After the rain, the wind stopped in front of the river. - Chapter 16

Lin Yuluo Was Scared to Tears

“I don’t want to have a child with you,” Lin Yuluo said.

“But you’re concerned about my sperm?” Gu Junchuan looked at her. “Come on, Lin Yuluo. You know very well what you’re thinking. Don’t play innocent with me.”

“I don’t care what you think. I just want to avoid risks,” she replied.

As soon as Lin Yuluo finished speaking, Gu Junchuan pressed her down onto the bed. His rugby training had clearly not been for nothing. Lin Yuluo could feel his tense muscles and solid joints pressing painfully against her legs.

Fear gripped her. Her breath caught in her throat, unable to escape. Suddenly, Gu Junchuan thrust his hips forward. Even through their clothes, his vitality was forceful and unmistakable. Lin Yuluo tried to lift her knee to kick him, but he pinned her back down with ease.

“You’re being a hooligan,” she accused.

“I was never a good person to begin with,” Gu Junchuan said, easily subduing both her hands with one of his.

“I’m telling you, Lin Yuluo, don’t play dirty with me.” With his free hand, he placed it around her neck, pretending to strangle her. “I’m not a good man, so don’t provoke me. You know exactly why you made an appointment for that idiot to get tested.”

Lin Yuluo felt the warmth of his hand against her neck. She could even sense the flow of blood beneath her thin, smooth skin.

Gu Junchuan finally saw the tearful look he wanted in Lin Yuluo’s eyes and thought to himself, That scared you to death, didn’t it? His words grew even more frightening:

“If you end up losing everything, you’ll deserve it. I’m a man. I can just pretend to be confused, sleep with you, dump you afterward, and what would I lose?”

“Do you really have no idea what men are like?” Lin Yuluo whispered, her voice trembling.

“You’ve only been in society for a few years, and you think you can play games with me?” Gu Junchuan’s hand tightened slightly. He ground his teeth and said, “I’ll crush you!”

The anger in his heart finally dissipated. He released Lin Yuluo and rolled to the side, suppressing the urge to burst out laughing. He covered his face with his arm, the corners of his mouth nearly splitting from how hard he was holding it back.

Meanwhile, Lin Yuluo’s mind went completely blank. Fear receded slowly, then gathered again, then receded once more. Her tears wouldn’t cooperate, and her nose became stuffed. She sniffled hard, and began to cry.

She had been frightened to tears by Gu Junchuan.

Hearing the noise, Gu Junchuan turned his head and saw Lin Yuluo sniffle and sob. He froze for a moment.

“Why are you crying?” he asked, lightly nudging her with his elbow. “Wipe your tears. Don’t make it seem like I bullied you.”

Lin Yuluo sniffled. “You humiliated me,” she said.

Gu Junchuan sat up, grabbed the collar of Lin Yuluo’s T-shirt, and pulled her up to sit with him. “Don’t play the victim! 

How did I humiliate you? Today, the one who got tricked and forced to, well, you know, is me, not you!”

“You…” Lin Yuluo wiped her tears, her anger rising. With her tearful hand, she slapped the back of his hand hard. “You tried to strangle me!”

The smack caught him off guard; Gu Junchuan hadn’t expected her to hit him. Lin Yuluo suddenly felt a rush of relief. Gathering all her strength, she hit him again. “Just because you have long arms! Big deal! You try to strangle someone else!”

After three hits, Gu Junchuan still hadn’t subdued her. She jumped toward the door, tears still wet on her face, looking utterly pitiful. Yet she continued to accuse him. “You think you’re so great! When others are careless, it’s fine, but with you, everything becomes intentional. Apologizing isn’t enough; you have to take revenge—even grab my neck!”

“Who wants to sleep with you? Just because you don’t fancy anyone, does it mean everyone must fancy you?” he asked, frustrated.

“If I ever had even a single inappropriate thought about you, may heaven strike me with lightning!”

Lin Yuluo put her hand on her own neck, imitating Gu Junchuan. Tears fell again, her voice choked. “You clearly want my life. I didn’t do anything that bad, did I?”

Gu Junchuan was almost driven crazy by her. Just then, a knock came from outside the door. Lin Shuxue called, “Gu Junchuan, come look at the hotel photos!”

Seizing the opportunity, Lin Yuluo opened her mouth to complain, but Gu Junchuan stepped in front of her and covered her mouth, scolding, “Don’t push your luck!”

“Apologize!” Lin Yuluo mumbled under his palm.

“I might as well strangle you!” Gu Junchuan nearly lost it, but quickly said, “Sorry,” and let go of her.

Lin Yuluo saw this as a truce. She wiped her tears and treated the matter as over, but the grudge between them had been set.

Their understanding of each other was clear: neither of them was a good person. Their hearts were full of filth and scheming, and they had to constantly watch out, or sooner or later, someone would gain the upper hand.

Lin Shuxue watched the two of them walk out, looking completely disheveled, clearly having gone through a big battle. She wasn’t curious at all. Lin Yuluo had her own personality; she wouldn’t let anyone bully her, otherwise she wouldn’t have managed to live safely in Beijing until today. 

Gu Junchuan, of course, had his own thoughts, he was unhappy about this marriage and found Lin Yuluo irritating in every little thing. It was completely normal for the two of them to quarrel a bit.

“You two should adjust your moods. Didn’t you say Xiaozhou would arrive at six?” Lin Shuxue asked.

Lin Yuluo hurriedly tugged at her T-shirt, trying to smooth out the wrinkles. Gu Junchuan shot her a disdainful glance, then went back to his room and slammed the door.

