Raise Love-136-Airy, keep an eye on me

"Ooh."

Aria nodded with a look of novelty.

Although she didn't make the shot on her own, she was still extremely excited, just like when she accidentally made a basket in a PE class.

Ryder's shooting accuracy was simply impeccable.

Aria became more and more excited with each shot.

Until the warm embrace behind her suddenly withdrew. Ryder tossed a ball to her, raised his eyebrows with a smile, and said that she should try shooting by herself.

Aria held the ball, feeling extremely confident. She carefully assumed the standard stance, then aimed at the basket, jumped up, and took the shot.

And then...

The ball missed.

"Pfft—" Ryder crossed his arms and leaned against the side, unable to hold back his laughter.

Aria: "..."

He immediately stopped laughing, lifted his chin, and said, "Ahem, it's normal to miss once. Try again."

Aria took another shot.

It still didn't go in.

He laughed again.

"..." Aria felt that she was now just like Ryder when he was trying to catch a doll. The difference was that he was actually mocking her.

She pursed her lips and said in a solemn tone, "Ryder."

"I didn't laugh at you when you missed so many times while trying to catch a doll upstairs just now."

Ryder: "..."

His smile disappeared, and he stared at her with a straight face.

Aria thought he was really being a bit too much, and a little bit of rebellion welled up in her. "Oh. You're the only one allowed to mock me, and I'm not allowed to laugh at you? Darling Rye, are you such a sore loser?"

Ryder gritted his teeth and laughed out of anger.

He stepped closer, took the ball that Aria was holding, casually threw it with one hand, and with a clang, the ball easily went into the basket.

The rebellious little girl was grabbed by the waist and pressed into his arms.

Before Aria could react, the boy leaned over her. Her slightly open lips made an involuntary "mmph" sound as they were bumped, and her hands were clasped together and pinned above her head.

She was pushed into the corner.

The girl's pupils shrank slightly, and her eyes widened.

Filled with disbelief.

Ryder lowered his eyes, his eyes dark and dangerous. He asked in a low voice with a playful smile, "Am I a sore loser?"

Aria: "..."

Yes, he was a sore loser!

He was actually forcing her to admit that he wasn't a sore loser in this way!

Aria struggled with her wrists.

Ryder lifted his eyelids, leaned closer again, and asked with a smile, "Airy, you can't say that a man is a sore loser, you know that?"

He said slowly, "Especially me."

"Then let me go."

Aria blinked, looking at him with a damp and aggrieved expression. Ryder curled the corner of his lips, released her, stuffed the ball back into her hands, and sneered, "Try again. If you make five out of ten shots, we'll move on to the next one."

"But the requirement for us is to make three out of ten shots."

"Five."

"Three."

Ryder clicked his tongue, leaning against the props behind him, and said with a half-smile, "What if you make mistakes during the actual test and fail the course with only three shots?"

Aria gave in.

Nothing was more important than not failing the course.

After almost an hour of struggling, Aria's forehead was covered with a thin layer of sweat, and she finally met the standard set by Ryder.

She let out a soft sigh and pursed her lips.

She didn't understand why other young couples' dates were so sweet, but theirs had turned out like this.

Apparently, her boyfriend didn't think so.

Holding the remaining few game tokens, he naturally took her hand, exchanged some more tokens, and played all the other games.

After leaving the arcade, Aria realized later that the games Ryder had taken her to play were all the ones she had casually taken a few extra glances at out of curiosity.

Her heart softened again.

No one could compare to Ryder in terms of thoughtfulness and attentiveness. His tenderness was always subtle and comforting.

It made her fall head over heels for him the moment she thought about it.

Well, she forgave him.

Aria turned her head and looked at the man who was driving seriously. How lucky she was to have so much of his favor.

The two of them then went to the aquarium. In fact, Aria didn't take many photos. When she went out with Maya Brooks before, it was always Maya Brooks who took the lead in taking photos.

Ryder, for some unknown reason, became interested. He dragged Aria to find angles and took a lot of photos. Finally, they even went to a photo booth and took various goofy photo stickers with small stickers.

Aria's favorite photo was the one where the two of them were looking at the camera, but Ryder suddenly turned his head and kissed her. He had a bit of a naughty look, and his eyes and brows were incredibly gentle.

It was an accidental capture. The photographer said to delete it, but Aria stopped him.

The two of them held two copies of the developed photos and also asked the photographer for the electronic version. By then, it was already past four in the afternoon.

This strange and clumsy date seemed to have become normal again.

As the setting sun moved to the far west, Aria felt a bit reluctant.

The snow that had fallen in the morning had now melted into water droplets. On the asphalt road, the half-melted snow turned dirty when the wheels rolled over it.

Ryder seemed to sense her disappointment. While waiting for the red light, he reached out and pressed her head, and with his thumb and index finger, he turned her chin towards him. He said lazily, "What's wrong?"

He curved his lips and said, "Let me see. Why are you suddenly unhappy?"

"..." Aria replied obediently, "Nothing."

When the light turned green, Ryder pinched the little girl's soft face, then retracted his hand to hold the steering wheel. "Don't you want to go back?"

He was very well-behaved when driving and rarely spoke. When Aria was with him, he would deliberately slow down and drive more steadily.

When she opened the glove compartment, there were various brands of candies and chocolates inside.

"Pick some to eat."

Aria was almost blinded by the countless candies. She had accidentally opened this compartment before, and there used to be cigarettes in it. Her fingertips couldn't help but fiddle with the candies, and she picked a piece of chocolate from Shufu Ji to eat.

"You don't smoke anymore?"

Ryder didn't answer, but only said, "I'm quitting."

He didn't actually have a strong addiction.

And his little girl clearly hated the smell of cigarettes.

She especially didn't like him smoking.

Aria smiled, her eyelashes curled up, and her bright eyes were filled with joy. No one wanted Ryder to quit smoking more than Aria did.

In the two years after her mother passed away, her father almost constantly smoked and drank. Every time she came home from school, she heard her father's suppressed sobs.

Aria knew that her father was missing and grieving.

But she was afraid.

As a young girl, experiencing the loss of a loved one for the first time, she uncontrollably had fear and shadows left behind. Half of her world suddenly collapsed, and only her father was left to support it alone.

She was extremely scared.

The slightest disturbance was enough to startle and bewilder her.

All her dreams were nightmares. The whole gray world seemed to be full of abandonment and lack of love. Gradually, she came to believe that way.

The girl suppressed the smile on the corner of her mouth, but it still showed in her eyes. Like a child who had won the lottery and was about to receive a big prize, she tugged at his sleeve and said in a low voice, "Quit smoking, Darling Rye."

Live a long and healthy life.

Live a good life, and she would be with him.

"Okay." Ryder smiled lazily with his eyes lowered and agreed to her.

"I'll listen to you. Whatever you say goes."

Aria's eyelashes trembled.

"Airy, keep an eye on me more." He added, "I'll listen to whatever you say."

Aria smiled and said softly, "Okay."

The green trees and buildings on both sides of the asphalt road flashed by rapidly. Inside the SUV, it was quiet, and no one spoke anymore, but there was always a warm and cozy atmosphere.