novelThe Promise Under the Chinese Scholar Tree
| ← Ch.081 | Ch.083 → |
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"I'm serious. Our first time has to be at my place. We have to cherish and remember it properly." Yan Beicheng placed his lips on hers and whispered those words and breath into Lin Chu's mouth.
His arms tightened around her at once. Then, he picked her up.
Lin Chu was shocked, but she was too afraid to scream. The orphanage's walls were not soundproof. She felt as though her head was spinning, and then she found herself lying on the bed.
Yan Beicheng held her tightly without any intention of loosening his grasp. He pressed himself against her neck and said, "I'm really not going to do anything else. I just want to hold you while we sleep. Please don't chase me away and don't leave either."
"You should let go of me first." Lin Chu felt as though she had turned red from head to toe. It was impossible for her to speak properly.
She noticed that Yan Beicheng was unwilling to release her. He was probably worried that she would run away. Lin Chu merely said, "I'm not going to leave. It just feels very heavy when you're squishing me like this."
After some time, Yan Beicheng loosened his grip slowly and laid down beside her instead. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into his embrace again.
Lin Chu truly felt uncomfortable when he held her like this. The male and female characters on TV painted a beautiful scene when they hugged each other to sleep this way. In reality, it hurt terribly when they rubbed against each other like this.
Lin Chu moved around several times. She kept looking for a comfortable position so that she could sleep properly. She had no experience in this since it was the first time someone had held her this way. Some time had passed, but she was still unable to find a comfortable position.
Yan Beicheng's strained voice echoed above her head."Stop squirming."
Lin Chu blinked when Yan Beicheng pressed himself right against her waist.
Lin Chu took a deep breath. The hot thing that was rubbing against her was unmistakable.
"Why don't you... Go back and sleep in your own room, " said Lin Chu frantically.
"I won't be able to sleep if you make me go back now. I can't shower either because my room doesn't have a bathroom." Yan Beicheng's voice sounded more hoarse now. He pressed his lips against her forehead. They were so hot that Lin Chu was at a loss. She shivered terribly.
"You were the one who insisted on coming over, " mumbled Lin Chu. He was still rubbing against her, and she had no idea what to do. She simply wanted to move backward, but Yan Beicheng held her so tightly that she could not move.
"Please lend me a hand." Suddenly, Yan Beicheng was holding Lin Chu's soft pale little hand. He kneaded her palm with his thumb.
"What?" Lin Chu was so stunned that she did not react at once.
"I promised you that our first time wouldn't happen here so I'm not going to try anything funny. But are you heartless enough to make me return to my bed alone and suffer by myself?" said Yan Beicheng as he held Lin Chu's hand and pressed it against his head.
Lin Chu was so shocked that she inhaled suddenly. She wanted to pull her hand back immediately."You... Solve that problem on your own!"
Yan Beicheng wanted to say that there was no need for him to use his own hands anymore when he had her. In reality, he kissed Lin Chu fervently. That kiss sent her into a daze."Be a good girl and help me. You made this happen when you squirmed around. Aren't you going to feel bad if you don't help me get rid of it?"
Lin Chu knew that this man could not be as honest as he seemed to be now. He promised that he would not do anything to her, but he had revealed his true intentions moments after laying down.
While she was mentally criticizing him, he had already dragged her hand deep inside his pajama bottoms.
Lin Chu was unwilling to give in to him. She gritted her teeth before kicking the part of Yan Beicheng's stomach that was near his inner thigh.
...
Yan Beicheng was exceptionally refreshed and lively when he woke up the next morning. Meanwhile, Lin Chu's entire body was uncomfortable. Yan Beicheng had kissed her lips after she accidentally aroused him last night. He spared no effort when he ravaged her. He even held her hands and refused to let her leave.
Lin Chu was terribly angry when she saw the elated look on Yan Beicheng's face once he was finished. She bit his face in fury without a second thought.
The distinct bite mark could still be seen on Yan Beicheng's cheek now.
He was completely unbothered by it and still looked as refined as usual. There was even a hint of pride seeping through his black eyes. It seemed as though he looked more attractive with that bite mark on his face.
