CH 9

Translator: Kitty G.

Editor: Arikimi

Lin Xin stayed away from Wu Anan for a few days. She wanted to gradually weaken their relationship to restore her 'loner' status. As for Wu Anan, she assumed that Lin Xin kept a distance due to the incident with Zhao Qiang. Before she was aware of it, both of them had become estranged.

Lin Xin felt that she didn't need anyone else, and no one else needs her. Why should she invest her feelings on people who won't be part of her life?

Lin Xin believed that she must stand firm independently without bowing down to others.  She simply wanted to live a peaceful life in this novel's world, but there was always someone to disturb her peace from time to time. That person was Lin Xinyu. At first she didn't notice his presence, until she realized after several days that he would intentionally or unintentionally appear at her side.

One day after lunch, Lin Xin could not bear it any longer. She caught Lin Xinyu hiding behind the tree and dragged him to an empty corner. She scolded him in an angry tone, "Stop following me!"

Oh no, I was discovered! Lin Xinyu took two steps back and lowered his head. His cheeks turned red as he kept his silence. He felt so shameful that he couldn't find the words to explain himself for a long time.

In fact, he had been following her around for three days.

On the first day that he saw her distanced from Wu Anan, he plucked the courage to go up and greet her. But when Lin Xin noticed his presence, she immediately fled the scene and hid next to the vines that grew abundantly on the orphanage wall.

Did she think he wouldn't be able to find her? Who else but him knows more about the orphanage's best hidden spots? In the past few years, in order to escape from Zhao Qiang's provocation, Lin Xinyu explored every secret place he could find. Thus, it was easy for him to locate wherever Lin Xin would flee.

When he pushed aside the green leaves, he saw the girl lying comfortably on the ground, along with the mottled sunshine that lighted her young face. She opened her eyes and squinted in annoyance.

"You boys are too incredible! You manage to find me every time."

Feeling flattered by her praise, Lin Xinyu squatted below the green foliage and tried to start a conversation with her.

The leaves blocked most of the sunshine, leaving behind a secret place just for the two of them. Lin Xin looked at him with a cheeky grin. But when she finally saw his face, the girl suddenly jumped up in surprise as if she had seen a ghost and began her escape. As she turned and left, her bag accidentally knocked his forehead in the process.

Since that day, Lin Xinyu had followed her incessantly like a ghost. He just wanted to have a conversation with her, nothing else, so that he wouldn't feel so alone.

When Lin Xin saw him standing like a fool close to her, she didn't hesitate to swear, "Don't follow me!"

Her fierceness didn't make Lin Xinyu feel afraid. Instead, he assumed that she had the wrong impression of him.  He carefully took something from his backpack and held out a red apple to her. The boy shyly bowed his head and offered, "This is for you."

An apple! Lin Xin's eyes brightened upon seeing the red fruit.

Only god knows, in this d*mned place, how hard it was to come by living resources. With such crude meals, the children in the orphanages didn't even know what a banana was, let alone an apple.

Their only snack came from the orphanage's jujube tree growing in the courtyard. Wu Anan said that the plant would yield dozens of large and sweet jujubes every year, which were divided among the children every year. Recently, the tree bore a lot of fruit that remained sweet and plentiful for many days.

Lin Xin stared wide-eyed at the tempting apple. Unable to resist, she finally accepted it with a few mouthfuls. Its sweet and juicy taste truly made it a delicacy in her current world.

The apple was gone in a bites, and the sweetness of the fruit lingered in her tongue. She didn't want her feast to end so quickly. Having eaten the whole piece, the girl bit her lower lip reluctantly.

All of these details were noticed by Lin Xinyu. He raised his head and asked in a friendly tone, "Do you like it? If you want, I can give more to you later."

Based on the boy's words, there were more opportunities to get apples later. Lin Xin couldn't help but ask, "Where did you get your apples?"

Lin Xinyu nervously replied, "The Dean gave it to me." The boy lowered his head and pulled the hem of his clothes as he replied.