Chapter 39

In the north of Brentwood, on Hanley Avenue, two bicycles almost side by side sped past, with Ye Wei and Lily's laughter echoing back and forth.

This time, neither of them was late. After meeting up, they decided to head to Crestwood Mountain Park for a bike race! After 15 minutes of full-speed riding, they reached their destination, and Ye Wei won again. He had already given her a lot of leeway, but he still won. The gap in their abilities was too large, and there was nothing they could do about it.

"You really have nothing to do with a gentleman (Gentleman)!"

"Do you know that 'Gentle' can mean maggots? I don't want to have anything to do with 'Maggot Man.'"

"Alright, you've destroyed another sacred word in my heart. Congratulations to you."

The two laughed and parked their bicycles, then walked toward the woods on the north slope of the park.

This park was usually quite lively, with celebrities and residents often bringing their children to play. The park had barbecue grills, a children's play area, and a community activity center. However, the operating hours for those facilities had passed for the day, so it was much quieter, especially in the woods and other secluded areas.

After a few jokes, they started talking about the short film. Lily was quite curious about why he suddenly wanted to make a short film and what his intentions were.

Ye Wei said he wanted to showcase his abilities and told her the story of the short film, smiling. "I got the inspiration from my sister and Toto. Having a young sister is great. Sometimes I even wish she wouldn't grow up, that she would always be my little sweetie, my little brother. Selfish, right? Haha."

"Selfish." Lily smiled slightly, kicking her feet a bit awkwardly and said softly, "I have three siblings: a sister in her thirties, a brother almost thirty, and a little brother just over two years old. But they are all from different mothers. Jolie, my sister, isn't even related by blood; she is my father's stepdaughter from his first marriage."

Ye Wei shrugged, remembering that Lily was the only child from her father's second marriage, and now Phil Collins was in his third marriage. He asked, "Are you still close?"

"I don't know. Thanksgiving is coming up in a few days, a four-day holiday. My dad invited me to go to Europe with his family, but... I don't know."

Lily frowned, her thoughts in a mess. She looked at Ye Wei, hesitating whether to confide her secret thoughts to him.

"You can trust me." Ye Wei's voice was gentle.

"Um... I don't really like going. Since Nicholas, my little brother, was born, every time we have such gatherings, I feel awkward. I mean, who am I? Just my dad and me, and we have our own world, our own conversations; but with his wife and his precious son... it feels like I'm an outsider! That world no longer exists, and it's terrible. I guess I need more time to accept this change. I really don't know..."

She looked troubled, then glanced at him, shaking her head and sighing, "You wouldn't understand. You have a happy family. It's enviable, you know? Look at me, my dad is a rock star, and my mom is the president of a club... except for these holidays, I see him less than ten times a year, and my mom is always too busy to find. I just want to spend more time with them, but it's all taken away... I'm the selfish one. I want Nicholas to give me back my time. I want to tell him, I'm not your sister..."

The more she spoke, the more agitated she became, almost as if she was venting, "And I don't like your mom! I don't even like your dad! My dad, that's my dad..."

"Sorry!" Lily suddenly took a deep breath, stopping her words, still frowning, "I'm sorry for telling you all these depressing things."

"No, I like listening. You can talk about it." Ye Wei said seriously, realizing this girl had many hidden thoughts, "But I don't think you're that kind of person. I think you care for Nicholas, you just haven't figured it out yet."

"What do you know?" Lily muttered, not feeling comforted, "It's not like you and your sister. You don't understand."

"I don't understand what it's like to have half-siblings, you're right. I was fortunate to grow up in a happy family. But I know you, you're a good girl, a kind and good girl." Ye Wei smiled, "Sometimes, Dodo can make me want to hit her too. Don't be too hard on yourself."

"Really?" Lily couldn't help but smile, "You just said she's an angel!"

"She's an angel when she's good, but a devil when she's not." Ye Wei shrugged, speaking the truth, "I can't remember how many times I've told her not to stay in my room, not to feed Toto random things, not to sit on our tortoise Benji, because I want to sit! She doesn't listen, and when I raise my voice, she calls for Mom. It's so frustrating!"

Lily laughed, "It seems you have your own nemesis, ha ha!"

"Who says not, she always wins, and the worst part is..." Ye Wei gritted his teeth, "She can use toys and snacks to make you stop being angry."

"Wow, if Nicholas were as sensible, I'd be much better off." Lily laughed, waving her hands, feeling much better after speaking her mind.

Strangely, she didn't want to tell her mom or even Trist, but she found herself naturally confiding in him. It felt like she didn't have to pretend in front of him, maybe because he was a jerk...

But she was a bit worried that she might have scared him. Dates weren't for venting, so let's talk about something happy.

Lily smiled, "I called Lamo earlier, and she said your performance was amazing! That's high praise, Lamo Willis doesn't compliment people easily."

"Lamo?" Ye Wei said with a hint of annoyance, punching a nearby pine tree, "She almost killed me, that's why I'm in a hurry to make the short film."

Hearing this, Lily rolled her eyes, "That's Lamo for you. When will your script be ready?"

