Chapter 153 Chapter 153
The two of them sneaked upstairs. Quan Zhilong rented the hotel car. The anxiety and fatigue he had felt along the way disappeared the moment he saw her. He couldn't help but look around the room.
It's completely different from her home in Seoul, yet it has some similarities—simple and clean, yet filled with traces of her upbringing. Whether it's her childhood photos in the framed photos or the books stacked on the shelves. The house is a faithful diary.
Recording all her past moments. While she was rummaging through the closet looking for something to wear as pajamas, he was looking around like a curious baby. They had left their luggage in the car, worried that going downstairs again would disturb her parents.
So he had to make do with it for now. Soon, his hand fell on a thick stack of photo albums. The top one had a dark blue cover with gold lettering: "Lincoln Elementary School –
Yearbook 2003. Elementary school graduation yearbook. The front page features a cartoon-style eagle, the school mascot.
Next came the graduation photo. Dozens of children, all smiling in varying degrees, lined up in three rows. He immediately recognized Lia in the second row. Back then, she had short hair, and her smile was a bit more reserved than the other kids'. But—she was so cute.
He couldn't help but scream inwardly, pulling out his phone and snapping multiple photos. By the time Lia finally noticed, he'd already flipped the album inside out. "Isn't it adorable?" He proudly held her hand, preventing her from snatching it away.
"How can I be cute..." Lia held her forehead. When she took the graduation photo, she had just returned from a beach vacation with her family and was completely tanned.
Plus, since he hadn't started growing yet, he looked like a skinny little monkey wearing a wig. Quan Zhilong didn't care. He looked like he couldn't wait to spend the night with the photo album, flipping through it again and again.
"Hey, let's wear this first?" She held up a large T-shirt with a Barbie cartoon printed on it that she had found at the bottom of her closet. It was her twelve-year-old aesthetic. It was because the size was sold out at the time that she had this oversized size that would fit him.
Quan Zhilong paid no attention to the clothes at all. He glanced at them casually and nodded to take them. He reluctantly put down the album in his hand and went to take a shower every three steps.
A head popped out of the bathroom: "Are you sure it's this one?" The next second, the pink Barbie pattern was highlighted. "There's nothing else to wear," Lia said, throwing up her hands. She really didn't mean to say that. But that didn't stop her from looking forward to it.
Quan Zhilong's face fell, and he retreated back into the bathroom. After a while, a shy man came out of the bathroom, holding the corner of his clothes. He was wearing a pink Barbie T-shirt, a bath towel hanging loosely around his waist, and his hair was wet and hanging in front of his forehead.
The beauty was alluring. She couldn't help but whistle, earning an angry smugness as someone covered their mouth. Quan Zhilong quickly tucked himself into the quilt: "I'm going to sleep. I have to get up early tomorrow morning." Lia laughed so hard that she trembled, but she still cooperated and turned off the lights.
They were now sneaking upstairs. Tomorrow morning he would have to sneak out before dawn, pretending to have just arrived, and then knock on the door to pay a visit. "...That's really cute." "Shut up." "...Hahahaha okay."
"...Stop laughing." "...Yeah." A muffled laugh filled the air. Quan Zhilong sighed, turned around, and hugged her, clinging to her like a koala. After a while, the sound of even breathing could be heard in his arms.
Asleep? He lowered his head and met a pair of bright eyes. One was jet-lagged, the other was well past her usual bedtime. In the darkness at three in the morning, the two energetic figures sighed together. Quan Zhilong sat up abruptly.
He wanted to continue looking at the album. The lights came on again, and he flipped through the album. "Did you send this one?" He pointed to a Christmas photo of Lia and her parents standing under the lemon tree in the yard.
"Well, Mom said the phone wasn't convenient, so she developed it." He stared at the photo, his mind racing. "This..." This lemon tree! He finally connected the dots.
The uneasiness that had been lingering in his heart was dispelled by the sudden ecstasy. He almost subconsciously checked with the person next to him: "That fan... is that you?" "What?" Lia didn't react.
He was almost anxious, racking his brains to find a suitable description: "The fan who posted the analysis on the forum is called..." He couldn't remember the name. Even though he had just browsed through those posts on the plane.
He has too many fans. To him, whether it is "lovegd" or "lovejiyong", it makes no difference to him before he confirms that the account is hers.
He had seen some discussion online after the radio program aired. "Original VIP," that's what they called the owner of the account.
He didn't have time to think about why. When he thought that it might be her, an uncontrollable joy came over him. "The lemon tree in the profile picture is the one in the yard, right?" He wasn't sure.
There were so many lemon trees in the world, and so many courtyards like this. He just wished so much that it was her, as if that could drive away all his uneasiness.
His face lit up unconsciously, completely oblivious to her expression. "Oh, that fan account," he heard her say. His heart nearly jumped out of his chest. She admitted it.
