Chapter 23

CLL, what are you trying to do?

Another 100 red packets this chapter. See you tomorrow.

Chapter 23

When Lin Yu saw the message, her heart gave a violent jolt. She pulled out a tissue, wiped the sweat from her palms, and headed outside. She pushed open the door to a cool night breeze and pulled her coat tighter. After looking to her right, she seemed to sense something and walked a few steps toward the alley, which ran alongside the shop's flower wall.

There she saw Chen Lüli standing by the wall, a cigarette between his fingers. He wore only a black shirt, his figure tall and lean. He took a small drag on the cigarette and stood there waiting quietly.

Lin Yu watched him for a few seconds, then moved her feet and walked toward him.

The sound of her footsteps seemed to rouse him. He glanced over, a wintry detachment and indifference about him. Lin Yu approached and stopped, then asked softly, "Why did you come outside?"

Chen Lüli took the cigarette from his mouth and walked two steps toward her. His figure blocked the only light overhead, plunging them into deeper shadow. Lin Yu's heart pounded, but he didn't stop. He took two more steps, coming right up against the tips of her shoes. With nowhere left to retreat, Lin Yu backed against the wall and raised her eyes, her lashes fluttering.

Chen Lüli lowered his gaze to her. They were in an uneven corner of the wall, where it was even darker. He had nearly trapped her in the recess. "Didn't you see the note I left?" he asked, his voice low and husky.

He filled Lin Yu's entire field of vision. He was so close that she nearly reached out to push him away. She pressed her lips together, her eyes flickered, and she lied. "I didn't see it. What did you leave?"

She held back her panic and tried to speak calmly.

Chen Lüli searched her face. In the dim light, her eyelashes were long, and her lips looked alluring as she shrank back. Fixing his gaze on her eyes, he asked, "Did you really not see it, or are you pretending you didn't?"

Lin Yu's heart jolted again.

Chen Lüli stared into her eyes. "When you lie, your eyelashes move, your lips press tightly together, and you instinctively look away."

Lin Yu's gaze snapped back to him, and this time she truly fell completely into his eyes.

He raised an eyebrow slightly.

He said nothing, but his expression told Lin Yu, See? Just like that.

Lin Yu pressed her lips even tighter.

She felt a little annoyed with herself.

Chen Lüli stared at her. "Since you saw the note, that means you remember what happened at Threshold. Are you unwilling to contact me because you blame me for taking advantage of you?"

Lin Yu had nowhere to hide her gaze and could only look up, her eyes locked with his. The cold wind couldn't reach them here, yet the ears hidden beneath her hair were slightly red. Part of it was because of that night, and part of it was because she had dreamed of that scene of her own accord. After all, during their school days, he had been the bright moon hanging high above her.

In her dream, she had plucked the moon from the sky with her own will.

Lin Yu spoke in a soft, gentle voice. "Why?"

Why had he done that that night?

Chen Lüli understood what she was asking. He looked at her for a few seconds. "What if I said it was an uncontrollable impulse?"

Lin Yu's eyes widened slightly, confusion gathering in them.

Chen Lüli stepped closer again and lowered his gaze. "I haven't been quite right since Li Yin showed up."

He lifted his eyes and caught her gaze again. "I wanted to snatch you away."

With her back against the wall, Lin Yu had nowhere to retreat. Her blood almost stopped flowing as she met his eyes and listened to him. Even the honking in the distance sounded like something from a dream. She parted her lips and asked in return, "Why?"

Chen Lüli raised an eyebrow slightly. "I'd like to know why too."

Lin Yu looked at him quietly for a few seconds. "Don't you... don't you have someone you like?"

Chen Lüli watched her intently. "Maybe I do now."

"Who?"

Chen Lüli continued looking at her. "I need to confirm it first."

Lin Yu could feel his gaze and the weight of his words. She drew in a breath and clutched the clothes at her side, bewilderment filling her.

The past flashed before her eyes like a procession of flowers. Lin Yu had always felt that she was overly cautious and lacked courage, constantly struggling with her own feelings and slowly soothing all her emotions and affections. Her lashes moved, and she raised her gaze to look at him. Thinking she should be brave for once, she asked, "Didn't you and Ming Yu like each other?"

"What?" Chen Lüli was slightly taken aback.

Lin Yu said nothing more, only looked at him.

Seeing her eyes as still as the surface of water, Chen Lüli realized something and remembered a few things as well. He said, "We didn't like each other. Uncle Ming asked me to look after her more. As for..."

He paused and looked into her eyes. "Those rumors?"

Lin Yu pressed her lips tightly together and didn't answer. She only looked at him, but it was clear she wanted an answer. Chen Lüli met her gaze and said, "Ming Yu asked me to help her fend off her admirers. I couldn't be bothered dealing with mine either, so I went along with it."

Lin Yu said softly, "So what we saw wasn't necessarily true?"

Chen Lüli nodded. "Right."

Lin Yu fell into thought.

Chen Lüli looked at her, his voice low and husky. "Now that we've finished talking about other things, let's talk about us."

Lin Yu's fingertips tightened. She lifted her eyes and asked quietly in return, "What about us?"

Her voice was faint, with a barely perceptible trace of evasion.

Chen Lüli stared into her eyes. "Since Li Yin won't do, take a look at me."

