Chapter 65: Present

"No. NingNing is my family."

Upon hearing Lin JinYan's response to her question, Su Ning cannot help but feel sad for him. She wished Lin JinYan had other people to rely on.

"Ahhh…" Su Ning began and paused thoughtfully for several moments, "Well, yes we are close like family." She finally decided. 'But if I can help him and be a bridge between him and other people, I'll do it,' Su Ning promised herself as she watched Lin JinYan elegantly eat his dinner. 'A prince is a prince no matter the location,' Su Ning mused with her chin propped on her left palm.

"Although...I prefer to be closer to NingNing, than family," Lin JinYan suddenly spoke, interrupting Su Ning's introspection.

"Hng?" Su Ning voiced out perplexed. 'What is closer than family...blood kin? But isn't that the same thing? Then could it be.. He means close like twins? Hmmm, if I had been reborn as Lin JinYan's real sibling, I wonder what would've been different?' Su Ning stared off to space and began to think of various scenarios in her mind.

"I'm done. Thank you for dinner. Since it's still pretty early, did you want to watch a movie with me?" Lin JinYan asked. Since he hadn't seen Su Ning since she left the academy last Friday afternoon, he wanted to spend more time with her.

"NingNing? NingNing?" Lin JinYan called out after receiving no response from the girl.

Seeing that the girl wasn't even paying attention as he was baring his heart, Lin JinYan felt slightly irked. All of a sudden, Lin JinYan wanted to do something naughty to force Su Ning's attention back on him. So, he quickly leaned forward across the dinner table and gave Su Ning a peck on the cheek.

This unexpected action caused Su Ning's eyes to widen like saucers. "JinYan-ge! What are you doing?" she asked, startled. It wasn't like they hadn't kissed each other on the cheek before but those were often done during specific occasions like during her birthday or instances where they were meeting each other after at least several weeks of separation, etc. This time the kiss just seemed so random that it was surprising to her. 

However, the culprit, Lin JinYan simply grinned and said, "It's because NingNing wasn't paying attention to me."

"You can just call my name bah," she said somewhat embarrassedly. 'This kid has been way more touchy recently. Is he feeling sad that he is about to leave for the UK in a few months?' Su Ning thought, wondering about the reason for Lin JinYan's increasing amount of skinship. 

"I did. Twice." Lin JinYan said, holding out two slender fingers in front of Su Ning while using his other hand to tap the tip of her nose causing her brows to furrow slightly.

"Oh…" she can only utter in response. 'Ah! There he goes again! Hmm...I didn't notice before but Lin JinYan's hands are really beautiful. As expected of a gifted pianist,' she thought abruptly.

"Well, I was just thanking NingNing for preparing dinner. Did you want to watch a movie tonight before we sleep?" the boy asked, diverting Su Ning's attention. 

"En! Comedy?" Su Ning immediately perked up and cheerily responded. 

For several months, he'd been gradually increasing the degree of physical intimacy with Su Ning on a daily basis. However, it didn't appear to him that Su Ning had caught on to his plan. Lin JinYan wanted Su Ning to eventually become aware of him as a guy. But he didn't want her to become overly conscious prematurely in case she tries to run away by distancing herself from him.

'Slowly. I have to be patient. I want to be an irreplaceable figure in her heart. I want my existence to eclipse that of Gu YuChen,' Lin JinYan silently vowed.

"Sure, anything NingNing wants," Lin JinYan answered with a smile. Before bringing his empty dishes to the sink, he made sure to pass by where Su Ning sat on the dinner table and lightly patted her head.

Afterwards, the two decided to watch a Korean comedy film called Exit and the awkward moment Su Ning felt during dinner was forgotten.

......…

The next day was a Monday so both Lin JinYan and Su Ning got ready for school early as usual. They both enjoyed their short walk to M Academy with Lin JinYan carrying Su Ning's school bag as 'exposure therapy' while casually chatting about the previous night's movie along the way. However, what was different on this particular day was that Qing Mei stood at the main gate's entrance waiting for Lin JinYan. 

Qing Mei had been in high spirits since early morning as she practiced how to confess her feelings to her crush. Following Su Ning's advice, she had knitted a pair of cozy socks and carefully wrapped the present in a light blue box with a white bow. Qing Mei felt that this color scheme fitted Lin JinYan's gentle and princely aura perfectly. She'd been so focused on the present in her hands that she didn't see the pair approach until they were only a few meters away. When she did, Qing Mei, who was often tardy to school, was shocked at the sight. 'Why is Su Ning walking to school with Lin JinYan!? Is that Su Ning's bag Lin JinYan is carrying!? That b*tch better not have made a move on him!' Qing Mei angrily thought. Yet, as usual, Qing Mei willed herself to put on a sweet facial expression as the two got closer. 

"Senior Lin JinYan, Good morning! Uhm, Can I have a bit of your time?" Qing Mei greeted and asked the handsome young man with a cute smile.