Chapter 30

“Oh? What do you mean, ‘oh’? I’m talking to you, did you hear me? Hello?!”

The voice on the other end of the phone was aggressive. “I’m warning you! Don’t get involved with Ying Nian! She’s young and naive. You’re not exactly young anymore, and she…”

“Captain?”

Ying Nian suddenly returned to her seat, noticing that Yu Linran was holding her phone, listening to something, and his expression was far from pleasant—in fact, there was a rare hint of displeasure on his face.

The loud, obnoxious voice in his ear was annoying. Yu Linran simply put the phone down and pushed it toward her. “You had a call. It kept ringing, so I answered it for you.”

“Who called?”

Yu Linran tilted his chin slightly, gesturing for her to check it herself.

“I told him to call back later, but—”

Ying Nian glanced at the screen and saw Jiang Jiashu’s name. Thinking it probably wasn’t anything urgent, she sat down slowly, picking up the phone as she responded, “But what?”

“But, he seems to know who I am,” Yu Linran said.

Ying Nian froze for a moment, exchanged a look with Yu Linran, and then put the phone to her ear. “Hello?”

“Don’t think that she…” Jiang Jiashu’s voice suddenly stopped, realizing it was her. “Ying Nian?”

“What is it? Do you need something?”

His voice was so loud it nearly made her ear ring. “Are you with Yu Linran? Why are you hanging out with him? Weren’t you supposed to just watch the match? If you’re watching the match, fine, but now that it’s over, why aren’t you back resting? Why are you with—”

Jiang Jiashu was really loud and nagging. After listening to him for a while, Ying Nian figured out he wasn’t calling for anything important.

“I’m having dinner, so I can’t talk right now. Why don’t you just text me on WeChat? It’s not convenient for me to stay on the phone. Or, we can talk in person when I get back!”

Not giving Jiang Jiashu any more time to ramble, Ying Nian quickly hung up the phone.

Just as she set her phone down, the waiter arrived, bringing the first dish to the table. Yu Linran wiped his chopsticks with a wet napkin and asked casually, “Boyfriend?”

Ying Nian was in the middle of drinking water, and with a sudden “pfft,” she nearly choked.

She hastily wiped her mouth, and waved her hand to explain, “No, no, no!”

Yu Linran barely lifted his eyelids, and picked up food with his chopsticks. It seemed like he was watching her—or maybe not.

Ying Nian’s heart was filled with anxiety.

Given Yu Linran’s strict expectations of his fans—study hard, and no fighting—if he misunderstood and thought she was dating early, she’d probably be in for quite a lecture. Even if he didn’t say anything, it would likely affect how he viewed her.

She couldn’t let him get the wrong idea! After all, she was the best student in the world!

While she was mentally reminding herself of this, Ying Nian couldn’t help but grumble a little inside. Sometimes, she really couldn’t figure out if the person she admired was an esports player or some kind of school dean.

“High school students dating early affects their studies.” As expected, Yu “Dean” Linran started lecturing her. His tone didn’t give much away, but every word hit Ying Nian like a wake-up call.

“No, no! Really, there’s no such thing! I’m not dating!” Ying Nian nearly raised her hand to swear an oath. “That guy wasn’t my boyfriend—he’s my brother! Really, he’s my brother!”

Yu Linran glanced at her. “Your brother knows me?”

“Yes,” Ying Nian nodded vigorously. “He knows I like SF and that I often come to watch the matches. In fact, the first time I watched a match, he came with me!”

“So, your brother doesn’t like me much?” Yu Linran asked again.

Ying Nian was a bit confused, not knowing what had been said earlier. “What did he say to you? Captain, did he say something rude? Don’t listen to him! I’ll make sure to give him a good scolding when I get back!”

Yu Linran smiled faintly, though the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “He said I should stay away from you.”

“…” Ying Nian’s eyes widened in shock. Damn it, Jiang Jiashu! How dare he say something like that!!

“Captain, just ignore him! Seriously, my brother can be a bit odd sometimes. He always thinks he’s handsome and can’t stand when someone else looks better than him, so don’t take it to heart!”

Ying Nian explained, even throwing out a firm promise: “I absolutely am not dating, and I definitely won’t date early! Before I graduate high school, I won’t be in a relationship, I swear! If you don’t believe me, you can supervise me. I’ll focus solely on my studies, and I won’t think about anything else! I’ll be completely dedicated to studying and improving every day!”

She put in one hundred percent effort to be the perfect, devoted… no, not daughter, but fan! She was determined not to let him down with the expectations he had for his fans.

Ying Nian spoke with full confidence, fully believing in her own determination. Yu Linran didn’t like fans who didn’t prioritize their education, so she wanted to show him how well-behaved she was.

She eagerly awaited his reaction, but to her disappointment, Yu Linran didn’t seem particularly pleased. His face remained expressionless, without even a hint of extra emotion.

“Mm.” After a long moment, Yu Linran finally responded with a faint acknowledgment.

Ying Nian blinked, completely at a loss for what else to say. Why wasn’t he pleased? Was her promise not strong enough??

She felt utterly helpless.

Yu “Dean” Linran was really hard to please!

…

The dinner with Yu Linran was neither particularly joyful nor unpleasant. With Jiang Jiashu’s interruption, the atmosphere in the latter half of the meal became inexplicably awkward.

Yu Linran didn’t talk much, and Ying Nian, afraid of saying the wrong thing, didn’t dare to speak either. The two barely exchanged any words but did manage to have a proper, serious meal.

After leaving the restaurant, they took a walk to digest their food. Yu Linran didn’t mention going back, and Ying Nian didn’t bring it up either, so they walked side by side.

