Xiao Yan attended the class reunion, to everyone's surprise. In the past, he had never attended such gatherings.
By now, his status was different from the past. He could be considered a famous public figure. After entering the private room, classmates immediately stood up to greet him, wanting to chat with him.
Xiao Yan politely declined, then glanced at Lin ChuSui.
Lin ChuSui was originally sprawled on the sofa eating shrimp chips. The moment he entered, she sat up straight, threw away the snacks, and was on high alert.
Xiao Yan strode towards her. Lin ChuSui immediately got up and sat between Lu Chi and Lu TianBai, using the twin siblings as her left and right guards.
Xiao Yan hesitated for a moment, then sat down next to Xu Jia Ning in the corner.
Xu Jia Ning was annoyed that Xiao Yan had abandoned his sister for many years. Naturally, he didn't give a good expression, saying coldly, "Why did you come?"
"Why can't I come?"
"Mr. Xiao is a busy man." Xu Jia Ning sneered, "Your career is important. There's no need to attend something as trivial as a class reunion personally. Just send an assistant to settle the bill for us."
Xiao Yan knew he was standing up for Lin ChuSui, so he didn't argue and just said, "With my brother-in-law here, who needs me to settle bills."
The two words "brother-in-law" softened Xu Jia Ning's icy expression slightly. He stopped quarreling with him.
Lin ChuSui asked Lu TianBai in a low voice, "Did Xiao Yan sign up for the reunion too?"
"He did."
"Why didn't you tell me earlier! I didn't even put on makeup." She resentfully glanced at Lu TianBai, "Are we still besties?!"
Lu TianBai innocently spread her hands, "I told you to put on makeup. You were the one who felt that us old classmates weren't worthy of your makeup and hair-washing."
Lin ChuSui: ...
Lu TianBai went on, "He booked this place at Xiting Clubhouse for tonight, so he's paying for all our expenses too."
"Why should he pay? You're just taking advantage of him. Everyone earns their money through hard work." Lin ChuSui was slightly dissatisfied.
"Oh, so you're standing up for him already?"
"I'm just upholding justice and principles."
"Keep pretending."
Xiao Yan glanced at Lu Chi. Lu Chi understood and immediately stood up, "Everyone, everyone, it's pretty boring just sitting here. Why don't we play a game?"
"What game?"
"Raise your hand if you're still single."
The crowd looked at each other. Three to five people raised their hands. Lin ChuSui also raised her hand without hesitation.
Glancing at her, Xiao Yan also raised his hand.
Lu Chi walked to the coffee table and took out a deck of cards. After shuffling them, he said, "Since this is our class reunion, of course we should matchmake. Anyone who draws the same card will be a one night couple tonight. How about it?"
Lin ChuSui immediately put her hand down. What a lame game.
Boring.
"Good idea!"
"Come on, this is fun!"
The classmates around seemed very excited. Lu Chi glanced at the few pretty girls in the corner. They also seemed willing to participate.
No way... Would they really agree to be one night couples with the loser guys in class?
But soon, Lin ChuSui noticed their meaningful glances at Xiao Yan.
She realized that he was still single.
Instantly, Lin ChuSui was unhappy.
After shuffling the cards, Lu Chi asked her, "Chubs, are you playing or not with the way you keep raising and lowering your hand?"
"A silly game like this, of course I..."
She hesitated and glanced at Xiao Yan.
In the dim lights of the private room, the top few buttons of his shirt were already completely undone, revealing his smooth, beautiful collarbone. Head lowered chatting with people around him, the corners of his lips curled in an unruffled smile.
The girls around were practically drooling.
Lin ChuSui steeled herself and said, "Of course I'm playing. Who isn't still single?"
"Then let's start."
Lu Chi shuffled the cards and dealt them out one by one.
There were 17-18 classmates participating. At least one pair should draw the same card. Everyone looked at their cards nervously.
Lin ChuSui glanced at Lu TianBai. Hers was a 9 of Diamonds.
"Now, report your cards."
"King of Spades, 5 of Hearts, 2 of Clubs..."
