Chapter 9: What Truly Constitutes Humiliation?

The following days passed uneventfully, a calm marked by a subtle tension, brimming with anticipation for the future.

Much like the countless days and nights before, during Lin Jie's silent moments, Su Jiayu remained indifferent, unmoved by his presence.

It wasn't that Lin Jie expected Su Jiayu to show any particular response... He merely held onto a faint glimmer of hope, a lingering fantasy, after having taken that irreversible step forward.

This tiny sliver of hope wouldn't restore his feelings for her to their former intensity, but it offered him a fleeting sense of equilibrium, a fragile comfort.

Like a gambler who had staked everything, exhausted of all emotion, Lin Jie frantically sought any bitter fruit of victory he could grasp.

Lin Jie appeared defeated, while Su Jiayu, ever captivating, still exuded her charm.

She smiled as radiantly as ever, as beautiful as a picture frozen in time.

In the following days, Lin Jie subconsciously began to avoid any interaction with her. Seeing her now filled him with unease.

How he longed to catch just a trace—just the faintest flicker—of regret or sorrow on her face. Such a sight would have brought him some peace... but there was none.

She was Su Jiayu.

The once gentle, soft-spoken girl he had known as Mumu was now someone entirely unfamiliar, unreachable.

On the eve of the college entrance exams, Mo Jiale once again dragged Lin Jie and Zhao Yan out onto the streets to play. They stood on the bridge by the riverbank, laughing foolishly with bottles of beer in hand, the evening breeze brushing against them.

What surprised Lin Jie even more was that his parents had returned together.

He was elated... Even though it was only for one brief night, it still filled him with joy.

It was the only moment of happiness he had experienced since that fateful night.

As Lin Jie sat in the exam hall, he thought he would be affected by what had happened with Su Jiayu. His mood was indeed terrible, but that allowed him to approach each question with an unexpected calmness.

After all, his mood was already as bad as it could get, so no question, however vexing, could ruffle him any further.

In the end, as he walked out of the exam hall, Lin Jie felt that he had performed quite well.

That afternoon, as the golden light of the setting sun cast its glow over all the students, Lin Jie gazed at the distant sunset. With a casual glance over his shoulder, he unknowingly drew the final line under his high school years.

"Lin Jie!"

As he turned back, lost in thought by the school gate, a familiar voice pulled him back to reality.

Following the sound, Lin Jie saw Su Jiayu struggling toward him, dragging a large suitcase, a backpack slung over her shoulders, and carrying several bags in her hands.

Lin Jie hesitated for a moment, then silently stepped forward to take the suitcase and bags from her.

He didn't speak, only looked at her quietly.

Su Jiayu, however, felt no awkwardness. As she always did when chatting with Lin Jie, she first furrowed her brow slightly, complaining about her parents not picking her up. Then, with a curious look, she asked, "Hey, where's your stuff?"

"I took it home the day before."

"Wow, did you call a car?" Su Jiayu wiped the sweat from her pale forehead, asking with some envy.

"No," Lin Jie shook his head. "Mo Jiale had his driver take it for us."

"Oh, I see." She nodded.

Since Lin Jie was carrying her things, he walked ahead, while Su Jiayu tilted her head slightly, watching him from behind. In that corner of her gaze where he could not see, her expression held something vague, difficult to decipher.

Along the way, people greeted her, and others greeted Lin Jie.

Gradually, Su Jiayu began to realize that Lin Jie was not as invisible as she had once thought... Many girls tentatively invited him out, some even offering to pay for him.

They tried to appear nonchalant, but Su Jiayu could see the nervous anticipation in their eyes, could sense their courage wavering.

Why?

Because they were exactly like the Lin Jie of the past.

A sudden wave of unease swept over her. She quickened her pace, trying to catch up to Lin Jie. But outside the school gate, the crowd was thick, and the spot she once reached so effortlessly now seemed impossibly distant.

She couldn't reach Lin Jie's side.

A faint anger welled up in her, and she coughed loudly, hoping to draw Lin Jie's attention—or at least that of the other girls. But Lin Jie didn't turn around, and the others barely gave her a passing glance.

In the end, Lin Jie declined their invitations.

He said he had to practice driving.

Su Jiayu felt a small sense of relief, believing it was merely an excuse he used to turn them down.

Just like the myriad excuses she had used to refuse boys in the past.

They walked through the long street outside the school, arriving at the crossroads where they would hail a car home.

Su Jiayu, with her keen intuition, sensed that Lin Jie was no longer the same. In the past, whenever he was near her, he exuded a subtle joy, and he would always talk at length.

Never had he been this quiet, his gaze serene, his expression unreadable.

She knew exactly why.

But what difference did it make?

In her mind, that day was merely a brief outing, the first time she had grown a little closer to a boy. But before that, wasn't Lin Jie the one who had been closest to her?

She knew Lin Jie had wanted to confess his feelings—his timing had simply been wrong... How could that be her fault?

Su Jiayu didn't think she had done anything wrong. She didn't believe it was such a significant matter... After all, in time, wouldn't she and Lin Jie return to how they had always been?

If she acted too concerned now, she couldn't be sure that Lin Jie would continue to like her as he did.

With such thoughts in mind, she climbed into the taxi, her mood slightly improved, though still pricked with a faint, lingering pain.

Lin Jie sat in the front seat, turning his head to gaze out the window, trying to distract himself from thinking about her... But his mind was a tangled mess of conflicting thoughts.

Like: You don't need to pretend anymore; you still care about her, don't you? It's all just an act, isn't it? None of it matters in the end...

You're nothing but a fool. In her eyes, you're nothing but a fool... But is it really humiliating to care for someone? What if you actually win her over in the end?

Lin Jie frowned, disgusted with himself for even entertaining such thoughts.

If this doesn't constitute humiliation... then what does?

"Lin Jie."

"Hmm?"

"I just remembered—my parents want you to come over for dinner tonight."

Lin Jie didn't respond right away. He looked out the window for a long moment before softly replying with a single word: "Oh."