Chương 119: A Temporary Chapter Retreat and an Unexpected Request

Before the first rays of dawn had fully penetrated the heavy curtains, Lin Che slowly opened his eyes to a familiar and soft touch.

The alarm clock hadn't gone off yet, and the room was completely quiet.

He turned his head slightly to look at the girl curled up beside him, sleeping soundly, and a doting smile appeared on his lips.

At this moment, Su Yuqing was like a clingy koala, with most of her body hanging on him. One slender arm was tightly wrapped around his waist, and her other long and shapely leg was unceremoniously draped over his leg. Her breathing was light and even.

Just like every time they slept together before, this girl could always find the most comfortable position in her sleep, the one that left him "unable to move".

As for why Su Yuqing was sleeping in his room at this moment, instead of the other way around, it was because when he finished washing up, hugged his pillow and thin blanket, and was about to "report for duty," she said that she felt more at ease sleeping in his bed.

Lin Che still remembers that when the two lived together in his previous life, he wanted to change to a bigger and more comfortable double bed, but Yu Qing stubbornly refused.

At that time, she was the same, resting her head on his arm, speaking the same words in a languid voice with a thick nasal tone.

As time goes by, some habits and some people seem to be deeply engraved in each other's souls, and will not easily change no matter how many cycles of reincarnation they go through.

Lin Che took a deep breath, feeling the warmth and faint fragrance emanating from the girl, and a sense of peace settled in his heart.

He tried to be as careful as possible to gently move her arms and legs off him, attempting to slip off the bed quietly without disturbing her.

However, no matter how gentle his movements were, the girl in his arms seemed to have a telepathic connection. The moment he lifted his body, she softly hummed in response and opened her eyes with a somewhat bewildered look.

"Hmm—Ah Che?" Su Yuqing's voice was hoarse and groggy from just waking up. She blinked as she looked at Lin Che, who was already half-sitting up but frozen in place because of her awakening.

She gave a cute yawn and asked, somewhat puzzled, "What time is it? The alarm hasn't gone off yet. Why are you up so early?"

Looking at her sleepy and adorable appearance, Lin Che smiled helplessly, his voice tinged with apology: "I'm sorry, Yuqing, I didn't mean to wake you up."

Upon hearing this, Su Yuqing slowly sat up and sat down beside him on the edge of the bed. She yawned again and then stretched out her arms, her shapely curves faintly visible beneath her light-colored pajamas.

She rubbed her still-sleepy eyes and said with a hint of reproach, "What's there to apologize for? I'm used to it. In my past life, didn't you also get up early every day to catch the crowded subway during rush hour?"

Lin Che reached out and gently stroked Su Yuqing's soft hair, which was slightly messy from sleep. His voice softened as he said, "It's still early. Do you want to sleep a little longer?"

Su Yuqing shook her head: "Since you're already awake, why sleep anymore? Unless you're willing to stay and lie in bed with me for a while longer, that would be more like it."

"So, tell me, what are you planning to do, sneaking out of bed so early?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Che showed a slightly embarrassed expression.

He scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed, and explained, "Well, last night, I sneaked upstairs when my parents weren't in the living room. If I have breakfast with them later, the injury on my face will definitely be impossible to hide."

"So, I plan to wash up first, then go straight to school. I'll just grab something to eat on the way."

After hearing his explanation, Su Yuqing rolled her eyes cutely: "Hmph! I don't know who was bragging last night, saying something like, 'This little injury will be almost completely healed by tomorrow morning,' and what happened? Big liar."

Then, she stretched out her slender fingers and gently stroked the bruise on Lin Che's cheek, her voice becoming much softer: "Does it still hurt here?"

1 Lin Che gently shook his head: "It doesn't hurt much anymore, it just looks scary. I think it should be almost healed by the time I get out of school today."

"I'm sorry I made you worry again."

"Hmph!" Su Yuqing snorted again, turning her head away with feigned disdain.

"It's not like I'm worried about you. Hurry up and leave, don't get in my way!"

Lin Che smiled ingratiatingly, leaned closer, and whispered, "Well—Lady Yuqing, could you please mention it to my parents briefly later, after they wake up?"

