It didn’t take long for the principal to rush over, reprimand Teacher Chen, and then nod at Lin Shu. He had someone serve exquisite snacks and expensive tea.
Lin Shu faced all this calmly as if she was born to be superior. She led by example by telling Luo Lin Yuan not to be afraid of anything but to be mindful that he was the young master of the Luo family.
The principal repeatedly assured that the person who spread the photo would be found and those students with broken mouths would definitely be taught a lesson. It wasn’t until Lin Shu nodded in satisfaction did the principal wipe his sweat with a handkerchief and respectfully sent the mother-and-son duo outside.
Luo Lin Yuan stood in the corridor, like a survivor of a calamity. He couldn’t help but steal a glance at Lin Shu. Lin Shu no longer looked domineering in the office, but tiredly and complicatedly asked Luo Lin Yuan, “So you now understand, what kind of path you have chosen?”
When these words came out, Luo Lin Yuan’s eyes turned red. Even when he saw the photo, even when he was unfairly treated by Teacher Chen, even if he was told that he was disgusting and heard enough malicious slander in one day that he hadn’t heard in eighteen years, he didn’t cry. He thought he was incredibly strong.
However, Lin Shu’s words seemed to be a needle that poke the protective film on his body, and his skin came into contact with reality, which hurt to the core.
Lin Shu said, “It’s come to this and you still won’t tell me who that boy is?”
Luo Lin Yuan hung his head in silence. Lin Shu closed her eyes in disappointment and when she opened them again, she only said, “Prepare yourself mentally.”
This matter of him coming out of the closet will sweep the entire Luo family like a tornado, and even Lin Shu herself doesn’t know what the consequences will be.
She sighed and scolded Luo Lin Yuan, who had been keeping his head down, “Stand straight! Don’t be a coward like this!”
Luo Lin Yuan’s tears fell silently and gave in to weakness, “Mom, I want to go home.”
Lin Shu: “Is anyone stopping you?!”
Luo Lin Yuan wiped away his tears with his sleeves. No one had stopped him, he was the one who wanted to leave home, and in the end, he still had to return to this haven.
Perhaps it’s not a safe haven, there will be a bigger storm coming later.
But at this moment, home is the most secure place and he must go back.
Because he knew that no matter how it ended up, home is full of people who love him. For example, Uncle Wu, Sister Zhang, Uncle Zhang, Luo Ting… and Lin Shu.
He left with Lin Shu without even taking his school bag in the classroom. When he was in the car, Luo Lin Yuan sent a message to Fang Xiao and apologized to him, saying that he had even implicated him.
Fang Xiao quickly replied, “If you say sorry again, I’ll get angry ah. Don’t worry, I’ve been singing with Yang Xi last night and they all know it.”
Luo Lin Yuan was about to respond when his phone had an incoming call alert. When he saw the name of the caller, Luo Lin Yuan’s breathing stopped.
He took a while before picking up the call. There was silence on the other end of the phone, only the constant sound of breathing rang sharply. Sometime later, he heard Yu Han say, “Baby, where are you?”
Luo Lin Yuan pressed the leather seat on the car, his fingers sinking deep, “I’m going home.”
Yu Han: “I saw the picture, I…”
Luo Lin Yuan interrupted him, “It’s okay, you weren’t photographed.”
Yu Han: “I don’t care if they know that the other one in the photo is me. I can’t let you suffer this alone.”
Hearing that Yu Han was meant to come forward, Luo Lin Yuan hurriedly said, “Don’t worry about anything! Don’t you have an interview coming up!”
When he heard his anxiety, Yu Han said, “It will be fine, the school will not because of this…”
As he listened to the phone, Lin Shu looked at him silently through the rearview mirror from the front seat. She obviously knew that the person on the phone was the other one he was desperately trying to hide.
Lin Shu’s expression was like examining, more like ridicule, which made him quite sad.
Luo Lin Yuan said, “How do you know they won’t! Things have happened, don’t let it get worse, don’t add to the mess, I beg you…”
His voice was unknowingly resentful. He didn’t want to and didn’t mean to, but he just couldn’t control himself.
As his emotions were out of control, he took a breath and tried to calm down, “Let’s not talk about this, okay?”
The other end of the phone was silent for even longer than it was first connected. When he heard Yu Han answer yes, he took the phone away and hung up.
Before the call ended, he vaguely heard what Yu Han said into the microphone but didn’t want to reply back, so he put the phone aside, leaned his head against the car window, and looked out the window weakly.
He couldn’t wait to shrink himself into a ball and hide in a shell. He hoped that when he woke up, everything wasn’t real, there were no photos, no attacks, and no exposure.
