Julius didn't stop her, just said: "Just buy your own, I don't need it."
"Got it."
"Watch the road when crossing..."
Julius was used to reminding her about all sorts of things. The words were just out when he realized that Ava was now an adult, no longer the little sister who used to timidly hold onto his clothes for a hug while crossing the street.
The girl on the crosswalk had fair skin, was beautiful, and stood gracefully.
She said... she was already an adult.
The dusk breeze was refreshing, stirring the boy's tousled bangs on his forehead, his beautiful eyes shining with scattered light, and the soft laughter spilling from his lips made his whole demeanor gentle.
At this time, those who should be off school were off school, and those who should be off work were off work too. The tea shop was quite crowded.
Ava waited a long time before she finally got the milk tea, buying Julius a cup of iced lemon water.
By the time she returned, Julius already had a seat.
Seeing Ava come in from the doorway, Julius waved his hand, "Here."
Ava quickly walked over with a bright smile and placed the iced lemon water in front of him, "Here, to cool you down."
"Pfft..."
Because it was crowded, they were sharing tables with others. A boy across from them who was eating noodles started laughing abruptly.
He sprayed the table, quickly grabbing a napkin to wipe his mouth and the table.
"Sorry, I didn't mean it, couldn't hold it back."
He said, giving Julius a meaningful look.
It was early spring, and although it could get a bit warm at noon, the mornings and evenings were still quite cool.
How pent-up must you be to need iced water to calm down?
Julius frowned in slight disdain, carefully inspecting Ava's clothes, "Did it splash on you?"
"Nope."
Ava shook her head, a bit puzzled by the boy opposite. What had she said that was so funny?
The boy felt extremely awkward being stared at by both of them and kept apologizing.
Seeing she was fine, Julius called the staff over and asked her to wipe the table again.
Luckily, the noodles arrived quickly, breaking the awkwardness.
But Julius seemed displeased looking at the cilantro in the bowl, "Boss, didn't we say we didn't want cilantro in one of the bowls?"
"Ah? Sorry, sorry, we were too busy and forgot. How about I get you a new bowl?"
"No need."
Ava waved her hand, "No need to bother, this is fine."
"You don't like cilantro?" Julius asked.
They grew up together, Julius remembered all her preferences.
Ava chuckled: "With so many customers, it'd take a long time to get a new bowl."
"Then let me pick it out for you..."
"No need." Ava pulled the bowl towards herself, "I can eat cilantro now."
"Hmm?" Julius was a bit surprised, "Weren't you quite disgusted by the taste of cilantro? You've changed?"
Ava nodded, though her heart was bitter.
Baron initially noticed her because during their first meeting, Ava wore a beige long knit dress and a white beret, her long hair casually falling behind her. Her clean, gentle yet intellectual appearance reminded him of his deceased mother.
He aggressively intruded into her life, forcing her to live as he wished.
Since being with Baron, her clothes could only match the styles his mother liked when she was alive.
The food also had to follow his mother's preferences.
Ava hated cilantro, celery, onions, these vegetables. Just the smell made her lose her appetite.
Yet because his mother liked them, these vegetables often appeared on her table, and if she didn't eat, he would smile and shove them into her mouth, gently telling her: "Sister, if you don't eat properly, I'll be angry."
At first, Ava would often feel so nauseous she'd vomit, then after many instances, her stomach didn't function well.
There was a long period when she had severe anorexia and the sight of any food made her nauseous, fainting several times and rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment.
Baron would find her the best doctors and arrange for the best hospital rooms, ensuring she received the best care.
Yet what would end up on her dinner table never changed.
She still remembers in her past life, Baron standing by her hospital bed, looking at her with deep tenderness, saying lovingly: "Sister, my mother knows you're sick, she's extremely worried. If you eat well, I'll let her keep you company.
If you don't eat well and anything happens, I'll have her accompany you."
Ava had no choice but to endure her body's discomfort and eat the food she despised.
Over time, her body grew numb, and she stopped picking at food.
With picky eating, it isn't necessarily about your body's rejection; mostly, it's psychological.
Once the mind accepts it, the body naturally won't react adversely.
Watching her naturally eat the beef noodles, even with mixed-in cilantro without showing any concern, Julius felt a bit perplexed.
She used to wrinkle her nose at the smell of cilantro and would run far away. Can a person's habits truly change so quickly?
"Why are you staring at me? Eat up." Ava urged him, "I still have some exercises to finish, need to return home early."
"Okay."
Julius responded softly and lowered his head to eat.
No matter what, his girl was still by his side, and that was enough.
This place wasn't far from South Wind Alley, and when Mrs. Goodman was busy and couldn't bring him food, Julius would come here to eat.
After they finished the meal, they walked back along the sidewalk by the road, the evening breeze gently lifting the girl's long hair, time never felt so serene.
Julius had one hand in his pocket, carrying Ava's unfinished milk tea with the other, walking two steps behind her, watching her happily step on the tiles along the ground, with a subtle smile on his lips.
"Julius, have you ever thought about what you want to do in the future?" Ava suddenly asked.
Julius's expression faltered, hesitating for a few seconds before replying, "I want to be like the teacher, become a top-notch jade sculptor, letting the story in my heart always preserve within those beautiful jade stones."
It truly was predetermined.
Ava thought to herself, in both the past and present life, his answer hadn't changed a single word.
She smiled slightly and said, "Your dreams will come true."
She wanted to protect his dreams, protect him.
"Then what is your dream?" Julius countered.
Ava remembered her previous answer to him: "When I graduate, I want to travel around the world."
She was studying in the foreign language department, and at that time, she was full of aspirations to study abroad, find a high-paying translator job, so her mother wouldn't have to work so hard.
But now...
She teasingly tilted her head to look at Julius, "My dream is you."
"Me?" Julius was somewhat taken aback; his ears, cooled by the evening breeze, turned hot again because of her remark.
He had an evasive expression, "Ava, what kind of dream is that? Don't joke around."