Chapter 35

Three days before the flight, Lin Wan started packing his luggage.

It was the first time for Lin Wan to go to such a far place alone, so he felt a little uneasy. After packing everything on the list into the suitcase, Lin Wan checked it three times before he breathed a sigh of relief.

A large pile of clothes that he had reduced were still piled on the bed, but Lin Wan felt a little lazy.

She placed the admission letter on the desk. Under the light of the warm yellow desk lamp, she stroked the school emblem on it with her fingertips.

That was the school I had always dreamed of. Now I don’t have to go there in my dreams anymore, I will go there myself.

Lin Wan exhaled slightly. In her heart, she still felt reluctant to leave Jiang Cheng.

Jiangcheng is, after all, a very beautiful place.

Lin Wan was feeling a bit bored, her upper body resting against the sofa as she looked out the window. Outside the window was the garden she had been tending for over a decade. She was familiar with the growth marks of almost every tree, and they would grow deeper and their branches would stretch higher.

That is the desire of the tree.

Lin Wan's cheek slowly pressed against the window glass, leaving a small white pancake on the surface. She slowly exhaled hot air.

A small piece of white mist suddenly appeared on the window glass. Just like her childhood, Lin Wan stretched out her hand and drew a simple little house on it.

Everything was settled, and Lin Wan's heart slowly calmed down.

There was a knock on the door, and without thinking, Lin Wan knew who was outside.

She leaned leisurely on the sofa and was about to let Chen Yu in as usual, when her peripheral vision suddenly noticed the visa documents on her desk.

Her heart suddenly tightened, and she immediately stood up and walked to the desk to put the things on the table into the drawer below.

Lin Wan felt uneasy, so he took out two large books from the bookshelf and placed them on top of the materials, and then he felt relieved.

"Come in." Suppressing his still wildly beating heart, Lin Wan responded like his past self.

Because of the fear just now, her voice was still a little trembling, but it was very subtle. Such a small change should not be noticed by Chen Yu.

Chen Yu pushed the door open and walked in, holding a glass of sweet milk. He glanced at the clothes on the bed with a dull look, then walked straight towards Lin Wan.

The glass made a "goda" sound when it was placed on the wooden table. It was rare that he didn't hand it directly to Lin Wan.

These subtle differences made Lin Wan's throat tighten unconsciously. She seemed to pick up the sweet milk on the small table and took a sip.

He added ice cubes on purpose, but the milk still seemed too sweet, the sweetness sticky and wrapped around the tip of the tongue, too rich.

Lin Wan had just put the cup down when Chen Yu came up to kiss her, gently pecking away the sticky milk stains at the corners of her lips.

"You will always be with me, right?" Chen Yu asked Lin Wan at the end of the kiss, using the same tone as he had asked countless times.

Lin Wan continued to deal with it vaguely and did not give a clear answer.

She controlled her gaze, trying not to glance at the drawer.

Lin Wan picked up the cup and took a sip of milk. The cold liquid was sweet but a little bitter.

The pounding heart finally had a chance to breathe.

Chen Yu's smile curved into a smile, just like always. He reached out and twisted Lin Wan's hair around his fingers, then slowly untangled it.

Lin Wan's hair was very soft and smooth. It was a new toy that Chen Yu had recently discovered. He played with it, looking very focused.

His fingers were long and white, and when they were tangled around her hair, there was a unique beauty in them.

He still didn't seem to care.

Lin Wan felt a little relieved and snatched her hair back from his hand, wanting to take the opportunity to ask Chen Yu to leave, but she heard Chen Yu ask a question casually.

"Sister, there seem to be fewer books on your bookshelf today."

Lin Wan's eyes instantly glanced towards her drawer, then quickly retracted after realizing what a foolish thing she had done.

Chen Yu sat beside her, playing with Lin Wan's hair from time to time.

The weather outside gradually darkened, and the gray light shone on his face. His beautiful facial features were half bright and half dark, bringing a sense of silence.

The glass-like eyes turned quietly and stared at Lin Wan silently.

"I sorted it out a bit." Lin Wan smiled naturally. "After all, I'll be going to study abroad soon, and all these books will definitely gather dust if they are left on the bookshelf."

She blinked twice slowly and looked at Chen Yu with a smile: "So I put some books in the drawer, thinking that it would reduce Aunt Chen's workload."

The logic is very smooth and there are no flaws.

Lin Wan was somewhat amazed at Chen Yu's observation ability. After all, he was able to notice that only two books were missing.

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen Brother Xu Su for a long time." Chen Yu continued, "I heard that he went as an exchange student with his girlfriend."

