Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu-Chapter 1208: Walk together

Chapter 1208: Walk together
"Come back!"
Lin was about to walk away when he heard her crisp, crystal clear instruction. Her gaze didn’t look too friendly as she pointed at him to sit back. He did so dutifully and watched her.
Then there was silence. She surely didn’t want him to leave but also didn’t know what to say further. She could feel her voice jam in her throat as if there was some obstruction.
"S-So..." she opened and closed her eyes, trying to form a string of coherent thoughts after the bomb he dropped. "Are you...confessing to me?"
Which immediately made her feel dumb. He was asking her to have a crush on him. Obviously, he wasn’t asking as a friend.
"I am confessing the part where I see you differently. And I want you to see me differently too. We know some things about each other and some don’t. So I want to start with knowing your checklist."
She choked, heart hammering in her chest. "I-I don’t have any checklist. I didn’t have one for a long time."
"Because of Sir Jin?"
For as long as Shui knew, she loved Jun but when that love walked away by himself, she didn’t feel the need to think about another guy or look for a new crush.
"...Thanks for being so blunt about it," she grimaced.
Lin paused. "I am sorry if I hurt you. I just thought I want us to be able to talk openly about these things, whether it’s about Sir Jin or Ya- Alix."
Shui contemplated it and gave a slow nod. It was true that it would be an uncomfortable conversation but it wasn’t like Jin was going anywhere, nor was Alix. She had already learned to see them together. Being able to talk about them was taking a small step ahead.
"If you don’t have a checklist, then you can make a hypothetical checklist," Lin, the practical guy, as always, tried to offer a solution.
"I don’t think it works that way..."
"It can," he blinked. "You can start with me."
She felt she stumbled even as she was seated.
"What kind of checkboxes do I fill in for you?"
A tinge of heat flushed across her cheeks and she didn’t know how to answer his question.
"Are they enough for you to consider having a crush on me?"
"O-Okay, that’s enough...!" She raised her palm, dizzy. She appreciated his straightforwardness, but it was too much for her heart to take on.
She clasped her hands together as she tried to think. It was true that they had been spending more time with each other. It was also true that she was enjoying his company. It was fun to be around him, and it was refreshing to come across an utterly blunt but serious side of a man who was honest and sincere in every aspect of his personality. She was also aware of the different kinds of emotions tugging at her chest as she grew more and more conscious of his presence.
Visiting his cafe had become a part of her daily routine now. She liked seeing him in his barista clothes going about his business, serving his customers. She liked that he would offer her to try his new recipes. She secretly giggled when he gave her special treats and discounts.
She also liked seeing a completely different side of his - the one she witnessed at the underground ring. Not the man who ran a cafe but a man who boxed the hell out of his opponents. A dangerous side hidden beneath his calm demeanor.
She liked the paintbrush gift he had given her. It was an extremely thoughtful and sincere present which made her realize that she always had his full attention whenever she was around him. She liked the fact that he had framed her silly sketches on his walls. She also liked that when they stood too close, she would smell a pleasant fragrance from him. He had a good taste when it came to colognes.
Which actually made her realize.
Inadvertently, Shui had also been
seeing
him this entire time. It was slow and unnoticeable at first, but now that Lin had brought it so openly, she, too, couldn’t ignore the fact that she had been thinking about him lately.
"I...don’t know," she breathed out. "When we were outside the hospital that day, you said to me..to walk slowly, to not rush."
He nodded. "I remember."
"So will I be rushing now?"
"That depends on the answer for the question you ask yourself.
She blinked.
"Have you been thinking about Sir Jin?"
She stiffened.
"Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not accusing you of anything, or that you still harbor any feelings for him. But do you lament the present? Do you resent the situation as much as you would have resented around a year ago?"
Shui remained silent.
"I asked that question to myself," Lin took the electric light, fiddling with it. "I realized that Alix is an important person in my life. As a childhood friend, she always will be. It was hard to see her with Sir Jin at first. But then I hadn’t been thinking about her lately. Not in the way I used to because I was starting to see Miss. Han. I liked seeing you. I liked meeting you. When you were working on your painting, I dropped that impromptu visit in your office that day because I missed you. It had felt quite odd not seeing you at your usual table."
Her eyes slowly widened.
"It then dawned on me today. Alix is there in my life, someone who walks parallel to the flow of my path, but who doesn’t necessarily affect my day-to-day life anymore. She is there as Sir Jin’s wife, but that fact has slowly stopped hurting. So if that pain has stopped hurting me, then am I actually moving on? I think the answer is yes. So if I am walking to embrace the present - slowly, steadily, then I think I am ready to accept these new feelings greeting me in my path too."
He then said, "I am not asking for a relationship. I am asking if you can have a crush on me like I have on you. We start it from there. We walk together, slowly as always, and see where it takes us. That’s all."