Reborn in the 80s: Everyone Falls For Me
Chapter 192 - 191: (3 more)

Chapter 192: Chapter 191: (3 more)

The situation had developed to this point, and Xu Niannian could no longer deceive herself into thinking she was smitten with herself.

Similarly, Jin Yu couldn’t continue to deceive her by saying he didn’t like her.

He nodded, his pitch-black pupils fixated on her, focused and earnest, "Yes, I like you, very much. Could you please not like Liu Wendong?"

It wasn’t just women who became nervous and flustered when facing the object of their affections; men did as well.

While saying these words, Jin Yu felt his heart "thump thump" with beats so rapid he couldn’t suppress them.

After mustering the courage to speak, he felt both hopeful and afraid.

Fearful of the reply of rejection, he looked at her, anxious and uneasy, like a prisoner awaiting his fate.

But his face was expressionless, his tone calm, even with Xu Niannian standing right before him, she couldn’t sense his nervousness.

Xu Niannian hadn’t expected him to be so blunt, and she thought to herself that it would be fitting, for after all their kissing, if he still denied it, he wouldn’t be a man at all.

Besides, he had no reason to deny it anymore.

With her suspicions confirmed, Xu Niannian felt a clarity in her mood, even happier than she had imagined.

But she still retained her rationality.

"When did you start liking me?" Xu Niannian asked.

This question left Jin Yu at a loss, when did he start liking her?

He wasn’t entirely sure.

From the moment he knew she was that girl?

Jin Yu pondered for a moment, feeling that it must be so; if she weren’t that girl, he probably wouldn’t have been so close to her.

Thinking this way, Jin Yu forgot the overwhelming rage he felt when he saw her being bullied by Du Jiahao and the impatience that gripped him when he went to rescue her before he knew she was that girl.

He said, "In the hospital."

"The hospital?"

So specific in time and place?

Her thoughts, just interrupted, returned to her memory, and Xu Niannian remembered.

In the hospital, he had tested her, suspecting that she was the girl he had assaulted.

Afterwards, he did not continue to question her, and she always assumed he had not figured it out.

At that time, she thought Jin Yu wanted to find her to silence her.

After she interacted with him, she knew Jin Yu wasn’t that kind of person.

So, he had already confirmed she was the one he forced himself upon in the hospital, which was why he was nice to her.

Now that the topic was open, Xu Niannian had no intention of continuing the charade with him.

"Was it that day you realized I was the one you forced yourself upon?"

"Yes," Jin Yu answered.

Xu Niannian took a deep breath, the flicker of joy in her heart turning ice cold.

"So you were nice to me because you knew I was that girl, and you wanted to make amends to me," she said.

Jin Yu, ever so clever, had an emotional quotient that plummeted to rock bottom. After all, he had never been in love, and besides, she was stating the truth.

It was because he knew it was her that he began to think of making amends.

So he nodded again, honestly, "That’s right."

Xu Niannian gritted her teeth, unable to hold back any longer, and pushed Jin Yu away, "I don’t need your amends. Call off the engagement, now, immediately."

Jin Yu didn’t understand why she was calm one second, asking him questions, and the next, she became so irritable.

He grabbed her hand and hugged her tightly, "I won’t, I won’t call it off, not even if I die."

Xu Niannian was furious, and with a heart full of resentment, she shoved him hard. As they tugged at each other, Jin Yu, who was already standing at the very edge of the riverbank, lost his balance. As Xu Niannian pushed, Jin Yu’s body uncontrollably fell backward.

The hand that was meant to pull her pushed her away instead.

With a "splash" and then a "thud."

Forces are mutual, Jin Yu was pushed into the river, and Xu Niannian landed on the ground, her buttocks stabbed painfully by a sharp stone.

Pain brought tears to Xu Niannian’s eyes instantly, but she couldn’t care less about her tears. Seeing Jin Yu fall into the river, she hurriedly crawled over and lay on the riverbank, "Jin Yu."

The second in command of Organization C’s first division had to be skilled in survival techniques, apart from being able to fly with wings.

Swimming was just one of those skills.

Jin Yu fell into the water and bobbed up in less than a second.

From the river, he looked at Xu Niannian, his voice anxious, "Are you alright?"

Seeing him floating carefree in the river, Xu Niannian’s tense heart quietly settled down, and noticing how he still cared for her at such a moment, her anger subsided by half.

"Get up here first, then talk."

Xu Niannian’s temper flared up and died down just as quickly.

