Chapter 53: A Chance Encounter

The Lin family, consisting of Lin Fu, Mao Qianwei, and Lin Cheng, were guided by a waiter to a table for four. Lin Fu was holding the menu, inquiring and ordering dishes, while Lin Cheng, already seated, found his gaze wandering past the elderly couple at the adjacent table, resting on a family of three by the window. His heart sighed: What a beautiful sight! Although her profile was mostly hidden by her long hair, her arms, exposed by her sleeveless dress, were as fair and smooth as lotus roots, and her legs, visible beneath her short skirt, were slender and rounded, hinting at her youthful beauty.

Curiosity, as they say, killed the cat, and Lin Cheng was no exception. He became increasingly eager to see the girl’s full face. It was a natural curiosity, much like wanting to see the upper half of a face when only the lower half is visible, or wanting to see the front of someone when you’ve only seen their alluring back.

Strangely, the girl kept her head down the entire time, or looked out the window, never turning to face him. Lin Cheng patiently watched for a long time, but the girl’s face never turned his way, leaving his mind restless and irritable. Finally, unable to bear the anticipation, he excused himself to use the restroom and intentionally went outside to try and catch a glimpse of the girl through the window. Unfortunately, the girl seemed to sense his intentions and turned her face away from the window again.

The girl’s behavior was unusual, and Lin Cheng couldn’t help but suspect something was amiss. Most young men might have let their curiosity fade, moving on to other thoughts. After all, there are many beautiful girls in the world, and missing out on one wouldn’t be a great loss. But Lin Cheng was different; he had a strong desire for control, and the more he couldn’t have something, the more he craved it. Moreover, his instincts told him that the girl might recognize him, which was why she was avoiding him so deliberately?

Determined, Lin Cheng returned to the restaurant and approached the table where Lin Duo was sitting. With a forced smile, he greeted the adults: ‘Uncle, Auntie, I hope you don’t mind me interrupting, but I believe your daughter is an old classmate of mine.’

In fact, the Yue couple had also noticed Lin Duo’s unusual behavior, but they hadn’t thought much of it. Lin Cheng’s tall and sunny appearance, coupled with his politeness, left a good first impression. Wu Bijuan, too, seemed impressed, nudging Lin Duo, who was looking at her phone: ‘Honey, look up and see if this is your classmate.’

Lin Duo knew she couldn’t avoid it any longer. She took a deep breath, used her slender fingers to adjust her bangs, and then looked up, speaking in the clearest voice she could muster: ‘Classmate, you must be mistaken. I don’t think I’ve seen you before.’

When Lin Cheng finally saw Lin Duo’s face, his eyes lit up: What a beautiful girl! Her long, silky black hair, her delicate arched eyebrows, her bright, clear eyes like lake water, her small, perfect nose, her luscious lips like ripe strawberries, and her flawless, porcelain skin made her an exquisite beauty. Of course, there were a few drawbacks: her chest was flat, with almost no curves, and she was a bit short, around 160 cm. But considering she looked to be only 15 or 16, her potential for development was great.

However, Lin Cheng was observant and quickly noticed some strange things: Why did the girl’s eyes dart around, refusing to meet his gaze? And why was there a fine sheen of sweat on her forehead? Although it was hot outside, the restaurant had air conditioning. And while the girl’s face was beautiful, why did it seem so familiar?

Yue Renhui noticed the young man staring intently at his daughter and felt a pang of displeasure. He cleared his throat: ‘It seems you’ve made a mistake. She probably just resembles your classmate.’

‘Maybe,’ Lin Cheng said, still unable to shake his suspicion, ‘but I still feel like I’ve seen her before somewhere.’

Lin Duo felt a chill run down her spine. After all, they had been apart for only a year and a half, but they had lived together for 14 years under the same roof. Such familiarity couldn’t be easily disguised, even with a change in identity and gender. But Lin Duo was afraid to speak up, fearing it would only arouse more suspicion. If her biological parents joined them, the situation would become even more complicated.

Fortunately, Lin Fu was a bit tired from the morning’s activities and didn’t plan to get up. Instead, he called out loudly from his seat: ‘You little rascal, the food’s here! Come eat!’

Lin Cheng, despite his gruff nature, dared not disobey. He offered a sheepish smile to the Yue couple, apologized, and returned to his seat, but he couldn’t help but say: ‘Dad, Mom, look at that girl over there. She seems familiar.’

‘You little rascal, don’t go chasing after every pretty girl you see,’ Lin Fu said, ignoring Lin Cheng and taking a large swig of his drink.

