Chapter 31

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Starting this weekend, the senior class would also have lessons on Saturdays, and school would not let out until half past five in the afternoon.

Lin Sheng waited for Xu Xieyi among the swirling yellow leaves beside the teaching building.

When he was not at work, he dressed casually. He wore a dark-gray hoodie, pure-black trousers, and canvas shoes with crossed white laces.

Leaning idly against the wall, he smoked with practiced ease.

Some people thought Lin Sheng was a good man; others thought he was bad. Whether he was good or bad was not easy to say. Perhaps it was because he possessed that peculiar air—innocent at times, shadowed at others.

At the sound of movement, Lin Sheng turned his head. An autumn leaf happened to drift past his face. His expression was composed, touched with the faint chill of autumn frost.

He saw Xu Xieyi emerge from the school entrance with a classmate, their arms linked. When their eyes met, he smiled slowly.

Xu Xieyi was not nearly so composed. She immediately waved at him with a bright smile. “Brother Lin!”

“Finished school?”

“Mhm, class just ended!”

Because Lin Sheng often came to pick her up, many of her classmates knew about him.

Her classmate leaned close and whispered into her ear, “Your brother’s voice is so magnetic.”

“Oh, you talk too much.”

“I’m serious…”

The two girls tugged at each other, laughing as they walked. Every so often, they glanced at him with flushed cheeks. Lin Sheng lowered his head and exhaled a plume of smoke. Though he could not hear what they were saying, he understood perfectly well.

High school students were still so innocent. Every little emotion was written plainly across their faces.

After waving goodbye to her classmate, Xu Xieyi clutched her schoolbag strap and jogged over.

“Brother Lin, are we going straight to the movie?”

Lin Sheng glanced at his watch. “There’s still more than an hour. Let’s eat first.”

“Mhm!”

Xu Xieyi had always treated him with great respect and impeccable courtesy. Her replies were light yet certain, and she was particularly obedient.

Lin Sheng smiled soundlessly.

At first, he had found her manner charming. Now, however… perhaps it was time she changed it a little.

She did not need to be so reverent all the time, always keeping him at a distance.

“What do you want to eat?”

“I want…” Xu Xieyi stopped herself just before saying “spicy skewers.” “Anything is fine.”

Lin Sheng was such a neat freak. If she suggested spicy skewers, he would certainly take her there—but he definitely would not eat them himself.

“Can you get used to pasta? It’s quick. By the time we finish, it should be about time to go.”

“I’m not picky. Anything is fine,” Xu Xieyi said. “Don’t worry about me, Brother Lin. Eat whatever you want.”

Lin Sheng looked down at her and smiled faintly.

Well, then.

What if he wanted to eat her?

They walked together toward the parking lot. On the way, they ran into Gao Changyang and the dean of discipline. Since the dean was there, Gao Changyang could not linger, so he merely smiled and greeted Lin Sheng.

With the cigarette still between his fingers, Lin Sheng raised his hand in an easy, relaxed gesture. Polite and generous.

When he looked back, he found Xu Xieyi studying him. He could not help laughing. “What are you looking at? Is there something on my face?”

Xu Xieyi hurriedly shook her head and quickened her steps to catch up. A few seconds later, she said, “Brother Lin, that gesture you just made was kind of cool.”

“Oh?” Lin Sheng found it rather amusing. “What was cool about it?”

Xu Xieyi smiled without answering.

How had she never noticed before?

Beneath Brother Lin’s warmth and poise lay a trace of careless arrogance.

Warm on the outside, cold within.

He truly was not easy to get close to.

—

Lin Sheng took her to a restaurant for dinner, then to a newly opened cinema called Sky Lake.

In the past, Xu Xieyi had always gone to the movies with Yang Bingbing and the others.

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A few days beforehand, they would browse group-buying deals together, find the cheapest cinema, buy some popcorn and cola, link arms, and queue up to collect their tickets.

But watching a movie with Lin Sheng this time was… rather different from what she had imagined.

