Chapter 1269: ASKING FOR ADVICE

"BUT Brother Ren... what are you doing here? I thought you went with Yan Yan to T University?" she asked, her voice wavered as she finally voiced the question that had been bothering her since she saw Luo Ren.

"I did go with him. But after we helped Yan Yan get settled in his dorm, he suggested we didn't need to stay any longer," Luo Ren explained with a helpless expression.

Yu Jiao nodded. She understood why Luo Yan would do that. Knowing how the rest of the Luo family was, they would probably have stayed with him until evening if he had not asked them to leave.

Now that her first question was answered, another one came to mind. In the past, she would have been too shy to ask this. But she had grown very comfortable around Luo Ren. That was probably why she could ask her next question without even stuttering.

"Brother Ren, why did you come here to see me?"

Luo Ren didn't answer right away. He simply looked at her, his dark eyes holding hers under the warm glow of the streetlamp. The sounds of the campus night faded around them. Yu Jiao found herself holding her breath without realizing it. The way he watched her made her heart skip a beat.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing," he said softly. "It's your first day in a new place, and I needed to know you were settling in well. Seeing you standing here, looking so at ease, I can finally breathe easier."

Yu Jiao felt her heart beat faster at his words. A warm feeling spread through her chest, and she had to look down for a moment to collect herself. Whenever Luo Ren said things like this, it felt like his words went straight into her heart instead of just passing through her ears. At first, it would embarrass her. But somehow, over time, she started to look forward to his sweet words. And then, without her even realizing it, the closeness and care Luo Ren showed her made her want to hope for something more. She just was not sure what that "more" could be.

No, maybe she did have some idea what it was. She just was not brave enough to put a name to it. Because what if she was wrong? What if she was just imagining things? It could ruin the relationship they had now. That fear was what stopped her from analyzing Luo Ren's actions and not giving any meaning to it.

But what if, just what if, there was something more to his every action? What would she do then?

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"Jiao Jiao? What about my brother?"

Luo Yan's question pulled Yu Jiao back to the present.

She raised her head and looked at Luo Yan. She remembered what he had said when she told him about where she and Luo Ren went during Valentine's Day. Luo Yan said that Luo Ren was not really interested in the arts, and yet he had gotten tickets for the exhibit of an artist who happened to be Yu Jiao's favorite. And then, there were those forget-me-not flowers.

Luo Yan likely understood his brother's behavior better than anyone, which made sense since they were brothers. That's why she had contacted him the moment she saw he was online. With both of them starting military training next week, it might be awhile before they could talk in the game like this again. And because she truly wanted answers to the questions troubling her, she could not resist reaching out to Luo Yan and asking to meet.

She took a slow, deep breath and carefully thought about how she wanted to say what was on her mind.

"Yan Yan, I hope this doesn't sound like I'm assuming too much, but... do you think Brother Ren might have special feelings for me?"

Luo Yan was caught off guard by her direct question. When Yu Jiao first mentioned his brother, he'd assumed Luo Ren had simply done something to confuse her again. But her bluntness suggested something more significant had happened. What exactly had his brother done to make her ask this so openly?

Knowing Yu Jiao, she must have been really struggling to even consider asking him this. He wondered if Luo Ren had hugged her or something similar. But he quickly dismissed that thought. That did not fit his brother's style at all. Whenever he saw the two of them together, Luo Ren was never touchy-feely with her. His brother had excellent self control in that area. So what could have made her ask this?

Before he could think about it further, Yu Jiao spoke again.

"I don't want to be the type of person who reads too much into someone's actions when they're just being nice. But... Brother Ren, he... the way he treats me, the things he has done for me, I—I don't think it falls under ordinary kindness. At least, that's what my heart tells me. But my brain... it keeps saying I'm just imagining things because it's what I want to believe. What I want to be true. And since I can't seem to figure this out on my own, the only way is to ask someone else. You're the only person I could think of to ask, so... Please, can you help me?"

Now that Yu Jiao had finally said everything that had been on her mind these past few days, she felt a little freer. It was as if a slight weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She looked at Luo Yan and waited for his response.

Under the weight of that innocent gaze, Luo Yan could only manage an awkward laugh. How should he handle this? He could not just come right out and say "yes, my brother is in love with you." No matter how much Luo Ren doted on him, he would definitely be upset if he learned Luo Yan had revealed his feelings for Yu Jiao. His brother would probably prefer to tell her that himself.

So, how should he proceed with this?

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