"Quit smoking, and I'll do your homework for you," Xiao Yan said to Lin ChuSui as she tensed up.
She was so embarrassed she wanted to dig a hole and bury herself or just die on the spot.
"Who says I even want you to do my homework!" she said angrily. "So what if you're the top of our grade? Does that give you the right to mock people?"
Her angry expression made Xiao Yan laugh. "When did I ever mock you?"
"You're always mocking me!"
Suddenly, Xiao Yan's handsome face drew closer to hers, slowly nearing her.
Lin ChuSui was so nervous she could barely breathe, continuously leaning back: "W-What are you doing?"
Xiao Yan moved in close, his hand slowly lowering into her bag.
Thinking he was going to kiss her, Lin ChuSui pursed her lips tightly and closed her eyes.
But instead, he merely took out her lighter and cigarette pack from her bag, casually tossing them on the table.
After some time, Lin ChuSui opened her eyes.
Leaning casually in his chair, Xiao Yan couldn't help a slight smile forming at the corner of his mouth. The autumn moon and breeze --
"Now that's what I call mocking."
Seeing the cigarette pack on the table, Lin ChuSui realized her misunderstanding. Her cheeks grew even redder: "Xiao Yan, I've decided I officially dislike you now!"
"I don't care," Xiao Yan said mildly, fiddling with the fancy steel lighter between his slender fingers. "Confiscated."
Lin ChuSui pouted, acting nonchalant. "Take it then."
She could just buy more anyway.
Annoyed, Lin ChuSui looked away and started eating her spicy hot pot. The flavor was quite good, very fragrant and spicy.
But...after eating the third piece of beef stomach, her fair face had turned red from the spiciness.
Xiao Yan glanced at her coolly. "Too spicy?"
"Um, just a little."
"I didn't add any chili peppers, it must be spiciness from the broth itself. It shouldn't be too spicy."
"I..."
She was breathing rapidly, puffing and panting as she stuck out her bright red tongue. "I can't handle spicy at all...huff...huff..."
Xiao Yan decisively took her hot pot away, but Lin ChuSui guarded her food like a little bunny. "Hey!"
"I'll make you a new bowl."
"No need." Lin ChuSui insisted on eating another piece of beef. "You're so sly, purposely adding chili peppers to make me buy a second bowl. I can handle it."
Seeing beads of sweat forming on her brow, Xiao Yan finally couldn't bear it. "I'll make you a new mild broth bowl, free of charge."
"It's not about the money. I just...don't want to waste food. My dad says wasting is shameful."
Lin ChuSui was a spoiled rich girl who never lacked anything. But she knew Xiao Yan survived on scholarships, just enough to cover tuition, doing various side jobs after school.
Looking at the full bowl of hot pot before her, all premium beef parts Xiao Yan had cooked for her, Lin ChuSui wasn't observant but she wasn't so dense either.
She kept voraciously eating, though there was a slight spiciness that wasn't unbearable, mainly because she never touched spicy food before so it took some adjusting.
Xiao Yan watched her deeply. After some time, he reached out and took her bowl. "Stop eating."
"You--"
Before she could react, she saw Xiao Yan picking up her chopsticks and eating from her leftover bowl.
He ate elegantly and naturally, not at all bothered that she had eaten from it already.
"Just this...spicy?"
Lin ChuSui was stunned.
It wasn't about the spiciness anymore!
"Why are you eating my leftovers?"
"To avoid waste."
"But...we're not that close, are we?!"
"Hm?"
Lin ChuSui's face was bright red, half from spiciness, half from embarrassment. "You eating my leftovers, isn't that like an indirect kiss..."
Xiao Yan looked up at her deeply for a moment, his beautiful eyes shining softly, lacking the previous aloofness and coldness.
Meeting his gaze, Lin ChuSui felt somewhat dizzy, like the metal core of the lighter had given her body an electric shock, tingling spreading across her skin.
After a long pause, she saw a faint smile lift the corner of his mouth. "You're my goddess after all."
"...!"
Xiao Yan got up and went to the counter, starting a new mild broth hot pot for Lin ChuSui.
Lin ChuSui took out her phone and spammed her chat group with berserk emojis.
Lu Chi: "Chubs going crazy as usual."
Lin ChuSui: "The school god really loves me now, no, not just loves, he's utterly infatuated...ahhh, my damned charm..."
Lu Chi: "Did he propose to you?"
Lin ChuSui: "No, not that much. But he admitted I'm his goddess! And wanted to kiss me!"
Lu TianBai: "So hardcore of you to be the school god's goddess, bestie."
As the eternal hype man of the group, Lu TianBai inflated Lin ChuSui's vanity to the maximum. She was over the moon--
"Cough, gotta stay low-key."
Lu Chi: "Goddess sis, can you share the school god fanboy's homework you got?"
Lin ChuSui: "Shameless."
After sending her message, she stealthily glanced at Xiao Yan's back again. Remembering he was still waiting for her to pay, she opened up his math workbook and quickly snapped some pics, sending them into the chat.
