Chapter 113 My Affair

After finishing lunch, Chen Guang packed up the leftovers and put them in the refrigerator. After wiping the stove and tidying up the kitchen, he showed no sign of leaving.

Lin Yu remembered that he had stayed in Shanghai for the New Year to be with him, and swallowed the words he was about to say. She patted the sofa and asked him if he wanted to play some games.

She turned on the TV, pulled out the dusty Switch from the cabinet, plugged the data cable into the back of the monitor, and sat cross-legged on the sofa.

Chen Guang wiped his hands and walked into the bedroom, sitting down next to her at a distance that wasn't too close or too far. Lin Yu could smell a faint lemon scent on him; she knew it was the smell of dish soap from her house.

She didn't intend to have an ambiguous relationship with Chen Guang; it's just that of the only two games in her library, only Overcooked supports two-player co-op.

This game requires two players to start, and she doesn't like being randomly matched with online friends. Jiang Chuan used to be too busy to play with her, so her skills are still a bit rusty.

Chen Guang took the handle, mimicking Lin Yu's posture as he leaned back on the sofa, sitting cross-legged. His tall frame immediately made the already narrow double sofa feel even more cramped. Lin Yu subtly moved to the side, carefully avoiding Chen Guang's touch with his knees.

"I'll hand you the vegetables, you can chop them?" Chen Guang asked, turning his head slightly, his tone natural, as if he was completely unaware of Lin Yu's wariness.

"Um!"

Lin Yu originally thought that the game had simple graphics and clear division of labor, so it shouldn't be difficult to pick up.

But just ten minutes later, staring at the virtual kitchen on the screen with pots and pans scattered all over the floor and ingredients flying everywhere, she completely collapsed into a state of frantic chaos.

"Hey? Didn't you say I was here to deliver the food? What are you doing?" Lin Yu grabbed Chen Guang's hand that was operating the control handle.

"You served the wrong dish, Banban." Chen Guang took her hand and guided her to press the correct button. "The next dish is tomato beef brisket..."

Before he could finish speaking, flames suddenly erupted from the screen. "Fire!" Lin Yu exclaimed.

"It's normal, don't panic," Chen Guang reminded Lin Yu while putting out the fire. "Chef, your pot is going to burn through!"

"I'm not panicking, don't try to take my job!" Lin Yu used his elbow to push away the arm that had overstepped his bounds.

"Take care of this place first, it's blocking my way... Hey hey hey!" The kitchen on the screen completely went out of control, and the hot air balloon exploded into pieces in the thick smoke and fell from the sky.

Lin Yu gripped the handle tightly, about to explode, when Chen Guang gave her an innocent wink. She suddenly calmed down, realizing that this affectionate scolding wasn't the kind of emotion one should have towards an ordinary friend.

"One more round?" Chen Guang shook the controller to comfort him, "I haven't played in a long time, I'm out of practice."

Lin Yu understood that he was offering her a way out, but perhaps it wasn't a matter of which of them was unsuitable for the game, but rather that they always lacked a certain understanding. She opened her mouth, but before she could speak, there was a knock on the door.

Lin Yu got up and walked to the door, peering through the peephole, and saw the building manager standing outside.

In older neighborhoods like theirs, each building elects a building manager from among the long-time residents to relay notices from the neighborhood committee. Their building manager is Aunt Zhang, who lives on the first floor.

Aunt Zhang has lived here for over forty years and is known throughout the building for her warmheartedness; she knows everything that happens to anyone in the building. She always greets Lin Yu with a smile when they meet, and their relationship is fairly amicable.

She put on a mask and opened the door a crack. "Auntie, is there something you need?"

"Xiao Lin, you know that the community is going to be under lockdown, right?" Aunt Zhang asked, her voice muffled beneath her bulky protective suit and mask.

She shook the bulging plastic bag in her hand. "It's just in time for the Chinese New Year, and the neighborhood committee prepared epidemic prevention supplies for every household. This is yours."

Lin Yu took the heavy bag and thanked him profusely. Upon opening it, he found basic epidemic prevention supplies, seven or eight kinds of fresh vegetables, meat, eggs, and dairy products, with a pair of Spring Festival couplets on top.

"Auntie, did you carry all these heavy things up here by yourself?" She then noticed that Aunt Zhang had several similar bags at her feet, presumably to deliver them to each household in the building. She felt a little bad about it.

"My husband is downstairs," Aunt Zhang waved her hand. "It's inconvenient for a young girl like you to come up here." Just then, the sound of a game restarting suddenly came from inside the house.

Aunt Zhang knew that Lin Yu had a lawyer boyfriend, but they hadn't met yet, so she couldn't help but curiously peek into the house.

"Your boyfriend's here to keep you company? That's great! Auntie was worried you'd be lonely, being a girl from out of town stuck here. It's not convenient to invite you over during this special time..."

