Chapter Thirty-Two: Christmas Eve
Lin Yu walked into the milk tea shop without a word, ordered two hot drinks at the counter, borrowed a lighter, and found a corner to sit down. The couples passing by were sweetly cuddling together, making them seem out of place.
Chen Guang sat down opposite her, his eyes full of inquiry, his gaze surprisingly bright.
"So, you weren't talking about breaking up?"
Chen Guang thought to himself that Lin Yu's boyfriend was probably someone she randomly picked from a garbage dump with her eyes closed.
Even old men and women who collect recyclables would at least start by rummaging through the recycling bins, right? But she went and picked up some third-rate stuff that's even more common than those annoying flyers.
But these words had to remain unspoken. Chen Guang dared not act recklessly in front of Lin Yu. Yao Fangfang's warning was still ringing in his ears; he knew he had to know when to shut up.
"What's it to you?" Lin Yu asked coldly. "Are you my son? Why are you worried about custody issues after your parents' divorce?"
“It’s not impossible. After we drink this cup, we can become sworn mother and son.”
Chen Guang lowered his head and took a sip of milk tea, feeling a sense of comfort throughout his body. He looked up and met Lin Yu's astonished gaze, and could only try his best to appease him. "Mother and son don't hold grudges overnight."
"How can your skin be thicker than a bulletproof vest?"
Lin Yu was once again impressed by Chen Guang's shameless behavior. It was as if she was immersed in her own melodramatic monologue, and just as her emotions were building to a climax, someone suddenly jumped out and dismantled her stage, then started dancing in the mess on the ground.
He stood there stunned on stage, forgetting what was going to happen next, when the other person threw him a flowery handkerchief and dragged him into singing "The Most Dazzling Ethnic Style".
"I'm so grateful to you, how could I possibly be angry with you?"
So, they broke up?
Seeing that Chen Guang was still persistent, Lin Yu hesitated for a moment, then frowned and reluctantly nodded.
Chen Guang smiled with relief, a ring of milk foam still clinging to the corner of his lips, a small dimple appearing on his left cheek. This made him look exceptionally sincere, even with a touch of innocent allure.
Looking at that smile, Lin Yu felt the knot in his chest unknowingly dissipate a bit. Finally, he put away his sharp edge and calmly said, "It's undeniable that you have helped me a lot. As a classmate and friend, I am very grateful."
Her voice was calm. "But your help is often accompanied by intentional or unintentional suppression and harm. Perhaps this is not your intention, after all, we are not from the same world, and our perspectives on issues will always differ."
Lin Yu gently put down the cup in his hand, looked at Chen Guang sitting opposite him with his head down, and quietly waited for his belated judgment.
"You are young, rich, and full of energy, you trample the world under your feet, and the world will still smile kindly back at you. But I am ordinary, insecure, and conflicted, struggling bitterly in that world that you trample under your feet."
Lin Yu paused. "Your unintentional words are like a mirror, making my pride and embarrassment seem insignificant. Sometimes I feel like I'm just a handy tool for you, used when it's useful and set aside when it's not.
Her fingers unconsciously traced the rim of the cup. "Tools sometimes need oiling and maintenance when they break, so you're sometimes pretty nice to me, but a tool is just a tool, worthless and replaceable."
“You keep picking me up and putting me down, praising me for being smart one minute and calling me stupid the next, which gives me the illusion that you are in control of me.”
At this point, she sighed almost imperceptibly. "But I really don't like this feeling of being inferior. Sometimes I even feel that if you could just stand by and do nothing next time I'm in trouble, I could be completely free from this inequality."
Her voice grew softer and softer, yet each word was clear. Chen Guang remained silent, his head almost buried in his cup, his hands still wearing Lin Yu's gloves, making him look somewhat comical.
After a long pause, he cleared his throat, looked up at Lin Yu seriously. "Lin Yu, actually, I was sitting on that chair over there thinking a lot." He paused, as if organizing his thoughts.
