Chapter 31
Back in the guest room, Lin Ting lay on the bed while Chen Zhiyi continued doing his homework.
"Even though I'm lying down and on an IV drip, if you encounter any problems you don't know how to solve, don't hesitate to ask me. So you can't be lazy or distracted. I'm keeping an eye on you."
Even in this situation, Lin Ting still wore the mask of a dedicated teacher, which made Chen Zhiyi smile inwardly.
Unlike her, the strange sound of water still lingered in Chen Zhiyi's ears, rushing into his brain and flowing throughout his body, like a feather brushing against his skin, tingling and numb. The burning sensation he had finally managed to suppress was now burning like small flames all over his body. Scenes flashed through his mind of desires that were buried in the darkness of the night and were not told to others, and now they were slowly emerging and about to devour him.
The female protagonist in his dream, the object of his desire, was right beside him, staring at him.
Damn! Chen Zhiyi felt the heat rising and he suddenly stood up.
Lin Ting was taken aback. "What's wrong?"
Chen Zhiyi glanced at Lin Ting, then immediately looked away, his expression remaining composed. He spoke haltingly, "I... I'm thirsty? I'll go get myself a glass of water. Would you like one?"
Lin Ting shook her head, and then Chen Zhiyi ran out quickly.
Lin knew something was wrong, but couldn't quite put her finger on it.
Chen Zhiyi ran to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator door, opened a can of beverage, and gulped it down. He needed a lot of ice water to extinguish the heat inside his body.
He looked out the window. The moonlight was cold, the wind was chilly, and frost was falling. The early winter chill, like a tide, eroded everything under the night sky, but it could not cool his heart.
Because his heart had already been given away, and the hot/cold switch was in that person's hands.
After calming down and returning to the guest room, Lin Ting was already asleep, making wheezing sounds as if she were fighting the virus.
Looking up, the IV drip was empty. Chen Zhiyi bent down and gently held Lin Ting's hand with the needle in it, arching the back of her hand. With his other hand, he carefully peeled off the tape stuck to Lin Ting's hand, turning to look at her after peeling off a little bit, afraid of waking her up.
After successfully removing the needle, Chen Zhiyi breathed a sigh of relief. The whole process was comparable to an experimental study, with every movement filled with caution and gentleness.
Chen Zhiyi moved the clothes rack, disposed of the medical waste, and sat back down at the table. Lin Tingdi's phone rang, displaying "Ren Jingjing." Looking at the clock again, it was already 10 o'clock, and the purpose of the call was clear.
Chen Zhiyi took Lin Ting's phone, walked outside, and answered the call.
Ren Jingjing: "Lin Ting, where are you?"
Chen Zhiyi called out softly, "Sister."
Ren Jingjing was stunned at first, not reacting, and then asked in confusion, "Chen Zhiyi?"
Chen Zhiyi: "It's me."
Ren Jingjing: "Where's Lin Ting?"
Chen Zhiyi: "Teacher Lin had a high fever tonight and fainted at my house. She's already on an IV drip and is asleep, so she can't go back to her dorm tonight."
Ren Jingjing: "Okay, then please take good care of her. She's a workaholic and doesn't take care of her health at all."
Chen Zhiyi: "I will. The dorm supervisor will be checking tonight. Will it have any impact if Teacher Lin isn't here?"
Ren Jingjing: "I told the dormitory manager that she went to her internship and there was no problem."
Chen Zhiyi felt relieved. "Thank you, sister."
Just as she was about to hang up, Ren Jingjing said, "If you like someone, you should be bold. Love is a game for the brave."
Only then did Chen Zhiyi realize that there was another person who understood him.
Love is indeed a game for the brave, but why do so many people choose to be cowards? Because once they pass this hurdle, they can't know in advance whether what lies ahead is a smooth road or a bottomless abyss; they can only hesitate in front of it.
Chen Zhiyi walked back to the guest room and sat on the bed. He first turned off the main light and replaced it with a bedside lamp. Under the soft light, Lin Ting lay there quietly, like a tranquil painting. Her breathing was even and gentle, like a breeze brushing against flower petals, less cold and more sweet. Her long eyelashes cast faint shadows under the light, like the light wings of a butterfly, gently covering her eyelids.
Her sleeping face was so pitiful that one couldn't help but want to stay by her side until she woke up.
Chen Zhiyi recalled that a few days ago, the teacher organized the students to write down their dreams. Everyone wrote down the universities they wanted to attend in next year's college entrance examination. He did the same, but he also had another wish in his heart, which was to watch the person he liked fall asleep every night and then kiss her awake the next day when he woke up.
At this moment, this long-buried wish did come true once, but only half of it.
