“Lin Luan, right?” Chu Han repeated, her tone flat. “Alright, I’ll remember it. You’d better not let what I just said go in one ear and out the other. Just take it as a piece of advice.”
“I’m telling you this today not because you look okay, and not because I suddenly want to be a life mentor. It’s purely because…”
She frowned, seemingly searching for the right words. After a moment, she gave up.
“Ugh, it’s been too long since I’ve talked about this kind of stuff with anyone. My brain is fried. I won’t explain further. As long as you understand what I was trying to say, that’s fine.”
Chu Han closed the door, leaving Lin Luan alone on the rooftop.
***
Back in the recording studio, Chu Han put on her monitoring headphones and signaled Shen Yu to prepare to continue.
Through the glass, she saw the girl take a deep breath and stand before the microphone again.
‘Hmm… this Lin Luan guy is actually pretty nice. If they really are a couple, Shen Yu will probably be quite happy.’
Chu Han shook her head.
‘What am I thinking? Has being an Otaku ruined my brain? Why do I care about other people’s business?’
She curled her lip and pulled her attention back to the audio track in front of her. It wasn’t her concern.
Her only responsibility was to polish the sound and get off work on time, because her favorite anime updated today.
Hopefully, there wouldn’t be any overtime today.
“Lu An! I’m telling you! I did really well in the recording today!”
On the way home, Shen Yu was skipping and hopping, happily sharing everything that happened during the recording with Lin Luan.
The recording studio was only 1 or 2 kilometers away from their home, so they didn’t plan on taking a taxi. Walking back like this was fine.
“Alright, alright,” Lin Luan smiled and nodded in response.
The hood of Shen Yu’s sweatshirt bobbed up and down with her steps. She was excessively cute.
For some reason, Lin Luan felt that Shen Yu had started becoming very happy half a month ago, and this happiness had continued until now.
Calculating the time… it seemed to have started the day after his contract with Su Jin ended?
Su Jin…
Speaking of which, since he had deleted Su Jin, that Su’s Eldest Miss really hadn’t contacted him once during the past half month.
As expected… people from different worlds can never truly be together. He should focus on the present…
“Hey, hey! Lin Luan, are you even listening?” Shen Yu waved a hand in front of Lin Luan’s eyes, her face puffed up with annoyance.
“Ah, yeah, I’m listening,” Lin Luan responded with a smile.
“Like hell you are!” Shen Yu crossed her arms and spoke to Lin Luan huffily.
“Alright, alright, I’m sorry. I’ll listen closely now.”
“Too late!”
Shen Yu jogged ahead.
The two of them walked along the tree-lined path toward home.
The early autumn evening wind already carried a distinct chill, making the leaves of the sycamore trees rustle. Occasionally, a few early-yellowed leaves spiraled down.
Suddenly, Shen Yu’s pace slowed, her gaze drawn to a small shop on the side of the road. It was a small pet store with a clean, bright display window lit by soft, warm light.
Near the window, in several small cages lined with soft wood shavings and hay, a few fluffy small animals were huddled together, nibbling on lettuce leaves.
They were rabbits. Their long ears twitched from time to time, their pink noses moved slightly, and their ruby-like eyes peered out the window innocently.
“Wow…” Shen Yu couldn’t help but lean closer to the glass. She bent down slightly, pressing her face against the window. “So cute…”
Lin Luan also stopped, standing half a step behind her, watching her from behind. As Shen Yu watched, she murmured, “Lu An, do you remember? When we were little…”
The words reached the tip of her tongue but were swallowed back down. Lin Luan had said when they were young that she was like a Little White Rabbit.
She had remembered those words until now. But now she was in her 20s. To still say she was like a rabbit would be too childish.
Shen Yu’s cheeks felt a little hot.
“Hmm? What were you saying?” Lin Luan didn’t hear her muffled whisper.
“No — nothing!” Shen Yu quickly shook her head. “I just… think they’re very cute. Let’s go, it’s getting dark.”
She straightened up, intending to turn and leave, but after taking two steps, she realized Lin Luan hadn’t followed.
