Chapter 423: The Person Who Didn’t Arrive
The novel Zixuan and the Paper Airplane had been serialized for quite some time. It had been serialized along with Ballad of the Enchantress not long after Shion-sensei had debuted. From that time on, Zixuan and the Paper Airplane had at least one volume published every month, which was faster than other novels. Although it had been discontinued in the middle, after it had resumed serialization, it had basically not stopped, and had been updating all along. Even during the period when Shion-sensei was being criticized by the outside world for having run out of talent, Zixuan and the Paper Airplane was still a representative work that she could show for at that time.
And now, Shion-sensei had the idea of finishing it. Now this book had been serialized to the 17th volume. According to Shion-sensei’s own thoughts, she wanted to finish it within 20 volumes. Many fans were reluctant to see it end, but they all expressed their respect for Shion-sensei’s decision. And so, the novel that had accompanied Shion-sensei for so long was also about to come to an end.
Originally, this book was a family-themed novel that Yu Linna had created to make up for her lack of a family. Its main content was also family affection, but because the serialization period was too long, some of the content also had to be expanded. Yu Linna had added a lot of settings to it. For example, Tang Zixuan’s adolescence, his father Tang Yu’s career period, or the conflict and harmony between father and son. In addition, Yu Linna had also added a lot of family settings to contrast with the protagonist’s family group. It could be said that this was a book about people from various different families, and how to educate their children, how to get along with their children.
Clearly, love was not the main line of this book.
Even in the later stages, when the male protagonist Tang Yu clearly had a girl who had a crush on him, Tang Yu had always not agreed, out of consideration for his son.
This novel was hailed by people in the industry as “a rare family story in recent years,” and it had also attracted the attention of the traditional writers’ association. A well-known author had even evaluated it as “a clear stream among brainless novels.” Whether it was a praise or a criticism was unknown.
At least in the eyes of the die-hard fans, this was a very high-quality novel. Many people had petitioned Wenqing to have it animated, but Wenqing, thinking of the failure of Ballad of the Enchantress in the past, had always been afraid to have it animated. But they were also very helpless, because the copyright of this novel was the only Shion-sensei work IP that they still held in their hands. The IP adaptation rights of the novel Dawn Assassin were firmly held in Shion-sensei’s hands. Wenqing could not have it animated without her consent.
…
The speech that Yu Linna had given in the interview had caused a shock online, but this was not something she had to be concerned about.
Compared to those things online, she was more concerned about Ye Zhiyun’s matter.
They had been dating for so long. Besides the sweet and cloying time at the very beginning, in this recent month, Ye Zhiyun had hardly been intimate with her at all. Every time she called Ye Zhiyun, she would only chat for a few sentences. Ye Zhiyun seemed to be very busy and had no personal time at all.
“Zhiyun…”
She tried calling again.
It took a while for Ye Zhiyun’s side to answer.
“What is it, Nana?”
“Nothing. I just wanted to ask, are you very busy?”
“This… I am quite busy. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. I just, I just miss you.”
Yu Linna curled up in a corner, moved to the side of her bed, hugged her knees, and said in a buzzing voice.
Although she had also seen her last time, they had not stayed for long, and that was also many days ago. It was said that people who were dating all wanted to be together, wishing they could see each other every day. But after they had started dating, they had never stayed together for more than three days. Every meeting was extremely precious.
Yu Linna sometimes wondered, if they were ordinary people, how wonderful it would be. How she wished she could see her every day. As long as she was with her, it didn’t matter what they did. If they weren’t busy with work, they could really see each other every day.
“Since that’s the case, then I’ll come back this weekend. Let’s meet.”
Ye Zhiyun was silent on the other end for a long time before she finally spoke. There was no helping it. Her girlfriend’s request was too cute. Ye Zhiyun couldn’t refuse. And she also wanted to see Yu Linna.
As soon as Yu Linna heard this, she immediately came to life and jumped off the bed.
“Really? Then I’ll cook a delicious meal at your house first. You have to come back!”
“Mmm, okay.”
Ye Zhiyun smiled.
She was smiling foolishly on the other end of the phone. In others’ eyes, she must be a fool.
Yu Linna really wanted to see her, and she also wanted to see her. Ye Zhiyun liked Yu Linna. Although since they had been dating, she had not heard Yu Linna say that she liked her, it had always been Ye Zhiyun who had been saying that she liked Yu Linna. But they were already dating, were already together. What difficulties could stop them?
That’s what Ye Zhiyun thought.
…
This weekend, Yu Linna got up early, had a phone call with Ye Zhiyun, and learned that she would be coming back in the evening. She immediately went to the market to buy groceries, preparing to cook a delicious dinner to wait for her to come back. Ye Zhiyun was about to return to Guangnan. Yu Linna was very excited and also looked forward to it. She had to cook something delicious.
She had the keys to Ye Zhiyun’s house, so it was very convenient for her to go in and out. Besides having to wear a mask and sunglasses when she went out, which was a bit troublesome, everything else was not a problem. But there was no helping it. She was too famous. Was it okay not to take some precautions?
“Yo ho, Linna, are you free today? Let’s go out and play?”
Not long after she had gone out, she had received a call from Fang Jiangning. The other party had sincerely invited her to go out and play.
