Khan Bojing obediently retracted himself back a sitting position. He cleared his throat and suddenly announced, "It's late, you should go to sleep. Do you have anywhere to attend tomorrow?"

She sat up and quickly shook her head. His hand gently patted her head. "Then, let's talk tomorrow. Go to sleep now, alright?"

"We're not done talking yet, you're leaving?"

He leaned back casually on the bedpost as if he's done it countless times before. "Don't worry, we have all day tomorrow. I'll leave after you fall asleep."

Li Wei blushed slightly when she heard that he was going to stay until she fell asleep. She was a bit shy, but she was happy. Khan Bojing had never accompanied her to sleep before. If it was her old self, she would've kicked him screaming, but now she felt like her heart was dancing on its way to heaven.

When the person she like showered her with his warmth, she naturally want to dance in his light. His figure, his whole being seemed to only walked closer and closer to her heart with every moment they spent together.

He watched as she laid down and pulled a blanket up to her shoulders. Her quiet eyes looked at him tenderly as if she could never get tire of him. The two figures quietly but openly appreciated each other's presence for long time until her eyes could no longer stay open. When Li Wei fell asleep, he walked up to the two peach lanterns placed against the wall. He laughed softly as he picked one up.

Really adorable, he thought. Somehow the lantern matched her well. Cute and lovable like a peach. He wrote down a quick message on the table, took a lantern, and left silently.

In the morning, Li Wei woke up and got ready. Today, she was going to meet Khan Bojing at the Cherry Teahouse as per the letter he left. Her hair was braided into a simple side braid. She wore a plain light green dress that had orange flowers along the hem of the sleeves and skirt. On her waist, she wore a white beaded belt that had long strings of beads all around. When she walked, the strings of white beads moved along with her movements.

The Cherry Teahouse was a popular hangout place. It was conveniently located in the center of the city, the multistory building offered great landscape views and best of all, the tea there was amazing. The tea there was the best in the city. Aunt Rin was the secret owner of the Cherry Teahouse and Li Wei ran the business publicly. She test tasted and chose each tea personally. She also lowered the prices and added guards to regulate the safety of customers. Families of all cla.s.ses enjoyed going there because of its high quality but affordable tea. At the end of each year, there would be a tea party where there were games, entertaining performances, and gifts offered for free.

When Li Wei stood in front of the teahouse, she didn't go inside right away. Her footsteps hesitated at the doorsteps. She was in disbelief it was Khan Bojing whom she was meeting. He had been honest all along, he wasn't with another woman. Although they were not a couple and he wasn't interested in her, she still felt relieved.

As she entered the teahouse, she silently greeted the workers before she walked upstairs. On the fourth floor at the end of the left hallway was his room. Her raised hand trembled slightly in the air. Before she could decide whether to knock or not, the door opened.

Khan Bojing gave her a warm smile as he led her inside. She silently followed him into the room. It was a small and basic room. There was a bed, a table, and a set of chairs. She sat across from him by the large opened windows facing the streets below. When she sat down, she finally looked him.

Today, he dressed in black robes and his hair was neatly put up in a high bun. He sat upright and poured tea into two cups. She accepted the cup he pa.s.sed to her and took a sip. Warm and a bit sweet.

Honestly, Khan Bojing had been on lookout the whole morning. He didn't want to miss her arrival for fear that she would wait too long or feel awkward. In the quiet room, he smiled and naturally asked, "Did you sleep well?"

"En, I had a good sleep." Li Wei was not used to seeing him so often everyday. For the last couple days, they have been spending some time together. It was unfamiliar, but it felt refres.h.i.+ngly nice and a bit comforting. She was also amazed at how normal their conversation was. They rarely talked casually, but now she felt like she could talk to him about anything. Her eyes gave him a quick glance before she spoke, "I have something to protest."

Khan Bojing leaned back on the chair and focused on her. "You're not a bean sprout?"

Li Wei, "..." How did he know? Still, she couldn't let him win this easily. She quickly crossed her arms to make herself seemed more intimidating. "I don't see why or how I look like one."

"I see." He turned his face to the side and secretly smiled. Yesterday night when he mentioned this, he could tell she was a bit annoyed. It was easy to guess what she was thinking, but he didn't imagine she would give it this much thought. Regardless of her perspective, he still held the same thought as before. "You're adorable and small, just like a bean sprout."

Even if she didn't agree of being refer to as a bean sprout, Li Wei couldn't exactly say no to his statement. Afterall, it wasn't usual for him to give her such compliments.

"I'll take your smile as your agreement."

Li Wei had unconsiously smiled while she was lost in her thoughts. When he pointed it out, she simply nodded happily. Alright, she would admit it. "En, I'll take it. But if I'm a bean sprout, then you're a peach."

His eyes shone with curiousity at her idea. He raised his eyebrows as he leaned slightly towards her in interest. "May I ask why?"

She had just thought of comparing him to a peach because yesterday, he took one of her lanterns. She even imagined him standing tall and handsome with a serious expression, but in his hand he held a childish and cute peach lantern in the dark on his way back. This broke her into an endless series of laughter. He was really surprising her these days.

"What's so funny?"

She placed her elbows on the table and her hands supported her face. His eyes seemed a bit confused, but he wasn't annoyed. If anything, he seemed to be amused, his lips seemed like it could turn into a smile anytime. She decided to share with him, "I just imagined you carrying a peach lantern."

"Ah, I see. Adorably handsome, right?"

Shameless, very shameless. She could only stare at him. He was more shameless than she imagined and much more than she remembered him to be.

Khan Bojing laughed as surprise was clearly written on her face. "Alright, I admit I'm guilty. I am a lantern thief."

"You can't be called a thief either because I'm giving it to you. Keep it so you can use it in the dark." She got the chance to give him something and whenever he used the lantern, he would think of her. This was a win win for her.

"Thank you." He reached out and lightly patted her head. "I'll think of you whenever I use it in the future then, Sprout."

Li Wei weighed the new nickname in her head. Honestly, really didn't mind. She originally brought up the topic because she wanted to hear his reasons. Now that she had been complimented, she was more than contented. No matter what he called her, she liked it, although she couldn't say the same for him. "Sounds good, Peach."

Khan Bojing almost spit out the tea in his mouth. His ears burned bright red. "P-Peach?"

"Why not? Peaches are soft and sweet." Her lips spread into a proud smile, pretending to be oblivious to his current reaction. "I think I'll eat a lot of peaches this summer."

Alright, he would listen to her reasonings even if he wasn't fond of the name. "Why is that?"

"Why else?"A light blush colored her cheeks and she spoke in a much softer tone, "It's because I like you."

It would be a lie to say he didn't feel anything. When she was in front of others, it was hard to read her thoughts. But whenever it was just the two of them, he found her to be a simple minded person. It's as if all her walls were taken down in front of him, although he wasn't sure why she held so much trust in him. He didn't know her story, he didn't know much about her life at all, but her sincerity made him want to return the same.

This woman in front of him, she was daring, she was bold, but she was also soft and caring. More than anything, she was someone whose presence seemed to take over his heart slowly with her every word and action.