IP Chapter 91

Incurable Pain | Chapter 91

Secret Little Handle Between Each Other

Yu Luoyin felt like he had discovered a ‘little secret’ of Bai Xunyin.

He accidentally discovered that the girl loved him more than he had imagined.

It was in early spring in April, after the seemingly ambiguous ‘proposal’ at the wedding in the ancient town, the two of them tacitly agreed to it—until Yu Luoyin started preparing for their new home.

He pretended to ask the woman, “Should we move to a bigger house?”

Bai Xunyin raised an eyebrow and asked playfully, “Are you saying my house is too small?”

She pretended to pout, and Yu Luoyin couldn’t help but laugh.

 His long fingers pressed gently on her soft fingers, indulging her, “Not exactly, but it would be even better if we could have a study.”

Bai Xunyin’s chin rested on the man’s angular shoulder, feeling a bit sore. She lifted her chin slightly, her delicate palm face inches away, innocently blinking, “Where’s the new house?”

That was her way of agreeing.

Preparing a new house was easy for Yu Luoyin, and he was eager to do it. So, they had the matter of moving.

But before moving, there was one more thing to do.

Although Bai Xunyin didn’t care much about formalities, Yu Luoyin really wanted to formally propose to the girl—something she couldn’t refuse.

Yu Luoyin wanted to prepare a unique ring for Bai Xunyin. So, after working overtime day and night for a period of time, he begged the professor for a four-day leave and then lied to Bai Xunyin that he had to go on a business trip…

But he actually went to London.

A few years ago during winter vacation, Yu Luoyin went to Geneva, Switzerland, where he happened to attend an auction with friends. 

The highlight of that auction was a 14.62-carat Oppenheimer blue diamond, which, when presented, silenced the entire banquet hall. Everyone could only stare at the diamond in astonishment.

It was like the clearest light blue ocean in the world, clean and pure, making everyone who saw it want to possess it.

When Yu Luoyin saw it, the first thing he thought of was Bai Xunyin’s eyes.

The girl wasn’t mixed-race; her eyes were brown, which should have been completely different from this blue diamond. But they were just as clean, clear, and dazzling.

Unfortunately, the boy didn’t have that much money.

In the end, the diamond was bought by a wealthy businessman from the UK for nearly 400 million RMB. At that time, Yu Luoyin inexplicably remembered his name—Mr. Raul. 

He was the emperor of the London fashion circle, the founder of a brand of jewelry.

Later, Yu Luoyin occasionally heard that Mr. Raul would occasionally do diamond business. Over the years, there were probably a few people who managed to get some corner of the Oppenheimer, all depending on whether they had enough money.

Yu Luoyin knew that such diamonds were hard to come by, but he always felt that other than this, nothing else was worthy of Bai Xunyin.

Now that he had money, it was another matter. 

But having money was one thing; he didn’t expect that buying diamonds would also require ‘qualifications’.

Mr. Raul, upon seeing him, somewhat disdainfully said that his ‘artistic attainments’ were not enough, and even if he bought it, he wouldn’t appreciate it, so he didn’t plan to sell it to him.

This completely stunned Yu Luoyin, who was clearly just an outsider in the fashion circle.

He had a total of four days off, and flying back and forth took up three days. After all was said and done, he only had one whole day to deal with Mr. Raul, but who knew… who knew this old man was so unyielding and didn’t want to make money.

Yu Luoyin, who was fundamentally a “commoner,” couldn’t come up with a better method, so he simply stuck to him.

Wherever Raul went, he followed. The security guards were of no use.

“Young man.”

Seeing Yu Luoyin sticking to him in his private car, even Raul, with his graying beard, couldn’t help but smile in exasperation, “What exactly do you want?”

He waved to dismiss the approaching bodyguards as he spoke.

It must be said that sometimes being handsome could save one’s life in society. Just like now, Raul, as an artist willing to appreciate all beautiful things, was somewhat reluctant to let someone mess up Yu Luoyin’s handsome face.

Yu Luoyin pursed his lips. Before he could speak, a few cold drops of water dripped onto his hand.

He was taken aback, realizing that the raindrops, which had been gathering in the gloomy sky, had finally fallen.

But Raul remained unperturbed, still looking at him with a familiar expression, evidently resigned to the ghostly weather of England.