Jin Yu climbed up, soaked to the skin like a drenched dog, but without the misery of one, instead, there was a wild and handsome air about him.

Xu Niannian pursed her lips, "Sit down, let’s talk this out calmly and rationally."

In Jin Yu’s eyes, Xu Niannian was supreme; her word was law.

Seeing her pat the stone stool beside her, Jin Yu obediently took a seat. It had been over three months since he’d been at the barracks, and his hair had grown much longer.

The wet, wispy strands clung to his forehead, creating a striking contrast against his stern features.

He looked like a rakishly handsome bad boy.

Xu Niannian asked again, "Do you like me?"

"I do," Jin Yu answered with unusual honesty.

Xu Niannian pursed her lips and looked at Jin Yu, "If I weren’t the girl you forced yourself on, would you still like me?"

Jin Yu fell silent. Would he?

He didn’t know.

If he hadn’t known she was that girl, he might not have let his feelings run free.

Jin Yu’s silence was within Xu Niannian’s expectations.

"When you were engaged to me before, you said there was a girl you wanted to marry... That girl..."

This time, before Xu Niannian could finish, Jin Yu cut in, "It’s you."

"So..."

Xu Niannian lowered her eyelids. So, was it because she was that girl, that was why he liked her?

She could actually feel his affection, but such affection made Xu Niannian feel like it was just charity.

This expression on Xu Niannian’s face made Jin Yu particularly anxious, "What are you thinking?"

"Jin Yu, I don’t want affection that’s given out of pity."

Xu Niannian raised her head to look at him, "You’re good to me because I was the one you forced yourself on, you want to compensate me, and maybe you grew to like me after getting to know me better. But I don’t need that kind of love. I like pure feelings, not influenced by any external factors."

Jin Yu listened and was silent, racking his brains but failing to understand the difference.

All he could do was confess his feelings, "But I like you, you just have to tell me, do you like me."

Xu Niannian didn’t respond to this question. Even though she was the one he’d forced himself on, she couldn’t help but think, if it wasn’t her, would he like someone else?

Did he like her as a person, or did he like the person he’d forced himself on?

This was very important, at least to her it was.

Call her fussy if you like, she admitted to having feelings for Jin Yu, but they were not deep enough to make her lose all sense.

After thinking it over, Xu Niannian said to him, "Let’s do this: the engagement won’t be called off for now, but Jin Yu, I hope you think clearly about this question before coming to me again. If I weren’t the girl you forced yourself on, would you still like me?"

Xu Niannian spoke very calmly, without raising her voice in anger or hurling insults at him.

Jin Yu watched her, his dark eyes fathomless, "Then do you like me? I saw Liu Wendong’s name on your hand, are you still in love with him?"

Xu Niannian, for her part, hadn’t expected him to have noticed the writing on her arm, but she didn’t explain.

"Think about this question first before asking for an answer from me. Until you’ve figured it out, let’s not meet."

Having said her piece, Xu Niannian stood up, intending to leave, only to have her rear end pricked by a sharp stone, drawing blood and staining her pants. The pain made her fall back as she had barely gotten up.

Into Jin Yu’s awaiting arms.

With her back pressed against him, Xu Niannian was endlessly embarrassed. After all her fine words, she ended up in his arms, a tactical misstep.

"Sorry, it wasn’t on purpose," she said, trying to remain calm.

Jin Yu responded with a "Hmm," "I know, there’s blood on your butt."

Jin Yu’s ears were burning. Holding her soft body, his desire was crying out in agony.

Xu Niannian, right in his arms, could certainly feel his unease, especially after what he had said, causing her face to flush red.

"Is there a lot of blood?" she asked stiffly.

Jin Yu simply lifted her horizontally, "I’ll take you back."

This development was somewhat unexpected for Xu Niannian; the sudden lift off made her instinctively wrap her arms around Jin Yu’s neck.

Jin Yu pressed his lips together, looking at her, his lips a straight line, his handsome face tense, expressionless, yet the tips of his ears were thoroughly red.

He carried her steadily forward, "I will think about the question you asked. I don’t understand what you’re worried about, all I know is that liking someone is just that – liking them. In my world, there are no what-ifs, you are that girl, and I just happen to like you. But since it bothers you, I’ll think about it very seriously, but there’s one thing I don’t agree with."

Xu Niannian felt a pang in her heart from his sincere and resonant words, and unconsciously asked, "Which thing?"