He looked up ecstatically, stretched out his hands to hug her, and said something cocky like "I didn't expect our Lia to have liked me so long ago." But the next second, his smile froze at the corner of his mouth.
There was no smile on her face. He finally realized, belatedly, that she didn't seem to like his discovery. Her hand, stretched out in the air, dropped awkwardly. "So what if it's me?" Her tone suddenly became cold.
Quan Zhilong was stunned. He didn't understand what this meant. Things had changed so suddenly. Just a minute ago, they were still sweetly looking at her childhood photo album together.
His usually brilliant mind seemed to have stopped working as he sat there in his blanket, wearing that ridiculous Barbie T-shirt. "I don't like this," she sighed softly. "That's not what I meant," he explained in a panic.
But in truth, he had no idea what he was supposed to mean. "My love for you started much earlier than yours, and it's much deeper, isn't that what you mean?" It was like opening his diary and reading aloud in public.
She took another breath, as if that would allow her to continue.
"For a long time, I was insignificant, and you were the shining star. It took me a lot of effort to talk to you, and I could only dream of being closer to you. This incident has made your self-esteem feel better, right?"
The room was completely silent. Lia rarely spoke so many words in one breath. She was always silent and calm, as if no matter what he became, she would not change. She did not call him "Oppa". For the first time, he felt that "you"
What a harsh and distant name. He wanted to deny everything she said, but almost at the same time, he realized his own cruelty. He laid bare the initial inequality in their relationship.
Whether intentionally or not, he tore through her dignity for the little peace of mind he needed. Like any mean man, he opened his mouth and then closed it powerlessly.
His heart felt like it was torn in two. After a brief moment of joy, he immediately fell into an even more intense pain because of her pain. She didn't need his answer. She spoke again.
"...But I need that little bit of self-respect, too, Oppa." She said that without even looking at him. That unseen, cowardly crush.
Tears welled up in her eyes so quickly, so quickly, that she barely even had time to react. She didn't care, casually raising her hand to wipe them away roughly, then quickly lowering it. She had messed up everything.
She could have just brushed it off, agreeing with him and admitting with a smile, "Yeah, I was an Oppa fan." She knew she was making a big deal out of nothing, but she was stung by his pride.
So she wanted him to feel the same pain. This was more like a one-sided outburst—he was almost stunned as she questioned him. Thus, the current situation became very awkward.
The two of them just stood there in this small room. This wasn't Seoul. Her parents were sleeping downstairs, and they couldn't even find their own room to relax. After letting out her anger, Lia felt relieved.
She couldn't even recall where she'd felt so angry just a few minutes before. In that outburst, the hidden thorn in her heart was finally removed. She waited for a moment.
Quan Zhilong sat quietly on the bed, as if he had suffered a great shock. Even his usual tricks of acting like a spoiled child or playing tricks were ineffective. Perhaps a few more minutes passed.
Unable to wait for his next words, she simply lay down again, turning her back to him. She was completely resigned to the thought of giving up. Her pride, her dignity...it was all shattered, so what was there to worry about?
It was quiet outside the window, with only the occasional sound of wind blowing through leaves. The night was dark, and after an unknown amount of time, she felt like she was almost asleep.
The person behind her finally moved, a soft rustling of fabric. Soon, the bed behind her sank, his body pressed against hers. She froze.
As if not noticing her stiffness, he quickly put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him, resting his chin lightly on her shoulder and rubbing it. The scent of the shower gel she used to use as a child reached her nose.
Without waiting for her to pry his hands away, he buried his face in the crook of her neck and whispered an apology. "I'm sorry," he said. As if worried she hadn't heard him clearly, he repeated it. She didn't respond. So it was his turn to speak.
"I just felt very happy." "But it doesn't mean that I win just because you like me more. Let's not talk about whether you like me more or not." He paused, as if he was a little hesitant about this point. Then he quickly said:
"I'm scared, Lia." "I think I've never said that before. The more I like you, the more scared I feel, whether it's the fact that we can't meet, or the fact that there are more and more people around you."
"I'm obviously not that good. What if you were only briefly attracted to me, but then realized I was just like any other guy? I live with this fear every day." He couldn't continue. He couldn't form his words.
He wasn't good at dissecting his inner thoughts so clearly for others to see. His strength lay in his sincerity wrapped in art, as no one could tell which was real and which was fabricated.
If he hadn't been pushed to the limit, he wouldn't have been able to say these words even ten years later. She seemed to need nothing. Money, fame, popularity... He wasn't the only one who saw her anymore.
So, what else could he offer? Her body, facing away from him, lay curled up, motionless. He felt his heart hanging in the balance. It felt like a century had passed before she finally sighed deeply.
"I really hate you the most in this world, Oppa." She turned around and hugged him. "Let's get married." It doesn't matter whether it's the person you like the most or the person you hate the most.
"...Why is it always in this kind of setting?" she complained. "Can't you just agree first?" "...No, I want something more formal."
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