Chapter 21: A Bold Advance

Shihan finally mustered the courage to make a move.

This was, she felt, her most direct attack yet.

Before, Shihan had always believed that feelings between two people in love needed to be cultivated bit by bit.

Only when the time was right could they blossom into something beautiful.

But now that she had met someone she truly liked, she realized it was nothing like that at all.

Even if it meant just one second sooner, she wanted him to know her feelings—and to reciprocate them.

She gazed at Chen Lin with affection, hoping he would understand the meaning behind her words and grasp her intentions.

But Chen Lin clearly didn’t catch on.

“Thank you very much. I appreciate your trust,” he replied.

The queue began to move forward, and Chen Lin immediately urged her, “Let’s stay close so we don’t fall behind.”

Shihan felt a twinge of disappointment.

She knew he hadn’t understood at all—he had completely misinterpreted her meaning.

The penguin exhibit was fascinating. After visiting it, they queued up for the dolphin show.

Meanwhile, Chen Lin took a bottle of water from his shoulder bag and handed it to Shihan.

By the time the dolphin show ended, it was already noon.

The sun was scorching today, and many people walked under the shade of the trees lining the path.

They headed to the park’s waterfront restaurant for lunch, with plenty of other attractions still to explore in the afternoon.

Covering the entire vast park in one day was a bit tight on time.

In the restaurant, as Chen Lin and Shihan queued together to buy meal tickets, they chatted animatedly about the dolphin show they had just seen.

The conversation flowed smoothly and pleasantly.

“Excuse me, are you separated from your family? Do you need help finding them?”

A park staff member’s voice rang out.

It wasn’t directed at Chen Lin, but he couldn’t help turning to look in that direction.

Through the bustling crowd, he caught a glimpse of a familiar little girl’s back—about the same height as Yan.

“What’s wrong?” Shihan asked, puzzled, because Chen Lin had suddenly stopped mid-sentence and turned to look behind him to the left.

She followed his gaze but saw nothing unusual.

“Nothing,” Chen Lin said, blinking.

When he looked again, the familiar silhouette was gone—as if it had been his imagination.

He turned back to Shihan.

Chen Lin thought it was impossible for Yan to be here.

It must have been his imagination.

Even if it really was a child separated from her family, the staff had already noticed her, so there was no need for a tourist like him to meddle.

Just then, it was their turn to order at the counter.

Chen Lin put the trivial matter out of his mind and raised two fingers to the cashier:

“One Set C and one Set E, please. Extra rice for the Set E.”

The afternoon passed just as joyfully, and time slipped away quickly before they knew it.

It was already past seven in the evening.

The shuttle bus dropped Chen Lin and Shihan back at the station where they had met in the morning.

The crowd poured out of the cramped bus and dispersed in all directions.

Chen Lin’s clothes were a bit rumpled.

The return trip wasn’t as lucky as the morning ride—the bus was too crowded.

Not only were there no seats, but the people around him kept jostling him with every sway of the vehicle.

So Chen Lin used his body to shield Shihan, carving out a slightly more spacious spot for her.

He would rather be squeezed himself than let her suffer.

After they got off, Shihan thanked him.

“On the bus just now, you were like my hero,” she said.

Seeing him use his body to create space for her, she really felt that way.

Chen Lin scratched his head sheepishly. “Hero? That’s too much praise. I just did what any guy would do.”

He adjusted his clothes to look neater.

After tidying up, Chen Lin knew it was almost time to say goodbye.

“I had a great day today. Thank you for inviting me,” he said.

“Not at all. I was the one being taken care of all day. I should thank you,” Shihan replied, a little embarrassed.

To be honest, at first, Chen Lin had thought Shihan might be a difficult girl to get along with.

Their first meeting hadn’t been pleasant, and for some reason, she had even been hostile toward him.

But after spending this day together, although he didn’t claim to fully understand her, he had gained a completely new perspective.

Shihan was a nice girl, and once she opened up, she was actually quite talkative and not pretentious at all.

At the final parting, Chen Lin initially thought he might see her home, as a final courtesy.

But he held back.

A girl’s home address should remain private.

Even though they had spent a pleasant day together, that didn’t mean he could overstep and pry into her privacy.

Besides, Senior Meiyue probably lived with Shihan, so it wouldn’t be appropriate to intrude.

If he asked and Shihan misunderstood his intentions, he would never be able to clear up the misunderstanding.

Since the day had gone so smoothly, Chen Lin decided not to invite any unnecessary trouble.

It was best to end things here on a good note.

“It’s getting late. Let’s call it a day. We can meet up again sometime,” Chen Lin said with a smile.

“Yeah… today went by so fast…” Shihan looked at him.

Because she liked Chen Lin, being with him made her feel incredibly happy.

If only they could have more time together—that would be perfect.

Happy moments are fleeting; they can’t last forever.

But if she chose to make a change, perhaps things would be different.

Shihan clenched her fists and bit her lower lip.

Even though it was already late, she didn’t want today to end just like that.

“Isn’t there something you want to ask me?” she suddenly asked softly, catching Chen Lin off guard with an abrupt and seemingly random question.

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