All that has passed is but an illusion

Just as Lin Wanning had said, she wasn’t the type to be overly traditional or conservative when it came to matters of the heart.

Everyone yearns for beautiful things, and everyone has the right to pursue them.

Lin Wanning couldn’t ignore her own feelings—she did have a certain fondness for Long Aotian—so for her, maintaining the current state of things was just fine.

Through gradual interactions, they could slowly get to know each other...

Like Long Aotian had said, he respected everyone, and that included respecting their emotions. So, all she had to do was respect him in return.

Who said only men could pursue women?

Who said a woman with a cool exterior couldn’t be the one to take the initiative and fall for a man?

Long Aotian watched the earnest expression on Lin Wanning’s face and felt like his brain couldn’t quite keep up.

Was she genuinely naive, or just pretending to be?

He couldn’t shake the feeling that she might have misunderstood his words.

He had said he didn’t want to get into a relationship right now, and she responded that maintaining the status quo was fine...

After a long pause, Long Aotian finally spoke slowly, "You really don’t have to do this. It kinda makes me seem irresponsible."

"I don’t need you to take responsibility for me. If simply having feelings for someone required them to be accountable, no one in this world would dare to fall in love."

"And who knows? Maybe as we spend more time together, you’ll start to like me too. Or maybe I’ll meet someone who likes me, and whom I like in return?"

At this point, Lin Wanning turned to face Long Aotian, her eyes glimmering faintly. "Or... could it be that you actually do have some feelings for me, and you’re just waiting for the right moment to step up and take responsibility?"

"There’s such a stark contrast between your outward appearance and your inner thoughts. Do your friends know about this side of you?"

Lin Wanning let out a light hum. "Still looking down on me, huh?"

"I’m not as fragile as I seem. I understand what you’re saying—you’re just too mature for your age. You act like you know everything, but that very perceptiveness makes you a little old-fashioned."

"You don’t seriously think that just because I have a little crush on you, I’ll spend the rest of my life fixated on you, do you?"

Watching Lin Wanning’s carefree demeanor, Long Aotian grew even more puzzled. He couldn’t quite grasp what was going on in her mind.

Some of the things she said made sense—was it really so shameful to have feelings for someone?

No, of course it wasn’t.

But Long Aotian still sensed an indescribable emotion hidden beneath her words.

Maybe, as Lin Wanning had said, he was overthinking it.

"You’re just like one of my uncles—even the way you frown when you’re deep in thought is exactly the same."

Long Aotian feigned exasperation and sighed, shaking his head. "What can I say? You’re really giving me a headache."

"What should we do about it, then?"

"What else can we do? It’s just my damn irresistible charm!"

"You’re so full of yourself. You should really work on that meddlesome personality of yours..." Lin Wanning had met Long Aotian precisely because of his tendency to meddle, and she had been deeply grateful for it at the time.

But now, she didn’t want him to keep doing it.

Maybe she was being selfish... but what worried her more was that Long Aotian might end up getting hurt because of it.

These words reached Long Aotian's ears, and inexplicably, the image of Li Qingxue's little face, red from crying, emerged in his mind. She had also said the same thing to him before.

The way her nose was red from crying at that time still seemed a bit funny and made him feel happy when he suddenly recalled it now.

"I don't always meddle in other people's business."

After saying that, Long Aotian was about to reach for the fruit tea placed beside him. Almost at the same time, Lin Wanning had already put the fruit tea in front of him.

He glanced at the fruit tea and then looked at Lin Wanning. Lin Wanning was also smiling at him.

At the moment their eyes met, they both smiled in unison.

"Is this considered a kind of tacit understanding?"

"Yes."

After taking a sip of the fruit tea, he looked at Lin Wanning and said, "I've never heard you sing before. Perform for me, okay?"

"Sure, but you're not allowed to laugh at me."

Lin Wanning stood up. With a deep breath, the smile on her face suddenly turned cold.

If there were levels for changing facial expressions, Long Aotian would rate her as number one!

The transformation of her temperament only took an instant.

Her voice was very unique. When the lyrics were given the emotion of her voice, they turned into beautiful and pleasant music as they reached the ears.

The charming girl in front of him seemed to be covered with a layer of mist, and everything around became illusory.

The interweaving of the changes in the tones became a division between life and death, light and darkness, reaching an extreme level.

Such a gorgeous voice easily touched the hearts of the listeners.

After a long time, as the singing ended, Lin Wanning gently opened her eyes.

As the singing faded away, Long Aotian, who was leaning on the bench, slowly closed his slightly squinted eyes.

"Was it nice?"

"It was really nice. Even without accompaniment, it was so good. I can't even imagine how wonderful it would be with accompaniment." Long Aotian wasn't exaggerating at all. Her unique voice, combined with skills and emotions, made him surrender to the singing, even without accompaniment.

Having received Long Aotian's affirmation, Lin Wanning felt a little secretly proud.

She tentatively tugged at Long Aotian's clothes gently and said, "I've sung for you. Now tell me something about yourself, okay?"

"I don't have much to say. My life has been quite ordinary. If it weren't for my little follower, I probably wouldn't even have been able to go to college."

Hearing this, Lin Wanning was silent for a while and then continued, "Tell me. I've sung for you. Brother, you should be fair."

Long Aotian wanted to say something but didn't know where to start.

Because the previous Long Aotian had been a real jerk, and the fact that he had inexplicably come to this world was just too dreamy.

After thinking for a while, he said, "Actually, it might sound unbelievable, but the first friend I ever made was Hu Yuying. Hahaha, doesn't it sound quite absurd?"

"A bit." Could it be that he hadn't had a single friend in the more than a decade of his life before he met Hu Yuying?

"But in fact, it's true. The first friend I made was indeed Hu Yuying. At that time, Hu Yuying was a pushover. It seemed like anyone could take advantage of her..."

"So you helped her?" The image of Hu Yuying beside Long Aotian came to Lin Wanning's mind. It was a look of dependence and trust...

"It's not entirely accurate to say that I helped her. She also helped me."

"Because at that time, I was very confused and even a bit scared. I can't describe the feeling to you. Anyway, while I was helping her, I also felt the meaning of my existence."

Lin Wanning listened quietly. Since she was not the person involved, she couldn't empathize with him, but she was a very good listener.

She didn't know why Long Aotian didn't deliberately talk about his past self, but from his account of the second half of his senior year in high school, she could sense a tearing change.

It was a very strange feeling, as if he had become a different person, living a different life, and all that had happened in the past was an illusion.

What was real was that he had met Hu Yuying. In the process of helping Hu Yuying, he gradually found his own meaning and finally developed a sense of belonging...