Chapter 110 Seaside
In the next few days, it finally felt like a serious trip.
Lin Yan had made a thorough travel guide in advance, and he was carrying a professional-looking camera in his hand. He took me around the city to check in at various landmarks and food stores.
I laughed at him, thinking he was a conscientious tour guide. He put his arm around my waist and said, "It's only natural to be a tour guide for your own wife."
The city is most famous for its long coastline and fine sandy beaches.
I heard that this is a famous "holy place for lovers" and it is especially lively in the evening.
That evening, we strolled to the beach. The sky was still bright, and the setting sun cast a warm golden edge on the clouds and the sea.
I took off my shoes, stepped barefoot on the cool, fine sand, and sighed comfortably.
Lin Yan also followed my example and took off his shoes and socks and held them in his hands.
We first played in the shallow water for a while, letting the waves wash over our ankles and then recede.
Lin Yan held up his camera and took a lot of photos of me. Some of me was stepping in the water with a silly smile, some was bending over to pick up shells, and some was panicking because he suddenly kissed me.
I also grabbed the camera and took a few pictures of him. This guy relies on his good looks and becomes a scenery wherever he stands.
Later, we simply held hands and walked slowly along the coastline. There were indeed many couples on the beach, snuggling and laughing, or strolling hand in hand like us.
There were also many children chasing and playing, and the laughter and the sound of the waves mixed together, making the place full of vitality.
Occasionally, we could feel some eyes falling on our clasped hands, with curiosity, exploration, or something else.
But when we look back calmly, or continue with our own things without caring at all, most of those gazes will look away embarrassedly.
When we reached a smooth and moist beach that had just been washed by the waves, Lin Yan suddenly let go of my hand, squatted down, and began to carefully scratch the sand with his fingers.
I leaned over to take a look and couldn't help laughing.
He wrote our initials "LY" and "CR" in beautiful cursive script and drew a crooked heart in the middle.
"Isn't that childish, Boss Lin?" I teased him with a smile, "You're already grown up, and you're still imitating little boys and girls to play this."
Lin Yan raised his head, his eyes sparkling in the sunset. He grabbed my wrist, pulled me down, and quickly kissed me on the lips. He said confidently, "I've seen many people write this! This is a must-do for couples checking in at the beach!"
As he spoke, he pointed to several similar patterns on the sand nearby.
I smiled and shook my head, then squatted down and took out my phone to take a picture of the words and the heart. "If I don't take a picture now, the waves will wash it away soon."
Lin Yan smiled and rubbed my hair with a gentle look in his eyes.
At this moment, a little boy who looked about five or six years old, holding a small bucket, came over curiously. He stared at the two of us, then looked at the words on the sand. He asked in a baby voice, "Brothers, are you a couple?"
I was a little embarrassed for a moment. Being asked so bluntly by a child, I felt a little awkward: "Ah... this..."
Lin Yan squatted down very naturally, his eyes level with the little boy's, and nodded with a smile, saying with certainty: "Yes, we are a couple."
The little boy tilted his head, confusion written all over his face. "But...shouldn't a couple be a boy and a girl?"
Lin Yan's smile remained unchanged. He reached out and gently touched the little boy's head. His voice was very gentle: "When you grow up a little, you may understand. Sometimes when fate arrives and you fall in love with someone, it doesn't really matter whether they are boys or girls."
The little boy nodded, not quite understanding, blinking his big eyes, and suddenly said something shocking: "I know! It's because you like this brother that you don't care whether it's a boy or a girl, right?"
He pointed at me with his little finger.
I:"……"
Lin Yan chuckled and nodded vigorously: "Yes! How smart!"
As he was speaking, a young woman hurried over, looking apologetic: "Haohao! I told you not to run around and not to talk to strangers casually!"
She smiled apologetically at us and said, "I'm sorry, the child is too naughty."
"It's okay, your son is very cute." Lin Yan stood up and smiled politely.
The woman apologized again and walked away with the little boy. She could be heard whispering to the child, "Don't ask others such questions casually..."
