0148: Sprinting Toward You

However, after checking her QQ profile and seeing that her location and other details were hidden, he noticed her Qzone was not restricted and could be browsed freely.

Yet, her Qzone had no photos posted, except for a few pictures of the Jiulong Relic Pagoda. It seemed they were taken by herself rather than pulled from the internet.

Those photos, however, were not taken in recent years. Five years ago, the Jiulong Relic Pagoda had undergone a major restoration, which added a new ring of decorations around the top of the tower.

In these photos, there was not the slightest trace of that decoration, meaning they must have been taken at least five years ago.

Driven by curiosity, he reopened the chat box.

"Um, just glanced at your profile picture. Star Mimi, are you from Linshui?"

Unlike before, the other person did not reply instantly. Xu Lin closed the chat for now and went back to editing his video.

Meanwhile, Qin Yunhe and Su Qingwan were sitting in a small café, gazing at the night outside while sipping coffee and chatting.

"You had to work overtime today? You only got off work close to nine?"

"Mhm."

Su Qingwan glanced at Qin Yunhe across the table. The latter was sipping her coffee in tiny little sips, occasionally checking her phone with a somewhat lonely expression.

Could she have found a boyfriend? Seeing that she herself had a fake one, did Qin Yunhe eagerly go out and find one too?

To be honest, having known Qin Yunhe for so long, Su Qingwan knew her friend had never cared about such things—neither romance movies nor actual romantic relationships.

When many of their classmates and friends got married and showed off their affection, Qin Yunhe would wear an indifferent look, caring only about her own feelings.

Usually, she had the persona of a tough, independent woman. It wasn't that she didn't know how to dress up—she could look quite pretty and cute when she wanted to—but her style of doing things was extremely decisive and swift, likely tied to her personality and profession.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Having been stared at for half a minute, Qin Yunhe couldn't possibly remain unaware of her best friend's gaze, and her conscience instantly felt a bit guilty.

Did Xu Lin let something slip? No, that guy is tight-lipped; even during recent chats, he hadn't made any casual or flirtatious remarks.

And yet, seriously, she had given him the most precious thing she possessed, and he couldn't even keep her company or show her some concern! True, she had been quite busy lately and genuinely hadn't had the time to get together.

"I was just wondering if you've started dating someone."

"Cough! Why would you say that?"

"Well, you keep watching your phone, as if you're waiting for some message. Plus, your expression is much softer, and you look prettier."

"I wasn't pretty before?"

"How should I put it? Anyway... you just look different."

Actually, Su Qingwan didn't quite know what she was talking about, but her friend's aura and vibe were genuinely different.

Qin Yunhe wanted to laugh, yet felt a bit shy. Did that kind of experience really change a person's aura?

Just as that thought crossed her mind, a flicker of annoyance rose within her. Even though she had told him he didn't need to take responsibility, he couldn't even come to see her once! To hold her, to talk with her... What a stinky man!

Yet, after mentally scolding him, she felt a lot lighter and slipped her phone into her pocket.

"Since you have a boyfriend, stop showing off to me. How come I haven't seen Xu Lin lately?"

"He has a lot on his plate, I suppose." Su Qingwan couldn't very well say that she ran into him at school every single day.

"A lot on his plate, huh? By the way, you know that Ji Yun girl, right? Her grades are really good?"

"Mhm, she's first in our class."

"And who's second?"

Qin Yunhe took a sip of coffee, watching her best friend freeze up awkwardly. She wanted to laugh but forcefully held it in.

Was she being a bit mischievous? Better stop teasing her before she accidentally exposed herself.

At that moment, the patter of raindrops sounded against the window. They both looked outside and saw many pedestrians hurrying toward the café entrance.

"Let's go. While the rain isn't too heavy yet, I'll walk you back. The weather forecast says it's going to pour later."

"Alright, thanks, Wanwan."

Around 10 PM, Xu Lin finally finished his video editing. After reviewing the final cut, he considered it the absolute best he could personally achieve.

Outside the window, a steady patter was falling. Rain had started sometime ago, growing quite heavy now, punctuated by occasional rumbles of distant thunder.

"Still no reply? Maybe she just doesn't want to expose her personal information." Xu Lin checked, but there was no response.

Never mind, I'll upload this video and go to sleep. Still have classes tomorrow.

Spending a few minutes, he uploaded the video to Bilibili. Looking at the "Under Review" status, to be honest, this made him more nervous than posting his novel chapters.