On the way there, Lin Sheng received a phone call from a friend. When they arrived at the cinema, someone came out to receive them.

The man, in his early thirties, knew Lin Sheng.

Xu Xieyi sat beside Lin Sheng, her back straight as a ruler.

The vice president introduced himself as a native of the southern coast who was accustomed to drinking tea. An entire set of expensive tea ware had been arranged on the table. Using tongs and tweezers, he brewed them some fine tea on the spot.

But Lin Sheng was a neat freak. He would not use a communal cup, let alone drink from one, and did not touch the tea at all.

The vice president took out an investment proposal for a New Concept 4D Cinema and kept trying to persuade Lin Sheng to invest. Lin Sheng, however, responded with only mild indifference.

They did not stay long. Before the tea had even cooled, Lin Sheng said it was about time for them to leave and took his leave.

Xu Xieyi quickly rose with him.

The vice president waved cheerfully. “All right, all right. Mr. Lin, we’ll arrange a more detailed discussion next time. I won’t keep you from your date today.”

The remark startled Xu Xieyi. She waited for Lin Sheng to explain, but…

Why was Brother Lin saying nothing?

“What are you thinking about?” Lin Sheng asked, turning back to her.

Xu Xieyi stared blankly and shook her head. “Nothing…”

“Come on. It’s almost time to go in.”

Lin Sheng motioned for her to follow. Xu Xieyi hurried a few steps to his side, and Lin Sheng’s hand naturally settled behind her, hovering around her back as he shielded her from the passing crowd.

Xu Xieyi did not notice his protective gesture. She was still thinking about what had just happened.

So Brother Lin probably had not heard that remark, had he? After all, he had seemed completely uninterested in what the vice president said…

Yes, that had to be the reason.

At the ticket entrance, a young ticket attendant came over especially to deliver popcorn and cola. Their screening room was a VIP theater with two-person sofa seats. There were mothers with daughters and groups of friends, but most of the audience consisted of couples.

At an age like hers, one was always somewhat sensitive about the subject of love. Xu Xieyi looked around several times and happened to see a couple secretly kissing.

“What are you looking at now, little busybody?” Lin Sheng asked, one elbow resting on the armrest as he cast her a sidelong glance.

“Nothing…” She quickly turned her eyes away from the kissing couple.

“Sit down. The movie will start in a few minutes. Where do you want to go afterward?”

“Um… perhaps we should just forget it, Brother Lin. It’ll probably be very late by the time the movie ends.”

Lin Sheng watched her eyes dart about, unable to understand what had suddenly made the girl so bashful and flustered. “All right.”

The moment Xu Xieyi sat down, someone called her name.

“Xuxu?”

She turned at the sound of the voice.

The lights in the theater were still on. In the back row, Class Four’s Shi Xiaofang and her boyfriend happened to be passing by.

They were dressed in matching outfits and holding hands. Shi Xiaofang came from a well-off family, spent money freely, and had a cheerful personality. She had friends in every class.

“Oh, it really is you! I thought I was mistaken.” Shi Xiaofang hugged a bucket of popcorn.

Xu Xieyi smiled and stood up. “You’re watching a movie too?”

“Mhm, what a coincidence!” Shi Xiaofang hugged the arm of the boy beside her with a sugary smile. Her boyfriend was a student at Jiaotong University and looked somewhat more mature than a high school boy.

Then both of them noticed Lin Sheng.

Shi Xiaofang blinked. “Oh? Is he your boyfriend?”

Xu Xieyi jumped and hurriedly waved her hands. “No, no!”

Shi Xiaofang wore an utterly disbelieving smile.

Xu Xieyi was about to continue explaining when Lin Sheng had already risen. Without offering any explanation, he extended his hand toward the boy.

“Hello. I’m Lin Sheng.”

