Why are you always thinking about dating me?

Luo Shuishui winked at him playfully.

"However, if you want to know my secrets and my flaws, you'll have to wait until you're completely interested in me, and I happen to be interested in you too. Then I'll wait for you to explore and step into my life."

As she spoke, her steps were light and quick. The two of them reached the classroom door. Lin An returned the umbrella to her, and Luo Shuishui took it and then turned and walked into the classroom.

....................................

In fact, Lin An knew that what Luo Shuishui said was quite impressive. She was able to deduce his situation based on limited information, which was already... beyond the reach of her peers.

Since Lin An was born, he has met very few truly intelligent peers. So far, the only people he truly admires are Xu Qinghuan and his ex-girlfriend. Now, Luo Shuishui can be considered half of one.

Lin An was quite looking forward to seeing how much Xu Qinghuan could beat Luo Shuishui if they faced off.

Lin An knew, of course, that Luo Shuishui couldn't save him; he didn't need anyone to save him, he could manage on his own.

As Lin An looked at the rain in front of him and thought this, he walked up behind him and gently patted his shoulder. Lin An turned around and met Su Yuejin's bright eyes.

"You look like you haven't woken up yet," Su Yuejin said softly.

After all, Su Yuejin's class was right next door, and her seat was in the last row. When she turned her head, she happened to see Lin An's back, so she came out.

Lin An felt that her appearance made him feel much more relaxed. He didn't know why, but he felt very relaxed when he was with Su Yuejin recently because Su Yuejin's thoughts were easy to guess, and neither of them had any burdens.

"You've come at the right time, do me a favor," Lin An said to her.

"What?" Su Yuejin was taken aback, but she was particularly looking forward to Lin An's words, as she was happy to be able to help in any way.

"Help me smell if I smell like a girl."

"...?" Su Yuejin tilted her head, paused for about two seconds, and looked at Lin An's face. "Are you kidding me?"

"No, there really isn't."

Su Yuejin frowned slightly. She grabbed Lin An's collar, somewhat puzzled, and then leaned closer, actually bending down slightly to gently sniff Lin An's neck and shoulders.

"I can only smell the laundry detergent, but the brand looks familiar. I used to use this brand all the time," Su Yuejin said, but her eyes immediately showed a hint of suspicion.

"Which girl did you see last night? Is that why you smell?"

"Ah, this..." Lin An wasn't worried at all about Su Yuejin's suspicions, because if she suspected, so be it, it didn't matter much.

"Who did you go to see?" Su Yuejin stared intently at him.

"I won't tell you," Lin An replied decisively.

This is the corridor now. For some reason, Su Yuejin suddenly felt a pang of sadness in her heart. She knew she wasn't Lin An's girlfriend, and their relationship was more like that of a pair of adulterers, but somehow, she felt a sharp pain in her heart, as if she had been pricked by a needle.

Are you afraid I'll get angry if you tell me?

"No, it's just that I feel... there's no need to report my whereabouts to you." Lin An looked helplessly into her eyes. Su Yuejin's eyes seemed to be flashing with flames, but those flames were very cold and the temperature was very low, as if they were about to freeze.

"Are you deliberately trying to torture me, Lin An?"

"I just wanted to play a little joke on you, Su Yuejin." Lin An didn't want to see her cry, so he pretended to be helpless and relaxed, looking at her cheeks. There were quite a few people in the corridor, so he could only whisper some things in her ear.

"After all... I told you this a long time ago, didn't I?"

“I’m not angry,” Su Yuejin shook her head.

"Of course I know."

"But I get jealous too, and I get sad too... So, please don't make jokes like that next time, okay, Lin An?"

Her eyes were slightly red, making her look pitiful, like a rabbit opening its eyes.

Lin An stared blankly into her eyes, because he noticed that Su Yuejin had suddenly become vulnerable and sentimental.

"You can do whatever you want. I know you don't love me, I know you have someone you like, and I don't want to beg you to love me, but I really like you right now... So, since you haven't completely made me give up and rejected me, please, don't tell me about your ambiguous relationship with other women, okay?"

"As long as I don't know, I won't be sad."

"What's the difference between you and an ostrich?" Lin An seemed to want to laugh, but he couldn't, because Su Yuejin's red eyes made his heart clench slightly.

He knew he was wrong.

"But that's how I want to be," she said, her voice trembling as if she were about to cry.

She was usually very good at controlling her emotions, and she never wanted to embarrass herself in front of strangers, but now, for no apparent reason, her eyes welled up with tears.

Lin An had no choice but to continue, "It was my fault, I apologize."

He was indeed apologizing.

“I don’t have any ambiguous relationship like you think. I just have someone I like. That person is especially indulgent towards me now, and thinks that I can do whatever I want. So I can spend more time with you, Su Yuejin.”

"There will be no one else but her."

As Lin An spoke, although there were few people left in the corridor and no one was looking this way, he still reached out his hand with some difficulty, but he did so nonetheless and gently wiped away the tears from the corner of her eyes.

"I apologize to you. I'm sorry, Su Yuejin," he said earnestly.

Su Yuejin, like a wronged little girl, walked up to Lin An and cried out to him in a tearful voice, "I want a hug."

"Come on, this is at school...wait."

Su Yuejin stared at him with a deep gaze, as if she would really cry in front of Lin An if he didn't hug her. In the end, Lin An decided to take action; sometimes you have to be crazy once in a while.

But Su Yuejin grabbed his hand and pulled him downstairs, braving the light rain, until they reached the school's back garden.

Lin An stared blankly into her eyes, and then Su Yuejin hugged him tightly.

Lin An gently patted her back until she turned her head and he let go.

Move closer to his cheek.

