The Remaining Embers Rekindle Love

Chapter 5: Warming Feelings Gradually Emerge

Abed didn't rush things just because Lissie had softened her attitude. He still maintained an appropriate distance, standing quietly like a silent tree within her sight.

Lissie's coursework at the design institute became increasingly heavy. Once, in order to finish a crucial work for a design exhibition, she stayed up for three consecutive nights in the studio. Early in the morning on the fourth day, when she pushed open the door of the studio, rubbing her sore eyes, she saw Abed leaning against the corridor wall. He was wearing a simple black windbreaker, with a faint trace of dark circles under his eyes, evidently not having rested well either.

"Why are you here?" Lissie's voice was hoarse from staying up all night.

Abed straightened up, holding a thermos bucket in his hand. "I guessed you hadn't had breakfast, so I asked the aunt at home to make something light."

His tone was natural, without the slightest hint of deliberate flattery, as if they were a couple who had been together for years. Lissie was taken aback for a moment, but eventually took the thermos bucket.

When she opened the lid, there was millet porridge and several delicate steamed vegetable dumplings inside. In the steaming heat, there was a faint aroma of rice. Lissie sat on the chair in the studio, sipping the porridge mouthful by mouthful. Her stomach felt warm, and it seemed that a certain corner of her heart was also quietly warmed by this warmth.

Abed didn't disturb her. He just sat on the sofa beside her, flipping through a design magazine. The sunlight shone through the window onto him, outlining a soft silhouette. The scene was so peaceful that Lissie almost forgot the days of intense confrontation in her previous life.

After that day, Lissie's attitude towards Abed became a little more relaxed. She would allow him to accompany her to art galleries for exhibitions, would occasionally interject one or two words when he talked about business plans. And once, when he was frowning tightly due to a thorny transnational cooperation, she subconsciously handed him a glass of warm water.

When Abed took the water, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes, which then turned into deeper tenderness. He knew that the ice in Lissie's heart was melting bit by bit.