Chapter 84
It's unclear whether it was the forced pairing that provoked Yuan Chuyu, or because Lin Langyi didn't return to her original seat after Xi Ying left, but instead remained seated between them until the meal was over. Yuan Chuyu remained taciturn throughout the second half of the meal, perfectly embodying the admirable habit of "not speaking while eating or sleeping." Unless someone initiated a conversation with him one-on-one, you couldn't hear a sound from him at all.
At the dinner table, Yuan Yinghe was unaware of when Yuan Chuyu had suddenly gotten a girlfriend, and why he was keeping it so secret.
He was one of Yuan Chuyu's closer friends, but he didn't see any signs of anything amiss.
He wanted to ask, but seeing that Xiao Pucheng, Cheng Yanjin, Bian Shu, Lin Langyi and the others didn't say anything, some were eating and some were drinking, all very naturally.
It's so natural it's almost unnatural.
Yuan Yinghe hesitated for a long time because no one was curious with him. The words that were on the tip of his tongue were swallowed back down. He didn't know where to start asking or whether he should ask at all.
Seriously, isn't anyone curious about this whole table of people? Does everyone have such strong self-control?
Yuan Chuyu lowered his eyelashes, his already jet-black pupils resembling a quiet obsidian stone sunk to the bottom of the sea. He rested his arms loosely on the edge of the table, scooping up a spoonful of shredded snow crab meat and chewing it slowly.
He was surrounded by empty space on both sides, making him appear even more lonely and isolated as he remained silent.
The phone on his left kept lighting up, but he didn't glance at it despite being busy with work, showing little interest.
"You have a girlfriend now, and you're still so slow to check your messages?" Yuan Yinghe thought to himself. "She didn't even attend the birthday party. If I don't reply to her messages soon, will this iron tree, which has just sprouted a bud, wither and die?"
He didn't dare to ask Yuan Chuyu, who seemed indifferent, directly. Instead, he turned to Xiao Pucheng, who was the most talkative, and quietly asked, "Do you know who Brother Yu is dating?"
Xiao Pucheng's mind went blank at the question. Without thinking, he put the seafood, shell and all, into his mouth. With a "crack," he almost broke half a tooth. He immediately covered his face in pain and shook his head frantically.
"I don't know, he's very good at keeping things secret."
Yuan Yinghe looked Xiao Pucheng up and down, and said in a low voice, "Aren't you curious when you hear this?"
"I'm so curious! I'm dying of curiosity!" Xiao Pucheng said, clearing his throat. "Didn't he say he had a fight himself? Look at his poker face now, does it look like he's happily introducing his girlfriend to everyone?"
That's true.
Yuan Yinghe glanced at Cheng Yanjin, who also seemed indifferent, through Xiao Pucheng, and received a look from Cheng Yanjin who frowned and looked over in confusion.
One gestured towards Yuan Chuyu with his lip, and the other's face immediately fell.
“I know, no need to ask. She was his classmate when he was studying abroad. She’s not here, so of course none of you have met her.” Cheng Yanjin, relying on the fact that Yuan Chuyu couldn’t bring up Lin Langyi to prove his innocence, made up a story on the spot.
Xiao Pucheng whirled his head around, almost snapping his neck, as if he were the male lead, and exclaimed in shock, "Where did this foreign female classmate come from—"
When Xiao Pucheng met Cheng Yanjin's fleeting glance, which seemed genuine, he was stunned... Could it really be that he had turned back from his misguided ways?
That's true, otherwise Cheng Yanjin would have flipped the table.
"So we were classmates after all. Congratulations!" Yuan Yinghe finally got to hear the gossip, and Yuan Fei chimed in with her congratulations in a soft voice.
Yuan Chuyu gave a barely perceptible polite lip raise, which quickly disappeared and pursed into a thin line.
He picked up the glass and slowly sipped a few times. The light refracted at an angle on the glass, casting a semi-circle in his eyes. His aloof expression, even more subtle than the clear champagne, exuded an aura that kept people at a distance.
