Xiao Yan went to the bathroom halfway through the meal and stood at the sink, tidying his collar.
There was no one around, so he called out softly:
"Uncle."
After a moment, Lin Xiuze's lazy voice sounded: "This is the first time you've taken the initiative to find me."
"Uncle has been quiet for so long, I keep forgetting you're still here."
"You young people always complain when your elders chatter in your ears." Lin Xiuze said lightly: "My daughter also dislikes when I nag her, so I don't talk much to avoid making you feel like I'm monitoring your life."
"I would never think that."
He had no elders or parents, and had never experienced being nagged by parents.
"You young people have your own way of speaking and behaving. Although sometimes I also feel like your jokes go too far, times change after all."
Lin Xiuze of course knew Xiao Yan's unease, which was why he took the initiative to awaken him.
"Just pretend I don't exist, I don't want to affect your life. As long as you don't bully my daughter or hurt her, I won't interfere."
"She likes me and is good to me." Xiao Yan paused, then said heavily: "I can't bear to..."
...can't bear to hurt her, not one bit.
Lin Xiuze had already heard the voice in Xiao Yan's heart.
Although there was a heavy, gloomy side to this boy that stemmed from being deceived and hurt in childhood, when dealing with people he cared about, he was still relatively straightforward and honest.
He didn't regret saving him, and was even glad he had rushed into the fire in time.
If he had really died in the fire, his soul's journey to the underworld would have been so gloomy and lonely.
Just then, a man came out from one of the stalls. Xiao Yan immediately stopped his mental conversation with Lin Xiuze and washed his hands to leave.
The man stood at the sink, seemingly finding the bathroom environment very pleasant, with an elegant ambience and delicate sandalwood decor on the counter, so he took out his phone and started taking selfies.
The bright bathroom lights shone on his face. He put on his hoodie and slightly lifted his chin to better capture his face in the light. His gaze was unfocused and his expression aloof—the classic pose for male selfies.
Xiao Yan looked up and saw the man's features through the mirror.
His face had sharp lines, highly set eyebrows, rugged features, looking very masculine.
Xiao Yan also happened to have an extremely good memory. He immediately recognized that this was Lin ChuSui's ex-boyfriend, Qin Nai.
As Qin Nai was taking photos, he noticed the boy looking at him in the mirror.
It was always a little awkward to have someone watching during a selfie shoot.
He put away his phone in annoyance and snapped, "What the f**k you looking at! Wanna get beat up?"
He opened his mouth and vulgarity and irritability came out immediately. It was clear he was a veteran school bully and hooligan.
At that impulsive age, with hormones raging and no outlet, it was easy for the slightest look to spark violence.
But Xiao Yan was not that kind of mindless savage.
He calmly drew his gaze back and continued washing his hands.
Qin Nai looked him up and down, then spat derisively as he left the bathroom: "Broke loser."
Xiao Yan turned off the faucet, shook the water off his hands, and saw a black wallet on the ground.
It must have slipped out when Qin Nai was taking out his phone just now.
Xiao Yan didn't believe in astrological signs, but he had casually glanced through the search results with Lin ChuSui earlier, and found little correlation. But holding grudges and being vengeful were definitely strong traits of his.
He picked up the wallet and opened it. Qin Nai's ID, various bank cards, campus card, and cash were all inside.
There was also a photo in the wallet. The girl in the photo had an innocent, tender smile. She was very young then, with straight bangs and long hair, looking well-behaved in a light blue and white summer school uniform, grinning goofily at the camera.
It was probably Lin ChuSui's middle school look.
Seeing the photo, the coldness left Xiao Yan's eyes, replaced by much gentler emotions. He carefully took out the photo and put it in his pocket.
As for the wallet itself, he casually tossed it into the toilet bowl.
...
Xiao Yan returned to his seat. By now the lights outside were coming on, casting the city's beautifully dazzling nightscape through the glass windows.
The girl gazed dreamily at the view, eyes shimmering with the reflections, long lashes fluttering.
Compared to her girlish look in middle school, the Lin ChuSui before him had fully bloomed into maidenhood, losing all traces of youth and gaining an alluring charm.
Feeling Xiao Yan sit back down, Lin ChuSui turned absently, unexpectedly bringing their lips almost together.
It was an extremely thrilling moment, watching his approaching lips stop just a hair's breadth away. Lin ChuSui felt her soul nearly jump out of her body.
Xiao Yan quickly halted his body's forward tilt, and they made fleeting eye contact for a few seconds before tacitly drawing apart.
