Chapter 17

 As soon as Yu Luoyin finished his speech as the representative of the senior third-year students, he hurriedly stepped down from the stage, increasing his pace. He tossed his school uniform jacket to Zhou Xin, who was responsible for the written description, and swiftly ran away from behind the chairman's podium.

During this time, Gu Yuan had been speaking on the chairman's podium to the leaders. Upon seeing Yu Luoyin's figure, she instinctively called out, "Luoyin!"

But Yu Luoyin didn't acknowledge her, nor did he look back.

...

Gu Yuan felt somewhat awkward immediately, but she maintained her calm smile. She gently tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear, graceful and charming.

"Chairman Gu," the principal beside her noticed the situation and awkwardly echoed, "He might not have heard you, Yu Luoyin might not have heard you just now."

"Whether he heard or not, he wouldn't bother with me," Gu Yuan replied gracefully, directly and smilingly said, "This child has been spoiled by me. He's been mad at me lately, so forgive me for making everyone laugh."

Several principals and directors hurriedly agreed:

"Oh no, it's an honor for us to have Chairman Gu come to speak at our swearing-in ceremony."

"Exactly, amidst her busy schedule, she still made time to come. It's all for the sake of the children."

"So many students in our school have heard Chairman Gu's lectures..."

...

In the mutual praise, Gu Yuan smiled faintly, distant yet elegant—just like her demeanor during lectures and public classes.

And Yu Luoyin found this aspect of her the most annoying; he felt like his mother was putting on a show.

So, after the student speech ended, Yu Luoyin would immediately leave the vicinity of the chairman's podium to avoid being pulled into the aura of being "Gu Yuan's son," and forced to feign respect and deference.

He took off his school uniform and wore only a simple white T-shirt, running through the eyes of the crowd all the way to the spectator seats. He accurately and without error arrived at the spot where Bai Xunyin was seated.

The parents wouldn't forget; of course, they could all recognize Yu Luoyin as the young man who had just spoken on stage. Their eyes immediately lit up, filled with the radiance of "other people's children."

Including Ji Huiying, who was even startled by his entrance. She quickly whispered to Bai Xunyin next to her, "Xinyin, look, isn't that an outstanding student from your school?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Xunyin turned her head and met Yu Luoyin's deep black eyes. She was so scared that she almost stood up directly. With the last remnants of her rationality, she firmly pressed herself to stay in place, staring blankly at him.

Seeing Bai Xunyin momentarily stunned, unable to take out her phone to text and reject him, Yu Luoyin politely whispered to Ji Huiying beside him, "Auntie, our class teacher has something to discuss with Bai Xunyin. He asked me to pass on the message."

With a pretense of being a good student, he could fool everyone in the world.

Who wouldn't believe such a Yu Luoyin? The one who had just spoken on stage.

Ji Huiying, of course, had no doubts and nodded with a smile. She even urged Bai Xunyin, "Xinyin, you should quickly go with your classmate. Don't delay the teacher."

...

Reluctantly, Bai Xunyin stood up and followed Yu Luoyin as they left together.

In the bustling crowd, no one noticed that his gentle yet firm grip on her wrist remained unrelenting.

They quietly exited the venue, and only then did Bai Xunyin finally shake off Yu Luoyin's hand in frustration, angrily typing in response to his indifferent laughter:

[What are you doing?]

"Just didn't feel like listening to all those big empty words in the venue," Yu Luoyin shrugged nonchalantly. "Isn't it okay to take you out for a change?"

Bai Xunyin frowned: [I want to go back and listen to the leaders' speeches.]

She had just seen her idol, Gu Yuan, and was certain that she was going to give a speech at the ceremony.

Missing this opportunity made Bai Xunyin feel somewhat unwilling.

As soon as she replied, she turned to go back to the venue. However, Yu Luoyin caught her wrist again from behind, unrelenting. In the moment he made a move, Bai Xunyin seemed to instinctively pull her hand back, but unfortunately, their fingers ended up touching and entwining.

It was their first direct contact at their fingertips, and it felt like an electric shock to Bai Xunyin, leaving her momentarily stunned.