I looked at their receding backs, feeling a little emotional. I reached out and held Lin Yan's hand: "Sometimes I feel that it's easier to get along with children."
Lin Yan shrugged and held my hand. "Children's world is simple. They haven't been bound by so many worldly rules yet. Of course, they can ask whatever they want."
I nodded and looked at the sparkling sea, lost in thought for a moment.
"Ruirui," Lin Yan gently shook our clasped hands, "Do you feel scared? Facing those possible misunderstandings and stares."
I came to my senses and immediately shook my head: "I'm not scared at all."
With him around, it seems like there's really nothing to be afraid of.
"Then why did you hesitate when the little boy asked you that question just now?" He looked at me seriously.
I sighed and slowly pulled him forward. "He's just a child, after all... Children's worlds are very small, and what they hear, see, and are taught is very direct. I'm afraid a casual remark from me might confuse him, or that his parents might think... we're instilling something 'wrong' in him."
I just don't want to cause unnecessary trouble to an innocent child.
Lin Yan was silent for a moment, then nodded: "You're right, we do need to be more cautious in this regard."
As we were walking, I suddenly thought of a question and turned my head to ask him, "Lin Yan, do you like children?"
Lin Yan laughed when he heard this, and he turned his head to my ear and whispered in a low voice, his tone ambiguous: "If you can give birth to a child for me, I would like it very much."
My face flushed instantly, and I punched him in the face in anger: "What nonsense are you talking about! How can I give birth?!"
Lin Yan teased me deliberately, with a naughty look in his eyes: "Am I not working hard enough? It seems that I have to work harder in the future..."
"Hey! I'm serious!" My ears were burning. How could this guy always turn everything into that aspect!
Seeing that I was getting really anxious, Lin Yan put away his joking expression and said seriously, "Ruirui, why did you suddenly think of this? Are you worried that our lives will be incomplete because of the lack of children?"
"Hmm..." I lowered my head and scratched the sand with my toes. "After all, raising a child is a major event in many people's lives, right? So... don't you feel like you're missing out on a very important experience?"
"Ruirui, what are you thinking about?" Lin Yan stopped, put his hands on my shoulders and asked me to look at him.
His eyes were gentle yet resolute. "Life is self-defined. There are never so many 'shoulds' and 'musts'. No one stipulates a certain age for marriage and childbirth, nor does anyone stipulate that we must experience all the so-called 'complete' life experiences. Whether we are happy or not, whether we are complete or not, is up to us alone to decide."
I stared at him blankly.
Yes, I always thought that I didn’t care about these things, but it turns out that subconsciously, I am still influenced by the mainstream voices from the outside world?
“If everyone followed a set route, wouldn’t the world be too boring?”
Lin Yan continued, the sea breeze blew his hair, and the setting sun gave his outline a golden edge.
"Perhaps in the eyes of many people, that path is the 'correct' and easy one."
I whispered, "A man and a woman get together, get married, have children, and then the children study hard and repeat the process when they grow up... Although I have to admit that following this path, which is taken by most people, there will be much less resistance from the outside world and the pressure of survival may be a little less... But will that guarantee happiness?"
I thought of my own family and Lin Yan's complicated family.
"Yeah," Lin Yan hugged me in his arms, rubbing his chin against the top of my head, "That's why I cherish you so much, Ruirui. You're like a free-growing asteroid, not caring about other people's orbits and having your own laws of motion. That's cool."
I leaned into his arms and couldn't help laughing. "Now that I think about it, I'm the one who started to worry about everything. Maybe it's because... I don't want you to lose the possibility of experiencing another life because of me."
Because I care about him so much, I think so much about him.
"Wife," Lin Yan's voice was filled with laughter and emotion, "Is this because of love? Because you love me so much, so you start to worry about all these things for me?"
I buried my face in his chest and hummed a muffled "hmm," feeling a little embarrassed. "Although personally... I still think it's best for two people to be free. I don't want to be disturbed by a little light bulb!"
