“Lili, I’m having a nosebleed…”

“What? How did you get a nosebleed?” Jing Li noticed blood flowing from Jing Ran’s nostrils and anxiously pushed him onto the couch in the living room, making him tilt his head back.

“What’s going on?” Grandma saw the two of them in a flustered state and asked.

“He’s having a nosebleed.” Jing Li hurriedly grabbed a tissue box from the coffee table and randomly wiped away the blood from his nose.

Grandma, seeing Jing Li’s confused state, didn’t know how to handle the situation and instructed her, “Lily, go to the bathroom and bring back a towel for Ranran, wet and wring it dry.”

Jing Li quickly walked to the bathroom to clean the towel.

“Did you eat something that caused you to get overheated?” Grandma cleaned the blood from Jing Ran’s nose with a tissue and then rolled up another tissue into a small ball, gently stuffing it into his bleeding nostril.

Jing Ran kept his mouth shut and didn’t speak.

At this moment, Jing Li returned with the semi-dry towel, folded it neatly, and placed it on Jing Ran’s forehead.

Jing Li sat beside Jing Ran, watching him tilt his head back to prevent further nosebleeds, and worriedly asked, “Ranran, are you feeling better?”

Jing Ran tilted his head back and moved his chin a few times to indicate that he was fine.

Grandma looked at Jing Li wearing a T-shirt, exposing her fair legs, and no wonder she had asked Jing Ran a question earlier without getting a response. It seemed that the young lad in the family was full of energy and had a nosebleed due to excitement.

Grandma said, “Lili, it’s cold outside. Go back to your room and put on some pants.”

“Oh…”

Jing Li obediently stood up and went back to her room to change into the long pants of the homewear she had just bought. When she came out, Jing Ran was already fine. He wasn’t tilting his head back anymore. He was sitting in the center of the couch, with one hand supporting the towel on his forehead.

Grandma glanced at the clock and realized it was almost ten o’clock. She was accustomed to going to bed early and waking up early. She stood up and said, “I’m going to sleep. Don’t stay up too late, okay?”

“Ranran, are you okay?” Jing Li sat down beside Jing Ran and stared at the little paper ball stuffed in his nostril.

Jing Ran replied, “I’m fine.”

“Do you want to go home and sleep? Is it too late to go back now?” Jing Li checked the clock and asked.

“No, it’s fine. It only takes a few minutes to ride my bike home.”

“Can you stay and watch TV with me then? I want to finish watching today’s variety show before sleeping.”

Jing Ran nodded.

Jing Li turned on the TV with the remote control and tuned it to the desired channel. She took the initiative to hold Jing Ran’s arm and snuggled up against him. Now, Little Princess had a real boyfriend whom she could freely hug. How nice.

Jing Li was engrossed in watching the variety show and didn’t notice that Jing Ran was sitting stiffly the whole time.

Finally, Jing Ran had a serious expression on his face and said, “Lili.”

“Hmm?”

“Your chest touched my hand…”

…

The atmosphere became infinitely awkward.

Jing Li let go of Jing Ran’s hand, and suddenly he blurted out, “…It feels like a small bun, soft.”

Small bun, what the heck!

“Smack!”

Jing Li used the remote control to turn off the TV, stood up, suppressed her slight anger, and said, “I’m going to sleep, you should go home and rest early.”

Unaware that he had already angered his girlfriend, Jing Ran responded, “Oh.”

Jing Li returned to Jing Ran’s room, just closed the door, and leaned against it. She touched her chest where the small bun was and worried deeply, muttering to herself, “Will Ranran dislike it?”

The next second…

The girl became rude, “Ugh, Jing Li, what random thoughts are you having?”

The bakery opens for the morning market, starting at 6:30 am, and preparations begin at 5:00 am. Jing Li doesn’t work at the bakery, so she can sleep until whenever she wants. Around 8 o’clock, there is no one at Grandma’s house except for her. She wakes up automatically, freshens up, and goes to the bakery to have breakfast.

