“Cough, cough!”
Just then, a heavy cough came from outside the courtyard gate.
Linlin sprang away as if pricked by a needle, shoving Yan Yuan hard with both hands.
Caught off guard, Yan Yuan staggered backward and slammed his back against the sofa. Before he could react, Linlin had already turned around and greeted them with a radiant smile. “Dad, Mom, you’re back!”
Lin Zhilan’s expression was complicated.
It was hard to say whether she was pleased or annoyed. Mostly, she was simply too shocked and caught off guard to compose herself.
As for Su Lang, his expression was downright gloomy. His face was so dark it looked as though ink might drip from it.
The couple had come back just as Linlin was saying, “I like it when you take the initiative.” They had been so shocked by their daughter’s words that they could only stare at each other, afraid to make a sound. It was only when the two of them began to get serious that Su Lang finally couldn’t hold back and interrupted.
“Uncle, Auntie…” Yan Yuan stood up and was just about to speak when Su Lang cut him off sharply.
“You. Come outside with me!”
Su Lang’s face was cold as he headed into the living room.
Linlin hurried after him. “Dad, don’t be angry with him. We’re dating.”
Yan Yuan’s whole body jolted. He never would have expected Linlin to give him an official status at a moment like this.
After all, she had acted so terrified of being discovered by her parents before.
Linlin was a responsible girl. She enjoyed spending time with Yan Yuan, and the reason she had been so nervous and afraid was that she knew dating him would cause an uproar at home.
Her parents might not blame or criticize her, but they would definitely change the way they viewed Yan Yuan.
Yan Yuan had no family left. She didn’t want her parents to become distant from him because of her.
She liked Yan Yuan, and she hoped her parents could like him too.
Su Lang’s expression was complicated. For the first time, he didn’t immediately give in to his daughter’s wishes.
Lin Zhilan took her daughter’s hand. “Your father just wants to have a talk with Yan Yuan. He won’t get angry, right?”
Lin Zhilan shot Su Lang a meaningful look.
Su Lang’s face stiffened, but in the end, he nodded.
Yan Yuan also gave Linlin a reassuring look before following Su Lang into the courtyard.
Lin Zhilan took her daughter to the bedroom and closed the door behind them with a sigh.
Linlin hugged her arm. “Mom, are you angry with me too?”
“No, it’s just…” Lin Zhilan’s feelings were complicated.
Even though Yan Yuan and her daughter had been a couple in the novel, Lin Zhilan had never once considered trying to bring them together. Who would have thought that after spending so much time together, the two children would end up becoming a couple on their own?
Yan Yuan was older and had a steadier personality. Lin Zhilan believed he understood things clearly. But Linlin was still young and had never been in love before. Lin Zhilan was afraid she might not be able to distinguish between her feelings for an older brother and her feelings for a lover.
“Sweetheart, are you sure you like Yan Yuan?”
Linlin rested her head against her mother’s shoulder and slowly said, “I’m sure, Mom. Sometimes I even imagine what our future together might be like.”
Linlin had thought about this for a long time.
At the time, she hadn’t dared tell her mother and could only share her thoughts with Dong Xiaomin.
Dong Xiaomin didn’t understand love either, but she had reminded Linlin of one thing: “So many people are pursuing you. Would you be willing to spend time with another boy the way you do with Mr. Yan?”
The answer was no.
She had eyes for only one person. No matter how many people pursued her or how many choices she had, Linlin only wanted to be with Yan Yuan in that way.
Lin Zhilan let out a sigh of relief and brushed back the hair beside her daughter’s ear. “Are you happy when you’re with him?”
“Happy.” Linlin smiled sweetly, but then immediately pouted. “It’s just that he can be so old-fashioned sometimes. I seriously wonder if we have a generation gap.”
A girl dressed up for the one she loved. Sometimes Linlin wanted to wear something a little prettier in front of Yan Yuan, but he only ever focused on whether she was dressed warmly enough. It was so annoying.
Even though she no longer considered herself his little sister, Yan Yuan still tried to control her. He wouldn’t let her eat anything too cold, and he wouldn’t let her stay up late.
Linlin also knew that no matter how willful she became, Yan Yuan could never really do anything about it.
She simply chose to indulge him.
In How the Steel Was Tempered, Pavel said this when discussing love and ideals:
“True love should help both people grow together, rather than hold each other back.”
That was what love looked like at its best.
As for ideals: “The most precious thing a person possesses is life. Each person is given only one life, and it should be lived in such a way that, when looking back on the past, one will not regret having wasted one’s years or feel ashamed of having achieved nothing.”
Linlin was fortunate to live in an exceptionally happy family. She was working hard toward her ideals, and it seemed that she was beginning to find love as well.
Sometimes, Linlin felt almost frightened by it all. Everything was so wonderful that it seemed unreal.
Seeing her like this, Lin Zhilan finally put her mind at ease. “Then go ahead and date him. Mom doesn’t object. But remember this: dating isn’t a binding contract, and even marriage isn’t a binding contract. This is simply the decision you’re making right now, not a decision for the rest of your life. Do you understand?”
Spending an entire lifetime with someone was no easy matter.
Lin Zhilan didn’t want her daughter to become too attached. Loving yourself before loving someone else was the key to making love last.
Linlin wrapped both arms around her mother’s neck and smiled. “Sister Manman told me the same thing.”
Lin Zhilan nodded and tapped her daughter on the nose. “Manman is a good girl. You should listen to her.”
“I’m very obedient.” Linlin snuggled into her mother’s arms and acted spoiled.
Lin Zhilan hugged her and sighed. “Our baby has grown up.”
“No.” Linlin hurriedly shook her head. “I want to be Mom’s baby forever.”
“Okay.” Lin Zhilan would have been more than happy for her daughter to keep clinging to her and acting spoiled forever.
Linlin suddenly remembered something and gave her mother a fawning smile. “Mom, Dad isn’t going to beat up Yan Yuan, is he?”
Linlin knew that her mother had always been open-minded, but her father was different. He was old-fashioned too.
Besides, her father trained every day and had never lost his muscle mass. Yan Yuan, on the other hand, was a teacher who was practically frail by comparison.
Lin Zhilan laughed. “He won’t hit him. Your father knows where to draw the line.”
Lin Zhilan felt that Su Lang really did need to have a proper talk with Yan Yuan.
Although she was open-minded and liked the young man very much, Linlin was her precious daughter. Some things needed to be made clear.
Su Lang kept Yan Yuan standing outside for more than ten minutes. Several times, Yan Yuan tried to speak, but Su Lang interrupted him each time.
After a long while, Su Lang finally spoke. “When did you fall in love with Linlin?”
Yan Yuan answered honestly. “I might have started developing feelings when my grandfather passed away. By the time I realized how I felt, she had already started university.”
“You!” Su Lang was so furious that he glared at Yan Yuan, barely managing not to call him a bastard.
Yan Yuan stood there obediently. He felt that he was pretty much a bastard himself.
“Break up with her. I don’t approve of the two of you dating,” Su Lang said coldly.
Yan Yuan was silent for a moment. “I’m sorry, Uncle, but I can’t do that.”
