Chapter 12: My old enemy is attracted to me

“How can the library close without any advance notice? So many students don’t even know.”

As she walked, Tong An’yu scanned the study fiends still hunched over their desks.

“Good thing you made it just in time, or you wouldn’t have been able to borrow this book.”

“But you’re so busy every day, yet you still have time to read such a boring book. Isn’t that a bit too much?”

“Should we go tell the others that it’s closing early?”

With that, Tong An’yu was about to dive into the crowd.

Lin Huaixu thought he must have been crazy to worry that she might be harassed by someone from off-campus, all because of that lingering fear from that night in the alley.

Never mind how low the probability was that the mentally ill person was still around, or how much lower the probability was of bumping into her by chance; she had her roommates and friends, two years of experience at the university, and she might not have missed the college’s reminder. She would have her own ways of dealing with it.

Why did he have to come here, borrow a book he would never read, and then make up a lie?

Now, that lie was about to be exposed.

Lin Huaixu grabbed the strap of her backpack, stopping her in her tracks.
“It’s noisy.”

Was it noisy?

Judging from those two words, he was probably feeling impatient.

But this was her personality; she couldn’t force herself to be quiet and docile.

‘Maybe Lin Huaixu will discover the good side of being bubbly and talkative in the future,’ Tong An’yu consoled herself.

Although Lin Huaixu didn’t quite like her yet, it was still nice to have him grab her backpack strap.

This way, their down jackets would brush against each other, making a soft rustling sound.

Upon reaching the ground floor lobby, Lin Huaixu immediately let go of her backpack strap and walked over to a self-checkout machine to borrow the book he had no interest in.

Mid-January was the coldest time of year in Jing City.

A heavy, army-green curtain hung over the glass door. Tong An’yu struggled to push the door open with her body and was instantly hit by a gust of wind that made her squint.

Lin Huaixu hadn’t wanted to get close to her again, but seeing her fingers turn red from the cold doorframe, he subconsciously reached out to hold the door open.

Yuan Qing observed them with surprise, finding it hard to imagine Lin Huaixu abandoning the poignant scenes of La Dame aux Camélias to meet this girl here.

Back in their circle of second-generation rich kids in Hai City, there was no shortage of charming and stunningly beautiful girls who, at a young age, had a perfect sense of style, were conscious of every inch of muscle and fat on their bodies, and maintained their beauty down to the very last strand of hair.

There was no way Lin Huaixu couldn’t understand those overt and subtle displays of affection, but when faced with those beauties who even Yuan Qing saw as formidable rivals, he was like a machine with a built-in anti-addiction system.

Only those who were also interested in cybersecurity could catch his eye for a moment longer; if they also competed in tournaments and climbed the leaderboards, he would be more talkative.

And the reason they hadn’t gotten together was likely due to being childhood friends—they were too familiar, so neither of them dared to take that first step and risk changing their friendship.

“Who is this?” Yuan Qing asked.

“A schoolmate.”

Lin Huaixu stuffed the book into his bag; it was quite heavy.

Yuan Qing was skeptical.

“Ah Xu, what were you in such a hurry to come over for?”

“He came to borrow a book. The library is closing early today, so he wouldn’t have been able to get it if he were any later,” Tong An’yu answered first.

She guessed these three must be Lin Huaixu’s friends, and out of love for him, her impression of them was also good.

Lin Huaixu said nothing, which was a tacit admission.

“Hello, hello, we’re Xu-ge’s childhood friends, here to hang out with him. Your school is so damn cold, holy c*w,” Kong Jiashu, who was chubby but not greasy, fair and round, and as good-naturedly simple as a Maitreya Buddha, was the closest in age to Tong An’yu, and both were quite talkative.

Tong An’yu waved.

“Hello.”

Thanks to Kong Jiashu, Lin Huaixu didn’t have to say a single word on the way, yet he still managed to bring Little Bear T-shirt into the group.

This made it seem like it wasn’t his initiative, but rather Kong Jiashu being overly hospitable.

Chattering away with Kong Jiashu along the way, Tong An’yu learned a lot of information.

For example, they were all from Hai City, the four of them had been thick as thieves since childhood, their families all used to live in the core district before moving near the airport, and they had always listened to Lin Huaixu since they were young—Lin Huaixu was the leader.

“Was he this cold when he was little too?” Tong An’yu pointed at Lin Huaixu, who was walking at the very front and hadn’t looked back once.

“Xu-ge is pretty good to us, maybe a bit colder to outsiders,” Kong Jiashu said whatever came to mind, his emotional intelligence equally concerning.

Tong An’yu was hit head-on with the blow; so she was just an outsider.

Yuan Qing turned back and smiled at Tong An’yu.

“Little sister, do you like him?”

Jokes involving matters of the heart could only be discussed among very close people; she was sure Lin Huaixu wouldn’t mind her asking.