Lu Chi: "Holy crap, you really got it! Are you two dating now?"
Lin ChuSui: "Yup! He's cooking for me right now."
Lu Chi: "OMG."
Lu TianBai: "OMG +1!"
Zhang Cheng Yu: "After eating, next step is...? [confused emoji]"
Too lazy to respond to these perverts, Lin ChuSui said: "How can I get him to stop loving me? He's pretty nice to me, I don't want to hurt him. [distressed emoji]"
Lu Chi: "Want to hear the advice of your dearest besties?"
Lin ChuSui: "Yeah."
Lu Chi: "We advise you to make sacrifices for the greater good...oh right, can you take pics of the English homework and science workbook too?"
Lin ChuSui smacked and kicked Lu Chi halfway across the globe.
Just then, a strange profile pic popped up in the prestigious South City No.1 Middle School Girls' Chat--
"Idiot, don't get ahead of yourself."
The stranger's profile pic was a side view of a youth in a white shirt, the sun behind him lighting his silhouette softly.
At first glance it looked like an idol's promotional photo. But when Lin ChuSui tapped to enlarge it, she realized it was none other than Xu JiaNing that jerk!
Only "Dick King" would use an artsy photo of himself as avatar.
Lin ChuSui: "@everyone, who let this fake foreign devil in!"
Lu Chi: "@Lu TianBai."
Soon, Lu TianBai private messaged Lin ChuSui: "Well, I thought since he's your brother..."
Lin ChuSui: "I don't have a brother, never had and never will."
Lu TianBai: "Sorry bestie, I should've asked you first. Should I kick him out?"
Lin ChuSui couldn't get mad at Lu TianBai. "Forget it, just pretend he doesn't exist."
Just then, Carl aka Xu JiaNing added Lin ChuSui as a friend.
Lin ChuSui rejected him, but he sent a second request, with the message: "Add me real quick, will delete after."
Lin ChuSui accepted: "What's up?"
Xu JiaNing: "You're at Xiao Yan's place?"
Lin ChuSui: "None of your business."
Xu JiaNing: "I suggest you go straight home, now."
Lin ChuSui: "Don't wanna go back."
Xu JiaNing: "I'm advising you to return, otherwise you'll be in big trouble tomorrow, trust me."
Lin ChuSui: "Hmph."
Even her mom Fang YouYi couldn't do anything to her, how could she get in trouble?
Lin ChuSui really didn't want to see any strange men living with her and her dad at home. Let alone Xu JiaNing, even Uncle Xu...he was replacing her dad.
Lin ChuSui didn't know how to live under one roof with him.
She didn't want to ruin her mother's happy remarriage, of course she knew she wasn't the type who could endure it either.
Whether she was happy or unhappy, it was all written on her face.
If she returned, she would definitely be the vibe killer to the family's warm, joyful atmosphere.
Might as well not go back at all.
Xu JiaNing: "Up to you, just wanted to give you a heads up."
Xu JiaNing: "Oh right, your fanboy got question 3 wrong on the math test, should've picked C."
Lin ChuSui directly blocked that annoying punk.
...
Xiao Yan cooked a mild broth hot pot for Lin ChuSui, without a hint of chili this time. But he specially simmered the broth with dried tangerine peel and aniseed to keep the flavor intact.
He neatly packed it for her in a takeout box, bringing the food to her. "It's late, you should head back with this to eat."
Lin ChuSui took out her phone sullenly. "Didn't bring cash, add me on WeChat and I'll transfer you."
Xiao Yan glanced at the obvious WeChat QR code on the wall, hesitating before taking out his own phone and opening up his code.
Lin ChuSui added him on WeChat, instantly tapping into his Moments. His latest post was a text and image from two years ago.
The pic was a sunset sky filled with fiery clouds, but the clouds were black and white, looking almost mournful.
The text simply said:
"I'm sorry."
Weird Moment.
Behind her, Xiao Yan said, "Done looking?"
Only then did Lin ChuSui remember he was still waiting for her to pay.
She had browsed his Moments right in front of him, seemed a bit awkward...
Sheepishly, Lin ChuSui asked, "How much for two bowls of hot pot?"
Xiao Yan hadn't intended to charge her at all, but if he didn't, this young miss would probably let her imagination run wild again...
"However much you think is fair," he casually said. "Free pic with purchases over 50 bucks."
Lin ChuSui randomly sent him 49 yuan: "No need for the pic, thanks."
Xiao Yan handed her the packaged hot pot.
As Lin ChuSui walked out the door, she got a call from her mother Fang YouYi--
"Lin ChuSui, are you trying to get rid of me as your mother?!"
Hearing her voice, Lin ChuSui immediately felt exhausted.
"You already agreed to let Uncle Xu move in, now you're throwing a tantrum again. You're almost an adult, can't you stop acting like a child?"
"If you don't come back tonight, then never come back! I won't consider you as my daughter anymore."
Lin ChuSui was just about to take a taxi home when she heard this. She stopped in her tracks upon hearing those words.
"He can stay at home." She said in a calm yet muffled voice: "But can you not sleep in dad's room?"
