Interconnected

The blush on his face hadn't faded yet, and the murmurs in his ears kept filling Lin Yuan's thoughts.

Her ears turned increasingly red with each intimate whisper, and she couldn't help but shrink back. Her heart pounded. "Lin Yuan, I..."

Before she could finish speaking, Lin Yuan covered her mouth with his hand, saying, "Feifei, let's talk about it at dinner tonight."

Xu Feifei looked at him with a puzzled expression, her mind full of questions. What did this mean?

After getting off the Ferris wheel, her head was still spinning, and she let Lin Yuan hold her hand and walk with her.

When she arrived at the dock, she saw the cruise ships moored on the shore and instantly remembered that Lin Yuan had confessed his feelings to her on this very cruise ship.

Lin Yuan produced a bouquet of flowers from somewhere. "Feifei, these are for you."

Xu Feifei looked at the bouquet in front of her, so full that not a single gap was left, the colors varied but harmonious. However, this kind of flower didn't seem very common; she hadn't seen it at the florist this morning.

"What kind of flower is this? It's quite pretty; I don't think I see it often."

“Hibiscus and peony, you said before that you hadn’t seen these two flowers much, so I thought I’d give them to you. The one on the left is hibiscus, and the one on the right is peony.”

Xu Feifei's heart skipped a beat, and she looked at the bouquet in surprise. The hibiscus and peony really did look quite alike, although the peony looked a bit bigger and had more petals.

Lin Yuan took her hand and said as they walked, "Let's go, there's a surprise inside."

He led the way, pulling her along behind. The evening breeze by the river blew the hair tucked behind her ears, obscuring her vision.

The path to the cruise ship was only about twenty meters long, yet it felt so long. With each step, Xu Feifei's heart pounded with increasing anxiety. How could she feel uneasy and flustered when the person she liked was confessing their feelings to her?

"Feifei, why are you so late? I've been waiting for you for ages."

"Su Huan?! What are you doing here?"

Xu Feifei looked at her with surprise, and the moment she saw Su Huan, she seemed to know where the unease in her heart came from.

Su Huan grinned and pointed at Lin Yuan, saying, "He asked me to come."

After receiving her answer, Xu Feifei's own answer came to mind. She turned to look at Lin Yuan, waiting for his reply.

Lin Yuan frowned and said, "I called you here, but I didn't ask you to come out this early."

Knowing she was in the wrong, Su Huan silently walked behind Xu Feifei to block his death stare.

Seeing that the situation was not going well, Xu Feifei didn't care about anything else and quickly stepped forward to smooth things over, saying, "Lin Yuan, I'm hungry. Can we order food now?"

"Wait a moment, let me tell them, I'll take you upstairs now."

Lin Yuan took Xu Feifei's hand again and walked upstairs, with Su Huan following closely behind.

Halfway up the stairs, Lin Yuan noticed she was following him and said, "Feifei and I have something to talk about. You can eat something else downstairs first, and do as we agreed before."

Su Huan pursed her lips and didn't follow.

The second floor is decorated completely differently from the first floor. It is decorated with fresh flowers, dolls, balloons and lights, and a candlelight dinner is set up outside the cabin.

The atmosphere here is so grand and romantic; anyone who didn't know better would think it was a marriage proposal. Could it be a marriage proposal? Xu Feifei's mind went blank.

He asked uncertainly and cautiously, "Lin Yuan, why is this place decorated so grandly?"

Lin Yuan gentlemanly helped her move a chair so she could sit down, and took the bouquet of flowers from her hands and placed it on a chair not far away.

After the two sat down facing each other, the food was served. Lin Yuan forced a smile and said in a relaxed manner, "Because I want to give our date a perfect ending. Today is our official date day, and I don't want it to leave any regrets."

Xu Feifei looked around. The place was indeed beautifully decorated, showing great care. Turning back, she saw him looking at her, smiling, but his eyes betrayed a hidden resentment and bitterness.

Xu Feifei lowered her eyes. She knew this day would come sooner or later, but it came far too quickly. It was so fast that she was busy and flustered, so fast that she forgot about time, so fast that she thought she had plenty of time.

Seeing that she was in low spirits, Lin Yuan scooped up a piece of shrimp and tofu with a spoon and said, "Try this salted egg yolk shrimp and tofu stew and see if it suits your taste."

As Xu Feifei looked at the shrimp and tofu in her bowl, tears welled up in her eyes instantly. The scene on the Ferris wheel was still vivid in her mind. Her nose felt sore and blocked out.

She dared not look up at him, afraid that if she did, tears would well up in her eyes.

She picked up the spoon, took a bite, and tears immediately streamed down her face. She tried desperately to stop the tears, but couldn't. Lin Yuan noticed something was wrong and quickly asked what was wrong.

Asking this only made things worse; Xu Feifei completely broke down and burst into tears. Lin Yuan quickly went to her side and asked, "Is the tofu too hot?"

