As their earlier heavy mood got a bit lightened, Yuan stretched his arm and planted firmly on Ru's shoulder. But his closeness didn't make her want to push him away. Perhaps since she had been trying to find her own brother in him, she really didn't mind much of his behavior at all.
However, if this hand on her shoulder would have been of Xiao Zhi Ren then that'd have been an entirely different matter. After all, whenever he came close, Ru's danger alarm would go off. But what she didn't know was that Xiao Zhi Ren's presence was like a warm summer breeze. He made her feel secure and Ru wasn't used to being protected. She had been the one protecting herself all this while and the idea of depending on someone else was truly foreign to her.
"Oniisan, next week is my graduation. Would you come?" Yuan questioned with a bright smile on his face.
"You are inviting me to your school?" Ru asked while Yuan was confused seeing her glimmering eyes.
'What made him so happy? My graduation? Or...' Yuan kept his thoughts to himself while he asked cautiously, "Oniisan, are you this happy because I'm graduating?"
"Of course not!" Ru answered straightforwardly. "I'm excited because you invited me to your school."
"What is so exciting about school?" He really couldn't understand the reason.
"I have never seen a high school from inside. So obviously, this is very exciting." Taking a pause she added, "Didn't I tell you that I was homeschooled my entire life? Although I have an enormous knowledge in my tiny brain, still I have no experience with real school systems."
Yuan didn't know whether he should cry or laugh at this point. He solemnly turned to Ru and held her shoulders making her face him. "Let me remind you, it's a place we can call hell. Students are scheming and full of envy. All they know is how to get good grades. As for real knowledge like yours, nobody cares."
Ru frowned for a while as she tapped her chin and said, "Are you trying to tell me that my school was better where schemes and envy didn't exist? And anyway, not everyone can be a genius like me."
Yuan: "..."
"Which school was that? How could teenagers not have the drive to exceed others?" Yuan asked in surprise.
"Who said there was no drive to exceed others? It's just that when I was young my first lesson was that the root of evil begins with an envious heart. And a scheming person who tries to trample on others and look down on them is nothing more than scum. We are martial artists and our path requires us to walk alone and yet to never forget our comrades."
Ru said so much that she realized she wasn't supposed to disclose this much. Perhaps she really was missing home and that's why she was blabbering nonsense.
"Ahan! You really come from a martial arts family!" Yuan seemed quite excited at this discovery. He had a hunch but it was never confirmed at least until now.
Ru rubbed the space between her brows and said, "Is that important?"
"Yup!" Then he tugged at her arm like a spoiled kid and asked, "Are you like a real-life shinobi?"
Ru raked her fingers through her thick hair and said, "You can say it like that." She really didn't know how to curb the curiosity of this youngster who learned all about ninjas and martial arts through comic books and animes.
Yet she patiently tried to answer his all queries as they both walked towards 'The Kimchi Stop' restaurant where Ru ordered two bowls of bibimbap along with some side dishes and some ginseng chicken soup.
"Today, I'll teach you the art of eating." Yuan looked at the table full of food which indeed looked enticing but he didn't know how they were supposed to finish this all.
"Isn't this too much?" he asked uncertainly.
"Food is never too much and this will nourish your body. Stop whining like a kid. The first rule of eating is; don't think, just eat. First, feel the delicious aroma and that'll be enough to tempt your hunger."
The way she was describing made Yuan really feel like this wasn't just-food. It was an art that he had to master. He picked up his chopsticks and slowly started tasting the food before him.
"You have to come to my graduation." He reminded her again.
"I will." She promised.
"And if I got first place in the entrance exam, you have to grant me a wish. Deal?"
"Am I a genie?"
"To me, yes!"
Ru pressed her lips together before ruffling his hair and saying, "Deal!"