Cheng Yanjin is frantically adding fuel to the fire here, like those unscrupulous media outlets that mix a few half-truths into ten sentences, shake them up, and present them as so-called "explosive news."
He seemed to be answering questions for his tablemates, but because he kept peeling shrimp and looked down at the bone plate, his words kept getting into Lin Langyi's ears.
"He's so popular... It's normal to be liked and remembered... those love letters and gifts..."
"Don't pin your problems on me." Yuan Chuyu suddenly interrupted coldly, putting down his cup, his face as if shrouded in gloom. "Wishful thinking. I don't have that many exciting pasts."
Cheng Yanjin straightened up abruptly, like a wild animal reacting to stress, and loudly defended his innocence: "What do you mean you framed me for something? You're really funny, talking like you're doing a reading comprehension exercise. I never accept love letters or gifts!"
“I won’t accept it. I will return everything and make things clear at once. I never beat around the bush. I have never had any interaction with any member of the opposite sex that goes beyond the scope of social interaction, and there are no rumors about me.”
"You make it sound like I'm the one pulling or tugging." Cheng Yanjin stopped peeling the shrimp, took off his gloves, and held up a finger to his ear, swearing fiercely, "If I have even one of those things, may I be paralyzed from the neck down and never be able to walk or run again for the rest of my life."
"Hey, hey, hey, we were just talking about something good like being popular, why are you suddenly making a solemn oath?" Xiao Pucheng quickly interrupted the two brothers who were arguing for no reason and looked very serious.
He was speechless: "It's like you're stating whether you have a criminal record or not. You two are both monks from a temple. Are the moral standards of monks higher than ordinary people? What, do you two have your own manual on male virtues?"
“However, the bond between classmates is indeed different from that of ordinary interactions, so it’s normal for the feelings to be deep.” Bian Shu, who had been acting like an outsider, suddenly added this sentence.
Yuan Chuyu and Cheng Yanjin both stopped eating immediately. One lowered his eyes and picked up his chopsticks again, while the other curled his lip in disdain.
While the others were arguing, Lin Langyi turned the sea urchin toast on the turntable to her. It was the last one on the plate. She was initially embarrassed to take it, but since everyone was so lively, she figured they wouldn't notice her, this dinner party locust. So she calmly picked it up and put it in her mouth.
The fresh, sweet, and plump sea urchin paired with crispy French butter toast creates an excellent taste experience.
It tastes really good! You guys chat, I'll eat.
"Why aren't you drinking today?" Xiao Pucheng looked back and forth between Yuan and Cheng. According to past practice, Cheng Yanjin would definitely drag them out for a good drink.
Cheng Yanjin changed into a new pair of disposable gloves, clearly indicating that he didn't want to keep up: "No one cared about my birthday before, so I drank too much and that was that. Today, my wife is here."
Yuan Chuyu raised his glass again and took a sip. The wine in the goblet sank and was refilled, then he held it in his hand and sipped it casually by himself.
“You’re not drunk.” Xiao Pucheng nudged Cheng Yanjin with his elbow. “Look at your own cup, it’s like you’re raising fish in it. You can’t drink a drop in ages.”
Cheng Yanjin had no choice. Falling out with Yuan Chuyu in public would only lead to endless speculation and trouble, and he was worried that this would bring trouble to Lin Langyi.
In any case, Lin Langyi cannot be dragged into the vortex of public opinion. Cheng Yanjin knows how vicious this world is to girls who get caught up in scandals. No matter who is right or wrong, no matter what the truth is, it will not affect the dark speculations and high-handed judgment of the masses about her.
He hated Yuan Chuyu to the core, so much so that he wished he were dead. But tragically, he hoped that Lin Langyi, who had hurt him the most, would be the only survivor in this chaotic relationship.
Only in this way could he conceal the scars on his body that she had cut, cover them up casually, and tell her that everything was fine and that there were no problems between them.
Cheng Yanjin cursed Yuan Chuyu in his heart. Now, he never expected that he would have to help the shameless mistress who destroyed his family to cover up the secret, and even have to put on a show of brotherly affection with him.