Thinking of his novel, he remembered he hadn't updated yet. Fortunately, he had already written the chapter, so he just needed to post it. But his backlog was exhausted once again.

The chapter was uploaded, and the video had passed its review as well, but the view count remained proudly stuck at a magnificent zero.

"Time for bed!"

He shut down his computer, lunged directly onto his bed, too tired to even take a shower—all he wanted was sleep.

The next second, however, a sudden thought struck him. He bolted upright, grabbed his phone, and opened WeChat.

"Almost forgot to say goodnight to Wife Qin."

Ever since the two of them parted ways last time, they hadn't seen each other in person, keeping in touch solely through WeChat.

It wasn't that they had entered some awkward phase, but rather that both of them were up to their ears in work.

He had school, writing, and video-editing issues to deal with, while Qin Yunhe had spent several days handling a fraud case and had since started working overtime.

Still, so as not to appear unfeeling or indifferent, he made it a rule to say goodnight to her every single night.

Opening WeChat, he typed out a goodnight filled with a touch of affection and hit send. Closing his eyes, Xu Lin felt drowsy and began drifting off toward dreamland.

The very next second, however, a WeChat voice call rang out. Glancing at the screen and seeing it was Qin Yunhe, he hurriedly accepted.

"Yunhe, haven't you slept yet?"

"Not yet. I just had some coffee and pastries with your girlfriend, got back about half an hour ago."

"Were you working overtime? You've had a hard time." Xu Lin conveniently ignored the mention of his "girlfriend."

After all, he wanted to stick to a rule he had set for himself: whenever the two of them chatted, he would not bring up other girls.

"Sigh, why are you still a student? Usually when I have a day off, you have school. Today when you have a day off, I'm stuck working overtime."

"Then on your next day off, I'll take a day off from school and take you out to play?"

To be honest, having not seen Qin Yunhe for so many days, he missed her quite a bit.

It wasn't just physical desire, but a sense of weight—when a girl gives her all to you, it's impossible not to hold her in your thoughts.

Especially since he hadn't gone to see her once all these days, he felt a lingering guilt in his heart. Today, before heading home, he really should have stopped by her police station just to look at her.

"No, don't let it interfere with your studies. Were you busy with that filming thing again today?"

"Mhm."

"Once you're done, get some rest early. Don't push yourself too hard, take it slow."

"Mhm. By the way, you only ate pastries for the night?"

"Mhm~ I wanted to eat Snow Meiniang. Saw some on the road earlier, but the rain was too heavy so I didn't get out to buy any."

"Oh, I'll buy some for you in a couple of days and bring them over."

"Alright, but buy a few extra, or they won't be enough to share with my colleagues."

"Okay."

"Alright, you brat, goodnight then."

"Goodnight."

Hanging up the voice call, Qin Yunhe stared at the chat interface and clenched her fists.

Listening to the thunder outside and experiencing the emptiness of a room that held only herself, a sudden wave of loneliness washed over her.

Clearly, when she was by herself in the past, she had never felt this way. Just as Wanwan had said, had she really changed...?

Never mind, she would watch some TV. She didn't have to report for duty tomorrow anyway, and there just happened to be a good variety show airing.

Scarcely half an hour after she curled up on the sofa, a rapid knocking sounded at her door.

She got up, walked over, and peered through the peephole. A face she had been longing for appeared right before her eyes, though she suspected she might be hallucinating.

"Xu Lin? Why are you here?"

She hurriedly unlocked and opened the door, only to see Xu Lin standing there, his hair completely soaked and plastered against his scalp, dripping with water, his clothes thoroughly drenched through!

"You didn't even bring an umbrella! If you needed something, a phone call would have been enough..."

She rushed to the bathroom to grab a towel and began drying his hair.

Xu Lin simply smiled at her like a little fool, reached inside his jacket, and pulled out a plastic bag containing two small boxes.

"Didn't you want to eat Snow Meiniang?"

As soon as Xu Lin said those words, the corners of Qin Yunhe's eyes instantly grew damp. She hit him lightly on the chest with a fist, her face blooming with a full smile.

"You big fool... I was just mentioning it! Don't actually take it seriously, seriously... You big fool! So stupid! What if you catch a cold?!"

"Whatever you say, I will always do. Not just now, but in the future too—forever, I can always run to you."