Chapter 93: Pure, Innocent Affection (4K)
“Wow! Goddess smiled!!”
“Really, she really smiled!”
“Maybe she just smiled because of me reflected in the window!”
“Dumbass, she laughed at your lame joke.”
“.”
Ignoring the boys yammering beside him, Lin Tian felt relieved seeing that Gan Yan Yu seemed to be fitting in quite well.
He was actually most worried about Gan Yan Yu getting tangled up in some weird rumors.
After all, with issues like YYY disease and a year-long suspension, these topics never cease to be hot gossip in high school.
If Lin Tian had been his old self, he’d probably have peeked a bit for himself.
But as things stand now, it looks okay.
At least, Gan Yan Yu seems to be in a good mood.
Though, her appearance does draw a lot of attention.
There’s no helping that.
Just like the song goes:
Cheep cheep! Kewoo! Noo noo mee!
So adorable! Can’t help but say sorry!
But this means Lin Tian definitely can’t go find Gan Yan Yu now.
As the man who creates the most campus gossip, there are too many eyes on him.
With that thought, Lin Tian turned back to class.
“.”
Gan Yan Yu turned her head and saw Lin Tian outside the classroom.
She was about to get up, but saw Lin Tian already walking away.
In confusion, she tilted her head in thought.
“.”
Returning to her seat, the girl in front, Su Ran, suddenly turned around.
Curiously asking,
“Lin Tian, that girl from Class C who came back today was the one who visited you at school last time, right?”
“What’s going on?” Lin Tian was surprised.
“You were on leave for three days, and you came back today together with her.”
Su Ran’s gossipy eyes gleamed as she smirked,
“Did you two live together or something?”
“.”
Lin Tian was speechless.
“Got a hit, Lin Tian! She’s your girlfriend, right?”
Su Ran clapped her hands excitedly.
Even though Lin Tian didn’t know why this mattered to her, nor what she was excited about, she kept pressing,
“Isn’t she? Isn’t she?”
“Almost there.” Lin Tian replied.
The moment those words left his lips, not only Su Ran, but Xu Yong, sitting nearby, also perked up sharply.
Shocked, he stared at Lin Tian.
“What do you mean by almost there? What does ‘almost there’ mean? Is ‘almost there’ about your missing height?”
Xu Yong squeezed Lin Tian’s neck, shaking him.
“But, man, I thought you weren’t that kind of person! But you’re actually for real! You’re for real?”
“Lin Tian! This one better explain in detail,” Xu Yong said eagerly, wide-eyed.
Facing the two of them—one dripping with jealousy, the other a fan.
Lin Tian sighed in exasperation.
“It’s almost there.”
“So, you admit you like her now?” Su Ran was beaming.
“Yeah.”
Without hesitation, Lin Tian admitted it.
At this point, if he still denied it, he wouldn’t be called a man.
Probably from when the concert ended, he started feeling differently.
The first time they reached such a harmony, after stepping down from the stage, Lin Tian realized his feelings for Gan Yan Yu had changed.
Actually, his feelings had always been off, just that he realized it later than he should have.
It’s like before; when he saw Gan Yan Yu, he found her attractive.
Now, he still finds her attractive.
Considering no one else ever brought up this topic except Xu Yong, who is out of his mind anyway.
Therefore, when Su Ran asked, Lin Tian blurted out the truth.
“Oh~” Su Ran leaned on the desk, her eyes gleaming, as if hearing some huge secret, and chuckled,
“Where’s the progress? Have you held hands? Kissed? Or…?”
“No.”
Imagining, Lin Tian recalled this morning when Gan Yan Yu hugged him in excitement.
So he said,
“Heard, for two seconds.”
“Pfff—!” Su Ran couldn’t hold it back and burst out laughing,
“‘Almost there’? That sounds like a big difference!”
“You guys are so cute! You haven’t done anything yet, barely passed the flirting phase; how can you talk about being together?”
Lin Tian rubbed his chin, pondering for a moment.
“Serious. I think she likes me too.”
“Hahaha—!” Xu Yong roared with laughter.
“Brother Tian, even though I want to believe you, this feels kinda hard to believe coming from you!”
“Some things just shouldn’t be said out loud.
Sometimes things start promising, yet they can turn into the illusions we often talk about.”
“I only said she’s interested, not that she likes me,” Lin Tian calmly explained.
Xu Yong took it upon himself to teach,
“Directly approach her, she won’t stand a chance.”
“?”
Lin Tian didn’t hold back and gave both of them a strong uppercut, followed by a punch. The latter clutched his crotch and groaned in pain.
“For the record, as an 18-year-old, when the time isn’t right, talk about it later.”
Preparing for the art exams.
Just returned to school,
Grandpa Gan is hospitalized,
The competition hasn’t begun.
Many things needed for the future.
Lin Tian believed Gan Yan Yu had no time to entertain thoughts about him.
So, he used the more conservative term “interested.”
A rejected confession would only cause her great distress.
Or worse, trigger depression.
He wasn’t going to pursue such reckless behavior.
“Then you didn’t hold hands, kiss, or flirt, what’ve you done together?”
Su Ran couldn’t hold her curiosity.
“Right. Let me think… we’ve…”
Lin Tian lifted his hand, counting,
“…had wind on the rooftop, went foot-bathing together, ran into the mountains, disturbed neighbors late at night…”
“You didn’t do any normal things!”
