Why are you always thinking about dating me?

Chapter Eighty-Two Memories

When Lin An arrived at Luo Shuishui's house, he finally understood why Luo Shuishui had said to call her when he arrived and she would come down to pick him up.

Because the area occupied by Luo Shuishui's family seemed excessively large, Lin An stood at the entrance of the manor, looking at the iron gate of the fence, the large lawn, the garden, the fountain, and the luxurious villa in front of him, and felt a sense of unreality, as if it were a dream.

As expected, Luo Shuishui was a girl from a very distant place. He suddenly felt that even dating her before seemed like an unreal thing. A girl in love is cute, pure, and simple.

It seems that she is the one who is truly spotless.

Not long after, Lin An saw Luo Shuishui walking towards him. She was wearing a pink cat-patterned hoodie and hot pants, the long hoodie covering the hot pants and revealing a pair of slender, delicate legs. When she walked up to him, there seemed to be a gentle smile on Luo Shuishui's lips.

She was also holding a light gray cat in her arms; the cat was quite plump.

The midday sun was slightly strong, but not scorching; instead, it was inexplicably warm. Luo Shuishui let him in, and Lin An followed behind her, scratching his head slightly uneasily.

"What's wrong?" Luo Shuishui asked softly without turning around.

"Your house...is really big."

“It’s a bit more troublesome now that it’s bigger; it’s a short walk home,” Luo Shuishui replied, adding, “To see your ex-girlfriend, Qin Xueming?”

"Ah."

"I just checked. Qin's only daughter practically dropped out of school two years ago. She followed her elders to various events, started learning management, and gradually made her name known in these circles. She's ruthless, decisive, and merciless. Well, she's caused quite a few families to break up. Lin An, an enemy of the capitalist class, where's your awareness?"

"..." Lin An had hardly paid any attention to her news, but he didn't expect her to be so amazing.

"Why would she suddenly ask you out to dinner? Is she thinking of rekindling your old flame?" Luo Shuishui had obviously looked up everything she could find about the two of them from junior high school. She was quite curious about how Lin An would treat his first love.

"Not necessarily," Lin An shook his head.

"uh-huh?"

"People change. I can't expect her to have changed at all after two years. To her, she has met many boys who are more capable and sensible than me. What am I to her? A pawn that she could discard back then and pick up again now?"

"Perhaps she might feel a little nostalgic, but she's actually very clever. If she comes to see me again... it might just be to catch up, or she might want to devour me." Lin An's voice suddenly turned a little colder.

He sighed softly, "Who knows? We'll only know when we meet."

"Then how do you want me to treat her?" Luo Shuishui and Lin An had already reached the front door. She unlocked the door with her fingerprint and gently stroked the cat's neck.

"Ah, whatever is fine. I just want her to know that I'm doing just fine without her. I don't want her to see my weaknesses again and break me down."

Lin An said with a wry smile, the door opened, and Luo Shuishui had already walked in with him. "I'll go get you slippers."

Lin An noticed that there were many pairs of slippers on the shoe cabinet, mostly women's slippers. This made Lin An think about something. Luo Shuishui returned quickly and gave him a pair of slippers.

Lin An and she went inside.

The first floor is the living room, decorated in a warm style. Luo Shuishui held the cat and sat down on the sofa with Lin An. The cat was very well-behaved. When Lin An tried to reach out his hand, the cat jumped into Lin An's arms.

What's the cat's name?

“sunsun”.

"Ah? That sounds nice." Lin An gently pinched the cat's ears. The cat was very obedient. Luo Shuishui poured Lin An a glass of water from the kettle. Then, the girl interlaced her fingers and pondered for a while. "Tell me about your story with your ex-girlfriend?"

Lin An felt a little embarrassed and turned to look at Luo Shuishui's eyes. Her gentle gaze still held a hint of gossip. Indeed, gossip is a girl's nature.

"Well... I don't really think there's much to say."

"But if you don't tell me, I can't build a mental model of Qin Xueming, and then I won't know how to face her. Even though she doesn't know me either, that's fair, but of course I'll cheat. So, if you don't tell me, I might not really want to go..."

"Say it, say it now."

Lin An answered before Luo Shuishui could, and Luo Shuishui smiled happily.

He looked up at the ceiling, paused for a second or two as if reminiscing about something, and after a while, he gently told Luo Shuishui about the past.

………………

"When I was in junior high school, my adoptive parents were still alive, and our family was quite well-off. I was a mischievous kid back then. Although I had good grades, I thought I was very talented, so I didn't like to study. I naively thought that I could do anything I wanted to do."

Qin Xueming was in the class next to ours at the time. She was the goddess in the hearts of many people. Back then, she was noble and aloof. Almost no one in the class was her friend. She was lonely and unconventional.

I noticed her a long time ago because she looked a lot like me. I always felt that when she was leaning on the balcony looking down at the people below, there was a hint of disdain, confusion, and self-mockery in her eyes. So I wanted to get to know her.

Then, during a PE class, I saw her sitting under that tree, looking at the people on the playground. I walked up to her and invited her to play with me.

And guess what the first thing she said to me was?

"Hmm?" Luo Shuishui was a little curious.

She said to me, "You want to pursue me?"

It's unbelievable! That day, when I stood there looking into her beautiful eyes, I was stunned for several seconds for the first time, unable to say a word. I knew I had to say something, but her question was particularly tricky.