"Just say I had a bit of a rush to go to school today, and I won't have breakfast with them. I won't say hello to them, so they won't notice anything amiss."

Upon hearing this, Su Yuqing turned her head and gave him a warning look, her beautiful eyes carrying a hint of "you know what's good for you".

She nodded, then waved her hand dismissively, as if shooing away a fly: "Okay, okay, don't worry, I'll take care of it."

Seeing that she had agreed, Lin Che finally felt completely relieved and prepared to get up and leave the room.

However, just as he stood up, a soft little hand gently tugged at the hem of his clothes.

He turned around in confusion and looked at the girl who was still sitting on the bed.

Su Yuqing was tilting her head slightly, her big, watery eyes fixed on him, and she gently touched her lips with her finger: "Ache, have you—forgotten something important?"

Lin Che was slightly taken aback when he saw her adorable appearance, but then he immediately understood and a big, doting smile appeared on his face.

He leaned down and, under the girl's gaze, which held a mixture of shyness and anticipation, gently kissed her.

After a while, Lin Che left the room with satisfaction and went to the bathroom to wash up.

Su Yuqing, who had fallen back onto the bed and wrapped herself up in the blanket like a cicada cocoon, buried her face deeply in the pillow that still carried the scent of Lin Che, a sweet and satisfied smile curving her lips.

Upon arriving at school, Lin Che finished his classroom duties and then sat down at his seat, taking out his phone to kill time before the somewhat boring morning self-study session.

After a while, Lu Mingyuan rushed into the classroom with his backpack, which always looked like it was stuffed full.

He spotted Lin Che, who was looking down at his phone, and his expression instantly turned strange.

Lin Che happened to look up and see him, so he took the initiative to greet him with a smile: "Good morning, Lu Mingyuan."

As if he hadn't heard him, Lu Mingyuan quickly walked up to him, looking Lin Che up and down several times as if he were examining some rare animal.

"I said—Lin Che," he took a deep breath, his voice filled with disbelief, "what—what exactly happened yesterday?"

Upon hearing this question, Lin Che instantly recalled a series of complex events, from when he went to "teach" those thugs a lesson, to when he and Luo Bingli encountered the infiltration of the Void Realm, to when he transformed into "Silent Shadow" to force back Jing Jue, and finally when he went home with Su Yuqing.

He couldn't help but sigh, "That's a long story."

"Then get to the point!" Lu Mingyuan clearly didn't have much patience. He casually pulled up a chair from the side and sat down next to Lin Che in a very nonchalant manner.

His eyes gleamed with gossip as he pressed on, "You're something else! How did you manage to beat up that group of thugs all by yourself? There were four of them, and they all looked pretty fierce!"

"Oh, so that's what you meant by this." Lin Che suddenly realized that this guy had been so excited so early in the morning just to find out about this.

He smiled and said in a relaxed tone, "It's nothing serious. I used to practice some self-defense techniques. Although I'm not particularly skilled, I can easily take on a few unarmed thugs who have no sense of loyalty and won't really fight to the death."

He pointed to the still somewhat noticeable bruise on his cheek and sighed helplessly, "However, it's been too long since I used it, so I'm a bit rusty. Look at my face, I still managed to get hurt in several places by accident."

Looking at Lin Che's appearance, Lu Mingyuan's lips twitched involuntarily: "Brother, what could be more exciting than this? You took on four people at once! And you only suffered such minor, harmless injuries. That's incredibly impressive, okay?"

Why do I feel like this isn't a big deal to you at all?

Upon hearing this, Lin Che gently shook his head, his tone becoming more serious: "No, actually I still care about this matter."

Lu Mingyuan immediately perked up and asked curiously, "Oh? What do you mean?"

"I got the information out of the ringleader: whether it was spreading those rumors before or trying to cause trouble for her again this time, someone was paying them to do it."

"What?! Such a thing exists?!" Upon hearing this, Lu Mingyuan's eyes widened instantly, and an angry expression appeared on his face.

"Who is so despicable? Doesn't this person have their own children?!"

Lin Che shook his head: "I don't know who it is yet. I only know that the person is a middle-aged man wearing a respectable suit. There are no other clues yet."

At this point, he looked at Lu Mingyuan: "By the way, didn't you say before that you knew one of those thugs?"