Lin Yu realized that Chen Guang was still in his room at this moment, and that he would definitely miss his share when the supplies were distributed.

During this special period, they didn't care about avoiding suspicion and directly said to Aunt Zhang, "No, he's my colleague. He lives in 102. Why don't you give me his share too, so you don't have to carry it downstairs again?"

Aunt Zhang's gaze towards her suddenly became subtle. She remembered that there was a rather energetic young man living downstairs, although she had never seen him bring a girlfriend home, while Lin Yu did have a boyfriend.

This girl, who usually seems so quiet and well-behaved, would never have allowed another man to stay in her room at a time like this.

She suppressed her gossipy nature, forcing a smile, and let out a meaningful sigh, "Ah... I see... Good, good." As she handed Lin Yu another bag of supplies, she subtly probed, "I haven't seen your boyfriend for the past few days..."

Lin Yu understood the underlying meaning in her words. Although he had no obligation to explain his personal matters to the building manager, since they lived upstairs and downstairs, there was no need to strain the relationship, so he casually replied, "He's busy with work and often travels for business."

Aunt Zhang couldn't detect anything unusual on Lin Yu's face, so she reluctantly withdrew her head that was about to peek into the house.

"Happy New Year, Xiaolin! I'm off now. Be careful, contact me on WeChat if you need anything!" she shouted as she turned and headed downstairs.

As soon as Lin Yu closed the door, he turned around and saw Chen Guang lounging lazily on the sofa, his arm resting on the armrest, looking comfortable and at ease, as if he had made this place his own home.

Hearing footsteps, he turned his head and glanced at her casually. "Who is it?"

"Building manager, this is someone delivering supplies." Lin Yu put the bag on the table and added casually, "I've taken yours too, remember to take it with you when you leave."

Chen Guang paused, stopping the game. He turned around, rested his elbows on his knees, looked up at her, and gave her a mocking smile. "Aren't you afraid people will misunderstand?"

"What misunderstanding?" Lin Yu asked knowingly.

Chen Guang's brown eyes shone brightly at that moment. He tilted his head, staring intently at him with an innocent and harmless expression. After a long while, he slowly spoke. "You misunderstood and thought you were having an affair with me."

In the past, Chen Guang would always have been tactful enough to avoid sensitive topics. Lin Yu knew this, which is why she dared to throw the awkward conversation back at him.

But to her surprise, after several years apart, he had changed his playing style, catching her off guard. "You're overthinking things..."

Thinking of the meaningful look the building manager gave him when he left, coupled with Chen Guang's teasing at this moment, it really seemed as if the two of them had some kind of shady relationship.

She subconsciously raised her hand to tuck a stray hair behind her ear, cleared her throat, and forced herself to look away, her gaze falling on the television screen.

Chen Guang had switched to a different game at some point, and the screen was now playing Zelda. Jiang Chuan had bought this for her along with the game console when he was in Japan.

When the two were together, Lin Yu was quite obsessed with it, always taking it to Jiang Chuan's place for weekends. When work wasn't busy, they could stay home all day, playing with it from morning till night, and it was filled with many wonderful memories.

I played on and off for more than half a year, and all my clothes were top-tier. I also acquired most of the equipment. Just when I was about to finish the game, I broke up with Jiang Chuan and was reminded of him by the sight of his belongings, so I simply put it aside.

It's been several months since I last touched it.

She stared at the game screen showing Link running across the grass for a long time before finally unleashing the most ferocious threat in the calmest tone.

“I’ve been saving up the props and rupees inside for a long time. If I find that even a little bit is missing, you’ll probably have a hard time stepping out of this door today.”

"That suits me perfectly." Chen Guang's gaze returned to the screen as he controlled his game character, chuckling as he changed the subject. "Don't worry, this game has bugs, so it'll be perfect for clearing out those mini-challenges you don't want to do."

Lin Yu scoffed, "Section Chief Chen is actually a pretty nice guy. How come I never noticed that before?"

"Then you can pay more attention to me in the future," he said half-jokingly.

Lin Yu didn't reply, but sat on the edge of the bed with his arms crossed, supervising for a while. Still not trusting him, he got up and snatched the controller from his hand. "Stop playing for now. The neighborhood committee handed out Spring Festival couplets. Help me put them up."

Lin Yu lives in an old apartment building with four apartments per floor. The stairwell is narrow, barely wide enough for one and a half people. When he encounters a neighbor going up or down the stairs, he has to step aside to avoid them.

The two stood at the doorway, facing the stair railing behind them. The dim and cramped space made Lin Yu feel inexplicably uncomfortable.

She suddenly regretted asking Chen Guang to come out with her, so she simply shoved the tape into his arms and turned to go back inside.

"You can stick it on yourself, it's too cold."

Unexpectedly, Chen Guang grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. "If you don't keep an eye on it, what if it's pasted crookedly?"

