Chapter 130: “I Know Already”

That day, she finally agreed to his proposal, though he neither knelt nor took out a ring.

The two embraced and kissed under everyone’s watchful eyes, causing a huge uproar. The whole class cheered, whistled, and popped bottles one after another, the party so lively it almost blew the villa’s roof off.

Milan was a witness to Zhou Leqi and Hou Zihao’s love story, having seen their sweetness and struggles over seven years. She was genuinely happy for them finally tying the knot. But that day, her mood wasn’t completely positive — there was a vague hint of melancholy. After deep self-reflection, she decided it was jealousy.

Not jealousy toward others, but because she really envied the relationship between Zhou Leqi and Hou Zihao... Hou Shen (Hou God) had always loved Leqi so much and was so gentle and patient, making it feel like he would love her that way forever, never hiding his feelings.

As for Yan Lin…

…he had never publicly declared his feelings for her like that.

It wasn’t that Milan wanted Yan Lin to be exactly like Hou Shen. Their personalities were different, and she indeed liked Yan Lin’s cold, aloof, and slightly arrogant style. But his subtlety in expressing affection always left her feeling insecure, even though after seven years he was more proactive than in their school days.

But she still wanted to get closer to him... wanted to be more certain that they were truly compatible and would be together for life.

That certainty was hard to achieve, because some perceptions were deeply ingrained. For example, Milan still saw herself as a poor student—even though she had attended Renmin University and found a decent job, she still felt she wasn’t good enough, not worthy to match with Yan Lin. In her eyes, he was too outstanding and profound. She always felt that if she didn’t change to become like him, it would be very difficult to truly enter his heart—at least, it would be hard to become like Leqi and Hou Shen.

...It was truly a perplexing dilemma.

After the party ended, Milan became very quiet. After leaving the party villa, she silently got into Yan Lin’s car, and he drove her home. Along the way, she had no energy to talk much.

Yan Lin quickly noticed her low mood. After a moment of silence, while driving, he asked, “Tired?”

She wasn’t interested in explaining to him in detail and just nodded casually, trying to brush it off and hide her subtle feelings.

Unfortunately, Lawyer Yan wasn’t easily fooled. At work, he had seen many kinds of people, and could usually tell what others were thinking—this was professional acumen. Besides, he knew Milan so well now that no change in her emotions escaped his notice.

But Lawyer Yan had his own flaw: he could detect the problem but couldn’t understand it, let alone solve it. He didn’t even know how to start asking, so the car fell into a silence.

At that moment, his phone rang. It was his father calling. He connected the call to the car Bluetooth and answered it on speaker.

“Hey, Dad.”

It was a common way to answer a call, but behind it was a subtle change—before, Yan Lin would just say “Hey” when answering his father Yan Hai’s calls. Now he added “Dad,” sounding more close and gentle.

“Hey, son?” Yan Hai’s voice came quickly from the other end, a bit loud. “Are you coming home tonight? Have you been drinking? Don’t drive if you’ve been drinking…”

Yan Lin’s expression softened, and he replied, “No drinking. I’m driving Milan home, will be back soon.”

When Yan Hai heard Milan’s name, he paused, then his voice clearly brightened. “Oh, then take your time, be careful, and make sure to get her home safely.”

After a pause, he added, “Ask Xiaomi when she’s free to come over for dinner? Your grandma made some cured meat rice dumplings. Invite her home to try.”

The tone was warm and enthusiastic.

Actually, if counted carefully, Yan Hai hadn’t known Milan for long—only since June last year. Back then, the Haoting case hadn’t fully exploded on the internet yet. Milan was working on a news plan but couldn’t find a good entry point. At her most frustrated and troubled moment, Yan Hai appeared. He dragged an empty pant leg and stood nervously in front of her and Yan Lin, trembling and evasive as he said, “If you think it’s okay… could you record a video for me?”

What he wanted to record was a confessor’s statement.

He never intended to hurt others. He just couldn’t overcome greed and lacked the knowledge to make accurate judgments about what had happened years ago. He had once thought poverty was the worst thing in the world and desperately wanted to grab some money, so he could drink every day and buy a house for his son to bring honor to the family. He wanted to be the hero of that small family, even if it meant facing the world in an ugly way.

But the collapsing walls and the severed leg completely changed him.

What is money? Just something to add shine to life. There might be thousands of ways to get it, but right choices were few and difficult. He chose wrong, blinded by stupidity and greed, and ultimately paid a heavy price. Besides losing family, he caused endless disasters to innocent people.

He knew he was wrong. For seven long years, he wasn’t punished, but his conscience tortured him daily. He felt sorry for Zhang Chunyan, sorry for Yan Lin, and sorry for the Haoting chairman and her family he’d never met. The pain made him curl up in his small Beijing apartment, dragging his severed leg, unable to face his own son in the end.

Why couldn’t he face him?