Yu Luoyin, an absolute opportunist, took advantage of Bai Xunyin's momentary daze to pull her along.

While freshmen and sophomores were in class, seniors were "attending" the event in the venue.

The vast playground was covered with lush green grass, and their white figures were the only ones racing across it, picking up speed.

"Bai Xunyin," as they ran, Yu Luoyin couldn't help but ask with a smile, "Have you heard the song 'Elopement to the Moon'?"

Running ahead of her, when he turned to look back at her, he seemed to be bathed in sunlight, his smile so radiant that even the sun around him paled—Bai Xunyin would forever remember that smile as the most vivid memory of her entire melancholy high school years.

Following Yu Luoyin's lead, Bai Xunyin couldn't help but obediently nod.

She had indeed heard that song, and right now... she was feeling a sensation similar to its lyrics.

"I feel like we're kind of like that song right now," Yu Luoyin said straightforwardly, then asked, "What do you think?"

Bai Xunyin couldn't control the curling of her fingers, feeling a warmth spreading in her neck.

She didn't continue to refuse Yu Luoyin, nor did she remember to listen to Gu Yuan's speech anymore, letting him lead her to their familiar "secret base"—the abandoned back playground of their school.

Yu Luoyin seemed to particularly like this place and often brought her here.

Both of them were a bit tired from running, and when they finally let go of each other's hands, they were both slightly out of breath.

Bai Xunyin felt the dampness left on her palm from where Yu Luoyin had held it, her heart pounding in her chest.

After calming down a bit, she took out her phone and proactively asked Yu Luoyin, [Why do you like it here?]

It was the first time Bai Xunyin had proactively asked Yu Luoyin about something, which surprised him for a moment.

"Why do I like it here..." Yu Luoyin murmured softly, then smiled after a while. "Because you like it here."

Bai Xunyin's breath caught for a moment as she stared at him blankly.

In fact, she had already sensed it earlier, but hearing Yu Luoyin say it out loud... she couldn't help but feel both pleasantly surprised and anxious.

"I've seen you sneak over here before," Yu Luoyin squinted, recalling the slender figure of the girl—Bai Xunyin walking through the overgrown grassy field in her white sneakers, leisurely and carefree, seemingly unconcerned about the hem of her pants rolled up, revealing her ivory-white calves.

He had accidentally seen her once, and that image had inexplicably lingered in Yu Luoyin's mind for a long time.

He would even come here inexplicably sometimes, perhaps wanting to create a "chance encounter," but mostly just sitting quietly for a while.

Ironically, this was all in the second half of their sophomore year, not long after he had first met Bai Xunyin.

Entering their senior year, he had started coming here more often, while the young girl had stopped coming as frequently. But Yu Luoyin knew she liked this place, so he said he liked it too.

During the wild years of youth, the dazzling young man and the seemingly real yet ambiguous words of affection were the most moving.

Hardly any girl could resist these two qualities, and Bai Xunyin was no exception.

Looking at Yu Luoyin's delicate and handsome profile, Bai Xunyin closed her eyes, and in her mind echoed the words Amo had once said:

"Sometimes you really have to be brave. We only have eight months left."

"I want to apply to the same school as him. I'm afraid I'll regret it if I miss him."

...

Similarly, Bai Xunyin was afraid she would regret it later.

As the end of senior year approached, her anxiety grew. She feared Yu Luoyin's closeness but was even more afraid that one day he would walk away, disappear completely.

If he lost all the light he brought with him, Bai Xunyin would feel like she had returned to the darkness.

Perhaps, regardless of the future, she should be a bit more courageous and try a bit harder.

Even though Bai Xunyin knew there was a world of difference between her and Yu Luoyin—whether it was family background, status, or even physical health... She didn't even have a healthy body.

But Yu Luoyin said he liked her, and she didn't want to miss that.

So, while the boy rested against the wall, Bai Xunyin summoned the courage to tiptoe slightly—her lemon-scented lips lightly brushed against Yu Luoyin's jawbone, like a dragonfly touching the water.

................................................................................................................

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