Chapter 126 Outsider

Lin Yu deliberately chose a window seat in the lobby, thinking that if the four of them fell silent later, at least they could look out the window, which was better than awkwardly staring at the patterns on the tablecloth and counting them.

Zou Lang cleverly pulled Chen Guang to sit on the other side, while Jiang Chuan took the opportunity to sit in the empty seat next to Lin Yu. The menu circulated among the group before finally being handed to Lin Yu.

Shanghai cuisine is known for its delicate portions and sweet flavors. Apart from Jiang Chuan, everyone at the table was from the north. He specifically instructed the kitchen to use less sugar, worried that they wouldn't be used to it.

Zou Lang was not very clear about the relationship between Lin Yu and Chen Guang, and only thought that they were good friends who came to the hospital to visit each other because they were on a business trip. He attributed the subtle atmosphere at the table to Lin Yu still being angry with Jiang Chuan.

He didn't know that Jiang Chuan had gone to Hubei recently, and thought that his sister was still having a fight with her brother-in-law and was deliberately keeping him out of sight.

On the contrary, she felt that her sister was being too harsh on her brother-in-law and that she needed to step in and help him ease the tension.

Thinking of this, he picked up a piece of crystal shrimp and put it into Jiang Chuan's bowl, asking with concern, "Brother-in-law, you've been very busy lately, haven't you?"

"Hmm." Jiang Chuan unconsciously smiled when he heard this address. "Busy making money to support your sister."

Before Zou Lang could reply, Chen Guang suddenly chuckled inappropriately and subtly repeated, "...Brother-in-law?" His tone suggested that he was about to reveal the fact that the two had already broken up.

All three eyes fell on Chen Guang at the same time, some with confusion, some with warning, and some with indifferent indifference. But he lowered his eyes, slowly took a sip of chrysanthemum tea, and took something out of his pocket and handed it to Lin Yu.

"I left it with you last time, and I haven't had a chance to return it to you."

Lin Yu's eyelids began to twitch uncontrollably again. It wasn't that he didn't have a chance; he had clearly been meticulously waiting for this moment to arrive.

She really liked the hair clip Jiang Chuan gave her, and wore it almost every day during the pandemic, until one day she suddenly couldn't find it.

At this moment, the hairpin lay quietly in front of her, like a piece of jade that had been poisoned. Dark green venom seeped from Chen Guang's palm, making her hesitate to reach out and take it.

Her memory suddenly flashed back to the day Chen Guang pressed her against the door, their breaths mingling.

It turns out that Chen Guang had hidden it back then, silently waiting for this opportunity to jump out and turn the tables on him at the crucial moment.

Lin Yu's cheeks suddenly flushed an eerie red. He let Chen Guang's hand hover in front of him, neither refusing nor daring to take it immediately.

Jiang Chuan placed one hand on the table, his two fingers tapping lightly on the surface in a rhythmic manner.

He leaned back in his chair, his gaze sweeping over Chen Guang's provocative smile and Lin Yu's flushed ears, his expression remaining calm and collected. Even Zou Lang, sitting opposite him, didn't notice anything amiss.

But under the table, a hand with distinct knuckles silently covered Lin Yu's knee.

Jiang Chuan's palm was slightly cool, his fingers long and strong, almost able to completely wrap around Lin Yu's legs with one hand.

While Chen Guang's burning gaze made her body feel hot all over, Jiang Chuan's sudden touch made her limbs feel cold. This interplay of hot and cold made her body tremble slightly.

Lin Yu didn't dare to look up at Jiang Chuan's expression, but only glanced casually under the table.

In early March, the weather in Shanghai was still quite cool. She wore a black knitted long dress, which made Jiang Chuan's fingers appear even whiter and longer.

The moment she lowered her head, his fingers tightened suddenly, the veins on the back of his hand bulging, his knuckles taut with the force of the tightening, carrying a hint of warning.

Like a machine that has been switched on, Lin Yu reflexively reached out and took the hair clip. "...Thank you." She cleared her throat guiltily and turned to put the hair clip back into the bag hanging on the back of the chair.