“Were you thinking that’s abnormal?”
Su Ran turned to glare at Xu Yong.
“These activities feel lovely to me!”
Eyes sparkling:
“A pure love, free of lust, petty schemes, and dirty exchanges, feels nice.”
“You ever experienced such a relationship?”
Xu Yong looked baffled.
No way a senior year girl talked like that!
“Lin Tian, you don’t need to listen to him. This is perfect as it is. Take it slow.”
Su Ran giggled, caressing her face,
“Such innocent affection is rare. To keep. But it’s only a matter of time.”
“What must you resist?”
“The loneliness.”
“.”
That wasn’t a problem. Lin Tian had his fists.
“Finally, let me tell you something. As a girl, I’d suggest…”
“What?”
“Girls prefer stronger men.”
Su Ran nodded seriously,
“Whatever your intentions, assertiveness in the right moments matters.”
Lin Tian, feeling bashful, decided not to discuss this with Su Ran,
Their safety word would handle these things.
The bell rang, ending their discussion.
Reflecting on Su Ran’s words, Lin Tian mused. Some points rang true, especially about kissing.
He decided to ask for advice later.
At lunchtime.
Lin Tian stepped into the corridor,
Straight ahead, he saw Gan Yan Yu with books.
Post-conversation, Lin Tian’s heart flickered.
Ready to wave and greet her,
But—
Gan Yan Yu walked past, brushing shoulders with him.
Ignore me?
Lin Tian turned in confusion.
Watching her walk further away,
Realizing she didn’t look over.
Then—
Su Ran, out of nowhere, intercepted Gan Yan Yu.
Smiling kindly, she spoke with Gan Yan Yu.
Observing Gan Yan Yu covering her mouth, waving nervously.
“.”
Lin Tian stood dumbfounded.
Once Gan Yan Yu left,
Su Ran skipped to Lin Tian, hands behind her back.
“Inquired,” she grinned.
“Inquired what?” Rattled, Lin Tian asked.
“She likes you.”
“Wha??”
Lin Tian widened his eyes.
“Did she say it herself?”
“Not really. I asked her if she liked you, and she said she didn’t.”
“So?”
“Female reluctance is like female attraction.”
“.”
Lin Tian realized,
Su Ran was far from normal.
If a stranger casually asked you about someone’s feelings, he might be kicking them to the curb.
“This doesn’t concern you, don’t meddle.”
“Don’t be like that,” Su Ran pouted,
“Just let me participate! I’m super invested in you two!”
“.”
Regretting mentioning his feeling for Gan Yan Yu,
Lin Tian feared Su Ran would soon push him to confess.
And then, classic choice scene follows.
“Oh, by the way, I asked for her WeChat,” Su Ran recalled.
“Best not say strange stuff to her.”
“Kissing is fine.”
“Don’t worry, just exploring, won’t do anything!”
Lin Tian walked to the street corner, finding Gan Yan Yu at the red light.
“Lin Tian, you’re lagging.”
Gan Yan Yu murmured.
“Why did you pretend not to know me earlier?”
Lin Tian questioned.
“Aah,”
Gan Yan Yu’s eyes wide with innocence,
“I was afraid of misunderstanding.”
“.”
Fine, then.
On the first day back, turning her back so quickly!
Next stop, answering “A music streamer” if someone asks about Lin Tian?
“After all, you’re popular in school.”
Tugging her hair, she added hesitantly,
“If I talk to you, people might mistake you as my boyfriend. That’s not ideal.”
“.”
Sure, understood.
“Relations don’t matter.”
“They do.”
Leaning forward, gan Yan Yu insisted,
“Su Ran likes you! She just asked about it!”
“That’s not what she meant.”
Lin Tian struggled for words.
You CP fans are trouble!
“And,” Gan Yan Yu whispered softly.
“Didn’t you pass my class during break?”
This struck a chord.
He didn’t wish to disturb Gan Yan Yu’s routine with his gossip.
“As partners, especially publicly, one must hold themselves to higher standards,” Gan Yan Yu asserted.
“Fine.”
Lin Tian conceded,
“But hiding our relationship isn’t necessary, it can easily be revealed. Let’s just be regular friends.”
Nodding, Gan Yan Yu continued,
“Tomorrow’s Saturday, visit Grandpa?”
“Visit Grandpa?”
Lin Tian stalled.
He had wanted to bring this up earlier, but Gan Yan Yu had never mentioned it, fearing a repeat of past troubles.
“Alright, let’s see him. Buy some gear; we’ll begin setting up our base too.”
Thus, Gan Yan Yu concluded her first day back simply.
Later, at home.
Resting, Lin Tian received a message. Opening WeChat, it was from the agent from today.
[Are you Lin Tian?]
Nice tone!
Not replying all day, could they catch you playing phone games during class?
Like a society sister scolding someone for bullying her friend,
Adding you and forming a group to gang up, only to simmer down with a pack more money.
[Who are you?]
[That’s none of your business.]
[Just answer yes or no: Are you Lin Tian?]
After sending two messages,
She leaned, arm resting on the chair’s edge, chin supported by her hand, admiring her manicure.
“Gan Yan Yu, a suitable partner should have certain qualities.”
Three minutes passed.
Her fingers brushed the screen,
[Prompt?]
[Friend request needs verification. Contact not established yet.]
(End of Chapter)