Xu Feifei hugged him tightly, burying her face in his chest, and sobbed uncontrollably, "It's just... the tofu was too hot..."

Lin Yuan hugged her and kept comforting her, saying, "It's all my fault. I didn't let the tofu cool down before giving it to you. Don't cry, it's all my fault."

Xu Feifei continued to cry, ignoring Lin Yuan, who kept nagging in her ear.

After a long while, Xu Feifei finally looked up. Seeing her wet clothes, she blushed with embarrassment and quickly picked up a napkin from the table to wipe them off for him.

Lin Yuan took the tissue from her hand, but instead of continuing to wipe, he looked down at her and asked, "Are you feeling better now?"

Xu Feifei lowered her head and pulled out a few more tissues, saying, "Your clothes are wet, you need to dry them off."

Lin Yuan took the tissue from her again, wiped his face casually, and said, "It's okay. How are you feeling now? Are you feeling better? I'll definitely be more careful next time I serve you food."

Xu Feifei remained silent for a long time before saying, "No, that was just something I made up. The tofu wasn't hot at all."

"In that case, let's eat first."

Lin Yuan knew that the hot tofu was just an excuse. The real reason for their tears remained unspoken; neither of them wanted to say goodbye until the very last moment.

Xu Feifei nodded, took his hand and said, "Lin Yuan, would you like to sit next to me and eat?"

They sat down again, resuming their previous cheerful and talkative manner. They talked about many things over the meal: the embarrassing incident of diving during their first meeting, their first day at their new school, their first meal together...

The person is still alive, yet they've started reminiscing about the past.

As the conversation drew to a close, Xu Feifei looked at him thoughtfully for a while before asking the question she had always wanted to ask but hadn't yet: "Lin Yuan, if you had the chance to come to my world, would you come?"

"Of course I will. You know, I don't have any other important people besides you."

"You can't say that. Life is long, and after you..."

Life is long, but I only care about you.

Xu Feifei nestled in Lin Yuan's arms. As the boat passed under the bridge, fireworks lit up the shore. Huge fireworks exploded overhead, one after another, resounding and illuminating the entire sky.

Xu Feifei gazed at this scene, her eyes brimming with tears, shining exceptionally brightly in the fireworks. At this moment, she was the protagonist, and Lin Yuan was the protagonist; they were each other's protagonists.

As the grand fireworks display unfolded, Lin Yuan stood up, looked up at the sky, and teased her, "This atmosphere is perfect for proposing to you on one knee."

Xu Feifei lowered her head and smiled, then said with a forced smile, "I will agree to your request."

"I agree, I'll be your wedding witness."

Xu Feifei turned around in confusion, and smiled helplessly when she saw Su Huan. She didn't know when Su Huan had come up behind her and was looking at her and Lin Yuan with a grin.

Lin Yuan suppressed the complex emotions in his heart and stood in front of her with an expectant yet solemn tone, smiling as he said, "Feifei, I like you. This time, you can reply to me."

Xu Feifei stood there, stunned, tears streaming down her face again. All that was left before she could go back was one sentence from her. If she said it, everything here would end, and the wrong path could be put back on track.

She remained silent for a long time, while Su Huan kept urging her on without making a sound.

After a long silence, Xu Feifei bit her lip and said, "Lin Yuan, I have a request. Could you please help me?"

"Of course, I will grant you any request."

Xu Feifei lowered her eyes, looking at the flower petals on the ground, and said, "I know this isn't appropriate, but after I go back, while you're still in this world, could you help me take care of the original owner?"

Lin Yuan frowned, but did not refuse and nodded, saying, "Okay."

Xu Feifei raised her head again, her eyes brimming with tears, and touched his face with a smile, saying, "Also, I ordered a bouquet of flowers today, which will be delivered to the dormitory building tonight. Remember to pick it up."

Lin Yuan took her hand, kissed it, and said, holding back tears, "I will."

Xu Feifei glanced back at Su Huan, then at Lin Yuan. Taking a deep breath, she finally made up her mind and said in a trembling voice, "Lin Yuan, I like you. Whether you are Lin Yuan or Lin Yuan, I like you, and I will always like you."

"Life is really long, and you will meet many people in the future. I am very lucky to be an important person in your life, but don't be sad because of my departure. Life still has to move forward. But I will always remember you. I will wait for you in my world. Even if you can't come, I will still wait for you because you are also a very, very important person in my life."

I will come to find you.

The fireworks above their heads were still blooming, and the two of them held each other tightly, cherishing every minute and every second.

Su Huan was so moved that she cried, covering her mouth to avoid making a sound, afraid of disturbing their happy moment. She had experienced such a romantic confession before and knew how blissful and joyful this moment was.

But the happier you are, the more reluctant you will be to part ways.

This article was published on Jinjiang Novel Reading.