Chapter 147
Lin Wan Ning looked at Long Ao Tian in front of her and chuckled softly, "I thought you were too scared to see me. Here, this is for you."
Long Ao Tian caught it and said softly, "Wan Ning, how about we take a walk together?"
"Sure."
They strolled along the shaded path outside the school.
After a moment of contemplation, Long Ao Tian decided to be straightforward. "Wan Ning, to be honest, I’m not really thinking about dating right now."
"I respect everyone, and I respect feelings even more..."
"Does my brother dislike being with me?" Lin Wan Ning asked, lowering her gaze.
Long Ao Tian shook his head.
"Then does my brother dislike kissing me?"
Long Ao Tian paused for a moment.
Lin Wan Ning laughed lightly, "If my brother doesn’t say anything, it means he doesn’t dislike it. So, this isn’t complicated at all."
"What do you mean?"
Lin Wan Ning said earnestly, "My brother doesn’t mind seeing me, nor does he mind kissing me. Since what happened yesterday doesn’t make either of us uncomfortable, let’s just keep things as they are for now."
**[Thanks for the divine certification and all the gifts and support. I truly appreciate everyone’s continued encouragement. I don’t know how to express my feelings, but I sincerely thank you all. I wish everyone well. Love you all.]**
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**Chapter 177: Everything in the Past is an Illusion**
Just as Lin Wan Ning said, she wasn’t particularly traditional or conservative when it came to feelings.
Everyone yearns for beautiful things, and everyone has the right to pursue beauty.
Lin Wan Ning couldn’t ignore her own heart; she indeed had feelings for Long Ao Tian. So for her, maintaining their current state was just fine.
In the slow process of getting to know each other...
Just like Long Ao Tian said, he respected everyone and their feelings, so she would respect him in return.
Who said only boys could pursue girls?
Who said that a girl with a cool exterior couldn’t take the initiative to like a boy?
Long Ao Tian looked at the serious Lin Wan Ning and felt a bit out of sync.
Was she really innocent or just pretending to be?
He couldn’t shake the feeling that she might have misunderstood him.
He said he wasn’t interested in dating right now, and she said they should just maintain their current state...
After a long pause, Long Ao Tian finally said, "You really don’t have to do this. It makes me seem a bit irresponsible."
"I don’t need you to be responsible for me. If having feelings for someone requires the other person to take responsibility, then no one would dare to date in this world."
"And who knows, as we spend more time together, you might develop feelings for me too? Or maybe I’ll meet someone I like while getting to know you?"
At this point, Lin Wan Ning turned to face Long Ao Tian, her eyes shimmering slightly. "Or are you secretly harboring some feelings for me, and that’s why you’re hesitant to act? Afraid that once you do, you’ll have to take responsibility?"
"The contrast between your appearance and your inner self is striking. Do your friends know about this?"
Lin Wan Ning huffed lightly, "You underestimate me."
"I’m not as fragile as I seem. I understand what you mean; you’re just too mature. You seem to know everything, but being too perceptive can make you a bit rigid."
"You’re not going to decide to stick with me for life just because I have a little crush on you, are you?"
Seeing Lin Wan Ning’s lively demeanor, Long Ao Tian felt even more puzzled, as he couldn’t quite grasp what she was thinking.
Some of the things she said seemed illogical. Is having a little crush on someone really something to be ashamed of?
No, it certainly wasn’t.
But Long Ao Tian sensed an indescribable emotion in her words.
Perhaps, just as Lin Wan Ning said, he was overthinking it.
"You’re just like my uncle; even the way you frown while thinking is the same."
Long Ao Tian sighed dramatically, shaking his head. "You really give me a headache."
"What should I do then?"
"What else can I do? I’m just cursed with this irresistible charm!"
"You’re so full of yourself. You should really work on that meddlesome personality of yours..." Although Lin Wan Ning had met Long Ao Tian because of his meddling, she felt deeply grateful for it.
But when it came to meddling, she didn’t want him to do that anymore.