Lin Ting's long hair was scattered on the pillow, flowing like a colorful waterfall, exuding a faint fragrance.
Chen Zhiyi wrapped a strand of her long hair around his fingers, gently coiling it round and round, feeling his heart tighten with each twist, his breath growing heavier, as if a part of her body was being pulled into his own. Slowly, he released the hair from his fingers, brushed away the stray hairs covering Lin Ting's forehead, and moved his gaze to her lips.
These lips, which have appeared countless times in my dreams, I suck, gnaw, and torment myself with.
Chen Zhiyi's throat bobbed as he gazed at those unforgettable lips, then leaned down to get closer to them.
Just as they were getting close, Lin Ting opened her eyes, and the two looked at each other.
"What are you doing?"
Chen Zhiyi knew he should back down and make up various reasons to explain, but Ren Jingjing's words were ringing in his ears like a curse.
Yes, he doesn't want to be a coward in a love game; he wants to be a brave one.
He didn't back down, quickly placed a kiss on Lin Ting's forehead, then stood up and stood aside, waiting for his fate.
Lin Ting's eyes widened as if they were about to jump out of their sockets, her pupils flashing with disbelief as she stared at Chen Zhiyi incredulously.
The boy stood to the side, motionless, his jaw clenched, his eyes meeting Lin Ting's gaze openly.
It's as if to say, "Don't doubt it, it's shocking, it's exactly what you see."
This sudden turn of events plunged the entire room into a deathly silence, without a single sound.
Suppressing her shock, Lin Ting sat up on the edge of the bed and went straight to the point, "Why did you just do that?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Lin Ting suddenly felt afraid to face the question, afraid that the answer she would receive would not be what she wanted to hear.
If Chen Zhiyi could provide a reasonably plausible excuse to get away with it, she could go down the stairs and ignore everything that had just happened, as if it were all a dream.
When tonight ends, she will find another reason to refuse the tutoring job, just like before. This time, she will have an undeniable reason, and no amount of persuasion will be of any use.
Lin Ting never expected that in just a few short minutes, she would be able to mentally sort out such a chaotic and troublesome situation.
Now, she handed him the key, hoping he would listen and not open Pandora's box, for no one knows what might come out.
But the next second, Chen Zhiyi took a step forward, looked straight at Lin Ting, his eyes resolute and full of pressure.
Without any hesitation, he said, "I like you." And without a second thought, he repeated, "Sister, I've liked you for a long time."
Throughout her life, Lin Ting has received countless confessions of love, but none of them have ever made her feel as panicked, trembling, and at a loss as they did today.
She could have easily refused directly and without giving any face, just like she always had.
But faced with Chen Zhiyi's confession, she couldn't be so calm and cruel; she didn't want to hurt a young man's sincere heart.
But she desperately wanted to get everything back on track, her lips moving as she almost unconsciously uttered two words, "No!"
Absolutely not!
The determination in Chen Zhiyi's eyes faded. "Why not?"
Lin Ting got off the bed, stood up, and confronted Chen Zhiyi, "Because I'm your teacher, so am I your elder?"
Chen Zhiyi found it amusing and spoke crisply, "What kind of teacher are you? Are you bound by law or contract? An elder? You're only four years older than me, and you want to take advantage of me like this?"
Lin Ting: "In this family, who doesn't recognize me as their teacher? As long as you stay here and I tutor you every night, I am your teacher, a teacher who is morally recognized."
Chen Zhiyi: "You know that our relationship is only limited to teacher and student here. But once we leave this home and go out into the world, who will see us as teacher and student? So you can't stop me from liking you because of this. That's not fair."
Lin Ting's chest heaved slightly. "Fairness? Do you know where your words put me? Luckily, there's no one else in this room. If Uncle Chen, Aunt Chen, or your parents heard this, what would they think of me? Seducing my own student? Seduce a high school student?"
Chen Zhiyi found it absurd. "What seduction, flirting? That's all your side of the story. In a few months, after I graduate, you won't be my tutor anymore, and these problems won't exist. Right now, I just want to tell you that I like you, not that I want you to respond to me right now."
Lin Ting stared intently at him without pausing, "I can tell you right now, I won't like you, neither now nor in the future."
It felt as if a crack had been torn in his heart, and the pain slowly seeped in. Chen Zhiyi's eyebrows furrowed, his eyelashes trembled slightly, and a hurt expression appeared on his face. "Why? What's wrong with me? Why can't I win your affection?"
Lin Tingxin softened for a moment, a helpless look on her face, "Then what is it about me that's so good that you'd fall for me?"