It was Xiao Yan's turn. He lightly placed his card on the table with his slender fingers. Everyone curiously looked over -
"Jack of Spades."
The girls let out disappointed sounds, throwing down their cards. Only Lin ChuSui stared at the Jack of Hearts in her hand, a little stunned.
What a coincidence!
She immediately glared at Lu Chi, suspecting he had rigged it on purpose.
Lu Chi put on an innocent, pure expression. "Yo, don't tell me you drew the same card as the school genius?!"
Lin ChuSui's mouth twitched. Could he be any more obvious with his rigging?
She put down her Jack of Hearts and said, "Someone cheated this round. It doesn't count!"
"Who cheated?"
"You did." Lin ChuSui said to Lu Chi, "Don't think I don't know who you're trying to curry favor from."
"Chubs, aren't you being a bit narcissistic with that?" Lu Chi laughed. "If you're unhappy following the rules, you can abstain."
"I can abstain?"
"Of course. Take a penalty of 5 drinks and abstain, giving up your chance to date the school genius tonight. There are plenty of girls here willing to take over!"
The girls looked hopefully at Lin ChuSui.
Lin ChuSui: ...
Reluctantly, she picked up the Jack of Hearts again, hesitating and struggling for a while, then muttered, "Let's just play. Who's afraid of who."
"Great!" Lu Chi said happily, "Then let's start!"
"How do we start?"
"By dating!"
"How?!"
Lu Chi: "However you used to date him, do that now."
"..."
Lin ChuSui glanced at him awkwardly. Xiao Yan smiled gently and romantically at her, extending his hand, "Come here, girlfriend."
Since he took the initiative to invite her, Lin ChuSui reluctantly shuffled over. He naturally took her wrist, and they sat together on the same sofa.
As she got close to him, Lin ChuSui felt the temperature around her rise.
She shook his hand off hers and asked, "Did you bribe Lu Chi?"
"Yes," Xiao Yan admitted frankly. "I did entice him."
"Boring."
"It is pretty boring."
Lin ChuSui saw the bruise at the corner of his mouth.
Earlier from a distance in the dim private room, she hadn't noticed the abnormality on his face.
She couldn't help pinching his jaw and gently turning it to look closely. There was indeed a bruised mark at the corner of his mouth as if he had been punched.
"Who hit you?" Lin ChuSui asked sensitively, "Who bullied you?"
Xiao Yan turned his head away, wiping his mouth. "It's nothing."
"Did you run into Qin Nai just now?"
As she spoke, she took out her phone to call Qin Nai. Xiao Yan quickly snatched away her phone, saying, "This is our date. I don't want to waste another second on irrelevant people."
Lin ChuSui didn't insist either. She gently touched the corner of his mouth, "Don't you have a press conference next week?"
"I almost forgot." Xiao Yan smiled lightly. "If you stop being Officer Lin, you can come be my personal assistant. I'll pay you a high salary."
Lin ChuSui also relaxed, joking, "How high a salary will you pay me, Mr. Xiao?"
"All of my salary and stock bonuses. Enough?"
"Not interested. Wealthy, arrogant capitalist."
"After working so hard for so many years, it seems... all that's left is being wealthy and arrogant." Xiao Yan said helplessly, "Pretty pathetic."
"Mr. Xiao, can you stop being so falsely modest?" Lin ChuSui said disdainfully, "You're the most promising founder and CEO of the top tech company in China. So young yet ranked on the youth rich list. Your failure is what the likes of Lu Chi and Shen Chi can only dream of."
"What about you then?"
"Me what?"
"How do you feel about me?" Xiao Yan looked at her and asked sincerely.
Lin ChuSui lowered her head to think, then answered honestly, "In the past, I always wanted to work hard to catch up to you, stand by your side. But over the years, I watched your back gradually move farther and farther away, until you disappeared completely."
Just disappeared. Vanished utterly, never to be seen again.
That night, under the dim light, taking this opportunity and the haze of light alcohol, Lin ChuSui simply said everything that was pressing on her heart: "I tried so hard to catch up with you, but you still left, not wanting me."
