Chapter 235: Can You Give Me a Chance to Pursue You?

Rain fell in the capital, dispersing some of the sweltering heat. Sycamore leaves spiraled as they fell from the branches. Ling Wu stepped out of a convenience store, and when he reached for his phone, the plastic bag in his hand accidentally dropped to the ground. He bent down to pick it up, and the small puddle before his eyes was shattered by a pair of polished leather shoes.

The man's black umbrella tilted to shade the top of Ling Wu's head.

The sound of raindrops drumming against the umbrella canopy filled his ears...

Ling Wu grabbed the handle of the plastic bag and quickly looked up. Upon seeing the handsome face of the man before him, his fingers suddenly went a bit stiff.

He stood up.

Chu Yi stood on the street of a foreign land, holding an umbrella and observing Ling Wu. A gust of wind flipped up a corner of the sun umbrella at the corner café. The dampness of the air and the familiar bitterness of coffee drifted over together. He heard the sound of his own heartbeat shattering the stillness of the late night: "Ling Wu, long time no see."

His voice was like the sediment of time, knocking tirelessly, beat after beat, against a tightly shut door and window.

A tram whistled past, and the damp wind carried the light and shadows of the signs, slicing the figures of the two people into familiar fragments deep within memory.

Ling Wu's Adam's apple bobbed: "Chu Yi, long time no see."

"When did you arrive in the Federation?"

They both tacitly avoided mentioning the events of five years ago, as if there were no unpleasantness at all, just a pair of old friends reunited after a long time in a foreign land.

"I just arrived this morning."

Chu Yi's hand holding the umbrella was very steady. The warm light from the tavern by the street seeped out, making his brows and eyes appear even more profound: "You've lost weight."

Ling Wu smiled, looking as if he didn't intend to argue about this topic. He raised a finger and pointed to the café at the corner, saying: "Would you like to go over and sit for a while?"

Chu Yi walked side-by-side with him: "I would."

Pushing open the door of the café, the two chose a quiet spot by the window to sit. The warm yellow wall lamps bathed the walls in a honey-colored glow, adding a layer of lazy, healing filter to the entire environment.

Ling Wu added sugar to his coffee, and the silver spoon clinked against the side of the cup with a crisp sound: "I've been following news of the Empire for the past few years. I heard it has been completely liberated. Congratulations, Your Highness."

Silence for a moment.

"It is I who should congratulate you..."

Chu Yi's suit looked faded under the light, and his voice sounded as if it had been diluted by time: "You have finally attained the freedom you longed to possess."

"Indeed." Ling Wu hadn't expected him to bring up this topic and was a bit surprised.

He changed the subject: "Has Your Highness been doing well all these years?"

Chu Yi stared into Ling Wu's eyes, his arms resting on the tabletop, his fingertips rubbing against his thin calluses. He pondered for a moment and said very straightforwardly: "I have not been doing well."

"Oh?"

"My apologies."

Ling Wu lived up to expectations and killed the conversation. He thought about it, and it made sense; with so many trivial matters in the Empire waiting for Chu Yi to handle, he must have been exhausted and drained.

He wasn't good at small talk, and now he felt as awkward as if he were urgently completing some task: "Are you here in the Federation on official business?"

"I can provide you with a referral."

Chu Yi said: "I am not."

The sycamore leaves by the roadside rustled in the wind, just like the sound of pages being turned by the wind when he frantically tucked every plane ticket to the Federation to find Ling Wu into the frontispiece of *Silent Love*.

The surface of the coffee cup vaguely reflected Chu Yi's flustered silhouette: "Ling Wu, don't misunderstand. I am not here to handle official business, nor am I here to start a war. I came to the Federation because I want to pursue you."

"Five years ago at the Snow Mountain, you said you wanted to embrace freedom first and wouldn't consider anything else... Now, five years later, everything has settled. Can the opportunity finally be my turn?"

He spoke with bitterness and sincerity.

Ling Wu's eyelashes lifted: "Chu Yi, do you still like me?"

"Why?"

He felt a bit guilty for utilizing Chu Yi's sincerity.

Ling Wu was frank and open: "That video was leaked, and I believe you saw it too. Since you saw it, you must understand that back then, I was only borrowing your influence and using you. When I returned to the Empire, I never once thought about developing any romantic feelings there."

"I am a person accustomed to being self-centered. I am not as good as you think. Although some things happened a long time ago, I feel we should put the issues out in the open to discuss."

"Have you never wondered why I was able to arrive immediately when you were locked in the equipment room?"

"Have you never wondered why I just happened to be at the Central Hospital that day?"

"And telling Huo Xi your true identity to lay the foundation for cooperation—have you never thought about how I knew your identity?"

"I understand what you mean." Chu Yi articulated his point: "Ling Wu, you want to tell me that you were calculating and using me from start to finish, wanting me to feel that the person I like isn't actually that good, so as to persuade me to give up on liking you—is that what you mean?"

"But I have always known the truth of the matters you speak of."

Raindrops wound into rivers along the glass window, blurring the street's light and shadows into spots of light of varying sizes.

Chu Yi said very calmly: "You say you used me, but I only remember that it was you who let me out of the equipment room, you who told me to cherish my talent, and you who silently paid my surgery fees when I was at my most destitute and helpless..."

"If every action in this world must be traced back to one's original intent, then the starting point is likely self-serving. This is understandable. I only look at what you did for me, and what I ultimately gained."

Ling Wu opened his mouth, but no sound squeezed out of his throat.

Cold sweat beaded on Chu Yi's palms: "You don't need to worry about other things; I will not pester you unreasonably."

"Liking you has been my own affair from beginning to end. You are free, and you possess the three options of refusing, ignoring, or responding. If you respond to this affection of mine, it is my honor; if not, then I will just try harder. Everything I do is what I want to do from start to finish, and it is my own willingness to bear the corresponding responsibilities for this affection I have for you."

Chu Yi said solemnly: "Ling Wu, can you give me a chance to pursue you?"

He was determined to face all difficulties head-on.

Ling Wu softened: "Chu Yi, let's start as friends first."

Chu Yi accepted readily, and he asked a bit nervously: "Does this mean you are implicitly agreeing to let me pursue you?"

Ling Wu was left feeling dizzy by his words, with the two characters for "pursue" floating everywhere before his eyes; he was almost triggered: "... Yes."

"When are you returning to the Empire? Is it alright for you to leave so casually?"

Chu Yi clearly saw that he was changing the subject, raised an eyebrow slightly, and confessed truthfully: "I don't want to go back for the time being. The Federation is very good; it has the person I like."

Ling Wu had thin skin, and a crimson flush climbed up his earlobes.

How did this topic circle back again without a sound?

In the five years they were apart, what on earth did Chu Yi experience to become so flirtatious...