Chapter Twelve: You, Approaching from Afar

When Yu Chen heard about the weekend trip to the seaside, he joined them as well. He claimed it was to relax after the school announced additional evening classes, which in truth was a competitive response—one of the city’s top schools had extended its schedule, so the other two, including Yu Sheng’s and Yu Chen’s, had followed suit.

“They’re all classmates from my class, you don’t know them,” Yu Sheng tried to persuade him.

“That’s fine. I just need to know you and Brother Gu Yan.”

“Won’t you feel awkward?”

“When have you ever seen me awkward?”

“It’s fine, Yu Sheng, let Yu Chen come along,” Gu Yan said.

Yu Chen winked at Yu Sheng and slung an arm over Gu Yan’s shoulder.

“Alright then,” Yu Sheng agreed helplessly.

They had arranged to meet at the school gate, where Chen Ke’an was already waiting when they arrived.

Gu Yan found it strange—after all, Chen Ke’an lived in the same neighborhood as them, yet he never seemed to run into him on the way to school.

“Chen Ke’an! You’re early,” Gu Yan greeted him.

“Yeah, I’m used to arriving a bit ahead of time,” Chen Ke’an replied, adjusting his glasses.

“We’re just waiting for Lin Ning now. Let’s wait a bit,” Yu Sheng said, glancing at her phone.

“This must be your brother?” Chen Ke’an looked at Yu Chen.

“Hello, I’m Yu Chen,” he replied politely.

“Chen Ke’an, from your neighborhood,” he introduced himself.

As they spoke, Lin Ning came hurtling in on her little electric scooter.

“Goodness, I’m exhausted—it felt like a race against death,” she exclaimed, parking her scooter at the gate before joining the others to take the subway.

“Yu Sheng, your brother is quite handsome,” Lin Ning whispered in Yu Sheng’s ear.

“It’s all just appearances. In private, he’s actually insufferable,” Yu Sheng whispered back, not wanting Yu Chen to get too proud.

Although it was a Sunday, there were few seats on the subway. Yu Sheng couldn’t find one and had to stand.

Seeing this, Gu Yan stood beside her.

“We’ll be standing for over an hour—want to listen to some music?” Gu Yan offered.

“I forgot my earphones.”

“No worries, use mine,” Gu Yan replied.

At those words, Yu Sheng’s heart skipped a beat.

In public, the two of us sharing a pair of earphones... Is this what I think it is?

Before her cheeks could turn red, Gu Yan produced a pair of Bluetooth earbuds.

“What song do you want to hear?” Gu Yan handed an earbud to her.

Yu Sheng felt a moment of private embarrassment.

Of course—the times are changing, she thought.

Just as Yu Sheng let go of the pole to take the earbud, the subway lurched to a sudden stop. Losing her balance, she stumbled forward.

Gu Yan reacted swiftly, catching her by the waist so that their faces were barely a centimeter apart.

Click! Yu Chen, quick as ever, snapped a photo.

Yu Sheng, realizing what happened, quickly extricated herself from Gu Yan’s arms.

“Thank you,” she said, turning away to hide her blushing face from the group.

Gu Yan was still a little dazed, having just felt the softness of her waist.

“Don’t mention it.”

Still, Shengsheng’s waist is so soft—I wish I could touch it again.

Realizing how shameless his thoughts were, Gu Yan mentally slapped himself.

Gu Yan, you really are getting out of hand! She’s still underage, and so are you!

“Yu Sheng, are you alright?” Lin Ning asked, trying to stifle her laughter.

Yu Sheng shot Lin Ning a glare. “You’re being way too obvious.”

“Sorry, I can’t help it,” Lin Ning said, leaning in close. “Especially when I saw how red you got after Gu Yan caught you. Pfft!”

“You’re such a great deskmate,” Yu Sheng replied with a forced smile.

Gu Yan, noticing Yu Sheng hadn’t taken the earbud, gently placed it in her ear for her. “Listen to a song, calm your nerves.”

“Alright.”

Just as she was losing herself in the music, Yu Sheng received a new message from Yu Chen.

Yu Chen: Sis, your ears are red.

Yu Sheng: SHUT UP.

When they arrived at the seaside, the crowd from the subway was nowhere to be seen. The beach was nearly empty, which suited Yu Sheng just fine; too many people would have spoiled the fun.

Normally, a trip to the beach called for swimsuits, but since Yu Sheng had no intention of swimming, she hadn’t brought one.

When Lin Ning came out in her swimsuit and saw Yu Sheng still in her regular clothes, she was surprised.

“Girl, why aren’t you changing?”

“I can’t swim, so I won’t go into the water.”

“You don’t need to swim to wear a swimsuit! Don’t you know there are people out there looking forward to seeing you in one?”

“Oh, stop!” Yu Sheng laughed, giving Lin Ning a playful slap as they headed out together.

Gu Yan had suspected Yu Sheng might not wear a swimsuit, but seeing it for himself filled him with disappointment.

The three boys, on the other hand, all donned their beach shorts.

Although Yu Sheng was used to seeing Yu Chen shirtless at home, seeing Gu Yan bare-chested today made her shy—she couldn’t look at him directly.

He even has abs, she thought in surprise.

Gu Yan, of course, had done this on purpose. All those grueling ab workouts weren’t for nothing—he’d been waiting for this moment to make an impression in front of the girl he liked.

“Come on, Yu Sheng, let’s play beach volleyball,” Lin Ning said, tugging her away.

