On a rural path, an old bus travels through the misty drizzle. A young man, wearing headphones, closed his eyes to relax, but his thoughts were interrupted by a message tone.
Floating Cotton Candy: “Xu Lin, didn’t you say your English isn’t that good? I can come to your place and tutor you.”
Don’t Call Me Dalin (Great Lin): “I’m visiting my hometown today, checking on my grandparents.”
Floating Cotton Candy: “Not coming back today?”
Don’t Call Me Dalin: “Hmm, are you missing me?”
“Who misses you?! But after returning to school this weekend, there’s a test at the end of the month. Are you confident?”
“You can tutor me in English. If I’m not distracted by your charm, it should be fine.”
“Smooth talker. By the way, did you upset Teacher Su?”
Suddenly changing the topic, Xu Lin squinted his eyes. Ma Zhiyu and Li Bin actually betrayed him, revealing everything.
“How do you know?”“Never mind that. Please apologise to Teacher Su when you return to school. While your intentions were good, you were too impulsive.”
“I understand.”
“What do you understand? If you really understood, you wouldn’t have acted like that.”
“I get it. Although my actions spared Teacher Su from forcing herself, they also made her uncomfortable. With so many people around, it might create problems with her parents.”
“You know then why did you still do it, making her angry…?”
Ji Yun, on the other end, also voiced her question. After receiving the news from Li Bin this morning, she was initially angry.
As a high school student, meddling in an adult’s affairs, not to mention messing with a teacher’s emotions, brings a lot of pressure for the teacher. Facing the dual pressures from both families, she would end up with a bad reputation—having a boyfriend and still going on blind dates.
She thought Xu Lin meddled in their matter without thinking about the consequences. But he actually claimed to know the consequences of his actions, making her curious.
“Because enduring a long pain is not as good as enduring a short one.”
“What? Just because of this?”
“Yes, just because of this.”
Ji Yun furrowed her brows and sent a few more WeChat messages, but Xu Lin didn’t continue to respond.
She stared at the chat box, lost in thought.
Meanwhile, Xu Lin took a deep breath. His previous answer was genuine—enduring short-term pain over prolonged suffering.
Of course, there was another reason: he wanted to save Su Qingwan.
Recalling Su Qingwan’s bleak future, last time he remembered, her fate didn’t look promising. Though the cause of her death was a shooting incident, the root was going abroad. But what was the reason behind her going abroad?
Before doing what he did yesterday, he recalled the reason for Teacher Su’s resignation: engagement, subsequent marriage, and then divorce upon moving abroad.
The divorce was due to domestic violence. Although he had never seen Teacher Su’s ex-husband, he got some information at a later class reunion.
The husband was a bespectacled guy, and the reason for the divorce was incompatible emotions and domestic violence.
Seeing his appearance, Xu Lin confirmed he was the abusive man. In his life, he detested nothing more than domestic violence and arranged marriages!
So, without much preparation, he acted impulsively. While he indeed acted recklessly, the results were satisfactory.
He didn’t care about the consequences. Even if Su Qingwan was angry with him, even if others said he was just a hot-blooded, jealous young man, it didn’t matter. As long as she survived, it was good enough.
Their futures having no intersection also didn’t matter; that’s how it was originally. But he could save a life.
Of course, this was his assumption. Maybe Su Qingwan pretended not to like it on the surface but actually enjoyed it.
So, he did what he wanted to do, that’s all!
“Everyone, we’ve reached Qinglong West Village. If you’re getting off, please prepare to do so.”
Upon hearing the plain announcement, he started putting away his headphones, took out his umbrella from the backpack, and prepared to get off. His hometown had arrived—Qinglong West Village.
Two or three minutes later, the bus stopped, and not many people got off.
This bus went from the city to Linnong Town, so most passengers were headed there, with a few stops in between.
As the door opened, a sudden chill rushed into his neck. He tightened his scarf, got off the bus, and casually opened his umbrella.Behind him, two uncles carrying large and small bags also got off the bus and walked towards the village.
As he followed downhill into the village, he heard a click from behind.
Turning back, he noticed a familiar figure trying to get off the bus, struggling with a large suitcase on the steps.
No one on the bus could help because the suitcase was stuck on the descending steps, making it difficult for people to reach over.
He put down his umbrella, grabbed the suitcase, and helped lift it.
It was heavy! He was stunned; this could be embarrassing!
But the next moment, he directly opened the system with his mind. In less than two seconds, he quickly bought the short-term body-strength card that was about to refresh tomorrow. Instantly, he felt empowered again!
With a swift pull, he effortlessly lifted the suitcase with one hand and placed it on the ground.
The person quickly got off the bus, nodded slightly in his direction, and thanked him in a slightly hoarse voice.
“It’s nothing; we’re fellow villagers,” he casually said, facing her directly for the first time.
He had noticed her at the station because, even though she wore a mask and a hat, her outfit and style looked fashionable and expensive.
On the surface, it seemed like a combination of a shirt, a loose grey trench coat, and ordinary black wide-leg pants.
But he had just seen this trench coat online yesterday, priced at $50,000. He suddenly felt that his previous $5 million from his past life was too little; it almost made him want to start earning money.
Now facing her directly, even though her face was partially obscured, the upper half was still beautiful.
According to his speculation, the system might be LSP like him, and perhaps it would meet the system’s requirements.
However, he wasn’t a rogue and couldn’t just go up and touch someone directly. So, he smiled somewhat naively, picked up his umbrella, and handed it over.
“You don’t have an umbrella? Take mine.”
“No, it’s okay… cough!”
She waved her hand, and Xu Lin noticed the needle marks on her hand, some with just one dot and others with a hint of red, indicating recent scabs.
“I’ll hold the umbrella for you. Where are you going?”
Xu Lin put away his smile, became serious, lifted her suitcase with one hand, and held the umbrella over her head with the other.”Not necessary; it’s troublesome.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
At this moment, Xu Lin genuinely wanted to help her, not for any favorability points, as the other person seemed physically weak.
Coincidentally, an hour of enhanced physical fitness would go to waste if not used, so it might as well help thoroughly.
Seeing Xu Lin’s insistence, the other person’s crimson-red eyes eased slightly.
“Then, thank you. But don’t get wet. We can share the umbrella.”
“No, what if I’m a bad person? Besides, just this suitcase alone is worth 10,000 yuan.”
“Bad person… I’ve seen enough bad people. It doesn’t matter anymore.”
She spoke with a hoarse voice, as if many stories were hidden in that hoarseness.
“No, I really am a bad person!”
He handed the umbrella directly to her, carried the suitcase, and walked ahead into the drizzle.
The slightly cold wind continued to blow, hitting his slender figure. The fine rain scattered like needles on his inexperienced face.
Despite the rainy day, he felt like the weather was surprisingly nice today!
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