At that moment, everything felt like a dream. The boy she had liked for years was asking her to look at him. Joy welled up in her, but the sense of unreality was stronger. Besides, he didn't like her yet; he needed to confirm his feelings too. Lin Yu knew very well that feelings between friends of the opposite sex could sometimes be ambiguous.

For example, he had a slight obsession with cleanliness. If friends came to his home for a gathering or to discuss something, or if a third person learned his passcode, he would change it.

After changing it, he would send it to her immediately. Even Ming Yu had once secretly returned to the country while he was away on business, only to find herself standing outside his door, unable to get in.

Ming Yu had later stayed at Lin Yu's place for a night, only for her family to catch her the next day and take her back.

So could that be considered special?

Lin Yu didn't know either.

That was why, after the kiss that night, her first thought had been that he was drunk, or that he had been angered by her stubborn refusal to see reason and her continued defense of Li Yin. Perhaps it was also because her gaze hadn't been entirely innocent when he came in, always lingering on his Adam's apple or his collar, and that had tempted him when he had also been drinking.

That was how the kiss had come about.

She wanted to paper over it all.

But he wouldn't let her now.

Seeing that she wouldn't say a word, Chen Lüli clenched his teeth slightly, his voice dropping even lower. "So I still can't compare to Li Yin? I don't even have a chance of getting you to say yes?"

Lin Yu abruptly came back to herself and raised her eyes.

In the faint glow of the night and the lamplight, her eyes were as beautiful as a clear stream. Chen Lüli pressed his thin lips together. "Say something."

Lin Yu moved her lips, wanting to speak.

Suddenly, a wisp of smoke drifted over. Perhaps she was too nervous, or perhaps her throat was dry, but Lin Yu covered her mouth and coughed. It came from the cigarette Chen Lüli had yet to put out.

Seeing this, Chen Lüli turned the long fingers hanging at his side, flicked the ash from the cigarette, and casually pinched out the tiny ember.

He asked, "Is it still bothering you?"

Lin Yu shook her head.

Their gazes remained locked, as though neither would relent until the bitter end. Lin Yu kept her sleeve raised, covering her lips as she said softly and gently in the darkness, "Can I think about it?"

Chen Lüli stared into her limpid eyes. "Okay."

Meanwhile, the people inside the shop had noticed that two of them were missing. Ming Yu looked toward the restroom. Its door was closed at the moment, and although there were two stalls inside and the light was on, she couldn't be sure whether anyone was there. Still, it didn't look as though anyone was. Jiang Zao felt something was strange. She pulled Xiao Cao aside and carefully asked where Yuyu was.

Xiao Cao shook her head.

Jiang Zao's brow twitched.

She glanced at Ming Yu, who was still being held in conversation by Jiang Yingshan and had grown impatient. Then she got up and went outside for some air, looking around as she pushed open the door.

People came and went, and headlights flashed past, but the two familiar figures were nowhere to be seen. Her gaze instinctively swept toward the alley. For some reason, her heart began pounding too. She was just about to close the door when another hand pushed it open. A rich French perfume wafted over, followed by Ming Yu's voice. "Where's Chen Lüli?"

Jiang Zao's heart gave a violent leap. She turned to Ming Yu and said, "I don't know. Maybe he went somewhere to make a call."

Ming Yu frowned. "Yuyu's gone too."

"Maybe Yuyu's in the restroom."

"No one's in the restroom." Ming Yu pushed open the door and walked out. Her gaze fell on the alley beside them, and she headed straight for it. Jiang Zao's scalp went numb, and she hurried after her. "It's freezing out here. Let's go back and wait. We can call them too. Maybe they both happened to have something to do."

The moment she finished speaking,

their gazes had already fallen on the flower wall. Chen Lüli stood there, tall and lean, a cigarette between his fingers as he spoke to someone. A corner of clothing showing from the other side looked like the hem of a skirt, made of soft, light-colored fabric.

It was Lin Yu's.

Ming Yu narrowed her eyes. "What are they talking about?"

Jiang Zao felt as though her heart was about to leap out of her chest. That strange feeling had been right after all, and now it had returned. Just as Ming Yu was about to go over and find out what was happening,

Chen Lüli straightened up, turned, and walked toward them.

Lin Yu also left the corner of the wall and followed behind him toward the shop.

As soon as she looked up, she saw Ming Yu and Jiang Zao standing at the corner, watching them. In that instant, Lin Yu's soul nearly flew out of her body. She reflexively looked at Chen Lüli.

But his expression was calm, and he remained composed and unmoved.

Only then did Lin Yu realize they hadn't said much, much less done anything. They walked from the dim light into a brighter spot. A car sped past behind Ming Yu, its headlights flashing. Ming Yu's long, wavy hair fell over her chest as she said, "What couldn't you say in the restaurant? Why did you have to come out here to talk?"

Jiang Zao gave an awkward laugh and winked at Lin Yu. "Yeah, what were you talking about?"

Lin Yu paused, just about to speak.

Behind them, Jiang Yingshan folded his arms and said, "They were talking about her ex-boyfriend, of course. What else would they be talking about?"

Ming Yu instinctively looked at Chen Lüli, but he didn't look at her. With his hands in his trouser pockets, his gaze swept briefly over Lin Yu. Their eyes met for a second before she looked away and nodded to Ming Yu. "Mm, we were talking about Li Yin."