Chapter 32 Part 1

Lin Qingye held her in that embrace for a long time. In the end, it was Xu Zhinan who came to her senses and pushed him away.

He obediently took a step back and glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was ten o'clock.

"Sit down for a bit," Lin Qingye said, going to pour her a cup of hot water. "I'll take you home in a bit."

"I'm not going home. I'm staying in the dorm tonight," Xu Zhinan said softly.

"Alright." He placed the warm water on the coffee table in front of her. "Have some water first."

Lin Qingye sat down on the single-seater sofa next to her. Xu Zhinan picked up the cup, took a sip, and put it back down.

The two were silent for a moment. Lin Qingye leaned against the armrest of the sofa, picked up his phone, and used the dark screen to check his face. The red mark had already faded, but the scratch from Fu Xueming's nail was still there.

It wasn't serious, but it was just there, impossible to ignore.

Lin Qingye rubbed it with the back of his hand, tossed his phone back onto the coffee table, and happened to meet Xu Zhinan's gaze as he turned his head. He glanced at her leg. "Does it still hurt?"

She shook her head. "I don't really feel it anymore."

"Do you want to change? I have a lot of short-sleeved shirts in my room."

Her top had also gotten dirty from the fall earlier, something she only noticed after sitting down.

However, their current relationship was awkward, and it wouldn't be appropriate for her to wear his clothes again.

Lin Qingye realized this too. Without waiting for her to answer, he curled his lips into a smile. "Forget it."

Just as he finished speaking, Xu Zhinan's stomach growled inopportunely. She was hungry.

"You didn't eat dinner?" Lin Qingye asked.

She felt a little embarrassed and scratched her hair. "I just had some fruit."

Right after the competition ended in the afternoon, the group went straight to a KTV. They ordered drinks and a fruit platter, planning to get skewers and barbecue right after singing.

Xu Zhinan had never quite fit in with that atmosphere, so she hadn't eaten much.

"Want to eat something?"

She shook her head. "It's too late. It'll be very late by the time it's delivered. I'm worried my roommate will be asleep, and I'll disturb her when I get back."

"Not ordering delivery." Lin Qingye stood up and walked toward the kitchen. "I'll make something myself."

Xu Zhinan was stunned. She turned her head to look as Lin Qingye took out a bag of dumplings from the refrigerator, checked the expiration date, and turned his head to ask, "Will you eat this?"

"It's fine, I'm not that hungry. It's too much trouble."

"I haven't had dinner yet either."

Xu Zhinan followed him into the kitchen and watched him add water to a pot, bring it to a boil, put in the seasoning packet, and then drop in the dumplings. "A few will be enough for me. If you're hungry, cook a little more."

Lin Qingye dumped the entire bag of dumplings in.

Xu Zhinan hadn't expected him to know how to cook. After all, the few times they had eaten together in the past, it was always at a restaurant or takeout.

The young man stood before the kitchen counter, his eyes lowered, stirring the dumplings with a spatula. He looked a little weary.

"How come you have frozen dumplings here?" Xu Zhinan asked.

"I didn't buy them. I'm too lazy to cook for myself," Lin Qingye said. "It must have been Uncle Wang, that is, Wang Qi. He probably brought them for me the last time he was here."

That Wang Qi seemed to be very good to Lin Qingye, Xu Zhinan thought.

But then she thought again, remembering what his mother had done to him at the police station earlier.

Xu Zhinan found it hard to imagine how a mother could say such things to her son.

Although her father had died in the line of duty early on, she had truly grown up surrounded by the immense love of her parents. She had never felt that she lacked either a father's or a mother's love.

Lin Qingye looked at her expression. "Is there anything you want to ask?"

Xu Zhinan looked at him, and suddenly found herself unable to ask.

Even if she did, what answer would she get? It would just be reopening old wounds.

She was unwilling to satisfy her curiosity in this way. After a moment's hesitation, she asked, "That thing on your face, should you put some medicine on it?"

"Where?"

Xu Zhinan poked her own right cheek with her index finger. "Here."

Lin Qingye leaned down slightly, lowered his head, and turned his right cheek toward her. Again, he said, "Where?"

The distance between them was a little close, so close that she could smell his scent with every breath. Xu Zhinan didn't dare to look him in the eye. Her gaze shifted down to the bridge of his nose, which was very straight.

