The Wind Heard Her Confession - Chapter 5: A Blinding Crush part 2

This proposal was perfect for Lin Yuran, considering she would likely encounter situations like last night more than once. Staying in hotels may be expensive, but they weren’t necessarily any safer.

Lin Yuran nodded. “Sounds good.”

“If you come too late, say past midnight, you can call me—I’ll pick you up,” Chi Ye pressed his lips together.

!!!

Lin Yuran looked up at him and said, “Oh.”

Something felt off. “Are you really working all night every day?”

Chi Ye rubbed the back of his neck. “Not really, but I bought a yearly pass to avoid situations where there’s no seat left when I want to use it, or having to sit on a sofa used by tons of different people, or using headphones and keyboards that have been touched by strangers—I don’t like doing that.”

“Oh, so that’s how it is.”

So spoiled! This was something he could definitely do, Lin Yuran thought without further ado.

The two sat down together and ate breakfast, then Chi Ye purchased toothpaste, toothbrushes, facial cleanser, and moisturizer for her as well. After washing up briefly in the bathroom, they headed off to morning classes side-by-side.

As they passed by the school store near the entrance, Chi Ye called for her to wait. He entered the shop, then emerged shortly after with a grin tugging at the corner of his lips. He held out his hand to her.

Within his palm lay a lollipop—the same flavor she loved best, the glistening starlight lollipop. During break time, she would chew absentmindedly on one while drawing in her sketchbook.

For a moment, staring at the lollipop, Lin Yuran fell into a daze.

Chi Ye stuffed the lollipop into her pocket, then waved his own around, “There’s more where this came from once we’re done eating.”

Lin Yuran suspected he spent all ten yuan on lollipops.

From then on, their interactions gradually increased; when Chi Ye mentioned wanting to develop a game with traditional Chinese themes, Lin Yuran naturally began drawing more traditional characters during her free time.

Over nearly two and a half years, she filled an entire sketchbook.

After the high school exam, she secretly stuffed that sketchbook into Chi Ye’s desk as both a graduation and farewell gift.

Lin Yuran flipped through Infinite Showdown‘s hero handbook, recalling how those people called Chi Ye “President Chi” in the elevator lobby.

It seemed that RanYe Entertainment really was Chi Ye’s company after all.

The traditional Chinese character designs from her sketchbook were also incorporated into the game.

Though it was based on her original manuscript, Lin Yuran still downloaded the game onto her computer, intending to play a few rounds for fun to experience its atmosphere and see the characters’ animations.

After successfully registering, Lin Yuran logged in and clicked through each character profile until she settled on her favorite—then entered the game.

The game’s setting and atmosphere were truly breathtaking, immersing players deeply into the fantasy world. For a moment, Lin Yuran felt like she had been transported into a dream.

As expected of the most popular game worldwide!

Not long after starting, Lin Yuran met a player with the nickname “Drunk on First Snow” who added her as a friend and offered to take her along for some fun since they were both bored.

Lin Yuran followed Drunk on First Snow for two hours until she suddenly had a burst of inspiration. She signed off and dedicated herself to creating art.

For the entire week, Lin Yuran did nothing but draw nonstop, only occasionally playing games when she was hit by a creative block.

Her gaming skills were dismal, but every time she logged in, she would find Drunk on First Snow online. The latter never minded her incompetence, always welcoming her with open arms, patiently taking her along even if he had planned to quit early.

Whenever Lin Yuran became engrossed in her work, she lost all sense of time; sometimes, when inspiration struck, she would draw till midnight, while during creative blocks, she would log back in to play a few rounds to find new ideas.

It was strange, yet consistent:

Even at midnight, she could still find Drunk on First Snow online, but unlike during daytime, the latter wasn’t quite as patient, refusing to take her along and instead urging her to log off and sleep.

Lin Yuran was used to doing things her way; of course she wouldn’t listen to some random person on the internet and play by herself if he didn’t invite her.

For reasons unknown, her account would often get suspended for a few minutes before logging back in again, only to display an error message upon reconnection, locking her out temporarily.

However, after waiting it out, she could log back in without issue once daytime rolled around.

After a few days, Lin Yuran had grown quite familiar with this Drunk on First Snow.

Before signing off one day, Drunk at First Snow suddenly asked her:【Do you have a boyfriend?】

The instant she saw this question, Lin Yuran’s first reaction was that no wonder he was so patient—turns out he wanted to pursue a romantic relationship online. She responded firmly:

【Why do you ask? I’m not interested in internet relationships.】

【I’m not asking because I want a relationship, just chatting casually.】

Though they hadn’t exchanged many words over these past few days, from the occasional snippets of conversation, Lin Yuran could tell this person seemed well-educated. It was unclear why he’d suddenly bring up such a private topic, but Lin Yuran wasn’t opposed to it, so she answered him sincerely enough to exchange a couple lines of small talk.

【Not currently.】

【Then is there someone you like?】

Lin Yuran stared at this question and subconsciously typed out the words “I don’t,” but she couldn’t bring herself to press enter.

After a long pause.

Perhaps facing the virtual world makes people braver when confronting their inner selves, for she typed out of her own accord: 【Mm-hmm. I’ve been harboring someone in my heart since childhood.】 She pressed enter.

【What about you?】 Lin Yuran asked casually.

Drunk on First Snow response came after a long moment. 【Me too, I’ve also been harboring someone in my heart since childhood.】

They didn’t ask anything else, and the conversation ended abruptly right there.

A week later, as promised, Lin Yuran submitted her manuscript.

Three days after sending the design draft to RanYe, Lin Yuran received a call requesting that she meet with RanYe to discuss further details regarding their collaboration.

Without wasting a second, Lin Yuran packed up Xu Jianwei and went straight over.

The meeting took place in a conference room on the ninth floor. Apart from Zhang Xin, the department manager handling the licensing products, Chi Ye was present unexpectedly as well.