CHAPTER 296: SERENDIPITOUS MOMENT

Lin Ning was content. He took five one-hundred-yuan bills from his wallet. "Can I buy a small bag of your cherry tomatoes?"

The girl smiled genuinely. "That’s too much. I don’t have change for a single one."

"It’s okay, the rest is a gift from me for you to buy snacks," Lin Ning said with a laugh. "You have such a sweet way with words, little one."

Cai Xiaojing rolled her eyes. Finally, the girl picked a small bag full of plump red cherry tomatoes for Lin Ning. "Big brother, big sister, our tomatoes are really delicious!"

Lin Ning didn’t wash them. He wiped one and popped it into his mouth. He held one out to Cai Xiaojing, but she shook her head; they hadn’t been washed and were too dirty. Lin Ning, while coaxing her, managed to slip it into her mouth.

"Lin Ning!" Cai Xiaojing raised her hand to hit him, but the tomato was surprisingly sweet. It was her first time eating such a small tomato, and it was raw. It was indeed quite sweet and delicious.

"Big brother, your girlfriend doesn’t seem to like tomatoes," the little girl said with a sweet smile.

Cai Xiaojing paused. **Girlfriend**?

She turned her head to look at Lin Ning. Lin Ning was smiling broadly, as if the sun had cast a beautiful, thin glow on his face. His gaze towards her was filled with a brilliant warmth. Cai Xiaojing looked away, her face feeling slightly warm.

The two of them said goodbye to the little girl. Lin Ning went to wash the tomatoes and repack them.

"I wasn’t lying; they’re delicious, right?" Seeing Cai Xiaojing unable to stop eating the tomatoes she was holding, Lin Ning smiled triumphantly. He knew she would like them. These tomatoes were both sweet and sour, with a lot of moisture, which girls generally liked.

"They’re not bad; they’re quite good," Cai Xiaojing said. The two of them walked onto the bridge and parked the bicycle on the side. Cai Xiaojing sat on the bridge railing. A gentle breeze blew, scattering her smooth hair and making her look graceful.

Lin Ning leaned on the railing next to her and asked, "How’s the scenery here?"

"It’s beautiful."

The simplicity of farm life was relaxing and comfortable.

They, who lived in the bustling city, had entered another world.

It was easy, natural, and stress-free.

It was comfortable, tranquil, and without pretense.

While eating the tomatoes and enjoying the breeze, Cai Xiaojing unconsciously ate half a bag of them. The restlessness she had felt recently seemed to have been blown away by the wind, and she slowly calmed down.

The sun was slowly setting.

A crimson sun slowly sank behind the river. It painted the river’s water red. On the stone bridge, only the two of them remained, their shadows slowly lengthening, reflected on the bridge’s surface.

They talked and laughed, enjoying the pleasant time together.

"What do you think about what that little girl said?" Lin Ning suddenly asked. He stood tall and elegant in the sunset, the lingering sunlight gathering in his eyes, adding a few points of heartwarming warmth that made her heart skip a beat.

Cai Xiaojing was in the middle of talking about a movie and was taken aback by the sudden shift in topic. "What did she say?"

"Girlfriend," Lin Ning said, looking at Cai Xiaojing without flinching, his eyes full of passion.

Cai Xiaojing’s heart thumped. She stared at Lin Ning. Time seemed to reverse, as if she were back in their middle school days. He was still a young boy, and she was a blossoming teenage girl. Under a sycamore tree, he had once said the same thing, asking her to be his girlfriend.

Time and life had been out of sync. After all these years, after so many experiences, she was once again entangled with him.

Truth and falsehood, right and wrong, she couldn’t tell them apart anymore.

When she was young, she loved a person wholeheartedly, without reservation, without scheming, and without thinking too much. She only thought of burning her youth and giving him her best, without a thought for the future.

Now that she was grown and mature, loving a person was no longer as pure as it was in her youth. She wouldn’t ignore whether it was genuine or not. This was the world of adults, where people calculated returns, gains, losses, and contributions.

Furthermore, this was the man who had deeply hurt her when she was first in love.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about," Cai Xiaojing said, avoiding Lin Ning’s gaze and looking at the river. The water rippled, and her heart also stirred with it, creating ripples. "Lin Ning, Lin Ning..."

Was this another game? How much energy did she have left to play with him?

In her heart, she thought of seeing it through to the end, but if she couldn’t get out and ended up hurt again, who would feel sorry for her?

Cai Xiaojing smiled, hopped off the bridge railing, and said as if nothing had happened, "Let’s go, it’s getting dark."

Lin Ning abruptly grabbed her arm, turned her shoulder, and pinned her against the bridge railing. Her long hair swished through the air, releasing its light scent and captivating her. Lin Ning wrapped his long arms around her waist, holding her close in his embrace.

"Don’t play dumb, Xiaojing. You know what I’m talking about. Let’s be in a relationship," Lin Ning said.

Lin Ning was born into the prominent Lin family. He came from a distinguished background, had an outstanding appearance, and was incredibly talented. He was a natural playboy, known for his elegant and carefree demeanor in the entertainment industry. Everyone knew of Director Lin’s reputation for being sophisticated and detached.

In school, older and younger girls fell for him. At work, countless aspiring actresses and already-famous female stars were eager to get into his bed. Lin Ning was never short of women.

He had the means and was very open-minded. Women to him were less valuable than clothes.

This was the first time he wanted to pursue a person. He had known her for quite a few years and had never given her any special thought, though he did flirt with her somewhat. Her impression of him was not that deep.

However, over the past six months, he had paid her extra attention.

He was very concerned with her every move, her joys, and her sorrows. For the first time, he felt the urge to understand a woman’s inner world.

When Lin Ning looked at women, he only ever looked at their faces and bodies, rarely paying attention to anything else. Cai Xiaojing was different.

Director Lin considered himself to be very skilled with women. Cai Xiaojing was hot and cold with him, sometimes intimate, sometimes distant. This puzzled Lin Ning. He had initially planned to take his time in pursuing her.

However, Tang Shuwen got married, and Ye Feimo sent him an email saying he and Wen Nuan were also getting married.

He was almost ten years older than them and had always been a non-marriage advocate. But now, seeing his brothers paired up, he also longed for a woman to be with, day and night.

So he decided not to waste any more time with Cai Xiaojing.

"Lin Ning, are you joking?" Cai Xiaojing’s heart pounded. Her rationality and emotions seemed to be in two separate spaces. No matter how much her heart fluttered, her rationality always watched her from above, sending out calm signals, making her face him expressionlessly.

She knew she should agree to him. She would agree, and then she would dump him, getting her revenge.

She would also teach him that women were not to be trifled with, not to be pursued and abandoned at his whim.

"I’m very serious," Lin Ning said. The sophisticated and elegant man was nervous. He had directed so many romantic films, yet for the first time, he lost control of the situation. "What do you say?"