Perhaps she was being selfish... but she was more worried that Long Ao Tian might face some bad situations because of it...
Hearing this, Long Ao Tian couldn’t help but recall Li Qing Xue’s tear-streaked face; she had once said something similar to him.
The memory of her red-nosed crying face was somewhat amusing now, bringing a smile to his lips.
"I’m not always meddling."
As he spoke, Long Ao Tian reached for the fruit tea beside him, but at the same moment, Lin Wan Ning had already placed the fruit tea in front of herself.
He glanced at the fruit tea and then back at Lin Wan Ning, who was also smiling at him.
In that moment of eye contact, they both smiled in unison.
"Does this count as a kind of tacit understanding?"
"Definitely."
After taking a sip of the fruit tea, he looked at Lin Wan Ning. "I’ve never heard you sing. Show me what you’ve got."
"Okay, but you can’t laugh at me."
Lin Wan Ning stood up, and the smile on her face suddenly turned serious after a deep breath.
If changing expressions had levels, Long Ao Tian would call this the highest!
The shift in her aura happened in an instant.
Her voice was unique, and the lyrics were imbued with emotion, transforming into beautiful music as they reached his ears.
The enchanting girl before him seemed to be shrouded in mist, and everything around them became surreal.
The shifts in her tone intertwined, creating a profound sense of life and death, light and dark, reaching an extreme of separation.
Such a mesmerizing sound easily touched the hearts of its listeners.
After a long while, as the song came to an end, Lin Wan Ning gently opened her eyes.
As the last note faded, Long Ao Tian leaned back on the bench, his eyes slowly closing.
"Was it good?"
"Very good. Even your acapella is amazing. I can’t imagine how good it would be with accompaniment." Long Ao Tian wasn’t exaggerating; her unique voice, combined with technique and emotion, made even her unaccompanied singing captivating.
Receiving Long Ao Tian’s affirmation, Lin Wan Ning felt a little proud.
Tentatively, she tugged at Long Ao Tian’s shirt. "I sang for you, so you should share something about yourself too."
"I don’t have much to say. My life is pretty ordinary. If it weren’t for my little sidekick, I probably wouldn’t even be in college."
Hearing this, Lin Wan Ning fell silent for a moment before continuing, "Come on, share. I sang for you, so it’s only fair."
Long Ao Tian wanted to say something but didn’t know where to start.
Because the old Long Ao Tian was quite unlikable, and arriving in this world felt like a dream.
After thinking for a moment, he finally said, "Honestly, you might not believe this, but my first friend was Hu Yu Ying. Isn’t that kind of ridiculous?"
"A bit." Did he really not have a single friend in the first ten years of his life before meeting Hu Yu Ying?
"But it’s true. My first friend was indeed Hu Yu Ying. Back then, she was like a punching bag; it felt like anyone could pick on her..."
"So you helped her?" Lin Wan Ning recalled how Hu Yu Ying looked when she was with Long Ao Tian—there was a sense of reliance, a sense of trust...
"To say I helped her wouldn’t be entirely accurate; she helped me too."
"Because I was very lost back then, even a bit scared. I can’t quite describe how I felt at that time, but in helping her, I also found a sense of purpose for myself."
Lin Wan Ning listened quietly. She wasn’t part of that experience, so she couldn’t empathize, but she was a good listener.
She didn’t know why Long Ao Tian didn’t deliberately talk about his past, but from his recounting of the second half of his senior year, she sensed a kind of tearing change.
It was a strange feeling, as if he had become a different person, living a different life, and everything in the past was an illusion.
What was real was that he met Hu Yu Ying, and in helping her, he slowly found his own meaning, ultimately gaining a sense of belonging...
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**Chapter 178: The Luckiest Person in the World**
"Brother." Lin Wan Ning called out to Long Ao Tian.
"What’s wrong?" Long Ao Tian looked at her in confusion, noticing that her mood seemed a bit off.
He was still wondering if he had said something wrong.
In the next moment, a soft body, fragrant and warm, leaped into his arms.
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