Chapter 229: I Haven’t Decided

Zeyu looked down at Zhiyi’s fingers resting against his.

He had asked people to dinner without thinking twice about it, but sitting beside her with a game paused on the screen, he found himself worrying over words she had already invited him to say.

"Would you go on a date with me?" Zeyu asked, oddly formal, as he turned his hand so he could hold hers. "We can finish this game, or I can think of something else for another afternoon. I just want you to know I’m asking because I’m attracted to you."

Zhiyi watched him for a moment, then settled her fingers more comfortably between his.

"I would like to finish this afternoon as a date," she replied. "I don’t want to stop doing something I’m enjoying so we can begin again later."

Zeyu smiled before he could answer. He tried to keep it small, but she noticed anyway, her eyes moving to his mouth.

"That sounds good to me," Zeyu said. "Although I might need a minute before I remember how to play."

Zhiyi glanced at the laptop, where his character stood waiting beside hers.

"We paused it," she reminded him. "You have time."

He laughed, and she leaned back against the sofa without taking her hand away.

For a while, he was happy to sit with her like that. He could feel the warmth of her palm and the soft fabric of her dress against his wrist.

He had imagined being close to her while making the box, but he hadn’t known how much he would like simply holding her hand.

Zhiyi turned toward him as he brushed his thumb over her fingers. "Were you going to ask before I told you about Qinghe?" she asked.

Zeyu nodded, giving the question the attention it deserved.

"I wanted to, but I probably would have spent the afternoon finding reasons to put it off," he admitted. "Hearing about him made me realize I’d been expecting you to work it out without giving you much to go on."

"I knew you liked being with me," Zhiyi said. "I didn’t know whether you wanted anything beyond that."

He thought about every time he had found her in the kitchen and stayed longer than he needed to.

He had offered to carry things she could manage herself, asked questions he already knew the answers to, and hoped she would notice him without noticing too much.

"I’d like to kiss you eventually," Zeyu said, meeting her eyes. "That’s probably clearer than telling you I enjoy your company."

Zhiyi’s gaze dropped to his mouth again, and his hand grew still around hers. "It is clearer," she hummed in agreement. "I don’t know whether I want that yet."

"You don’t have to decide now," Zeyu told her. He loosened his grip enough for her to move, but she left her hand where it was. "I’m very happy with what we’re doing."

Zhiyi looked down at their fingers before reaching for her controller with her free hand. "We will need both hands to play," she said, sounding reluctant enough to make him smile.

Zeyu gave her fingers a gentle squeeze before letting go. "Then we’ll have to take breaks."

She picked up the controller without moving farther away.

When he restarted the game, her shoulder was still against his, and he found he could follow her instructions much more easily now that he wasn’t trying to hide why he liked sitting there.

They made it through the flooded room on their next attempt. Zhiyi waited at the switch while Zeyu climbed to the lever, and he managed to open the second gate without falling into anything.

Beyond it, the path divided. He began explaining the route he remembered, but she had already sent her character toward a narrow opening behind a tree.

"I don’t think there’s anything in there," Zeyu said, leaning forward to see where she was going.

"There’s light coming through the wall," Zhiyi replied. "I want to see what’s behind it."

He followed her into a hidden room filled with small golden objects. The game played a cheerful tune as she collected the first one, and Zeyu stared at the screen.

"I’ve walked past that every time," Zeyu admitted. "Now I’m wondering how much else I missed."

Zhiyi looked pleased as she handed him the dish of crackers from the table.

"We can look on the way through," she said. "You don’t have to show me everything. I like finding things with you."

Zeyu took a cracker, then held the dish while she chose one. He liked the way she said with you, as though she had already decided there would be more afternoons to spend together.

They played until she shifted against the cushion and set her controller down. Zeyu paused the game as she pressed a hand lightly to her side.

"Would you like to stop?" Zeyu asked. "We’ve saved it, so we won’t lose anything."

"I just need to get comfortable again," Zhiyi replied, reaching behind her back. "Can you pull this cushion up a little? It keeps sliding down."

He helped her move it, following her directions until she settled back with a small sigh. When he started to return to his end of the seat, she caught his sleeve.

"Stay here for a moment," Zhiyi said. "I want to try leaning against you."

Zeyu sat back slowly, giving her room to choose how close she wanted to be. She rested her head against his shoulder, adjusted once, then let her hand settle on his forearm.

He looked down at her hair against his shirt. For a few seconds, he hardly dared move. Then she drew his hand into her lap, and he let himself relax beside her.

"This is comfortable," Zhiyi told him. "You can lean back too."

Zeyu did, smiling as he rested against the sofa. The laptop dimmed on the table, and neither of them reached to wake it.

Footsteps sounded in the doorway a little later. Hanchuan stopped with a glass in his hand, his eyes moving from the paused game to Zhiyi leaning against Zeyu.

Zeyu felt the old urge to sit straighter, but Zhiyi lifted her head enough to look at her husband.

"Zeyu asked me on a date," she told Hanchuan. "I said I would like this afternoon to be one."

Hanchuan looked at Zeyu, who kept his hand around hers.

"I meant to tell you," Zeyu said. "I’ve only just managed to ask her."

Hanchuan’s mouth curved as he set the glass beside the laptop. "Then I’ll let you finish your afternoon," he replied. He bent to kiss Zhiyi’s hair before looking at her face. "Dinner won’t be ready for a while yet."

Once he had gone, Zhiyi settled against Zeyu again. Her fingers moved along his sleeve before she spoke.

"Next time, you can ask me before you choose what we’re doing," Zhiyi said. "I’d like to help plan it."

Zeyu turned his head toward her, close enough to hear her without either of them raising their voice.

"Okay," he agreed. "What do you want to do," he continued.

Zhiyi rested her cheek more comfortably against his shoulder.

"I haven’t decided yet," she admitted. "But I would like there to be a next time."