Chapter 223: Just Partners, Right?
The moment those words were spoken.
Lin Tian was stunned; Gān Yányǔ’s face blushed as she coyly covered her mouth, watching the scene unfold with an amused expression in the background.
“…”
Sū Rǎn, after a full ten seconds of silence, finally snapped back into reality.
Her face was burning red; her gaze lowered, and her head tilted slowly to the side,
“I… I need to think about it.”
Wait, you’re actually thinking about it?!
Right now, the key is to smoothly defuse this embarrassing situation!
Xú Yǒng’s face flushed instantly, and he frantically gestured at Sū Rǎn with his eyes.
How can you even be thinking? You should have just rejected him outright to end this awkward moment!
She’s intentionally prolonging this to torture herself, right?
Xú Yǒng had already put himself on the line, but now he finds himself betrayed by this guy.
It’s definitely payback for what happened earlier, right?!
“Okay, I’ll think about it,” Sū Rǎn said.
Then, the young woman took the rose from Xú Yǒng’s hand, holding it to her cheek with a bright smile:
“I agree.”
“What?”
Xú Yǒng was taken aback.
Lin Tian clapped first, “Great!!”
“Boom—”
At that moment,
From the other side of the courtyard, fireworks suddenly shot up, spreading celebratory streamers into the air.
“Congratulations, congratulations—I knew you’d say yes.”
Soft Brother, the boss, laughed heartily while walking out with a group of servers pushing a trolley bearing a two-tier cake.
Everyone cheered and applauded.
Soft Brother saw the roses in Sū Rǎn’s hands, the utterly defeated look of Xú Yǒng, who was on one knee, and the befuddled expressions of Lin Tian and Gān Yányǔ beside him.
The scene became suddenly tense.
“Who—agreed?” Soft Brother asked cautiously.
“Oh wow~”
Sū Rǎn put her hands over her cheeks, looking shockingly toward Xú Yǒng,
“Were all these things prepared just for me?”
“Yes!”
Xú Yǒng reacted quickly, standing up immediately,
“Let me introduce, this is Boss Soft Brother, he’s my friend, we met on the forums.”
“Come on, let’s celebrate the new couple!”
“Stop standing there, blow out the candles!”
Soon, Xú Yǒng pulled Sū Rǎn’s hand, bringing them together before everyone, blowing out the candles.
“Hey.”
“They’re so romantic.”
Gān Yányǔ murmured.
“Certainly.”
Lin Tian was flabbergasted by the sudden but smooth series of events.
I never thought Wǒ Yǒng would go all out like this.
“Lin Tian.”
At that moment, Gān Yányǔ called softly.
“Hmm?”
“Let’s go eat.”
Gān Yányǔ smiled.
Then, she turned around, put her hands behind her back, and walked out of the courtyard.
Watching her go, Lin Tian was a little dazed.
“…”
Back at the restaurant, they started eating.
Juicy steak and pasta bathed in tomato sauce.
Since Lin Tian is a skilled pastry chef, he almost always picked Western food whenever eating out with Gān Yányǔ.
“…”
For some reason,
After returning from the courtyard, both Lin Tian and Gān Yányǔ remained unusually quiet.
There was an eerie silence at the table.
While shoving a roll of pasta into his mouth,
Lin Tian’s thoughts were a jumbled mess.
The plan was completely thrown off course.
From now on, he couldn’t rely on anyone.
Should he still confess his feelings?
Of course.
Without a piano, flowers, cake, and support…
In fact, Lin Tian didn’t really like all that nonsense.
He just wanted to express his feelings simply and directly.
No matter the outcome.
If he could just get it out,
That would be enough.
The quiet restaurant was filled only with the sound of forks and knives clinking.
The dim lights stretched their shadows long.
Lin Tian set his fork down, took a deep breath, and looked up,
“Gān Teacher.”
“Gān Teacher, Lin Tian.”
“Huh?”
“I was wondering, what if we had confessed in the courtyard just now—what would it have been like?”
Gān Yányǔ held her chin with one hand; a sweet smile spread across her pretty face.
“Why on earth are you thinking like this?”
Lin Tian couldn’t predict the topic would shift like this, and his face immediately showed unease.
“Because it’s all too coincidental, isn’t it? The perfect timing, the roses.”
Gān Yányǔ said, her beautiful eyes slowly meeting Lin Tian’s.
“Gān Teacher, I have something I want to say.”
“If it really came to that, I’d probably be very troubled, you know.”
“Huh?”
“You see, Lin Tian.”
Gān Yányǔ raised a finger, speaking earnestly to the young man,
“We’re partners, the best partners ever! From the moment we met, we decided to work towards our dreams together. That picture I still remember vividly—the day you stood on that rusty railing and said ‘I’m here to help!’ I was actually so worried you’d fall.”
“We’ve created, competed, and went through the Star Cup together—you said wanting to separate for a month would panic me. I truly believed I couldn’t make it without you until we finished the competition and the art test. I felt so happy whenever I chased my dreams with you…sometimes I wonder if you were sent by fate to fill the hole left by my grandfather’s accident.”
“…”
Lin Tian wasn’t listening anymore because his thoughts were already scattered.
Standing up, he said,
“Go ahead and finish eating, I’ll be right back.”
Without waiting for Gān Yányǔ’s reaction, he turned and left.
He walked out of the restaurant and onto the street.
Lin Tian wandered along the main road, letting people pass by him as he immersed in his thoughts.
All his mind kept replaying was her last statement—
“Troubled, right?”
What did she mean—partners?
She might as well have said,
“I’ve never liked you; I only think of you as an important partner. Right?”
Subtle and gentle—just like you, Gān Teacher.
Lin Tian took a big breath and looked up at the sky.
Actually, Gān Yányǔ had seen through everything back in the courtyard, he realized.
She pretended to be clueless and watched the entire thing happen.
And then on the table, she preemptively refused his confession.
So, everything he thought was real
was nothing more than his own wishful thinking.
Gān Yányǔ had never thought of him like that.
To her, he was just a dependable
partner.
d*mn it!
What the heck am I even doing!
Lin Tian’s head buzzed.
Reflecting,
Maybe the reason why they ended up in such a state before the Parrot Zither Cup was because he was so preoccupied with love.
Always thinking about confessing to Gān Yányǔ.
Overthinking her feelings and emotions.
That’s why he broke down before the competition.
So, talking about feelings really does affect career success!
“…”
Lin Tian flagged down a taxi and got in.
His brain was a tangled mess, and he no longer had the strength to face Gān Yányǔ.
Maybe he should send a text, telling her he’s heading home early.
Lin Tian took out his phone and sent the message.
A little while later, Gān Yányǔ responded.
[Open the letter.]
[End of Chapter]
