Chapter 41

The air around them seemed to thin out for a moment. Lin Wan could only see Wang Ranran's lips moving, but could not hear her words.

"Who is it?" Lin Wan asked again.

"Chen Yu." Wang Ranran replied.

"Which 'yu'?" Lin Wan couldn't help but ask this question.

"Yu means island. This name is quite strange. There is a saying that goes, 'No man is an island.' This name is suitable for deserted islands." Wang Ranran lifted her hair and took a step forward. The next serving of fried noodles would be theirs.

Lin Wan was a little stunned and responded, "Yeah, that's a weird name."

On the way back with the fried noodles, Wang Ranran told Lin Wan a lot about Chen Yu, saying that no one knew his birth background, and that the paparazzi couldn't find out where he lived even if they tried their best.

Hearing Wang Ranran say this, Lin Wan thought of Gu Zhu. Even though he didn't see the woman's appearance clearly at the time, he could tell from the way she spoke that Gu Zhu was of high status.

The way of speaking and the habit of using words will always reveal a person's true nature inadvertently - this is what Lin Zhen taught Lin Wan.

Chen Yu's identity could also be inferred based on Gu Zhu's. In Beijing, there were only a few well-known wealthy and prestigious families. Knowing their names, a quick search on Xiwu Pharmaceutical would reveal everything.

Lin Wan shook her head and threw away all the memories of the past. She had a brand new life and didn't want to look back anymore.

The crowd cheered behind them as they headed off in a less traveled direction.

"Is Zhou Wangjing still pursuing you?"

As they were almost at the door, Wang Ranran asked nervously.

Zhou Wangjing had been pursuing Lin Wan for some time, waiting for her downstairs every day to give her gifts. After Lin Wan rejected him twice, he seemed to have never come again, but this incident left a certain psychological trauma on Wang Ranran.

At that time, Wang Ranran saw a man smoking and waiting downstairs. She thought it was a thief scouting the area in advance and almost called the police. Fortunately, she asked Lin Wan to come back and take a look, which finally prevented the accident.

"No more." Lin Wan answered honestly. After two failed attempts to send gifts, Zhou Wangjing hadn't contacted her for a long time.

He had apologized to me before, saying that he thought I liked him too, so he rashly came to give me a gift and decided to be brave for once.

Zhou Wangjing was wearing a dark coat at the time, with his hands in his pockets. He kept his back as straight as possible and looked at Lin Wan as steadily as possible, but his eyes kept unconsciously falling on the things around Lin Wan.

He was embarrassed, Lin Wan could clearly feel it. Although he had grown up a lot, he was completely different from the boy who turned and ran away after being rejected by her in the corridor.

However, across the years, Lin Wan keenly sensed a sense of similarity. It was as if he had smelled a similar scent in a completely different place.

Sure enough, Zhou Wangjing was no longer at the stairs.

Lin Wan couldn't quite describe her emotions; she felt relieved yet melancholy. Her inexplicable vanity was instantly soothed.

She didn't understand where Zhou Wangjing's love came from, but it had indeed existed for a long time.

When Zhou Wangjing appeared downstairs of Lin Wan's building for the second time and looked at her with that reckless and full of youthful emotion, Lin Wan thought about accepting his confession.

She was too lonely and longed to have a completely pure emotion.

But Lin Wan finally refused, as she thought her bad selfish mentality was not worthy of such feelings.

Even if they were together, he would ruin the relationship, so it would be better if they had never been together.

In Zhou Wangjing's heart, I will always be that beautiful and ethereal phantom.

Everyone loves the phantom in their heart, but the lover is just a person, and cannot be exactly the same as the virtual imagination in the heart. Sometimes they are even contrary to each other.

It was getting dark outside, so in order to save electricity, only a small warm yellow light was on in the room.

Lin Wan and Wang Ranran sat face to face and shared noodles.

Lin Wan used chopsticks and Wang Ranran used a fork.

Lin Wan thought about it in a mess for a long time, and finally heard Wang Ranran's question at a certain moment.

Wang Ranran had been waving his hands in front of her for a long time.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Lin Wan swallowed the fried noodles in his mouth, took a big sip of water, and felt a little uncomfortable with the water swirling in his stomach.

Wang Ranran turned her phone screen towards Lin Wan, on which a short video was playing, the scene showing Chinatown in the afternoon.

A car was surrounded by a crowd and drove in. When the door opened, a man wearing a long black windbreaker appeared. His mask covered most of his face, leaving only his delicate eyebrows and eyes exposed.

Lin Wan was too familiar with those eyebrows and eyes.

The man got out of the car, and there were screams and shutter sounds. The person shooting the short video even shook his hand and the phone almost fell to the ground.

——These are enough to prove that the crowd is not calm.

But all this chaos seemed to disappear before it reached the man, leaving only silence and tranquility, as if he was standing in a transparent cover.

The noise and frenzy around him turned into drops of water falling into the ocean.

Chen Yu did not greet him immediately, but just stood there quietly, glancing at everything in front of him.