Mao Qianwei, however, couldn’t help but glance over at Lin Duo: ‘You know, I feel like I’ve seen that girl before, but I can’t quite place it.’

Lin Fu wasn’t convinced: ‘You two are overthinking it. We’re in Lake City, thousands of kilometers from home. What are the chances of running into someone we know?’

Just then, Lin Duo’s group began to settle their bill, as they had arrived much earlier. Seeing that Lin Duo was almost at the door, Lin Cheng couldn’t resist his curiosity and decided to follow her to ask a few more questions and get another look at this suspicious and beautiful girl. But Lin Fu’s hand gripped him like a vice: ‘You little rascal, we didn’t bring you all this way to chase girls! Although you did well on your entrance exams and got into the best high school in our city, our province is a major exam area with over 500,000 students each year. If you don’t work hard, you won’t stand a chance. If you don’t get into a top university, I’ll break your leg and send you back to retake the exams!’

‘Maybe I’m just overthinking it…’ Lin Cheng muttered as he watched the girl disappear into the distance.

It wasn’t surprising that the family didn’t recognize Lin Duo. Their memory of ‘Lin Duo’ was of a typical boy, only somewhat pretty. But now, after 16 months of living apart, and still in the midst of puberty, Lin Duo had undergone significant changes in height, build, and appearance. Add to that her long hair and a light summer dress, and no one would associate her with the word ‘boy.’ That’s why, despite feeling a vague sense of familiarity, Lin Cheng still saw the current Lin Duo as a girl, and naturally, he didn’t connect her to the boy he once knew.

After leaving the restaurant, Lin Duo kept an eye on the situation behind her, and when she was sure Lin Cheng wasn’t following, her heart finally eased a bit. Wu Bijuan noticed something unusual and asked curiously: ‘Honey, be honest. Do you know that boy? Why do I feel like you were avoiding him?’

‘I don’t know him… but he looks a lot like a bully from my middle school days, so I didn’t want to see his face,’ Lin Duo lied, her excuse sounding a bit forced.

The Yue couple exchanged glances and, with a silent understanding, didn’t press further, much like they hadn’t questioned Lin Duo’s background.

Later, the Yue couple took Lin Duo to a water-themed park, trying out various water attractions. At first, Lin Duo was a bit hesitant, always fearing that the next turn might lead to a confrontation with Lin Cheng. But this fear was largely unfounded, as Lake City has a population of nearly a million, and the daily influx of tourists numbers in the thousands. The chances of a random encounter were about as likely as winning the lottery. Lin Duo soon realized this and relaxed, returning to her initial cheerful demeanor.

After leaving the park, they took a car to an ancient-style street where all the shopkeepers and staff were dressed in period costumes. Lin Duo had never seen so many ‘ancient people’ before and was thrilled, pulling each ‘soldier’ and ‘waiter’ into photos. They were all eager to pose with the lively and beautiful girl. Of course, they also bought many souvenirs and local snacks.

It wasn’t until around 10:30 PM that the family returned to their hotel, tired from the day’s activities and ready to wash up and sleep. Wu Bijuan went to the bathroom to fill the tub with hot water and then approached Lin Duo: ‘Honey, why don’t we take a bath together? I’ll wash your back.’

Lin Duo was terrified and quickly waved her hands: ‘No, no! Mom, I can clean myself!’

Wu Bijuan wasn’t ready to give up: ‘Mom’s just doing this for your own good. Teenage girls often have a lot of questions, and I, as your mother, have never really paid attention to your development. It’s my oversight.’

‘I’m fine, Mom… really… I’m developing well, there’s no problem…’

Seeing Lin Duo so firm in her refusal, Wu Bijuan eyes filled with sadness: ‘If my daughter were still alive, she would be about your age now, and probably just as beautiful as you… As a mother, I just want to watch my children grow up little by little. But I’ll never get to see that…’

Yue Renhui, sitting on the bed, came over to console her: ‘Honey, don’t be like this. Our daughter isn’t a little girl anymore, it’s natural for her to have modesty. Don’t force her.’

So, Lin Duo slipped into the bathroom alone, locked the door, and submerged herself in the hot water, unable to hold back her silent tears. She was so angry with herself for not being born a girl. She was also angry at herself for having to maintain her current life with a great big lie, deceiving the people closest to her, who genuinely cared for her. Tears streamed down her fair cheeks, falling into the tub and quickly disappearing.

The next day, the Yue couple took Lin Duo to see the other famous sights of Lake City, and they boarded the returning train laden with shopping bags. No one mentioned the events of the previous night, and Lin Duo tried her best to stay cheerful, hoping her adoptive parents would smile more often.