Perhaps, as Luo Shiya had said, if it hadn't been for the two years without Mo Xuan, neither she nor Luo Muqi could have predicted what might have happened.
However, as time passed, Luo Shiya became certain of one thing: she had fallen for this boy who was three years younger than her.
Whenever Luo Shiya thought about it, she found it somewhat amusing. How could her first love be so unconventional?
What made it even more absurd to her was that her naive younger sister, Luo Muqi, also harbored an unusual fondness for Mo Xuan.
Growing up, Luo Shiya had always been the perfect older sister, flawless in every way. She was kind to Luo Muqi and always let her have her way.
But this time, for the first time, Luo Shiya felt an unwillingness to step aside.
In fact, she had noticed more than once that she and Mo Xuan shared similar personalities. Both had been forced to mature early due to certain circumstances.
She had done it for her sister, while Mo Xuan had done it for his grandmother.
After that New Year, the bond between the three of them grew even stronger. Winter was always a time when fevers and colds were most feared, and Luo Shiya had unfortunately caught a high fever.
Luo Shiya was different from most people when she had a fever. Her appetite would plummet, her mouth would taste bitter, and she would feel dizzy and overheated. Her temper would also worsen.
In the past, she had always suppressed these feelings in an attempt to appear mature. But every time the servants brought her food, she would only take a single bite before pushing it away.
"Miss, please, just eat a little?" the servant urged patiently. "You're already running a high fever. If you don't eat, how will you recover?"
Luo Shiya didn't respond. She simply stared out the window in silence.
This was when Luo Shiya was at her most vulnerable. She was only sixteen, and ever since she was young, her parents had been too busy to be around much. She had to juggle school, etiquette lessons, and the instruments and dances favored by the upper-class circles.
But during times like these, her parents were often absent.
It was only in moments like these that Luo Shiya lacked the energy to maintain her facade of maturity. In fact, she sometimes acted out on purpose. If her illness worsened, maybe her parents would finally come to see her?
The more she understood the difficulties her family was facing, the sadder she felt. This was the contradictory state of mind Luo Shiya found herself in.
She didn't even know when she had fallen asleep. She had taken her medicine, and the Luo family's trusted private doctor had come to check on her.
Every time she fell ill, it was the same routine, and Luo Shiya had grown accustomed to it. In her drowsy state, she suddenly felt a cool sensation on her forehead, as if someone had placed a towel there. The discomfort seemed to ease slightly.
Half-asleep, Luo Shiya thought she saw someone sitting by her bedside, looking at her with concern.
It couldn't be Luo Muqi, because whenever she was sick, she forbade Luo Muqi from coming near her to avoid spreading the illness.
After a while, the towel on her forehead grew warm, and the person removed it, replacing it with a fresh, cool one.
"Don't go..."
Luo Shiya suddenly reached out and grabbed the person's hand. The person said nothing, allowing Luo Shiya to hold onto them as they sat by the bed, occasionally getting up to replace the towel.
When Luo Shiya finally woke up, she saw Mo Xuan sitting on a chair by her bed, his hand still in hers. She couldn't remember how long she had slept, but Mo Xuan had stayed quietly by her side the entire time.
"Shiya, you're awake?" Seeing her open her eyes, Mo Xuan couldn't help but smile. "I came over to play with Muqi, but she had a painting lesson today. Then I heard you were sick, and Uncle Zheng said you needed your towel changed, so I helped out."
In truth, Mo Xuan had only wanted to check on Luo Shiya, but she had grabbed his hand, and he had stayed by her side without moving until she woke up.
Looking at Mo Xuan's warm and radiant smile, Luo Shiya felt a wave of dizziness. She tightened her grip on his hand.
At that moment, Luo Shiya finally realized with absolute certainty that she had fallen for someone.
"By the way, Uncle Zheng told me that when you have a fever, your mouth tastes bitter. I didn't know what to do about it."
Mo Xuan used his free hand to rummage through his pocket and pulled out a lychee-flavored lollipop. He wanted to free his other hand, but Luo Shiya was holding on too tightly, so he awkwardly unwrapped the candy with one hand.
"This is sweet. Shiya, maybe it'll help you feel better."
Luo Shiya looked into Mo Xuan's eyes and slowly opened her mouth, letting him place the candy inside.
"It is sweet..." Luo Shiya smiled weakly. "Stay with me a little longer, okay?"
Mo Xuan nodded and continued to sit quietly by her bedside. Luo Shiya didn't know how long she held onto his hand, but she felt a sense of peace she had never experienced before. For the first time, she even thought that being sick wasn't so bad.
"It's rare to see the young miss eating so willingly!"
A maid coming downstairs exclaimed to Uncle Zheng in surprise. "She finished a whole bowl on her own! Though, honestly, she's such a grown-up, yet she still acted like a child, making Mo Xuan feed her!"
Uncle Zheng, however, simply smiled knowingly.
The only thing that bothered him was whether the boy was a bit too young for her.
As Uncle Zheng was lost in thought, Luo Muqi's hysterical cries echoed from the courtyard. "My sister is sick, and you're not even here! Work, work, work—why don't you just let work be your daughter!"
While Luo Shiya chose to internalize her pain, Luo Muqi suppressed hers until it finally erupted.
In fact, ever since they had moved and especially after Mo Xuan entered their lives, Luo Muqi hadn't lashed out at her parents like this in a long time.
Luo Shiya's illness had become an outlet for Luo Muqi. Birthdays, New Year's—every important occasion had passed without their parents' presence.
Mo Xuan's presence had merely alleviated the negative emotions in Luo Muqi's heart, but it didn't mean they had disappeared entirely.
"Butler Zheng, what should we do?"
In the past, Luo Muqi's outbursts would have been quickly soothed by Luo Shiya. But now that Luo Shiya was bedridden, and with Luo Muqi in such a state, the servants were at a loss. Even Uncle Zheng wasn't sure what to do.
But that was all in the past. Uncle Zheng's eyes lit up, and he whispered to a maid nearby, "Mo Xuan should be heading back soon. Go to the young miss's room and ask him to come down and calm the second miss!"
"Ah? Will that work?"
Though the maids liked Mo Xuan and thought he was a good kid, they couldn't imagine him being able to calm Luo Muqi when she was in such a state.
"Don't worry, just go ahead!"
The maids were skeptical at first, but when Mo Xuan came downstairs and saw Luo Muqi sitting on the steps outside, crying, he didn't say a word. Instead, he walked away for a moment.
When he returned, he was holding a stick of candied hawthorn, which he handed to Luo Muqi. Then, with a gentle smile, he patted her head.
"Wait, that's it? It worked?"
The maids stared in disbelief as Luo Muqi's tears turned to laughter. Mo Xuan handed her a tissue, and just like Luo Shiya, she playfully insisted that he wipe her tears for her.
Uncle Zheng, watching from the side, grew even more concerned. What would they do in the future? One boy wasn't enough for both of them!
After Mo Xuan left, Luo Shiya bought many lollipops of the same flavor, and Luo Muqi sent people out almost every day to buy candied hawthorn from different shops or vendors.
But whether it was Luo Shiya or Luo Muqi, neither could ever recapture that sweetness from the past.
It was only then that they realized the sweetness they had tasted wasn't from the food itself, but from the person who had given it to them...