Chapter 81 New Neighbors and Old Acquaintances
As soon as Chen Guang got off the plane, he called Lin Yu. The two agreed to go look at houses nearby early Saturday morning. Before that, he would stay at a hotel near Lin Yu's house.
Ever since Lin Yu went through Jiang Chuan's phone that night, he had been wanting to find an opportunity to talk to him.
But he happened to be away on business these past few days, so the two of them barely had time to video chat. Not to mention chatting, she didn't even have a chance to mention her meeting with Chen Guang to him.
In the dead of night, Lin Yu curled up in bed, scrolling through sweet chat logs and photos of their outings from a few days ago, and suddenly felt a sense of distance.
Early Saturday morning, Lin Yu quickly washed up, tied her hair into a high ponytail, put on a white T-shirt, and went to the hotel to meet Chen Guang without makeup.
She declined Chen Guang's offer to pick her up from the apartment complex, subconsciously not wanting him to know where she lived.
Lin Yu scanned a shared bicycle downstairs in the residential area, rode it to the vicinity of the hotel, and saw Chen Guang leaning against the Roman column in front of the hotel from afar. He was slightly hunched over, a cigarette between his fingers, its crimson glow flickering.
He was wearing a plain white T-shirt, which at first glance looked like a matching pair with Lin Yu's. Her eyelids twitched, and before she could think further, she saw Chen Guang raise his head and look in her direction.
He smiled at Lin Yu, stubbed out his cigarette, and walked towards her. His gaze lingered on her subtly for half a second, thankful he hadn't said anything to embarrass her. "Have you had breakfast? The hotel has a buffet breakfast."
Having not seen each other for a long time, Chen Guang's mood was gentler than the last time they met. He seemed to have moved on from the shadow of his failed marriage.
Lin Yu had gotten up late and hadn't had time to eat, so his stomach was feeling really empty. She pushed her bicycle to the side of the road, locked it, and silently followed him back to the hotel.
After breakfast, Lin Yu took him to a nearby real estate agency, picked out a manager who seemed reliable, and showed them around several neighborhoods in the area.
When she passed by the residential area where Lin Yu rented a place, she deliberately found fault with it, saying that the facilities were old and the management was chaotic, and that it was too far from the subway station.
Chen Guang stopped, turned his head, crossed his arms, and carefully observed her expression. After thinking for a moment, he said to the agent, "I think this place is quite nice. Do you have any suitable apartments available?"
The manager enthusiastically took them to see two or three vacant apartments. Chen Guang felt that one of the ground-floor one-bedroom apartments was to his liking.
The room looks ordinary and the decor is old, but it's clean and tidy. The open space outside the terrace has been fenced off by the landlord and turned into a semi-enclosed private courtyard, with half-withered rose vines climbing on the wrought iron railings.
Chen Guang inquired about the price of the house, walked around inside a couple more times, and then turned around to meet Lin Yu's somewhat awkward face. "What do you think of this one?"
Lin Yu cleared his throat, his eyes flickering. "I think it's just so-so. The lighting is terrible, and the decor lacks style. Should we take another look?"
Chen Guang took a step closer and suddenly asked, "I haven't asked you which neighborhood you live in yet? How far is it from here?"
Lin Yu's gaze involuntarily drifted upstairs, then he awkwardly looked away a second later. "Don't pry into things you shouldn't know."
Chen Guang chuckled softly, understanding dawning on him. He turned to the agent and said, "This is the one. Let's sign now."
Lin Yu followed them to the stairwell and hesitated before speaking, "Aren't you only renting for three months? The landlord might not accept short-term rentals."
“Sign for one year first.” Chen Guang glanced back at her, then casually reached out and plucked a ginkgo leaf from her hair. Lin Yu smelled the faint scent of tobacco on his fingers and reflexively took two steps back.
Chen Guang paused for a moment, then withdrew his finger from mid-air and smiled helplessly. "Don't worry, other colleagues will come to hand over the reins to me after the New Year."
Signing the contract and getting the keys went incredibly smoothly. Lin Yu decided to go all the way and accompanied Chen Guang to the hotel to check out, then dragged their luggage to a nearby supermarket to buy daily necessities.
Chen Guang bought some groceries and carried the heavy shopping bag in his hands. Lin Yu took his suitcase and accompanied him back to the newly rented house.
As Lin Yu approached the apartment building, about to say goodbye, Chen Guang suddenly spoke up. "Let's eat together tonight, I'll cook."
Lin Yu was somewhat surprised. He had never heard of him cooking when he was in school. The only time he had ever cooked was when he followed a recipe to make winter melon and pork rib soup.
Is this an essential skill for married men? Not wanting to speculate too much about Chen Guang, she casually teased, "Is your cooking even edible?"
Chen Guang smiled, revealing his sharp canine teeth, still managing to exude a rare youthful charm.
He turned the key, pushed open the door, and piled the shopping bags on the floor by the door. "Whether it's edible or not, only you know." Lin Yu understood his implied meaning, but she just smiled and didn't reply.
Apart from the decor, the layout of this room was exactly the same as Lin Yu's. She sat down on the sofa in the living room as if she knew the place well, and chatted with Chen Guang, who was washing vegetables in the kitchen, through an open door.
"Why did you have to rent here? Of the other apartments we looked at, two were in much better locations and even had elevators." She paused, then added sarcastically, "Could it be that you left with nothing and are so poor you can barely afford cheap cigarettes?"
Chen Guang seemed to have anticipated Lin Yu's teasing about his divorce, and his expression remained calm. He neatly arranged the washed vegetables on the cutting board and skillfully began to chop.