The couple had just opened their bedroom door when they noticed Mo Jinxi standing at the doorway. Lin Chu was shocked to see the serious look on his little face.
"Jinxi, why are you here?" asked Lin Chu. She felt guilty when she looked at Mo Jinxi's crystal clear black eyes.
Mo Jinxi raised his smooth pale hands. He accused them and stuttered, "Both of you... Why did you come out of the same room? The boys and girls in the orphanage aren't allowed to sleep in the same room! We have to cover our eyes when we watch television and see the men and women there sleeping in the same room."
They had to cover their eyes because the men and women on television were kissing when they were in the same room.
Mo Jinxi immediately glared at Lin Chu and Yan Beicheng furiously when he had put the pieces together.
Both of them had spent the night together in the same room. Did that mean that they spent the entire night kissing as well?
Suddenly, Mo Jinxi's doe-like eyes fixed themselves on Yan Beicheng's cheek when he understood everything.
Yan Beicheng raised his eyebrows and followed Mo Jinxi's gaze. He stroked the bite mark on his cheek and whispered, "Chu Chu spent the entire night nibbling me to show me how much she loves me."
Lin Chu whipped her head around at once and glared at Yan Beicheng.
Why was he talking absolute nonsense to a child?
He had a reminiscing look on his face, and he even winked at Mo Jinxi in an attempt to provoke him.
Was he doing this because Mo Jinxi squeezed himself between them yesterday? Why was this man still caught up on that? He was bullying a child!
The rims of Mo Jinxi's eyes turned red. He burst out crying and ran off covering his face.
Yan Beicheng had already lowered his head without waiting for Lin Chu to scold him and said, "I'm teaching him about the frightening reality of love rivals in advance. That way, he won't lose when he pursues his future wife."
He paused, and his black eyes glimmered. There was a profound look on his face."After all, nobody is as brilliant as me. He won't have to worry about greater threats in the future now that he's already tried to go up against me."
A righteous look appeared on his face before he left.
Lin Chu did not know what to say.
How did he come up with this unhinged reasoning? He seemed so pleased with himself!
When both of them came downstairs, the children were in the garden doing their morning exercises before breakfast. Lin Chu went to the kitchen to help prepare the food. Meanwhile, Yan Beicheng went to the backyard since he had nothing to do.
As he walked, he saw a thick old Chinese scholar tree in the distance. The branches were bare because it was winter. The branches were spreading messily outward. There were several withered leaves here and there, but it was not as lush as Yan Beicheng remembered anymore.
He waited from noon'till dusk the last time he was here. Unfortunately, he never saw Lin Chu. After that, he came back for several weeks in a row. Once, he hid in the corner and overhead the people in the orphanage talking about Lin Chu. Only then did he discover that Lin Chu had been adopted. However, he did not know who had adopted her. He merely knew that the family was wealthy. They would be able to give Lin Chu a better life.
When he was reading the newspaper recently, he stumbled upon a picture of a seven or eight-year-old child who resembled the little girl whom he used to play with when he was younger. The article said that she was the Lin Family's adopted daughter. The Lin Family adopted her from the orphanage when she was seven years old.
Yan Beicheng immediately sent someone to investigate this. He discovered that Lin Chu was the little girl who used to play with him under the old Chinese scholar tree. She was the girl who cheered him up and spent time with him during the most miserable period of his life.
Yan Beicheng's heartbeats had grown unsteady at that moment.
His eyes darted toward the old Chinese scholar tree right now. He stood under that tree, stepping on a few wilted leaves on the ground. He placed his slim palm on the Chinese scholar tree's motley dark green bark as he walked around the tree. After that, he stopped at one spot and lowered his head to look at his feet.
"What brought you here?" A gentle voice drifted over from behind him. He saw Lin Chu standing next to him. She looked graceful and beautiful when she smiled. She seemed exceptionally gorgeous on this chilly morning.
Yan Beicheng turned around and saw her skin looking paler than usual now that she had been in the cold. He reached out and held her hand. It was cold and dry.
He wordlessly stuffed her hand inside his coat pocket and stroked it.
