Chapter 38: A Blinding Secret Crush

At dawn, Lin Yuran was roused by the chirping of birds outside her window. Her groggy eyes slowly blinked open to the sight of a black-and-white minimalist chandelier. Disoriented, she rubbed her sleepy eyes and looked around the room.

The entire space was decorated in tones of black, white, and gray, a restrained, cold, Italian-style aesthetic that exuded an understated sense of mystery. Everything felt unfamiliar.

Her head throbbed from a hangover, heavy and dull, leaving her unable to think straight.

Lying in bed, Lin Yuran struggled to recall what had happened. She vaguely remembered Chi Ye asking if she wanted to go to his place, and she must’ve said yes.

The rest was a blur. She only remembered that it had rained last night. The sound of raindrops had filled her ears the entire night, much like the sound of water running in the bathroom at this moment.

Chi Ye’s house?

Lin Yuran jolted fully awake and shot up in bed. The silk quilt slipped off her, and a chill spread across her chest. She looked down and her mind went blank.

She froze.

After a moment of stunned silence, Lin Yuran lifted the blanket for a peek, then hastily pulled it back over her. She was completely naked, not a single piece of clothing on.

If this were her own home, it wouldn’t be unusual. She had a habit of sleeping nude. But this was Chi Ye’s place. There was also a lingering, stinging pain in her lower abdomen.

Lin Yuran lifted a hand and covered her face. For a long while, she didn’t move. Then she pulled the blanket aside again to check the bedsheets.

A stark patch of crimson bloomed on the pristine white fabric where she had lain. Her heart gave a shudder.

Frozen for a moment, she quietly gathered the scattered clothes from the bed and began putting them on, piece by piece, in silence. After getting dressed and standing up, she heard the bathroom door open beside her. Her body stiffened. A second later, she turned toward the sound.

Chi Ye stood at the bathroom doorway in a plain white bathrobe, loosely tied at the waist. His defined chest was partially exposed, still glistening with water droplets. Moisture clung to the sharp angles of his face, and his damp bangs dripped slightly, casting shadows over his brow. A chill radiated from his entire being.

Lin Yuran’s mind stalled for a beat.

“You’re awake?” Chi Ye’s voice was husky.

Lin Yuran stared at him for a few seconds, then muttered under her breath, “Scumbag,” and walked past him toward the door.

Chi Ye was momentarily stunned by the insult. It took him several seconds to react, then he quickly strode after her, grabbing her wrist. His voice tensed, “Lin Yuran, let me explain.”

His grip only made her angrier. She yanked her arm free and, in the same motion, raised her hand to slap him.

But when her eyes met Chi Ye’s expression, shocked, confused, and deeply hurt, her raised hand paused midair. She couldn’t bring herself to hit him.

Chi Ye’s lashes trembled slightly as he stared at her, stunned. The moment froze.

After a long silence, Lin Yuran slowly lowered her hand and curled it into a fist at her side, avoiding his gaze. “Chi Ye, you b*st*rd,” she muttered, then turned and ran.

She ran all the way out of the villa complex, not caring about the cost, flagged down a taxi, and got in. “North Xing Road, Warner Garden,” she told the driver.

When she got home, Lin Yuran didn’t even wash up. She slumped onto the couch and sat there in a daze for the entire morning. It was Xu Jianwei’s phone call that finally brought her back to reality.

Over the line, Xu Jianwei’s voice was teasing and nosy: “Girl, you’re awake, right? So… how was last night?”

As soon as she heard that, Lin Yuran realized how she’d ended up so inexplicably drunk. Xu Jianwei had meant well. She just had more liberal views when it came to men and women. Lin Yuran didn’t feel like arguing about it.

“Hard to say,” Lin Yuran replied dully. “A little disappointed.”

“Huh?” Xu Jianwei sounded shocked. “Don’t tell me… Chi Ye was bad in bed?”

But then she reconsidered. “No way. He looks so strong. Or maybe he got too excited and broke you?”

Lin Yuran choked, her cheeks flushing scarlet at the shameless words. “I blacked out! How would I know?!”

“Then why are you disappointed?”

“I just am… He didn’t even get my consent…”

Xu Jianwei chuckled over the phone. “Girl, it’s the 21st century. Weren’t you the one who wanted him? A man like him practically delivered himself to your door. That’s a steal, and you’re complaining?”

Lin Yuran mumbled, “Sure, I wanted him, but that doesn’t mean he can take advantage of me while I’m drunk. That’s a matter of character. Two totally different things. Anyway, I already cursed him out.”

Xu Jianwei was stunned. “What? What did you call him?”

“I called him a scumbag. And a b*st*rd.”

Xu Jianwei burst out laughing. “Hahaha!”

She laughed nonstop, and Lin Yuran, annoyed by the sound, snapped, “I’m hanging up. You’re annoying.”

Before Xu Jianwei could say more, she ended the call and sat silently on the couch again. Her lower abdomen ached slightly. She got up to use the bathroom and took a shower to wash off the last of her hangover.

After the shower, she changed into fresh underwear, but soon noticed bl00d on her new panties. She changed again and put on a pad.

Something didn’t feel right.

She didn’t have much experience, but she knew that after a first time, there usually wasn’t that much bleeding.

