You’re Beautiful When You Smile

Tong Yao seemed to hear a sigh next to her in a hopelessly resigned manner.
She wasn’t sure whether she had heard wrong.
From the corner of her eyes, she noticed the tall figure hovering over her.
One of his hands gripped her arm to pull her up straight a little on the sofa and the other hand lifted the bottom of her top up a little– —

The usually warm big hand rubbed her cold tummy.
Tong Yao uttered a low cry and stiffened her back.

Lu Sicheng coughed and said flatly with furrowed eyebrows: “Be quiet.”

Tong Yao returned to silence..

The next second, the hand on her tummy moved away.
Lu Sicheng backed away: “Don’t you know how to get a hot water bottle for yourself?”

Though she could still feel the warmth on her tummy, she weakly answered: “There, there’s no such thing in the base.”

“How do you know if you don’t ask?”

As he was speaking, Lu Sicheng turned to go upstairs.
When he came down again, he was holding a hot water bottle in his hand.
“Some fan gave this to Little Fatty last winter.” He threw it to Tong Yao as he spoke.
“Is there any hot water left?”

Tong Yao, holding the hot water bottle that had last year’s ZGDX team picture of ZGDX on it, shook her head then nodded.

Lu Sicheng raised his eyebrows, looking at Tong Yao as if she had brain damage– –bending down to pull the hot water bottle away from Tong Yao’s hands rather roughly.
He turned to walk into the kitchen, turned off the rice cooker when he noticed that the porridge was ready, then turned around to open the electric kettle.
With one hand holding the hot water bottle, he picked up the kettle and poured hot water in.

He did all this in one swift motion.

Tong Yao had jumped down from the sofa and followed closely behind.
She stretched out her neck, on her tippy toes, trying to watch him pour the hot water from the side.
The steam blurred that handsome face…….

“How could you rub a girl’s tummy like that just now?”

“Is it a tiger’s tummy? Untouchable?”

“In ancient times, you would have to marry me if you did that.”

“I thought I was doing a favor for you.” Lu Sicheng casted down his eyes: “Why do I have to be punished?”

“……”

After filling it up with hot water, the man put the stopper back into the hot water bottle.
He raised his eyelids to glance over the girl who was standing behind him with a stone face.
He used his thumb to wipe away some water that had splashed out and stuffed the hot water bottle into her arms: “In the ancient times, I would have married you 800 times already.”

“……”

“Then I would have divorced you over 800 times.”

“Isn’t it ridiculous that you had to repeatedly marry and divorce someone 800 times?”

“I don’t know.
Maybe I’m unfortunate and have periodic bouts of blindness.”

After he finished, he turned to take out two bowls from the cupboard and started to spoon out the porridge.

Five minutes later, the only two living souls at base occupied the two ends of the dinner table, quietly eating their porridge– –Tong Yao sat on the chair cross legged, with the warm hot water bottle nestled against her stomach.
She felt like bathing in a warm ocean and after eating the warm brown sugar porridge, her originally icy cold toes were starting to warm up.

Tong Yao put down the bowl.

“Cheng Ge.”

“?”

“I feel bad that you ended up taking care of me when I’m supposed to take care of you.”

“?” Lu Sicheng looked up from the edge of the bowl to the girl at the other end of the table: “When and who told you to take care of me? Wasn’t it because you weren’t feeling good so you begged to come back?”

Tong Yao laughed hollowly before she standing up to put the bowl into the sink.
Usually, they didn’t have to wash the dishes, the housekeeper would do it next day……Her stomach felt much better after having something warm in her stomach.
Not feeling sleepy at the moment, Tong Yao went back to the sofa to continue watching the stream.