"So how did you answer?" Luo Shuishui's eyes showed even more curiosity.

Lin An thought for a while longer before continuing to tell Luo Shuishui the story.

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

“Yes.” Lin An looked at the girl in front of him and nodded gently.

Qin Xueming was wearing her school uniform that day. Her junior high school uniform was very nice. The girl's uniform was a white shirt with a light brown skirt. She tucked the shirt into the skirt, and the girl's figure was youthful and full of vitality. She tilted her head up slightly, and there seemed to be a hint of a smile in her eyes.

"Then go buy me a bottle of water." She pointed in the direction of the convenience store.

"What would you like to drink?" Lin An asked her.

"Mineral water is fine."

"Then wait for me here." Lin An turned around, actually ran to the convenience store and bought two bottles of mineral water. He walked to her side, just unscrewed the cap of the ice water bottle and handed it to her. As he was about to sit down on the bench next to her, Qin Xueming hadn't even taken a sip of the water yet. Instead, she glanced at him sideways and said, "You're out."

"...?" Lin An was a little dumbfounded.

"I don't like boys who can just do whatever I say. I prefer guys who can control and dominate me, so... you chose to be obedient, which isn't my type. Thank you for the water, you're such a good person."

Lin An thought his expression was probably quite interesting, but he also saw a hint of mockery in Qin Xueming's eyes, like a little girl who had successfully pulled off a prank. Women who take pleasure in this are no good.

"But since I chose to pursue you, I always wanted to treat you better."

Lin An didn't force himself to sit next to her; he just stood opposite her, watching her so happy, and he didn't seem to care at all.

"I don't need this kindness. Not every act of kindness needs to be reciprocated, right?"

“I understand.” He nodded gently.

"What do you need?" he asked frankly and directly.

"I don't lack anything." Qin Xueming's opinion of him changed slightly, her dark eyes flickering slightly. "What's your name?"

"My name is Lin An."

Qin Xueming paused for a second, then said, "It's you... that annoying guy who always ranks higher than me in exams."

"You still pay attention to these things?" Lin An seemed somewhat surprised.

Qin Xueming was taken aback again.

"Huh? What?"

"Just do your best on the exam. If you've studied hard, just care about the results. Why worry about rankings? You don't have to be better than others to prove anything."

"So you didn't know me before this?" Qin Xueming asked him.

He thought he should know his own score, after all, in every grade's exams... the second place was always that guy named Qin Xueming.

"Huh? Of course I know you. I've been watching you for a long time. You're in the class next to mine. Sometimes when I'm looking at the playground from the balcony, I can always see your back from the last row."

"Then, may I ask, why are you pursuing me?"

“That’s a good question.” Lin An actually pondered for a second or two before answering frankly and directly, “Because you’re good-looking.”

"Tsk."

"And I think dating you might be fun, so I'd love to give it a try. I don't have much courage, but it's always better to try than not to try at all."

"Interesting? Are you referring to vanity, or possessiveness?"

"I mean it would be fun for the two of you to spend time together." Lin An felt that her tone was a little aggressive, but still within acceptable limits. "However... if you're worried about it affecting your grades, then forget it."

"Huh...?" Qin Xueming stared blankly.

"You seem to care a lot about exam rankings, right? Well, I was wrong... Sorry to bother you." Lin An hesitated, but ultimately didn't finish his sentence. He then turned around, picked up his badminton racket, and left.

"Wait a minute," Qin Xueming called out from behind him.

Lin An turned his head.

The girl under the tree stood up. Although her slender figure was not yet fully developed, she was still pretty. She took off the hair tie from her hand, tied her hair up, and walked to his side. She seemed to have a faint fragrance as she approached him.

"It seems like making a friend wouldn't be bad," she said.

"Okay, that's fine." Lin An nodded and handed her a racket.

Chapter 83 Actually

Lin An continued to tell Luo Shuishui stories from junior high school. The stories were a bit long, but Luo Shuishui listened patiently.

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

After school that day, Qin Xueming invited Lin An to play games at the internet cafe across from the school.

"I want to go with my sister... never mind, I'll go." Lin An accepted her suggestion, and after school, the two of them went to an internet cafe. Qin Xueming booked a private room, and they agreed to play the same game.

Games are most fun when played with friends or teammates.

Lin An played two games with her, for a total of one hour, and then Qin Xueming turned off the computer. She was going home, and she seemed a little reluctant to leave.

Don't you have a computer at home?

"Yes, but my family is strict and won't let me play."

"I see." Lin An said as he walked to her side. Qin Xueming's home was not far from the school, and the two of them were barely going the same way. They chatted all the way, about all sorts of random things. Qin Xueming was indeed the interesting girl Lin An had expected. Although they were both young, she knew a lot of things, which made their conversation very interesting.

"Then I'll add you when I get back?" Lin An said this when they were almost at her house.

"Right now."

Then the two exchanged contact information. At that time, their thoughts were very pure; they just wanted to be friends, to chat occasionally, play games together, and eat together in the cafeteria.

About two months later, Lin An and Qin Xueming's relationship had reached the level of good friends, the kind where they could occasionally complain about unhappy things and comfort each other.

Then, during a casual chat with her over lunch, Lin An asked her a question.

"Sister Xue."