Because he was afraid… afraid of the contempt and disgust hidden in Yan Lin’s eyes.

He wanted to be a good father… ideally, a father respected by his child.

After a long struggle, he chose to record that video. Facing the camera, he told the whole truth about everything seven years ago, explaining how foolish and despicable his mistakes were. After finishing, he was drenched in sweat and immediately faced a storm of denunciations, insults, and mockery.

…But when he turned, for the first time, he saw respect in his son’s eyes.

He even hugged him for the first time. The usually tough and cold son’s voice choked up as he said, “Dad… thank you.”

Thank what?

Thank him for finally revealing the long-overdue truth? Thank him for barely making up a little of the fatherly image he should have had? Thank him for finally mustering some courage to bear the responsibilities he should have taken?

Son… you don’t need to thank me.

Dad just did what he should have done long ago.

Since then, their father-son relationship changed somewhat.

Yan Lin still spoke little, still worked overtime and left early, but on rare days off, he’d buy some wine and have a small drink with his dad. Sometimes he even talked about his work and career—and more often about… Milan.

He began to share his life with his father.

Yan Hai also liked Milan a lot. Probably because Milan had witnessed his confession and also the reconciliation scene between Yan Hai and Yan Lin, he felt that this young girl had already entered their family and shared their deepest wounds and secrets. The intimacy between them naturally deepened.

At this moment, Yan Hai heard Yan Lin staying silent and anxiously urged again over the phone, “Quickly ask Xiaomi when she’s free. Tell her not to be shy, it’s just a simple meal.”

Yan Lin tilted his head and glanced at Milan, who was quietly nestled in the passenger seat. Her grown-out hair made her look softer than when she was a student, but the lively and sweet impression he had of her hadn’t faded.

Cheerful, bright, and... very likable.

His mood lightened, and his voice became more relaxed as he replied to his father, “I’ll ask her.”

After a pause, he added, “She’s not fond of savory sticky rice dumplings. Are there any sweet ones?”

Yan Hai was excited and immediately said, “Yes, yes! We even made red bean paste ones — oh, and I bought some fish today. Just tell her I’m making sweet and delicious squirrel-shaped mandarin fish!”

He went on to boast excessively about his cooking skills.

Yan Lin quietly listened, his profile outlined by neon lights outside the window, looking particularly handsome. Even his usual cold aura seemed softened, faintly tender. Milan heard him say, “Got it, I’ll tell her.”

She didn’t know why her heart started to beat faster again.

Then he finally hung up. Just after turning at the intersection, they arrived at her home. He found a parking spot, rested his hands on the steering wheel, and turned to look at her. His eyes held a flicker of smile as he asked, “Are you free tomorrow? Come over to my place for dinner.”

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t really his place but his grandparents’ home.

Milan was caught off guard by the smile in his eyes and forgot about her earlier sulking, nodding absentmindedly. This made the smile in his eyes deepen.

She suddenly felt a bit shy, even a little embarrassed and cross, asking him with a slightly annoyed tone, “What are you smiling at?”

He shook his head, his gaze still fixed on her—not as passionate and obvious as Hou Shen looking at Le Qi, but long-lasting and tender.

“My whole family will be there,” he said with a hint of meaning in his words and expression, “You should know... what it means if you go.”

Milan was stunned and only understood his meaning after a few seconds. Her face flushed again. If her hair were still short, the small braid she used to tie would definitely be trembling.

“Know what?” she pouted, pretending to be tough but was actually quite soft inside. “I don’t know.”

I won’t be the one to take the initiative anymore.

I don’t really want to marry you.

I don’t want to be with you forever.

This time he truly laughed, his smile was as beautiful as a flower blooming on ice, making her heart flutter. She faintly saw his eyes getting closer, close enough to see her reflection in them, until finally his lips warmed hers—he kissed her.

A kiss initiated by him.

Her heart was both restless and quiet, as if the scale of the world melted into a mess, presenting her with a chaotic world. At that moment, his voice remained steady, the calmness of a professional lawyer, yet with a faint trace of emotion.

“You really don’t know?” he whispered into her ear after the kiss, his low and soft voice making her continue to feel moved. “You didn’t know everything?”

Dizzy from his kiss, she couldn’t quite understand him and stupidly asked, “I didn’t know what?”

What did I not know?

He sighed and kissed her lips again gently, saying, “You knew all along that we would end up together.”

Before I knew I liked you,

Before I knew I would regret breaking up,

What about now?

Don’t you know I want to be with you forever too?

She kept retreating step by step, as if she could never win against him. Her earlier sulking and bitterness had completely vanished, replaced by joy and brightness.

She pouted, hesitated for a moment, then pushed him away and quickly got out of the car. Although the movement wasn’t big, she looked like a little rabbit hopping away.

“I know.”

When she turned to close the door, she looked at him with a big smile, shining like a bright star in the night.

“I’m so smart, of course I knew everything.”