Lin Shuxue pursed her lips at Lin Yuluo and tried to comfort her seriously. “Gu Junchuan may have a bad temper, but he’s actually a good person. He’s soft-hearted.”

Lin Yuluo didn’t respond. When Gu Junchuan had grabbed her neck to scare her, he hadn’t seemed soft-hearted at all. Although she knew he hadn’t used much force, his gaze and posture had been terrifying. She didn’t think someone with that expression could truly be soft-hearted.

By the time Lin Yuzhou arrived, everything had returned to normal.

Lin Shuxue was very warm and friendly. At first sight, she exclaimed sincerely about Lin Yuzhou, “What a promising young man. Such upright features!”

Lin Yuzhou felt embarrassed by the compliment. His face flushed slightly, and he wasn’t sure how to respond.

“Even a little praise from an elder makes him blush,” Lin Shuxue laughed, pointing at Gu Junchuan. “Your brother-in-law wouldn’t blush. He has thick skin.”

Gu Junchuan tugged at the corner of his mouth, a minimal response.

Lin Shuxue’s sincerity helped ease Lin Yuzhou’s unease. As she prepared to serve the dishes, she peeled dried fruits for him. 

Seeing Lin Yuzhou sit upright and poised, neither humble nor arrogant, she was impressed. The siblings reminded her of children from a fallen noble family, though their current situation was worrying, their upbringing showed. They were genuinely likable.

Lin Shuxue grew very fond of Lin Yuzhou.

Throughout the meal, she kept watching him, sometimes sighing, “How did Luo Luo manage to raise her brother so well?”

Lin Yuluo didn’t complain. In the past, she had never even lightly mentioned many of her own experiences. She only said, “Xiaozhou works hard on his own; he’s never been a burden to anyone.”

“If it weren’t for my sister, I probably wouldn’t even know what I’m doing now,” Lin Yuzhou admitted.

“Nonsense. You could survive on scholarships too,” Lin Yuluo replied, not letting him exaggerate her role. Apart from working hard, she hadn’t felt any extraordinary mental pressure. Lin Yuzhou was diligent, and every time she saw his report cards, she felt immense pride.

She especially remembered that day at the beauty salon where she worked. A customer had just shown her a newly bought coat when a few people, who looked like teachers, arrived asking for her. Curious, everyone followed along and learned that a university wanted to recruit him.

At that moment, under everyone’s attention, Lin Yuluo said, “I have to listen to my brother. I can’t make the decision myself.”

“Your brother says he will listen to you,” Lin Shuxue interjected.

“Then I’ll discuss it with him,” Lin Yuluo replied.

She felt that her life truly began to brighten after turning eighteen, starting that day. Although she knew there were countless paths in life, not just studying, she hoped Lin Yuzhou would continue learning. For him, education was the shortcut.

These small moments had never been shared with anyone, but Lin Shuxue could easily imagine them, having raised a child herself.

Smiling, Lin Shuxue got up to serve the dishes, speaking with a hint of double meaning: “The hard days are over. From now on, we’re one family, in the same boat—‘Rain and Snow Together’!” (a playful reference to their names, Yuluo and Shuxue). She wasn’t putting on airs or pretending to be naive, she genuinely treated Lin Yuzhou as family. After all, they shared the surname Lin.

The meal was full of warmth and laughter, except for Gu Junchuan, who didn’t like to speak.

Under the table, Lin Shuxue kicked him several times. He dodged, keeping to his rule: speak only when necessary. Gu Junchuan was too lazy to talk. The three people in front of him seemed sincere, but in reality, two were acting. Only Lin Yuzhou was unaware, believing his sister had truly found love. At that table, he was the only genuinely good person.

“I didn’t expect my sister to get married so suddenly,” Lin Yuzhou said, his brows and eyes remarkably similar to Lin Yuluo’s, looking at Gu Junchuan.

“Neither did I,” Gu Junchuan replied, putting down his chopsticks. “But matters of the heart… who can say? I used to think I’d never marry in my life! Who would’ve guessed.” He lengthened his tone, noticing Lin Yuluo holding her breath, and deliberately took a sip of water before finishing, ” who would’ve guessed I’d meet your sister.”

Lin Yuluo let out a small sigh of relief and gave a faint smile.

Gu Junchuan grabbed her hand and pulled it in front of him, clenching it in his fist. He turned his head to glance at her, his gaze so intense it seemed to melt everything around it. To an outsider, it might look like deep affection, but only they knew that feelings could be acted out.

Lin Yuluo’s hand suddenly became sweaty. Both of them felt a strong, uncomfortable tension, yet they endured it. Gu Junchuan even extended his foot to hook her chair closer, reducing the distance between them.

It felt necessary, yet perhaps entirely unnecessary.

Lin Yuluo had never paid attention to perfumes before, but the faint scent on Gu Junchuan reminded her of an autumn meadow, subtle and pleasant, not irritating.

It was such a small gesture, yet Lin Yuzhou, blushing, turned his head to speak to Lin Shuxue, unable to bear looking at them.

Lin Yuluo tried to pull her hand back twice, but Gu Junchuan didn’t let go. Playfully, he even used his fingertips to lightly scratch the inside of her wrist. The tingling sensation spread from her wrist through her entire body.

Lin Yuluo realized Gu Junchuan was teasing her. She adapted for a few seconds before reacting, scratching back. Their fingertips met in his palm, gently hooking and probing, back and forth, neither willing to yield.

They were only testing each other, yet to anyone watching, it would appear as if a newlywed couple’s intimacy was rapidly deepening.

It all seemed as though something was about to happen.