Under the extreme depression, he confusedly gathered his thoughts, trying to figure out the impulsive and strong resentment he just had.
He just wanted to protect Yu Han. Why would Yu Han foolishly jump out and not understand his painstaking efforts?
What can you can by doing this, witness the great love? Even he himself has to rely on Lin Shu to protect himself, who can Yu Han get for protection, Guan Shuofeng?
Luo Lin Yuan was like a snail forcefully dragged out of its shell by someone. He was caught off guard by the wind and rain[1]. He was covered in wounds and couldn’t even lick his wounds. He was scared, really scared.
When Lin Shu asked him, ‘Do you know what kind of path you chose?’ he used to think he knew, but he didn’t.
He didn’t know he wasn’t strong enough to withstand it all.
The car drove for half an hour and finally stopped. Luo Lin Yuan refused to get out of the car, he didn’t even want to move, nestling in the back seat. He seemed stressed, a pair of arms hugging his legs, sitting there in a daze.
Lin Shu told the driver to go first, leave him alone, left him a ventilated window, and dropped a sentence, “Think it over and go inside.”
The car door was closed, and in the silence, Luo Lin Yuan couldn’t think clearly think about anything nor could he understand. He only considered not going to school or transferring to a place where no one knew about it.
Anyway, Yu Han will soon be sent to university soon and won’t come to school next semester.
Originally, it was agreed that he would continue tutoring for him. After this incident, how can Yu Han come? Will his parents see anything when he comes?
How are they going to meet? What if they are secretly photographed again? Who on earth hated him so much that they would spread the photos?
In the midst of his cranky thoughts, Yu Han’s message came. Luo Lin Yuan looked at it. Yu Han apologized to him, saying that he hadn’t considered his mood.
Yu Han said, if he put himself in his shoe, he wouldn’t want Luo Lin Yuan to come out and admit it. As Luo Lin Yuan said, it would serve no purpose except to add to the mess.
It was he who was naïve.
Because it was a text, he couldn’t see any emotions, but when Luo Lin Yuan saw ‘add to the mess’, his heart shrank slightly.
These words were so hurtful, why didn’t he feel it when he just blurted it out?
His fingers trembled as he pressed the screen and scrolled down. Yu Han’s message took several minutes before he sent another one.
It’s like each one is carefully considered, the language is constantly organized, and the most cautious attitude is chosen.
The last message sent by Yu Han made Luo Lin Yuan’s tears fall on the screen, taking all the text to send a piece. He clearly saw Yu Han say, “I’m sorry, I was wrong, don’t leave me.”
He looked at the row of words in silence, he never said he wanted to leave nor did he want to break up.
It was only when he saw Yu Han’s message did he realized that maybe he had such an idea subconsciously.
No matter how you think about it, it will be difficult for them to meet in the future. Tutoring may not be available anymore, and there is no need to think about it in school.
Gossip is essential. All his friends around him will be maliciously heckled.
He will be isolated, right? How will he go to school, how will he face all this?
They can’t meet, can’t get close, and can’t accompany each other. How will they maintain a relationship, just rely on passion and longing?
Luo Lin Yuan was in great pain as if he had been torn in half.
Half of him said excitedly and strongly that he loved Yu Han, he said he would accompany him and would not leave. It turned out that love is so cheap and could be lightly shaken. That former courage and confidence became jokes and were vulnerable.
The other half of him is cowardly and powerless, and his words are pale. This is the reality, how should he choose?
He clutched the phone and cried silently, nearly losing his oxygen. His nose was red and swollen, and his eyes were bloodshot.
In the dizziness of numbness and pain in his head, he thought of the Starry Sky, thought of Yu Han saying ‘I have you besides Grandma now’, thought of holding his hand again and again, thought of every kiss that fell on his cheek and lips and thought of that night, his pained face, in order to fix his posture, he hugged Yu Han, who didn’t dare to move all night.
He really likes Yu Han so much. He said he wanted to love him, he wanted to go to college with him, and he said he wanted to raise him.
He said a lot but couldn’t do anything.
Luo Lin Yuan trembled, he tapped on the phone keyboard, deleted it many, many times, and finally sent out a sentence.
“I don’t know, let’s cool down.”
After sending it successfully, he pressed the phone to his heart, and finally couldn’t hold back and cried.
He didn’t want to break up. Just thinking of those two words, his heart hurt so much that he didn’t want it. How can people live without a heart? How can he live without Yu Han, Yu Han is his heart.
In a whimper, in less than half a minute, he choked and withdrew the WeChat message, and said, “I was wrong, let’s not cool down. Couples break up when they are calm and cold. I don’t want to break up.”
“But I’m so scared ah, what should I do? I want to be with you, I like you so much, much more than you know!”
References
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