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{Chapter: 183 You can't cry! Don't cry! Why are you crying!}
For this moment, Lin Yuan had been preparing for a long time.
Everything that had happened today was part of a plan he had meticulously crafted in advance.
That was why he could now stand there so calmly, with absolute confidence glowing from within.
"Thank you, Xiao Yuan," Mei Yuxian said warmly, her beautiful eyes sparkling with genuine gratitude. "Your Sister Yuxian has been searching for this Ink Plum Blossom for so many years. I never thought that one day, I would receive it without spending a single yuan. If you ever need my help in the future, just come and find your sister."
Her voice carried both warmth and a trace of playfulness.
Hearing her words, Lin Yuan smiled gently in return. "Okay," he answered simply, his tone light, but his heart deeply satisfied.
Although on the surface, Lin Yuan had said that the painting was a birthday gift — a sort of exchange for the imperial jade green Buddha sculpture — the reality was far more layered.
This was no ordinary gift.
The value of the Ink Plum Blossom far exceeded any casual transaction or polite exchange.
Moreover, Lin Yuan could see that Mei Yuxian's fondness for the painting was no small thing.
In fact, calling it 'liking' was an understatement.
It was something she had desired for years, something that touched her heart.
To Lin Yuan, it didn't matter if the value tilted heavily in her favor.
What mattered most to him was that this gift had succeeded in subtly reshaping Mei Yuxian's perception of him.
Her feelings were shifting.
The way she addressed him had already changed — from calling herself Aunt Mei in the past to now affectionately referring to herself as Sister Yuxian.
Although she didn't truly see Lin Yuan as a younger brother — at least not in a familial, purely platonic sense — the fact that she naturally made this change of address showed that she had already moved him into a closer, more equal place in her heart.
It was a promising sign.
A small but important victory.
With a natural and relaxed motion, Lin Yuan handed over the scroll to Mei Yuxian.
Her slender fingers carefully accepted the painting, and her face blossomed with undisguised happiness.
She eagerly unfurled the painting, examining it with sparkling eyes, admiring it from every angle.
She looked at it once, twice — and then again, as if afraid that blinking might cause it to disappear.
Just at that moment, another figure quietly emerged from the nearby restroom.
It was Yan Ruyue.
Her beautiful eyes were swollen and slightly red, revealing obvious traces of having cried.
She stepped out slowly, trying to compose herself, but when her gaze accidentally fell on Lin Yuan and Mei Yuxian together — on the scene of Lin Yuan personally handing over the precious Ink Plum Blossom to Mei Yuxian — her heart twisted painfully once more.
Tears welled up in her eyes again, blurring her vision.
When Yan Ruyue had locked herself in the bathroom earlier, she had tried so hard to restrain herself, speaking silently to herself in the mirror.
'You are still at a public banquet. You must not cry! You are the cold and aloof president of the Yan family! You cannot fall apart here!'
'Hold it in! You can't cry!'
But the words in her heart, no matter how determined, had little effect.
The moment she thought of Lin Yuan's indifferent attitude toward her — the way he had so casually taken back the painting from her hands — the grievances, the humiliation, the sadness… it all crashed over her like waves.
She sat silently in the toilet cubicle, her shoulders trembling, crying quietly into her sleeves.
She cried for so long that the toilet paper ran out.
By the time she had finally dried her tears with the last scrap of tissue, she thought she could face the world again.
But fate was cruel.
The moment she stepped out, she saw the scene that broke her heart all over again.
Lin Yuan was smiling warmly at Mei Yuxian, gently handing her the Ink Plum Blossom — the very same painting she had once clutched so dearly.
Yan Ruyue bit her lip hard to stop herself from sobbing aloud.
Yet the tears still spilled over uncontrollably.
Overwhelmed, she quickly turned and rushed toward the elevator, not daring to stay a moment longer.
She frantically pressed the button for the topmost floor, seeking refuge anywhere but here.
Before the elevator doors closed, she instinctively turned back.
Her gaze — filled with sorrow, longing, and silent questions — locked onto Lin Yuan.
Perhaps sensing something, Lin Yuan turned his head at the last moment.
What he saw was a pair of red, tear-stained eyes, filled with deep hurt.
For a moment, Lin Yuan felt a twinge of helplessness.
He thought to himself, 'Was it that easy for her or girls in general to cry? And to cry so much'
'You don't have to look at me with those eyes… It's not like I hurt you on purpose.'
However, he didn't move to chase after her.
Lin Yuan had already made up his mind — his priorities tonight were clear.
Compared to the tearful Yan Ruyue, Mei Yuxian standing before him was beaming with satisfaction, her entire person radiant with joy.
Lin Yuan's heart stirred slightly.
Perhaps this was what Lu Xun once spoke of:
"The joys and sorrows of human beings are not interconnected."
Each person lived within the confines of their own emotions.
One's heartbreak might be another's happiness.
There was no true way to bridge that gap completely.
Lin Yuan fully understood the situation.
He could tell that Yan Ruyue's tears earlier were not without reason — they were born from a simple, heartbreaking misunderstanding.
