu Zhiyu whispered to her while Zhou Qinyao was busy with Song Xiaoyang, “Qinyao usually plays with Xiaoyang outside, but today he reserved a private mini-castle. I didn’t know why at first, but now that you’re here, I get it.”

The elderly woman gave Tang You a meaningful nudge. “If you don’t join in, wouldn’t that waste his effort?”

Tang You’s heart fluttered slightly.

Just then, Xiao Yang called out to her again, “Sister Youyou, come play with me!”

“…Okay.” Tang You took a deep breath. “I’m coming.”

She placed her bag aside, took off her shoes, and slowly walked over to the edge of the ball pit, carefully stepping in.

One foot entered first, and as she lifted the other to follow, the first foot slipped on a ball. The slippery surface caused her to lose balance, and she teetered back and forth—

“Plop!”

Tang You landed right in the ball pit, half of her body submerged in the colorful balls.

Xiao Yang burst into laughter.

Hearing the noise, Zhou Qinyao turned his head and saw the little girl struggling to get up from the ball pit, looking both adorable and embarrassed.

Suppressing a smile, he told Song Xiaoyang, “Go help your sister.”

Song Xiaoyang immediately jumped up and dove toward Tang You in the ball pit. 

“Sister Youyou!”

Just as Tang You was about to stand, she was knocked back down by the enthusiastic child.

As he tried to help, his efforts only made things worse. The two of them ended up rolling around in the ball pit, with Song Xiaoyang giggling uncontrollably, and eventually, Tang You started to relax and laugh along with him.

They began tossing balls at each other and chasing each other around, having a great time.

Sliding down the slide, Song Xiaoyang landed on the balls and turned to call out, “Sister Youyou, chase me!”

Tang You slid down the slide too, her eyes brimming with joy. “Here I come!”

Her light body slid down, catching a small breeze.

Zhou Qinyao looked down, pressing his lips together lightly.

As they continued to chase each other, Song Xiaoyang suddenly flopped down onto the balls. “I can’t run anymore.”

Following close behind, Tang You tripped over his body and fell forward.

Coincidentally, Zhou Qinyao was sitting right there.

It just happened to be that way.

He had been sitting in that spot watching the two play, and Xiao Yang had chosen to collapse right next to him, tripping Tang You.

Predictably, Tang You fell straight into Zhou Qinyao’s arms.

Even though this was unexpected, Zhou Qinyao instinctively opened his arms and caught her.

Their eyes met, and warmth spread across their cheeks.

Tang You felt like her lips might have brushed against his as she fell.

Her whole body stiffened, her face flushed bright red, and she struggled to get up but couldn’t.

Zhou Qinyao noticed her expression, his emotions hidden as he helped her stand up, speaking to her gently, almost as if he were soothing a child:

“Take it slow.”

“…”

Her lips seemed to carry his taste. Tang You stood up, embarrassed, her heart pounding wildly.

Fortunately, Song Xiaoyang started complaining about being hungry at that moment, breaking the awkward tension between them.

Wu Zhiyu grabbed her wallet and prepared to go out and buy some food. Tang You remembered the snacks Xie Cheng had given her and quickly spoke up:

“No need, I have some snacks!”

She ran over to her bag, pulled out the snacks, and handed them to Xiao Yang.

“Xiao Yang, see if there’s anything you like.”

Xiao Yang happily took the snacks, but in his haste, he accidentally spilled everything into the ball pit.

Snacks scattered everywhere, and Xiao Yang grabbed a piece of beef jerky, tearing open the package and starting to eat.

Zhou Qinyao began picking up the scattered items and putting them back in the bag.

As he was picking up the snacks, he came across a small heart-shaped card.

Casually opening it, he read the words written in black ink on white paper:

**[Tang You, I’m serious.

I’ll give you time until the day you agree to be mine.]**

**—Xie Cheng.**

Zhou Qinyao: “…”

He looked up at Tang You, who was standing with her back to him, whispering something to Xiao Yang.

Then he glanced back at the card in his hand.

Was this… a love letter?

And judging by the tone, it seemed like this had been going on for quite a while.

Zhou Qinyao felt a strange discomfort rising in his chest.

He walked over and pulled the beef jerky out of Xiao Yang’s hand. “Stop eating.”

Xiao Yang: “??? Why?”

Wu Zhiyu noticed the change in Zhou Qinyao’s expression after finding something, and though she didn’t know what he had seen, she decided to take her grandson away. “Come on, let’s go get a burger.”

Xiao Yang perked up at the idea and eagerly dragged Wu Zhiyu outside.

With the door closed, the mini-castle was quiet, leaving only Zhou Qinyao and Tang You inside.

They stared at each other in silence.

Holding the card, Zhou Qinyao felt a growing sense of irritation.

Before he could figure out how to ask who this Xie Cheng guy was, Tang You blinked and asked him first:

“Who’s the princess you were telling Xiao Yang about, the one who eats rain?”

“…?”

“And the one who can’t ride a bike?”

“…”

“And the one who loves singing ‘Grateful Heart’ for no reason?”

“…”

The air was silent for two minutes.

Tang You held a pink ball in her hand, and after a long pause, she gently tossed it at Zhou Qinyao, softly mumbling:

“You’re making fun of me.”

Zhou Qinyao: “…”

The irritation he had felt just moments ago melted away, completely disarmed by her gentle, slightly pouty accusation.

It all dissolved.