"I didn't..." Xiao Yan felt choked up, his voice sank low, a little hoarse: "You know I never didn't want you."
He just wanted to improve himself a little.
"What if I don't wait for you and get with someone else?"
"Then I'll wait for you," Xiao Yan said firmly: "Wait until you break up."
"What if I don't break up?"
"Then I'll wait for your divorce."
"What if I never get a divorce?"
Xiao Yan thought for a moment: "Then I'll wait for him to die."
"..."
With his serious expression, he seemed quite determined.
Lin ChuSui didn't want to continue this topic. She examined the cracked skin at the corner of his mouth again and said, "Go to the pharmacy and apply some medicine. If people find out you got into a fight at the press conference, it will affect the company's image."
"As you wish, girlfriend."
"Don't call me that randomly."
Lin ChuSui pulled him away. Xiao Yan obediently followed her, seeming somewhat henpecked.
Behind them, Lu Chi called out, "Where are you two going?"
Lin ChuSui looked back, "Aren't we supposed to be a one night couple? Is it okay to be alone?"
"It's okay, it's okay." Since Lu Chi already got benefits from Xiao Yan, he naturally had to fulfill the "task" perfectly. So he said, "But you have to livestream on your phone!"
"Who's gonna livestream for you..."
Just as Lin ChuSui was about to refuse, Xiao Yan readily agreed, "Sure."
"..."
After leaving the Xuting Club, the night sky seemed to be sprinkling with rain stars. The streets were wet with neon lights reflecting on the sides.
Lin ChuSui pulled Xiao Yan into a pharmacy and bought some bruise relief ointment. She gently applied it to the corner of his mouth.
"Don't move."
"Okay."
Xiao Yan was originally fiddling with the livestream video on his phone. At her words, he obediently stopped moving and gazed attentively at the girl in front of him.
Her features were actually quite gentle. Only her eyes contained a dashing spirit, which was probably related to her personality.
What Xiao Yan first fell in love with her was this unyielding spirit in her bones. It made him feel especially secure.
"My dear."
"Hmm?"
She carefully applied medicine to him, her breath gently caressing his face.
"Let's get married."
"..."
"I already bought us a place in a good school district."
"..."
Lin ChuSui slapped him as she applied the medicine, stopping just two centimeters from his face, before gently patting once: "Genius, what's wrong with you?"
"I'm serious."
Seeing the sincerity and determination in his eyes, Lin ChuSui suddenly remembered when they first started dating at eighteen. Xiao Yan seemed to have already been thinking about school district houses back then.
She knew he had strange thought processes, so she didn't bother with him. She casually taped a bandaid on him, then walked out the pharmacy door.
"Where to next for our 'date', genius?"
The nickname "genius" made Xiao Yan feel especially intimate. His expression relaxed a lot as he held Lin ChuSui's hand.
She let him hold her hand as they crossed the busy streets and traffic lights, arriving at the small park where they had their first date.
The red wall in the park seemed to have some cracked and peeling paint. The surrounding streetlights were off, gloomy, with only some distant lights shining over, outlining his silhouette.
"Xiao Yan, what are we doing here?"
"I promised I'd take photos of you here when the acacia flowers bloomed."
Lin ChuSui remembered the night before leaving for college, the last time she saw her dad. It felt like a dream.
Lin ChuSui felt a cool frost on her face. Looking up, she saw snowflakes floating down from the deep blue night sky.
"It's winter now," Lin ChuSui said, "There are no acacia flowers in winter. Look, it's even snowing."
Xiao Yan looked up. Indeed, crystalline snowflakes were falling, melting on his skin.
"It's late, let's go back," Lin ChuSui said, then turned away from him, "We can come see again in the summer, if we have the chance."
"My dear, it's been five years. I don't want to wait anymore."
"When we wanted to take pictures, there were no flowers. When there were flowers, we were apart." Lin ChuSui stopped and said helplessly, "Between us, there have been too many missed opportunities."
