Chapter 35 We Decide to Date
Yan Shuang will never know.
At 5:30 this morning, Lin Chengyu was already standing in the largest glass greenhouse in the manor.
These white rose petals, specially airlifted from Bulgaria, are all covered with just the right amount of dew.
"Young master, the champagne tower has been placed by the lake as you requested," the old butler reported in a low voice. "And those blue lotuses just arrived by air and are being placed into the lake."
Lin Chengyu nodded. "Also, spread a thicker layer of incense shavings on the path."
The old butler hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.
These preparations had been underway for a week, transforming the entire manor into a dreamlike wonderland, leaving even the well-traveled man in awe.
But the young master seems even more nervous now than when he's inspecting the opening exhibition of the art museum.
"Young Master, the Yan family's car will arrive at ten o'clock," the old butler reminded him softly. "You should go change your clothes."
Lin Chengyu looked up and saw that the antique clock on the wall showed it was 8:40. He quickly walked towards the dressing room in the main house.
At 9:50, everything at the manor was ready.
Ninety-nine blue lotus flowers float on the lake; the path from the main house to the garden is covered with wood chips that smell of white plum blossoms; even the lunch menu was determined by Lin Chengyu through tasting beforehand.
Lin Chengyu stood at the second-floor window, watching the Yan family's car slowly drive into the manor gate.
"Young Master?" the butler whispered from outside the door, "It's time to go down."
"Wait a little longer." Lin Chengyu took a deep breath. "I'll go down in ten minutes."
The butler was stunned: "This...isn't this against etiquette?"
A bitter smile appeared on Lin Chengyu's lips.
He knew, of course, that it was rude, but he was even more afraid that his uncontrollable gaze would scare Yan Shuang away.
But he needed those ten minutes to make sure he wouldn't lose control and grab her hand the moment they met.
The sounds of the Yan family exchanging pleasantries could be heard from the living room downstairs.
Lin Chengyu leaned against the wall, closing his eyes and counting his heartbeats.
Ten minutes later, he straightened his collar, which didn't need straightening at all, and practiced his "hello" expression three times in front of the mirror in the hallway.
"Young Master?" The old butler reappeared, his eyes filled with confusion. "The Yan family is asking about you..."
"I'll go right now," Lin Chengyu said, his voice so steady it surprised even himself.
He walked up the stairs, step by step, toward the woman he loved.
Only he knew that this blind date was the culmination of his more than a thousand days and nights of gradually working his way up to Yan Shuang.
It's been three years.
For the past three years, he has rehearsed this moment in his mind every day and night.
He had imagined countless scenarios of their reunion, but he never expected Yan Shuang to recognize him so easily.
Lin Chengyu's fingertips went numb as if electrified, and he even suspected that his heart had stopped beating for a moment.
But the next second, she wanted to stop this marriage he had been planning for so long.
The smile on his lips froze on his face before he could even wipe it away.
When she agreed to pretend to date him, his hand moved so quickly it was ungentlemanly.
Her hands are so small and soft.
He really wanted her to see her own heart.
Yan You saw this scene as she walked into the Lin family's gate wearing the new Jimmy Choo high heels.
Under the flower trellis, her younger sister Yan Shuang, who was always as quiet as a shadow, was being held in Lin Chengyu's arms.
She watched as the man gently brushed the petals off Yan Shuang's shoulder.
"Miss Yan?" the butler whispered behind her.
She quickly adjusted her expression and gave a perfect smile: "Please inform them."
"Sister?" Yan Shuang noticed her and took a half step back from Lin Chengyu's embrace.
Yan You walked over in her high heels, the heels sinking deep into the grass.
"Sorry to bother you?" She smiled slightly. "Mom asked me to come and see how your blind date went."
Lin Chengyu nodded politely: "Miss Yan."
Yan You sized up the legendary heir of the Lin family. He was even more handsome than in the magazines, with a clean and sharp jawline, and strong, bony wrists visible beneath his shirt cuffs.
What's most deadly is his eyes; when he looks at Yan Shuang, he's so focused that it's as if you're his whole world.
She recalled Shangqiu Zhu's ever-shifting gaze, and her smile froze for a moment. "Looks like things are progressing well?"
“We’ve decided to date.” Lin Chengyu naturally put his arm around Yan Shuang’s shoulder.
Yan You narrowed her eyes. She had been dating Shang Qiuzhu for so many years, and that man even held her hand as if he were completing some kind of task.
Why does Yan Shuang deserve such love? Why can her younger sister, who has always lived in her shadow since childhood, smile so happily?
This isn't right. She's the most dazzling young lady in the Yan family; she should have the best of everything.
"Congratulations." Her red lips curved into a perfect smile.
At lunchtime, the parents of both families came out. Lin's mother immediately spotted Yan You standing to the side, her eyes lit up, and she greeted her with a smile.
"Oh my, this must be the eldest daughter of the Yan family! She looks exactly like Shuangshuang, both are beauties!"
Yan You immediately put on a polite smile and nodded slightly: "Hello, Aunt Lin, hello, Uncle Lin."
Lin's father nodded with a smile and joked, "Cheng Yu, you'd better be careful in the future, don't mistake people for each other."
Everyone laughed, and Yan You slightly raised her chin, a hint of smugness flashing in her eyes.
Lin Chengyu's gaze swept lightly between the two sisters, finally landing on Yan Shuang. He smiled slightly and said with certainty, "They look alike, yet they don't."
Everyone was taken aback. Lin's parents asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"
Yan Shuang also looked up in confusion, only to meet Lin Chengyu's deep gaze.
Under the dining table, Yan Shuang and Lin Chengyu sat side by side, occasionally talking in hushed tones. When their eyes met, Yan Shuang's lips unconsciously curved into a smile, while Lin Chengyu turned slightly to the side, his fingertips lightly resting on the back of her chair, his possessiveness self-evident.
Yan You sat opposite her, staring at Yan Shuang, the younger sister who had always been overshadowed by her since childhood, who had now become the focus of the entire room.
Mr. and Mrs. Lin smiled broadly, and Yan Zhenye nodded repeatedly, his eyes full of approval.
Her phone screen lit up and then went out, and Shang Qiuzhu's chat window remained on the message from three days ago: "You decide on the wedding venue yourself."
She took a big gulp of red wine.
On what grounds?
Why can Yan Shuang smile so sweetly? Why does she have a man like Lin Chengyu? And Yan You, the most dazzling young lady of the Yan family, has to endure her fiancé's indifference?
What she found even harder to accept was:
"Shuangshuang, come home tonight." Yan Zhenye's tone was unusually gentle. "You haven't been back for a long time."
Previously, Yan Zhenye never interfered in Yan Shuang's affairs.
Just because of a blind date, Yan Shuang became the apple of the Yan family's eye?
Yan Shuang nodded: "Okay, I'll go back and get those things."
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