Yichen, who was startled by the falling of an item, raised his head reflexively, only to spot his gift to Youyou before.
“Eh?”
He released his brother at once to pick up that delicate gift box at once.
The packaging was still intact; even the butterfly knot had yet to be pulled out at all.
It was just that its external packaging showed traces of wear and tear, as if it were played around with often.
Why was it unopened even now?
Having specially picked this gift and spent a lot of effort in obtaining it, he only hoped that his brother would find it to his liking.
Did little brother not like his gift?
It was to the extent that he did not even deign to open it.
Youyou got up from the ground. Brushing dust off his shirt, from his periphery, he caught a glimpse of his brother holding the gift box. He frowned in contemplation and then his gaze landed on the object again. With his face bizarrely red, he immediately stepped forward.
“Return that to me!”
He reached out to take it back but grasped nothing.
Yichen avoided his hand and raised his head; the gaze he regarded him appeared to be lost. “This… It’s the gift I gave you.”
“Yes.” The younger boy pinched the corner of his shirt. Pursing his lips in anxiety, he feigned coolness as he raised his proud chin.
His rosy little lips pressed into a tight line.
“Why didn’t you open it?” the older lad asked curiously.
“I-I…” The younger twin frowned and faltered for a long time before suddenly shooting him a glance full of irritation. “Why do you ask this? You don’t have to bother!”
The older one, who was already used to his cold and proud personality, was not cowed by it. Seeing that his carefully selected gift did not seem to gain his little brother’s favor, he was inevitably disappointed.
“This gift – I took a long time picking it.”
“So what…” Sensing his desolation, the younger boy’s heart seemed to have been pricked; his attitude could not help but soften a little.
“So I hope that you will like it.” The older boy raised his brow and then suddenly gave a self-deprecating smile. “You don’t seem to like it, though.”
“…”
“Do you not like this present…” he asked, his face drooping from sadness.
The younger twin faltered for a while and then haltingly replied, “It… It’s not like that! It’s just that…”
“Forget it if you don’t like it. Sigh…”
With that, Yichen stuffed the gift into his pocket with a grievous look.
Youyou was frantic now. Rushing up to him, he tightly held his wrist and asked with displeasure, “What are you doing?”
Seeing how nervous he suddenly looked, for a moment, the older boy was confused. “Don’t you dislike this gift?”
“Even if I dislike it, you can’t take it back still!” He frowned in righteous indignation. “You gave it to me, didn’t you?”
“… Well, yes,” the other replied.
“At least, let me see what exactly it is, and then I’ll decide whether I like it or not!” he bashfully declared. “I haven’t opened it yet, have I?”
It was because, for reasons unknown, he could not bear to open it.
The older boy found this brother of his to be very contradictory. One moment, he did not like it; another moment, he wanted to see it to decide whether he liked it or not.
In the end, did he like it or not?
“Anyway, I don’t care. You gave that to me, so it’s technically mine. There’s no sense for you to take it back!” With that, the younger lad snatched it from his hand.
In his revelation, the older kid suddenly got what he was feeling awkward about.