Chapter 469: What Kind of Person Are You Really?

"Ugh, so tired~"

Yang Yin sat under the shed, couldn't even take off her ice skates, and let out a heavy breath.

"But it really feels refreshing, today was also happy… Lu San'er, can I still come find you to hang out tomorrow?"

Lu Cheng, taking off his skates, replied, "Tomorrow won't work, tomorrow I have to report back to the team."

He had previously promised the foreman of that forest farm to provide some supplies as a New Year benefit, and he hasn't reported this to Captain Lei yet.

"What about next time you come back?"

Lu Cheng looked up; Yang Yin had a standard melon‑seed face, long curved eyelashes, had just come from Hua Bing Chang, her small face flushed with a healthy pink, and a fine layer of ice crystals covered her lashes.

At this moment, those watery eyes were full of anticipation.

Looking at this youthful, lively girl so close, Lu Cheng's previously dormant heart suddenly began to beat rapidly for no apparent reason.

Having lived two lifetimes as a human, he considered himself no longer youthful in temperament, yet somehow, every time he was with Yang Yin, he could once again feel the joy of youth.

"Next time, okay."

Hearing Lu Cheng say that, Yang Yin curved her eyes into a crescent.

Lu Cheng pulled out his bicycle: "Shall I take you home, or shall we ride around a bit more?"

Lu Cheng's offhand remark surprised Yang Yin, because he offered two options; in the past, there would have been only the first—directly taking her home.

"Of course we'll ride around; otherwise… let's go to the Summer Palace."

Lu Cheng frowned slightly: "That's too far, isn't it?"

"Come on, the sun's already out, it's still early before nightfall, please, I finally came out to play, I'm begging you…"

Hearing Yang Yin's slightly coquettish tone, Lu Cheng shook his head helplessly: "Get on the bike."

The Summer Palace was also crowded, but compared with Shichahai, where most visitors are young, here the crowd skews older.

People strolling with radios, shouting, carrying birdcages, and, besides those, a more intriguing activity—winter swimming.

Compared with ice skating, a sport for the young, winter swimming tends toward an older demographic.

From people in their thirties up to those in their fifties or sixties, and even some men in their seventies, stripping down to nothing but a pair of swim trunks.

Standing on the shore, they skip the extra warm‑up routines of the young, simply rubbing their palms vigorously on their chest and arms until the skin turns red.

Then they deftly plunge into the icy lake water without hesitation, as if a single second of doubt meant surrendering to the cold.

From afar, walking along a shrub‑lined path, Yang Yin saw it and couldn't help murmuring.

"Aren't they cold? I just look at it and get goosebumps."

Lu Cheng glanced at the side‑by‑side walking Yang Yin, smiled and said, "You have to try everything yourself to know, so why not give it a try? I'll cheer you on from the shore."

Yang Yin immediately clutched her chest: "Rascal! Don't think I don't know what you're thinking; winter swimming requires you to strip completely."

Lu Cheng laughed: "What's there to fear? Look, there's a Big Aunt winter‑swimming over there."

Yang Yin glanced and indeed saw one, hopping along while muttering.

"It's really odd, you know. In the past, women had to wear skirts that went past the knee or they'd be stared at, yet here they can winter‑swim in so little and no one cares."

"What's so strange? They're all old men and Big Aunts; it's normal not to be interested. Believe it or not, if I stripped completely at that spot, a bunch of young girls would flock over instantly."

"Showoff! Who's interested in looking at you?"

Lu Cheng smiled without replying, and Yang Yin fell silent as well.

After an uncertain amount of time, Yang Yin whispered, "Lu Cheng…"

"Just call me Lu San'er, your sudden change of address makes me worry you have ulterior motives."

"Call me whatever you want."

"Fine, as you wish."

Another silence fell, then Yang Yin asked without any particular reason.

"What kind of person are you, really?"

Lu Cheng glanced sideways, feeling inexplicably puzzled.

"What do you mean? I'm just a normal, outstanding young man of the new era, aren't I?"

"You're a good young man, no doubt; you aren't afraid of danger, running south to deliver supplies, which is better than those Grand Courtyard kids who just loiter at the ice rink."

"But I think you're more like the characters in storytelling, a person both righteous and wicked, because you can mingle with Xiao Piqiu and those rogue troublemakers."

"Also, you talk frivolously, but handle matters with mature experience, so I can't discern what kind of person you truly are."

Lu Cheng, unconcerned, said, "Why do you need to see through me?"

Yang Yin fell silent again, then seemed to gather great courage.

"Of course I want to know you well enough; otherwise, I couldn't help constantly wanting to get close to you."

"If I understood you thoroughly, I wouldn't want to get close to you?"

Yang Yin shook her head slightly: "I don't know."

Lu Cheng was silent, and Yang Yin was silent as well.

After another while, this time Lu Cheng spoke first.

"Actually, you've already learned enough about me—my childhood self, my past self, my present self—you've already inquired about all of them; these are the truest me."

Hearing Lu Cheng say that, Yang Yin quickly shook her head as if to clear tangled thoughts, then settled on what she wanted to ask most.

"Actually, what I most want to know is the matter between you and her?"

"Don't give me a vague answer; treat it as curiosity and satisfy me, please."

Lu Cheng realized Yang Yin's question concerned him and Lin Qingyan, and he felt a bit helpless.

Honestly, his relationship with Lin Qingyan was at a point he couldn't even define himself.

And how could he explain that to Yang Yin?

Moreover, he and Lin Qingyan had been divorced for over two years, and he considered himself to have atoned for the regrets of his previous life.

In the end we couldn't be together because of family circumstances; it is a prejudice in people's hearts, an insurmountable chasm.

He doesn't want to bring it up again, nor is there any need to, but Yang Yin looks like someone who will break a clay pot to get to the bottom of it.

Lu Cheng said, "Your curiosity is really strong; do you have to say it?"

Yang Yin nodded heavily, "I have to say it; I need to understand your most genuine feelings, it's very important to me."