Chapter 118: The Youth’s Scent

"See? Practice makes perfect. It’s taking shape much faster this time."

Seeing that Su Yuqing could now roughly shape the clay on her own, Chen Mo placed his hands over the backs of hers again to help her stabilize it for the final touches.

The pottery wheel spun tirelessly, and splattering specks of clay formed a fine curtain between them.

Once he was sure Su Yuqing could handle it herself, Chen Mo returned to his own wheel.

But when Chen Mo suddenly let go, Su Yuqing, whose hands had just been warmed by his, felt a sudden sense of loss.

After what had just happened, she finally understood why couples in the honeymoon phase loved to hold hands, their fingers intertwined.

It was because when their fingers mingled, they could feel the delicate and warm touch of the other person. The sensation made her heart race and her blood rush. Dopamine flooded her system, creating a feeling of pleasure that made her reluctant to let go.

But Su Yuqing didn’t dwell on it. She quickly calmed herself and focused on the clay in front of her.

She was making this for Chen Mo, so naturally, she had to pour her whole heart into it.

Before long, they had each finished shaping their pieces.

However, throwing the piece was only the first step. Trimming and adding details, drying, glazing, and finally, firing were all very time-consuming.

It would still be many days before they could get the finished products.

Chen Mo had said they were coming to make a gift for Zhao Yuanyuan, but in reality, he had intentionally brought Su Yuqing here to relax and experience the small, beautiful moments in life.

Of course, that didn’t stop him from actually making a cup for Zhao Yuanyuan.

He would just take a picture of it to show Zhao Yuanyuan first, and then give it to her after it was finished.

It would be an early surprise for her, something to look forward to.

After spending half an hour there, the two of them washed their hands and their clay-speckled faces, then left the shop together.

They were both looking forward to seeing what the finished pieces would look like in a few days.

Because of Su Yuqing’s limited skill, she only made a cup for Chen Mo.

Chen Mo, on the other hand, made two items at once: one to be given to Zhao Yuanyuan in Su Yuqing’s name, and another made especially for Su Yuqing.

Since they couldn’t give this gift right away, Chen Mo and Su Yuqing browsed a nearby shop.

They bought Zhao Yuanyuan a small, practical backpack.

The backpack wasn’t expensive and seemed very suitable for a high school girl.

Both Chen Mo and Su Yuqing figured Zhao Yuanyuan would probably like it.

After buying the gift, the two left the mall and headed for Jiangbin Cottage.

They had been delayed by making the ceramic cups, and now, they were the only two who hadn’t arrived at Jiangbin Cottage.

There were currently five people in the private room.

Zhao Yuanyuan and Huang Mao were already seated. Next to Zhao Yuanyuan was a girl who bore a slight resemblance to her.

It was Zhao Yuanyuan’s biological younger sister, Zhao Yuanyuan.

She was a year younger than Zhao Yuanyuan and was currently a sophomore in high school.

Unlike Zhao Yuanyuan’s easygoing nature, Zhao Yuanyuan was a rather introverted girl.

On a typical school day, she rarely even left the classroom.

So she rarely came to visit her junior-year sister.

You could tell from the way the two of them were sitting.

Zhao Yuanyuan was very reserved. After sitting down, she barely looked at anyone else, simply staring down at her phone.

Besides the three of them, the only others there were Lin Yu’an and his younger brother, Lin Yuxi.

Lin Yu’an had initially thought it might be inappropriate to bring his brother, but Zhao Yuanyuan had suggested he do so.

They knew each other from before; Zhao Yuanyuan had learned about Chen Mo and Su Yuqing’s night market trip from Lin Yuxi.

Zhao Yuanyuan felt that having more people at her birthday would make it livelier.

All five were seated, but seeing that Chen Mo and Su Yuqing were still not there, Huang Mao immediately sent a text to hurry them along.

In the taxi, Chen Mo looked at Huang Mao’s message, smiled, and replied that they were almost there. He then turned to look at Su Yuqing, who was leaning against his shoulder.

He didn’t know if it was because she had woken up too early and done too much that morning, or because she had been so completely absorbed in making the ceramic cup. Either way, her energy was now drained, and she had dozed off while leaning on his shoulder.

Seeing this, Chen Mo couldn’t bear to disturb her. He let her rest peacefully against him and turned to watch the scenery rushing past the window.

Watching the changing scenery, Chen Mo once again felt the passage of time.

’Ten years from now, this will all look completely different.’

’Times change so fast.’

’In just ten short years, technology advances in leaps and bounds.’

’The city’s development completely transforms the landscape.’

’To suddenly come back ten years... it’s really a unique feeling.’

Suddenly, the girl on his shoulder trembled slightly. Chen Mo turned his head and saw Su Yuqing coming out of her daze, looking at him sheepishly.

Chen Mo smiled gently, reached out to wrap an arm around her shoulder, and pulled her closer. "If you’re tired, sleep a little more. Not counting traffic lights, we still have about ten minutes to go."

Su Yuqing’s lovely eyes fluttered as she glanced at Chen Mo. She was about to say she wasn’t tired, but then she felt the warmth of his hand on her shoulder and the heat from his chest. She greedily swallowed her words and, giving in to the temptation, leaned into his embrace. She rested her head gently against his shoulder and closed her eyes again.

This time, however, she didn’t fall back asleep. She simply closed her eyes and focused on the sensation of the boy beside her.

Su Yuqing’s eyelashes quivered gently against Chen Mo’s shoulder.

The faint, crisp scent of soap from the boy’s body, mixed with the unique, sun-like hormonal scent of youth, became clearer and clearer in the enclosed car.

The rhythm of his chest rising and falling with each breath, the reassuring warmth coming through his thin shirt... Su Yuqing counted his steady heartbeats and suddenly felt the tips of her ears burn—Chen Mo’s long fingers were gently tucking a stray strand of her hair behind her ear, and the brush of his knuckles against her earlobe sent a tiny jolt of electricity through her.

She hurriedly squeezed her eyes shut, her lashes casting a frantic flutter of shadows beneath them.

Chen Mo’s Adam’s apple bobbed just above her forehead, and the sound of him swallowing mixed with the rush of wind outside the window.

She pretended to adjust her position, burying her face deeper into his chest. As the tip of her nose brushed against his collarbone, the hormonal scent that was most devastating from a young man to a teenage girl billowed from Chen Mo’s chest into her nostrils, brewing a sweet, intoxicating aroma in the enclosed car.

The scent of hormones wasn’t the sour smell of sweat, but the fresh fragrance of shower gel warmed by a young man’s body heat.

This fragrance, heated by his body, seemed to carry the vigorous vitality unique to a young man. To a girl, it naturally stirred a ripple of emotion in her heart.

"Sir, could you turn down the AC a bit?" Chen Mo’s low voice rumbled through his chest.

Su Yuqing felt the hand that had been on her shoulder. At some point, it had moved to rest on her own hand, which was lying casually on her lap.