Chapter 99 Zao Yi is chosen
The night was serene under the pale moonlight. A gaze, cool with the night's chill, fell upon her. He said nothing, simply staring at her.
She only made a polite eye contact for two seconds, her gaze fixed on his eyes, and uttered a perfunctory "You're busy" before footsteps approached.
She turned around, and Tan You's figure came into view.
She heard footsteps again, but when she turned around, she only saw a back view.
Under the moonlight, it was quiet, desolate, and cold.
That's fine too.
Tan You approached and handed her a thick stack of documents. She asked in surprise, "What's this?"
"We'll find out once we see."
She took it and opened it, and saw a large area of red markings. Her nose suddenly felt sore, and before she could even calm down, tears were already falling.
My vision was blurry, but I could vaguely make out large amounts of annotations in the blank spaces.
The handwriting is cold and sharp, its strength penetrating the paper.
Tan You's voice rang in my ears, mixed with a soft sigh, "You can borrow my shoulder."
She shook her head, silently sobbing, "I don't want yours."
The voice was very soft, almost inaudible with the wind, but Tan You still caught it: "My brother is no good, so you'll have to make do with mine?"
Lin Zaoyi wiped away her tears, took an exaggerated deep breath, then pursed her lips and returned to her original expression.
"No need, I'm fine."
Then another voice came, this time talking about Jiani.
Lin Zaoyi wasn't in the mood to say much, so she turned her toes and walked in the opposite direction.
Tan Jiani, who had just arrived: "..."
Why are you running? Are you feeling guilty?
He was about to give chase when Tan You stopped him, saying, "Don't go over there."
"I'm going to go now. I need to ask Lin Zaoyi if she broke up with me!"
Tan You: "??? You know?"
“Of course,” Tan Jiani said proudly, “I’ve known for a long time.”
Tan You glanced at her and, seeing how capable she was, said, "It's not a bad thing."
Tan Jiani grasped the key point from this sentence: So, her brother got dumped?
She suppressed her anger for now, but as soon as she got home, she rushed into Lin Zaoyi's room without a care in the world. She had to settle the score!
Why did you dump your brother?!
My brother is so good!
However, when Lin Zaoyi, who was lying on the desk, looked up at her, all her questions disappeared, and her eyes were red under the incandescent light.
My heart softened.
She dragged a chair over and sat down next to him. "Don't you want to break up?"
A few seconds later, a lifeless monosyllable drifted through the air: "No."
"...Does it mean nothing?"
Another silence followed.
Tan Jiani didn't urge her. Although she had never experienced heartbreak, she had experienced the pain of unrequited love. It felt like a thorn stuck in her heart; pulling it out hurt, but leaving it in hurt even more.
It took me almost a month to recover and return to normal.
Lin Zaoyi and her brother must be feeling even worse.
I'm puzzled, wasn't my brother going to forcibly take it?
Just like that, you took it?
After a long silence, a hoarse voice came from beside me, "Tan Jiani, whether I want to or not... your brother and I are destined not to be together..."
Tan Jiani realized that she was really pathetic. When the two of them were together, she was extremely cautious and couldn't wait to break up. But now that they had broken up, she felt it was a pity and even felt sad along with them.
She rubbed her nose, still feeling a pang of sadness. "You don't really like your brother that much, do you?"
Lin Zaoyi thought she could easily extricate herself from the situation, but after they separated, she realized how fragile her self-righteous protective shell was.
My liking for him has exceeded what I can control.
He lowered his head, a tear hidden in the air, and when he spoke again, it was a crisp "Mm".
"Hmm!" Tan Jiani said angrily, "Lin Zaoyi, you're heartless! My brother likes you so much!"
Lin Zaoyi's fluent reply rang in her ears, "No heart, you should really persuade your brother to stop liking her."
"!!!"
This heartless woman!
Lin Zaoyi subtly wiped the moisture from her face. "There's something I need your help with."
Tan Jiani: What's up?
The heartless woman walked straight to the dressing table, bent down slightly, and opened one of the drawers. A moment later, she had a jewelry box in her hand.
"What do you mean?" She followed him over.
Lin Zaoyi handed over the things in her hand, saying, "Please return these to your brother."
Tan Jiani refused, saying, "Go by yourself."
Lin Zaoyi didn't retract her outstretched arm. After a few seconds of stalemate, her lips curved into a smile, but her eyes blurred with tears. "Jia Ni... I can't see your brother..."
Tan Jiani also cried, crying even harder than the person involved, "What a mess! Why is dating so troublesome!"
"I told you not to talk, not to talk, and now look what happened! You deserve it!"
He forcefully took the jewelry box, saying, "Go ahead and cry!"
The young lady closed the door, but it was opened again just two minutes later.
Tan Jiani tossed the jewelry box in front of her, saying, "My brother wants you to return it yourself."
After saying that, he turned and left.
The room fell silent once again.
Lin Zaoyi sank into her seat, staring blankly at a certain spot. After a moment, all she could see were water droplets.
That person is being unreasonable again.
Don't give up.
She kept it to sell for money.
My attention returned to the reference book, but my eyes blurred again as I looked at it. What a terrible explanation!
I don't understand!
In the end, the text on the document was completely blurred and no one could understand it.
...
From then on, Lin Zaoyi couldn't remain completely calm, but she managed to appear carefree on the surface.
Going to get off work and coming home, eating and sleeping—it seems more normal than anyone else's routine.
Beneath her seemingly nonchalant exterior, Mingxian knew perfectly well that her daughter was putting on a brave face. She felt the pain along with her, but could only watch helplessly; she couldn't take her daughter's place. She had to rely on her daughter to get through this on her own.
It's a new week again.
Lin Zaoyi had just stepped out of the cafeteria when her phone rang. It was her mother calling her. Lately, she had been summoned every few days for snacks, fruit tea, or desserts. Even though her mother repeatedly assured her that everything was fine, her mother still didn't believe her.
I guess I can relate.
Today she was greeted with more than ten kinds of small cakes.
Lin Zaoyi really had no appetite, but to put her mother at ease, she picked something to eat and praised it from time to time.
Mingxian heard only reluctance. She wanted to sigh inwardly, but unexpectedly, her heartache came out. Her daughter turned her head and looked over. She smiled and patted her head, "Eat yours."
There was a knock on the door at that moment; a guest had arrived—Aunt Ying from last time.
Lin Zaoyi tried to disappear, but was stopped by the person who came. "Zaoyi, if you have nothing to do, chat with your aunt."
When invited by an elder, she, as a junior, cannot be impolite.
Mingxian probably understood her friend's intentions; perhaps it was a good opportunity to shift her emotions.
Ms. Ying liked the girl more and more as she looked at her. "Zaoyi, if your aunt says she's taken a liking to you, wouldn't you feel it's abrupt?"
Lin Zaoyi froze on the spot, "Huh?"
This…this…
Ms. Ying belatedly realized she hadn't expressed herself clearly, and added with a smile, "I want you to be my daughter-in-law. Would you like to meet my son?"
Lin Zaoyi: "..."
Aunt Ying patted her hand. "Meeting doesn't mean you have to be in a relationship. If you don't like me, can I force you?"
Lin Zaoyi subconsciously looked at her mother, who didn't put any pressure on her, saying, "It's your decision."
After a moment of silence, she asked, "Do you want to see me?"
Mingxian: "I want to."
She gently stroked her daughter's long hair. "The choice is yours; I won't force you."
Lin Zaoyi seemed to understand, and under the gaze of those gentle eyes, she nodded, "Okay."
Even if you can't forget her, you have to pretend she's doing well.
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