Chapter 41: He Was Home

It was precisely in this position that Lin JinYan found the two when he arrived at Gu YuChen's apartment that afternoon. Lin JinYan spent the past week in France competing in the Concours International De Piano D'Orleans Junior division, eventually winning first prize. He had taken the earliest flight back to A City as soon as the 3 day contemporary piano competition concluded, eager to see Su Ning. On the car ride back from the airport, Lin JinYan had received a text from Gu YuChen so he had the chauffeur drop him directly at the apartment.

However, the place was completely quiet and Gu YuChen hasn't been responding to his calls. On a whim he had decided to check Su Ning's room but he definitely had not expected to be faced with such an irksome sight. 'This b*stard Gu YuChen has managed to sleep on the same bed as his Su Ning.' "Tch." Lin JinYan clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Deciding he could no longer tolerate such an eyesore, Lin JinYan silently walked towards Su Ning's side of the bed and softly caressed her cheek. The beautiful girl's long thick lashes slowly fluttered open and she looked up at Lin JinYan with hazy unfocused eyes. This sight filled Lin JinYan with tenderness and he felt his fatigue dissipate in her presence. Upon recognizing his face, Su Ning gave Lin JinYan a soft smile. "JinYan-ge, you are back." Su Ning mumbled in her groggy state.

"En, time to get up. It's not good to sleep too much in the afternoon." Lin JinYan said with a kind voice. Feeling sleepy still, Su Ning only responded with a pout and attempted to turn her head. So, Lin JinYan decided to lift Su Ning off the bed in bridal carry. By the time Su Ning jolted awake, Lin JinYan already had his arms supporting her back and legs in front of his body. Lin JinYan felt good having Su Ning in his arms like this. 'She is so tiny.' he thought.

"JinYan-geeeee, you are so annoying. I was only planning to sleep for a few more minutes." Su Ning said to him, her eyebrows creased in a frown.

"Better to be an annoying gege than for you to have insomnia later at night."

"Qie!" Su Ning couldn't bring herself to say anything else since she does tend to have difficulty sleeping at night whenever she naps for too long.

Author's Note: Qie pronounced chyeh is just a slang for hmph

"Jin Yan-ge, you are surprisingly strong ah." Su Ning utters as she wraps her arms a bit tighter around Lin JinYan's neck for support. The gentle prince has grown up quite a bit and is now 180cm tall at 17 years old. The latter enjoys Su Ning's closeness as he leans in further to catch a whiff of her familiar floral scent.

In fact, the sudden pressure on the bed from Lin JinYan had already awoken Gu YuChen. And for a few minutes he had observed the banter between Su Ning and Lin JinYan with an inscrutable look on his face. From what Gu YuChen can see, Su Ning treated Lin JinYan how she treated him. There was no awareness of anything outside the familial and platonic. It was a subject of both consternation and relief for him. Gu YuChen is dismayed that Su Ning is not able to tell the change in his feelings; at the same time he is relieved she remains so dense regarding this area that she doesn't get the chance to develop feelings for other men.

Yes, Gu YuChen was admittedly very selfish. He is also extremely possessive. Gu YuChen dislikes the fact that Lin JinYan can freely touch and be close to Su Ning however he needs Lin JinYan to protect Su Ning in his stead. That is the case… but there is a limit to the amount of skinship that shameless b*stard should be allowed to engage in. Gu YuChen himself hasn't not even gotten the chance to carry Su Ning bridal style yet this punk dares to do it right in front of him.

"Would you let her down already." Gu YuChen demands in a stern tone.

"Oh? Our little YuChen woke up on the wrong side of the bed?" teases Lin JinYan

Su Ning looked at the two boys exchanged heated gazes with each other and thought silently for a moment. 'Is this… Could this be the Gu-Lin 'boys love' fandom that MiaoMiao has told me about? Initially, I couldn't believe that such a fandom exists in the interschool forums but looking at this sight, I guess I could understand why that fandom has so many shippers. Two extremely handsome guys locked in a heated gaze. I should take a photo and send it to MiaoMiao but I left my phone on the bed.' Su Ning shook her head with a sigh.

"Ahem, JinYan-ge I am awake already. Let me down or your arms will hurt." (Su Ning)

"Silly NingNing, you are so light. How will my arms hurt from just this?" Lin JinYan said as he obediently let Su Ning stand on the floor.

"Did you come straight from the airport? Let me get you something to drink, you must be tired." Su Ning spoke, changing the subject.

"Mm, YuChen said he has important matters to discuss so I came directly." Lin JinYan responded and glanced briefly at Gu YuChen who had also stood up from Su Ning's bed.

"Let's go to the study." Gu YuChen said to Lin JinYan.

"It will only take a bit. We can all grab dinner together." He then addressed Su Ning who was at the kitchen.

"Mm! Alright you guys chat." Su Ning happily agreed.

"Wait, JinYan-ge here's some warm honey water. You've had a long flight." Su Ning then trotted over to Lin JinYan and handed him the drink with a sweet smile.

Lin JinYan took a sip of the warm honey water. He felt the warmth from Su Ning's smile pervade his entire body. He was home.