She lightly touched the nail scratch on his cheek. "Here."

He chuckled hoarsely. "It's just this small. What's the point of putting medicine on it?"

Lin Qingye straightened up, reached out, and ruffled her hair, a subtle smile in his eyes. "Ah Nan, you're a tattoo artist who can stick needles into others without batting an eye. Don't be so soft-hearted."

The dumplings cooked quickly. The water bubbled noisily, and all the dumplings had floated to the surface, emitting a very tempting aroma.

He took two bowls from the cabinet and rinsed them.

Xu Zhinan watched him scoop a large spoonful into a bowl and was about to scoop a second when she quickly said, "That's enough, that's enough. I can't finish it."

"This is only a few." Lin Qingye poured half of the second scoop in. "Am I raising a cat or something?"

"..."

He filled another bowl with the rest. Lin Qingye held the two bowls in his hands. They were a bit hot. He tilted his chin to the side. "Grab two spoons, Ah Nan. Let's go eat at the table."

She followed him out of the kitchen, and they sat across from each other at the dining table.

This kind of frozen dumpling didn't require much cooking skill. It came with its own seasoning packet and tasted fragrant and savory.

Xu Zhinan had a small appetite. She was full after a few dumplings, but there were still three left. Not wanting to leave them, she had no choice but to continue swallowing them slowly.

Lin Qingye quickly finished his bowl, leaned back in his chair, and fixed his gaze on her face. The young lady was eating with some difficulty, her cheeks puffing out as she chewed very slowly.

He let out a laugh. "If you're full, then stop eating."

"It's a bit of a waste."

She swallowed the food in her mouth. There was one last one left. She picked it up with her spoon.

Just as she was about to put it in her mouth, Lin Qingye suddenly leaned forward, grasped her wrist, and pulled it toward himself. The dumpling was released into his mouth.

Xu Zhinan froze, her dark lashes fluttering as she stared at him at close range.

Lin Qingye, however, didn't seem to think the gesture was out of line. His expression was calm. After a few bites, his Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed.

He stood up, pushed the two bowls aside, and grabbed his car keys. "Let's go. I'll take you back to your dorm."

It was a twenty-some-minute drive from Lin Qingye's apartment to the school.

Back when he was a student, he didn't go to school often. After graduating and participating in the show, he had never come back.

Fortunately, the campus was quite empty during the summer vacation. Pingchuan University's management wasn't strict; outside vehicles could enter directly after being scanned and registered.

Lin Qingye parked the car outside the dormitory complex where Xu Zhinan lived.

Only a few scattered lights were on in the several dormitory buildings.

She looked up. The light in her dorm was still on. Jiang Yue wasn't asleep yet.

"I'm heading back then." Xu Zhinan paused, then added, "Be careful on your way back."

"Yeah."

She slung her bag over her shoulder, pulled open the car door, and got out.

"Ah Nan," Lin Qingye called out to her again.

"Hm?"

He picked up the fallen Buddhist scripture from the floor mat of the passenger seat and handed it to her. "It got blood on it earlier. Do you still want this one?"

Xu Zhinan took it, carefully smoothing out the curled page corners. "I do. You can't just throw away Buddhist scriptures." Her reply was devout.

She placed the scripture back in her bag, then started walking toward the entrance. She swiped her card to open the door. Just as she was about to step inside, the "thump" of a car door closing suddenly sounded behind her.

Xu Zhinan turned to look. Lin Qingye had gotten out of the car. He stood under a streetlight that had been broken for a whole semester, his hand pressing a baseball cap onto his head.

Her steps faltered, and she stood rooted to the spot.

The automatic door of the complex sensed someone nearby and opened and closed a few times.

The dorm auntie couldn't take it anymore and stuck her head out the window. "Hey, student, are you going in or not? It's so late, hurry back and sleep."

"I'm sorry, Auntie. Just a moment."

After apologizing, Xu Zhinan walked back toward Lin Qingye.

He watched her slowly approach, a smile spreading across his face. The corners of his eyes drooped, giving him a look of slight, disdainful laziness. Then he bent down and pulled her into his arms.

Xu Zhinan subconsciously wanted to push him away.