He is really well-informed. I just found out about it not long ago.

Lin Wan responded casually and rescued the strand of hair that Chen Yu had taken away again.

Chen Yu observed Lin Wan's expression and added, "Sister, you've come out. I'm very happy."

The sound was not loud, and it slowly rippled in Lin Wan's ears, like a crack suddenly appearing on the surface of ice. Lin Wan suddenly felt a little uneasy.

"Sister, you haven't finished sorting your things yet, let me help you."

Chen Yu said, smiling and talking, still pretending to be a gentle person, but his eyes made Lin Wan a little frightened.

She didn't know what was hidden behind that look, she just instinctively felt that Chen Yu was a little dangerous now.

"No need." Before he could finish his words, Chen Yu stood up and walked towards the desk that he had only glanced at.

His movements were too fast and Lin Wan had no time to stop him. When she stood up and ran towards the desk.

Chen Yu had already removed the obvious number of foreign nationals on top, revealing the admission notice and visa information underneath.

Under the backdrop of large warm lights, Chen Yu's face looked particularly pale, almost sickly.

"That's right, sister." he murmured.

Lin Wan stood there, biting her lip, speechless.

Chen Yu didn't turn around immediately. Instead, he extremely slowly flipped through Lin Wan's visa documents, page by page. The rustling sound of paper was amplified in the dead silence of the room, like a blunt knife scraping against the heart. The air conditioner blew cold air, but Lin Wan felt her blood rush to her head, then instantly freeze.

Her movements were completely frozen in place.

In such a situation, no matter how eloquent a person is, he or she would not be able to say the next sentence normally.

The way he flipped through the pages was focused, almost reverent, yet revealed a suffocatingly cold scrutiny.

"Lin Wan, is this your response to me?"

He asked Lin Wan, his tone was calmer than ever before, but Lin Wan felt that there was some emotion hidden in it that he could not fully define - with a kind of terrifying sense of destruction.

An indescribable chill ran up from the soles of his feet, and Lin Wan even felt that the lights in the room dimmed a lot after a certain moment.

She thought Chen Yu would yell, or at least question her, but Chen Yu did nothing. He just calmly flipped through her information, page after page.

His attitude is as calm as the tranquil sea surface under the sun.

Finally, the rustling of papers stopped. Chen Yu finally stopped what he was doing and turned his gaze towards Lin Wan. He walked towards her step by step.

The soft cotton slippers made almost no sound as they stepped on the wooden floor. Lin Wan could hear almost nothing except his own gradually heavier breathing.

The sky outside darkened, and lights were lit between the tall buildings in the distance, appearing particularly bright and exquisite in the somewhat gray and dilapidated city.

Lin Wan was pressed against the wall by Chen Yu. His warm breath swept across her neck, causing her to tremble from time to time. She couldn't help but raise her chin slightly to increase the distance between them.

He buried his head in the crook of Lin Wan's neck and then gradually moved it upwards.

This action lasted for an extremely long time, and was noticeably slow and tiring. Lin Wan took small breaths, like a small animal trying its best to reduce its presence when encountering danger.

He trapped Lin Wan in a corner, his warm breath brushing past her ears with a certain destructive calmness.

"Sister, do you want to leave?" he asked.

He pressed Lin Wan's wrist against the wall, and his hands repeatedly traced the shape of her wrist. His movements were very gentle, but his eyes were indeed extremely cold, reminding Lin Wan of the frozen lake in winter, where the ice at the bottom seemed to be breaking in the slightest way.

"You, seem to have abandoned me?" he asked.

Lin Wan was unable to respond to his question, her eyelashes trembling, and she didn't look him in the eye for even a second.

The room was eerily quiet.

"It should be fun to play with me." Chen Yu suddenly laughed. He still had the same light scent that once made Lin Wan feel at ease. But at this moment, something seemed different.

Her back was pressed tightly against the wall, feeling a little cold, as if she wanted to absorb the last bit of warmth from Lin Wan, but she did not move.

His shadow completely enveloped Lin Wan, and Lin Wan felt as if he could hardly breathe.

She tried to argue, but found that the facts seemed to be just as he said. She had never intended to keep this relationship for too long, and they had not established a clear relationship until now.

Are they the siblings they thought they were, or are they closer to their current relationship?

Or maybe, neither of these, but just two people getting close to each other, thinking they can warm others with their body temperature?

It's so childish and naive that it's scary.

Lin Wan didn't say a word until the end, just looking at Chen Yu with quiet eyes.

She wouldn't give up and leave, no matter what.