She opened her phone and typed into Baidu: First time bleeding…

Even through the screen, the words felt too embarrassing to type. With a sigh, she exited the browser.

Just then, a message from Xu Jianwei popped up: 【So? Did Chi Ye come looking for you?】

She was very invested in the drama, clearly determined to see it through to the end.

Lin Yuran replied simply:【No.】

Then added:【Jianwei, how long does bleeding usually last after… you know?】

Since Xu Jianwei already knew the whole story, Lin Yuran felt no shame asking her.

【Half a day, maybe two or three tops.】 came the reply.

【Is it a lot?】

【Not really. Maybe a tenth of a normal period at most.】

A period?

Lin Yuran ran to the bathroom to check the pad, and there was a fair amount. Not heavy, but not light either. Her period usually started off light and got heavier the next day.

She tried to recall her cycle. It was never regular, either early or late. She never kept track.

After thinking for a while, she couldn’t recall the exact date, but she remembered Chi Ye buying her pads on the first day of the semester. Based on that, she’d had two early cycles after that and one late. So it was possible that her period had just arrived.

!!

Lin Yuran stopped her train of thought and threw herself into sketching, trying to detach from the whole situation. That evening, she felt waves of warmth pulsing from inside her.

!!!

It really was her period!

She went to change her pad and came back out, slumping onto the couch, her mind in a mess.

She realized she’d completely lost her cool that morning. It was the middle of winter, of course it hadn’t rained. Recalling Chi Ye stepping out of the bathroom drenched and shivering, that constant dripping sound all night suddenly made sense.

Lin Yuran was overcome with shame. And a pang of guilt.

How cold must that cold shower have been in the dead of winter?

Lin Yuran picked up her phone and opened Chi Ye’s chat, meaning to apologize. She typed and deleted several messages, none of them feeling right. In the end, she decided it was better to say it face to face.

Just as she exited the chat, Xu Jianwei messaged again: 【So? Did Chi Ye say anything?】

【No,】 Lin Yuran replied.

【Wow, he is a scumbag. Just ghosts you after having his fun?】

【 ! 】【Don’t say that about him.】

【… What’s going on?】

Lin Yuran didn’t want to get into it:【I’ll tell you another time.】

Xu Jianwei replied with a ‘pulling-my-hair-out’ emoji.

— — — 

The first day back after the break, Lin Yuran only had one morning class, and was done by ten. She decided to head to RanYe to work on her illustrations. When she got there, she sat at her desk for a while but didn’t see any sign of Chi Ye.

She was puzzled. When she used to work there regularly, Chi Ye had always been punctual. With so much bottled up inside, she couldn’t focus on drawing.

She asked Secretary Li if Chi Ye was coming in that day.

Secretary Li replied, “Mr. Chi doesn’t come here every day. He still has many responsibilities at headquarters.”

“…”

She hadn’t expected there to be days she couldn’t even run into him. If she couldn’t wait, then she’d have to reach out directly.

She picked up her phone, opened his chat, and typed: 【Chi Ye, where are you?】

Just as she was about to send it, a message popped in from him:【Aren’t you at school?】

She quickly deleted her unsent message and replied:【No.】 Then added: 【I’m at your office.】

He didn’t respond again.

She waited a long time, then asked:【Where are you?】

A few seconds later, he replied:【At your school. I’ll head back to the office now.】

!!

Half an hour later, while she was deep in her sketching, she heard slow, steady footsteps from the hallway.

She set her pen down and turned her chair toward the elevator. As expected, Chi Ye walked in with long, unhurried strides.

He wore a simple, all-black sports-casual set, with a matching coat slung casually over one arm. He looked relaxed, almost lazy.

For reasons she couldn’t explain, ever since seeing him again, Lin Yuran had felt a kind of melancholy in him. It was completely at odds with the pride and brilliance someone like him should possess.

But that sadness clung to him, and today, it was even more pronounced. Her heart clenched unexpectedly.

Chi Ye walked up and placed a small shopping bag beside her. He looked down at her. Several seconds passed in silence.

Then he spoke, voice low and hoarse, “Lin Yuran, do I really make such a bad impression?”

Lin Yuran immediately understood what he was referring to, remembering the harsh words she’d thrown at him that day. Guilt welled up inside her.

“No,” Lin Yuran said softly, lashes trembling. “You’re… you’re actually pretty great.”

As she said it, she kept her eyes down, not daring to meet his. Chi Ye gave a faint, self-mocking laugh.

Her guilt deepened. Lin Yuran bit her lip, then looked up at him with courage. “Chi Ye, I misunderstood that day. I’m sorry.”

He let out a quiet sigh of laughter. “Lin Yuran, do you know, I went to your school earlier just to find you. To apologize.”

She was stunned, mouth parting in surprise.

But before Lin Yuran could speak, he continued, “You don’t need to apologize. The misunderstanding was my fault. I really didn’t handle things well that night.”

He turned his head and coughed a few times. After suppressing it, he added, “I’ve always lived a little unrestrained. If I ever do something that crosses the line again, feel free to hit me or curse me, just don’t ignore me, okay?”

Chi Ye pressed his lips together and looked at her.