Chapter 198: When Love is Flying in the Air, Should You Catch It From Below or From the Side?

Money, money!

Being in love means spending money! A lot, a lot of money!

If you don’t have money, how can you even date?

Back when she was still a boy, she used to worry all day, doing part-time jobs just to earn money to buy things, gifts, and little surprises for her ex-girlfriend, Gu Xiaoxue.

But now that she had become a girl, the situation had changed a lot for the better. Now, there were many people willing to spend lots of money on Lin Yibai. She just couldn’t fully accept it in her heart yet.

She wanted to give back. She wanted to respond to the boys who liked her.

Compared to her past life as a boy, always broke and anxious, working hard every day just to make ends meet.

Lin Yibai gently placed her hand on her chest.

There was one thing she was certain of now, and that was the meaning behind the words “willingly, from the heart.”

She took a small bite of the grilled saury fish that Xia Changyu made, leaving a cute crescent-shaped bite mark. After a moment, she said,

“You know how I am. I just lazed around for more than ten days at the start of summer break. Then I worked a few days wearing a mascot suit handing out flyers, did a few part-time jobs for you, and after that, I followed Brother Jin and the others doing wedding planning work. After more than half a month, I only managed to make about 3,000 yuan. Now I’m spending at least a third of that on fireworks just to show them to you. I’m nearly broke!”

Xia Changyu felt both touched and worried, “You really didn’t have to do all that. You know me, I don’t mind spending that kind of money.”

Lin Yibai glared at him. She had planned to complain a bit more, but in the end, all she said was a long sigh.

“Sigh… But if I’m spending money on you, it doesn’t really feel that painful.”

Xia Changyu: “Huh?”

Seeing his clueless expression, Lin Yibai said with frustration.

“I mean, if it’s for you, I want to spend money, okay? Ugh, you’re so annoying. If you understand, then good. If not, don’t ask me anymore, alright? Hmph!”

Of course Xia Changyu understood. He just pretended not to, because he couldn’t quite believe something this wonderful could really happen to him.

There was a saying he once believed in, ‘If you think about someone long enough, they’ll eventually respond.’

And now… It seemed like it had come true?

Lin Yibai told him to cancel all the bookings. The movie tickets, the restaurant reservation, the stargazing trip to the mountain, anything that could be refunded, cancel it. If it couldn’t be refunded, then they’d figure it out later.

Her thinking was simple and straightforward. After taking another bite of grilled saury, she said,

“I’m not someone who needs fancy things. For me, simple is good enough. But this whole 'sense of ceremony' that girls talk about... you put so much effort into giving me one. So how am I supposed to give you a sense of ceremony in return? Isn’t that kind of troublesome?”

Even though Xia Changyu already knew what a kind person she was, he was still amazed by how down-to-earth she was. He said without thinking.

“But online people say girls should be elegant, like those stylish, ‘piggy princess’ girls.”

Lin Yibai walked over to the grill, added sauce to the eggplant that was almost done, then scooped out a small spoonful. She gently blew on it to cool it down, then held the spoon near Xia Changyu’s mouth, letting him try her cooking.

Xia Changyu took a bite. The rich garlic flavor filled his mouth. She had clearly learned her cooking well from her grandma. It had a strong, delicious, home-style Chinese flavor.

Seeing how much he enjoyed the food, Lin Yibai served up the rest of the eggplant and softly said,

“‘Piggy princess’? Then what exactly is a truly elegant life? Going to fancy cafes, trendy places, taking dozens of photos for social media. Is that what people call elegance?”

Xia Changyu raised an eyebrow, then shook his head and said, “I… I’m not really sure.”

Lin Yibai laughed and said,

“See? Being elegant is really just about how you feel inside. To me, if you grill me an extra chicken leg, I eat one, toss one aside. That’s already the most elegant thing ever. Summer, cold beer, riverside, barbecue… Isn’t that already the perfect life?”

Got it. Time to grill her another chicken leg. He had to make sure she felt elegant!!

But honestly… after all that talk, what was even the point?

When Lin Yibai saw her love rival really grilling another chicken leg, she couldn’t help but cover her mouth and giggle.

Of course, after laughing, she finally got to the point and said, “Actually, I said all that earlier… but did you understand what I really meant?”

Xia Changyu was a smart guy! At work, he managed everything super well. His family also had a big business waiting for him to take over, so clearly, his brain worked fine, right?

But when it came to the girl he liked... Why did his brain turn to mush?

What was the meaning behind the girl’s words? What was she trying to make him understand?

He said, “I get it. You’re a really good girl.”

As expected, Lin Yibai rolled her eyes hard. All her careful hints had gone to waste!

She even started wondering if her “hint” was too long and confusing.

Didn’t you catch the hint?

Fine then. Lin Yibai decided to just tell him outright.

“What I meant was… if I were your girlfriend, even if it’s just temporary right now, I just want to say, I’m not that picky. I’m easy to take care of. You don’t need to treat me like some other girls and do all kinds of fancy stuff, okay? Got it, dummy?!”

Got it?

Sort of… maybe?

Wait! He did get it now. Xia Changyu finally understood, and he thought to himself, ‘A girl like you… when are you willing to marry me?’

Not far away, someone lit a campfire. A familiar guitar melody started playing.

Xia Changyu instantly recognized the rhythm and said, “The Brightest Star in the Night Sky… It feels like this song is everywhere!”

Lin Yibai nodded, “Yeah, but I can sing it. Want to hear?”

Of course Xia Changyu didn’t mind, but he still asked, “I remember you once told me that you’d hum a love song to me right by my ear… Is this the one?”

Lin Yibai snorted and waved her hand:

“That one’s for a special moment. This one’s a freebie.”

Free? Even better!

The girl started softly singing, just for the two of them to hear. Xia Changyu wished that moment could last forever.

He didn’t want just a temporary girlfriend anymore. He wanted more and more...

And then suddenly, he really wanted it. He wanted to officially be in a relationship with Lin Yibai. Right now, no more waiting.

“Baiyi...” he called her name.

“Shhh!” Lin Yibai made a quieting gesture with her finger.

Up ahead, staff were getting ready to set off fireworks. Even though they were a bit far from the city center, they were still by the riverside and not too far from where people lived.

They didn’t want to disturb anyone. So, the fireworks couldn’t go off too late.

The river breeze was a bit strong. Lin Yibai moved in close to Xia Changyu, it felt warm enough.

BOOM~~

The fireworks burst into bright colors, lighting up in the reflection of the girl’s dark, glassy eyes like shining flowers.

In that moment, she looked absolutely stunning.

Some travelers nearby stopped walking and looked up.

A few of them started talking about an anime, “Fireworks, should we see it from the side or the bottom?”

But when they saw that couple standing together...

It felt like something hit them in the face.

Weird sensation.

What was it exactly?

Ah, must’ve been the overwhelming flood of romance.