As expected, Lin Huaixu only shot her a faint glance.

“Yes, I do,” Tong An’yu didn’t hide it either.
They were all Lin Huaixu’s friends; maybe they could even put in a good word for her.

“Holy c*w, Xu-ge, did you hear that?” Kong Jiashu, as expected, started to whoop and holler.

Feng Junda, who hadn’t bothered to greet Tong An’yu until now, suddenly spoke, his smile insincere.

“Then you’re really unlucky. If you had managed to get him three years ago, he might have been able to gift you a Van Cleef & Arpels. Now, he can probably only give you a pull-tab ring.”

Lin Huaixu’s steps clearly paused for a moment.

He happened to be walking through a wind tunnel between two buildings. The cold wind howled, carrying with it crushed leaves and sand, plastering his down jacket tightly against his body and making him look like a precarious pine branch on a cliffside.

Yuan Qing punched Feng Junda hard on the back.

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

Tong An’yu suddenly found that she could keep up with Lin Huaixu’s pace, the wind muffling her voice.

She looked at Feng Junda, bewildered.
“What’s so unlucky about it? It’s not like I’m short on Van Cleef & Arpels. Why would I need a man to gift it to me?”

Feng Junda was momentarily speechless, not knowing how to poke a hole in her logic.

Lin Huaixu stopped completely and looked at her, his gaze meeting her pitch-black eyes.

“Then what do you like about me?”

“Huh?”

To hear him clearly, she deliberately pulled off her earmuffs.

“What do you like?” he asked again.

“I like it when you talk more,” Tong An’yu blurted out.

She couldn’t read his expression again, so she could only understand him through his words. Yet, he spoke so little. It’s not like his voice was a broken gong anymore.

Lin Huaixu: “…”

He knew she had misheard him, but at that moment, he couldn’t comprehend the reason behind her words.

When they neared Apartment Building 15, they parted ways. Kong Jiashu said goodbye to Tong An’yu, and the two also added each other on WeChat.

Once the group became quiet again and the enthusiasm had completely faded, Yuan Qing walked up to Lin Huaixu’s side.

“Why did you suddenly ask her what she likes about you? Thinking about getting into a relationship?”

Lin Huaixu looked at the lights of the school gate from afar, watching them diffuse into a person’s eyes, and then sneered.

“Do you think I’m in any position to be in a relationship right now?”

Yuan Qing was taken aback and subconsciously blurted out her thoughts.

“It’s not like it’s impossible—”

Feng Junda suddenly interrupted, “That’s right, the Lin family owes our three families so much. How could Ah Xu be in the mood for a relationship?”

“I just wanted to know how to make her give up,” Lin Huaixu said nonchalantly, pulling out a low-quality cigarette.

Feng Junda had been fond of making sarcastic remarks all these years. After all, he had once planned to join Colin Interactive Entertainment right after graduation, to avoid any of life’s hardships.

Who would have thought that even finding a job would be a problem now, and his pocket money was also very tight.

However, his words were indeed a sobering reminder. With so many important matters at hand, Lin Huaixu didn’t have the energy for romantic entanglements.

Yuan Qing felt that she had been overthinking things, so the topic ended there. She opened her WeChat Moments, scrolled to the seventh post, and showed it to Lin Huaixu.

“I forgot to tell you, Si Zhan’s son, Si Xu, gave a speech on behalf of the new students at Penn today. The president’s daughter shook his hand and took a photo with him. What a show.”

Lin Huaixu turned his head and saw Si Xu in the photo, dressed in a suit. With almond eyes, thin cheeks, red lips, and pearly teeth, he had a very handsome, androgynous look, yet he had also built up very solid muscles.

Yuan Qing: “I heard he also has a sister who’s five years younger, being pampered in the country. She should be in high school by now.”

Feng Junda spat, “I really f*cking wish I could kill them.”

Yuan Qing’s grip was too tight, causing her press-on nail to flip off, but she didn’t notice at all. She looked up at Lin Huaixu.

“Our downfall today is all the Si family’s doing. We have to make them pay.”

The wind was strong at night. Lin Huaixu flicked his lighter several times but couldn’t light the tobacco. He had no choice but to put the cigarette away and say very calmly, L”We will.”

The snow had passed and the wind had died down, leaving a clear sky. Lin Huaixu sat in the final exam room for advanced mathematics. The test content was too easy for him; he turned in his paper in an hour and left the exam room early.

It was now ten-forty. He was debating whether to go to the cafeteria for lunch first or head to the library when a message popped up on his phone—

[You there? Let’s go see the cat.]

A certain someone had given him a third option: see the cat first.

[I haven’t gone yet. Going now.]
[Really? I’ll go with you!]

Tong An’yu had finished her exam in another room and came out five minutes earlier than Lin Huaixu.