Xiao Yan continued eating while Lin ChuSui pretended to be engrossed in her phone.
Lu Chengzhe stared at Xiao Yan's hand for a while, then asked, "Bro, why are your hands so long and slender, almost like a woman's?"
Xiao Yan looked at his own hand, then retorted, "Are women's hands better looking than mine?"
"..."
Lu Chengzhe's mouth twitched. As expected, the genius had the same cocky air as when he first introduced himself as "top of the grade."
Truly unforgettable beginnings.
At the same time he said "Are women's hands better looking than mine?", Lin ChuSui promptly hid her pudgy claws under the table.
Right on cue, Lu Chengzhe added, "Most women's hands really can't compare to yours, but our Chu Ge is different. Chu Ge's hands are sturdier than a man's, right?"
Lin ChuSui glared at him. "Weren't you going to eat until you puked? How come you haven't puked yet?"
"Hey, I was complimenting you!"
Seeing Xiao Yan look over, Lin ChuSui resigned herself and sheepishly brought out her hands, holding them up to him.
"You've seen them before, my hands aren't pretty at all, I take after my dad, all chubby."
Xiao Yan looked at the girl's cute chubby claws, and thought of the powerful grip of the man's hands during the fire, pushing him out of the most dangerous area.
Afterwards, in countless dreams Xiao Yan seemed to feel those strong hands at his back, pushing him, pushing him out of the smoke-filled room and into the sunlight that washed over his face, restoring him to life...
Xiao Yan naturally took Lin ChuSui's hands and studied them carefully, his eyes much gentler.
Lin ChuSui asked blankly, "What are you looking at?"
Xiao Yan's fingertips gently flicked her fingers. "Very cute," he said.
Then he let go, restraining himself.
Long after, Lin ChuSui could still feel the lingering warmth he had left on her forefinger.
He touched her hand!
Her ears started burning.
Just then, angry voices carried over from the front desk. "Someone stole my wallet! It must have been one of your staff! I want you to check the surveillance footage right now!"
"Sir, there are no cameras in the bathroom."
"What about outside! There must be cameras out there, right?"
...
Lu Chengzhe and Zhang Chengyu were always up for some excitement. They craned their necks to watch for a while, then whipped back around in shock. "Holy sh*t, that guy is..."
Zhang Chengyu immediately pulled Lu Chengzhe's sleeve. "Hey, let's get out of here. We're all full, right?"
Xu Jianing said, "Didn't you guys order more dishes?"
Zhang Chengyu: "Let's not eat them then, cancel the order."
Lin ChuSui frowned. "That dog Lu Chengzhe still doesn't look full to me. He said he was going to eat until he puked."
Lu Chengzhe's expression had also changed. He rubbed his stomach. "I'm full, let's go."
In fact, Qin Nai had also spotted the unconcerned Xiao Yan eating at the table. He charged over bellowing, "You're still here! It was you! You stole my wallet!"
But when he came stomping murderously over to teach Xiao Yan a lesson, he saw Lin ChuSui sitting next to him.
His surging aggression instantly evaporated, replaced only by shock, and... embarrassment.
Lin ChuSui also hadn't expected that her reunion with her pseudo-boyfriend Qin Nai from over two years ago would happen under these circumstances.
They were only pseudo-boyfriends because at the time, their relationship was ambiguous at best, just teasing from their classmates.
At that time, the two were really well-matched. Lin ChuSui was the class flower with good grades, while Qin Nai was the unconstrained and unruly school bully. The two happened to be deskmates, one loved to provoke while the other loved to get physical.
Over time, their classmates started shipping the two as a couple.
Qin Nai really liked Lin ChuSui, he liked her a lot.
As for Lin ChuSui, she was rather superficial at first and indeed felt that he was handsome. He skipped classes, got into fights, was rebellious and unconstrained, and had a strong personality, so she inevitably had some flutterings in her heart.
Their grade and class publicly recognized their relationship, but to Lin ChuSui, they were far from being a couple, at most just vaguely interested.
After middle school, the two went to different high schools. Before they could get to know each other deeply and develop feelings, this matter reached Lin ChuSui's father's ears.
Lin ChuSui's father was a principled and upright man from a family of scholars. Naturally, he looked down on these juvenile delinquents. No matter how prestigious Qin Nai's family background was, in Old Lin's eyes, someone like Qin Nai was just a hopeless case.
So he strongly opposed Lin ChuSui being with Qin Nai. Father and daughter had the biggest conflict since Lin ChuSui was born because of this matter.
