Chapter 257: Echoes of Heartache

Lin Zheng Ran let go of Lily.

“Lily, wait a second.”

Lily spoke through sniffles, her words coming in fits and starts. Seeing him release her, she trailed right behind him: “Zheng Ran, where are you off to? Don’t leave me behind.”

Lin Zheng Ran smiled and patted her head. “I’m not leaving you.” He walked to the storeroom door and saw the rusty iron lock, tapping it lightly with his finger.

The lock snapped open with a sharp click.

Lin Zheng Ran opened the storeroom door and found the space inside was quite large, though not filled with many things.

He glanced back and said, “It’s just rained, and the cool wind outside will make you catch a cold if you cry out there. Come in and cry instead.”

At his words, Lily cried even harder, completely missing what Lin Zheng Ran had just done.

“The nicer you are to me, the sadder I get—boo hoo hoo.”

Lin Zheng Ran took her hand and led her inside, removing his jacket and laying it out on a flat spot as a cushion.

Then he held the sobbing Lily close in his arms.

The quiet, dim seclusion of the room made it easier to feel safe and relaxed.

After what felt like forever, Lily’s sniffles finally quieted a bit.

Lin Zheng Ran asked, “Done crying?”

Lily clung to him: “No tears left, and you’re so warm in your arms—I can’t cry anymore.”

Lin Zheng Ran chuckled: “Then let’s hold on a bit longer.”

“Idiot…”

She hugged him tighter.

Her voice was hoarse as she said:

“I should’ve gone with Heqing to find you this afternoon. I should’ve turned off my phone and ignored that call about the show. I was stupid enough to be happy in my room when I got the message, thinking it was great news. Then the house got robbed, and you were with Heqing all afternoon—”

At that point, she felt like crying again.

Lin Zheng Ran cupped her face in his hands.

Lily’s aggrieved expression showed she understood, her cheeks flushing slightly.

As Lin Zheng Ran leaned in slowly, Lily opened her mouth and kissed him through her tears.

Their lips met in a tender exchange for a moment.

Lin Zheng Ran pulled back and asked, “Feeling better?”

Lily looked away and stayed silent.

Lin Zheng Ran kissed her again, and she closed her eyes, kissing him back.

Her hands gradually clutched his clothes, feeling his arms wrap around her waist.

He pulled away once more and asked, “Better now?”

“You’re just being sneaky. But what’s done is done—crying won’t change anything. I’m not the type to keep weeping anyway.”

Lin Zheng Ran thought to himself, Aren’t you? From what he remembered, Lily had cried a lot growing up.

Lily said, “At least your first kiss was mine, not Heqing’s.”

Lin Zheng Ran paused.

Lily looked at him curiously, meeting his eyes, and suddenly reacted: “Wait, was I not your first kiss either?”

Lin Zheng Ran: “.”

Lily: “.”

She bit her trembling lip, realizing the truth, and burst into tears again, even louder than before.

Lin Zheng Ran had to soothe her: “Okay, okay.”

“I can’t take this! You always bully me—from childhood on, it’s been nothing but bullying!”

Seeing she was getting too worked up, and that crying like this would leave her eyes swollen tomorrow, Lin Zheng Ran knew he had to act.

So he cupped her face and quickly kissed her to stop the tears.

It worked like a charm.

Lily held onto Lin Zheng Ran, choosing to kiss him over crying.

This time, the kiss lasted until she was completely calm.

She lay in his arms: “You always play dirty, taking advantage because I like you. You’ve been teasing me forever.”

“Is that what you call teasing? We’ve just been bickering since we were kids.”

“I’m not talking about hitting or yelling—that stuff doesn’t matter. You knock on my head all the time anyway. I mean emotionally. All these years, you’ve never given me your firsts.”

“I met you in second grade, but you’d already known Heqing. She was your first childhood friend, the first girl you knew—it was never me. I still remember in elementary school, you were always on the phone with her behind my back. Things got worse in middle school when she showed up—you stopped hiding it.”

“What do you mean, behind your back?”

She looked up at Lin Zheng Ran: “Wait, you’re not thinking about Heqing right now, are you?!”

Lin Zheng Ran replied, “Of course not. I’m right here with you.”

She stared into his eyes, sharper than ever: “You can’t lie to me—you never have since we were kids.”

“Yeah, I haven’t lied to you.”

Lily didn’t see any deception in his eyes, which meant she still held a special place in his heart.

She finally relaxed a little.

She settled back into his arms, lost in thought.

Searching for hope in despair.

Softly, she asked, “Zheng Ran, have you tried everything with Heqing?”

“What do you mean by everything?”

Lily suddenly sat up and searched the floor, finding a stray blade of grass and shaping it into a triangle with her hands.

She showed it to him, her expression serious:

“Like this triangle—everyone knows it has three sides, all equal and important. This top angle represents the top, this front one the front, and this back one the back.”

Though it sounded like nonsense, Lin Zheng Ran got the point.

Lily blushed, acting a bit tsundere: “You get what I mean, right? You’re way smarter than me.”

Lin Zheng Ran nodded with a helpless smile.

So Lily pointed to the front angle of the triangle.

“This one’s first time.”

Lin Zheng Ran said, “We don’t need to ask about that one.”

Lily looked at him jealously and pointed to the top angle: “This one’s first time.”

Lin Zheng Ran nodded.

Lily’s eyes widened, her face flushing: “You! Even Heqing did that?!”

Actually, Heqing hadn’t—her first that afternoon had been shy and scared. So even though Lin Zheng Ran had spent the afternoon with her,

he hadn’t gone all the way.

He nodded because he’d shared it with Wen Wen.

Lily felt jealous and angry, but now she was scared—this was her last hope. She pointed to the last angle.

“This one’s first time.”

Lin Zheng Ran shook his head: “No.”

Lily was surprised, seeing a glimmer of victory, and asked again: “This one!”

“No.”

“You’ve never tried this side of the triangle?”

“No, my math hasn’t delved into that area yet.”

Lily’s face turned bright red. She looked away shyly and lowered her hand: “Why did you try the first two but not this last one?”

“Do you want the truth?”

Lily hesitated, afraid his answer might not match what she hoped, but she still wanted to know: “Of course, the truth. Lies are pointless.”

Lin Zheng Ran said, “Because last week, didn’t you say you’d make it up to me? I haven’t forgotten. I planned to try it when we’re together.”

Lily’s face burned red; she closed her eyes and balled her fists, scolding him like she was flirting:

“You’re a pervert! Zheng Ran’s a total pervert! Big pervert! Idiot! Dummy!”

But after saying it, seeing Lin Zheng Ran’s gaze, she couldn’t meet his eyes anymore.

Because his answer was exactly what she’d wanted to hear.

She felt truly happy inside.

She looked down at her golden ponytail and gently placed it in his hand: “Here, you can hold it. I promised to make it up to you, and I won’t go back on my word.”