With the experience she had gained, Linlin managed to hold back her tears in front of her parents this time, no matter how reluctant she was to leave.
But as soon as she boarded the ship, once the figures on the dock had gradually faded from sight, Linlin leaned against the window and quickly wiped away her tears with the back of her hand.
Seeing this, Jiang Chengzhou hurriedly changed the subject, while Shen Man took a chessboard out of her bag.
And then…
Yan Yuan coaxed Linlin until she felt better.
Jiang Chengzhou and Shen Man sat with their arms folded, staring coldly at the pair across from them.
The more Yan Yuan tried to comfort Linlin, the more spoiled she became. At first, her tears might genuinely have been about parting, but now that the train was almost at the capital, the two of them were clearly just being lovey-dovey the entire journey.
The worst part was that Jiang Chengzhou couldn’t say a thing.
They hardly had any physical contact, but the way they talked and exchanged glances was enough to make anyone’s teeth ache with sweetness.
Now that their relationship had been made official, they practically acted as though no one else existed.
Jiang Chengzhou had never imagined that Yan Yuan, who had always been more mature and steady than him from childhood onward, would turn out like this once he fell in love.
The world was going downhill! Morals were in decline!
When they arrived in the capital, the group first went around to pay their New Year’s respects to their elders.
This time, Yan Yuan became the center of attention, with everyone crowding around him and asking questions about his life.
Fortunately, Yan Yuan had nerves of steel. After several days, the elders were fairly satisfied with Linlin’s boyfriend.
Su Jue was most concerned about Linlin’s studies. When he learned that Yan Yuan was now working as a teaching assistant in the mathematics department at Capital University, his attitude softened considerably.
After discussing several problems in number theory with him, Su Jue was even more pleased.
Deng Jing found her husband’s sudden change of heart rather amusing.
She had always felt that her two daughters resembled her more, while Linlin shared certain traits with her father.
Because she was exceptionally intelligent, Linlin was often proud deep down.
Either someone had to share a long-established bond with her, or be outstanding enough to earn her admiration. Otherwise, it was difficult for anyone to enter her heart.
As it happened, Yan Yuan possessed both qualities.
With the start of the new semester approaching, the festive atmosphere of the New Year had yet to completely fade from the capital.
Yan Yuan and Linlin planned to go to the flower fair. Jiang Chengzhou naturally wanted to come along, and he also dragged Shen Man with him.
That was when Lu Zeyu ran into them.
A young woman stood beside Lu Zeyu as well.
She was the daughter of a family friend of Lu Zeyu’s mother, and the two had known each other since childhood. Their families had long intended to bring them together.
Lu Zeyu had never thought there was anything wrong with it before.
The girl came from a good family, had delicate features, and was somewhat spoiled, but he hadn’t considered that a serious flaw.
It was only after he entered university and met Linlin that he suddenly felt his parents had been too eager to arrange his marriage.
Especially after learning about Linlin’s family background.
Her grandparents lived in the capital’s military compound. Her father was a military officer stationed elsewhere, and her mother was the head of a department at a military hospital. On top of that, there was Chief Cheng, who was close friends with Linlin’s parents.
Lu Zeyu admitted that he was somewhat practical. After finding out all this, he became even more eager to pursue Linlin.
A little icing on the cake, wasn’t it?
Unfortunately, Linlin was extremely difficult to approach.
He had tried every method he could think of to attract her attention, but none of it seemed to work.
Amid the distant crowds, Linlin wore a short cream-colored wool coat. Its collar lay loosely open, revealing the edge of a pale-yellow knitted sweater underneath. She had paired it with dark coffee-brown corduroy trousers and a pair of black leather shoes with low square heels. She stood out strikingly among the crowd.
As a troupe of stilt walkers passed by, she turned slightly to avoid them. The man beside her reached out and steadied her from behind, and the two exchanged a smile.
Lu Zeyu recognized the man. After their encounter in the cafeteria that day, he had asked around about Yan Yuan.
His résumé was impressive enough: he had graduated from Capital University with excellent grades and had smoothly stayed on as a teaching assistant after graduation. He could certainly be called a promising young man.
But that was all.
He had reportedly lost both his parents and was the son of a fisherman, with no connections or background in the capital.
In Lu Zeyu’s eyes, it was true that Yan Yuan had worked hard to get where he was—but that was the extent of it.
The flower fair was packed with people. From a distance, Lu Zeyu watched as Linlin offered Yan Yuan the candied hawthorn skewer in her hand. Yan Yuan bent down and bit off one of the berries, the corners of his mouth curved upward. The effortless intimacy between them made Lu Zeyu’s expression change.
The girl beside him followed his gaze and asked softly, “Who’s that? Do you know him?”
Lu Zeyu looked away, suppressing the malice in his eyes. “No.”
Shen Man returned to campus that afternoon. Yan Yuan stayed at the little Western-style house until nightfall before finally leaving.
After washing up, Linlin returned to her room and lay down, but she tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
What did it feel like to be in love?
It was the feeling of looking forward to seeing him again the next day.
Since she couldn’t sleep anyway, Linlin switched on the bedside lamp. When she happened to glance downward, she noticed a figure still standing outside.
Moonlight poured down beyond the window. Half of Yan Yuan’s profile was bathed in the pale, watery light, his long lashes lowered slightly. He was so handsome he hardly seemed real, yet there was an aloofness around him that kept others at a distance.
Linlin suddenly felt that he looked so lonely, so sad.
Without giving it much thought, she ran downstairs in her pajamas, wearing nothing but a pair of fleece slippers.
She pushed open the front door, and a gust of cold wind rushed in, making her shiver.
Yan Yuan saw her too. He hurried over, opened his coat, and wrapped her entire body in his arms.
The fabric of his coat still carried the cold dampness of the winter night, but his embrace was warm.
Yan Yuan looked down at her, his voice filled with both reproach and concern. “It’s so cold outside. What did you come down here for?”
Linlin tilted her face up. Moonlight fell across her features, turning the tip of her nose faintly red with cold, but her eyes shone like stars. She threw his words right back at him.
“It’s so cold outside. Why haven’t you gone home yet?”
She had been immersed in the sweetness of being in love only moments ago, but now she suddenly felt unbearably sad.
The moment he tilted his head and sighed, the hot tears Linlin had been holding back spilled from her eyes. They ran down her cheeks and neck, falling in an unbroken stream from her chin.
Yan Yuan hurriedly tried to wipe them away, only to discover that his hands had already gone numb from the cold. So, without changing his posture, he simply picked Linlin up and carried her back inside.
Even after he closed the door, the girl still refused to let go of him.
Yan Yuan chuckled. “How about you let me take off my coat first, and then I’ll hold you?”
“Take it off like this.”
Looking down, Yan Yuan could see only the red rims of her eyes and her lips, flushed from biting them, her whole expression stubborn and defiant.
He took off his coat and hung it on the coat rack nearby. Then he scooped her up and settled her sideways on his lap.
Her slippers slipped to the floor, leaving her smooth, rounded feet dangling beside his legs, as white as the moon.
Yan Yuan wiped away her tears and asked with a laugh, “What are you crying for?”
Linlin stubbornly replied, “Why didn’t you go home?”
Yan Yuan lowered his head and rubbed the tip of his nose against hers, carrying a faint chill.
“I just wanted to stand outside for a while. I was about to leave.”
He couldn’t bear to.
