Chapter 122: You Shan’t Have Moar Than One Beech!
Ye Xingzhu’s cheeks burned red as she recalled her mother’s words: ‘You do know when to stop, right?’
Those words were definitely not referring to the bath, instead, it seemed that her mother already found out.
“Big Sis Zhu, don’t worry! Now that the deed’s done, I won’t shirk from my responsibility; I will go and tell Auntie Liang that I will marry you…”
The worry on Ye Xingzhu’s face prompted Su Lin into standing up. It was his responsibility as a man. Now that he had cooked the rice with his Big Sis Zhu, it was only right that he shouldered the responsibility that came with it.
“You will marry me? Li’l Lin, you are only eighteen right now, and the legal age for marriage is 22 for men! How are you going to marry me?”
[TL: why though? ain’t 18 enough?]
Ye Xingzhu had already calmed down as she started to wear her clothes. Hearing Su Lin’s words, though, made her heart burst with some joy. As for the future… Just who could predict it accurately? Ye Xingzhu couldn’t help but fall into her own thoughts as she watched Su Lin’s naive expression. After all, Su Lin was only eighteen this year.
“Then… if we can’t get married, then how about we make an arrangement… How about we get engaged?”
“Li’l Lin, don’t think too much about these matters — you don’t need to burden yourself like that. I understand your intentions and know that you like me, but your life has just begun. You are only eighteen right now, and you haven’t even graduated from high school yet. Soon, you will go to University, and your life will take a different turn to something far different and wider. Can you make sure you won’t change your current thinking after experiencing everything that is to come? Perhaps, once you go to University, you will forget your Big Sis Zhu after meeting new beauties and falling for their charms…”
Ye Xingzhu spoke with some sadness, and Su Lin didn’t miss the change in her tone and expression. Ye Xingzhu slowly put on her snow-white dress, without waiting to dry her hair, and droplets of water fell down from the tips of her hair.
Lowering her head, Ye Xingzhu took a towel and began to dry her dripping hair. From the space between her hair, she could see a frowning Su Lin with an upset expression. In a hurry, she picked up Su Lin’s clothes, and handed them over while saying, “Li’l Lin, what’s the matter? Why are you upset? Aren’t I right in what I said? Don’t think I didn’t see what happened at the school today! That beautiful teacher and classmate of yours must also like you, right? When you go to the University, you will meet more pretty girls like them, so will you even have the time to remember your Big Sis Zhu? Quickly put on your clothes… and hurry back home before my mother comes here again!”
Lifting his head, Su Lin watched Ye Xingzhu’s squinted eyes and smiling lips. Suddenly, a familiar feeling welled up in his heart. She was his Big Sis Zhu, the one who had been looking after him since he was a child. She had always prioritized him in everything she did — if she got some delicious food, she would bring it to him first, and if he were getting bullied by the other kids, she would step in and help him fight back!
Even if they had grown up, and he was now taller than her, his Big Sis Zhu still considered him before herself.
“Big Sis Zhu, you are so kind! Li’l Lin will love you forever and give you all the best things of the world!”
The words sounded childish as they came out of Su Lin’s mouth, but it was fact that Su Lin was still a child who had barely turned eighteen. Although the recent events had forced him to grow up a lot, he was still somewhat immature deep down.
“Yeah, yeah, Li’l Lin! You should keep those words to coax the beauties you will meet in the future. In my eyes, you are the best thing in the world for me!”
Watching Su Lin put on his clothes, Ye Xingzhu opened the bathroom door and looked outside. Her mother wasn’t in the living room, so she must be in her own room. Ye Xingzhu quickly pushed Su Lin out and said, “Li’l Lin, leave while my is not here! It’s already time for dinner, so Aunt Liu will come over to look for you if she doesn’t see you around!”
“Big Sis Zhu, I will leave right now, but I will come to see you again tomorrow after I am done with the College Entrance Examinations!”
Su Lin wasn’t too happy as he walked out of the Ye Family’s house. Ye Xingzhu’s words had made him feel immense guilt in his heart.
Indeed! Just what the heck was wrong with him? He had solemnly vowed to give his love to his Big Sis Zhu, so how could he still think about other women in his heart?
In youth, who wasn’t passionate like this? Which girl didn’t want to fall in love, and which boy wasn’t sentimentally attached to someone of the opposite gender?
Su Lin couldn’t help but feel guilt because of his passion. It was guilt that rose from his instinct. It struck Su Lin’s heart and forced him to question his heart: Just who was the person he liked, the one he loved?
One could only have one lover! There couldn’t be another between the two!
That was something Su Lin’s parents had instilled into his bones since childhood. Their country was monogamous, so everyone had to make a choice, and that pained Su Lin to no end.
On the other hand, Ye Xingzhu, who had watched Su Lin walk away from their house, couldn’t stop tears from streaming down her cheeks.
The reason for the tears was complicated. Ye Xingzhu didn’t regret giving her purity to Su Lin — she had already prepared herself for that. From his eyes, Ye Xingzhu could tell that Su Lin truly held her dear and loved her a lot; she could feel the deep love he had for her through his gaze. How much she hoped time would stop right now! For right now was the moment Ye Xingzhu felt as if she were the happiest woman in the world.
Ye Xingzhu could see Su Lin’s love for herself, but his love right now was too immature. Although he was sincere enough, Ye Xingzhu could see the shadows of other women etched over Su Lin’s heart.
Indeed, Su Lin liked women other than herself, too!
Facing the misty mirror, Ye Xingzhu lost herself into a daze as she watched the vague silhouette it reflected.
To a pitiful flower, what could this moment be?
Ye Xingzhu stretched out her palm and slid it across the misty mirror. Immediately, the blurry refletion turned clear. Seeing herself in the clear mirror, Ye Xingzhu couldn’t help but touch her flushed face as an incomprehensible sorrow she had never felt before rose from the depths of her heart.
“Li’l Lin will soon go to the University and embark on a completely different path in life. Maybe… he and I will no longer be people of the same world at all!”
Ye Xingzhu’s greatest regret in life was not going to University. Her grades weren’t bad since young, but their family just wasn’t able to afford higher education. Her mother, Liang Guizhen really had no money to support her after high school, so Ye Xingzhu took the initiative to apply to the city’s Vocational Health Institute in hopes of being able to find work and help reduce the burden on her mother.
[TL: Universities are overrated. This girl did well not going to one. I wish I had done the same and saved myself a bunch of wasted years.]
University! That was like a sacred place in Ye Xingzhu’s heart. Although Su Lin had been together with her since childhood, once he went to the University and was exposed to society, his thoughts will certainly change drastically.
Ye Xingzhu had experienced such change after she went out in society, so she was afraid that her Li’l Lin, too, will change greatly and forget her in the future for some other girls.
Ye Xingzhu’s heart was in a mess, and she couldn’t help but be scared. But no matter what, she couldn’t bring herself to accomodate any other man in her heart.
The mist on the mirror gradually disappeared, and Ye Xingzhu was left staring at her clear reflection for a long time. It was indeed fact that she was beautiful, very beautiful. And from now on, the beauty in the mirror belonged to a stinky brat named Su Lin…