Confessing love

"All done!" Xu Feifei exclaimed excitedly.

Lin Yuan snapped out of her daze, leaned over to look at the evaluation, and said, "Very good."

Xu Feifei said proudly, "Looks like I'm pretty smart after all, I succeeded on my second try."

Lin Yuan asked with doting eyes, "Hmm, are you going to draw on it this time?"

The tea foam in the cup was bright white, and the dense tea froth resembled a layer of snow covering the surface. Xu Feifei thought it looked beautiful no matter how she looked at it.

But now there is a big problem: she can't draw. If she were to draw on it, the cup of tea wouldn't look as good as it does now.

"Let me think," Xu Feifei hesitated for a while, looking at the brush, racking her brains for what to draw. She glanced at Lin Yuan unintentionally, and an answer immediately came to her mind.

Xu Feifei said with a grin, "I've got it, but I have one condition: you can only see it after I've finished drawing it."

"Why?"

"Because I also want you to guess what I drew, to see if we have any chemistry." Xu Feifei said, pushing Lin Yuan to the window, "You can look at the night view here first, but don't sneak back to look."

Lin Yuan smiled helplessly, her expression mysterious. But she also obeyed her words and obediently agreed, "Okay, I'll turn around when you call me."

Xu Feifei returned to her original seat, and before picking up the brush, she glanced at Lin Yuan worriedly. After making sure Lin Yuan wasn't looking at her, she began to write.

The boat continued its journey, the river flowed on, and the evening breeze blew in. The night breeze was gentle, cool, and soothing.

Lin Yuan turned around and glanced at Xu Feifei, who was secretly drawing on a teacup with a smile on her face. She didn't know what she was drawing, but seeing her smile made her lips involuntarily curl up as well.

Xu Feifei put down her brush, looking at her work in the teacup with satisfaction. She turned around to call Lin Yuan, but found Lin Yuan looking at her with a smile on her face.

"I caught you! You turned around. Come over here and see my freshly made masterpiece, I guarantee you'll be satisfied!" Xu Feifei called Lin Yuan over with a smile, her hands seemingly covering the teacup.

Lin Yuan walked over, looked at her hands, and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Ta-da!" Xu Feifei moved her hand away, revealing a large "鸢" (Yuan) character written on the teacup. Lin Yuan saw it but didn't say anything.

Xu Feifei continued, "It's for you."

Lin Yuan noticed two small dots in the lower right corner of the character "鸢" and looked at her, asking, "Are these two small dots you and me?"

Xu Feifei looked at her in surprise and asked, "How did you know? I was thinking of letting you guess and leaving you a surprise."

After receiving this answer, Lin Yuan smiled and said, "It proves that we have a tacit understanding."

Xu Feifei and Lin Yuan each drank half of the tea. After they finished, Xu Feifei suggested going to the terrace to enjoy the night view.

There were quite a few people on the terrace; most of the people eating here were there for the night tour and to see the night view.

Xu Feifei pulled Lin Yuan's hand and squeezed herself to the railing. A guqin performance was taking place on the first floor. Listening to the music, leaning against the railing, and feeling the river breeze was quite pleasant.

Xu Feifei felt the breeze and comfortably squinted her eyes slightly. They were currently passing through the bustling city center of City A.

A prominent landmark in City A was illuminating itself with a light show, and the nearby skyscrapers were also lit up. Joyful laughter drifted to Xu Feifei's ears.

"So beautiful!"

Xu Feifei said this many times tonight, and Lin Yuan was very happy to hear her say it, which brightened her mood. The river view, which she used to be tired of seeing, became exceptionally beautiful tonight, and the light pollution that she used to find interesting also became fascinating.

"Sigh, I don't know if I'll have a chance to see you again after I go back."

Xu Feifei murmured these words softly.

"What?" Lin Yuan turned around and looked at her.

Xu Feifei was startled, afraid that Lin Yuan would hear her murmuring. Looking around, she saw that there were many people around, and the sound of the boat moving was quite loud.

He shook his head, feigning composure, and said, "It's nothing. I just thought the night view was beautiful."

Lin Yuan's excitement instantly cooled down; she had heard those words.

The events that had happened before resurfaced in her mind, her fists clenched tighter and tighter, her eyes growing colder.

But she quickly adjusted her emotions and calmed herself down.

"Feifei, what do you think of City A?"

Xu Feifei looked at the river and said, "It's beautiful. No wonder it's a place I've dreamed of so many times."

Will you stay here forever?

Xu Feifei turned around and looked at Lin Yuan with a puzzled expression. She didn't say anything, wondering why Lin Yuan asked that question.

"Can you?" Lin Yuan asked again.

Had Lin Yuan discovered something? Xu Feifei couldn't help but feel nervous.

Lin Yuan's eyes were deep, filled with longing and anticipation; she was waiting for an answer.

Her gaze was so urgent that it put Xu Feifei under considerable pressure. Logically, there shouldn't be any pressure; perhaps she was overthinking it.

Xu Feifei turned her head and looked back at the river, saying, "I don't know, it's hard to say what the future holds."

"Are you leaving? Where are you going? I won't let you go," Lin Yuan said firmly, holding Xu Feifei's hand tightly, as if afraid someone would take everything away from her.

Xu Feifei's hand hurt from being squeezed so tightly, and she quickly called out, "Lin Yuan, be gentle, my hand hurts a little!"

