Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Talisman of Peace

Now she had moved on from the past, and had friends as wonderful as Lin Ning, a studious companion like Chen Ke'an, and then there was Gu Yan, her...

Lost in thought, chewing on the end of her pen, Yu Sheng was startled awake by the vibration of her phone.

It was a message from Gu Yan.

Gu Yan: You're still awake, aren't you?

Yu Sheng: Not yet. Is something wrong?

Thinking about what had happened that afternoon at Gu Yan's house, Yu Sheng felt a little unsure of how to face him.

Gu Yan: Yi Yi just woke up. I want her to sleep, but she's fussing and insists you come and keep her company.

Seeing it was about Yi Yi, Yu Sheng immediately tossed aside her embarrassment.

Yu Sheng: Okay, I'll come down now.

Over at Gu Yan's side, seeing Yu Sheng agree, he quickly dripped a few drops of water onto Yi Yi's face. "Remember, when your sister arrives, what are you supposed to do?"

Yi Yi stood by Gu Yan's leg, nodding vigorously. "I know. When sister comes, I'll cry and not let her leave."

Gu Yan stroked Yi Yi's fluffy hair. "That's right. Yi Yi is such a good girl!"

"Brother, if I do this, will Sister like you?"

Gu Yan crouched down and looked at Yi Yi, nodding. "Yi Yi definitely doesn't want Sister to dislike Brother, right?"

"But this afternoon, Sister said she..."

Just as she was about to speak, Yi Yi suddenly remembered her promise with Yu Sheng and quickly covered her mouth.

"What is it? What did Sister say to you this afternoon?"

Yi Yi shook her head, still covering her mouth. "I made a pinky promise with Sister!"

This made Gu Yan even more curious, and just as he was about to tempt her with sweets, Yu Sheng came down and knocked at the door.

"What's wrong with Yi Yi?" Yu Sheng asked as soon as Gu Yan opened the door.

Gu Yan gave a meaningful glance to Yi Yi, who instantly threw herself at Yu Sheng's leg.

"Waa, Sister, I'm scared to sleep alone."

Yu Sheng bent down to hug her, gently wiping the 'tears' from her face.

"Yi Yi, don't cry. Sister's here, isn't she? Come on, let's go to bed together."

Yi Yi nodded, sneaking a glance at Gu Yan, who silently gave her a thumbs up.

"Yu Sheng, I need to talk to you later," Gu Yan said as Yu Sheng was about to close the bedroom door.

Yu Sheng paused, nodded. "After she's asleep."

Gu Yan nodded and went to sit on the sofa, quietly waiting for Yu Sheng.

Before long, Yu Sheng came out and stood by the sofa without sitting down.

"What is it?"

Gu Yan shifted to the side, motioning her to sit.

"First, I need to clarify something. This afternoon, I was unzipping my jacket because it was too hot inside and I wanted to take it off. When I saw you cover your eyes and run off, I wondered if you misunderstood?"

"Who... who said so? I covered my eyes because... because a bug got in them."

Gu Yan secretly smiled and raised his eyebrows at Yu Sheng. "I thought you thought I was going to do something improper to you!"

"......."

"If there's nothing else, I'll just go to sleep then?"

"Wait, there's more!" Gu Yan stood up and grabbed Yu Sheng.

"What?"

When Yu Sheng asked, he suddenly grew shy and hesitated.

"Well... it's just..."

"If you don't tell me, I'm leaving," Yu Sheng said, bewildered.

"That junior high classmate of yours today, he's nothing special!"

"???"

"Why?" Yu Sheng looked at him, showing a little interest.

Gu Yan said nothing, ran to the bedroom, and turned on his computer.

"Look, here's information about the girlfriends he's had in the past two years, and actually, he was dating early in junior high. And this—he paid to get into the honors class in high school." Gu Yan showed Yu Sheng the computer.

Yu Sheng was stunned, feeling a bit incredulous.

"You... why did you investigate all this? And how did you find out?"

Gu Yan scratched his head sheepishly. "Just... computer skills! And some connections."

"So why bother with him, wasting resources? He’s not worth it."

Though Yu Sheng said that, she had only learned today that he'd had so many girlfriends. A true scoundrel! She felt a little grateful she hadn’t been his type back then—though it was a pity about Yan Mian.

"You seemed to treat him differently today. Do you like him?" Gu Yan asked bluntly—he didn't want to lose sleep over it.

Yu Sheng's expression was complicated. "No, he's... just my junior high classmate."

"So, you don't like him?"

"Right! He was just my first crush back then." Yu Sheng didn’t want to hide it anymore.

"First crush?!" Gu Yan was shocked.

Now Yu Sheng was the one embarrassed. "I don’t feel anything for him now, and after hearing what you said, my impression of him went from one to negative numbers."

So, my efforts this afternoon weren’t in vain? Gu Yan thought.

Gu Yan breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, then, should I go to bed?" Yu Sheng pointed at the bedroom door.

Gu Yan nodded, watching Yu Sheng's retreating figure with reluctance.

"Yu Sheng!"

"What is it now?"

"I was too impulsive this afternoon. You don’t dislike me, do you?"

He meant when he hugged me?

"No, I don’t dislike you."

"Can I hug you again?" Gu Yan pressed his luck, and before Yu Sheng could answer, he stepped forward and hugged her.

"Alright. Good night!" Gu Yan said with a smile.

Yu Sheng nodded, her face red as a tomato.

"Yu Sheng, my words will never change. I’ll keep waiting for your answer."

Yu Sheng watched him through the crack in the door as he said that, then closed it.

