Chapter 44

The winter night was quiet; occasionally, the sound of Xiao Hei sneezing in his doghouse downstairs could be heard.

Under the desk lamp, Lin Sheng was tutoring Xu Xieyi.

He spoke even less than usual.

Nearly all the while, he kept his eyes lowered to the pages, seldom looking at her, never saying one word more than necessary.

Xu Xieyi was considerate and did not trouble him at all. When she encountered something she didn’t understand, she silently pondered it herself, not daring to ask.

Lin Sheng suddenly turned cold, just like when they first met—seemingly calm and gentle, neither too close nor too distant, but always maintaining a safe distance.

It was as if she could see him clearly, yet could not touch him at all.

“All done. Go to bed early,” Lin Sheng said, standing up and slipping his hands into the pockets of his casual pants.

Seeing him about to leave, Xu Xieyi quickly stood as well, adopting a respectful posture. “Alright. Brother Lin, you should rest early too.”

She was more polite than usual. Lin Sheng glanced down at her, his eyes unreadable.

Finally, he gave a faint smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Mm.”

The faint scent left the room, and the breath Xu Xieyi had been holding in her chest relaxed with her shoulders.

She slipped on her slippers and went to the door to look outside.

Lin Sheng did not return to his room but went downstairs instead.

—It was already so late. Was he really going out?

A vague melancholy stirred in her heart. Absentmindedly, Xu Xieyi went to the wardrobe to change into her raccoon-print pajamas, loosened her ponytail, and let her soft, smooth hair cascade over her shoulders.

She stood by the window for a while. Sure enough, Lin Sheng’s car drove out of the yard.

“Brother Lin…”

Where was he going?

Who was he going to see?

Xu Xieyi leaned against the window for a moment, still unaware of Lin Sheng’s affairs.

His world felt lofty and distant; she had to stand on tiptoe just to glimpse it, and even then, only barely.

—

She had school early the next day and dared not delay. When Du Juan came to check on her, reminding her to stop studying and go to sleep, she hurriedly washed up and went to bed.

No one in the family seemed to pay attention to what Lin Sheng was doing, not even Du Juan.

Lying in bed, Xu Xieyi nestled into her pillow and flipped through her phone.

There was a message in the class group chat on QQ. She glanced at it.

Lately, the active members in the chat often mentioned Xu Muzhou. In their ordinary class, a boy like Xu Muzhou—handsome, tall, and decent in grades—was considered a prime catch, naturally drawing classmates’ attention. Occasionally, one or two girls from other classes would show up at the back door just to see him.

Xu Xieyi skimmed the messages but felt strangely distracted, thinking of Lin Sheng’s deep silence on the way home.

The room was dim.

She tossed and turned for a while, lay on her side quietly for two minutes, then opened her eyes and quietly got out of bed to stand by the window.

She pushed open the glass window, and the air that rushed in carried the chill of early winter.

Xu Xieyi immediately shivered, tucking her neck in sharply.

—

The yard was empty, and no cars were on the community road.

After such a short while, even a fool could guess that Lin Sheng wouldn’t return so soon.

“Brother Lin… why exactly are you upset?”

Her intuition said it might be related to her, but she couldn’t find a reason.

She had always been polite and diligent at the Lin household. She couldn’t think of anything she’d done wrong.

—

“Ah Sheng, aren’t you picking up your little darling today?” Chu Yuefei turned from the bar counter, just catching sight of a man approaching through the shifting lights—wearing a black coat, tall, with a distinctly cold expression.

Sensing something was off, Chu Yuefei raised an eyebrow and signaled to the bartender, “One Negroni, please.”

Lin Sheng sat down without lifting his eyelids. “Your English is just enough to order drinks,” he said.

Beside him, Chen Xia, expressionless, shrugged helplessly when Chu Yuefei looked to him for support.

Chu Yuefei turned back. “Brother Sheng, this all comes down to you. You’ve been copying my English homework since we were kids and never really studied properly.”

The waiter handed the prepared Negroni to Lin Sheng. Seeing the man’s slender face and the bit of clean white shirt visible at his neck, looking refined and delicate, the waiter carefully warned, “Sir, this drink is quite strong.”

Lin Sheng picked up the glass with slender fingers and glanced at the waiter. “Thank you.”

Then, under the watchful eyes of Chu Yuefei and Chen Xia, he tilted his head back and took a sip. The way he drank showed he was accustomed to alcohol.

The waiter was surprised but quietly left.

Chen Xia suddenly commented, “Not in a good mood.”

“What’s wrong, Ah Sheng?” Chu Yuefei dropped his playful tone.

“Nothing. You guys carry on, no need to mind me.”