Jing Li walks downstairs to the bakery, and grandma greets her at the cashier, saying, “Lili, come over and have breakfast. Ranran just bought these for us.”

Jing Li walks up to the cashier, pulls out a chair, and sits down. Grandma hands her a small bag of buns.

— Small buns…

— Small buns that Ranran bought…

Is Grandma teasing her?

How annoying!

An hour later, Jing Ran takes a break from the kitchen and walks out to the storefront. He sees Jing Li sitting at the cashier, sipping on a yogurt drink through a straw.

Jing Ran casually asks, “Lili, did you have breakfast?”

Jing Li gets angry just by looking at Jing Ran and responds with an annoyed tone, “I already ate!”

Jing Ran notices the few small buns on the cashier counter that haven’t been touched and asks, “Why didn’t you eat any of them?”

A certain beautiful girl continues to pout, biting the straw, and mumbles unclearly, “I don’t like eating buns. I went to the breakfast shop down the street and had rice noodle rolls.”

“So, you like to eat rice noodle rolls? Then I’ll buy them for you tomorrow!”

Jing Ran’s expression remained calm, not like he was teasing her. By the way, where did he acquire this emotional intelligence to play tricks on people? Jing Li asked irritably, “Why are you buying steamed buns then?”

“Yesterday, we met Aunt Mei who runs a steamed bun shop. Their steamed buns are delicious. I just went there, and all the other buns were sold out except for the steamed buns. The new batch of buns was still steaming, so I bought the steamed buns. If you don’t like them, I’ll buy rice noodle rolls for you tomorrow.”

Jing Li realized she had misunderstood Jing Ran. This was his playful nature after all. How could he trick her in such matters?

To show her apology, Jing Li suggested, “You don’t need to buy breakfast tomorrow. I’ll make it for you and Grandma!”

“Do you know how to cook breakfast?” Jing Ran still remembered the last time Jing Li said she couldn’t cook, so he didn’t quite believe she could make breakfast.

“I can handle the easy ones, not the difficult ones.”

Jing Ran asked, “Then what kind of breakfast can you make?”

“Sandwiches.”

Jing Ran looked at a shelf in the shop that still had some unsold items and said casually, “The bakery sells sandwiches.”

Jing Li: “…”

If he didn’t want to eat, then forget it!

How could she compare what her girlfriend made with what was available in the shop!

*
After a busy morning, just like before, Grandma went home early to cook, and Jing Ran locked the door after the employees left, then went home to eat. Although Jing Ran ’s culinary skills were taught by Grandma, Jing Li felt that Jing Ran’s cooking was even more delicious.

Perhaps, this was the magic of love, casting a halo over Jing Ran. Now, Jing Li saw Jing Ran shining brightly.

While having their meal, Grandma made an announcement, “By the way, I’ll be going on a half-day trip to F City with the dance group. I won’t be back for dinner, so you two can arrange your own dinner!”

Grandma joined a senior citizens’ square dance group. She would go dance in the square when she had free time and go on day or half-day trips to nearby cities with the dance group on weekends.

Both of the young ones responded simultaneously, “Oh.”

Grandma remembered that Jing Ran had a nosebleed when he saw Jing Li’s legs yesterday, realizing that her grandson was no longer a child. Moreover, she could see that Jing Ran and Jing Li had reconciled this time and their relationship was even stronger than before. However, as a responsible elder, it was necessary for her to remind them of something, “Ranran, when Grandma is not at home, don’t bully Lili.”

Jing didn’t catch the underlying meaning of Grandma’s words, “Why would I bully Lili?”

Oh, right.

Grandma forgot that her little guy was quite innocent. A few years ago, Auntie Hai, who sold clay pot rice next door, would come over and chat with Grandma whenever she had free time, saying that her son had hidden adult magazines under his bed. Grandma had cleaned Jing Ran’s room and never came across any of these messy things. Even the tissues were replaced with new ones after their normal usage period.

Grandma fell into deep worry…

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Steamed Buns (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)