Yu Luoyin couldn’t help but smile. Speaking without thinking, “It often rains on our side too.”

Raul was taken aback.

“Young man, aren’t you coming in?” 

He unexpectedly spoke in fluent London accent, his English very authentic. 

“I only share the rain with my girlfriend, not with old men.”

…

Raul was furious, but he got into the car with a stern face.

However, he didn’t close the car door.

So Yu Luoyin naturally followed him in. The backseat of the Lincoln was s.p.a.cious, with no feeling of crampedness. 

Yu Luoyin answered Raul’s previous question—

“Sir, I must buy your diamond, at double, no, triple the price.”

Whether it was because the English accent of Chinese people was rarely p.r.o.nounced accurately or because Yu Luoyin’s remark about his hometown also often raining resonated with Raul, he suddenly didn’t resist selling the diamond to a ‘person who didn’t understand art.’

Raul thought for a moment and asked, “What do you want it for?”

“To propose.” 

Yu Luoyin spoke frankly without hesitation. 

“My girlfriend has the most beautiful eyes, and only this diamond is worthy of her.”

Raul asked with some surprise, “Have you seen the Oppenheimer?”

“If I said I’ve only seen it in pictures, it would be disrespectful to you.” Yu Luoyin smiled. 

“Four years ago, I had the honor of witnessing you buy it in Geneva.”

In the twinkling of an eye, memories were brought back to the auction four years ago.

“Goodness.” 

Raul couldn’t help but exclaim with a smile. 

“Young man, were you there too at that time?”

“That’s right.” Yu Luoyin shrugged. 

“But unfortunately, I didn’t have as much money as you.”

“Very well, you’ve succeeded in making me start to appreciate you.” Raul smiled. 

“But when you say your girlfriend’s eyes are more beautiful than the Oppenheimer, I don’t believe it. You must be exaggerating.”

Yu Luoyin smiled without saying a word, just took out his phone and showed Raul a series of photos of Bai Xunyin from the alb.u.m.

The photos were taken sneakily, and the girl happened to look over, her brown pupils seeming to gather a thin layer of smoke, beautiful and ethereal, as if they could penetrate the soul through the lens.

Raul looked at them, not saying a word.

But Yu Luoyin was very satisfied with the stunning feeling he captured in his eyes.

Later, the old and the young became friends across countries, and Yu Luoyin successfully bought a 1.5-carat Oppenheimer.

He attributed this to Bai Xunyin’s eyes moving that stubborn old man, rather than his efforts.

Rushing back to Linlan, Yu Luoyin, in addition to work, spent his time finding skilled craftsmen to create this diamond.

To make the most beautiful ring.

Then on March 14th, White Day, the two of them rarely had a “romantic” outing and went out for a so-called candlelit dinner.

Yu Luoyin could see that Bai Xunyin didn’t particularly like Western food, but tonight wasn’t about that.

The man was unusually nervous, as if he could hear the beating of his own heart like a drum.

His long fingers unconsciously touched his suit pocket from time to time, and his mind kept recalling and reciting the ‘proposal script’ he had prepared long ago—although he was a top student who could recite the periodic table like the back of his hand, at this moment, his mind seemed blank.

Until the woman came back from the restroom, he still hadn’t spoken, and it was Bai Xunyin who first noticed Yu Luoyin’s unusual behavior.

Seeing the man unconsciously touching his coat pocket, the woman narrowed her eyes and simply walked over, taking out what was inside the pocket while he wasn’t paying attention.

Bai Xunyin said,  “You’re hesitating…”

The words ‘what are you doing’ stopped abruptly on her lips, because in the palm of her hand was a small box, obviously resembling a ring box.

Caught off guard by the revelation, Yu Luoyin’s heart, which had been “thumping” a moment ago, suddenly calmed down.

Perhaps this was the feeling of being exposed.

“For eight years, from senior year in high school until now.” 

Yu Luoyin stood up, his slender fingers skillfully holding Bai Xunyin’s delicate hand. He s.n.a.t.c.hed the box back and opened it. The clear and mysteriously beautiful Oppenheimer diamond appeared before them, stunning and magnificent.

But Bai Xunyin cared more about Yu Luoyin’s words than the diamond, “For so many years, I’ve loved you all along.”

