Chapter 99: Orange Candy is Very Sweet
Scarlett let go of the door handle. She turned around and pulled out her phone from her pocket.
"I'll call Grandma."
Just as Scarlett was about to dial, Daniel plucked the phone away from above with his two slender fingers.
Scarlett looked up and met Daniel's deep eyes. His thin lips pressed together slightly.
"Is being with me already so unbearable?"
Scarlett quickly shook her head and said with a smile, "No, not at all."
Daniel saw right through her lie. His brow furrowed slightly as he suppressed the frustration in his heart and said gently, "Call her later. Even if you call now, Grandma won't open the door for us."
Scarlett thought about it and nodded.
The air fell silent again.
Daniel was still wearing his loose bathrobe. Scarlett didn't quite know where to look. She pressed her lips together.
"You should drink the hot chocolate milk first."
But Daniel stood in front of her without moving. Scarlett looked up curiously, only to have a shadow fall over her eyes.
It was Daniel's fingers touching her eyes. Scarlett instinctively closed them.
"Do your eyes hurt?"
Daniel bent his fingers and gently brushed across Scarlett's reddened eye corners.
She had just lost control of her emotions and cried so much that her eyelids were swollen.
His fingers brought a ticklish sensation. Scarlett's eyelids and lashes trembled lightly. She turned her head slightly to avoid Daniel's touch, opened her eyes and smiled at him with curved brows.
"They don't hurt. I'm not that delicate."
This wasn't the truth either.
Daniel's hand dropped to his side, curling slightly. His thumb and index finger unconsciously rubbed together, as if they still held the soft, damp feeling of her eyelids.
He remembered how she looked when she first arrived at The Wilson Mansion. Young Scarlett was strong but also silent.
She was like an injured little animal, always on guard, full of wariness toward the world, never crying or making a fuss even when hurt.
But she relied on him alone, would curl up in his arms at night crying, only telling him her grievances.
But he actually wasn't a gentle, patient good brother. She often annoyed him.
Back then, he would pat young Scarlett's head, and sometimes he would even scold her with a dark face.
"You're so useless. Don't you know how to fight back when you're wronged? You embarrass me so much. If you do this again, stop calling me brother. I don't have such a useless sister."
He was fierce back then, but she would smile with red eyes, looking silly.
She was so obedient he couldn't stay angry, wanting to protect her forever, hide her away so no one else could find her.
But the obedient Scarlett would always grow up, gradually developing more thoughts she wouldn't share with him.
At some point, she learned to hide herself from him, no longer speaking the truth. Now she wouldn't even show her vulnerability to him easily.
Daniel didn't quite know how to comfort her or what to do with her anymore.
He suppressed the bitterness and frustration in his heart, reached out and gently touched the top of her head, saying, "Go take a shower and change your clothes. You're all wet too."
Scarlett looked down at herself. She had been held by him in the bathroom earlier, so she was indeed a bit wet.
She didn't really want to face Daniel either, so she nodded and said, "Okay, but remember to drink the hot chocolate milk. I'm going to shower."
Scarlett found clean clothes and went into the bathroom. The scent Daniel left from his shower hadn't dispersed yet, and the floor was still wet.
She stood for a moment before starting to undress. She washed quickly.
But when she came out of the bathroom in fresh clothes, Daniel was nowhere to be seen in the room.
There was an empty bowl on the table though—he had drunk the hot chocolate milk.
Scarlett walked to the door and tried to open it.
Strangely, the door was still locked from the outside. Daniel clearly hadn't been let out by Magnolia.
What was going on?
Scarlett was puzzled when she heard a noise from the window.
Scarlett, drying her hair, walked toward the window.
Just as she reached it, the window suddenly opened, and a tall, swift figure braced against the windowsill and leaped in from outside.
Scarlett screamed and stumbled backward. Her slippers caught on the carpet and she lost her balance, falling back.