Chen Zhiyi almost blurted out, "You are great. You are the first person to support me in pursuing my dreams, the one who helped me write a clear guide to the art exam, and the one who accompanied me to acting classes. Only you understand my love for acting."
For some reason, after hearing Chen Zhiyi's reasons, Lin Ting breathed a sigh of relief and slowly stated, "You like me because you think I support you in pursuing your dreams. Don't you think that's a bit weak? If someone else were your tutor, and she also understood your dreams, wouldn't you like her too?"
Chen Zhiyi blurted out, his voice rising, "No way."
"Don't be so hasty. I understand you. Growing up, your family didn't support many of the things you liked, and even hindered you from doing them. It's rare to find someone who supports you in pursuing your interests and even offers advice on how to achieve your dreams. You're grateful and dependent on her, feeling that she understands you. But for her, it's just doing a good deed. She has goals and ideals, and hopes that others with similar ideals can pursue and achieve them. This isn't what makes her special; it's that you've confused gratitude with affection, thus romanticizing her image in your mind. Putting that aside, she's just an ordinary person, an ordinary tutor that's everywhere."
As they spoke, Chen Zhiyi stared intently at Lin Ting, his face gradually turning pale, his emotions plummeting to rock bottom.
When he spoke again, his voice was calm, "You may not accept my affection, but you cannot question it. I clearly distinguish between liking and gratitude."
Chen Zhiyi's clear eyes seemed to become bright mirrors, and Lin Ting saw her own reflection. She turned her gaze slightly and continued, "You're still young. Right now, your most important things are the art exam and the college entrance exam. This is a very important watershed moment, and you shouldn't be distracted by anything else. Once you get over this hurdle, you'll find that the road is wider, your vision is broader, and the people you meet are more outstanding. All those things you once longed for but couldn't obtain will be let go and will become like mountains and rivers you pass by."
Even though her words were just empty shells, they still shattered Chen Zhiyi's heart into pieces. "You may not understand my feelings, and you can't use vague principles to fob me off. In short, you just think I'm young and haven't experienced as much as you, but I just like you. This is the first time I've liked someone so much."
His answer was like a thorn piercing Lin Ting's heart. Although it didn't draw much blood, it hurt, it hurt a lot. "I'm honored to be liked by such an outstanding guy like you, but not all liking can be reciprocated. Your liking ends here. I will only treat you as my student, or at most, as a younger brother to outsiders. I won't see you anything else."
"I'm telling you this so you know how I feel about you. You don't have to respond, but there's no need to reject me so bluntly."
Lin Ting: "This is for your sake and for my own. I can keep you hanging by your nose by not responding, but that's not my style. If it interferes with you, I will choose to resign."
Chen Zhiyi was stunned. Sure enough, in this game of love, he had played the brave one, but this level was the final destination.
Lin Ting packed her things and prepared to leave.
Chen Zhiyi immediately stood in front of her and stopped her, saying, "It's too late, it's not safe. You can sleep here tonight."
He paused for a moment, thought for a moment, and said, "I'm sorry, I acted impulsively today. I will sort out my feelings and restore our relationship to what it used to be. Please don't resign. You promised to accompany me through the art exam, and I have always remembered that. No matter what, you have to help me fulfill this promise."
Lin Ting did not reply, which Chen Zhiyi interpreted as a rejection, but he still wanted to try to change the situation.
"You don't need to reply now, you can reply tomorrow. In short, treat everything that happened tonight as a dream, as if nothing happened." After saying that, he immediately left the room and closed the door.
Lin Ting slumped on the edge of the bed, exhausted by everything she had just experienced. She didn't know how to face Chen Zhiyi in the future.
She looked out the window; the thick darkness seemed to hide everything in the shadows, making it impossible to see anything.
Chen Zhiyi returned to his bedroom and buried himself under the covers.
He had predicted this answer, but when it was laid bare before him in a bloody and real way, he simply couldn't accept it. How could she be so blunt and heartless? What kind of bullshit student, what kind of outsider's brother, how could these titles be so hurtful? She even questioned my feelings, and even saw them as a burden, turning them into disgusting words like seduction and flirting.
His pride and his willingness to compromise, his desires and his disappointment, were intertwined fiercely, causing him to feel a sharp pain in his heart and an overwhelming sense of regret.
I clearly didn't want her to know so soon.
But the heart is only so big, like a storage cabinet. If you put a little in today and a little in tomorrow, it will eventually be full and can't be closed anymore. And today, seeing her fragile sleeping face and hearing Ren Jingjing's encouragement, he could no longer suppress the endless stream of emotions.
The result was a crushing defeat.
She can reject his feelings, and he accepts that, but he doesn't want her to leave him.
But how can I keep her? Tonight, I'm destined to be sleepless.
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