He hadn't taken off his gloves yet. Through the plastic layer, his slightly warm skin quickly produced a damp, sultry mist, sticking to his hands like a layer of unshed snakeskin.
Cheng Yanjin frowned slightly, glancing at the wine glass in front of him out of the corner of his eye. He felt as if he had become a writhing snake forced to shed its skin. The human interference had disrupted his molting process, leaving him to struggle naked, his tender, unhealed flesh exposed on the rough stones. Dust and sand covered his entire body, causing him to spasm in pain. Yet, he still had to wait for his rebirth after shedding his skin in this long and hidden pain.
"Happy birthday." He didn't even take off his gloves. The slippery plastic gloves slipped half an inch when he gripped the wine glass. He was in a mess of emotions and could only subconsciously tighten his grip, holding the glass firmly in his hand.
Yuan Chuyu looked up at him, and their eyes met for a moment. He stood up and raised his wine glass towards Cheng Yanjin.
The two were sitting far apart, and to toast, they would have had to lean forward, but neither of them condescended to bend forward. Instead, they gestured to each other from a distance and then drank.
After finishing the entire glass, Cheng Yanjin's Adam's apple bobbed, and his mouth was filled with the sweet taste of alcohol.
He remembered that when he was peeling shrimp for Lin Langyi earlier, she pushed a few over, dipped them in sauce, and fed them to him. The fresh and sweet taste mixed with the mellow wine now created a strange flavor.
It tastes like expired fruit, sweet with an alcoholic flavor.
It was sweet, cloyingly sweet, but he knew the fruit was spoiled.
But he decided to cut off the rotten part, leaving the other half of the fruit that was still presentable, pretending not to know that the missing part had rotted, and continued to chew and swallow it bite by bite.
Because we can't bear to part with it, in this life, there are many things that you can't persuade others to change, and it all comes down to "I can't bear to part with it".
He knew he couldn't bear to throw away the rotten fruit.
He will only remember the intact half.
Cheng Yanjin didn't sit down, nor did Yuan Chuyu.
"One cup isn't enough?" Cheng Yanjin heard his own voice ringing in his ears. He tried to imitate himself, to imitate his carefree self. "If you can't drink it, go to the kids' table."
This time, it was Yuan Chuyu who first offered a toast, and it was a "return" toast.
He filled the glass to the brim, but Cheng Yanjin only poured half a glass, standing there casually, waiting for him to toast him.
The two still didn't clink glasses. Yuan Chuyu tapped his glass crisply twice on the glass turntable. Cheng Yanjin glanced at him, casually picked up his glass, tapped it on the edge as well, and downed it in one gulp.
After finishing their two drinks, the two sat down again.
...
Originally, Chu Yu kept the birthday banquet low-key, but after the main meal, someone suggested playing a few rounds on the court. So the spotlights on the lush green court were turned on, illuminating the neatly trimmed lawn as bright as day. Looking into the distance, it looked like a whole undulating green velvet carpet.
The news that Yuan Chuyu had mentioned at the table that he was in a relationship had spread throughout the entire banquet. Because Xi Ying and Yuan Pingran were sitting together, Xi Ying recounted the story vividly, and the news spread like wildfire.
Many people wanted to test the waters but didn't dare to ask openly, so using golf as an excuse became the best bet.
"Let's play short game, I know you guys are all good at it."
"Ask a question, play a game; if you can't say it, we'll know by looking at the result of the goal."
Everyone sat in the rest area, laughing and making a ruckus, all wanting to see the main character of the banquet go up and play a few rounds, and maybe get some information out of him.
Cheng Yanjin was also roused onto the field by the commotion. Holding a cue stick, he turned and waved to Lin Langyi: "Do you know how to play?"
Lin Langyi shook her head vigorously: "We can't get in."
He said casually, "It's okay, the distance isn't far in short-range combat, I can just play around."