Lin Yu stumbled into his arms, quickly took two steps back, and looked up to meet his half-smiling eyes. He was momentarily speechless. "So what if it's crooked?"

"That won't do." Chen Guang released her, bent down, and used his canine teeth to bite off the tape. He slowly and methodically stuck the tape strips one by one onto his exposed forearm.

With his eyelashes lowered, he said calmly, "Next year when I leave, every time you see a crooked 'Fu' character, you will think of me."

Chen Guang leaned closer, one hand supporting himself on the Spring Festival couplets on the door, his eyes filled with a sincere smile. "Haven't you always wanted to forget me, Banban?"

Lin Yu's back pressed against the cold wall, Chen Guang's shadow abruptly rising on the wall, looming over him like a cage. "I didn't intentionally forget..."

She tried to keep her voice steady, her nails digging silently into her palms. "I just... won't like you anymore."

The sudden ringing of the telephone in the room broke the stagnant atmosphere around the two. As if waking from a dream, Lin Yu pushed Chen Guang away, quickly walked into the room, and grabbed the phone.

Jiang Chuan's name appeared on the screen. She hesitated for a moment, then pressed the answer button. "What's wrong?"

On the other end of the phone, Jiang Chuan's voice sounded weary from his journey. "I'm bringing you some New Year's gifts! Come downstairs in ten minutes, I'll be waiting for you at the entrance of the complex."

The two hadn't seen each other for some time. He had learned from Zou Lang that Lin Yu was staying in Shanghai for the Chinese New Year, and that's when he decided to come and find her.

I originally wanted to take her home, but I was worried that it would be too abrupt, so I came over under the pretext of delivering New Year's goods.

He started preparing for this yesterday, but unexpectedly, a situation arose at the sanatorium, and he was busy until 4 p.m. before he was able to get away.

After the event, he immediately drove to Lin Yu's residence, hoping that he might still be able to have a simple New Year's Eve dinner with her.

However, on the way, he received a message from Zou Lang saying that a close contact had been found in the unit next to Lin Yu's. The entire community was locked down early in the morning.

This unexpected event completely disrupted his original plans. All rational calculations and strategic retreats seemed to have become irrelevant.

He couldn't bear the thought of not being by her side when she might be in danger. He couldn't wait for her to take the initiative; he had to confirm her safety immediately.

"How can you be so sure I'm home?" Lin Yu sank back into the sofa, grabbed the controller, and casually exited the game, his tone slightly teasing.

During this time, Jiang Chuan's aloof attitude made her think that he had suffered some great injustice. She had secretly reviewed and guessed for so long, and even began to reflect on her own negligence that day.

But what happened? He acted like nothing had happened, only remembering to call her now. Suddenly, she felt that all the sleepless nights she'd endured these past few days had become a joke.

Why is he always so at ease, coming and going as he pleases? And why does he have to accuse her of such a serious mistake because of her unintentional oversight?

She even thought defiantly, "Didn't you say you wanted to be friends? Fine, then let's be friends, friends for life." She wanted to see if he could always keep that boundary and not reveal any feelings beyond friendship.

But all her grievances and resentment turned into a soft heart that she herself was unwilling to admit the moment she saw his name on the screen.

This phone call at least shows that, despite the unpleasant experience last time, he still puts her safety first.

"Because I planted spies around you." Jiang Chuan's tone was sincere, but Lin Yu felt that he was deliberately trying to amuse her.

"Come on..." She looked out the window at the darkening sky. "Our neighborhood is under lockdown, don't come over, it's too dangerous."

"I'm almost there." Lin Yu heard the sound of a car turning over the phone, and then heard Jiang Chuan remind him on the other end, "Remember to wear a mask when you go out."

Just then, Chen Guang's voice suddenly cut in. He leaned halfway into the doorway, his hand on the doorframe, and shouted to her, "Banban, help me check, it seems misaligned!"

There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone. "A guest?"

"Yes, Chen Guang."

"Your colleague?" Jiang Chuan's voice unconsciously deepened.

Lin Yu unconsciously gripped her phone tighter, recalling the day they broke up, when a similar misunderstanding seemed to have occurred. Back then, neither of them would back down, neither willing to offer a single word of explanation, letting suspicion fester in the silence.

But at this moment, for some reason, she suddenly wanted to clear her name. Perhaps it was because she was unwilling to bear a false accusation, or perhaps she just wanted Jiang Chuan to understand that she was not the kind of person he imagined.

The problem between them did not stem from her having any secret relationship with other men, but simply from their failure to communicate.

“No, it’s that ex-lover you mentioned…” Lin Yu replied calmly.

Perhaps without even realizing it, she was already making efforts to actively close the distance between herself and Jiang Chuan. She began subconsciously explaining past misunderstandings and mending the rift between them.

Why? Simply because after her trip to Hong Kong and this period of calm reflection, a lingering sense of resentment remained in her heart. She didn't want their story to end there.