Chapter 16: An Invitation to the Aquarium

Reminded by Chen Lin, Shihan suddenly remembered that her first meeting with him had been because of her sister.

At that time, she had mistakenly thought Chen Lin was a pervert harassing her sister, and had even hit the back of his right hand.

That was her first encounter with the person she liked. This unfamiliar emotion called ‘liking’ suddenly surged forth, striking her mind with such force that it almost erased all memory of the bystander role she had played.

“Because of my sister? Ah, is that so… Is that what you think?” Shihan said to Chen Lin, slightly dejected.

“Huh? Is there another answer?” Chen Lin asked back, a little puzzled.

Of course there is another answer!

Shihan wanted to say that, but in the current atmosphere, such words were simply impossible to utter.

Ah, enough…

What a big idiot. Why can’t he sense my feelings?

She had no intention of holding that day against him. He hadn’t done anything wrong that day either.

But even though she wanted to tell Chen Lin that, she was a bit annoyed with him, so she put on a straight face and said, “You’re not wrong. So what’s your response?”

Hearing that Shihan was giving him a chance to explain, Chen Lin immediately became serious.

He had come fully prepared to convince her. To reasonably explain what happened that day, he had even prepared a whole set of stories.

Because of this, Chen Lin hadn’t listened to a single word of the teacher’s lecture that afternoon.

The story he made up was that he just happened to be walking the same path as Senior Meiyue that day. Pure coincidence, not intentional.

In short, Chen Lin explained in great detail and with great sincerity, hoping she would understand.

After a long while, Chen Lin finished his explanation.

“Are you done?” Shihan asked him, her tone impatient.

“I’m done,” Chen Lin replied, feeling a bit nervous. Given her cold attitude, did she not believe him?

“Since it’s a misunderstanding, let’s drop the matter here,” Shihan said to Chen Lin.

Chen Lin couldn’t believe his ears. She had let him off so easily?

Was this matter really settled that simply?

While Chen Lin was still dumbfounded, Shihan secretly took out two aquarium tickets.

This was actually the real reason Shihan had specifically asked Chen Lin to meet after school today.

“Let me make this clear: these tickets aren’t specially prepared for you.” After taking out the tickets, Shihan announced loudly, as if afraid Chen Lin wouldn’t know.

“Oh, I understand.” Chen Lin, a bit bewildered, simply nodded in response.

He looked at the tickets. On the front was a picture of the ocean and dolphins, along with the words ‘Aquarium’.

Chen Lin had no idea why Shihan was taking out the tickets now.

Shihan unconsciously lowered her head a little, her index fingers circling each other, and said to Chen Lin in a shy tone.

“Actually, I originally planned to go to the aquarium with my sister tomorrow, but she had other plans. So there are two tickets here. If we don’t use them this weekend, they’ll probably go to waste.

So… you know what I mean.”

“Do you mean you want me to go with you?” Chen Lin thought seriously for a moment, then asked Shihan.

“It’s not that I want you to come along. But if you want to go, I can reluctantly let you join.

It’s not like I have no one else. I have plenty of friends. Even if you don’t come, someone else will accompany me,” Shihan replied.

Chen Lin was confused. Did Shihan want him to go or not?

But she had specifically taken out the tickets, so she probably wanted him to go with her to the aquarium.

Besides, Shihan was Senior Meiyue’s younger sister. He had no reason to miss this chance to get close to her.

If he could win Shihan’s approval, it might reduce the resistance when he pursued Senior Meiyue in the future.

Even if Shihan couldn’t help him, just maintaining a good relationship was a great thing.

From any angle, it was all gain and no loss. He should actively seek this.

Perhaps because Chen Lin had been thinking for too long, Shihan started to get a bit anxious, worried that her blunt words might have scared him off.

Before she knew it, the old problem had cropped up again. She wanted to change, but could never seem to.

Every time at a critical moment, she couldn’t express her true feelings.

She clearly wanted Chen Lin to go to the aquarium with her. To achieve that, she should have properly invited him.

A polite invitation would have been the right thing. But before she knew it, she had blurted out words that might deter people.

It made it seem like she didn’t care about him at all, when the opposite was true. She cared about him very, very much.

If this went on, wouldn’t he think she was the kind of girl with a fierce temper?

What should she do? Thoughts of self-blame made Shihan feel sad.

She wanted to say something to Chen Lin, but she was so flustered she didn’t know what to say, afraid that if she opened her mouth, words of contempt would come out again.

Chen Lin had no idea what Shihan was thinking; he just saw this as a good opportunity to make friends.

If he missed this chance, it might never come again.

His love might be realized through Shihan. If he became her friend, he would surely make Senior Meiyue aware of his name in the near future.

“I’d love to go to the aquarium. Since the tickets are free, I’ll gladly accept. Thank you for the invitation,” Chen Lin said to Shihan.

Hearing that Chen Lin had accepted her invitation, Shihan felt the weight lift off her heart.

“They weren’t specially prepared for you, so… you don’t need to thank me at all,” Shihan replied.

“I should thank you,” Chen Lin insisted.

“Then… how about tomorrow, Saturday at 9 a.m. at the station? Is that okay?” Shihan asked Chen Lin hesitantly.

“Of course, no problem at all,” Chen Lin answered without hesitation.

“Mhm, then see you tomorrow.” After saying that, Shihan turned and quickly left Chen Lin’s side.

She had been around Chen Lin long enough. Her mind felt like a mess, all her usual calm and composure gone.

Shihan felt she needed to calm down, or else her head would overheat.

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