"There's no particular reason," he said without looking up, "I just want to be your neighbor."
Lin Yu suddenly jumped up from the sofa, glaring at Chen Guang with a furrowed brow. "How did you know I lived here?"
The other person only left him with an unmoving back view, their waistline sleek in a brand-new apron, their chopping movements fluid and graceful, appearing confident and certain of success.
Chen Guang dumped the chopped vegetables into a plate, still holding a sharp cleaver as he turned around. Looking at the agitated Lin Yu, he laughed frankly. "Didn't you just show me that with your actions?"
Lin Yu and Chen Guang stared at each other for a moment, then sat back down on the sofa, a cold smile playing on their lips.
She knew perfectly well that if it weren't for her earlier attempts to cover things up, Chen Guang, who had been pampered since childhood, might not have actually settled for such an ordinary neighborhood.
Although the company's subsidies were limited, his mother, who doted on him, would never allow her precious son to suffer the slightest grievance.
Perhaps Lin Yu herself didn't realize that her current behavior was somewhat intentional.
They were determined to make Chen Guang see something, as if they wanted to use this superficial resistance to create a passive and irresponsible connection with Chen Guang.
It may seem like Chen Guang is relentlessly pursuing her, but in reality, every step he takes is with her tacit approval.
In this way, she could both enjoy the thrill of being close yet distant, and mentally judge him from a superior position. This indirectly highlighted Chen Guang's inferiority and her own nobility.
Isn't this a kind of hidden revenge for the harm Chen Guang caused back then? But at a deeper level, it might be a kind of counterattack against Jiang Chuan.
Ever since she discovered his deception, she may have been waiting for such an opportunity. Now, through her entanglement with Chen Guang, it seems like she's making a tacit declaration of war against Jiang Chuan's first love.
Using a similarly ambiguous relationship to offset the emptiness of Jiang Chuan's betrayal. It's as if, through Chen Guang, she found a psychological balance and regained a sense of control over her emotions.
Lin Yu was surprised by the dark side that had grown within her. When trust collapsed, she even thought of venting her anger by making the other person feel pain as well.
Perhaps it was to force Jiang Chuan to value her feelings, perhaps she simply wanted to get revenge on the two of them, or perhaps she just wanted to prove that she was still attractive to them.
This distorted self-affirmation both disgusted and captivated her, as if admitting that she was so disappointed in Jiang Chuan that she preferred to use this method to steal a breath from her heart-wrenching anxiety.
They were only halfway through their meal when Jiang Chuan called. Lin Yu suppressed the urge to observe Chen Guang's expression and answered the phone without considering his feelings. "Hello?"
Amidst the noisy background noise on the other end of the phone, Lin Yu vaguely heard the airport announcement mechanically repeating the boarding reminder. "Have you eaten?" Jiang Chuan's voice was as steady as ever.
"I'm eating." Before he finished speaking, Chen Guang placed a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs into her bowl.
Lin Yu glanced up at him, but Chen Guang had already turned his head away naturally and was picking food for himself. He didn't seem to be trying to use this as an excuse to embarrass her.
The line went silent for a moment, then came the muffled sound of a car door closing. Lin Yu asked uncertainly, "Where are you?"
"Airport." Jiang Chuan started the car, and the phone automatically connected to the car's Bluetooth.
"Come over to my place tonight?" He paused, then added a tentative, ambiguous question, trying to entice her in various ways. "I haven't seen you in days, I've missed you."
His deliberate attempts to please, delivered in that deep voice, sounded even more heartfelt.
Jiang Chuan's voice wasn't loud, but in the quiet room, it inevitably leaked out from the phone and reached Chen Guang's ears word for word.
He kept his eyes down, eating very politely without making a sound.
Lin Yu suddenly felt a surge of inexplicable courage. Thinking of the phone he hadn't finished looking through that day, he calmly replied, "Okay, I'll wait for you."
After hanging up the phone, Lin Yu casually put the piece of pork rib into his mouth.
Chen Guang seemed to have finally noticed the changes in Lin Yu over the years. She was no longer the girl who was anxious and insecure. Now, even when walking on a shaky tightrope, she could maintain perfect composure.
Perhaps this is what they mean by "smaller interests bring greater power".
Chen Guang finally succumbed to this self-directed and self-acted silent drama, breaking the silence first. "Boyfriend?"
Lin Yu lifted his eyelids, slowly spitting the clean bone he had sucked out of his mouth onto the table, and pulled out a tissue to wipe the corner of his mouth. "Hmm."
"Will I pick you up later?" Chen Guang asked tentatively, trying to decipher Lin Yu's lukewarm expression. "Did you two have a fight?"
"Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask." Lin Yu's eyes instantly turned cold, his expression one of indifference that kept people at arm's length.
"This is the second time you've said that to me today," Chen Guang reminded him with a wry smile.
"So, this is the second time you've crossed the line today." Lin Yu retorted sarcastically, his razor-sharp gaze shattering the last vestiges of warmth between them.
Chen Guang instantly lost his appetite, put down his chopsticks, and decided to push the boundaries. "Didn't you say you were planning to get married? Has the date been set?"
"What? Are you going to give a gift?" A ruthless glint flashed in Lin Yu's eyes, his carefully maintained composure crumbling, as if he were about to be completely hurt. "No need, after all, I didn't give you a red envelope when you got married."
“Indeed.” A slight crack appeared in Chen Guang’s smile, like a porcelain vase pierced by a sharp sword thrown by Lin Yu.
"At that time, I may not be able to sincerely wish you well."
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