Lin ChuSui felt more wronged.
Because she hadn't even gotten together with Qin Nai yet, but her father was already so agitated, even misunderstanding her, saying that she had learned bad things...
At that time, in her rebelliousness, she had said many hurtful things to her father.
Later, until her father passed away, Lin ChuSui was never able to explain and apologize to him. This became her biggest regret.
Due to her father's passing, Lin ChuSui and Qin Nai inevitably drifted apart.
Now, meeting so suddenly, neither was prepared.
Especially Lin ChuSui, seeing Qin Nai brought back all those bad memories of defying her father.
Almost instantly, her eyes turned red.
Seeing Lin ChuSui like this, Lu Chi muttered in a low voice, "Oh my."
Seeing her like this, she must have "lingering feelings" huh.
Xu Jianing sized up Qin Nai, and objectively commented, "In person he looks less greasy than in his photos."
Just then, a few of Qin Nai's buddies came over, including a girl with bangs who walked over to Qin Nai and clung to his arm intimately.
Lu Chi and Zhang Chengyu whispered, "Damn, this girl, isn't she just a copy of ChuSui's old hairstyle?"
Zhang Chengyu: "In this lifetime I get to see doppelganger this kind of cliché trope happen in real life, the $7.80 I spent on this meal was worth it."
Seeing Qin Nai staring straight at Lin ChuSui, the girl with bangs sized her up and asked, "Nai ge, did you find the little thief who stole your wallet?"
Only then did Qin Nai remember the matter at hand. Very rudely, he questioned Xiao Yan, "Did you steal my wallet?"
Xiao Yan: "I didn't steal it."
"After I left the restroom, my wallet was gone. You were the only one in the restroom then."
Hearing such serious accusations, Lin ChuSui couldn't care less about her father at this moment. She reflexively pulled Xiao Yan behind her to shield him, and said, "Don't falsely accuse people, accusations need evidence."
After so many years, at their reunion, Lin ChuSui actually helped someone else argue against him. Qin Nai had some trouble accepting this for a moment.
"He's my friend, he couldn't have stolen your wallet." Lin ChuSui said very firmly, "You must have made a mistake."
"ChuSui, you know him well?"
"Very well."
Qin Nai looked at Xiao Yan, seeing how Lin ChuSui defended him, he said, "Since you vouch for him, I believe you, but there were very important things in the wallet. You don't mind if I ask him right?"
Xiao Yan knew that the "very important thing" he spoke of was not money or cards, but that photo...
The address "ChuSui" also sounded very unpleasant, provoking a hint of possessiveness in him.
Just as the tense atmosphere was about to dissipate, Xiao Yan suddenly said, "I saw your wallet."
Qin Nai quickly asked, "Where is it?"
"I thought it was trash so I threw it in the toilet."
Such nonchalant words, and the faint provocative tone, angered Qin Nai in an instant.
He rushed forward and threw a punch at Xiao Yan, using great force. Not even Lin ChuSui could stop him.
In a flash, a bruise appeared at the corner of Xiao Yan's mouth, his lip was cut and blood seeped out.
Seeing Xiao Yan get hurt, Lin ChuSui kicked Qin Nai: "Bastard!"
Of course Qin Nai would never have imagined that at their reunion after so many years, his first love would kick him for another man.
Moreover, it was a merciless kick that left his abdomen aching.
He would never lay a hand on Lin ChuSui. He could only retreat two steps, bending over slightly to relieve the pain.
Seeing her boyfriend get hit, the girl with bangs naturally came to defend him, yelling at Lin ChuSui, "Bitch, you dare kick him..."
Before she could finish, Qin Nai backhanded her: "Shut up."
"......"
The girl with bangs felt wronged and angry. She stomped her feet and left.
Qin Nai looked at Lin ChuSui, still wanting to say something.
But Lin ChuSui's eyes were only on Xiao Yan, full of concern, remorse, and distress.
There was no point in making a scene any longer.
Xu Jianing said, "We're done eating, let's go."
Lin ChuSui grabbed her bag with one hand, and Xiao Yan's wrist with the other, and angrily left the restaurant pulling him along.
As Xiao Yan passed by Qin Nai, Qin Nai looked up at him.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, but the corner of his mouth revealed an imperceptible... smile.
Qin Nai suddenly felt that this man had deliberately provoked him just now.
Because the way Lin ChuSui looked at him was now full of utter disgust.
At this moment, Qin Nai felt like he had been framed and schemed by a male green tea, angry yet helpless.