"Yao Fangfang said that my behavior today was a condescending act of charity that hurt your self-esteem. To be honest, I was very indignant at first, but after calming down and thinking about it, she was right."
“Before this, I always thought you were just angry that I took the throne, but I just realized that maybe you have been struggling and enduring this relationship for a long time.”
At this point, Chen Guang pursed his lips. "But actually, things haven't been as smooth sailing as you think."
“I grew up with my grandparents. My parents were very busy with work and often didn’t see each other for months at a time.”
"The way they showed their love was simple and direct: they gave me money. So from a young age, my allowance was several times that of other children, and I also had several times more friends."
He gave a wry smile. "For me, money is the best way to maintain a relationship, although relationships gained this way may always remain superficial."
“After I started high school, my mother stepped down from her position, but she was used to being a leader, so she turned home into her new workplace. My husband and son were her subordinates. She restricted and suppressed me in every way. I was used to being raised freely, so I resisted her for a long time.”
"Therefore, in my world, there are no female figures that I like or admire. I need to confront and suppress them in order to get attention and a voice from them."
“I’ve never had any female friends growing up, you’re the first.” Chen Guang’s expression was unusually serious. “I have no experience in getting along with you, and I’ve even been a bit reckless, which often leaves me at a loss. So, sometimes I do things that are completely contrary to my thoughts, making you feel embarrassed.”
"I admit that I have a sharp tongue, am impulsive, lack ambition, and only have a short attention span for everything I do. But that doesn't mean I'm unworthy of good things and good relationships."
"All my efforts came from the bottom of my heart; I just didn't know what to do and went down the wrong path for a while. Studying with you and bickering with you made me feel very fulfilled and happy."
His voice softened involuntarily. "So you're certainly not a tool. If you have to say you are, you're the most unsuitable kind, always making my brain crash from all the repairs."
Chen Guang raised his head again and looked directly at Lin Yu. "In my heart, you and I will always be equals, and in many ways, you even guide me and are above me. I only wish you ease and happiness."
This was the first time Chen Guang had spoken so many heartfelt words to Lin Yu in one breath. The words he had rehearsed countless times in his heart poured out like a flood breaking through a dam.
He was so nervous that he forgot to breathe, his handsome face flushed red, and his rapid-fire words contained a cautious expectation, while his eyes surged with a burning passion that Lin Yu could not understand.
"Chen Guang, why are you telling me all this?" Lin Yu asked slowly, stirring the milk tea in his cup with a spoon. "Are you worried that no one will help you study in the future?"
Chen Guang's Adam's apple bobbed, and he chuckled softly, "I'm afraid..." He paused. "Afraid that you'll stop arguing with me."
Lin Yu's hand holding the spoon paused slightly. When he looked up, he met the other person's slightly reddened gaze. "Are you sick?"
"Yes, yes, I'm quite ill." Chen Guang forced a smile that looked more like a grimace. "So let's make peace, okay? I don't mean you have to forgive me right away." He leaned forward. "Consider it... a suspended death sentence for now." Lin Yu didn't speak, but lowered his head and took a sip of his drink.
Chen Guang's gaze fell on her face, with a hint of cautious probing. "I promise," he said, his voice lowering slightly. "I won't be as impulsive as before, I'll ask for your opinion before doing anything, and I won't say things that make you angry."
After a pause, he thought for a moment and added, "Could you be a little nicer to me sometimes? Not like you are to Yao Fangfang, just be nicer to me than to Zheng Qi and Zhang Yunzhou."
After saying that, he himself felt that the request was somewhat ridiculous, yet he couldn't help but hope that Lin Yu would agree. "Of course, if you still don't want to talk to me, I'll accept that. After all, I really was a jerk before."
"It's not that exaggerated." Lin Yu was amused by his humble attitude. "Chen Guang, I still want to thank you for today, but like you said, please don't let it happen again. It's dangerous for you too."
Her gaze fell on the gauze peeking out from his palm. The wrapped bandages suddenly transformed into a thousand words of tenderness, leaving a bittersweet mark on her heart. Lin Yu's brows gradually relaxed, and a gentle smile spread across his lips.
