Chương 15: This Life

Lin Che's wrist was firmly held by Su Yuqing, the girl's fingertips carrying an unyielding force.

"You remember everything, right, Ah Che?"

"I..." Lin Che's Adam's apple bobbed, and Su Yuqing's pupils took on a strange amber color under the light, reflecting his slightly flustered face.

"What are you talking about, Yuqing?" He tried to make his voice sound more relaxed.

"Those things from my past life? Was it something I dreamed about?"

Su Yuqing's lips curled down slightly, and her nostrils flared gently, revealing a reproachful expression: "A-Che, are you going to continue acting?"

"I really don't understand..."

"First, the way you cut the steak when we were having dinner at the family banquet earlier." Su Yuqing suddenly released her grip and raised her slender index finger.

"It's exactly the same as what I taught you—you have to cut medium-rare beef at a 45-degree angle against the grain."

Lin Che's shirt back was instantly soaked with cold sweat.

He recalled a weekend morning in his past life when Su Yuqing held his hand and patiently demonstrated cooking techniques in front of the counter.

The morning light filtered through the gauze curtains, casting dappled golden hues on her face.

"That's... something I learned from reading comics." His voice unconsciously lowered a few decibels.

"Secondly," Su Yuqing held up another finger, "the crumbly crust you deliberately left when you ate crème brûlée. You always saved the sweetest part for me."

"Actually, I just don't like sweets..." Lin Che cursed himself inwardly for this habitual behavior.

"Most importantly," the girl suddenly grabbed his tie, and a refreshing minty scent wafted over him.

"When you're nervous, your right hand unconsciously rubs the seam of your pants." She lowered her eyes, her gaze falling on his fingers, frozen in mid-air.

"Like this now."

Lin Che suddenly stopped his fingers. This habitual action was something he hadn't even realized himself. It was Su Yuqing who pointed it out when she held his trembling hand backstage after he lost the university debate competition.

"Are you still going to try to argue?" Su Yuqing looked up, her eyes curving into crescent moons, but a hint of barely perceptible unease lurked in her gaze.

"Actually..." Lin Che suddenly laughed, his laughter like wood sanded with sandpaper, rough and unlike the voice of a sixteen-year-old boy, "I still want to struggle a little more."

He paused, his Adam's apple bobbing again: "Since you remember everything, why were you able to act so naturally when we first met?"

"You're still as narcissistic as ever. Why should I look surprised when I see you?" Su Yuqing pouted, but the tips of her ears secretly turned pink.

She was too embarrassed to say what she looked like when she saw Lin Che's photo on the phone Lin Chen handed her before the other person arrived.

"Is this piecemeal evidence enough for you to make a judgment?" Lin Che turned his head, the streetlight casting shadows of varying depths on his profile.

"If you hadn't asked me so suddenly, catching me completely off guard, I could have easily gotten away with it."

"There's no harm in trying." Su Yuqing shook her head smugly, her long hair sweeping across the back of her neck in a cheerful arc.

"Didn't I trick them into giving it to me?"

"You!" Lin Che pointed at her, his fingertips trembling slightly.

"So, why pretend to be stupid?" She suddenly took a step forward, her toe almost touching his shoe.

Lin Che scratched his hair hard, the ends sticking out in messy arcs between his fingers, his voice sounding somewhat irritated.

"That's because... if I can fool you, I can still treat you as a little sister who needs protection, instead of—" Not his ex-girlfriend whom he pushed away on a rainy night, not Su Yuqing who cried and asked, "Can we start over?"

When he was alone, he could only recall sweet memories, but once they met, those trivial arguments would play uncontrollably on a loop in his mind like a broken projector, making his tone unconsciously sharp.

"How lame." Su Yuqing suddenly reached out and pinched his cheek, her slightly cold fingertips sinking into his soft skin.

She deliberately made a funny face out of it: "Knowing I remember too, does that mean you can't play the role of a model older brother anymore?"

"You know that's not what I meant..." Lin Che lowered his eyes, "If we repeat the same mistakes, how can we become... a new family?"

"Do we look like we're arguing right now?" Su Yuqing rolled her eyes, a gesture that should have been rude but instead came across as playful on her.

Lin Che paused, a strange feeling suddenly becoming clear: "You... have you changed?"

He then realized the source of the unease in his heart. According to the script of his previous life, this should have been a heated debate.

However, so far in this conversation, the other party has shown no intention of using sneers as a shield or taunts as a lance to launch an attack.

Su Yuqing tilted her head, strands of hair slipping from her shoulder: "You've become prettier? Thank you for the compliment~ It's so good to be young, you don't even have dark circles under your eyes."

She blinked deliberately, her long eyelashes trembling slightly.

"Speaking of which, Ah Che, you used to be quite handsome, right? How did you turn into that dead-end old man later on?"

She reached out and poked his cheek, feeling the unique elasticity of the boy's skin through her fingertips.

"You are the one who should be," Lin Che subconsciously leaned back, "You were such a gloomy, introverted girl in college, but now you're starting to dress up so early."

His gaze swept over her meticulously styled hair and perfectly applied light makeup.

"She's almost an auntie and still trying to look young."

Su Yuqing's eyes widened instantly, her cheeks puffing out like steamed buns: "Who are you calling almost an auntie? Do I look like one now?"

"... It doesn't seem like it." Lin Che turned his face away, his Adam's apple bobbing again.

Although I wanted to deny it, the girl in front of me was indeed in the prime of her life, and even when she was angry, she was lively and bright, like a flower bud about to bloom.

He didn't want to provoke her with arguments about psychological age; a second chance is precious for anyone, especially for a girl who cares more about her age.

"That's more like it. You're pretty savvy." Su Yuqing stood on tiptoe and patted his shoulder.

Lin Che pressed his hand against the spot that had been touched, his gaze suddenly softening: "You have indeed changed... Is it because your family is still around?"

He knew her every expression too well. In his past life, Su Yuqing always smiled brightly at him, but her eyes were always filled with an unyielding melancholy.

He guessed it was the scar of losing a loved one, but he never dared to touch it.

The story about her having a younger sister was something she heard muttering in her delirium when she was high in fever; and she first met her mother in a black and white photograph at her funeral.

Su Yuqing's lips slowly drooped, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes: "You think you're so smart..." Her voice was as light as a feather falling, "Did you have to say it to embarrass me?"

"How could I..." Lin Che shook his head, his voice suddenly becoming very soft and gentle, "Congratulations on finding your lost family."

"Your father is doing just fine, isn't he?" She turned her face away, her voice muffled.

"Is this some kind of boasting?"

Lin Che suddenly laughed: "Let's just say that. It's definitely something to brag about, and don't forget, he'll be your father someday too."

"Tch..." Su Yuqing's response was nasal, her fingers secretly wiping the corner of her eye.

"So," he cautiously took half a step closer, "are you willing to tell me now?"

A night breeze blew by, and Su Yuqing's hair fluttered gently. She looked down at the tips of her shoes for a long time before finally nodding almost imperceptibly.