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I Give Half of My Life to You

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Chapter 73: Going to the Library with Gege

For the first time ever, Lin Miao couldn’t wake up early in the morning.

It was the second day of her winter break at home, and her menstrual period had started. She usually didn’t feel much, but this time, it made her head feel dizzy and swollen. She also felt a dull ache in her stomach. It wasn’t excruciating, but made her extremely uncomfortable.

Her mother boiled her some brown sugar water. She also plugged in an electric blanket to let her sleep longer.

Lin Miao felt a lot better after she drank the sugar water. She then woke up and noticed that the Young Master had messaged her.

Lin Miao immediately replied back.

The Young Master sent another message: “Wanna go to the library today?”

Lin Miao wanted to continue her studies in the future, so she told him that she wanted to read more books in the library over the break.

She still felt a bit unwell, but Yu Jingxuan’s message gave her the tenacity to go outside.

She crawled up from her bed and headed to the bathroom to wash her face and hair.

“Don’t wash your head.” Lin Miao’s mother came out of the kitchen right as she stepped out of her room. “It’s bad for your recovery. Plus, your hair’s not oily. Since you’re off for the next week or so, you won’t sweat as much, so you don’t need to wash your hair everyday.”

Lin Miao listened obediently, then said, “Mom, I’m going to the library to read in a bit.”

Lin Miao’s mother was curious why she wanted to head out to read, “Why don’t you read the books at home? It’s cold outside.”

“I can’t concentrate at home, I’d want to fall asleep again. Everyone will be reading in the library, so it’ll be a lot better.”

Lin Miao’s mother thought for a moment, “Okay then, just wear some extra layers.”

Lin Miao wasn’t fastidious when it came to dressing up. Her only preference and judgement so far was that dresses and skirts looked pretty.

Everything else was the same to her.

Lin Miao’s mother was much more considerate. She searched through Lin Miao’s closet to assemble a warm outfit for her. She first picked out a winter shirt, then a pretty lining, a thin coat to go over the two, and finally a winter coat on top. She also came out with a skirt and black leggings.

Lin Miao couldn’t understand why she had to wear two layers of jackets.

“It’ll be freezing outside, especially with all the wind. However, there will probably be air conditioning inside the library, so it’ll feel just right if you take off this outer layer when you get to the library.” Lin Miao’s mother explained.

She proceeded to sort out Lin Miao’s short hair. She still grieved a bit over her daughter never being able to wear her hair long.

But she couldn’t take her eyes away from her, and how she had grown up.

Lin Miao’s mother put a hat on Lin Miao, “When you get a bit older, mom will teach you how to dress yourself and wear makeup.”

Lin Miao: ”…”

“Everyone else says that appearance is not important but rather your personality, but no one would care about your personality if you don’t have a good appearance…” Lin Miao’s mother patted her daughter's head. Luckily, her daughter was born pretty.

The only worrying part was that she was still a bit too naive.

Lin Miao’s face reddened. Looking into the mirror, did… she count as pretty?

But what she was sure of was that the Young Master was especially handsome. There were so many people who liked him despite not knowing him in person.

Lin Miao felt as if she was a penguin when she stepped out her door. However, it was super cozy.

She usually didn’t wear so much during the winter. It wasn’t due to her trying to appear fashionable, but rather because she liked to exercise, which kept her body warm.

Today was an exception, a special day, so keeping warm was the top priority.

Yu Jingxuan didn’t notice this when he saw Lin Miao. He just thought that her face was a bit more pale. It had been many months since they last met.

Lin Miao looked a lot different. She was a lot taller, and her face was more lean, likely due to her athletic career. It only made her facial features more delicate. The only consistency was her eyes, which were just as pure and bright as before.

The Young Master almost greedily took in everything in front of him with his eyes, as he didn’t know when they would meet up again.

The love of the mature teenager only grew stronger as they lived apart and interacted with different social circles.

He naturally took her backpack and carried it over his own shoulders.

When he was little, he wished for her to not move into her sports school. They could have grown side by side instead. He would pick her up after every school day, carry her backpack for her, accompany her home, and in the morning to her school.

He would’ve been able to watch his Lin Miao grow up first handedly.

It was an idyllic dream, and he later understood that it was impossible.

Lin Miao remembered what her mother had said to her, and uncontrollably glanced at the Young Master again. He was still so pretty.

