TSFLIP Chapter 309

Fengguang was stunned, and the answer immediately slipped from her lips. “You’re more handsome than Mo Yiyun.”

“This is something to be happy about,” he said, though his gentle expression betrayed no hint of the joy he spoke of.

It seemed like that was just the kind of person he was—unfazed by honor or disgrace. No matter when, he always maintained a calm, effortless smile. It was perfect to the point of being almost fixed, like a flawless mask. People always said there’s no such thing as a perfect person, so when someone truly flawless appeared, you couldn’t help but start doubting the authenticity of it. Fengguang had met many people who wore masks, but few wore them as naturally as he did.

Unable to hold back, she asked him, “Besides smiling, have you ever cried?”

He gently shook his head. “I don’t remember.”

“You’re strange,” Fengguang said as she walked around him. “Now I can’t help but wonder—if you were sad, what would your expression look like?”

“Do you want me to be sad?”

“Not really. I just think, if a person always has just one expression, then they’re either a great actor or they’re missing the emotions that ordinary people have.”

“Ordinary people’s emotions…” His obsidian eyes flashed with confusion. “What emotions are those?”

“Well… things like joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. You see, some people get sad because they’ve lost friends or family. Others get overjoyed when they confess their love and find it returned. It’s about feeling joy in those moments…” She paused, then concluded, “Basically, if you’re always smiling, people might think you’re above the world.”

In short, it would make you seem heartless.

He was silent for a long time, then his lips curled into a light smile. It was like the first melt of snow into water—pure and clean. “If I want to feel full of joy, I’ll try to like you.”

“…What?”

“When the person you like likes you back, you feel full of joy. I want to try that feeling.”

Fengguang silently reached out her hand. “Uh, I think you’ve misunderstood something…”

“Let’s continue counting the tiles,” he instinctively took her outstretched hand. After turning slightly, he looked at their hands intertwined with a look of disbelief, then his smile grew more genuine. “Fengguang, I’m holding your hand. I think I’ll start liking you more now.”

“I told you to listen to me properly.” She tried to pull her hand back but couldn’t. Then, she felt the unusually low temperature of his hand and was startled. “Why is your hand so cold?”

“As long as I’m holding yours, it’s not cold.” He lowered his head and smiled at her, carrying a hint of childishness that didn’t seem like him.

Before she could say anything else, he pulled her along and continued their tile-counting task.

Fengguang couldn’t help but feel how quickly the tables had turned. Not long ago, she’d been shaking her head at Mo Yiyun pulling Luo Chenxi along, and now here she was being pulled along by him. The worst part was, she couldn’t even pull her hand away since he was stronger than her!

It seemed he didn’t notice her increasingly dark expression, and he continued to point out details. He told her that one tile was covered by grass that had grown out. He mentioned a yellow flower blooming in a corner of a wall that seemed inconspicuous. He thought it would have wilted after the heavy rain a few days ago, but it was still alive.

He also said that one of the roof tiles was brighter than the others, which was likely a repair, though it wasn’t that bright—it wouldn’t easily catch anyone’s eye.

He said a lot of things, and in the end, the number of tiles matched exactly what he had said.

He smiled. “Do you believe me now?”

Fengguang nodded. She believed him now, not because he was just bored, but because he was lonely.

Lonely… in a way that made her feel a little sorry for him.