Forced to Love (GL) - Chapter 18

Time suddenly stopped.

The already dim lights around them further enhanced the strange atmosphere of the moment.

Shadows overlapped on the ground.

Shen Sui’s hand was still resting on her shoulder, while Lingxi’s hand covered the back of hers.

Lingxi could feel the warmth seeping through her clothes, but she couldn’t tell if it was her own or Shen Sui’s.

Lingxi let go, her hand stiffly dropping down.

She regretted it, regretted having such a sensitive reflex.

She hadn’t even clearly seen the face of the person, yet her body was already prepared to act.

Shen Sui was surprised to see her.

“Why are you here?”

“I…” Lingxi opened her mouth, her eyes flickering for a moment before she sincerely looked at her and said, “I’m sorry. You haven’t let me walk you home lately, but I was worried, so I followed you from a distance to make sure you got home safely.”

After speaking, she paused for a moment before adding, as if with unwavering determination, “It’s not safe for you to be alone this late at night.”

Her voice was soft, yet it carried her most genuine concern.

A breeze passed through the alleyway, rattling the metal panel of a cart behind them, its sound echoing faintly.

Though the dim lights around them were unclear, Shen Sui could clearly see Lingxi’s slightly furrowed brows, her bright eyes, and her slightly reddened lips.

Her gaze shifted momentarily, and even her thoughts stopped. For a moment, Shen Sui was lost in a daze.

Neither of them moved. Lingxi remained still, letting Shen Sui’s hand rest on her shoulder just as before.

The rattling sound behind them suddenly stopped. Shen Sui slowly lifted her gaze, and as their eyes met, the confusion in Shen Sui’s eyes gradually faded away.

Like the sky clearing after a storm.

“…Just like before?” she asked, her voice slightly hoarse.

Lingxi couldn’t quite follow her train of thought and showed a puzzled expression.

“When we first met, you also followed behind me, saying you wanted to walk me home.”

Shen Sui looked away. Lingxi’s school uniform, a light blue shirt, had slight wrinkles where Shen Sui’s hand had rested on her shoulder.

The creases ran deep and even reached her collar.

The top two buttons of Lingxi’s shirt were undone. Following the line down, Shen Sui saw her delicate and well-defined collarbone.

“Back then, I thought you were strange. We had just met and weren’t even close, yet you said you were worried about me.”

“It was a little ridiculous. How could someone be so naïve?”

“But later on, after everything that happened, I gradually saw you differently.”

Shen Sui spoke slowly, her voice no longer as indifferent as when Lingxi had heard her at the sports event.

Lingxi thought about it—it was more like the lingering resonance of a sandalwood leaf, drawing her in, making her want to escape but unable to break free.

“And now, after everything, we’ve come full circle.”

“I finally understand.”

Shen Sui suddenly stopped speaking. Instead, she lifted the hand resting on Lingxi’s shoulder, adjusted her grip slightly, and buttoned up Lingxi’s open collar, one button at a time. Then she gently smoothed out the wrinkles.

In an instant, her shirt was neatly restored.

Lingxi remained still, letting her finish. When Shen Sui finally looked up at her, there was a faint smile on her lips.

At that moment, Lingxi keenly caught the subtle change in Shen Sui’s eyes—something different.

“Understand what?” Lingxi asked.

Shen Sui’s lips curved slightly. “I understand…”

A sudden breeze rose, dispersing the clouds overhead. In the next moment, Lingxi looked up, seeing the vast, dazzling starry sky that had been hidden before.

So, this was how it looked from within her small world.

Then, carried by the wind, a familiar voice drifted into her ears.

“You are my fearless courage.”

…

Lingxi didn’t fully grasp Shen Sui’s words from the night before, but when she arrived at school, she realized that the change she had sensed was real.

“This…”

Lingxi looked at the breakfast on her desk and the cup of warm water, pausing for a moment.

“A new breakfast shop opened near my house, so I brought you some,” Shen Sui said.

“The water was just convenient to get.”

Seeing Lingxi’s hesitation, Shen Sui spoke up.

“Thank you, Shen,” Lingxi replied. “Did you eat already?”

“Yeah. Hurry up and eat before class starts.”

“Okay.”

In Class Three, there were no restrictions on eating breakfast in the classroom. Lingxi quietly ate, surrounded by the chatter and laughter of her classmates, signaling the start of a new day.

Shen Sui unscrewed her cup lid and took a small sip, her gaze catching Lingxi finishing her breakfast in one go, drinking soy milk, and then gulping down more water. Her fingertips lightly tapped the cup.

During class, the teacher enthusiastically explained key points. Lingxi listened carefully but occasionally struggled with more complex questions.

Her pen hovered over her notes, unable to move, as she rested her head on her hand, deep in thought. Then, she heard the subtle sound of a chair moving beside her.

A faint floral scent of laundry detergent drifted through the air. A pale hand holding a pen wrote out the solution on her draft paper.

The warmth of breath brushed past her ear, sending a tingling sensation through her. Lingxi’s grip on her pen tightened, her back straightened.

Her mind went blank until she saw the words “Do you understand?” on the paper, and she forced herself to refocus.

She looked at the three words and nodded, resisting the urge to glance sideways.

As Shen Sui pulled her hand away, it lightly brushed over Lingxi’s hand—softly, fleetingly.

…

On the way back, the autumn breeze carried a refreshing chill. Shen Sui walked beside her, eating an ice cream cone.

“I have a way to calm myself down,” Shen Sui suddenly said.

Lingxi turned to look at her. Shen Sui gazed forward, not looking back.

“Be with me?”

“Haven’t we always—”

Before Lingxi could finish, her words trailed off.

In the next second, Shen Sui turned to her and spoke, enunciating every word clearly:

“I like you.”

Her voice was neither too loud nor too soft, yet it was undeniably clear.

Under the colorful lights of the street, Lingxi saw Shen Sui’s fingers tighten around the ice cream cone, faintly turning white.