“The food at that place was pretty good.”

“Mm.”

“Have you eaten there before, Captain?”

“No.”

“Today was your first time?”

“Mm.”

“…”

After a brief pause, Ying Nian tried to start another conversation. “Hey, Captain! When you’re not competing or training, do you play other games?”

“Like what?”

“Other fighting games, or maybe different competitive games?”

“I don’t.”

“Not even a single one?”

“Not a single one.”

“…” Then why ask for examples?? You could’ve just said you don’t play anything and saved us both some time!

Ying Nian tried to chat with Yu Linran, but he seemed uninterested. She attempted several topics, all of which fell flat.

After a moment of silence, Ying Nian couldn’t hold back anymore and steered the conversation toward the present situation. “Captain, why did you suddenly decide to have dinner with me tonight?”

It didn’t seem like something he would typically do.

There was a brief pause between them, the cool night breeze carrying Yu Linran’s response as his gaze briefly shifted toward her. “No reason.”

Ying Nian parted her lips, but no words came out. There was nothing left to say.

After walking for two blocks, Yu Linran asked, “Where are you staying?”

“Let me check…” Ying Nian took out her phone to look up the information. She had checked in at the hotel earlier in the day but couldn’t remember the exact details. After confirming, she told him the hotel’s name and address.

“Let’s go.” Yu Linran nodded, not saying much more, and led her toward the street.

Although Ying Nian secretly wanted to spend more time with him, Yu Linran was already hailing a cab by the roadside, leaving her with no choice but to follow.

On the way back to the hotel, they didn’t talk much.

Ying Nian felt unsettled. What was supposed to be a pleasant dinner hadn’t gone as she expected, and the more she thought about it, the more frustrated she felt.

She lost in her thoughts, and it wasn’t long before the car arrived at her hotel. Yu Linran got out of the car with her.

“I can go up by myself, Captain, you can head back,” Ying Nian said reluctantly as she stood by the roadside to say goodbye. It wouldn’t be appropriate for him to walk her inside; she knew where to draw the line.

Yu Linran looked at her for a couple of seconds before reaching into his pocket and pulling something out.

“Apply a little before bed.”

Ying Nian took it, and stunned. “This is…”

“It’s especially effective for scars. In two days, the mark will be completely gone.” His gaze, as light as a feather, softly brushed over the faint scar beneath her eye.

“Captain, did you… buy this just for me?” Ying Nian held the ointment, and her eyes lingering on the packaging, unwilling to look away.

Yu Linran’s gaze shifted slightly, avoiding her as if his focus dissolved into the air, his words calm and untraceable. “I picked it up while passing by a pharmacy.”

Ying Nian pouted, and sneaked a glance at him. She responded with an “Oh,” but deep down, she didn’t quite believe him.

A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

This guy—his words might be tough, but… his heart seems pretty soft, doesn’t it?

…

After returning to her hotel room with the ointment Yu Linran had given her, Ying Nian couldn’t stop smiling. As soon as she stepped inside the hotel, Yu Linran had already caught a cab and left. Now, lying on the soft, plush bed, she rolled around, staring at the ointment in her hands, giggling softly, not wanting to even open it.

Aside from his autograph, this was the first thing Yu Linran had ever given her.

Ying Nian smiled like a blooming flower, lying on her back on the bed, grinning at the ointment for what seemed like forever, then hugging it tightly to her chest.

Her heart was filled with warmth. There were many moments in life that felt happy and fulfilling, and this was definitely one of them.

Suddenly, Ying Nian felt the urge to post something to commemorate the occasion. With this thought in mind, she immediately set to work. After carefully placing the ointment in her bag like a treasure, she flipped over, picked up her phone, and began editing a post in her WeChat Moments.

After typing out a line of what she wanted to say, Ying Nian thought it over and decided to block Yu Linran from seeing it in her WeChat Moments—just in case he saw it and she got too embarrassed.

Suddenly, a call came in.

Jiang Jiashu.

She hadn’t even settled the score with him for what happened earlier at dinner, and now he had the nerve to call her!

Ying Nian answered the call and immediately began scolding him.

Jiang Jiashu didn’t even have time to spew any of his usual nonsense before he was thoroughly reprimanded by Ying Nian. And just like that, the call was hung up.

The phone screen returned to the post-editing interface, and Ying Nian huffed before tapping the screen and sending out her post.

What she had typed was:

【You’re so, so good. I want to hold up the most beautiful light sign in the world for you.】

…

After finishing her shower and getting ready for bed, Ying Nian glanced at her phone and noticed a message from Yu Linran.

He had written:

[Forget the flashy light signs.]

[A simple glow stick will do.]

Ying Nian froze. She immediately opened her Moments to check the post she had shared earlier.

As expected—she had forgotten to set the privacy settings to block Yu Linran!

It was all Jiang Jiashu’s fault for interrupting with that call!

Now, those cringy, sentimental words had been seen by Yu Linran! What if he thought she had posted it specifically for him to see?

Her face flushed red as she buried herself in the bed, not moving for a long time.

After a while, still with a slightly red face, Ying Nian finally responded to Yu Linran with a simple, […]

Ying Nian couldn’t think of anything more to say. After sending the ellipsis, she pretended she had fallen asleep, hoping to avoid dealing with this embarrassing little mishap.

But no matter how much she tossed and turned, she couldn’t fall asleep.

After staring at the ceiling for what felt like ages, she suddenly flipped over and grabbed her phone again.

This time, she didn’t message Yu Linran. Instead, gathering her courage, she posted another update to her Moments.

Again, just a single line—

【Alright. I will forever wave my glow stick for you.】

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