### Chapter 14: If It’s Just to Accommodate, Then There’s No Meaning to It
Eighteen-year-old Lin Tian was smack dab in the middle of his teenage years, where every moment feels like a hormone festival.
Once a young man gets a whiff of a pretty girl’s interest, his mind starts wandering faster than a squirrel on Red Bull.
Sometimes, you don’t even need the interest.
Just a glance is enough.
It can keep a teenage boy smiling like an oaf for the entire day.
Of course, there’s one scenario that breaks this happy facade—
When the girl is from a foot bath parlor.
After Gan Yan Yu displayed some rather peculiar behavior, Lin Tian found his mind racing into the clouds.
But just as quickly, he shut down those thoughts.
A girl who’s busy planning her funeral isn’t the type to daydream about romance.
I mean, is she seriously thinking about where we’ll be resting in peace together?
That just made him look a little foolish in his own imagination.
“I’ll go change my clothes first. Let’s eat on this street later.”
“Hmm.” Gan Yan Yu nodded.
Stepping out onto the street, it was around 8 PM—the peak hour when people stroll after dinner.
As Lin Tian walked, his eyes wandered over the restaurants lining the street.
Hot pot, barbecue, sour fish, home-style dishes.
Sometimes, Lin Tian felt like he was in a giant shopping district.
No matter the city, no matter the street, the commercial hubs were all just a remix of the same few flavors.
As Lin Tian continued walking, he quickly noticed he was alone.
Turning around, he saw Gan Yan Yu a good four or five meters behind him.
Wow, she walks really slowly.
Lin Tian came to a halt, and once Gan Yan Yu caught up, she tilted her head and looked at him with a puzzled expression.
“What do you want to eat?” Lin Tian asked.
“What do you like to eat?”
“Me? I’m good with anything.”
Lin Tian was pretty easygoing.
He had just snacked on a couple of mung bean cakes on the way out, so he wasn’t really starving.
In truth, he had only agreed to let Gan Yan Yu treat him to dinner to let time crawl by.
“I asked what you like to eat, not what you’ll settle for. Do you really like everything?”
Upon hearing Lin Tian’s response, Gan Yan Yu suddenly grew serious.
She even broke out the dreaded rhetorical question.
This sudden turn had Lin Tian also feeling a bit serious.
What gives?
Does she not like when people say “whatever”?
That’s some keen awareness for a girl! Usually, it’s the boys who are left choking on “whatever”!
Just then, Lin Tian spotted a shopping mall ahead.
“Want to check out the mall?”
The two hopped into the elevator, heading up from the first floor.
As they passed the third floor, Lin Tian suddenly reached out and patted Gan Yan Yu’s shoulder.
He pointed to an arcade in front of them.
“Want to go play a bit?”
Gan Yan Yu looked in the direction he was pointing. The brightly lit arcade seemed to mesmerize her for a moment.
“You like to play this?”
She turned to Lin Tian.
“Actually, I’m not that hungry. Just trying to k*ll some time.”
“If you buy a coupon on Meituan for 19.9, you can get 50 coins. It’s super cheap. If you’re in, I can buy it right now.”
Lin Tian was thinking:
Since he needed to stretch time, dragging Gan Yan Yu to an arcade was a pretty solid plan.
Maybe it would bring back her childlike wonder?
Find something fun to do, think about the joys of life, and all that jazz.
“It’s fine. We can just sit in the restaurant and take our time eating.”
Gan Yan Yu’s words straight-up threw a wrench in his plans.
“Alright.”
Lin Tian had nothing left to say.
What a boring girl!
But why did every question he asked get turned back on him, with Gan Yan Yu asking him what he liked?
What I like isn’t the point! I’m asking about you!
Suddenly, Lin Tian felt like he was playing a game where he was the boss and Gan Yan Yu was the hired help.
During this “helping out,” everything needed to revolve around him.
If he had known it would turn out this way, he would have been more assertive earlier!
Arriving at the fourth and fifth floor dining area, Lin Tian began his serious selection process, looking to find a dish that lasts.
Home-style dishes? Forget it; after three bites, sitting in awkward silence becomes inevitable.
Buffets? Nope, most are limited to a two-hour eating spree.
Hot pots seemed a no-go as well—once the veggies were gone, no one’s just drinking broth like a sad sack, right?
After making his choices, the pair wandered through two more floors.
Finally, Gan Yan Yu couldn’t hold back any longer and broke the silence:
“Lin Tian, what are we eating?”
“How about you decide?”
After saying that, Lin Tian added seriously, “I truly can eat whatever.”
“Lin Tian…”
At that moment, the girl stopped in her tracks.
She spoke softly:
“Did you come out for dinner just to keep me company?”
“Ah?”
Lin Tian was taken aback.
Before he could even gather his thoughts,
“If that’s the case, maybe we should just go back.”
Gan Yan Yu’s face suddenly wore a look that was both sad and serious.
“Hmm?”
Now Lin Tian was confused.
“What’s wrong? No, I don’t see why you’d think that?”
The speed of her mood swing hit Lin Tian like a surprise elbow to the gut.
“Tonight’s dinner is my way of thanking you for last night’s hospitality, right?”
Gan Yan Yu took a deep breath, articulating every word.
“Right.”
Lin Tian nodded earnestly, hands down.
“But why do I feel like you’ve been accommodating me? You don’t answer me about what you want to eat and think of spending more money to take me to do other things. If you’re not enjoying your meal, I’m not really repaying you.”
She looked straight at Lin Tian, her eyes filled with unspoken grievances.
She couldn’t quite figure out what Lin Tian was thinking.
Originally, she had intended to cook a meal for him herself. But because he had to work, she had settled for treating him to a restaurant meal.
No matter where they ate, she just wanted to properly repay him for last night.
This wasn’t a matter of money; it was about the meal’s significance.
From that point on, they would be even.
Gan Yan Yu could leave this world at peace.
But tonight, Lin Tian appeared to care little for the dinner.
Since leaving the working restaurant, he had been talking about strange and nonsensical topics.
As if he was telling Gan Yan Yu:
This dinner doesn’t hold much significance; it doesn’t matter. I just want to find some other things to do, even if it’s just walking around like this.
Yet when the girl asked him, “Is this what you like doing?”
He simply replied that it was “just to pass the time.”
Then sharing a meal with him was just a “formality.”
So where’s the meaning in her repayment?
Lin Tian stared blankly at Gan Yan Yu.
He seemed to understand her point, yet at the same time, not really.
His goal was simple: to find a way to keep Gan Yan Yu beside him, to drag this night out for as long as possible.
“Well…”
Lin Tian raised his hand and honestly began to explain,
“I just had those three mung bean cakes. I’m not really that hungry, so I’m not in a rush or anything.”
“So you’ll let me treat you to dinner, and you…”
For a moment, Gan Yan Yu was at a loss for words.
How on earth do you explain this?
Does this meal really mean anything towards settling what happened last night?
So brainy!
The girl felt a little dizzy.
“Honestly, whether we eat or not, it doesn’t matter,” Lin Tian said.
Her pupils widened in an instant.
She looked up.
But Lin Tian continued:
“Honestly, as long as you’re with me tonight, it doesn’t matter what we do.”
(End of Chapter)