On the desk, the cup of sweet milk he had brought was still there, with congealed milk skin floating on the surface, turbid and wrinkled, staring at Lin Wan quietly, like a lifeless pupil.

The rain fell outside the window, one drop or two, I don’t know whose tears they were.

Chen Yu didn't say another word, his eyes fixed on Lin Wan, without anger or pain, only calmness.

After about ten seconds, he left without looking back.

Lin Wan felt that he was probably extremely disappointed.

She threw her body onto the sofa, letting the soft sofa wrap around her, and finally, she covered her face with her hands.

On the day they arrived at the airport, Lin Wan and Chen Yu walked into the airport together. With Chen Yu's help, they completed the luggage check-in and boarded the plane to the UK.

When she arrived in the UK, she cut her hair short, changed her phone card, and sealed the previous one and no longer used it.

Lin Wan finally no longer had to face the scrutinizing gazes of her family. She once thought those gazes were full of love, but they were actually calculations and evaluations.

If she stayed in the country, Lin Wanhui would continue to live under their control, walking on thin ice and trembling with fear.

She no longer wanted to look back.

She sent a final message to Lin Zhen, telling them that she had gone to the United States and they didn't need to look for her anymore.

Of course, she told a little lie.

But, she was about to rush towards her new life, so what else was there that was worth her hesitation again?

She thought she had finally had a new beginning.

The cabin smelled bad after a twelve-hour flight, and Lin Wan struggled to sleep on the barely cushioned chair.

Although she said she was sleeping, she actually didn't sleep for very long. Lin Wan was a little too nervous. She had never flown so far away by herself.

She couldn't help but wonder what would happen if Lin Zhen saw the news about her.

Will I be angry or helpless?

It was four o'clock in the morning when she landed at London Gatwick Airport. The sky was not yet fully bright, and the city seemed peaceful and hazy, like a sleeping steel behemoth.

Of course, these are just Lin Wan's stereotypes of foreign countries.

Lin Wan walked forward carrying luggage that was almost as heavy as himself.

Lin Wan carried the huge luggage alone, took a taxi, rented a house, and reported.

Although her clothes were soaked with sweat, she was still happy.

It is the joy of a young bird finally flying into the sky.

Lin Wan was full of curiosity about everything in this strange country. When she got off the plane and took the subway to her rental house, she even saw a gorgeous sunrise.

A vast expanse of orange morning glow, with a gorgeous red sun rising in it, gradually illuminates the city shrouded in blue.

She didn't save much money, but it was enough for her to rent a remote and simple 10-square-meter cottage in the UK.

The house is not big. Local British people live there, as well as a few Russian girls who look like international students.

Different skin colors, different languages—Lin Wan had never seen so many completely different people in one day.

Like a dream.

Although this house is in a remote area, there is a direct subway to the short-term language course that Lin Wan will attend, so it can be considered convenient for transportation.

Lin Wan planned to use this room for the first few months, and then move to a place with a better location after saving enough money.

Xu Su arrived two months earlier than her. By the time Lin Wan had tidied up everything in the room and dialed the number she had memorized with her new SIM card, she was gone.

She heard a gentle female voice, and from the sound of it, she knew it was a weak and soft female voice. It was completely different from Lin Wan's pretended gentleness, but in fact it was full of sharpness.

"Hello." said the female voice.

It was also at this moment that Lin Wan finally had a deeper understanding of what Chen Yu said about Xu Su having a girlfriend.

It was as if the thin film between himself and reality was suddenly pulled apart, and Lin Wan truly touched a corner of this real world.

"Hey, is that my sister-in-law?" Lin Wan heard herself calling him affectionately.

It should have ended long ago, that inexplicable love from their youth. Lin Wan couldn't even define that feeling at this moment.

Is it love, or simple admiration and dependence?

Just like Chen Yu’s inexplicable and strong feelings for himself.

It should have ended long ago, it’s already over, Lin Wan told himself.

She has begun to find her true self and no longer needs to rely entirely on others for her own value.

"Huh? Who are you?" The girl opposite was obviously a little wary and confused, and her tone of voice rose when she asked back.

"I'm Lin Wan. I just arrived in England today. I'm a friend of Brother Xu Su. He should have told you about it."

After making a thorough decision, Lin Wan contacted Xu Su.

She crushed the last bit of her girlish feelings and finally put herself in the right place.

"Oh! It's Xiaowan!" The girl opposite obviously relaxed.

"Why didn't you contact us about today's flight? We could have gone to pick you up!" Wan Rou was naturally intimate. She was a very good girl.