Chương 63: See You Tomorrow

Dinner was held in a warm and lively atmosphere.

Steaming dumplings were placed in the center of the table, with various dipping sauces and several cold dishes that Su Wanyi had prepared on the spot.

Lin Chen and Su Wanyi sat at opposite ends of the dining table, occasionally serving food to the children with doting eyes. Xiao Ye sat in her high chair with her cheeks puffed out, making satisfied humming noises as she ate.

Luo Bingli sat between Lin Che and Su Yuqing, appearing somewhat reserved. She ate very quietly, chewing slowly and deliberately, rarely making eye contact with anyone, trying her best to minimize her presence.

However, Su Yuqing, who was beside her, was like a natural icebreaker.

"Xiao Li, this shrimp dumpling is so delicious! You should try it!" Su Yuqing said, picking up a large dumpling with her chopsticks and placing it in Luo Bingli's bowl, her face beaming with a bright smile.

Luo Bingli was slightly taken aback and subconsciously wanted to refuse, but looking at Su Yuqing's eyes, which were full of kindness and expectation, she ultimately did not say it.

She whispered "thank you," then lowered her head and took a small bite.

"What does Luo like to eat? Don't be shy, just tell Uncle Lin what you want to eat!" Lin Chen's voice came from the other end of the table, carrying the gentle warmth and enthusiasm unique to an elder.

"... I'm fine." Luo Bingli raised her head slightly and answered softly. She was still a little unaccustomed to being taken care of like this.

Hearing her father's words, Xiaoye immediately joined in: "Sister Luo! I like mushroom and pork filling! Do you like it? I'll share with you!"

As she spoke, she reached for the dumplings on the plate with her chopsticks, but Lin Che quickly stopped her.

"Alright, Xiaoye, stop picking at things. Sister Luo can take whatever she wants to eat." Lin Che said, pointing to a plate of mushroom and pork dumplings.

"Try these, Xiaoye really likes them."

Looking into Xiaoye's bright eyes, Luo Bingli's unease gradually gave way to a warm feeling. She picked up a dumpling, put it in her bowl, took a small bite, and nodded: "It's delicious."

Upon hearing the praise, Xiaoye immediately smiled smugly.

Dinner proceeded in this back-and-forth interaction. Lin Che's family did not seem to deliberately cater to Luo Bingli. They were just like usual, serving each other food, joking with each other, and teasing each other about each other's shortcomings.

Su Yuqing would complain that Lin Che didn't get up in the morning, Lin Che would tease Su Yuqing about being "punished" by Su Wanyi for eating snacks before meals, Su Wanyi would gently correct Xiaoye's incorrect way of holding chopsticks, and Lin Chen would laugh and tell some interesting stories from work...

These ordinary family routines, however, were like an incredibly precious and dazzling painting to Luo Bingli. She sat there quietly, eating dumplings while observing everything before her.

She saw the playful bickering between Lin Che and Su Yuqing, the tacit understanding between Lin Chen and Su Wanyi, and Xiao Ye's heartfelt attachment and joy towards this newly formed family.

She felt the intimacy, mutual care, and reliance in the air—something she had never truly experienced before.

Suddenly, her heart felt as if it were being gently cut by a dull knife. The feeling of "envy" grew wildly in her heart like vines, accompanied by a deep resentment towards her own lonely situation.

Why? Why is it that a newly formed family, which has only been together for a few days, can be so harmonious, so intimate, and so naturally express their care and love for each other?

And what about her? Why can't her home, her parents, be like this? Why is her world always filled with loneliness and desolation?

The intense emotional impact made her feel a suffocating pain, and the dumplings in her stomach seemed to become heavy.

She could no longer eat as naturally as before; she felt a tightness in her chest and desperately needed to escape this environment that she both envied and found so painful.

As dinner drew to a close, Xiaoye was carried by Su Wanyi to wash up. As Lin Chen and Su Wanyi began clearing the table, Luo Bingli almost immediately seized the opportunity.

"Uncle Lin, Aunt Su, Brother Lin Che, Yuqing, and Xiaoye..." She stood up, her voice trembling with barely concealed urgency, "Thank you for your hospitality tonight, the dumplings were delicious... I, I should go back now."

"Then let me see you off?" Su Yuqing was about to walk towards the other person when Su Wanyi grabbed her arm.

"Yuqing, you were lazy before dinner today, go wash the dishes."

"Huh?!" Su Yuqing let out an exaggerated complaint, but seeing her mother's unfriendly look, she could only grimace and agree, "Okay, okay... Xiao Li, I can't see you off." Her face showed obvious regret.

Su Wanyi turned to Lin Che: "Xiao Che, go see Luo off." She then looked at Luo Bingli with a gentle smile, "Luo, you came in a hurry today. You must come to our house to play more often next time you have time."

"No... no need, Auntie, it's very convenient for me to go back by myself..." Luo Bingli subconsciously refused, she didn't want to cause any more trouble for this family.

However, before she could finish speaking, Lin Che had already walked to the entrance and started putting on his shoes.

"Let's go," he said softly, his tone gentle yet firm.

Luo Bingli looked at him, then at the few people smiling and seeing her off, and finally didn't insist anymore. Instead, she silently changed her shoes and followed Lin Che out of the house.

The night gently enveloped the city, and the streetlights cast a dim yellow glow on the quiet streets. The two walked side by side, their footsteps particularly clear in the still night.

