CHAPTER 267: CHAPTER 222: JUST PARTNERS, RIGHT?

As these words were spoken.

Lin Tian was shocked, and Gan Yanyu’s face also flushed red. She demurely covered her mouth and stood aside with a look of amusement in her eyes.

"..."

It took Su Ran a full ten seconds to snap back to reality and hurriedly react.

Her face was beet red, and her eyes lowered, slowly turning her face away,

"I... I need to think about it..."

No, you’re going to think about it?!

Right now, the key is how to naturally defuse this awkward situation!

Xu Yong turned redder and frantically gestured to Su Ran with his eyes.

It shouldn’t be "think about it"... Directly rejecting would end this embarrassing scene!

Pretending to consider... is actually just to prolong this confession and torture yourself, right?!

Xu Yong threw himself into the fray, not expecting to be backstabbed by this guy...

It must be revenge for what happened earlier, right?!

".....Okay, I’ve thought it through,"

Said Su Ran.

Then, the girl took the rose from Xu Yong’s hand.

She held it against her cheek and smiled brilliantly:

"I accept."

"Ha...?"

Xu Yong was stunned.

Lin Tian, standing to the side, was the first to clap,

"Great!!"

"Bang——"

Just then,

From the other side of the courtyard, fireworks suddenly shot out, scattering celebratory ribbons into the sky.

"Congratulations, congratulations—I knew there would be an acceptance...."

The boss Ruan laughed heartily while leading a group of waiters, pushing a cart with a two-tier cake coming out.

Everyone cheered and applauded...

Then, Ruan saw Su Ran holding the flowers, Xu Yong kneeling despondently, and beside them, a baffled Lin Tian and Gan Yanyu.

The air at the scene suddenly became heavy.

"Who—accepted?"

Ruan asked tentatively.

"Wow～"

Su Ran covered her cheeks in surprise, looking at Xu Yong,

"Did you prepare all this for me in advance?"

"Yes!"

Xu Yong responded quickly and stood up,

"Let me introduce, this is boss Ruan, my buddy; we met on Tieba..."

"Come on, let’s celebrate the new couple!"

"Don’t just stand there, blow out the candles!"

Soon, Xu Yong took Su Ran’s hand, and the two of them, hand in hand, were pushed in front of the cake, and under everyone’s gaze, they blew out the candles...

"..."

"They’re so romantic."

Gan Yanyu whispered softly.

"Indeed."

Lin Tian was stunned by the unexpected but smoothly executed series of events.

To think that Xu Yong prepared so much, he was serious...

"Lin Tian."

At that moment, Gan Yanyu called out softly.

"Hmm?"

"Let’s go back and eat."

Gan Yanyu smiled.

Then, she turned around, clasped her hands behind her back, and walked out of the courtyard.

Watching her figure, Lin Tian was somewhat dazed.

"....."

Back in the restaurant, the two began their meal.

Succulent juicy steak, spaghetti drenched in tomato sauce.

Because Lin Tian himself was a master of Chinese cuisine, whenever he dined out with Gan Yanyu, he usually chose Western cuisine for a bit of novelty.

"....."

For some reason.

After returning from the courtyard, both Lin Tian and Gan Yanyu unusually maintained silence.

The dinner table fell into an eerie quiet.

As he stuffed a forkful of spaghetti into his mouth.

Lin Tian’s thoughts were a bit scattered.

The operation plan was completely disrupted.

From now on, he could not count on anyone.

Should I still confess?

Of course.

Without a piano, without flowers, without a cake, without anyone to assist...

Actually, Lin Tian doesn’t really like all those messy things.

He just wants to sincerely and simply express his feelings.

No matter the outcome.

As long as he can speak out.

That’s enough.

In the quiet restaurant, only the clinking of their cutlery could be heard.

The dim ambient lighting stretched their shadows long.

Lin Tian put down his fork, took a deep breath, and lifted his head:

"Mr. Gan."

"Lin Tian."

"Huh?"

"I was thinking, what if it had been the two of us confessing back in the courtyard... What would that scene have been like..."

Gan Yanyu propped her chin with one hand, a sweet curve forming at the corner of her mouth.

"Why... why would you think that?"

Lin Tian hadn’t expected the conversation to suddenly shift in this direction, his face instantly showing signs of being at a loss.

"Because, isn’t it all too coincidental? The chance meeting, the perfect roses..."

Gan Yanyu spoke, her beautiful eyes slowly turning towards Lin Tian.

"Mr. Gan, I have something I want to..."

"If it really turned out that way, I think I would be quite troubled."

"Huh?"

"Think about it, Lin Tian."

Gan Yanyu raised her index finger, speaking earnestly to the young man,

"We are partners, the best partners in history! From the very beginning when we met, we made a promise to support each other’s dreams, and I still clearly remember the scene that night, you standing on that rusty rail fence saying loudly, ’I am here to help you!’ I was really afraid that you would fall down from there..."

"Later on, we composed together, competed together, during the time of the Star Cup, when you said you wanted to be apart for a month, I almost panicked to death, I really felt that without you I couldn’t make it... until we completed the competition and the arts exam, I often felt, being able to chase dreams with you, Lin Tian, was truly a joy... Sometimes I would think, perhaps because of grandpa’s car accident, destiny brought you into my life..."

"..."

Lin Tian could no longer hear what came after.

He stood up and said,

"You keep eating, I’m going to the restroom..."

Without waiting for Gan Yanyu’s reaction, he turned and left.

He walked out of the restaurant, onto the street.

Lin Tian continued walking along the main road, letting the crowd pass by him.

In his mind were the girl’s words just moments ago—

"I would be quite troubled, right?"

What does she mean... partners?

It’s just a roundabout way of saying:

I have never liked you, I have only seen you as my most important partner... right?

So subtle and gentle, just your style... Mr. Gan.

Lin Tian took a deep breath and looked up at the sky.

Actually, back in the courtyard, Gan Yanyu must have noticed, right?

She was just playing dumb, playing along to see the whole process through.

Then, at the dining table, predicting his confession, she preemptively rejected him...

So.

All this time, everything was just his wishful thinking.

Gan Yanyu never, ever thought of it that way.

In her eyes, he was just a... trustworthy partner.

Damn it!

What a farce of a romance!

Lin Tian’s head throbbed with heat.

Thinking it over.

This Yingqin Cup competition, the reason the two of them became like this...

Wasn’t it because Lin Tian was preoccupied with thoughts of love?

Because he was always thinking about confessing his feelings to Gan Yanyu.

Caring too much about his emotional relationship with Gan Yanyu, overthinking her thoughts.

That’s why he fell apart before the competition.

So, talking about love just interferes with one’s career!!

"..."

Lin Tian hailed a taxi by the roadside and got in.

At this moment, his mind a mess, he had no strength left to face Gan Yanyu.

He’d send a message to tell her he was heading back first...

Lin Tian took out his phone and sent the message.

Not long after.

Gan Yanyu replied.

[Open that letter.]