Chapter 43: A Blinding Secret Crush part 2

When Chi Ye arrived, Lin Yuran closed her book and went straight to sleep.

She didn’t know when it started, but wherever Chi Ye was, that place had become an absolute safe zone, somewhere she could rest without worry. If he hadn’t come that night, even in the familiar private room, she wouldn’t have planned to sleep at all.

Her dreams tossed and turned, returning once again to that snowy night.

After getting into the car, Lin Yuran asked the question that had been sitting on her mind.
“Chi Ye, how did you know I’d go out tonight?”

“I just knew.”

Chi Ye smiled lightly, then added, “There’s a pattern.”

Lin Yuran blinked. “It’s really late. Were you waiting for me on purpose?”

Chi Ye’s lips pressed together. After a few seconds of looking at her, he answered firmly, “Yeah. I was waiting just for you.”

The driver turned his head, chuckling. “Miss, you’re the one our young master waits for, rain or snow, he’s always here.”

Before she could process those words, a dark figure suddenly darted out from the neighborhood, sending a chill down her spine.

Lin Yuran just wanted to leave that area as soon as possible. She reached down to hold her aching foot. “My foot hurts too much. Chi Ye, can you take me to my mom’s hospital?”

Chi Ye’s lips tightened. He said to the driver, “Uncle Wang, let’s go.”

On the way, Lin Yuran called Yao A-ping to let her know.

When they arrived at Jinxi People’s Hospital, she could already see her mother in a white coat pacing anxiously at the entrance.

Yao A-ping, worried about both her empty post at work and Yuran’s injured foot, didn’t even ask why her daughter had gone out so late, or pay much attention to the boy who had brought her.

She took Lin Yuran from Chi Ye’s hands and led her to the on-duty surgeon. After an exam, the doctor said it wasn’t serious. Just to be safe, Yao A-ping insisted on an X-ray. When the film came out, the bone was fine. The doctor prescribed a swelling and pain relief spray, use it for three to five days and it would heal.

When everything was done, Yao A-ping still wasn’t at ease. She was about to call Hao Qinghe to pick her up.

Lin Yuran’s anger flared. She snapped, “It’s snowing like crazy! Why would I run out in the middle of the night for no reason? I told you before, didn’t I? And now you actually want him to come pick me up?”

Yao A-ping fell silent.

Back then, Lin Yuran had tried over and over to convince her that the two of them could live well without depending on a man. She’d even shown it through action, urging her mother to get a divorce. But Yao A-ping clung stubbornly to that unhappy marriage, treating it like a fig leaf she couldn’t tear away. 

Sometimes, she even believed Yuran was exaggerating things just to make her divorce.

Lin Yuran had resented her mother for dragging her into such misery, and her disappointment had only grown. Lately, every talk ended in a fight. Yuran no longer confided in her mother, no longer tried to communicate. At home, she barely spoke. Their relationship was on the brink of collapse.

Seeing the tears welling in her mother’s eyes, Lin Yuran softened a little. “You don’t have to worry about me. I have a classmate taking me back.”

“That boy who brought you here?” Yao A-ping sniffled.

Lin Yuran nodded impatiently.

It was the first time Yao A-ping realized that her daughter had been sneaking out at night. Before, Yuran had always kept it secret so she wouldn’t worry.

“Where are you going?” Yao A-ping asked nervously. “You’re not planning to come home? How about you stay at the hospital tonight? It’s not safe to be out so late with a boy.”

Yuran’s temper flared again. “Do you think I’m as blind and foolish as you?”

Yao A-ping was speechless once more.

Lin Yuran ignored her and limped toward the lobby. Her mother silently followed behind.

Chi Ye was waiting quietly there. When he heard their footsteps, he stood and went up to support Lin Yuran. Politely, he greeted, “Auntie.”

Yao A-ping was stunned for a moment, then smiled faintly and nodded to him.

Her daughter had always been independent and sharp. She’d made her own decisions from a young age and always chose wisely. Yao A-ping knew she couldn’t control her.

Before Yuran left, Yao A-ping pulled her aside and whispered, “That boy’s a good one. But your mother doesn’t support dating too early. High school is an important stage for learning. Focus on your studies first. If he’s still around when you both reach college, I’ll have no objections.”

“Still around for what?” Lin Yuran asked irritably.