...It turns out that what she wanted was more than just a hug.

Chapter Forty-Seven Flowers

Lin An could feel the coolness of the raindrops falling on his body, the warmth of the girl's body in front of him, and the ticklish sensation of her eyelashes brushing against his cheek.

This made him feel dizzy, as if he were in a whirlpool. Recently, he seemed to have some confusion, which came after meeting Su Yuejin. Just as Luo Shuishui said, he lacked the ability to be loved.

Lin An knew this, of course, and didn't need Luo Shuishui's reminder at all. The advice Luo Shuishui gave her was just her own subjective opinion. No one can save anyone else; people can only save themselves.

Lin An was just not quite able to accept the fact that he slept with Xiao Chacha last night. He believed in love and its purity, so when he felt that he shouldn't have done that last night, he knew that what's done is done. He would just feel guilty for a while and then make up with himself and it would all be fine. He was a heartless person.

Even though he was thinking that, he couldn't help but soften when faced with Su Yuejin's tears. That's probably why he couldn't bring himself to cut off all contact with Su Yuejin.

Just like that night, when Su Yuejin asked him to go to the movies, and Lin An watched her get into a taxi, that was when he was at his most ruthless. He thought that as long as Su Yuejin got into the car and went home, he would completely cut her off the next day.

But Su Yuejin looked out the window, watching that figure from such a distance, and in that instant, she felt as if she believed in the revelation of fate. So she got out of the car and ran wildly, falling and getting covered in mud. Gone was the radiant figure she had been before. She stood in front of him, disheveled, and said to him.

"Take me home."

At that moment, Lin An knew that he would find it hard not to soften his heart for a long time to come. Coupled with Xu Qinghuan's indulgence, Su Yuejin had become someone he could no longer push away. But Lin An believed that Su Yuejin would eventually see reality for herself.

The so-called brilliant romance is always killed by cruel reality.

But the two people kissing in the rain probably didn't think of this. Lin An didn't mind the scene; he just felt so intense that it seemed to stop his heartbeat, until Su Yuejin withdrew, satisfied.

Her eyes were misty, her eye sockets were slightly red, and her cheeks were flushed. It was hard to tell whether she was sad or happy. She moved closer to him and pressed her cheek against his body.

"You don't smell like a girl... You're kidding me, right?"

"It's possible that it isn't. Maybe it really is something I did wrong," Lin An said with a wry smile.

“You’ve already apologized to me, so I choose to forgive you, Lin An.” Su Yuejin said this as raindrops soaked her shirt and her dark hair was also dotted with tiny water droplets.

"Alright, alright, let's go find shelter from the rain, or we'll catch a fever."

Lin An grabbed her hand and led her toward the eaves of the teaching building.

"If I get a fever and can't come to school... will you take time off to take care of me?"

"Maybe."

"Are you being arrogant?" Su Yuejin's eyes sparkled brightly.

Lin An turned his head and looked helplessly into her eyes. "If you say so, then so be it. If you have a fever, I should come and see you."

Having received his answer, Su Yuejin let out a soft hum. The two stood under the eaves, watching the raindrops dripping in front of them. Suddenly, Su Yuejin thought of something and muttered softly, "Should I... not cry?"

Lin An didn't understand.

"You told me a long time ago that you had someone you liked... So no matter who you're with, or where you go at night, I shouldn't interfere, right? But I'm still sad, I can't help it, Lin An, do you know that?"

"I've told myself that I know I like you, but I also know you don't love me. It's just my one-sided wish, so I can't let myself get too involved. My rational side always tells me that I can't like you, and I need to stay away from you. Otherwise, I'll be the one who gets hurt in the end. If you want to avoid the outcome, you should avoid starting in the first place. That's what you said."

"But there seems to be another emotional part of me in my head. I fell for you the moment I saw your eyes. I can't help but lean against you. I want your gentleness, I want your kindness to me. That emotional part is still bewitching me. She tells me that as long as I stay by your side, you will eventually fall in love with me, and you will eventually be unable to leave me."

"It's like two little people are always fighting in my head, but the rational one is always beaten to death by the emotional one, so I can't make myself not like you."

She spoke so earnestly and firmly, biting her lip lightly, like a naive little girl.

Lin An seemed to be struck by her gentle words, his heartbeat slowed down a beat, and looking at her fair, beautiful, stubborn and cute face, he suddenly had a desire to reach out and gently hug her.

Then he immediately killed that desire.

"Let's go back to the classroom. Find a towel to dry your hair," Lin An said to her. Su Yuejin nodded obediently, and Lin An took off his coat and handed it to her.

"Put it on your head."

"how about you?"

"Oh? I'm fine."

Looking at his gentle demeanor, Su Yuejin said sweetly, "No need, we can just run back together, it's fine."

But she seemed somewhat touched and secretly pleased.

Lin An simply reached out, patted her head, and replied with a smile, "It's alright, I'll have Luo Shuishui come pick me up with an umbrella."

"..." Su Yuejin realized that her feelings of being moved were better left unexpressed.

"You're so annoying."

Su Yuejin was still forced to take the coat from his hand, and poked his chest several times with one finger, "Does Luo Shuishui like you or not?"

"Can't you tell whether you like this feeling or not?"

"If it were that easy to tell whether someone likes you or not, there wouldn't be so many love stories in the world," Su Yuejin snorted.

Lin An gazed into her eyes, his expression gentle and doting, though it was feigned. He gently reached out and placed his hand on Su Yuejin's shoulder.

"Then guess... do I like you now, Su Yuejin?"

Su Yuejin stared blankly into his eyes, but inexplicably discovered that the emotions in his pupils seemed genuine, as if he truly liked her, so tenderly, so infatuated... but it was all fake.