CSMCDB - Chapter 106
Chapter 106
Wen Yuncheng lowered her head and didn't agree. She could feel the force of Lin Jinyu's grip on her hand, but… but even if something like this happened again, her actions wouldn't change in the slightest.
To put it another way, she still had 1947. And while 1947 wasn't very reliable, what did Lin Jinyu have? The people from Fu were after her, after her Star Power Mutation. She couldn't possibly drag the uninvolved Little Ice Mountain into this. Wen Yuncheng didn't reply, merely squeezing Lin Jinyu's fingers without a word. The Little Ice Mountain's eyes were red, looking utterly pitiful. Wen Yuncheng's heart melted into a puddle, but she was ultimately unwilling to lie to Lin Jinyu.
As Wen Yuncheng remained silent, tears welled up in Lin Jinyu's eyes again. Wen Yuncheng sighed inwardly and took Lin Jinyu's hand, leading her away. She thought Lin Jinyu might refuse to move, but Lin Jinyu, holding back her tears, followed her.
Once they were far from the Imperial Palace, Wen Yuncheng didn't head back to the academy. She led Lin Jinyu onward until they stopped on a deserted street. Wen Yuncheng looked into Lin Jinyu's eyes and tightened her grip on the Little Ice Mountain's hand. She said in a low voice, "I'm sorry, but I don't want to lie to you. If it happened again, I still wouldn't have switched places with Number One. It was too dangerous. I couldn't afford to take that gamble."
"Lin Jinyu, I like you."
Wen Yuncheng bit her lip, not backing down, still holding Lin Jinyu's hand tightly. But she didn't dare look at Lin Jinyu's expression. With her head slightly bowed, she stared at their clasped hands and said again, "I like you. More than just as a friend."
Wen Yuncheng's heart was pounding wildly. Having blurted it all out in one breath, she kept her head down, unmoving, for a long time. The night seemed exceptionally quiet, so quiet that Wen Yuncheng could only hear her own heartbeat. She was trembling with nervousness. One second, two seconds passed, but Lin Jinyu still hadn't responded.
Lin Jinyu… was in a rare daze. She stared blankly at Wen Yuncheng. Just a moment ago, she had been heartbroken by Wen Yuncheng's answer, but the next, she heard her say this…
"Do… do you think… I'm disgusting?"
By the time she snapped out of it, Wen Yuncheng looked like she was about to cry. A blush crept onto Lin Jinyu's face. "No, I… I like you too."
"I wanted you to join the Flowing Cloud Sect because I want to be with you always." Lin Jinyu's gaze gradually firmed, and she said earnestly, "I like you very much."
This was a development Wen Yuncheng had never imagined.
[Respond already! What are you spacing out for?!] 1947 was so anxious it wanted to bang gongs and drums in Wen Yuncheng's head, but it was afraid of ruining the atmosphere and could only urge her on frantically.
"I-I'm so happy!" Wen Yuncheng was at a loss for words. To be precise, her thought process had slowed to a crawl. She replayed Lin Jinyu's words in her mind, thinking she must be dreaming.
[You're not dreaming! Hurry up and make your move! Go for it!]
1947's roar steadied Wen Yuncheng's nerves. She felt she should say something, or give something, but when she patted herself down, she realized she had nothing to give. As for what to say… she couldn't think of anything either.
"But… but I'm a girl, don't you mind?" After the initial joy, Wen Yuncheng couldn't help but ask. She knew such a question would spoil the mood, but she didn't want Lin Jinyu to say these things just to comfort her.
"Why would I mind?" Lin Jinyu asked in return. She paused, then added, "Do you mind… that I'm not a boy?"
"No! Not at all! I just thought… thought…"
Lin Jinyu recalled how Wen Yuncheng was afraid of her father and thought about their broken engagement. Assuming Wen Yuncheng was worried about these things, she reassured her, "I'll talk to my father. Once I'm stronger in the future, he won't meddle in my personal affairs. As for the engagement, if you want to reinstate it, we can." Lin Jinyu took the jade pendant from that time out of her storage ring and handed it to Wen Yuncheng.
Wen Yuncheng was a bit slow to react. The gender issue that had troubled her for so long wasn't an issue in Lin Jinyu's mind?
What Wen Yuncheng didn't know was that Lin Jinyu truly didn't think there was anything wrong with it. Her father had always instilled in her the ideals of working hard and focusing on cultivation. Qiu Fei had taught her about friendship and later enlightened her, letting her figure out her feelings for Wen Yuncheng on her own.
And on this day, Lin Jinyu had clearly figured it out. As long as Wen Yuncheng hadn't expressed her feelings, Lin Jinyu wouldn't have taken the initiative to speak of her own. But Wen Yuncheng had confessed!
Looking at the earnest Lin Jinyu, Wen Yuncheng hastily found her own jade pendant. This pendant had been a token exchanged between Wen Yuncheng's grandfather and Lin Jinyu's father, then passed down to them. It had been returned when the engagement was broken, but now, unexpectedly, it was being exchanged as a token once more. Wen Yuncheng still remembered the Little Ice Mountain who had been as cute as a porcelain doll back then. In the blink of an eye, four years had passed.
After doing this, the two of them stood on the street, momentarily at a loss for words. Everything had happened too suddenly. Wen Yuncheng had acted on impulse, but… but were they really in a relationship now? Wen Yuncheng couldn't help but grab Lin Jinyu's hand and squeeze her fingertips. Her face was a little red. "So… are we a couple now?"