These words pierced Fang You Yi's heart like daggers.
She could clearly hear the trembling in Fang You Yi's breath.
"Bang!"
She hung up the phone. The busy tone rang, as if expressing Fang You Yi's anger on her behalf.
Lin ChuSui put down her phone and looked helplessly at the waning crescent moon in the sky.
This is...so awful.
...
After finishing the cleaning, Xiao Yan walked out of the hot pot restaurant and pulled down the rolling door.
Turning around, he saw his young aunt resting her cheek in her hand, sitting at the edge of the steps. Next to her was an empty disposable bowl that had been licked clean.
Her head bobbed up and down like a woodpecker.
Seeing her lonely, fragile silhouette, Xiao Yan's hand went to his aching heart.
Hearing the noise, Lin ChuSui yawned and looked at Xiao Yan blurrily -
"Um...how much is it to stay here for one night?"
Xiao Yan paused briefly before rejecting her request: "This is not a hotel. There are no beds for sleeping either."
"That's fine. I can just lie down on a table for the night."
"No." Xiao Yan said in a commanding tone. "It's very late. Go home."
"Nevermind then."
If he wouldn't give her shelter, she could just spend the night at an internet cafe. Usually she would call Lu Chi and Lu TianBai, but their parents were back from a business trip tonight so it wasn't good to call them out.
Lin ChuSui got up and walked away leisurely, chewing gum.
Watching her slender silhouette, Xiao Yan's hand went to his aching heart again. Her figure overlapped with the one who had rushed into the fire.
He was silent for a few seconds before finally riding his bike to catch up and block Lin ChuSui's path.
Seeing him leave and then return, Lin ChuSui bluntly asked: "What now?"
"There's no lodging in the shop." His eyes motioned to the seat behind him. "Get on. I'm taking you home."
Lin ChuSui repeatedly backed away: "No way am I going to your house! Dream on."
"My sister will be there too."
Thinking about the kind and pretty older sister Xiao Qian, Lin ChuSui hesitated briefly before agreeing: "Fine, I'll sleep with your sister."
This made Xiao Yan laugh. "Who else did you think you would sleep with?"
"..."
Holding Xiao Yan's waist, Lin ChuSui sat on the rear seat of his bike.
"Lodging fee is 300. Since you're my deskmate, I'll give you a discount at 250." He calmly stated, "Breakfast not included."
"Wow, is your house a luxury hotel? The lodging fee is so expensive, and breakfast isn't even included?"
"Then go stay at a hotel."
Lin ChuSui pouted. She thought to herself that if she had brought her ID, she wouldn't have ended up relying on him like this.
"Alright alright, 250 it is. You're so calculative."
By now, it was already 10pm at night. A cool breeze blew, and there were few pedestrians on the street. Occasionally a car would speed by.
The bicycle travelled on the spacious greenway, with the crescent moon hanging high in the sky ahead.
Watching his back, Lin ChuSui said: "Our family's old Lin also liked riding his bike with me - to and from kindergarten, primary school, middle school... Your back looks just like my dad's when he used to ride."
"Riding a bike looks the same for everyone. What's similar?"
Lin ChuSui insisted: "It's just very similar."
Seeing her silhouette under the moonlight, Xiao Yan's heart softened for some reason.
Along the long journey, the fragrant olive leaves swayed in the wind. The moonlight flickered. Lin ChuSui gently hugged his waist, resting her forehead on his back.
"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm hugging you not because I like you."
"I didn't think that."
Leaning on his thin clothing, Xiao Yan could feel the weight of her head, as if it contained very heavy memories.
"Dad... I was actually the one who killed him."
He tilted his head slightly.
The young aunt's voice carried a very heavy nasal tone: "He heard from somewhere about me dating, and said my boyfriend's grades were bad, that he would be a bad influence. Dad forced me to break up."
"That afternoon, he took time off work to bring me to the aquarium. Because of this issue, I was mad at him and refused to go. Afterwards, there was an emergency at work and he had to go back in."
"If I had obediently listened to him, if we had gone to the aquarium... none of the things that happened later would have occurred."
No ifs.
Xiao Yan's heart began to ache indistinctly.
"I'll never forget the disappointed look in his eyes when he left. If I knew that was the last time I'd see him, I definitely would have listened obediently."
The young aunt's voice carried the thick sound of oncoming tears. She had never told anyone these things before, always suppressing them in her heart until she choked for breath.
Later on, mom had moved on, and so did grandpa and grandma. Not because they didn't love dad, but because they had no regrets.
Only she did.
That last argument had left an eternally unhealable bloody wound in her heart.
"I'm sorry." She choked back sobs, gritting her teeth as she softly said: "I'm sorry, old Lin. You're the best dad in the world."
If only he could hear this. How wonderful that would be.
Xiao Yan calmed the churning emotions in his body. He knew these were the feelings of someone else inside him.
Looking at the thick night, he said in a deep voice: "Your dad won't blame you."
Lin ChuSui sniffed and looked up with bleary eyes: "How do you know?"
"Because he's your dad."
...
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