The delicate fingertips of Bai Xunyin subconsciously curled up, her pupils illuminated by the candlelight were bright and deep, seemingly containing endless unsaid words.

“This is the most beautiful diamond I could find, but I still think your eyes are more beautiful.” 

Yu Luoyin said, readily kneeling down and presenting the ring within reach of the girl.

His sudden move immediately attracted the attention of many diners, but Yu Luoyin remained calm and composed, natural.

Because in his eyes, there was only Bai Xunyin, no matter where they were.

After all, a proposal was just a formality.

“According to the average human lifespan today, we have another sixty-eight years to spend together. I don’t want to waste a single day.” 

Yu Luoyin’s lips curved into a smile that was no longer lazy as usual, but rather nervousness that could be seen even in his playful demeanor. 

He stared at Bai Xunyin intently. 

“Let’s get married.”

The onlookers timely erupted into cheers of “agree to him” and “marry him.”

Bai Xunyin couldn’t help but smile—she had witnessed many proposals before, in real life and in movies and TV shows, but it was her own experience of the proposal vows that felt the most special.

Yu Luoyin was truly her destiny, d.a.m.n it, he suited her taste perfectly.

How could she bear not to accept him?

“Alright then.” 

Bai Xunyin sniffed and somewhat reluctantly extended her slender hand. 

“Put it on me.”

She used to be afraid of feeling restricted on her ring finger, but not anymore. The diamond, like a blue ocean, was beautiful, bought by Yu Luoyin.

On the evening of the proposal, the “scene” created by the two of them even alarmed the restaurant owner, who requested to take a photo to hang on the restaurant’s couple wall.

The reason was that the owner solemnly declared, “In all these years of the restaurant’s existence, I’ve never seen such a perfectly matched young couple like you two.”

Undoubtedly, this would serve as ‘advertis.e.m.e.nt’ for their restaurant.

Bai Xunyin couldn’t help but feel a bit speechless, but she knew this reason was enough to impress her self-absorbed boyfriend beside her.

Sure enough, after hearing this, Yu Luoyin smiled satisfactorily, and with a casual att.i.tude, he wrapped his long arms around Bai Xunyin’s shoulders, ready to let the owner take the photo however they liked.

Love was meant to be shown off.

*

The proposal was successful, and naturally, with Yu Luoyin’s temperament, he wanted to ‘announce it to the world.’

Soon, everyone in their circle of friends knew they were getting married.

Of course, the happiest ones were Yu Luoyin’s family.

After witnessing Bai Xunyin’s ‘skills’ last time, they were afraid Yu Luoyin wouldn’t be able to bring her home. Now that everything was settled, they could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

And for Yu s.h.i.tian to truly become her beloved sister-in-law, of course, they were even happier. On the very night Yu Luoyin eagerly showed off, she went to their home with excitement and asked—

“Brother, sister, when are you getting engaged?”

In wealthy families, it was common to get engaged before getting married.

“Engaged?” 

But Yu Luoyin decisively rejected without hesitation, raising his eyebrows and saying matter-of-factly, “We’re getting married directly.”

What was the point of all those formalities?

…

Bai Xunyin smiled and didn’t deny his words.

Although ‘overreaching’ could indeed describe Yu Luoyin’s mental state—just after she agreed, this man was already eagerly antic.i.p.ating getting married.

Entering April, Yu Luoyin, busy with the house, spent his free time moving.

Bai Xunyin’s house, the house where he occasionally stayed before, was now bustling with preparations for moving and buying furniture, which was quite exhausting.

In Yu Luoyin’s ‘vulgar’ terms, he was so busy that he didn’t even have time to breathe, let alone rest after work.

But it was beneficial for Bai Xunyin’s sleep quality during this time.

One weekend happened to be a mix-up.

Bai Xunyin didn’t need to work that day and had hired a moving team to pack things at home. However, her colleague from the research inst.i.tute called urgently, saying there was a problem with the experiment and she needed to come immediately.

The workaholic Bai Xunyin naturally didn’t want to delay for a moment, so she went straight there. But there were people from the moving company in the house…

She had no choice but to call Yu Luoyin.

“Now? I happen to be free.” 

Yu Luoyin had just finished seeing patients with the professor in the morning and had no surgeries scheduled for today. 

