Yan Yuan lowered his eyes, the corner of his lips curving upward. “All right. I’ll prepare my lessons nearby and won’t disturb you.”
He cleared the things from the dining table, then sat down on the sofa in the living room and took his books and lesson plans out of his bag.
Though he said he was preparing lessons, Linlin saw that he had not started yet and got up to go out into the yard.
Curious, Linlin walked to the window and looked outside.
To her surprise, Yan Yuan was already coming back. She hurriedly hopped on one foot back to the rug in front of the sofa, sat down, and pressed the tip of her pen to the paper, pretending to be deep in thought.
For acute soft-tissue injuries like a sprained ankle or strained ligaments, cold compresses could be applied within forty-eight hours to constrict the blood vessels and reduce bleeding and swelling.
There had been no ice at home yesterday, so before Yan Yuan left, he had filled several cups with water and set them outside in the yard. By now, they had frozen into blocks of ice.
He wrapped one in a towel and handed it to Linlin. “Put this on it. It’ll help the swelling go down faster.”
“…Thank you.”
Linlin took it, turned her body to one side, removed her sock, and applied the cold compress.
The radiators made the room pleasantly warm, though the air was also a little stuffy and irritating.
The instant the ice touched her skin, Linlin let out a soft sigh. Her whole body immediately felt more comfortable.
Nervously, she glanced behind her.
Yan Yuan had already lowered his head over his notebook, writing as though he were genuinely absorbed in preparing his lessons.
Linlin breathed a sigh of relief and began idly playing with the ice.
A while later, a voice suddenly came from behind her. “That’s enough. It’s been fifteen minutes. Apply it again in another two hours.”
He reached around from behind her and directly took the towel-wrapped ice from her hand.
The towel was already soaked through, and Linlin’s fingers had turned white from the cold.
Yan Yuan glanced at them. Before long, he brought over a hand warmer.
At last, Linlin could not help looking up at him. “Why are you being so nice to me?”
Yan Yuan’s smile faded, and he said seriously, “Can’t you tell? I’m trying to win you over.”
“You were nice to me before, too.”
Linlin had meant those words as a reminder: they had always had a good relationship.
They were like siblings, like friends. Things had always been good between them. Why did that have to change?
Yan Yuan fell silent for a moment, his eyes lowering. “It’s different.”
An older brother’s affection was wanting her to be happy. A suitor’s affection was wanting her happiness to have something to do with him.
Because love was “selfish,” this kind of affection came with exclusivity and possessiveness.
He would not be jealous that she had another older brother, but he could not even bear to imagine another man standing beside her.
Linlin did not dare take the initiative to pierce the thin veil between them, but Yan Yuan had always wanted the status of a suitor.
Mimicking her, he sat down on the rug and said earnestly, “Linlin, can you treat me the way you treat the boys who pursue you?”
The fingers holding Linlin’s pen trembled. She lowered her head and complained, “Those boys don’t have the key to my house.”
The thing Yan Yuan feared most was that Linlin would find his feelings disgusting. Hearing her say that, he finally let out a sharp breath of relief.
He chuckled. “My fault. I had the advantage of being close at hand…”
He did not finish the phrase.
Little Moon lowered her head and worked on her homework.
After feeling uneasy for quite some time, Yan Yuan spoke again. “Linlin?”
Linlin looked at him with feigned indifference, lifting her chin slightly. “What? That’s how I treat those boys. You chose this yourself.”
Yan Yuan covered his forehead, his shoulders shaking with laughter.
A little embarrassed and annoyed, Linlin put on a fierce expression. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell Mom and Dad? Or my brother?”
The amusement in Yan Yuan’s eyes only deepened. “If you want to.”
Linlin had not expected that even threatening to tell on him would not scare him. Suddenly feeling as if she had played her strongest card for nothing, she could only clench her fists and say, “You can’t tell them. If you do, I’ll never speak to you again.”
Without anyone teaching her, Linlin had found Yan Yuan’s weak spot.
Yan Yuan let out a quiet sigh. “All right.”
Linlin was the treasure of her family. He had known that all along.
It was something they would have to face sooner or later. Perhaps if he came clean to her aunt and uncle sooner, he might still make a good impression on them.
There were too many rivals. Men whom even he could not surpass would not impress her aunt and uncle either.
And if there were men better than him, Yan Yuan would become better still.
Linlin did not want to tell them yet, and Yan Yuan was in no hurry.
After his grandfather passed away, Yan Yuan had become indifferent to most things, with no particular ambitions.
It was only after realizing his feelings for Linlin that he found his drive and ambition again.
He could not possibly let Linlin suffer alongside him.
His school dormitory was about twenty square meters. The little Western-style house Linlin lived in now was more than ten times that size.
Yan Yuan was no longer content with his current circumstances.
His Little Moon should always remain high above, untouched by hardship. Ideally, she would never have to suffer a day in her life.
By the time Jiang Chengzhou returned from his assignment, the way Yan Yuan and Linlin interacted had changed.
Hearing Linlin say “Yan Yuan” every other sentence, Jiang Chengzhou tapped his sister on the forehead. “That’s rude. Call him ‘Brother.’”
Yan Yuan quickly said, “It’s fine. Just call me by my name.”
He was afraid of the word “brother” now and wished to avoid it like the plague.
Jiang Chengzhou had not truly meant to scold his sister. Since Yan Yuan himself did not mind, he said nothing more.
On New Year’s Day, Linlin and Yan Yuan spent the holiday with the elderly members of the family.
Thinking of Yan Yuan and Shen Man being all alone in the capital, Linlin invited them over for dinner that evening.
Yan Yuan was pursuing Linlin right under Jiang Chengzhou’s nose. Having a secret in common somehow gave the two of them an unspoken, inexplicable understanding.
Yan Yuan found an excuse to send Jiang Chengzhou and Shen Man out to buy seasonings.
Yan Yuan came over to cook so often that Jiang Chengzhou had grown used to it.
He did not think there was anything strange about how comfortable Yan Yuan was in their home, so he went out with Shen Man.
Shen Man glanced suspiciously at Yan Yuan and Linlin in the kitchen, sensing that something was not quite right.
She frowned, but temporarily kept her doubts to herself.
Linlin was trimming vegetables while absentmindedly lost in thought when warm breath suddenly brushed against her ear. Yan Yuan’s clear, cool voice sounded beside it.
“What are you thinking about?”
Linlin’s body stiffened. Feeling the warmth behind her, she suddenly thought her heart might leap right out of her mouth.
Yet Yan Yuan seemed completely unaware that he was standing far too close. He had crossed a boundary without noticing her reaction at all. He simply bent his head closer, his gaze deep as he looked at her.
“With the beef, would you prefer spicy boiled beef or tomato beef soup?”
His long, pale hand reached past her shoulder as he naturally selected ingredients. “For the side dishes, we’ll use the potatoes and mushrooms you like… Do you want anything else?”
Linlin was standing in the corner by the kitchen counter. With Yan Yuan moving this way, it felt as though he had boxed her in.
“Nothing else!” Linlin glared at him, though the tips of her ears had quietly turned red.
It was Yan Yuan’s first time openly “bullying” her like this. If not for his high-necked sweater, the flush creeping up his neck would probably have been impossible to hide.
When Jiang Chengzhou and Shen Man returned, they found Yan Yuan and Linlin standing on opposite sides of the kitchen. Both of their faces were a little red, as though they had just had an argument.