"It's nothing, I just wanted to come outside and take a look." A faint smile appeared on the corners of Yan Beicheng's lips. He lowered his head and kissed her lips. When he noticed that her lips were icy because of the cold weather, he plastered his lips against them and rubbed for a while. He only released her once he had warmed her up.
Lin Chu did not avoid him. Her entire body had grown warm from head to toe, and her pale cheeks were also a tender pink shade. She parted her lips a little but could not manage to say anything.
When she looked up, she saw a faint smile on Yan Beicheng's gentle and smooth face. Lin Chu was terribly embarrassed when she noticed that his smile was filled with affection. She panicked before an idea appeared in her head. She found something to talk about as she pointed below Yan Beicheng's feet. She said with a smile, "Coincidentally, you're standing on the spot where an older boy and I previously buried some items. We promised to dig those items out together when I turned eighteen years old."
"What did you bury there? Were they tokens of your love?" Yan Beicheng obviously knew the answer. He was asking these questions on purpose.
Lin Chu rolled her eyes."They were normal household items for children, but I treasured those items when I was younger. When I think about it now, it seems quite meaningful."
She hastened to give an explained because she was worried that Yan Beicheng would overthink and assume that she was talking about her childhood love."One day when I was still living here, I came out to play around. I saw an older boy climbing over the wall. I don't remember the whole story, but I vaguely remember that the older boy looked very handsome in his school uniform. He was probably from a wealthy family, but I didn't know why he looked so dirty. Perhaps he was being bullied."
Lin Chu looked at Yan Beicheng and smiled."From that day onward, the older boy would come over every weekend. I chatted with him and made him happy when I noticed that he was suffering. I didn't have parents, but I was quite happy in the orphanage because the old principal treated every single one of us as her own grandchildren. But it was normal for the children to bicker among themselves. Unfortunately, not all of the teachers in the orphanage were like the old principal who treated everyone fairly. It was inevitable that some of them had favorites among the children. There were some who never bonded with any of us. They secretly disliked some of the children for no reason. Some of us were somewhat troubled by this. Nonetheless, it doesn't seem like a big deal when I think about it now. Everything here was much better than it was in the Lin household. I simply felt that I was being horribly mistreated because I was still young at that time.
"The boy literally appeared out of nowhere. Sometimes I might have to be the one to cheer him up, but most of the time he was the one who tolerated my presence. He never got mad at me. When I was down, he made me feel better instead." Lin Chu squinted as she smiled and thought of those previous days.
"Aside from the dumplings and chicken drumsticks that we had during the new year, the only other things that I cared about back then were the times when I got to meet that older boy. He would also bring tasty food for me during every visit." Lin Chu said with a smile."Later, we decided to get some items that we treasured and bury them under this Chinese scholar tree together. Once I turn eighteen years old, we would dig them out and give our most treasured possession at that time to the other person."
Her heart was conflicted back then. On one hand, she was unwilling to bury her most treasured items because they were precious to her. On the other hand, she realized that the older boy had always been extremely kind to her. Why should she be unwilling to give him her treasures? It was not right for her to be so petty.
In the end, she buried her treasured items with tears in her eyes.
"It's just that I was suddenly adopted by the Lin Family after that. The older boy and I promised to meet here every weekend, but there was no way for us to contact each other. I was just a kid, so I didn't have a phone or anything. That's how we lost contact with each other. I'm sure that he kept coming over after that. He must have waited a long time for me without knowing that someone had already taken me away."
"What happened to the items over here?" Yan Beicheng pointed at the ground. He was very curious about the things that Lin Chu had buried back then.
"They're still buried there. I promised him that we'd dig them out together, " said Lin Chu."I was thinking that I'd dig it out with him if we were destined to meet each other in the future. Otherwise, I'd leave the items buried there forever as a memento if our paths never crossed again."
Lin Chu felt embarrassed when she giggled. She spoke as if she was worried that Yan Beicheng had gotten jealous."Honestly, I don't really remember what that older boy looks like anymore now that so many years have passed. I merely have a vague memory of him. I'm afraid that I won't recognize him even if we encounter each other next time. Perhaps I've already seen him before this. We could have brushed shoulders with each other or something, but I simply didn't recognize him. He probably doesn't remember what I look like either. After all, I was so young at that time. I'm not the same person anymore."
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