Upon hearing this, he stood up without hesitation, taking off his white coat as he spoke, “Um, you go ahead—I’ll go to my house tonight.”

Bai Xunyin’s house was almost empty now, so naturally, there was nowhere to stay.

“Mm-hmm.”

Bai Xunyin responded hastily, gave some instructions to the movers, and then left quickly.

By the time Yu Luoyin arrived, the moving company had already packed up most of the living room and side hall. 

Seeing him, they pointed to Bai Xunyin’s bedroom and said, “Sir, we haven’t packed anything in that room yet. We can’t go into the bedroom.”

Usually, valuable items were kept in the bedroom, and moving companies had their rules.

Yu Luoyin naturally understood this, nodding, “You wait here for a moment.”

He rolled up his sleeves, preparing to pack Bai Xunyin’s ‘soft things’ himself.

Although the girl’s bedroom had become their shared living s.p.a.ce recently, there were still few things. Bai Xunyin had always lived a simple life, and there were hardly any messy things.

Yu Luoyin worked quickly and soon packed up the clothes in her closet, then moved on to tidy up the desk.

Compared to clothes, there were more random books and notebooks on Bai Xunyin’s desk.

Looking around, it was either difficult foreign translations or books like “Relativity” and “Quantum Mechanics.”

Yu Luoyin casually flipped through a couple of pages and remembered the “CEO falls in love with me” novels on Yu s.h.i.tian’s bookshelf, which made him smile.

If one day Bai Xunyin started reading those novels, he would be quite surprised—and would want to role-play with her.

Lost in his thoughts, the man bent down to pull out a cardboard box from under the desk.

This was a box Bai Xunyin used to store old books and notebooks, covered in a layer of dust.

Yu Luoyin coughed a couple of times from the dust and gave a disdainful glance, then involuntarily fixed his gaze on it.

Inside the box were several notebooks, all with the delicate yet sharp handwriting of a girl on the cover. Yu Luoyin remembered during high school, their homeroom teacher always praised Bai Xunyin for her excellent handwriting, balanced between strength and gentleness.

After hesitating for a moment, he still took out the one that looked particularly old and worn out.

Let’s just take a look, Yu Luoyin silently muttered to himself, and then he opened the cover with the expectation of finding Bai Xunyin’s draft ma.n.u.script.

However, there were no messy draft calculations as he imagined. On the aged yellow pages, what he saw written with the girl’s sharp pen were only three words—’Yu Luoyin.’

…His own name?

Yu Luoyin was stunned, subconsciously flipping through a couple more pages, then a couple more, until he reached the last page.

In this thin notebook, there were more than a dozen pages filled with his name. The handwriting in the first few pages was still soft and gentle, but towards the end, there was a sense of urgency that almost burst through the paper.

It seemed that from Bai Xunyin’s handwriting alone, one could sense the changes in the girl’s state of mind.

Finally, on the last page, something other than ‘Yu Luoyin’ appeared.

The more inferior you feel, the more you demand; the more you demand, the more inferior you feel.

During her high school years, the dark and self-conscious mindset, the feeling of inferiority, and the longing for light… 

It turned out it was all because of him.

Yu Luoyin didn’t know how long he had been staring at this sentence blankly, only feeling that some part of his soul seemed to strangely resonate with Bai Xunyin’s eerie secret.

During the years when he couldn’t win the girl, during the years when he was abandoned, he couldn’t help but feel inferior and demand.

In the end, it was the knocking of the moving company’s workers that interrupted Yu Luoyin’s reverie. He responded with a sound, silently putting back the notebook filled with the girl’s ‘secrets’ where it belonged.

Bai Xunyin had loved him more during high school than he had imagined, but this fact couldn’t make Yu Luoyin happy. 

Seeing this glimpse of the past that had been covered in dust being unveiled, he only felt heartache.

Although everything was settled now, and everything was still a good outcome, but…

But Yu Luoyin still felt regretful. Why was he such a jerk back then? If he could do it over again, he would definitely treat Bai Xunyin well, very, very well.

Nowadays, this discovery could only be kept as a little secret.

If he were to speak it out, the girl would definitely feel embarra.s.sed.

However, what Yu Luoyin didn’t expect was that Bai Xunyin happened to discover one of his ‘secrets’ on the same day.