"I spent five years desperately working hard. Not for us to stand here today and hear you say we missed our timing."
"Then what else can be done?"
Lin ChuSui shook her head. "Unless you can make acacia flowers bloom in winter."
Before she even finished speaking, the surrounding streetlights suddenly all turned on.
Lin ChuSui looked back in surprise. The glaring lights made her eyes hurt. She reflexively shielded them with her hand.
But when her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw lush green vines with white flowers blooming like stars hanging along the dark red wall.
Xiao Yan stood by the red wall. The backlighting obscured his features in shadow, his expression unclear.
Behind him, large clusters of acacia flowers cascaded down, even spilling outside the wall.
Lin ChuSui's eyes widened as she walked over, touching the little white flowers on the vines.
They were real branches!
"How can there be..."
She turned around in confusion. But Xiao Yan had already taken out his phone, pointing the camera at her, "Can I take pictures now?"
"Go ahead."
Seeing the lush acacia behind her, Lin ChuSui's irritation dispersed. She smiled sweetly for the camera, "You really came prepared."
Seeing the sweet smile of the girl in the camera, Xiao Yan's mouth couldn't help but curl up too.
After taking the photos, he asked again, "Can I hug you?"
"Don't take liberties."
"I flew these flowers overnight from Yunnan. I didn't sleep last night, planting them here..." Xiao Yan started acting pitiful again: "I had an upset stomach this morning too. I have a stomach condition, did you know? My lifestyle was irregular in the past two years, and I drank..."
Lin ChuSui finally opened her arms, hugging his waist: "Genius, if you used less tricks, maybe I'd hug you longer."
Xiao Yan held her tightly against him, gently asking in her ear, "Can I kiss you now?"
"If I say no, are you going to get a headache and stomachache again?"
"Then that means yes."
Xiao Yan lowered his head, kissing her neck, then up to her earlobe, gently biting it.
Lin ChuSui didn't expect this kind of...kiss. A tingle ran up her spine and her whole body went soft.
"Do you love me?"
"No..."
He gently bit her earlobe, as if punishing her.
"Yes."
Lin ChuSui finally gave up resisting, closing her eyes, "Xiao Yan, I've always loved you very much."
Xiao Yan whispered in her ear, his breath hot, and asked again, "So can we ** tonight?"
"..."
"No."
This man's brain seemed problematic. She was almost moved.
Xiao Yan smiled faintly, "Then let me change the question. Can you marry me first?"
Before she could answer, his fingertips nimbly caught her hand, and a warm ring slid onto her ring finger.
The ring was clearly clenched in his hand for a long time, absorbing his body heat.
Lin ChuSui looked down at the flawlessly cut ring on her hand, "I'll sell this later."
"This is just an engagement ring, not too valuable, at most worth a million or so. I suggest you pretend to accept first. At the wedding, take the 50 million dollar ring I buy and then sell it."
"..."
The wind blew the swings with a creaking sound. Lin ChuSui looked back and saw a deep blue diary sitting where her dad used to sit on the swings.
The gentle wind flipped open the book, pages rustling...
Curious, she walked over and saw the familiar handwriting in the diary.
It was Lin Xiuze's diary, recording every little thing after she was born -
"My darling can say Daddy today, ah ah ah, I'm really a dad now!"
"My darling cried for a long time at preschool today. I feel awful, so I asked the captain for leave and waited outside the preschool gate to pick her up after class. I hope I can hug her immediately."
Today Xiao Guai's elementary school teacher told me that she has an astonishing memory and may be a genius. I find this hard to believe since my daughter usually acts like an idiot. How could she be a genius?
...
Lin ChuSui flipped through page after page of her diary, laughing and then choking up with sobs.
She came to the final page. The date on the last page was from five years ago on the night he left for good. The only line written said:
"Xiao Guai, don't be afraid. I will become an angel to love you."
Lin ChuSui closed the notebook and looked back to see the youth standing under the osmanthus tree.
The cool breeze carried misty rain. He gazed at her gently,
Just like when they had first met at eighteen.
He really did find an angel for her.
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