Originally, the plan was just to call Lin Langyi over to play a few rounds, but there were too many people with different thoughts on the field. Lin Langyi stood in front of the ball and gestured for a long time before swinging the club. Then a familiar voice shouted from behind: "Sinking the ball shows deep feelings, not sinking it shows no feelings."
Where did this idiot come from?
Lin Langyi couldn't score to begin with, and with the shouts from the sidelines, she couldn't even see where the ball had rolled.
Cheng Yanjin turned his head coolly and glared at Chu Hong, who was as happy as a pig that had been let out of its enclosure.
The other player was so engrossed in the game that they didn't even notice the warnings, and were looking around to see who else was swinging their club.
That idiotic question was asked by Chu Hong, but he's so narrow-minded that Cheng Yanjin knows he was pushed out by the rest area staff to be the first to speak out.
"Don't worry about him, just play however you want." Cheng Yanjin also had a cue stick in his hand, and he passed a ball to Lin Langyi. "Again."
Chu Hong got excited: "Let's play another round and compare who our ex and current girlfriend like!"
Thanks, but Lin Langyi still didn't go in.
Chu Hong laughed loudly from behind, jokingly saying, "You won't go in with either of them? You don't like either of them?"
With a dull thud, before he could even retract his teeth, a ball hurtled towards him at breakneck speed.
Chu Hong shuddered and quickly turned to cover his head. The ball hit him directly on his pair of limited-edition autographed shoes that had taken him two months to arrive after traveling across the ocean.
"Agh!" he cried out in anguish.
With such a fierce playing style, Chu Hong would rather the ball had gone straight for his crotch, and he cried out for his parents with a long face.
Fortunately, the ball was clean. There's a difference between it hitting your shoe and being stepped on. After Chu Hong finished yelling, he found that it had exceeded his expectations. It was a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.
He let out a long sigh, cautiously raised his head, and peeked out like a quail with its head tucked in, only to see Cheng Yanjin, who exuded a murderous aura.
"I'll go check on the others." He immediately took off running.
On the other side, Xiao Pucheng and Yuan Chuyu were both forced into this situation. With Chu Hong leading the way, those who wanted to hear the truth were more able to speak without any guilt, with uncles, aunts, and other relatives joking around under the guise of playful banter.
"If you get in, it's because the girl is older than you; if you don't, it's because you're too young."
"If it goes through, it means we've just started talking; if it doesn't, it means we're rekindling a
"I heard it's from overseas? Did that ball go in?"
Yuan Chuyu stood motionless on the lawn, ignoring the commotion behind him, and continued playing at his own pace.
Unlike Cheng Yanjin, whose playing style was austere, he played with great elegance and composure. His body rotation was minimal, and the angle of his swing was particularly pleasing to the eye. Especially with his short game, even a slight difference in power would not have resulted in such a relaxed and effortless posture. He could always hit the ball into the hole along various routes.
The onlookers behind him gradually realized that he didn't take those nonsense to heart. No matter what they asked, he could sink the ball in one shot, and they gradually lost interest in paying attention.
Only the clueless Chu Hong was still squatting to the side reading out the results: "The answer is a girl younger than my cousin, living abroad, we just started dating, short hair, tall, white?"
"Your cousin didn't play with you!" Xiao Pucheng said with a laugh.
"Really? All those adults said my cousin was lying." Chu Hong ran forward and accidentally kicked a ball less than three meters from the hole.
He didn't notice, he was too busy joining in the fun, and asked with a grin: "Brother, if you didn't go in, it means you really have a girl you like; if you did go in, it means you don't."
As he approached the hole, those in the rest area were left behind and probably couldn't hear the question.
Yuan Chuyu didn't say anything. He picked up the club and slowly walked forward to the short-distance ball. He stood with his legs slightly apart, arms hanging naturally, shoulders slightly tucked in, paused, swung the club, and hit the ball.
The air was quiet, and the noise of the world seemed to fall behind as if separated by a layer of oil paper.
In slow motion, Chu Hong's eyes widened slightly.
Unlike his previous perfect shooting record, this time the ball only rolled forward about half a meter before stopping.