“You guys go ahead. I want to lie on the sand and nap for a bit,” Yu Chen yawned.

“Are you a pig?” Yu Sheng teased.

“If Yu Chen isn’t playing, that leaves four of us—two teams of two,” Chen Ke’an suggested.

“I’m with you, Yu Sheng and Gu Yan can be a team,” Lin Ning jumped in.

“Fine by me,” Gu Yan agreed.

Thanks, Ning. I may tease you sometimes, but when it comes to matchmaking, I’m always on your side, he thought silently.

“Don’t worry, Yu Sheng, I’m pretty good at volleyball,” Gu Yan said, winking at her.

“Really? I was on the volleyball team in middle school—we’ll make a great team.”

Volleyball team? How come I never heard about this? Gu Yan thought. Great, now I’m about to eat my words.

But to his surprise, he didn’t even get a chance to show off in front of Yu Sheng—on his very first play, he twisted his ankle.

“Don’t mind me, you guys keep playing—I’ll switch with Yu Chen,” Gu Yan said as Yu Sheng helped him over to the shade.

“Yu Chen, your turn!” Gu Yan shook him awake.

“Huh?” Yu Chen, groggy, looked confused.

“Go win the championship for me.”

Looking at Gu Yan’s ankle, Yu Chen understood.

“I’m not much good at volleyball—I was on the basketball team in middle school.”

Wow, athleticism runs in their family, Gu Yan thought.

Yu Sheng served, Lin Ning returned it, and Yu Sheng spiked.

“Chen Ke’an!” Lin Ning shouted.

But it was no use—Chen Ke’an missed the ball and his glasses fell off.

Lin Ning sighed. “It’s fine, let’s keep playing. I refuse to believe we can’t score!”

Watching them play energetically, Gu Yan sipped his soda and smiled contentedly.

My Shengsheng is still so amazing!

Not even an hour passed before Lin Ning was worn out. Who could hope to score a single point against this sporty pair of siblings?

“I give up! You two are way too good!” Lin Ning panted.

While she was out of breath, Chen Ke’an looked completely unfazed.

“You two definitely deserve to be on school teams—you’re incredible,” Chen Ke’an praised.

“Did you even try, Chen Ke’an?” Lin Ning demanded.

“I tried, but I knew we couldn’t win. I just didn’t want to crush your confidence,” he replied lazily.

Yu Sheng didn’t bother with their bickering, instead glancing worriedly toward where Gu Yan was sitting.

“Worried, are you?” Yu Chen teased.

Yu Sheng gave him a shove. “Gu Yan sprained his ankle. Even if we’re just classmates, it’s normal to be concerned.”

“If you’re worried, go ahead. Don’t worry, I’ll take them into the water—we won’t get in your way,” Yu Chen winked.

“My concern is purely that of a classmate, nothing more—don’t get any ideas,” Yu Sheng said, but her legs were already moving toward Gu Yan.

“You guys go have fun in the water!” she called.

In the end, it’s still my brother who comes through at the crucial moment, Yu Chen thought.

“Come on, let’s go play in the water,” he suggested.

At his proposal, Lin Ning forgot all about losing at volleyball.

“Let’s go!”

Chen Ke’an glanced at Yu Sheng before heading toward the sea.

“Isn’t Yu Sheng coming?” he asked Yu Chen.

“My sister doesn’t like getting too close to the water. Let’s go,” Yu Chen replied.

“Oh, alright.”

From a distance, Gu Yan saw Yu Sheng coming over and quickly prepared her favorite green tea.

“How’s your ankle? Still hurt?” Yu Sheng asked.

“It’s just a minor injury—it doesn’t hurt,” Gu Yan said, handing her the tea. “You must be thirsty.”

“Thanks,” Yu Sheng said, sitting down beside him.

“You’re such a good student—why did you transfer schools?”

“Well... I’m not really sure. My parents arranged it,” Gu Yan admitted.

He truly didn’t know the reason; after his memory loss, his parents had sent him abroad for university. Since then, he couldn’t remember ever studying here, nor did he know why his parents had transferred him in the first place.

“Aren’t you curious?” Yu Sheng asked.

“Of course I am. That’s why I’ll find the answer myself. If they could have told me, they would have told me then.”

“I see.”

“But when I do find out, you’ll be the first to know,” Gu Yan said.

“Alright,” Yu Sheng replied.

Wait, why did I just agree to that? He has no obligation to tell you, she realized, a bit flustered.

Out in the water, Yu Chen watched Gu Yan and Yu Sheng sitting side by side and felt a sense of satisfaction—as if he were about to marry off his sister. But at least she was marrying someone he’d already vetted and trusted.

Just then, Yu Chen felt something bump against his backside. Turning, he saw it was Shen Henyun, one of the accomplices from the group who had beaten him up last time.

Yu Chen immediately became alert, glaring at him. “Last time, there were more of you, and you were an upperclassman, so I didn’t fight back. This time is different.”

Shen Henyun was surprised at how poorly Yu Chen thought of him.

“I apologize for what happened before, but today I’m here to make friends,” Shen Henyun said.

“No way!” Yu Chen rejected him flatly.

“I wasn’t the one who hit you last time,” Shen Henyun protested. “I was a victim too, you know?”

“Weren’t you the one who grabbed me last time?” Yu Chen sneered.

“I was forced into it, but the moment I saw you, I regretted it,” Shen Henyun said, genuine remorse in his eyes.