Chapter 24 Sisters
After a few days as a bodyguard, Lao Si felt exhausted, his worldview shattered into a shattered mess, constantly being forced to reconnect and revisit the sleazy antics of this gay couple. Finally, his savior arrived—his girlfriend, Xiaoyou, came to class with him! Lao Si's back instantly straightened, his gait swirling, his grin reaching his ears. Finally, it was his turn to show off his affection and show off his affection! He happily walked into the classroom, holding his girlfriend's hand, ready to savor the vanity of being showered with envious glances.
However, the more full the dream is, the more skinny and heartbreaking the reality is.
Xiaoyou, a vibrant, socially insane girl with a built-in gossip radar, entered the classroom and her gaze, like a searchlight, locked onto me, huddled in a corner. Her eyes lit up instantly, as if she had spotted a rare species. She completely ignored her boyfriend, Lao Si, who was standing next to her with arms outstretched, ready for a hug. With a roar, she rushed towards me like a pink whirlwind.
"Wow, wow, wow! You must be Brother Rui, right? I've heard so much about you! I'm Xiaoyou, the girlfriend of Old Four!" Xiaoyou's voice was clear and her enthusiasm was so strong it could melt an iceberg. "Old Four broadcasts your love story with Master Lin live in the dormitory group chat every day! He says yours is a real-life fairy tale romance! Tell me quickly! Who fell in love first? Who pursued whom? Is Master Lin also so gentle and abstinent in private? The photo of them holding hands and their backs that he posted on his Moments was absolutely insane! And, where did he get the nickname 'keeper'? Is it because he raised you so plump and white..."
I was completely bewildered by the overwhelming enthusiasm and barrage of questions. Do I usually interact with girls? Aside from the cashier ladies at the supermarket, I barely have any. And let alone the type who's so familiar with me, it's like I grew up wearing open-crotch pants. I subconsciously shrunk back in my chair, feeling like a goblin who'd accidentally stumbled into a Disney princess castle. The tips of my ears uncontrollably began to heat up and turn red, and my eyes darted around with a touch of Zaun-esque embarrassment. "Huh? Uh... that's... that's it..." I tried to summon my vaunted verbal skills, but facing Xiaoyou's face, a smile etched with curiosity and frustration, I couldn't utter a single curse word. I felt like my fighting spirit was sealed.
Xiaoyou, on the other hand, clapped her hands in delight, as if she had discovered a new world. "Oh, Rui, are your ears red? So cute! Don't be nervous! Just chat like sisters!" She skillfully pulled over an empty chair next to me and plopped down right in front of me, so close I could smell the peach scent of her hair. She was a natural conversation starter and a perpetual motion generator, jumping from my gray-pink hair ("This color complements your fair skin!") to Lin Yan's fashion sense ("A stoic senior, YYDS!"), from official announcements ("You're my legal partner?" Ahhh, so sweet!) to everyday interactions ("Is he super strict with you?"), her conversations hopped like a rocket. My feeble resistance crumbled under her powerful personality and socialite aura. While her responses remained brief and goblin-like ("Yeah," "It's okay," "He's too controlling," "It's so annoying"), Xiaoyou's imagination was captivating, and her natural fangirl filter shone through. The two of them actually started to interact, and the atmosphere became strangely harmonious...? At least in the eyes of the fourth brother who was petrified for a long time, his girlfriend was smiling at me with her body shaking and eyes shining, a hundred times more brilliantly than when she was smiling at him, her real boyfriend!
The fourth brother stood there, a statue forgotten by the world, his smile completely frozen, shattered, weathered into dust. Where was the affectionate scene he'd envisioned? How did it end up with his girlfriend and his brother (?) rejoicing over not meeting each other earlier, chatting happily, while he became the out-of-place, single-dog-like third party?!
As luck would have it, Lin Yan finished his lab work early today and decided to pick up his hungry goblin after class and feed him some snacks. He walked to the back door of the classroom with a leisurely and graceful pace, and was met with a strange scene that made his eyes flash coldly:
The goblin he was so obsessed with, so closely guarded, tilted his head slightly. Though his expression still held a hint of impatience and despair, he was clearly listening to a strange (and overly elaborately dressed) woman talking nearby. The woman leaned in close, her face beaming with joy and energy. The atmosphere between them… in his eyes, it was surprisingly remarkably harmonious. Meanwhile, the "gold medal bodyguard," the fourth one, whom he had entrusted with such a crucial task, looked like an eggplant wilted by frost and forgotten in a corner. His eyes were as resentful as those of a woman in the inner palace, a mere background.
Lin Yan's signature gentle smile faded instantly, and behind his glasses, his eyes flickered slightly, a hint of coldness passing through them. He walked straight over, his footsteps neither light nor heavy, but with an invisible aura that instantly broke the "harmonious" gossip barrier.
