Chapter 44: A Change of Venue

Being locked onto by such a terrifying gaze was a feeling Shihan experienced for the first time.

Her father’s glare was fierce too, but it was nothing like this.

Yan wasn’t usually a frightening person, but Shihan had a feeling that she genuinely intended to kill her.

Though Shihan initially felt a surge of cowardice and even wanted to flee, after glancing at Chen Lin, she seemed to find courage and instead moved closer to him.

From the attitudes between Chen Lin and Yan, Shihan didn’t know what had happened, but it was clear there was some conflict between them.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” Shihan asked Chen Lin curiously.

“Nothing happened,” Chen Lin replied, while paying the waiter for the compensation of the tablecloth.

Then Chen Lin walked over to Yan and said to her, “I’ve told you everything I wanted to say, so I’ll be going now.”

Staying any longer, Chen Lin felt it was useless; the only thing left was to let Yan calm herself down.

Having said his piece, though he felt a bit regretful, it seemed their future friendship would be nearly impossible.

That was fine. This was how it should be.

Seeing that Yan didn’t respond, Chen Lin shifted his gaze back to Shihan. Now he had to deal with her issues.

Originally, Chen Lin had planned to clear up misunderstandings with both Shihan and Yan here. But because Shihan arrived early, he was forced to change locations.

“Let’s go somewhere else,” Chen Lin said to Shihan.

“Okay, sure.” Shihan immediately nodded in agreement and followed Chen Lin out of the café.

Before leaving the café, Shihan took one last look back at Yan.

Though she felt a bit sorry for her, having one less competitor was probably not a bad thing.

At least when she dated Chen Lin later, that troublemaker wouldn’t show up.

Shihan didn’t know what caused the rift between Chen Lin and Yan, but she thought that if it were her, she would definitely be understanding and never have a disagreement with him.

After leaving the café, Chen Lin didn’t know where to take Shihan next. He asked, “Do you know any good drink shops? Preferably a quiet place.”

Shihan saw this as her chance to shine and immediately said confidently, “Of course I do! I’ll have the driver pick us up.” She took out her phone to contact the driver waiting in the parking lot.

Hearing that they would be driving, Chen Lin quickly asked, “Is it far?”

“Not too far, but it’s about a twenty-minute drive,” Shihan answered without hiding anything.

A private car ride of at least twenty minutes—Chen Lin thought that was quite a distance. He wanted to quickly resolve matters with Shihan, so he didn’t want to go that far.

“Is there somewhere closer? Preferably walking distance,” Chen Lin asked.

“Of course, but the taste might not be as good as the place I strongly recommend,” Shihan said.

Chen Lin didn’t care about taste; he just needed a place to talk.

Though sitting casually in a park and leaving after talking was an option, Chen Lin felt it would be disrespectful to Shihan.

Under Shihan’s lead, they walked for about fifteen minutes and finally found a dessert shop tucked away in an alley.

Chen Lin had no idea how Shihan knew about this shop. It turned out that she had come here for dessert with her sister Meiyue after school once.

They sat at a corner table in the outdoor seating area, under a large red umbrella.

“The strawberry parfait here is especially good. I suggest you order dessert instead of drinks,” Shihan recommended while ordering.

But Chen Lin wasn’t in the mood for dessert. He just ordered a regular juice, while Shihan ordered a standard strawberry parfait.

Since the shop specialized in desserts, the strawberry parfait arrived quicker than the freshly squeezed juice. A tall glass of strawberry parfait was placed in front of Shihan, looking delicious.

Shihan picked up a small spoon, took a generous bite, and covered her cheek with her hand, looking utterly delighted.

Chen Lin looked at Shihan. Of course, he knew she was Meiyue-senpai’s sister.

If he used her cleverly, Shihan would undoubtedly be the best tool to get close to Meiyue.

But knowing the principle was one thing; whether he could do it was another.

At least Chen Lin felt that he could never casually exploit someone’s feelings for him, and those who did such things were just scumbags.

Though he was ordinary, Chen Lin believed he had moral boundaries.

So there was no need to regret it. Chen Lin remained firm in his previous decision.

“Want to try some?” Shihan scooped a small spoonful of ice cream, feeling a bit shy.

If Chen Lin used her spoon, would that count as an indirect kiss?

“No, thanks,” Chen Lin replied.

Seeing that Shihan seemed to be in a good mood, Chen Lin decided to wait until she finished the parfait before discussing serious matters.

With that, Chen Lin killed the conversation, and silence fell between them.

Eating her strawberry parfait, Shihan tried to break the awkwardness and started a topic: “The dolphin show at the aquarium that day was really amazing.”

“Mm,” Chen Lin responded perfunctorily.

“Especially when they balanced the ball—it was so funny, right?” Shihan continued.

“Mm,” Chen Lin replied, still plainly.

Generally, only people who couldn’t hold a conversation or didn’t want to talk would use ‘mm,’ ‘oh,’ or ‘haha’ as responses, as it quickly killed the conversation.

Shihan noticed Chen Lin’s dismissive attitude, but she didn’t mind. She thought he might be upset because of Yan, so she decided to tolerate the discomfort caused by Yan.

Shihan actively started topics, and she was indeed good at conversing. Gradually, Chen Lin stopped using ‘mm’ to reply.

“…So, something that fun happened at the aquarium that day—you must not have noticed,” Shihan said to Chen Lin.

“Yes, I really didn’t notice,” Chen Lin responded.

“So you see, you lack…” Before Shihan could finish, Chen Lin couldn’t hold back anymore. He felt that if he continued to be treated gently like this, he might not have the heart to be firm.

“Shihan, I have something very serious I want to ask you.”

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