Those eyes are the deepest quiet lake.

Lin Wan took another sip of water, trying to maintain her composure. She had no idea that just catching a glimpse of Chen Yu from a distance on the video could cause her to panic like this.

He raised his hand, his fingertips long and distinct, and casually gathered his windbreaker. It was a very simple action.

Lin Wan heard the person filming gasp.

He walked into the store and the air slowly closed behind him.

Lin Wan couldn't explain what she felt in her heart; she felt a little choked up.

"It's a good thing we didn't go. There were so many people there. Even if we moved closer, we could only see the backs of people's heads and wouldn't be able to see Chen Yu at all."

Wang Ranran said this while chewing noodles.

"The noodles are a bit dry today, no wonder you keep drinking water." Wang Ranran muttered.

"I'm going to get some juice from the fridge, do you want some?"

"Yes." Lin Wan spoke faster than her brain, and only after she finished speaking did she realize that the orange juice in the refrigerator was surprisingly unpalatable.

Wang Ranran casually put her phone on the dining table and went to the refrigerator to get some juice.

The short seven-second video was played repeatedly. The man had very white skin with a soft halo in the sunlight.

Lin Wan picked up the noodles repeatedly with chopsticks, but couldn't eat another bite.

After finishing the juice in the glass, Lin Wan still couldn't forget the curve of the man's fingertips when he gathered his windbreaker.

After all, it had touched itself like that before.

This had a serious impact on her group discussion that evening.

"Wan, what do you think about Company A's export strategy?"

The old professor with curly white hair asked Lin Wan for her opinion for the third time. No matter how much she liked Lin Wan, she would never ask Lin Wan questions so frequently.

It was obvious that Professor Jevica could see that Lin Wan was distracted at the moment.

Lin Wan subconsciously sat up straight, looked at the notes he had prepared, and answered the key points one by one according to what he had sorted out.

Fortunately, she had done sufficient preparation, otherwise her condition today would probably be in big trouble.

Lin Wan silently wiped away the cold sweat that had just appeared on his forehead.

It was too bad she was distracted.

Professor Jevica's eyes fell on her, and there was worry in his kind eyes.

"What's wrong with you, Wan?" After the discussion, Professor Jevica called Lin Wan to her office.

Lin Wan sat behind the wooden desk and pursed her lips. She was in a very bad state today, but she found it difficult to say the reason.

"Is it a personal financial problem? Have you used up the last financial subsidy?" The corners of Jevika's eyes drooped a little and her skin was loose, but her eyes always had the power to warm people's hearts.

"Please don't misunderstand me, I don't have any malicious intentions in asking this." Jevika reached out and touched Lin Wan's fist that was placed on the table.

"You can tell me your problem and you can trust me completely." Jevica's eyes were serious.

The income from the Chinese classroom was more than enough for her to cover her daily expenses and even have some left over. Combined with the grants she applied for, Lin Wan even had enough money left over to pursue a master's degree, which was a complete surprise for her.

Although I still have to repay my previous student loans, everything is moving in a good direction.

Lin Wan didn't know what had happened today. She lowered her head, looking dull and unapproachable.

Jevika looked at Lin Wan and sighed softly, then reached out and patted the back of Lin Wan's hand.

"It's not a big deal," said Jevica.

"I'm sorry, Professor Jevica." Lin Wan raised her head, her eyelids trembling, and her lips tightly pursed.

Everything that happened before was over, she told herself again.

Lin Wan walked out of Jevika's office, holding the newly acquired data. He estimated that he could only sleep for three hours tonight.

As she walked along, Lin Wan planned her work schedule for tonight. Over the years, her behavior hadn't changed much.

The asphalt road was wet because it had just rained, and the lights were dim. The crimson bus drove across the wet road with its high beams on, causing the ground to tremble slightly.

Lin Wan walked forward with her schoolbag on her back, her khaki windbreaker hanging softly beside her legs. Because of the humidity in the air, Lin Wan suspected that water was about to be wrung out of it.

At the sidewalk, Lin Wan encountered a red light.

She leaned over slightly and reached out to touch the fabric beside her leg. It was a little wet, but generally dry.

Lin Wan breathed a sigh of relief, which meant that she didn't have to dry the clothes tonight, leaving some time.

Water mist filled the air, the dim light of the street lamps seemed particularly hazy, and every trace of water mist seemed to have a special texture.

She stood up straight, and the street light in front of her changed from red to green.

Lin Wan took a step forward.

The next second, she stopped in this hazy halo.

The sounds of the world—the distant clatter of buses passing over flooded roads, the faint laughter in the bar, the clear sound of water dripping over cast iron railings—suddenly receded, sinking into a vast sea of ​​silence.

The familiar black windbreaker, and the familiar arc of the knuckles when they were slightly curled, at that moment Lin Wan was extremely certain.

——It’s him.

Time seems to overlap at this moment, in this foreign country, after this wet rain.

Lin Wan pursed her lips, lowered her head, and tried her best not to look in Chen Yu's direction.

Just now, she saw a woman holding his arm.