"It's still a draft, a few more days, after Thanksgiving, I'll shoot it." Ye Wei smiled mysteriously, "When it's done, you'll be shocked again."

"OK..." Lily thought of something, looking doubtful, "Are you still thinking about directing 'Little Miss Sunshine'?"

"I wouldn't say that, but whether I can be a film director, you'll see." Ye Wei smiled, swaying his body as if to a tune, "Let's see."

"Alright, I'll wait." Lily nodded with a smile, feeling both excited and skeptical, "I hope you're not just exaggerating."

Ye Wei didn't respond; the facts would speak for themselves. By now, they had reached deep into the hillside, surrounded by ancient trees, with the afternoon sun filtering through the leaves, creating a warm and cozy atmosphere, like being in the Garden of Eden.

He didn't want to walk anymore and suddenly walked a few steps to a large banyan tree, lying down on the grass, "Haha! I need to rest a bit."

From 6 AM until now, he hadn't had a moment to relax. After doing so much, he was truly tired. Lying down like this felt great, very comfortable...

"Hey." Lily walked over, amused, looked around, and sat down next to him, leaning back on the grass, looking up at the clear sky. There was no one else in sight, the cool breeze and warm sun made her feel at peace...

Neither of them spoke, but they could hear a lot, their hearts beating closer and closer.

"I never noticed how beautiful it is here..." Lily said softly.

"The world is not short of beauty, but of eyes to see it. I happen to have such eyes. Lie down, and you'll see more."

"Actually, you also have a mouth that can create trouble..." Lily said this but still lay down, turning to glare at him with a smile, then looked up at the sky.

"Right, I also have ears that can hear harsh words."

Ye Wei kept turning to look at her side face, her bold eyebrows, bright eyes, straight nose, and tender lips...

"Your eyes are so annoying." She suddenly said, pouting.

"I'm just discovering beauty." He smiled, still not looking away, and asked curiously, "Actually, I've always been wondering, why did you target me like an angry bull on the Squid Action day? Was it my handsomeness that drove you crazy?"

"Ha ha, stop being so conceited... Because you're Ye Wei, I don't know what came over me, you're my enemy."

"What? We knew each other before?"

"You really don't remember?"

"What!?" Ye Wei was truly surprised. He didn't have any deep-seated grudges with her, right? "Lucia di Lammermoor"? What was that about!

Lily looked dissatisfied, he was indeed a jerk, doing such things countless times! Who would have thought she would one day tell him this?

She huffed, "A few years ago, Berkeley Hall and St. Martin's played a football match, 7-0, remember, jerk? After that, we only played in the Catholic Youth Organization league. Yes, several players cried, parents were angry, the school was scared. It's all your fault."

"You can't imagine how disappointed I was. We finally got to try the highest regional championship league, and then..."

Ye Wei blinked repeatedly, recalling, "Hmm... I remember, it was probably when I was in sixth grade? Right, it did happen! So you hated me? Hey, you can't curse Beckham to death just because you're a Manchester City fan, that's not right."

"I'm not a Manchester City fan, and Beckham transferred to Real Madrid this year."

"Do you think I don't know? Anyway, it's not right."

"Let me tell you what's not right, 'You guys are terrible,' 'Did you not eat today?' 'God is on my side today, he made me destroy you,' 'Try to stop me? Maybe begging for mercy is a good idea'... all from VIY quotes! Do you remember?"

"I remember... Now that you mention it, I remember everything. You were standing by the sidelines! No wonder I always felt you looked familiar!"

Some buried memories surfaced, and Ye Wei couldn't help but shout excitedly, "Oh my God, this can't be blamed on me, it's all your fault."

"Nonsense!" Lily laughed, almost in anger, how could it be her fault!

"It's true. Do you know why sports games need cheerleaders? Because having beautiful girls on the sidelines can boost the athletes' morale. That day, it was like, wow, a pretty girl watching football, cheering, 'Go, go, boys!'"

"That's not my tone!"

"Let me finish. It was so rare. Berkeley Hall is a strong team, and I've never seen any girls cheering. St. Martin's actually had one! I went crazy that day."

He had looked over several times! That challenging look, Lily remembered, was one of the reasons she held a grudge. Hearing him, her expression became even more peculiar, glaring at him in anger, but also with surprise, understanding, and a hidden smile, "So it's my fault?"

Ye Wei spoke in a victim's tone, "Obviously."

"Please!"

"OK, it's not anyone's fault. It's like in kindergarten, if you want to get a girl's attention, you might tease her, pull her hair, take her toys... If she cries, you're happy. By the way, I still do that."

"Then... you wanted to get my attention?" Lily's eyes were fixed, not sure what she was doing.

"I wanted to get your attention." Ye Wei looked at her and smiled, his heart racing, "Back then."

"Go away..." Lily's cheeks turned slightly red, her eyes shimmering, and she said something even bolder, "What about now?"

"Now?"

They fell silent, but his right hand slowly moved, reaching out to catch the snow-white, delicate hand next to him. She trembled slightly but didn't pull away, instead, she held his hand.

Two young hands came together, two youthful faces smiled, and two young hearts beat wildly.

Above the trees, the sky was a beautiful, clear blue.