She had ridden her mountain bike over, moving very fast, the two ends of her scarf jumping up and down around her.

The bike screeched to a halt in front of Lin Huaixu. She lifted her earmuffs, revealing flushed ears, and mimicked a motorcyclist taking off a helmet, flicking her head.
“Hop on, Little Tong will give you a ride.”

Lin Huaixu glanced at her, then stubbed out his half-smoked cigarette in the trash can.
“Get off.”

Tong An’yu nimbly hopped off and handed him the handlebars. It wasn’t like she had seriously intended to give him a ride anyway.

Lin Huaixu adjusted the seat height and waited for her to sit securely.

‘One last time, I’ll give her a ride, and then I’ll keep my distance.’

Tong An’yu grabbed onto his Uniqlo down jacket and couldn’t help but wonder, if she was grabbing his down jacket in the winter, did that mean she could touch his waist in the summer?

She thought it, and she asked it.

“Lin Huaixu, do you wear ultra-thin T-shirts in the summer?”

“…”

‘What another strange question.’

“T-shirts are hard to grab onto. I might have to put my arms around your waist then.”
Her calculations were excellent and very well-reasoned.

“…”

If it weren’t her bike, Lin Huaixu would have really wanted to throw her off.

The little kitten was recovering well and could play around in its cage, but it still couldn’t put pressure on its injured leg.

It was already familiar with Lin Huaixu’s scent. As soon as he reached out his hand, it would turn its head for him to pet.

Tong An’yu came less often. When she reached out to tease it, it quickly raised a paw to swat at her.

Lin Huaixu pinched the scruff of its neck, making its paw miss.

“It should be ready to go home soon. Do you guys need cat toys and cat food? I can give you a discount.”

“Sure, just deduct it from the deposit.”
Tong An’yu had later added another ten thousand. Since Lin Huaixu knew about it, she didn’t need to hide it anymore. It was her cat now, anyway.

On the way back to the school, the sunlight had become very comfortable.

On a whim, Tong An’yu lightly patted Lin Huaixu’s back.

“Let me treat you to the cafeteria.”

“No need,” he refused without a second thought.

“I want to thank you. I didn’t see the warning in the class group chat until I got back to the dorm yesterday, the one about an off-campus person harassing girls near the science building.”

Lin Huaixu: “Is that so.”

“It’s a good thing you came back to borrow a book, otherwise I would have had to go back by myself.”

Lin Huaixu had to admit that low emotional intelligence was a kind of talent. Just let her think he really went there to borrow a book.
“Then you should study with your roommates from now on.”

“We’re all used to studying by ourselves. Everyone has different plans. You’ll understand in a year.”

Used to studying by herself?

Lin Huaixu deliberately turned his head to look at her, wanting to see how she could say that with such a straight face.

When they reached the cafeteria, Tong An’yu shoved her backpack at Lin Huaixu. Before he could refuse, she left him with a “Save a seat, I absolutely have to treat you,” and ran off.

Lin Huaixu pinched the bridge of his nose, not letting go until he felt a slight pain, and finally, resignedly found an empty table to wait.

He began to reflect, perhaps he should be even colder to her, and then she would leave.

Imagining the attitude he should have towards her, a hint of callousness appeared on his face. The flow of people increased, and the cafeteria began to get crowded, but oddly, no one approached his table.

The wait was a bit long. Lin Huaixu guessed she might have gone to buy something freshly cooked like a spicy hot pot. He wasn’t used to wasting time, so he took out his laptop and started working.

Life in China and abroad were two completely different worlds. He hadn’t exercised in a long time. The long hours hunched over a desk had caused some strain in his back muscles, which occasionally made cracking sounds.

“I’m back!”

Just as Lin Huaixu was about to say he didn’t eat spicy food to refuse the dish she had chosen, he saw her bring over a large plate of pan-fried and steamed cod.

A whole four large pieces, which would probably cost around sixty yuan.

“Wait, there’s more,” she said, mysteriously pulling out a thermal delivery bag from behind her.

Opening the plastic seal, she reached inside and took out two caramel lattes, one for each of them, and placed them in front of him.

Lin Huaixu forgot to close his laptop, staring into her eyes. Those eyes were strikingly black and white, holding a kind of directness that made one feel the nervousness of returning home.

“Why did you buy these?”

She lowered her head to bite the straw, then looked up at him with that very innocent gaze, and smiled, revealing small, neat white teeth.

“Caramel latte, pan-fried and steamed cod, and anything else you want. I want you to have it all.”

Some missed, trivial regrets, which he had grown accustomed to digesting, were remembered by her with a lingering sense of indignation.

Lin Huaixu slowly retracted his gaze, removed the coffee lid, and took a sip.
The flavor was just right, a standard Gold Cup.

He spoke, “Tong An’yu, don’t forget to study tonight.”