Daniel, who had jumped through the window, quickly stepped forward and wrapped his arm around Scarlett's waist, pulling her back.
Scarlett fell into Daniel's arms, clutching his clothes with her hands, looking up with lingering fear.
Their eyes met. Scarlett froze.
Daniel was casually wearing a tracksuit, his hair not styled meticulously as usual but hanging loose.
He hadn't dried his hair either. The half-wet, half-dry strands fell over his eyes. Sunlight from outside streamed in, dancing in his hair. Daniel suddenly looked years younger, even carrying a hint of youthful energy.
He looked a bit like the handsome young man from her memory when she first developed feelings, the one who made Scarlett shy and flustered.
Scarlett couldn't control her heart fluttering, her heartbeat racing, her mind going blank.
Until Daniel's eyes flashed with amusement and he asked, "Did I scare you? Why are you so timid?"
Scarlett snapped back to reality and pushed Daniel away.
"Why did you come in through the window? This is the second floor. If you were in such a hurry to go out, I could have talked to Grandma..."
Before Scarlett finished speaking, Daniel opened his palm toward her. In his palm lay several orange candies.
Scarlett froze again. Daniel raised his hand, bringing the candies to her.
Scarlett's breathing became labored, as if she were in a dream.
A young man climbing to his beloved girl's window just to bring her a candy—it was beautifully innocent, almost unreal.
"Why are you standing there? Check if it's your favorite orange candy."
Daniel's voice held laughter. Seeing her motionless, he unwrapped a candy himself and brought it to Scarlett's lips.
Scarlett instinctively opened her mouth and took it in. A sweet and sour orange flavor spread across her lips and tongue.
Scarlett's heart felt sweet and sour too.
"Is it good?" Daniel raised his hand again and patted Scarlett's head.
She held the candy he gave her in her mouth, feeling his rare tenderness.
Scarlett's heart felt like it was floating on clouds. She looked up.
"Very sweet."
Daniel seemed satisfied with her answer. His expression relaxed considerably as he bent down to meet her eyes.
"Still angry?"
Scarlett's nose tingled, but she couldn't help curving her lips into a genuine smile.
Her face reddened slightly. She shook her head and said stubbornly, "I told you, I stopped being angry ages ago."
Daniel chuckled. How could he not see that this time she truly let go of the drowning incident?
Daniel felt both helpless and amused. He tapped Scarlett's head with his bent finger.
"You're so easy to please. Other women want bags, cars, jewelry, houses when they're angry. How come you're still as easy as when you were little—one candy is enough to make you happy?"
Scarlett, holding the orange candy in her mouth, took the remaining candies from Daniel's palm and pressed her lips together. "I just like candy. It's sweet."
She turned around, but Daniel reached out with a smile.
"Let me taste how sweet it is—better than bank cards and jewelry."
But Scarlett clutched her hand and stuffed all the candies into her pocket, covering it. "You found the candy yourself. You can go get more. These are mine now that you gave them to me."
Scarlett protecting her candies looked like a cat guarding its food, like a child.
She was adorable.
Daniel found it amusing. He bent down and picked Scarlett up. Scarlett cried out in surprise, instinctively holding onto Daniel and looking up.
Before she could see Daniel's face clearly, a shadow fell over her.
He lowered his head and kissed her directly, his tongue exploring until it found the half piece of orange candy she was hiding, sharing and tasting the sweet and sour with her.
Scarlett felt embarrassed and annoyed, pounding him with her fists. Daniel carried her a few steps and laid her on the bed, pressing down on her, kissing her more deeply.
His lips and tongue were burning hot. In moments, they had consumed the orange candy until even its aftertaste was gone.
Scarlett's face flushed, her whole body went soft, dizzy from the kiss.
Daniel's large hand slid down her back along her spine toward her waist and hips, and his body responded strongly. The air was hot and heavy.
A breeze blew in through the wide-open window, finally bringing a touch of coolness.