The young man looked flattered and hastily reached out—only to extend the wrong hand. He quickly switched to his right. “H-hello. My name is Tan Kai…”

At that moment, the lights in the theater went out. They exchanged only a few brief words before Shi Xiaofang and Tan Kai walked toward their seats, speaking in lowered voices.

“Your classmate’s boyfriend speaks so maturely. He must already be working, right?”

“What boyfriend? Xuxu said he was her brother.”

Tan Kai sounded unconvinced. “You believe her just because she said so?”

“Then he isn’t?”

“That man definitely likes her.”

“How can you tell?”

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“Instinct…”

Shi Xiaofang rolled her eyes.

Xu Xieyi had always been well-behaved and proper. Shi Xiaofang could believe her dating a boy from their class, but a grown man already out in society…

Impossible. It was definitely impossible!

“You shut-in types should watch fewer of those weird island cartoons, all right? Xuxu is very innocent.”

“I’m serious.”

Tan Kai thought back over Lin Sheng’s clothes and appearance.

“Just look at his watch. He’s obviously rich. And he was wearing cologne. Why would a man like that come to the movies with a student for no reason?”

He said, “Either he likes her, or he wants to sleep with her!”

—

The theater gradually fell silent. After the advertisements and several trailers, the movie began.

It was a romance film starring a popular young actress opposite the fresh-faced heartthrob and visual centerpiece of a famous idol group. Everyone on-screen had been heavily beautified.

Lin Sheng propped his head lazily against the armrest. After watching the opening, he decided it was probably going to be a long and predictable movie.

But when he glanced to the side, the girl’s reaction was clearly the opposite.

Xu Xieyi was completely absorbed, her face alight with excitement.

Seeing how much she enjoyed it, Lin Sheng patiently watched for a while longer, trying to understand what exactly young girls found appealing.

On the enormous screen, the fresh-faced male lead, dressed in an especially Korean-inspired style, was singing rock music. Black leather jacket, black leather trousers. A little wicked, a little cool.

Lin Sheng examined him carefully.

The young actor had chosen rather unflattering shades for his eyebrow powder and lipstick, and the implant in his nose was slightly visible beneath the light. Everything else was passable.

Overall…

His taste was somewhat lacking.

Lin Sheng simply could not bring himself to like either the film or its characters.

It was not until halfway through the movie that Xu Xieyi briefly emerged from her infatuation with the idol and remembered that Lin Sheng was sitting beside her.

She cast him a glance and blinked in surprise.

“Brother Lin actually fell asleep…”

The shifting light from the screen played across Lin Sheng’s face, casting his features in alternating brightness and shadow. His eyelashes were thick and dark.

Xu Xieyi blinked.

Lin Sheng’s sleeping face was tranquil, his features striking and finely sculpted.

If one set aside his tall, sturdy build, those features would be beautiful even on a woman, would they not?

Afraid he might catch cold, Xu Xieyi removed the scarf from around her neck, unfolded it, and gently draped it over him. Her movements were soft and nimble, careful not to wake him.

She still remembered how badly Lin Sheng suffered whenever he caught a cold.

Her delicate Brother Lin.

Lin Sheng dozed lightly for a while, then awoke to someone nearby exclaiming, “Wow, that’s intense!”

The first thing he saw was the pink plaid scarf covering him. Then he slowly lifted his languid gaze.

On the screen, an erotic scene was unfolding. The male and female leads had shed part of their clothes. It was not particularly revealing, but their movements were unmistakably suggestive.

Xu Xieyi glanced at the screen, then looked away in every direction, her face growing warm. She was too embarrassed to watch.

Lin Sheng stole a glance and could not help smiling.

“Xieyi.”

Xu Xieyi jumped and lowered her voice. “You’re awake?”

“Mhm…”

Lin Sheng took the scarf from around her neck and pulled it up over her eyes.

Xu Xieyi was bewildered. “What’s wrong, Brother Lin?”

“Shh…” Lin Sheng pressed his index finger against her lips. “Don’t speak.”

Only after more than ten seconds did Lin Sheng lower the scarf.