Chapter 68: No More Tears

 "I think I made a mistake. I think…I hurt my friend."

Lin JinYan looked at the lovely girl with tears glistening from her eyes and he felt a sudden pang of guilt. He had not anticipated that such a small matter would even come to have an adverse impact on Su Ning. It was obviously the friend's own issue that she was unable to handle a simple rejection. For goodness sake, how could he be expected to accept every girl's confession. But to think that Su Ning would blame herself for her friend's heartbreak, she is far too kind for this world.

"It's alright. NingNing, it's not possible to control other people's feelings. I would have rejected your friend's confession nonetheless," Lin JinYan kindly explained after he enveloped Su Ning in a warm hug.

"But..but if I had realized sooner and warned her," Su Ning protested softly. She didn't resist Lin JinYan's embrace; instead, Su Ning simply rested her chin on his shoulder and found comfort that way.

"Warn her how? Hmm?" Lin JinYan asked, patting Su Ning on the back. The girl furrowed her brows in thought but remained silent. 'That's right, how would I warn Qing Mei? What should I say?'

As if sensing Su Ning's struggle, Lin JinYan continued, "Would you tell her not to develop feelings for me? Or would you tell her not to confess?" 

"Well,…I…" she began to speak but ended up closing her mouth, unable to continue. Lin JinYan placed his hands on Su Nings upper arms as he leaned back to look at her tear stained face.

"NingNing-ah, If you had done so, wouldn't your friend simply think you had some ulterior motive for standing in the way of her puppy love?"

"Ahh…well. I truthfully hadn't thought that way," Su Ning replied honestly.

"Would you tell her about my condition and that I'm unable to tolerate her touch?" Lin JinYan prodded.

Su Ning quickly shook her head at his question. 'Doing that would just hurt both Lin JinYan and Qing Mei.' "JinYan-ge! I would never disclose your condition!" Su Ning self righteously insisted, earning a chuckle from the young man."

"NingNing-ah, Girl's at this age fall in love so easily. After a month or so they'll develop feelings for another boy. It couldn't be that you're unaware of this?" he asked.

"Uhm…That-that seems to be true," she admitted. Her classmates have a new crush every few weeks even though they purportedly claim to be so heart broken whenever things don't work out with the previous boy.

"No more tears alright? It's not your fault. Your friend will get over this soon," Lin JinYan murmured while using his thumbs to wipe the stray tear drops on either side of Su Ning's face.

"I don't like you being sad," he continued softly after hearing her sniffle.

A few minutes passed and Su Ning lightly tapped at his hands to signal Lin JinYan to let go of her face. 'This kid…likes to play with my face too much. Did I gain weight or what?! I don't think I got a dumpling face,' she thought, puffing out her cheeks. This caused the young man to quickly pinch her cheeks. 

"Unnnnghh" Su Ning made a dissatisfied sound as she pushed off Lin JinYan's hands. The young man laughed at the sight of the girl glaring at him while rubbing her sore cheeks.

"Hmmm…JinYan-ge, I'd still like to visit Qing Mei tomorrow. I just want to make sure she's alright. She didn't come to school for a week, she may have gotten sick or something," Su Ning said as she stood up from Lin JinYan's bed, her hands still on her face.

Though Lin JinYan wasn't too keen on letting Su Ning meet Qing Mei on her own, he resolved his worries by having a trusted driver accompany Su Ning. "Alright. I have a meeting with my agent tomorrow. I'll have the chauffeur drop you off in the morning and then we can have lunch together," Lin JinYan calmly stated whilst he remained sitting on his bed.

"En. Alright. Thank you, JinYan-ge." Su Ning responded satisfied with their resolution.

..... 

At around 11am the next morning, Driver Yang drove Su Ning to a quiet working class neighborhood on the outskirts of District 3 composed of densely packed apartment complexes. After finding a spot to park their white Audi, the Driver Yang accompanied Su Ning to the building where Qing Mei's apartment was located. She had initially attempted to dissuade the chauffeur from acting as her bodyguard simply because she felt it was overkill on the part of Lin JinYan. 'I am going to see a friend not doing some kind of witness exchange!' 

"That.. uh. Yang Shu-Shu, You don't need to walk me up the building. You can wait comfortably in the car." 

Author's Note: ShuShu means Uncle.

"It's alright Miss Su. Just ignore my presence. Young Master Lin expressly indicated to not let you out of my sight," Driver Yang responded methodically.

"Ah?! No no! It's just quite hot outside so I don't want you to feel uncomfortable!" Su Ning explained looking at the man clad in a black 3 piece chauffeur uniform.

"Don't worry Miss Su. I am not uncomfortable at all," he deftly countered.

"Ah..well..alright. Thank you, Yang Shu-Shu," Su Ning smiled.

When they had arrived at the correct apartment number, Su Ning took a couple of deep breaths prior to pressing the doorbell. After about 3 rings, Qing Mei's mother, Wang Mei Na, answered the door. 

"Hi auntie, my name is Su Ning. I am a friend of Qing Mei's. I just wanted to ask if she is in today?"

Wang Mei Na stared at the exceptionally pretty and polite young girl standing in front of her apartment. She immediately recognized the girl as the female lead of the play Qing Mei recently participated in. Since graduating from Chang Yue middle school, Qing Mei has not brought any friends home so Wang Mei Na was surprised to find this young girl claiming to be her daughter's friend. Wang Mei Na had initially intended to turn away the girl, however Su Ning's sweet and kind demeanor eventually won her over.

"Auntie, we also brought some fruits for Qing Mei to help her recover," Su Ning gestured to the beautifully decorated fruit basket her companion brought with him.

"Ah, where are my manners? I apologize. Please come in. Xiao Mei is resting in her room," Wang Mei Na said apologetically before guiding her visitors into her apartment.

"Thank you, Auntie."