Zou Lang looked up from his rice bowl, biting his chopsticks as he curiously examined Chen Guang, then turned to Lin Yu and Jiang Chuan. Finally, he picked up a piece of green vegetable and put it in his sister's bowl. "Sis, this is delicious, you should try it."

Lin Yu answered absentmindedly. Just as he picked up the bok choy, his wrist suddenly twitched, and the bok choy he was about to put in his mouth fell straight onto the table.

Her ears turned red, and she glared at Jiang Chuan, only to meet his serious gaze. Under the tablecloth, the hand that had been resting on her knees began to slowly and deliberately move upwards.

"Sister, are you sick? Your face is so red." Zou Lang asked worriedly.

Jiang Chuan also turned his head to look at her, and asked with concern, "Are you feeling unwell? Did you catch a chill at the door?" His expression was normal, but his hand under the table was already on her crotch, indicating the direction he was about to go.

Lin Yu bit her lower lip and secretly pressed down on the mischievous hand under the table, but the hand grabbed her fingers and held her tightly to her leg.

Her heart was pounding, her face was getting redder and redder, and her mind was going haywire, but she still had to pretend to be calm in front of Zou Lang.

She took a deep breath and pinched Jiang Chuan's palm hard with her fingertips. "It's okay, the air conditioning is too high. It's a bit hot."

Jiang Chuan then withdrew his hand and placed it back on his lap. Lin Yu felt numbness in his lower body and quickly moved to the side to sit further away from him.

Halfway through the meal, Chen Guang got up and went to the restroom, while Jiang Chuan went to the window to answer a call from the law firm. Only Zou Lang and Lin Yu remained at the table.

He had vaguely sensed the subtle atmosphere earlier, and now he couldn't help but lower his voice and ask, "Sis, why do I feel like Chen Guang and brother-in-law are looking at each other a little strangely?"

"What's so strange about that?" Lin Yu looked down and picked at the rice in his bowl. "Your brother-in-law is nearsighted, so he sees everyone the same way."

Zou Lang was still persistent. "Then how come your hair clip is with my brother?"

"Because he happens to rent the apartment downstairs from me, it's normal for neighbors to help each other out," Lin Yu interrupted him dismissively.

"Stop calling him brother and brother-in-law all the time. Chen Guang isn't your biological brother, and Jiang Chuan isn't your biological brother-in-law. Only your sister is your biological sister."

After saying that, she casually transferred a red envelope. "Go pay the bill, and keep the rest to buy game skins. Stop always taking advantage of your brother Chen Guang."

Zou Lang pursed his lips. "I know what I'm doing, I won't make things difficult for you." He got up to pay the bill, leaving only Lin Yu at the table. Without the man, the world was finally quiet.

As Chen Guang emerged from the restroom and walked through the lobby, he happened to see Jiang Chuan turn around after hanging up the phone. Their eyes met mid-air.

Chen Guang smiled, stepped forward, and stood beside him. They gazed at the city's pulsating heartbeat outside the floor-to-ceiling windows. "Shall we chat?"

Their reflections were mirrored on the glass, overlapping with the scenery outside the window.

"We don't seem to be the kind of people who can just chat casually." Jiang Chuan's expression was indifferent, his likes and dislikes ambiguous.

"So, in your opinion, what is our relationship?" Chen Guang turned his head to the side, a hint of provocation in his eyes.

"A love rival?"

"Mr. Chen overestimates himself."

Jiang Chuan lifted his eyelids and looked up at the bustling traffic below. He suddenly realized that throughout the entire dinner, Lin Yu had deliberately avoided introducing their relationship.

Their enigmatic expressions suggested a tacit understanding, yet each harbored their own secrets.

"Is that so? I hope that's really what you think." Chen Guang chuckled, deliberately making his words ambiguous to annoy people.

Jiang Chuan put his hands in his trouser pockets and said without changing his expression, "What I think is not important, and what you think is even less important."

Chen Guang leaned against the French windows, his tone somewhat nonchalant. "Has Banban ever mentioned her boyfriend from college to you?" He murmured the affectionate nickname between his lips, a hint of secret boasting in his voice.