That smile seemed to have a magical power, infecting Chen Guang and making him involuntarily grin and smile along.
His nose was red from the cold, and his two symmetrical canine teeth gleamed warmly under the light, softening his originally sharp and refined features and making him look childish and carefree. "It's not so easy to hear a thank you from you."
As Chen Guang spoke, he took off his gloves, pulled out his phone, and turned on the video recording function. "Come on, say it again. I need to keep some evidence. Otherwise, you'll wake up tomorrow morning and deny it again, and continue this cold war with me."
"Stop being so cheeky!" Lin Yu ignored his teasing and said seriously, "Happy birthday."
These four simple words clearly conveyed the subtext of "I forgive you." Upon hearing this, Chen Guang excitedly tilted his head back and drank the milk tea in one gulp, as if it were some fine vintage wine, a blush of joy spreading from his cheeks to his ears.
"And the gift?" He suddenly stretched out his good hand in front of her, half of his body leaning over the table, his eyes filled with expectant light, like a large dog begging for treats.
Lin Yu slapped Chen Guang's outstretched hand away. "Why are you so close? Trying to plug my nose to charge it?"
She raised an eyebrow and said, "Isn't milk tea enough? I specially ordered an extra-large cup for you. Take the cup back with you when you finish it. It's big and can hold a lot, a perfect match for you."
A hint of disappointment flashed across Chen Guang's eyes, but he feigned nonchalance and curled his lips. "Although I can tell you're being sarcastic, I'm in a good mood today and won't hold it against you."
He exaggeratedly counted on his fingers. "The money I've saved over the past two years is enough to buy a house. Remember to add my name to the property deed when it's done."
Lin Yu swiped open his phone screen, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. "How about I send you a red envelope? 6.6 yuan or 8.8 yuan?"
She generously entered 8.88 into the amount field, only to be met with a bright red exclamation mark when she clicked send. Lin Yu glanced at Chen Guang with a hint of sarcasm. "Oh, so we're not friends after all? Looks like our relationship isn't that great!"
"You're allowed to ignore me, but I'm not allowed to block you?" Chen Guang shrugged and straightened his hair.
"Besides, I've blocked you for a week already, how come you only just realized? You've been so indifferent to me, haven't you?" Before she finished speaking, she had already swiftly removed Lin Yu from the blacklist and, right in front of her, pinned the chat window to the top.
Lin Yu didn't reply. She opened the cake box, inserted a candle, and lit it with a borrowed lighter. The flickering flame instantly burst forth from her fingertips.
"Make a wish," she whispered.
The candlelight illuminated Chen Guang's focused eyes, making this mistaken birthday celebration feel warm and solemn. "Can expired wishes still come true?"
"It's possible if you say it." Lin Yu's implication couldn't be more direct.
Chen Guang clasped his hands together, closed his eyes, and his eyelashes trembled slightly in the flickering firelight. "I want to always be number one in motorcycle races and never fail any exams, big or small."
"It would be faster to just wish for reincarnation." Lin Yu tapped his forehead lightly with a lighter.
Chen Guang chuckled softly, then thought about it seriously for a moment, and suddenly said solemnly, "Then... I want to watch a movie with Lin Yu, just the two of us!" His voice was very soft, but it was like a pebble thrown into the center of a lake.
"Why is it just the two of us?" Lin Yu felt a series of intense dizziness, as if the answer that was about to be revealed would completely shatter her, break her, and then rebuild her.
Chen Guang's eyes shone brightly in the candlelight.
"Because I like..."
A few snowflakes suddenly began to fall outside the window, adding to the festive atmosphere of Christmas Eve. She looked up at Chen Guang's eager brown eyes, which seemed to be burning with golden flames.
Lin Yu suddenly smiled, her eyes and brows radiating a gentle warmth. Chen Guang gazed at her smiling face, and suddenly felt that all the humiliation and waiting of the entire night had become incredibly worthwhile.
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