At ten that evening, the courtyard closed for business.
Soft light filled the second-floor living room.
Li Xiaoyue set a plate of washed grapes on the coffee table, strands of black hair falling beside her cheeks.
"Xiao Lin, I'm going back to my room," she murmured, then turned to leave, as though afraid to stay even a second longer.
"Sister Xiaoyue."
Chen Lin called her back.
"Sit down. Let's talk."
Li Xiaoyue stiffened almost imperceptibly and stopped in her tracks.
She nervously clutched the hem of her clothes, her knuckles turning white. After a moment's hesitation, she obediently sat on the very edge of the sofa.
She kept her head lowered, afraid to meet Chen Lin's eyes, like a startled rabbit.
Watching her, Chen Lin sighed inwardly and went straight to the point.
"What happened this afternoon?"
His voice was gentle.
"You've seemed unhappy all afternoon. Is it because of that car?"
The question was like a needle, piercing the facade Li Xiaoyue had struggled to maintain all afternoon.
She abruptly raised her head. Her beautiful eyes, always tinged with timidity, instantly filled with moisture, reddening enough to make his heart ache.
Tears pooled in her eyes, but she stubbornly forced them back.
She quickly lowered her head again, her voice choked with undisguised emotion and bone-deep inferiority.
"N-no..."
"I just... feel like there's too big a gap between us, Xiao Lin..."
She felt like a lowly ugly duckling, while Chen Lin was a swan about to soar high into the heavens.
The luxurious car parked outside the courtyard gate had stretched the distance between them endlessly.
So far that even her courage to look up at him was slowly fading.
Seeing her on the verge of tears, Chen Lin felt something tug gently at his heart.
He knew that