"Yes," Lin Jinyu nodded. Her prim and proper manner was a little cute, and the tips of her ears were pink. "However, a grand wedding ceremony will have to wait until after I become the Sect Master."
"…Th-there's no rush. I'm too weak right now. When I get stronger, I'll go to the Flowing Cloud Sect to propose marriage! If your father doesn't agree, I'll defeat him!" Wen Yuncheng hadn't expected Lin Jinyu to be thinking about a wedding right after they confirmed their relationship. She clenched her fists, full of determination.
"Propose marriage?" Lin Jinyu blinked. "Are you going to keep dressing as a boy forever?"
"I don't have to. If you like, I can wear a dress for you tomorrow. But it's true that I want to become stronger." Dressing as a boy? A Long Aotian? None of that mattered. Wen Yuncheng had no strong opinions on what she wore, nor did she care what others thought of her. If Lin Jinyu liked it, she would reveal her identity! It was just that Teacher Yan Ling might be in for a big shock…
[…] 1947 slowly typed out a question mark, feeling that its opinion had been completely tossed aside by its cub.
From great sorrow to great joy, a roller coaster of emotions.
Wen Yuncheng secretly pinched her thigh. The pain made her jolt, and then she couldn't help but giggle foolishly. The two of them stood foolishly on the street, holding hands, for quite a while before Wen Yuncheng seemed to wake up and suggested they find a place to sit. In truth, it was late, and she was very tired and wanted to sleep. But having just confirmed their relationship, Wen Yuncheng was reluctant to part with Lin Jinyu just yet.
In the end, it was Lin Jinyu who saw Wen Yuncheng yawning from exhaustion, and the two young lovers, who had been strolling hand-in-hand down the street, finally parted ways at the entrance of the dormitory building.
The next morning, Wen Yuncheng woke up bright and early. She glanced at the jade pendant by her pillow and started giggling foolishly before she even got out of bed. Even 1947 couldn't stand to watch.
[What are you doing? Aren't you getting up?]
"I'm getting up, I'm getting up. Once I'm up, I can see my Little Ice Mountain~ Lin Jinyu is so cute, her hands are so nice to hold, and her waist is so slender…" Wen Yuncheng muttered to herself as she carefully put the jade pendant away. With a carp-like leap, she sprang out of bed and rushed into the bathroom.
[…]
Wen Yuncheng called Lin Jinyu, and they arranged to have breakfast together in the cafeteria. Although they had often eaten breakfast together over the past few years and nothing special had happened that day, Wen Yuncheng felt this meal was exceptionally different.
Lin Jinyu, however, was not much different from usual. She wasn't as excited or nervous as Wen Yuncheng, which made Wen Yuncheng feel a little disappointed. However, when Lin Jinyu very casually took her hand as they left the cafeteria, that tiny bit of disappointment vanished in an instant.
The two little ones had just left the cafeteria and hadn't even had a chance to go on a date when Yan Ling "ambushed" them, with Qiu Fei trailing behind, eager to watch the show.
Yan Ling was a bit frustrated. She understood why Wen Yuncheng hadn't called her when she was in trouble, but why hadn't she thought to contact her after she returned? Yan Ling waited and waited, but no call came. She went to her student's dorm early in the morning to corner her, only to find that Wen Yuncheng had actually woken up early to have breakfast. Rushing over, she saw Wen Yuncheng and Lin Jinyu walking hand-in-hand on campus, surrounded by pink bubbles.
Fine. Once you have a sweetheart, you forget your teacher. That was just great. Yan Ling forced a smile. Although she was happy that her student had finally won the beauty's heart, she was still a little annoyed. After all, she had been worried sick all day.
The Empire had issued a strict order not to leak the news of Wen Yuncheng's kidnapping by "Fu." Therefore, the only ones who knew the inside story were Qiu Fei, Yan Ling, Lin Jinyu and her elders, and the high-ranking officials of the Empire. The kidnapping of a genius was big news, and if it got out, it would be very difficult for the Empire to manage. Fortunately, Wen Yuncheng was unharmed; otherwise, the Empire would have had to scramble to do damage control. However, the matter wasn't meant to be kept secret forever. The Empire would announce it at an opportune moment, then shift the focus to the Empire's timely response and how the Protectors had safely rescued Wen Yuncheng, using it as a good piece of propaganda.
With that, this incident seemed to have truly come to a close. Wen Yuncheng was not harmed, merely a little shaken. And the biggest gain from this was that she and Lin Jinyu had confessed their feelings for each other. Wen Yuncheng knew she was extremely special to Lin Jinyu. She had never dared to reveal her own feelings, not wanting to put Lin Jinyu in a difficult position or cause her trouble. But after this, she knew that to Lin Jinyu, she was special too.
The more time Wen Yuncheng spent with Lin Jinyu, the more adorable she found her. Although the Little Ice Mountain was an iceberg on the surface, beneath it lay hidden treasures!
Lin Jinyu had to cultivate every day, and Wen Yuncheng also went to the Dueling Arena for her daily routine. Both of them were very busy. But no matter how busy they were, they tacitly made an arrangement: though neither of them said it, Wen Yuncheng and Lin Jinyu would go out together once a week. Perhaps they would lie in the nearby countryside to watch the stars, or take a Gugu Bird to go camping somewhere and watch the sunrise. Wen Yuncheng wanted to share all the beautiful sights she had seen during the summer vacation with Lin Jinyu.
Their interactions weren't drastically different from before, yet the feeling between them seemed to have changed completely.
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