“Ou Yang, it"s been hard on you,” Cen Jin said as soon as he arrived.

Lin Yan leaned against the headboard. “Without personally acting, I never would"ve known how difficult it was. It"s nothing, though in the future, please look after Jiaojiao. I don"t want to see her this exhausted.”

“Director Cen has always looked after me,” Sheng Jiaoyang said righteously.

For the past few weeks, whether it be food, daily necessities or shelter, he"d always consult her first. Of course, the one with the final say was Gu Zhou. After all, he was the producer and decided whether the funds were there or not.

Now, they were already friends and no longer had to give such formal greetings.

Sheng Jiaoyang glanced at Gu Zhou, who also just so happened to be looking at her, and they shared a smile.

Cen Jin didn"t pay attention to the two. Sheng Jiaoyang"s words made him happy. This girl could really talk. Now, there"s no way he wouldn"t take care of her.

“You"re Ou Yang"s little brother?” Cen Jin looked at Lin Yu.

“Yep.”

“You guys look very similar, I could instantly tell you were brothers.”

Although Cen Jin meant no harm, it sounded cruel and grated against Lin Yu"s ears.

With Lin Yu looking at her, Sheng Jiaoyang couldn"t sit still. The sorrow in his gaze was almost drowning her.

“Lin Yan, we can"t slow down the filming, so I have to go with Director Cen,” Sheng Jiaoyang said.

“Alright, I"ll visit when I get better.”

“No need, my scenes are almost done, so I"ll be back in a few days.”

“Then, Ou Yang, we"ll be leaving first. Rest well and get better soon,” Cen Jin said.

Sheng Jiaoyang stood up and glanced at Lin Yan before leaving with Cen Jin and Gu Zhou, not looking at Lin Yu once.

Lin Yu tore his gaze away from the door, lowering his eyes.

“Do you know how long I"ve known her?” Lin Yan suddenly asked.

Lin Yu was the only one in the hospital room apart from the sick Lin Yan. Evidently, Lin Yan was speaking to him.

Lin Yu turned and looked at Lin Yan, not saying anything.

Lin Yan didn"t mind as he continued, “This year marks our seventh year.”

His words were basically admitting that the current Xu Jiaojiao was Sheng Jiaoyang.

“She really is quite charming, but she doesn"t suit you. You should find somebody more simple, somebody you can live happily with forever,” Lin Yan continued.

Lin Yu was silent, but the expression in his eyes kept on changing.

“So, just take it as if nothing happened today.”

Pretend nothing happened? How could that be possible? Lin Yu smiled bitterly as he looked at his cousin. He stared at Lin Yan"s face, which was very similar to his own, and said, “Just this morning, when you were in the emergency room, I told her that I hoped you two could be together. I didn"t think…” He was giving the person he liked to somebody else.

A trace of astonishment flashed within Lin Yan"s eyes.

“You like her and she also likes you. How come you two have known each other for so long, but have never gotten together?” Lin Yu directly asked Lin Yan.

There were clearly so many chances, so why did it become like this?

Lin Yan was startled. “Before, I had too many misgivings.”

“Don"t tell me you don"t have any now?”

“I do, but I don"t want to miss another chance. Also, when you look at it from another angle, you"d find that those hindrances weren"t actually hindrances. Even if new ones appear, it won"t matter as long as you fight hard to make it to the top. But, if you miss the chance, then you"ll regret it for a lifetime.”

Lin Yan sighed. “It"s too bad I"d realised this too late.”

Lin Yu stared at him. During their seven years together, Lin Yan couldn"t muster the will to fight.

But…

If he"d recognised her first, then maybe it would be him standing by her side.

If only "what if"s" existed in this world.

“Actually, I"ve known her even longer than you. I first saw her ten years ago,” Lin Yu said.

Lin Yan looked at Lin Yu doubtfully.

“At that time, she was still small. She was very pretty and cute, with two little dimples that appeared when she smiled…”

Lin Yu recalled his memories.

As he reminisced, he was certain that he"d met Jiaoyang earlier than Lin Yan.

At that time, Jiaoyang was only a few years old. She was very small and adorable, a child who loved to smile. Whoever saw her smile would definitely want to give her the whole world.

But, she didn"t recognise him because they"d never directly talked.

The first time he saw her, she was facing another youth a whole foot taller than her. She wasn"t afraid of confronting any of the older kids, but ended up being pushed aside by an older student.