She looked back in confusion only to see Lin Luan crouching down at the spot where he had just been standing in front of the window.
His eye level was even with a white rabbit in the cage. The rabbit was holding a piece of lettuce with its front paws, nibbling at it in small bites.
Its round red eyes were unblinking, showing a kind of focus that was detached from the world.
“Do you like it?” Lin Luan didn’t look back. He kept staring at the rabbit and asked Shen Yu in a level voice.
Shen Yu’s heart skipped a beat. She walked back to his side and also squatted down, her gaze falling on the same rabbit.
“I do like it…” she said softly. “But I’m not a child anymore. I shouldn’t like useless little things like this. Looking is enough. I’m in my 20s. It’s not appropriate to raise something like this.”
“Is that so?” Lin Luan looked at the rabbit somewhat absentmindedly, lost in thought.
“Yeah, yeah.” Shen Yu stood up, preparing to leave. “Okay, let’s go —”
“But I think it’s quite appropriate,” Lin Luan said slowly.
“Eh?” Shen Yu was stunned.
“I feel like you’re like a little rabbit too. Quite cute,” Lin Luan continued. “A Little White Rabbit raising a little rabbit — isn’t that only natural?”
She stared blankly at Lin Luan’s profile.
She felt something swelling violently in her chest, making her eardrums buzz. Her cheeks burned at an alarming speed. Even the current sunset couldn’t hide the girl’s blush.
He… he was talking about her. Just like he did when they were little.
For a moment, Shen Yu felt like she was seeing things. That little boy with a bit of a rebellious streak seemed to be standing in front of her again.
A soft *creak* sounded.
The glass door of the pet shop, adorned with wind chimes, was pushed open. A gray-haired elderly woman walked out, holding a small broom, seemingly preparing to sweep the fallen leaves in front of the door.
The old woman immediately saw the two of them crouching in front of the window, staring thoughtfully at the rabbit.
“Oh.” The old woman put down the broom and approached with a smile. “You two young people like this little white rabbit?”
Shen Yu was like a literal little rabbit being startled. She snapped back to her senses and waved her hands frantically. “Ah! Hello, Ma’am! We… we were just looking, just looking…”
Lin Luan also stood up and gave the old lady a polite nod. “Hello.”
“Looking is good, looking is good.” The old lady’s smile grew even more kindly.
“This little white rabbit just arrived a few days ago. It’s very well-behaved, loves being clean, and eats very delicately. It’s not noisy at all.”
She walked to the window and tapped the glass lightly.
The little white rabbit inside seemed to recognize her; it immediately dropped the half-eaten lettuce and hopped toward the glass. Its pink, three-lobed mouth twitched as if it were saying hello.
“See? How intelligent.” The old lady turned and said enthusiastically to Shen Yu, “Little girl, the way you were looking at it just now… it’s exactly how it was looking at you. Both your eyes were sparkling. It’s fate!”
Shen Yu became even more embarrassed. Her fingers quietly grabbed the corner of Lin Luan’s shirt, trying to pull him back and signaling to leave this awkward spot quickly.
But Lin Luan seemed not to notice her hint. Instead, he followed up on the old lady’s words, asking, “Ma’am, is this rabbit… easy to raise?”
“Very easy! Extremely easy!” The old lady suddenly became energetic, as if a floodgate had opened.
“Just prepare a clean cage, lay down some wood shavings, and add some fresh vegetables and fruits. Lettuce, carrots, and apples — it loves them all!”
“Lu An…” Seeing that Lin Luan seemed to want to buy it, Shen Yu tried to stop him.
She knew that Lin Luan didn’t have much money on him after leaving Su Jin. She didn’t want him to spend any more money on her.
“Do you want to raise it?” Lin Luan asked.
“I shouldn’t be raising these kinds of little things anymore…”
“It’s not about whether you should or shouldn’t. What I’m asking is: do you want to?” Lin Luan interrupted her.
“I…”
Shen Yu stared blankly at Lin Luan. She suddenly smiled with a sense of relief, her eyes shimmering with tears at some point.
“Yes, I do.”