Raise Love-137-After stamping, it's not just a lifetime of white hair

The setting sun slanted through the car window.

Ryder's arm lazily rested on the steering wheel. Glancing at the quiet little girl in the passenger seat through the rearview mirror, a warm tenderness suddenly spread in his heart.

The closest example of love he had seen was his parents' love, so he held deep respect for relationships. Although he respected love, he never expected to have it.

Perhaps because his living environment was too comfortable and smooth, he often felt bored. Besides the routine things and occasional rebellious acts, he was always in a listless mood.

He lived his life half-heartedly yet tried his best to be serious.

It was only at this moment that Ryder suddenly realized what happiness truly meant.

The evening glow, the dusk, and the person he yearned for.

All these formed a home.

He had a girl in his heart whom he looked forward to and adored. When driving, he worried about whether she would get carsick. When they parted, he couldn't bear to part with her charming figure in his mind.

When he went home, he wanted to cook for her.

Ryder's fingers rubbed the steering wheel. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly said, "Airy, don't go back, okay?"

"Hmm?" Aria was sucking on a chocolate, and her mouth was sweet. After playing for a whole day and practicing shooting, she felt a bit drowsy now that she had calmed down.

She opened her eyes slowly and looked at him with a confused expression.

Her eyes were so clean and clear, full of trust.

"I'll cook for you." Ryder felt a strange itch in his heart when he saw her look. He wanted to kiss her. He licked his lips and said in a low voice, "Come to my place?"

Aria took a while to react.

"Go to your house?"

"Yeah."

After a few seconds of pause, he said in a low voice, with a hint of coaxing, "You haven't been there yet. Why don't you take a look?"

Somehow, Aria detected a trace of anticipation in his words. He seemed to be inviting her to visit his house.

Even... he seemed to want it to become their house.

And he said he would cook for her.

Perhaps because she was too sleepy to think clearly, Aria had to admit that she was a bit tempted.

Every Christmas night at Harvard University, there was a student fellowship in the gymnasium. It was not mandatory, just for fun. Besides, it was the weekend and there was no dormitory inspection on Friday and Saturday.

Several thoughts flashed through her mind, and Aria, as if possessed, nodded. "Okay."

She trusted Ryder so much.

She had never thought that she would encounter any danger by following him.

He was her safe haven.

Looking at the little girl's gentle eyes full of trust in him, Ryder's eyes darkened slightly, and he felt a bit restless. He gave a soft snort. "Good."

After driving for a while, the SUV turned and drove onto the road leading to the central supermarket closest to the small apartment. They parked the car and went to buy groceries.

Ryder wasn't a diligent person. He hadn't cooked for a long time. Moreover, with Aria suddenly entering his life, he had only been back to his apartment two or three times this semester, and the refrigerator was already covered with dust.

Only Finn Alvarez went back regularly to feed the cat and do some cleaning by the way. With the Harvard University cafeteria available, who would want to cook by themselves?

It was too troublesome.

So the two "unlucky brothers" in dormitory 221 had no idea that the fastidious, overly clean, and somewhat princess-like Mr. Ryder actually had an excellent cooking skill that could make people reluctant to leave.

Aria was a complete novice in the kitchen.

She was truly a girl who had been pampered at home.

The only thing she could do was cook instant noodles, which she learned by herself after her mother passed away. And every time, she accidentally dropped the eggshell into the noodles.

Over the past few years, she had tried hard to learn many things.

She used to think there was no hurry since she was still young and her parents always spoiled her. It was not until the third year of junior high school when she lost her mother that Aria realized much later that they hadn't had the chance to teach her anything.

She was a mess in her daily life.

Her father was a man with rough thoughts. It was only after her aunt married into the family that she was taught little by little about common sense in life and the experience and principles she needed to know when stepping into society.

Now she had learned to do housework, wash clothes, clean, and wash dishes. But when it came to cooking, no matter how many times she tried, the food still tasted bad.

As the dusk turned into night, snowflakes started to float down again.

The two of them returned to the small villa from the supermarket. Ryder carried two large bags of groceries in one hand and held the little girl's hand with the other, who was following him obediently.

When they were choosing ingredients in the supermarket's grocery area, the girl was very curious. She held onto the hem of his clothes and looked around, curious about every vegetable. And soon she ran away.

Ryder had to divert his attention to catch her.

He was afraid that she would get lost.

In such a small supermarket, and the girl was already grown up. It was only after he caught her back that he realized that, in fact, he couldn't bear to be apart from her.

The snowflakes landed on their shoulders and heads, turning into snow water.

Aria was wearing a coat with a furry-edged hat today. Ryder reached out and pulled the hat down over her head.

It covered her eyes, so Aria tilted her face to make it go up a bit.

The white snow was particularly noticeable on the black coat. As more snowflakes landed and couldn't melt in time, Aria suddenly remembered a sentence she had read on the Internet.

She lowered her eyes and looked at their hands tightly clasped together. She said softly, "I heard that if two people walk side by side on a snowy day."

They can grow old together.

She wanted to fulfill this wish with him.

"Can we grow old together?" Ryder lowered his eyes to look at Aria and asked lazily.

Aria thought for a moment and smiled at him. "I think so."

Love was originally a superstition based on the right time and place.

So it didn't seem so bad to be a bit superstitious.

"Then we can." Ryder also smiled. He pulled the little girl into his arms and gently kissed her forehead. He said with a smile, "It's settled. We'll grow old together not just in this life."

Ryder's small apartment was neatly arranged.

After parking the car, the two of them held hands and opened the door to enter. A unique bitter orange fragrance belonging to him greeted them. The familiar smell made Aria not feel too restrictive.

Ryder bent down and took out a pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet. He hooked the string with his finger and pulled off the price tag, then placed the slippers in front of Aria.

Aria was stunned for a moment.

It was a pair of fluffy, pink cotton slippers with a white cat pattern, a style that was very much in line with a girl's girlish heart.

Seeing that the little girl didn't move while looking at the slippers, Ryder simply squatted down halfway and looked up at her with a smile. In a teasing yet gentle tone, he said, "Do you want me to put them on for you?"

Aria then came to her senses, took half a step back, and quickly said, "N-no, no need."

How could she let Ryder put on her shoes for her?

That was not acceptable.

She quickly pulled the boy up and took off her Martin boots herself, revealing her pure white socks. Ryder leaned against the shoe cabinet and watched her change shoes lazily.

Aria curled her toes, feeling a bit embarrassed.

She lowered her head and quickly stepped into the slippers, then ran into the living room. Ryder chuckled as he stared at the little girl's back before slowly changing his shoes.

Then, after a moment of pause, he put both of their shoes into the shoe cabinet.

Aria peeked at him from behind the sofa.

After Ryder casually put the groceries in the refrigerator, he went to find Aria. He took her to the door to register her fingerprint and facial recognition. The whole process was as smooth as flowing water.

Then he took out some snacks and placed them on the table.

He turned on the TV and handed her the remote control. "Play by yourself for a while. If you find the TV boring, you can wander around. You can go anywhere here."