Seeing this, Lin Yuan loosened her grip a little, but still held on tightly.

Xu Feifei didn't mind, as long as Lin Yuan's grip didn't hurt. Moreover, based on her observation, Lin Yuan would unconsciously tighten her grip on her hand until it hurt whenever she nervously asked her questions.

“How can we stay in City A forever? Aren’t we going on a trip to Europe in three days?” Xu Feifei changed the subject.

"What will happen after you come back from Europe? Will you still be in City A after you come back from Europe?" Lin Yuan asked.

Xu Feifei frowned at her, as if she had been discovered? But she couldn't ask. Lin Yuan was clever; she could only pretend not to understand. As long as she didn't say it explicitly, Lin Yuan couldn't be sure or certain of anything.

Moreover, summer vacation is so long, she doesn't know where she will be. Maybe she will continue traveling, or maybe the male and female protagonists will successfully fall in love and return to her world.

Xu Feifei never intended to discuss matters involving another world with the people of this world, even if that person was Lin Yuan.

So Xu Feifei shook her head and said, "Back from Europe? I don't know, I don't have any other plans for now. Is there anywhere you want to go? I actually really want to travel around China, but I don't know if I'll have enough time."

Lin Yuan stared intently into her eyes, trying to glean any clues from them.

But Xu Feifei quickly looked away, avoiding eye contact.

"Lin Yuan, if you were in the country, where would you like to go?"

Lin Yuan stared at her as the boat passed under a bridge arch. This was the longest arch on the journey, decorated with lights, but the illumination was dim. After this arch, they would soon be going ashore.

As they entered the bridge arch, the lights dimmed by half. The orange light from the boat shone on their faces, and Lin Yuan slowly said, "I just want to stay by your side, wherever you are, anywhere is fine."

There were short echoes under the bridge; the sound of engines and people passing by were amplified, and Lin Yuan's voice was no exception.

As the boat emerged from the bridge arch, moonlight and city lights shone upon it once more. The tactic had worked; the topic had been shifted. But what had Lin Yuan just said?

"What?" Xu Feifei asked again, unable to hear clearly.

“I said, I just want to stay by your side, wherever you are, anywhere is fine.”

Xu Feifei looked at her with surprise. The topic had been changed, but she didn't understand what she was talking about.

All the doubts that had been dispelled before were now confirmed.

Xu Feifei's first thought was to play dumb; she didn't know how to face what was about to happen. She could only bury her head in the sand like an ostrich, pretending she knew nothing.

Lin Yuan saw through her thoughts, but she remained firm in her belief and said, "Feifei, the moonlight is beautiful tonight."

Xu Feifei was completely stunned when she heard these words. She was familiar with them; she had experienced them before.

Having experienced the same thing, Xu Feifei was in a state of utter confusion. She still chose the same approach, nervously saying, "Yes...yes, the moon is so round, there are so many stars, so many people, so many fish, and so much water..."

As he spoke, he became incoherent, his words coming out as if he hadn't thought them through, uttering things he himself didn't even know he was saying.

She's pretending; as long as the other party doesn't expose her, she can act like she knows nothing.

The ship stopped, followed by the sound of the deck lowering and the crew calling for disembarkation. The crowd began to move towards the exit, excitedly discussing the scene.

The number of people on their side began to decrease. Seeing her nervous appearance, Lin Yuan gently comforted her, "Feifei, don't be nervous."

People are busiest when they're embarrassed. Xu Feifei, at a loss, tidied her hair and clothes, and said in a flustered manner, "The boat has arrived, let's go."

Xu Feifei hurriedly followed the crowd, and Lin Yuan grabbed her hand and said, "Feifei, I like you."

Xu Feifei stared at her in disbelief, not quite understanding, and asked, "What are you talking about?"

Lin Yuan said, enunciating each word clearly, "I said, Feifei, I like you."

Thump, thump, thump—the sound of people disembarking. Upon hearing those four words, the surrounding sounds became exceptionally muffled, as if shrouded in a protective veil, separating her from the crowd. So very separate, as if she weren't even on this ship.

"Feifei, I like you." Lin Yuan repeated these words three times.

She had no way out; she knew clearly that Lin Yuan was forcing her, demanding a definite answer.

Xu Feifei stared at her in shock, her eyes still filled with panic and helplessness, and stammered, "Do you know what you're saying?"

Lin Yuan replied firmly, "I know."

Xu Feifei didn't know how to refute him for a moment. Her mind was a mess, and she had to try hard to organize her thoughts.

"you......"

She had just opened her mouth to speak when a crew member came over and urged her, "Hello, our night cruise has come to an end. Thank you very much for coming."

"Excuse me, we'll be going now." Xu Feifei hurriedly walked down the stairs, with Lin Yuan following behind her.

The two walked one after the other along the riverbank; it was already past nine o'clock. The riverbank was bustling with activity; some people were walking their dogs, others were strolling, and in the distance, there were even people doing square dancing. Even in City A, they were keeping up with the trend.

But all the excitement was irrelevant to her at that moment, because her mind was in complete turmoil.

A cool evening breeze blew by. The breeze cleared Xu Feifei's feverish head considerably. She stopped walking, and Lin Yuan walked to her side without saying a word.

Xu Feifei lowered her head and said, "Lin Yuan, we are both girls."

"These days everyone's saying that love transcends gender. Love is pure; if you like someone, you just like them. Feifei, what do you think?"