Yet, in a way, this was a good sign.
It showed just how much influence he now had over Yan Ruyue's emotions — how deeply he had already started to entangle himself in her heart.
It wouldn't be long, Lin Yuan thought, before the seemingly untouchable, ice-cold female president — who once looked at him with only disdain — would fall completely for him.
Bit by bit, with careful planning and precision, Lin Yuan had been dismantling her defenses.
His approach wasn't violent or forceful; it was more like spring rain quietly nourishing the earth, sinking unnoticed until the soil bloomed with life.
However, tonight's painting incident had hurt Yan Ruyue more than he intended.
She was clearly heartbroken, her spirit fragile and depressed.
Yan Ruyue was not a masochist.
She wasn't someone who enjoyed emotional pain.
If left alone, her sadness might fester and turn into resentment — exactly what Lin Yuan could not allow.
So, he decided to act.
It was time to comfort her, to offer her a little sweetness after the bitterness — to make her realize that no matter how hurt she felt, he would always be the one to bring her warmth.
Besides, Lin Yuan remembered that not long ago, Yan Ruyue had secretly knitted him a pair of gloves.
The craftsmanship was poor, with uneven stitches and a lopsided shape, but the effort and thought she put into it touched Lin Yuan deeply.
Although he hadn't made a big deal about it at the time, he knew he needed to return the sentiment — to casually but sincerely acknowledge her feelings.
Lin Yuan instinctively patted his pocket.
Inside, he had something prepared — a small but meaningful gift.
He already had a plan in mind.
Just then, Lin Yuan noticed the elevator numbers flashing — it had stopped at the sixth floor.
If he hurried, he could still catch it.
But Lin Yuan deliberately chose not to.
Instead, he turned away from the elevator and began running swiftly up the stairs.
The topmost floor of Mei's house was a wide, open rooftop — a place where guests sometimes stepped out for fresh air.
As he raced up, Lin Yuan purposely slowed his pace near the top, pausing on the stairwell just before reaching the final landing.
He knew very well why he was doing this.
If he arrived looking exhausted, breathing heavily, it would create the perfect illusion: that he had been frantic, desperate even, to chase after her.
This image — of a man willing to run breathlessly to find her — would touch Yan Ruyue's already vulnerable heart and make her emotions sway even more in his favor.
A carefully planted seed.
But there was a small problem.
Lin Yuan's physique had become too strong.
Even after sprinting several flights of stairs, he didn't feel winded in the slightest.
Not a single bead of sweat appeared on his forehead.
His breathing remained calm and steady, his heartbeat relaxed.
Feeling helpless, Lin Yuan quickly squatted down and did a few sets of rapid exercises right there on the landing, trying to force some exhaustion into his body.
But it was useless.
His body, honing to perfection slowly with ech increase, wouldn't tire so easily.
'Looks like I'll have to rely on my acting skills again,' Lin Yuan thought, chuckling inwardly.
Taking a deep breath, he deliberately controlled his breathing to simulate panting — shallow breaths, uneven steps — all the little signs of fatigue.
After adjusting his expression carefully, Lin Yuan pushed open the rooftop door.
Before him stretched the open rooftop, and in the dim rooftop lights, a slender figure came into view.
---
The rooftop lights were faint, casting long, soft shadows against the walls.
The wind was gentle but carried a chill, making the figure standing there seem even more lonely.
From the shape alone — the graceful silhouette, the slim waist, the long, straight legs that seemed to go on forever — Lin Yuan immediately recognized Yan Ruyue.
Without hesitation, he walked directly toward her.
Each step steady, deliberate, as if the world around them had faded into the background.
---
At this moment, Yan Ruyue was staring blankly at the concrete ground about ten meters away, her mind adrift.
Her thoughts were a tangled mess.
She kept thinking about the painting — that Ink Plum Blossom that now rested in someone else's hands.
Deep down, she knew she was the one who had been foolish.
No one had promised her anything.
Lin Yuan had never explicitly said that the painting was for her.
She was the one who had dreamt about it so eagerly, so naively.
She remembered how she had overheard Lin Yuan asking about the buyer of the painting and how her heart had leapt with hope.
She had even worried that Lin Yuan might spend an exorbitant amount just to buy it.
And once the idea took root — the idea that he had bought it for her — she had secretly begun rehearsing her reaction.
In front of the mirror at home, she had practiced her expressions over and over again, trying to perfect a 'surprised and delighted' look.
She had wanted to act natural, to pretend she hadn't known anything, to feign pure joy when receiving the gift.
Because deep down, she had been genuinely happy — touched beyond words at the thought of him doing something so special for her.
But in the end…
She was the only one playing that imaginary drama.
The gift was never meant for her.
The realization crushed her.
The chilly rooftop wind only deepened the coldness in her heart, making her feel like a fragile leaf about to be blown away.
Just then, a familiar voice broke through the wind.
"Miss Yan, what are you doing here?"
Startled, Yan Ruyue turned around.
There he was.
Lin Yuan.
Standing not far from her, a concerned expression on his face, his breathing heavy and uneven — as if he had run all the way up just to find her.
*****
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