Phew! Maybe Gu Yan really was someone she could be with.

Yu Sheng touched her flushed cheeks. She didn’t seem to mind Gu Yan’s embrace—in fact, she might even like it? Anticipate it?

Blushing and with a pounding heart, Yu Sheng tossed and turned on her bed, realizing she might be disturbing Yi Yi, so she quickly settled down.

Gu Yan stood outside Yu Sheng’s door, leaning against the opposite door frame, smiling and watching for a while before finally turning off the lights and heading to bed.

Yu Chen thought her sister had been acting strange lately. The odd thing was, every time she came back from Gu Yan’s house, her face was always red.

No way—could it really be that? Even though he supported Gu Yan, it was still too soon; they were only in high school. This wasn’t really good.

Early Sunday morning, when Yu Sheng returned home, she saw Yu Chen already packed and ready to go out.

"What are you doing? Why are you leaving so early? That's not like you."

Just as she spoke, Yu Sheng heard the sound of a motorcycle downstairs. "Who is that, making a racket so early in the morning?"

"Sis, it's Shen Henyun. I'll go down and teach him a lesson," Yu Chen said, pulling Yu Sheng—who was about to scold from the window.

Yu Sheng looked at Yu Chen, surprised. "What are you two up to so early?"

"We're going out to have fun. He has a motorcycle, and we're going to his house to study this afternoon."

Yu Sheng frowned. "Did you finish your homework before going out?"

Yu Chen nodded, grabbing his backpack. "Sis, I'm leaving. I won’t be back for lunch, tell Mom for me!"

With that, he slammed the door shut.

"Shen Henyun, keep it down! People are still sleeping at this hour!" Yu Chen smacked Shen Henyun as he spoke.

Shen Henyun grinned, "I'm just helping them wake up early. Sleep’s overrated."

Yu Chen’s face darkened. "Are you implying something about me?"

With that, Yu Chen hopped onto the bike, and Shen Henyun handed him a helmet. "Get ready, my bike’s fast!"

"So where are we going? What about your crew?" With the speed so fast, Yu Chen had to shout.

"They’re not coming today. Just us!" Shen Henyun smiled slyly.

"Where to?"

"Someplace good!" Shen Henyun wouldn’t give a straight answer.

Yu Chen knew further questions would get him nowhere, so he obediently sat behind without another word.

"Don't go home for lunch. I’ll treat you to something nice, and help you study this afternoon," Shen Henyun tried to keep the conversation going when Yu Chen was silent.

"Mm! Enough talk, just focus on driving. I want to live a long life!"

Shen Henyun laughed, then suddenly sped up, making Yu Chen lurch forward unexpectedly.

"What are you doing? If you keep this up, no matter how much you beg me next time, I won’t come out!" Yu Chen smacked his back.

Shen Henyun just laughed, unconcerned by Yu Chen’s protest.

That afternoon, Gu Yan’s aunt kept her promise and came to pick up Yi Yi.

Seeing how happy Yi Yi was to see her mother, Gu Yan swallowed the words he wanted to say—he didn’t reproach his aunt right away.

"Thank you, Yan Yan!" Han Lu ruffled Gu Yan’s hair.

Gu Yan dodged her hand, crossing his arms. "Auntie, please don’t do that again. And if you want to thank someone, thank my classmate! Without her, I would've been overwhelmed."

Han Lu smiled. "Then you must thank her for me! Here, these are souvenirs from my trip, for you both!" She handed Gu Yan two small boxes.

Gu Yan opened them and found two lucky charms, with a distinctive ethnic flair.

"These are matching charms for safety, a pair. I’ll give them to you both!" Han Lu winked.

"Alright, it's late, I'll take Yi Yi now! Yi Yi, say goodbye to your brother!" Han Lu held Yi Yi.

"Goodbye, brother!"

Han Lu was about to leave when Yi Yi whispered something in her ear, making Han Lu smile and let Yi Yi down.

Yi Yi ran over to Gu Yan, signaling him to crouch.

Gu Yan lowered himself, puzzled, thinking she might kiss him.

Yi Yi leaned close to his ear. "Brother, I have a secret to tell you—don’t tell Sister!"

Gu Yan nodded.

"I promised Sister not to tell you, but I don’t want Brother to be sad."

Gu Yan looked at Yi Yi, smiled, and nodded, "I promise not to tell Sister!"

Yi Yi was relieved, covered Gu Yan’s ear, and whispered, "Brother, Sister said she doesn’t dislike you. She said she likes you!"

Gu Yan was stunned—he hadn’t expected that secret.

Yu Sheng likes him too? Well, that makes things easier! Gu Yan smiled.

After Yi Yi left, Gu Yan went to Yu Sheng’s house to say hello.

"Yi Yi’s gone?" Yu Sheng looked regretful. "Why didn’t you let me know? I didn’t even get to say goodbye."

Gu Yan took out the lucky charm Han Lu had given her and put it on Yu Sheng’s wrist. "My aunt gave you this as a thank-you for taking care of Yi Yi these days."

Yu Sheng felt Gu Yan’s warm hand brush over the back of hers, and her heart tingled.

"It’s nothing. Thank your aunt for me."

Yu Sheng’s mother was working overtime today, her father was rarely home on weekends, and Yu Chen had gone out—so Yu Sheng was alone at home.

"Are you working on your homework?" Gu Yan glanced at her desk.

Yu Sheng nodded.

Gu Yan felt a little guilty—because he had asked Yu Sheng to help, she hadn’t had time to do her homework.

"About that free tutoring I mentioned—have you thought it over?"

"Sure, as long as it doesn’t take up too much of your time."