Lin Che tried to break the silence. He coughed lightly, about to say something, but Luo Bingli spoke first.

Her voice was low, filled with undisguised confusion: "Why... why can you two care for each other so naturally when you've only been a family for a few days?"

She stopped, looked down at the ground, her eyes filled with confusion and pain.

"And what about me? Why have these things never existed in my home... in my world..."

Lin Che's expression hardened slightly as he turned his gaze to the emotionally agitated girl beside him. He knew that she was comparing her warm and loving home with her own broken one.

That pain and resentment, like an invisible blade, were tearing her heart apart.

He felt a sharp pain in his heart, and almost immediately recalled the misfortunes he and Su Yuqing had experienced in their previous lives. They had at least had a chance to start over, but the girl in front of him was far less fortunate.

"Happiness is something you have to actively strive for," Lin Che said softly, his voice carrying a calmness that comes from weathering storms. He did not deny the other person's pain, but he did not stop there either.

Even if you have experienced misfortune in your family of origin, or even if you have been hurt in the past, it does not mean that you are destined to be alone.

He looked at Luo Bingli with a firm gaze, "In this world, there will definitely be people who are willing to care about you and take care of you, because..."

He paused, his gaze becoming unusually serious, his tone more firm, almost commanding: "Because you deserve it!"

His voice suddenly rose, carrying an overwhelming emotion that sounded particularly abrupt in the quiet night.

Luo Bingli looked up abruptly, startled by his suddenly raised voice, and jolted awake from her self-deprecating pain.

She looked at Lin Che, her eyes filled with shock and confusion, as if she couldn't understand why he would say such things to her, and with such conviction.

"Is it worth it?" she murmured to herself, her tone filled with obvious doubt.

"Am I... really worth it? I... I can't even take good care of myself... I'm always causing trouble for others... Someone like me..."

"Of course it's worth it!" Lin Che was still somewhat agitated. He stepped forward, his eyes flashing with a strong, undeniable light.

"Yuqing will, I will, Xiaoye will, and Mom and Dad will too!" He listed all the people who cared about her without hesitation, including the whole family.

"As long as you're willing, the door to this home will always be open to you."

"Furthermore, we will introduce you to more friends and more people who care about you," he continued, each word carrying the weight of a promise.

"Believe me, you will no longer be alone."

Luo Bingli was completely stunned. Looking into Lin Che's powerful and kind eyes and listening to his unwavering promises, her body trembled slightly.

That self-deprecation, that resistance to pure goodwill, melted away as quickly as ice and snow under Lin Che's direct and passionate offensive.

She felt her eyes burning, and a long-lost, indescribable soreness welled up in her nose.

She bit her lower lip hard, lowered her head, and tried to control the urge to cry, but her body was still trembling slightly.

She never imagined that someone she had only known for a few days would say such things to her so earnestly and firmly, and would so unhesitatingly include her in his "protective circle," promising to give her warmth and support.

Lin Che looked at Luo Bingli's trembling body and lowered head, knowing that the ice wall in her heart was loosening. This was a good opportunity to strike while the iron was hot. He had to close the distance between them before she could rebuild her defenses.

He took a deep breath, his tone softening as if he were asking something completely ordinary: "Luo, are you free tomorrow?"

"Eh?"

Luo Bingli stiffened slightly, raised her head, and looked at him with a hint of confusion and bewilderment, as if she did not understand why he would suddenly ask this question.

"Well, I've only just met Yuqing, and I want to pick out a gift for her, but I'm not really sure what girls her age like."

"You and Yuqing are best friends, so you must know her best."

Lin Che looked at Luo Bingli and extended an invitation sincerely, "So, I'd like to ask you to come with me tomorrow to pick out a gift for her, is that alright?"

He knew, of course, that the request was abrupt, and that he had lied to her to get her to agree, but at that moment, it was the only reasonable reason he could think of to invite her to meet.

Luo Bingli was stunned; she hadn't expected Lin Che to make such a request.

The reason was so reasonable and natural; it wasn't an attempt to forcibly intrude into her private life, but simply a request for her help in choosing a gift for a "younger sister."

Should she go? Or should she not go? Another fierce internal struggle began within her.

Going means stepping out of your comfort zone again and spending time alone with someone you don't know very well; not going seems like a betrayal of that sincere invitation and the "value" placed on her opinion.

Moreover, this request was also related to Yuqing, her most cherished friend.

After a long silence and a complex internal struggle, Luo Bingli slowly nodded.

"Okay." Her voice was low, but exceptionally firm.

"Great!" Lin Che's face lit up with a smile again, a smile more genuine and bright than ever before.

"Shall we arrange a time and place?"

"Tomorrow... how about 10 a. m.?" Luo Bingli replied, seemingly starting to seriously consider the matter.

"The location... how about that shopping mall from last time?"

"No problem!" Lin Che immediately agreed, his joy almost impossible to conceal.

The two remained silent for the rest of the journey, but their steps became noticeably lighter.

Reaching an intersection, Luo Bingli stopped and said to Lin Che, "This is enough. Be careful on your way back."

"Okay, you too." Lin Che naturally stopped and waved goodbye to the other person.

"Next time... can I come to your house again?" Her voice was tentative and cautious.

"As long as you're willing." His voice was filled with unwavering determination.