"Could you please keep an eye out for him and see if you can find out who's behind all this? If he can find any clues, I can give him some money as a reward."

Upon hearing this, Lu Mingyuan immediately thumped his chest loudly: "Lin Che, you're being too polite. This is such a small matter, why would you need to pay anything? It's just a meal! Leave it to me, I'll definitely keep a close eye on this for you."

Lin Che gave a sincere smile: "Thank you very much. I'll treat you to a meal next time. You can choose any restaurant nearby. Please keep an eye on this matter."

"Don't worry! There's absolutely no problem!" Lu Mingyuan patted his chest again to assure him.

Then, as if he remembered something, his expression became hesitant: "If I mean if, what if we really find the guy who's behind this? What are you going to do? Beat him up like you did yesterday?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Che gently shook his head: "How could that be? Of course, we should call the police. Doing something like that to a child is enough to send him to jail."

"However—," he changed the subject, "before that—" Lu Mingyuan subconsciously swallowed: "What happened before that?"

Seeing his nervous expression, Lin Che couldn't help but laugh. He reached out and patted Lu Mingyuan's shoulder, saying in a relaxed tone, "Don't worry, I'm a very sensible person."

After he finished speaking, he stopped talking about the topic and instead lowered his head to pick up his phone again.

The day's classes passed uneventfully.

As school was about to let out in the afternoon, Lin Che's phone screen suddenly lit up, and a new message popped up.

Was the sender Luo Bingli?

He opened the message with some confusion, only to find a short sentence: "Lin Che, could you wait for me at the 'Warm Sunshine' family restaurant on the street outside the east gate of the school after school? I have something to tell you."

After reading the message, Lin Che subconsciously looked up and gazed in the direction of Su Yuqing's seat.

Sure enough, Su Yuqing was also looking in her direction, with the same confused expression on her face. Clearly, she had also received the exact same message.

Filled with questions, Lin Che and Su Yuqing went to the family restaurant called "Warm Sunshine" mentioned in the text message after school.

This is a cozy and elegant little shop, filled with the enticing aroma of food.

As soon as the two entered the store, they saw Luo Bingli sitting alone in a quiet corner by the window. When she saw them come in, she immediately waved to them gently.

"here!"

Lin Che and Su Yuqing sat down opposite Luo Bingli.

Luo Bingli handed them the beautifully printed menu with both hands, a slightly unnatural smile on her face, and her voice a little nervous than usual: "You, you guys take a look and see what you'd like to eat—tonight, it's on me!"

Lin Che took the menu and looked at Luo Bingli, who was completely different from the "ice queen" she usually was. His doubts deepened.

Not only did she invite them to dinner, but she had also seemed somewhat restless since the beginning, even speaking haltingly and looking away.

This appearance completely lacked the aloofness and indifference she had before; instead, she seemed somewhat clumsy and adorable.

Su Yuqing clearly noticed her friend's unusual behavior. She put down the menu, her face showing concern, and asked softly:

"Xiao Li, what's wrong? Did something upset you? Why did you suddenly decide to treat me and A-Che to dinner?"

Upon hearing this, Luo Bingli subconsciously avoided Su Yuqing's concerned gaze, her eyes drifting somewhat guiltily towards the window. She mumbled an explanation, "N-nothing, it's just that I suddenly realized that after knowing you guys for so long, it seems—" I've never formally invited you all to a meal before, and I feel like this isn't quite right—."

Seeing her obviously insincere expression, Lin Che coughed lightly, interrupting her explanation.

"Luo, if you have something on your mind, just say it. We're friends, aren't we? If there's anything we can do to help you, we'll do our best to help you solve it."

"You don't need to keep it to yourself, and you certainly don't need to use this kind of dinner invitation as a way to subtly express something."

Upon hearing Lin Che's sincere and direct words, Luo Bingli's body trembled slightly. She pursed her lips tightly, and a hint of hesitation and struggle flashed in her eyes.

But in the end, as if she had made some incredibly important decision, she took a deep breath, raised her head, and looked earnestly at Lin Che and Su Yuqing with her clear eyes.

She spoke softly, almost pleadingly:

"Yuan—Lin Che, Yuqing—I—could I stay at your house for a couple of days?"