Although today was a good day, Yu Linna refused.
“No. Zhiyun is coming back today. I can’t accompany you.”
“Alright then. You can accompany her. Your girlfriend is more important.”
Not long after, Xiao Yanhan also called her.
“Linna, it’s like this. Our studio is short of an assistant today. You’re not good at drawing, are you? Can you come and help out?”
Although Xiao Yanhan was her roommate, and she was in trouble, Yu Linna refused.
“No. Zhiyun is coming back today. I can’t accompany you.”
“Alright then. You can accompany her. Your girlfriend is more important.”
And so, this day, Yu Linna had bought the groceries and had gone back to Ye Zhiyun’s house to make soup. She wanted to spend a day making a good soup so that Ye Zhiyun could drink it when she came back.
She was wearing an apron, starting the fire bit by bit, putting things in the pot bit by bit, and preparing bit by bit. Although it was very tiring, she was smiling very happily. Even if she had to push aside her own work today, she was happy. Because she wanted to see Ye Zhiyun, wanted to be with her, even if it was just for a little while.
She used a small saucer to scoop up a little soup, tasted it, and felt that the taste was a little bland. She added a little more salt. At around 5 in the afternoon, almost 6 o’clock, Yu Linna estimated that Ye Zhiyun’s plane should be arriving soon, and thought that she should take some time to come back.
At this time, Ye Zhiyun’s phone called. She answered the phone without even taking off her apron.
“Zhiyun!”
As long as she heard her voice, as long as she was there, Yu Linna felt that she could do anything. No matter how hard or tiring it was, she would feel it was worth it.
“Nana, I’m sorry. I have a temporary work arrangement and have to go on a business trip. I can’t make it back. I’m sorry.”
But what came from the other end of the phone was Ye Zhiyun’s apologetic voice.
Yu Linna’s mood was instantly dampened by more than half.
She held the phone, her eyes a little dazed, and stood there without speaking.
“Nana?”
If it weren’t for Ye Zhiyun’s voice, she probably wouldn’t have come back to her senses.
“Why?”
“I’s sorry. I wanted to come back. I’ve already bought the plane ticket, but… I can’t refuse this job. I need this opportunity.”
“…It’s fine. You can go about your business. I understand. This is also your dream, isn’t it?”
Yu Linna forced a smile, forcing herself to smile to cheer her on. She knew that there was nothing to be done about it. The work could not be pushed aside, and Ye Zhiyun was indeed busy with her own career. She could not interfere, nor could she help.
She had clearly said that if she needed help, she could come to her at any time, but Ye Zhiyun just wouldn’t bow her head.
To just bow her head once, is it that difficult?
“I’s sorry, Nana. I’m really sorry…”
“It’s fine. I haven’t started cooking yet. At worst, I’ll just save the groceries I bought today for tomorrow.”
She smiled very reluctantly.
Ye Zhiyun said a few more words, and then hung up. She said she was busy catching a plane and couldn’t talk to her for too long.
After hanging up the phone, Yu Linna looked at the almost-ready luxurious dinner in the kitchen. The soup was already boiling, and the lights in the dining room were also very bright. For today, Yu Linna had even specially bought some expensive vegetables that she would not usually buy, as well as some very expensive meat. All of these were bought for Zhiyun.
But she didn’t come back.
Yu Linna turned off the fire, didn’t even take off her apron, and hugged her knees, squatting in a corner. In this dining room where she was the only one, what could she do by staying here? Without Ye Zhiyun, wasn’t her being here meaningless?
“Zhiyun…”
Her voice choked.
This big liar.
Super big liar.
You promised to come back today, but you lied to me again.
Yu Linna’s tears fell to the ground, drop by drop.
In front of Ye Zhiyun, she was very calm, very obedient. But in private, she couldn’t control herself. She wanted to see Ye Zhiyun so much, but the other party did not treat her as the only one.
Yu Linna had nothing, no family, no relatives. She only had Ye Zhiyun. Just because she was Ye Zhiyun’s girlfriend, she was so eager to see her. Ye Zhiyun was also her half-family in a sense. She treated Ye Zhiyun as her only one, but Ye Zhiyun did not treat her as her only one.
This feeling was a bit like that time with Nangong Ying.
Yu Linna wiped away her tears, smiled wryly. To dwell on it any longer would not have any result. It was better to be decisive.
She ate dinner by herself, froze the leftovers in the fridge, and silently cleaned up. In the days without Ye Zhiyun, she was only by herself.
She looked at the empty house, a sense of emptiness in her heart. No matter how much time passed, the things that Yu Linna wanted deep in her heart would not change. She wanted a family, had always wanted one. Ever since she had started dating Ye Zhiyun, she had treated Ye Zhiyun as half a family, and had also thought that if they could get married in the future, it would be for a lifetime. She had really seriously considered the plan of spending a lifetime with Ye Zhiyun.
But had Ye Zhiyun ever thought about this question?
Yu Linna was not clear. After she had finished cleaning up, she had gone back, not staying here. And on her way back, her mood was extremely empty. She looked at the time and it seemed to be quite early. She was just thinking about whether to go for a walk. A phone call came, which made her give up the idea of a walk. She bought some fruit on the road and walked in the direction of Huo Ningning’s house.