When Xiaoyou looked up and saw Master Lin Yan, her eyes suddenly lit up even brighter than before and she almost jumped up with excitement: "Wow! Master Lin! You are a hundred times more handsome in person than in photos and videos!" Her cheeks flushed and she subconsciously wanted to stand up and say hello and get closer to him.
Lin Yan, however, was the first to do so. He reached out with remarkable naturalness, precisely traversing the inconvenient space, and snatched me, still in the daze of "forced social interaction," from the chair, tucking me into his arms. His impeccable, gentle smile reappeared, but his gaze passed over Xiaoyou and landed directly on Old Four, who, with a face full of bitterness and vengeance, was trying to minimize his presence. His tone was as calm as if he were discussing the weather, yet it carried a chilling, sharp edge that only the person involved could detect:
"Old Four," Lin Yan's voice was still pleasant, "I remember I asked you to 'prevent anyone from approaching him'?"
The fourth brother shuddered, his hair standing on end, his will to survive instantly bursting. He immediately pointed at his girlfriend, who was almost starry-eyed with excitement, and tried to shift the blame: "Boss Lin! Misunderstanding! A huge misunderstanding! This... This is my girlfriend Xiaoyou! One of us! Definitely one of us! She doesn't count as 'someone else', right?"
Lin Yan's eyes then lightly swept over Xiaoyou, who was about to open his mouth to add something excitedly. The corners of his lips remained unchanged, his eyes calm, but the words he uttered made Lao Si feel as if he had fallen into an icy cave:
"Keep an eye on your girlfriend."
With that, without looking at the two of us, petrified and disheveled in the wind, Lin Yan exerted a little force in his arms, firmly grasping me, who was still a little confused and trying to struggle, and turned to leave. His movements were smooth and flowing, with a calm and domineering attitude that seemed to declare sovereignty. His possessiveness was so strong that it almost overflowed and covered my face.
He half-hugged and half-dragged me along, and I stumbled two steps before regaining my balance. I muttered in dissatisfaction, "Hey! Lin Yan, what's wrong with you? Xiaoyou just chatted with me and asked for some gossip. She didn't eat me..."
Before he could finish his words, Lin Yan suddenly turned and pulled me into a dimly lit, small equipment room in the corner of the adjacent teaching building, where cleaning tools were stored. The space was so cramped that it could barely accommodate two people, and the air was filled with a faint smell of dust and disinfectant. He slid the half-closed door inward with a soft click, completely isolating the footsteps and noise from the corridor outside.
The next second, an irresistible force pressed me against the cold, rough door. Lin Yan's warm body pressed tightly against me, one hand pressed against my ear, trapping both me and the door within his reach. With the other, he lifted my chin, forcing my gaze to meet his. Those eyes, always smiling gently and bringing warmth to everyone, now seemed especially deep and dark in the dim light, like an undercurrent surging beneath a calm sea, carrying a dangerous, heart-pounding sense of oppression.
"So happy chatting?" Lin Yan's voice deepened, no longer its usual clear and melodious tone, but now held a hint of frosted hoarseness and... a strong, inextricable sourness. He lowered his head, and his warm breath, carrying his unique, refreshing and alluring aroma of bitter tea, brushed forcefully against my lips.
My heart raced from the sudden wall-bang, the aggressive stares, and the overwhelming surge of hormones. It felt like ten thousand little men were beating drums in my chest. But I refused to admit defeat, stiffening my neck and trying to redeem myself: "Happiness... not at all! I'm just being forced to do this! I'm just doing my job, okay? She's been asking me all sorts of questions and gossiping, and I can't just tell her 'None of your business,' can I? She's the fourth brother's girlfriend! Don't bully your brother's wife, okay?" Although I felt a bit strange about the term "brother's wife."
"What did you ask?" Lin Yan's thumb, with its thin calluses on it, gently stroked the sensitive skin of my chin. His eyes were fixed on me like X-rays, not missing any slight change in my facial expression, and his tone was filled with an unquestionable interrogation.
"What else can I ask? I'm just... just asking around..." I felt uncomfortable being stared at by him, as if I were being stripped naked and scrutinized. My eyes subconsciously drifted to the side, and my voice lowered, with a bit of awkwardness that was hard to say. "... I asked a few random questions... and... I also asked about your birthday coming up... what gift I should get you..."
The last few words, like a pebble coated in honey, unexpectedly and with incredible precision slammed into the lake of Lin Yan's heart, which was already churning with jealousy. The sour and cold waves were like being thrown into boiling magma, instantly dispersed, melted, and enveloped by a surging warm current. The thick, possessive darkness in his eyes quickly faded away, like the sun shining through the clouds, replaced by a deep, almost drowning tenderness and warmth, the light was astonishingly bright. It turned out that... this guy was at a loss just now, his ears red from being questioned by that girl, and he was secretly and clumsily preparing a birthday surprise for himself? Asking a "sister"?
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