A close-range shot that was practically a free point was hit by Yuan Chuyu, resulting in a shot that was almost a miss.
No, it's even worse than a blank shot.
He could attribute the missed shot to his cousin's mistake, but Yuan Chuyu clearly hit the ball, yet he hit a slightly rolling shot at a completely off-center angle.
It was as if this was a completely unmasked, utterly obvious signal and answer.
Chu Hong's ears suddenly felt clear and empty, and his heart pounded heavily and rapidly, as if he had discovered a crucial clue while playing a treasure hunt game.
What did he just ask again...?
Do you have a girl you like?
"Cousin..." he stammered as he called out to Yuan Chuyu, but didn't continue.
The adults all said that my cousin was lying.
He wasn't sure if the young, short-haired, tall, white foreign girl he had just met was real or not.
But he felt that his cousin did indeed have a girl in his heart, a love that could not be told to outsiders, a love that could only be answered silently with a rotten ball when far away from the bustling crowd behind him.
He stood on the vast golf course, the star of the evening, but his smiles were as rare as his honest words.
The only truth hidden among countless lies, the only mistake concealed among countless goals, is like a slight deviation in an otherwise perfect life, yet he accepts it with equanimity.
"Cousin..." Chu Hong called out again, but hesitated.
He couldn't tell if those hole-in-one shots were what his cousin wanted, but he was certain that they came from Yuan Chuyu's heart.
There was no commotion, no interference; it was his own choice.
"Does she like you? Are you two in a good relationship?" Chu Hong stammered as one question after another popped into his mind.
Yuan Chuyu had already stood by the ball again, but after asking those two questions, he suddenly raised his wrist, and the cue stick drew an arc in the air, turning completely upright.
He loosened his grip slightly, the club slid down, and he pinched the middle section to check the clubhead.
"You play," Yuan Chuyu said calmly, handing the cue to Chu Hong.
"You, you're not playing anymore?" Chu Hong followed a few steps, holding the club like a caddie. The spot where Yuan Chuyu had gripped it still retained a faint warmth.
The only response he received was his receding figure.
*
We're about to cut the cake; we ordered a 1.5-meter-long cake that will cover the entire dessert table.
Yuan Chuyu washed his hands in the rest area, and as usual, many people came up to him to chat and try to build a relationship.
He wasn't really interested; his gaze swept past the indistinct faces and looked toward the place he longed for.
I didn't see anyone.
Yuan Chuyu paused for a moment, no longer paying attention to what the people around him were saying, and simply expanded the range of his search.
Not here.
His heart pounded, like a buoy suddenly bobbing on a calm lake, and a clear answer flashed into his mind in an instant.
"Excuse me, I'll be leaving for a moment." Yuan Chuyu gestured with his chin toward the restroom.
Breaking away from the crowd, Yuan Chuyu, whose restrooms near the golf course were always full, didn't stop and headed straight for the manor castle.
Some of the lights on the first floor were on, and the restrooms there were also open to the guests of the banquet, but because they were a bit far away, not many people came.
The noise behind him grew fainter and fainter, as if the air itself had become lighter. Yuan Chuyu quickened his pace unconsciously. Perhaps because he had been drinking tonight, he felt his ears getting hot.
I walked through the courtyard, through the gate, turned the corner, and walked down the corridor to the end, my shoes clicking rhythmically on the marble floor.
At the end of the corridor, around the last corner, the light on the washbasin was brighter than the light in the corridor, radiating the light of dawn.
He heard the sound of water coming from the washbasin. Soon the sound stopped, and a few tissues rustled softly. Then, light footsteps sounded.
The two bumped into each other at the corner.
Lin Langyi was walking and wiping a half-damp paper ball in her hand when she turned a corner and was startled by the tall man who suddenly appeared in front of her.
She opened her mouth slightly, but didn't make a sound for a while. She just raised her face to look at the person who came in.
He fixed his gaze on her face and remained silent, simply blocking her way and preventing her from leaving.
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