“Never mind. Forget it.” Yao A-ping looked relieved and pressed 500 yuan into her hand. “If you’re not coming home, find a hotel. Remember, two rooms.”

Lin Yuran frowned. “You don’t have to remind me.”

Finally, Yao A-ping felt reassured.

Even a naïve adult could see it, the sincerity and seriousness in that boy’s eyes. She knew people like him didn’t take affection lightly. He wouldn’t cross the line.

“Auntie, I’ll take Yuran back now,” Chi Ye said, helping her into the car. Before getting in himself, he added, “Please don’t worry.”

Yao A-ping smiled and nodded, watching them drive away.

But instead of fading, her smiling face seemed to draw closer, closer and closer, until it was right before Lin Yuran’s eyes.

Her mother’s soft voice surrounded her. “Little Peach, that boy is wonderful. He’s waited for nine years. Mom supports you two being together.”

Lin Yuran frowned in confusion. “Mom… you fell asleep and never woke up six years ago. How do you know he’s waited nine years?”

Yao A-ping’s voice grew faint, as if floating away. Lin Yuran couldn’t catch her words. Her mother’s charming face began to blur, receding into the distance.

Though they had just said goodbye, a sudden panic surged in Lin Yuran’s chest as she watched her mother drift away. She ran after her, shouting, “Mom! I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have spoken to you that way!”

But no matter how fast she ran, her mother’s figure only grew smaller and smaller, until she disappeared completely.

Bent over, panting heavily, Lin Yuran stared helplessly at the spot where her mother’s gentle face had faded away. Suddenly, a dark shadow lunged from behind and grabbed her.

She turned, and a scruffy, stubbled face loomed close, twisted and feral. A hoarse, smoke-roughened voice growled, “You’re such a filial daughter, aren’t you? You’ve been so good you sent your father straight to prison.”

“Let go of me!” Lin Yuran struggled violently.

Her hand struck something hard, pain shot through her, sharp enough to wake her up. She jolted upright, clutching her throbbing hand, forehead and back drenched in cold sweat.

Outside, dawn was just breaking, and snow was still falling softly. It was hard to tell dream from reality.

Reaching for her phone on the bedside table, Lin Yuran checked the screen. The date and time glowed clearly. She was awake.

She exhaled a long breath and lay back down.

People say dreams reflect what’s on your mind.

But this one had come so suddenly, messy, fragmented, tangled with reality and illusion, and had nothing to do with what she’d been thinking that day.

Was it because it was snowing again that she’d dreamed of that snowy night? Or just her subconscious reaching out?

The horror of the last moment washed away everything else.

Her mother’s smiling face blurred quickly in her memory, but the helpless panic of watching her drift away still lingered in her chest. Whether in dreams or in reality, she never did get to tell her mother that she was sorry.

Lin Yuran hugged the blanket and curled up tightly.

Before the dream completely faded, she clung to a few fragments, details that would’ve been lost to time if not for that dream. Like what Chi Ye had said in the car that night… 

“I was waiting just for you.”

So he’d been that obvious, even back then. And she hadn’t responded at all. Was she frozen, or just too scared?

She remembered that afternoon when Zhou Xintong confessed to Chi Ye. That day, she finally realized how special he was to her. But she’d pretended not to care and walked right past him.

Whatever her reason for avoiding him, in his eyes, it must’ve felt like rejection.

A pang of guilt pierced her chest.

That proud, untamed boy, how wounded must his heart have been, to treat her so gently, so carefully?

She remembered that snowy night. They hadn’t gone to a hotel after all; they’d gone to an internet café, like always.

It was late. She was dead tired, but her foot still needed icing. If not, it would swell badly by morning. She curled up on the couch with an ice pack and dozed off.

Somewhere in her half-sleep, she could feel the cold being reapplied, again and again, until dawn. Chi Ye hadn’t closed his eyes the entire night. Every two hours, he changed her ice pack, tending to her tirelessly.

When morning came, the chill of the spray on her foot woke her. She opened her eyes slowly and saw him kneeling at her side, exhaustion on his face, carefully applying ointment to her swelling. She just watched him quietly.

That unruly boy, always so gentle with her. Never showing his claws.

Outside, the snow had stopped. Morning light spilled in.

Lin Yuran stopped thinking too much.

Chi Ye had taken ninety-nine steps toward her. It was time she took the last one toward him.