Soon, Xiao Yufeng arrived, and the four men were all together.

They had grown up playing together; Lin Sheng had always been the quiet one, calmly beside them while they made noise. But that didn’t mean he lacked presence. His naturally deep and imposing aura made him stand out all the more.

After watching him for a while, a woman in a black short skirt finally decided to make a move. She came over and sat close to Lin Sheng at the bar.

With finely done eye makeup, she glanced sideways at him, elbow on the counter, shaking a glass in her hand. “Handsome, why so unhappy?”

Lin Sheng glanced at her.

She asked again, “What’s your name?”

After a long silence, she grew a little embarrassed. Chu Yuefei came to the rescue, “Young Master Lin.”

“Lin? What a nice surname,” she whispered with a cute smile, “And you’re good-looking too.”

Chu Yuefei raised an eyebrow, exchanged a look with Chen Xia and Xiao Yufeng, and saw that the woman was clearly interested in Lin Sheng.

This bar wasn’t cheap. Judging by her clothes and boldness, she probably came from a well-off family.

“What do you do for work, handsome? You smell so clean.” She leaned in slightly, sniffing, “There’s a hint of smoke.”

She looked surprised, covering her mouth to giggle, “So refined, and you smoke?”

Lin Sheng seemed not to hear her, staring at his glass and occasionally taking a sip.

Chu Yuefei shook his head, sighing. When Lin Sheng ignored someone, even if you stripped right in front of him, he wouldn’t see it. That’s just how arrogant he was.

—

Seeing how things were going, the guys knew this girl had no chance.

Lin Sheng didn’t react. The woman, seemingly unwilling to give up, tapped his arm with her red-polished finger, surprised. “Wow, handsome, you’re quite something.”

Lin Sheng gently put down his glass and gave her a casual look. “Take your hand off.”

“Huh?”

“Hand. Take it off me.”

The woman was stunned, as if never having encountered such a response. In all their talking, this was the first time she saw his face clearly.

He was stunning, but his furrowed brow clearly showed his disdain for her.

The momentary awe made her instinctively withdraw her hand, but then she grew annoyed and stood up. “If you’re so cold, why come to a bar? Go find a girl at the hotel instead!”

The woman stomped away, eyes red with anger. Chu Yuefei leaned in and said, “Brother Sheng, you’re so ascetic… Your little sister-in-law’s still so young. You really just rely on your hands?”

Lin Sheng shot him a glance. “A girl who’s only seventeen or eighteen, and you say that?”

Chu Yuefei was a bit taken aback. “Well, calling her by name isn’t quite right either. It’s okay to do it in front of her, but not behind her back.”

Though Xu Xieyi didn’t know, everyone else understood. Lin Sheng had already introduced her to his friends, clearly acknowledging her as his. Probably because she hadn’t graduated from high school yet, he wanted to wait until she was older.

No one doubted Lin Sheng’s charm. If he wanted to pursue someone, he would surely succeed. Especially since she was so inexperienced in romance, it was even easier.

So everyone already regarded Xu Xieyi as Lin Sheng’s girlfriend.

Chu Yuefei asked, “Having trouble with little sister-in-law?”

Lin Sheng didn’t reply immediately. After a long pause, he said, “Call her by name.”

Something must have happened, but Chu Yuefei didn’t press. Having grown up together, he knew Lin Sheng’s character well. He never talked about what troubled him—proud and aloof.

“To be honest, Ah Sheng, I’ve rarely seen you care so much about anyone all these years. But really, it’s not worth it.”

Chu Yuefei shook his glass and glanced sideways. “Xieyi is still so young and doesn’t really understand. Plus, your feelings aren’t equal.”

He looked like an experienced player, sighing, “At that age, love is just child’s play—arguing, breaking up when annoyed. Honestly, even if you were together, the weight of your feelings wouldn’t match. Giving your heart to a child is no different from playing house with her.”

Chen Xia chimed in, “Maybe you’re used to wasting other people’s feelings, now you want to try being the one wasted.”

Lin Sheng flicked a drop of water off his glass and said with an unreadable gaze, “Waste it, I’m willing.”

They exchanged a few words but didn’t make much noise. Lin Sheng rarely spoke about his thoughts.

He had been clever since childhood and probably felt his brothers didn’t match his intelligence. He made all his own decisions and never confided in others.

Close to midnight, after finishing his drinks, Lin Sheng checked his watch and stood, grabbing his coat.

“Leaving already, Ah Sheng?”

“Mm, got something early tomorrow.”

“What’s the matter?”

Straightening his coat and tucking it under his arm, Lin Sheng raised his long, thick eyelashes and tugged at the corner of his lips. “Taking a woman to school.”