He abruptly changed the subject, bringing up how Wang Wei had relentlessly pursued Lin Yu back in school. His words subtly implied to Jiang Chuan that Lin Yu was always easily swayed by men who were kind to her.

His so-called sacrifices were actually a kind of invisible constraint for her. Sooner or later, she would realize that her feelings for Jiang Chuan were not based on love.

"That's just how she is; she can't distinguish between gratitude and indebtedness, or between love."

"You know her very well?" Jiang Chuan finally raised his eyes, turned to look directly at Chen Guang, his eyes as calm as a frozen wasteland. "Then why have you always been an outsider?"

The smile on Chen Guang's face finally faded slightly, but he still maintained a composed demeanor. "An outsider?" He took a half-step forward. "And how much do you know about our affair?"

“I really have no interest in knowing.” Jiang Chuan raised his hand and brushed it along the shoulder of his suit, as if dusting off his shoulders, his voice carrying a condescending weariness.

"If you always choose the easy path, don't complain about getting further and further away from your destination."

Chen Guang's Adam's apple bobbed, and his expression darkened. "Then let me ask you, after all you've done, has Banban agreed to reconcile with you?"

"If you can't hold on to something, you might as well let it go sooner rather than later," Chen Guang said bitterly.

"It's just a romantic gesture between lovers; Mr. Chen will understand in the future."

"Also, let me offer a word of advice. You missed a golden opportunity back then, and you can't blame anyone else for that."

"If you still want to save face in Lin Yu's eyes, I advise you to stop now. Next time we meet, I might not be as polite as I am today."

Jiang Chuan turned back, not even sparing Chen Guang a glance.

Chen Guang watched his departing figure for a long time, then suddenly chuckled softly, raising his hand to gently rub his brow with his knuckles. When he looked up again, a playful smile appeared in his eyes.

After dinner, Chen Guang had to go back to the company first. Jiang Chuan first drove Zou Lang home, and then drove Lin Yu to her apartment.

He drove a different car today; this one is fuel-guzzling and conspicuous, and he usually keeps it in the underground garage. But his usual car is still parked at the epidemic prevention station; it won't be able to be driven back until it's thoroughly disinfected.

Throughout the journey, Jiang Chuan did not bring up Chen Guang with Lin Yu, and did not say a word after she got into the car.

But that's how people are; they tend to amplify their wild thoughts in silence. She even absurdly thought that Jiang Chuan probably already had evidence of Chen Guang forcibly kissing her, but just hadn't figured out how to confront her yet.

She sat in the passenger seat, glancing at him every now and then. But Jiang Chuan's gaze remained fixed on the road ahead, his profile appearing particularly cold and stern in the dappled light.

Finally, Lin Yu couldn't hold back any longer and said softly, "My right eyelid has been twitching all day, and I almost bumped into a door when I came out of the hospital."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chuan glanced at Lin Yu with a half-smile, placed one hand on the steering wheel, and with a slight twist of his wrist, the car turned half a circle with his effortless movement.

"Perhaps she bumped into the door..." or rather, into another man's arms. Jiang Chuan swallowed the last part of his sentence, leaving only a meaningful trailing syllable that left Lin Yu's mind racing.

Lin Yu pretended not to understand the deeper meaning in his words and casually changed the subject. "I was planning to tell you about my aunt's transfer to another hospital tonight..."

"Oh, it's my fault..." There was an indescribable meaning in his tone.

"That's not what I meant..." Lin Yu felt that Jiang Chuan seemed particularly difficult to deal with today, but she felt guilty, so her attitude softened a bit, and she patiently coaxed him.

"It's not that I'm worried you're working too hard; you still have things to take care of at home..."

"Pshaw..." Jiang Chuan's tone suddenly turned serious. "Why go to all this trouble? Is it so hard to even ask me for help?"

Could Chen Guang's roots in Shanghai be deeper than those of a local like himself?

He knew Lin Yu didn't want to forever owe him a debt of gratitude, but he still couldn't help feeling a sense of defeat. He hoped that no matter what happened, Lin Yu would always think of him first.