Once coincidences like this happen, they tend to keep coming.

After solving the problem at the research inst.i.tute around four in the afternoon, Bai Xunyin thought Yu Luoyin should have already had the moving company deliver everything to the new house, so she drove directly to his place.

Yu Luoyin didn’t come to his place often either. It was quite empty inside, with only some necessary furniture and supplies—which were mostly moved out by now.

But compared to Bai Xunyin’s currently chaotic home, it was quite clean, though even the air seemed to carry a hint of loneliness, especially after the heater had been turned off.

She liked cleanliness, so every time she came, she would first wipe away the dust.

Bai Xunyin went into the bathroom to wash an unused damp towel, then came out to clean the few pieces of furniture.

Her fair and slender fingers were reddened from the cold, and as she wiped the study, she noticed the mess on Yu Luoyin’s desk.

…

It seems that most boys don’t know how to do housework.

Feeling self-righteous about not doing much housework herself, Bai Xunyin internally condemned Yu Luoyin, then wiped and tidied up after him.

Most of the mess on the desk were scattered folders, which she neatly stacked together before attempting to put them away in a drawer.

But the drawer turned out to be empty… except for a few sheets of paper.

The girl’s gaze paused for a moment, then she squatted down to take a closer look.

These few ‘papers’ were actually thin plastic sheets, but they looked like paper and appeared incredibly cheap and out of place in the gray wooden desk drawer.

However, Bai Xunyin recognized them. These few sheets of paper were clearly the wrapping paper from the gift basket Yu Luoyin gave her in senior year.

They seemed to have been well preserved, without any damage over the years.

Back then, Bai Xunyin had impulsively thrown these things into a cardboard box and then they disappeared.

She always thought Ji Huiying must have thrown them away with the trash, but she didn’t expect them to be here in Yu Luoyin’s place.

How did he get these few sheets of paper? 

When? 

And why keep them?

…

There were indeed many doubts in her mind, but Bai Xunyin felt that these questions weren’t that important after all.

She had also discovered a ‘secret’—turns out Yu Luoyin was really obsessed with her, from before until now.

Even the wrapping paper he once gave her could be secretly kept for so many years, hidden so stealthily… Bai Xunyin couldn’t help but find it both amusing and a little poignant.

After a while, the girl quietly closed the drawer, stood up straight, and placed the neatly organized folders on the desk, as if she had never discovered anything here.

These few plastic sheets were probably the least valuable things to a man, but they were the most ‘valuable’ secrets.

There was no need for her to pierce through them. She just needed to be a little more attentive to him in the future.

Oh, and she decided she would give Yu Luoyin a basket of peace fruits on Christmas Eve, the most gorgeously wrapped kind.

Yu Luoyin and the moving company had finished their work and returned home. It was already past seven in the evening.

The sky was getting dark, but the lights were on as they entered.

Glancing around, he was surprised to find Bai Xunyin sitting at the dining table in his perpetually neglected dining area… there was a pile of takeout on the table.

Indeed, the girl never cooked.

Yu Luoyin couldn’t help but chuckle, walked over and ruffled her hair, messing it up annoyingly before asking, “Didn’t you hate takeout the most? Why didn’t you wait for me to come back and cook for you?”

Bai Xunyin thought for a moment. 

“I was afraid you’d be too tired.”

…

She was serious, but Yu Luoyin felt strangely ‘touched.’

How should he put it? 

It’s like being used to being treated like a workhorse and suddenly receiving the treatment of having a hot meal. It felt awkward.

“It’s not that I can’t cook, but I’m demanding it as part of my salary.” 

Bai Xunyin felt a bit embarra.s.sed under his enthusiastic gaze, but she pursed her lips and said innocently and seriously, “My salary is higher than yours, and I’ll take good care of you in the future.”

This was probably the most touching ‘maintenance’ declaration Yu Luoyin had ever heard.

He smiled and leaned down to give her a kiss. 

“Okay.”

Eating takeout was also very enjoyable.

***

They both had secrets, and they both discovered incredible secrets, but they would silently hide them away and not speak of them.

It’s like each person holding onto one side of a lie, with a narcissistic little tail in their hearts saying ‘they really love me’… and then they involuntarily become even gentler.