She liked to use the word ‘pretty’ on him, because it lifted her mood whenever she thought about it.

She would think about his appearance when she was exhausted from practice, uncomfortable, sore in the back and waist, and her knees were throbbing with pain.

Lin Miao finally realized that her older brother held an important place in her life.

But she also felt like she couldn’t hold Yu Jingxuan’s hands like before.

Her mother had been reminding her to not be so intimate with boys for a long time now.

Lin Miao was a very obedient child, but she hadn’t been able to resist herself on several of these occasional meetups. She would then make some excuse saying that her past self had possessed her.

Now, she felt too shy to hold his hands.

They walked side by side up to the Young Master’s car.

She began to feel sleepy as soon as the car started moving. In the middle of her conversation with her older brother, she unintentionally fell asleep leaning on him.

Yu Jingxuan adjusted his position to make her nap more comfortable.

His sight pivoted to the buildings flying past them. It took him a while to turn back.

Lin Miao woke up right as they arrived at the library.

Being the winter holidays right now, the library was busier than usual. They searched and found some empty seats near the windows. Their surroundings were quiet.

They sat on the same side of the table, like how deskmates would share a desk in school.

Lin Miao took out a set of high school textbooks and began studying. These were still very important to her as she was planning to participate in the nationwide college-level education entrance exams next year.

Yu Jingxuan sat beside her and began reading his own book.

It was Lin Miao’s first time in a place like this. One could tell that she was new and inexperienced. For example, she forgot to bring a water bottle.

She felt a bit thirsty from reading textbooks. She wanted to go out and buy a bottle, but before she could even open her mouth to tell the Young Master, he passed her an insulated water bottle as if he could read her mind.

“It’s a bit hot.” He scooched over to her and whispered. It was barely audible, but still made Lin Miao feel as if her ears had been scalded.

Everyone was reading around them, so Yu Jingxuan pressed his voice low to avoid disturbing the others.

Her body was a bit numb, and taking a hold on the water bottle, she felt that the water was indeed a bit hot, so she lightly blew a few times before carefully sipping some water from the bottle.

She felt much better and passed the bottle back to him.

Then, she saw the Young Master take hold of the bottle and also drink from it.

He drank from it, his lips against the brim of the bottle.

Lin Miao felt her brain turn into mush, her face exploding into a blush. He… where he drank from… was the exact same place where she did moments ago…

Most of the people around them were too focused on their books to notice, but there were two girls who kept staring at them, or rather, at Yu Jingxuan.

Now, not only did her face feel hot, she felt like her entire body was on fire. Avoiding the embarrassment, she quickly lowered her head and continued reading.

Luckily, she threw this moment to the back of her head as she immersed herself in the textbooks.

Lin Miao wasn’t someone who could read for long periods of time. She needed to take a break after an hour of reading.

Meanwhile, her older brother beside her took out a sheet of paper. He turned to her with a big smile on his face, waving the paper over the table.

It felt like their childhood tacity had returned. Lin Miao already knew what he was thinking of without any words.

Their sources of entertainment were super limited in their childhoods. They weren’t allowed to do many things, and tic tac toe became one of their greatest joys.

It has been ages since they’ve played.

Lin Miao took out a pencil and started drawing the grid.

Afterwards, they played a round of rock paper scissors to decide who drew first.

They were able to tell each other’s thoughts just through eye contact, like when they were both kids.

Lin Miao won with paper while the Young Master made a rock with his hand.

Lin Miao first drew a circle with the pencil, and handed the pencil to the Young Master.

Sharing pencils, like how they used to when they were little.

Yu Jingxuan began drawing his cross.

They took turns drawing, looking all so concentrated on the little grid.

Without the Young Master to play with, Lin Miao didn’t have any opportunities to touch the game again.

However, neither of them seemed rusty at the game. Back and forth, their moves were quite quick.

The wintry sun shone through the window, warming them up like a radiator.

Turning around as she passed the pencil back to the Young Master, she could see him in front of the sun, the brilliant rays of the sun pouring into the room. It was so bright, so incredibly bright, like the Young Master himself. He was the brightest shining star wherever he went.

She could tell him apart from others from miles away.

There was this sudden moment when she felt an urge to cry.

It was inexplicable to her.

Maybe it’s because I’m just feeling sick today. She thought.

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