She fell to the ground. Because the older student wasn"t one that had protective feelings for the fairer s.e.x, he wasn"t gentle with his push, causing her delicate body to tumble quite a distance. Despite crying from the pain, she immediately ran back to the person she was trying to protect.

Luckily, somebody quickly hurried over to intervene. Otherwise, she would"ve been beaten up.

That was when he"d first met her. But, at that time, she only hovered around a cold-faced youth. Even though the youth barely spoke, she continued to act like a moth to a light, only paying attention to him. When Lin Yu walked by her, she didn"t even give him a glance.

Later, the girl disappeared.

Just as he was about to make friends with her, she changed. She ignored everybody and no longer wore a smile. Soon after, she vanished.

He heard that she"d left the country.

Ten years went by. The next time he saw her, the happiness he felt inside had never been so clear.

This time, she returned with a terrible reputation.

Everyone said that she was vicious. She"d supposedly made her father"s pregnant mistress have a miscarriage, killed her father"s mistress, and was arrogant, and loved to show off her wealth…

There were so many malicious rumours that he"d almost thought that it was somebody else.

“Hey~ You"re Sheng s.h.i.+yun"s friend, right? You look a bit familiar.” She"d taken the initiative to greet him.

At that time, what had he done?

He"d just looked at her. Even though he hadn"t seen her for ten years, he still recognised her with a mere glance.

She was still short and pet.i.te with adorable little dimples when she smiled.

She was no longer short like a budding flower, making others want to cherish and protect her.

Now, Jiaoyang was like her name. She was hot like the sun, and if you got too close, you"d get burnt.

However, he was willing. He knew that she had ulterior motives for approaching him and that she didn"t actually like him, but when she occasionally stared at him dazedly, it made him want to love her forever. It was like he was the only one in her world.

His friends all thought he was strange. Everybody said that she was bad, yet he still unreservedly confessed to her, pursuing her relentlessly.

He didn"t actually think it was strange. Did love need a reason?

In his mind, she was never afraid to talk and play with the older kids. She was the little angel that always resisted the older kids" bullying.

He"d said to her, “I like you, can we date?”

She was shocked and conflicted. “We barely know each other, why would you like me?”

He laughed and secretly thought: I"ve liked you for a very long time now, I just never told you.

Because that showed how useless he was, being around her for two years yet left no impression on her.

Furthermore, he didn"t want her to try and remember him, only to fail.

It was enough that she remembered him now, as the boy who had the courage to display his affections.

When she"d cheerfully agreed, his heart was filled with joy. All he could think about was how wonderful life was.

He thought the heavens were watching over him. Finally, he could finally walk by her side and have the chance to enter her heart.

“I thought that the six months I spent with Jiaoyang were the happiest time of my life. I could stand by her side, ask her questions, see every frown or smile…”

Lin Yu abruptly stopped speaking.

“I still remember how adorable Jiaoyang was when she was little.”

Lin Yu laughed slightly. “Jiaoyang is still cute.”

Lin Yan nodded. “Right, she"s the cutest girl I"ve ever seen. Her cuteness doesn"t lie on her exterior, but her interior. It"s not surprising at all that you"d also like her.”

“Isn"t it too late to say that now?” someone sarcastically snarled from the door.

The two cousins simultaneously looked at the entrance.

They saw a man leaning against the door and staring at them coldly with a sneer on his face.

“As far as I"m concerned, it"s not.”

Lin Yan smiled. “When did Mr Shen learn how to eavesdrop?”

“Eavesdrop? Ha! I"m listening right in front of you guys.”

Lin Yu"s expression was complex as he looked at Sheng Jiaoyang"s current boyfriend, taking the initiative to ask, “Why are you here, Mr Shen?”

Shen Zhining"s lips curved as he responded arrogantly, “My little fox has been a bit mischievous lately, always running out and attracting other men. So, of course, I had to come find her.”

Lin Yan narrowed his eyes, a dark light flas.h.i.+ng within them.

Lin Yu was startled by how intimate Shen Zhining"s tone was. Little fox…

“Jiaojiao saw I was better, so she returned to work. She said that she"d come to see me as soon as she"s done filming.” Lin Yan emphasized who Sheng Jiaoyang wanted to see first once her work was finished.

“See you?” Shen Zhining sneered coldly. “That"s true, it really is quite worrying for a man to be so weak. Otherwise, it wouldn"t be so easy to friendzone you.”

The room"s atmosphere instantly turned aggressive.Previous ChapterNext Chapter