Chapter 299: I Fell in Love With You

Since moving from the earthquake shelter into the house, Lu Cheng and Lin Qingyan have been sleeping on the same bed again.

That night, Lu Cheng, while taking off his clothes, said, "Qing Yan, I've already asked someone to deliver your father's documents; I believe a result will come soon."

As for Lin Zhenfeng's matter, he asked Senior Sister Su Feixue to have someone handle it.

Hearing Lu Cheng's words, Lin Qingyan, who was sitting in front of the mirror brushing her hair, paused slightly and said, "Mm, thank you."

Lu Cheng, sitting at the bedside, turned his head and asked, "Why do you sound a bit unhappy?"

Lin Qingyan quickly shook her head: "No, my parents are back, so I'm of course happy; it's just… I don't know how to thank you properly."

Hearing that, Lu Cheng didn't mind much and joked, "It's simple—if you really want to thank me, just bear me a child. You don't know, my mother nags about this every day; if she found out I'm in a sham marriage with you, she'd scold me to death."

In the end this was a lie to his mother, and Lu Cheng felt quite guilty, but to repay Lin Qingyan's kindness from his previous life he felt forced and could only soothe his mother later.

What Lu Cheng didn't realize was that his joking words made Lin Qingyan take him seriously.

"Lu Cheng, may I ask you something?"

After taking off his clothes, Lu Cheng lay prettily in the quilt; in a while he would have to pull the coal stove in again.

"You want to ask about the divorce, right? Rest assured, I'll honor our previous agreement; once your parents return, the two of us will handle the divorce."

Lin Qingyan remained silent; she truly could not fathom Lu Cheng's thoughts.

At first, Lu Cheng said the marriage was entered into out of protective motives, but Lin Qingyan thought Lu Cheng did it because he liked her.

She also tried to accept the marriage, yet during their time together she realized Lu Cheng had no affectionate feelings for her, only the pure protection he had mentioned before.

If Lu Cheng truly showed even a hint of liking, she thought she would go along, bear him a child, and live a life of being a good wife and mother, staying together forever.

But Lu Cheng had none—no hint of affection at all.

This left Lin Qingyan's mind in turmoil; she didn't know whether she should end the marriage.

On many nights she asked herself, and every answer was negative; deep down she actually wanted to keep the marriage.

Therefore Lu Cheng's true thoughts became very important to her.

"What if I don't want a divorce?" Lin Qingyan wanted to talk it over with Lu Cheng.

Hearing this, Lu Cheng turned his body aside and looked over with some confusion.

"Don't want a divorce? Why?"

Lin Qingyan pressed her lips together and said, "I… I've fallen in love with you."

In this era, most people are shy about expressing feelings, and for the conservative Lin Qingyan, being able to say the three words 'I like you' directly clearly required great courage.

After speaking, she felt embarrassed, quickly turned her head, and through the mirror saw her cheeks flushed red.

Lu Cheng sat up, stunned for a long moment.

Honestly, he was a bit flustered; he hadn't expected Lin Qingyan to develop such feelings for him at this moment.

Being liked by such a beautiful girl should have made Lu Cheng's heart joyous; any other man would feel the same.

Yet Lu Cheng couldn't feel happy, because he knew that if they followed the agreement and simply divorced calmly, nothing would change.

But if one party develops feelings first, that person will inevitably suffer greatly.

That is why Lu Cheng always kept distance from Lin Qingyan; having lived two lifetimes, he fully understood that hierarchical barriers exist between people.

"Qing Yan, first of all thank you for your admiration, but… you can't like me."

Lin Qingyan, after mustering such courage, received this reply and stood up, somewhat bewildered.

"Why can't I like you?"

Seeing Lu Cheng give no answer, Lin Qingyan still didn't understand: "So you've never had any feeling for me? Not even for a moment?"

Lu Cheng didn't know how to answer, hesitated for a long time, and could only say, "I only care about you. Even if we divorce, we can still be good friends; if you have any trouble, you can always come to me. However, once your father is Restoration to Former Post, I think you won't have any problems you can turn to me for."

Lin Qingyan wasn't foolish; she wasn't swept away by what she thought was love and quickly understood the meaning behind Lu Cheng's words.

"You think our families are mismatched, that my relatives would force us to divorce, right? I'll persuade my family, you can trust me…"

As she spoke further, Lin Qingyan's tone trembled; Lu Cheng felt uneasy and hurried to end the topic.

"Qing Yan, don't get agitated; the most important thing now is to get Lin Shushu back first. We can discuss this later."

Lin Qingyan didn't know what to say; she couldn't understand why Lu Cheng, a big boy younger than her, could remain calm at all times, unlike how a young man should act.

That night, lying in bed, separated by a curtain, both harbored their own thoughts.

Lu Cheng originally thought everything would go according to the original plan; after he helped Lin Qingyan finish the last thing, their fate would end there.

What caught him off guard was that Lin Qingyan had actually fallen for him.

But would they have a good outcome? Lu Cheng wasn't optimistic.

It seemed the rehabilitation of Lin Zhenfeng needed to be sped up, so Lu Cheng went to the Cultural Troupe the next day and found Senior Sister Su Feixue.

Now that the two met, they first went to the usual training area of the Cultural Troupe to spar.

If he could defeat the Senior Sister, Su Feixue would agree to dance for him.

However, each time they began sparring, Lu Cheng always had the upper hand, and just as he was about to defeat the Senior Sister, Su Feixue would unleash a killing technique, swiftly throwing him to the ground.

Today was no different; on the training platform, Lu Cheng was thrown down dozens of times, and finally, exhausted, he lay on the ground unable to get up.

Su Feixue was also breathless from fatigue, her chest heaving, and sitting at the side of the platform she glanced at Lu Cheng.

"You're off today; your moves are all chaotic. What's up, got something on your mind?"

Lu Cheng forced himself to stand, patted his hands and said, "Nothing, Senior Sister, I'm here today just to ask how Lin Zhenfeng's matter is going."

"So you're worried about that, no wonder you were absent‑minded today," Su Feixue said as she also stood up.

"But you don't need to worry; this time it was handled by Senior Brother, so it'll be fine. Just wait a bit longer."

Having received a definite answer, Lu Cheng felt relieved, and that waiting lasted until the twelfth month, when Capital City already began to feel the New Year atmosphere.

Besides learning that Lin Zhenfeng would return, there was another happy thing: Zhao Jinzhu was getting married.