So You're the One Called Lin Yu

The words that needed to be said had been spoken.

Lin Yu knew it was time for him to leave now.

It would be best to be even more heartless before leaving, to not even accept the gift, to just hand the bottle full of paper stars back to her.

But right now, Lin Yu's feet seemed rooted to the ground, unable to take half a step from where he stood.

The station was spacious. Although not exactly crowded, in this semi-enclosed space, even the slightest sound was amplified.

Yet amidst all this noise, Lin Yu couldn't hear a single sound from Tang Manman.

She stood right in front of him, yet was eerily quiet, as if even her breathing had stopped.

Lin Yu hadn't dared to look at her much, partly because he was afraid to face whatever expression she might have, and partly because he feared his own heart would soften.

But at this moment, driven by curiosity, Lin Yu finally raised his head, shifting his gaze from the star bottle in his hands to the girl before him.

Tang Manman's face was now as pale as paper, all traces of the flushed pink from crying along the way gone, replaced by a look of shock so extreme it seemed frozen, as if she had heard news beyond her capacity to bear.

Lin Yu was most afraid of looking into her eyes.

But now he had seen them.

The emotions in her eyes were far more complex than her stunned expression.

Shock, confusion, disbelief, and even a trace of panic, as if she couldn't understand what she had done wrong to deserve such an ending.

These intense emotions lay hidden in the depths of Tang Manman's eyes, like a fragile film, liable to be shattered at any moment by an even stronger tide of feeling, whereupon sorrow would flood her eye sockets like a torrent.

Seeing this, Lin Yu's heart gave a painful lurch, and he quickly averted his gaze.

The silence between them grew heavier and heavier.

Finally.

Just before the fragile film of emotion in Tang Manman's eyes could be shattered by grief.

Lin Yu's forcibly hardened heart was the first to relent.

"What I mean is, you need to put your studies first."

"You got into such a good university. You should cherish it and study hard."

"Don't scatter your energy elsewhere anymore."

"When you succeed one day..."

"You'll get everything you want."

In his urgency, Lin Yu disregarded proper phrasing and clumsily comforted Tang Manman, wanting her not to be so heartbroken.

Tang Manman seemed to believe Lin Yu's explanation. She nodded, and her tears finally burst forth like a breached dam. She lowered her head to wipe them away, soft sobs escaping from her nose.

Boarding began.

Tang Manman, head still bowed, went to queue for the ticket check. Lin Yu stood silently to the side. After she passed through the ticket gate, she turned around, eyes brimming with tears, and waved goodbye to Lin Yu.

Lin Yu wanted to say goodbye too, but he suddenly felt utterly exhausted, drained of any decent strength. He could only nod towards Tang Manman in response.

Tang Manman left.

Climbing the stairs in the white dress she often wore.

Lin Yu intended to leave as well. He turned and lifted his foot to depart from this place that made countless people endure the pain of parting and sorrow.

On his way out of the train station, Lin Yu walked like a lost soul.

He had no mind to carefully look for the exit signs in the station, merely scanning a few times before heading in the direction of an exit.

Emerging from the station, the scene before him was unfamiliar, even somewhat desolate, with potholes marring the road.

Lin Yu didn't know which exit he had come out from, nor did he care.

His heart was in turmoil, and he was tired.

After walking a while, he saw a bench for resting by the roadside. The weariness in his spirit made it hard to bear. He sat down, wanting to rest for a bit.

He sat there silently for a while.

After resting, the physical fatigue gradually faded.

Lin Yu had just regained a bit of strength when, the next second, a surge of immense anger and hatred suddenly erupted from the depths of his heart, quickly filling his entire body.

Lin Yu began to lose it without warning!

"Fck!"

"Fck!"

"Fck!"

"Fck!"

"..."

With each viciously spat "Fck!", Lin Yu would viciously slap his own left cheek.

After about seven or eight curses, he stopped.

He changed to gripping his own hair fiercely, bending over in anger and helplessness.

"Damn it..."

"Damn it..."

Lin Yu muttered low curses, utterly despising himself in his heart.

He hated himself for softening just moments ago.

He hated his own lack of resolve.

He hated his own weakness.

Just moments ago, all he had to do was maintain his sanity and turn to leave.

Why did he have to look at her?

And why did he have to explain those words?

Why not just cleanly pronounce a death sentence on this relationship?

Damn it.

Who was he being fair to by doing this?

Sister Zhuzi trusted him so much.

Was he being fair to her...

The more he thought, the more Lin Yu hated himself, and the more he hated himself, the angrier he became.

In his furious frustration, seeing the star jar lying on the bench beside him, Lin Yu angrily grabbed it, wanting to smash it on the ground.

But before he could even raise the jar past his shoulder, his movement halted. Then he tucked the jar back into his embrace.

Wiping his tears, utterly pathetic...

...

"Leave it to me!"

A tall, burly man, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, promised to take on the big tasks.

After making his promise, he looked at the young man beside him, his smile sarcastic as he mocked.

Zeng Qiang, and I'm not just saying this as your older brother, but four of you couldn't take down one guy?

"What the hell were you all doing?"

"Even if each of you four grabbed one of his arms and legs, you could have pinned him down."

"What?"

"Afraid he'd bite you?"

As soon as the tall, burly man finished speaking, a group of young men around him who clearly looked like hoodlums chimed in, saying:

"That's right, that's right!"

Zeng Qiang's face was difficult to look at. He had his own troubles that he couldn't articulate.

Damn it.

That day, he hadn't even figured out what was happening before he was on the ground.

And those three useless guys too, even if he got ambushed, couldn't the three of them handle him alone?

Three real wastes!

Making him the butt of jokes here!

Just as Zeng Qiang was filled with resentment thinking about someone, several loud shouts suddenly drifted to his ears.

"Fck..."

"Fck..."

"Fck..."

"Fck..."

Curious, Zeng Qiang looked towards the sound and happened to see a lunatic sitting on a bench, wildly slapping himself in the face.

He first frowned, thinking he'd encountered a lunatic.

But the next moment, recognizing who it was, a gleam burst in his eyes. He quickly shook the arm of the tall, burly man beside him, pointing at the man on the bench and said:

"Big Black Brother, that's him!"

"That's that Lin Yu!"

Hearing this, the tall, burly man turned his head to look. Seeing the man grabbing his own hair, his face obscured, he let out a sneer and said:

"Well, well."

Better early than late.

“Come on, brothers, let's go see what's up with him.”

With the boss's order, the crowd changed direction in a flurry, heading towards the man on the bench.

The tall, burly man led the way. As he reached the front of the man, the man was still bowing his head and wiping away tears, his face unclear.

Perhaps afraid of hitting the wrong person, the tall, burly man cast an inquiring glance at Zeng Qiang beside him.

Zeng Qiang gave a firm nod. Understanding, the burly man stepped forward and delivered a not-so-light slap to the back of Lin Yu's head, asking with great discourtesy:

"So you're the one they call Lin Yu, huh?"

Just like every ordinary person he had ever hit, the man who was struck looked up, his expression a mix of confusion, shock, and anger.

Big Black Brother glared at him with a fierce expression, but inwardly he was rather pleased with himself for pulling off such a cool move.

As for the man's utterly furious gaze, he wasn't afraid in the slightest. After all, the brothers behind him weren't just for show.

He could already picture the comical scene: the man's anger turning into fear the moment he saw the crowd of brothers standing behind him...

...

Standing beside Big Black Brother, Zeng Qiang blinked. He turned his head away, then turned it back again.

Looking at Lin Yu, who had now risen from the bench, he pretty much figured out how he himself had been sent flying back then.