"Then we'll follow your personal ideas!" Lin Yan said without hesitation, "Whatever you want, we'll do it."
"That's impossible..." I retorted softly, "You can't be too selfish..."
"Why not?" Lin Yan held my face in his hands, his eyes burning as he spoke in a decisive tone, "The world is big, but Ruirui is the biggest. Your feelings and thoughts are my most important considerations."
Seeing his serious expression, I couldn't help but laugh out loud. The little entanglement and haze in my heart were instantly blown away by the sea breeze: "Lin Yan, hahahaha...you really are..."
I laughed so hard that I couldn't speak and could only hug him tightly.
We also laughed and hugged each other tightly on the beach under the sunset, like two children who got the sweetest candy in the world.
Afterwards, we sat side by side on the beach, watching the huge, salted egg yolk-like sunset sink into the sea level little by little, dyeing the sky and waves into a gorgeous orange and purple.
We kissed in the golden glow of the setting sun, and in the cool, up-coming waves, the salty sea breeze blending with our scents.
As night falls, the stars gradually appear.
We sat snuggled on the beach, listening to the tide ebb and flow.
"Lin Yan, look at that star,"
I pointed to a bright, slightly yellowish star in the sky and said, "It's been there since I was a kid. It doesn't seem to have changed at all."
"That one," Lin Yan looked in the direction I pointed, "is quite bright. Did you name stars when you were a child?"
"Well... I think I did, but now I've forgotten what it was called." I felt a little embarrassed.
"Then let's start another one now?" Lin Yan suggested.
I looked at the star, thought for a moment, and suddenly laughed: "Let's call it... 'Jade Bodhisattva'!" I remembered the game I played.
Lin Yan raised an eyebrow, immediately understanding, and smiled as he pointed to a slightly dimmer, but very close, smaller star next to the Jade Bodhisattva: "That's the Goblin Star! Look how close they are."
I laughed: "Why did you pick such a dark one? Shouldn't you have picked a bright one?"
Lin Yan turned his head and looked at me meaningfully under the starlight, a smile on his lips: "A bright one is too conspicuous, and it will be easily discovered and coveted by others. It's better to keep it darker, and just guard it quietly as the 'Jade Buddha'."
His eyes seemed to say: Just like I am watching over you.
I pondered the meaning of these words for a moment, and suddenly felt at a loss for words: "Well, you, Lin Yan! Why do you always have this kind of... possessive mentality!"
"I've always had this in mind," Lin Yan came over and kissed me on the lips confidently, his voice filled with a smile and unquestionable seriousness, "It's not the first day you've known me."
He paused, tightened his arms, and held me tighter in his embrace. He looked at the starry sky, and his tone suddenly became very gentle, with a hint of pride: "But maybe in the future...our Ruirui will become very, very dazzling, like the brightest star."
I was stunned for a moment and laughed: "What are you talking about? How is it possible?"
I am just an ordinary student, at most... an ordinary student who is a little smart.
"Really?" Lin Yan said seriously. He looked down at me, his eyes looking particularly deep under the starry sky. "I have a very strong intuition. You will become more and more outstanding in the future and will shine in your own field. By then, more and more people may pay attention to you..."
As he spoke, a familiar sour taste could not help but emerge in his tone.
Only then did I understand what he had been worrying about, and I couldn't help but laugh and fell into his arms: "Hahaha, Lin Yan! This prophecy you made up was completely to find an excuse for your future jealousy!"
"Ruirui, I'm serious!" Lin Yan picked me up, his expression a little aggrieved and a little worried, "I'm really worried...will you be kidnapped by someone else..."
Seeing him like this, my heart softened and warmed. I held his face and looked into his eyes seriously. "Okay, okay, then I promise you, no matter what happens in the future, the one I love the most will always be you, only you. Is that okay?"
Lin Yan was relieved at this moment. The corners of his mouth curled up, and he hugged me tightly with satisfaction. He rested his chin on the top of my head and said in a muffled voice, but with unconcealable joy: "This is more like this..."
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