Exclusive Love: Pampered by the Scheming Tycoon-Chapter 308 - 309: The Bittersweet Crush
Lin Banxia hesitated for a moment, then pulled his hand and said, "Come on, let’s sit inside. It’s cold out here."
Her small hand was cool to the touch, while his large palm was scorching hot like fire. Lin Banxia greedily nestled her entire hand into his palm.
She couldn’t help but think to herself that his body must be warm too.
Realizing her mind was wandering to some irrelevant thoughts, Lin Banxia’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment once again.
Inside the house, the two of them sat down on the sofa.
Yan Ting liked the feeling of holding her in his arms. As he gazed out the window, he suddenly noticed that the leaves of the pear tree in early winter had all fallen. Its towering trunk stood bare, evoking a feeling of melancholy.
"Did you used to climb up that pear tree to play when you were a child?" Yan Ting asked emotionally, pointing out the window.
Lin Banxia tilted her small head, her long hair cascading down onto his lap, finally catching sight of the tree he was pointing at.
"Yeah, how did you know that?" Lin Banxia’s voice carried a hint of surprise.
Yan Ting pinched her rosy cheek. "We met when we were kids, did you know?"
"Met? Impossible. I don’t remember you at all." Lin Banxia looked dumbfounded, searching her memories but finding no trace of him.
Yan Ting chuckled softly, his laughter low and pleasant, his tone brimming with affection. "I saw you sitting up in that tree back then, climbing high, wearing a white dress, your legs swinging back and forth."
Lin Banxia was too shocked to respond. Under the dim light, her eyes sparkled, and her voice faltered, "You... you really saw me? You’ve been to the pear garden?"
"I’ve been there, more than once!" Yan Ting replied in a hushed voice.
"What were you doing here?" Lin Banxia’s curiosity deepened.
She had always lived in the pear garden, only leaving for school. She had never seen him before.
"Silly girl, do you know why I fell in love with you at first sight?" Yan Ting looked at her dazed expression and couldn’t resist leaning in to kiss her slightly parted lips.
"Love at first sight? You fell for me?" Lin Banxia felt her heart flutter at the sound of those four words.
"When you were very young, we met. Your grandfather saved my life, and I came to the pear garden to thank him. That’s when I saw you. You were sitting in the pear tree, engrossed in the book in your hands, so focused you didn’t notice me." Yan Ting didn’t want to keep his youthful infatuation a secret any longer. He wanted to share everything with her.
"No way!" Lin Banxia sat up straight from his lap, her face filled with disbelief. "You liked me even back then? That’s so over the top!"
"You think it’s ridiculous too, don’t you? But it’s the truth. I fell for a girl much younger than me, and that girl was you." Yan Ting, thinking back, couldn’t help but sigh at his own absurdity.
Lin Banxia’s emotions surged—a mix of surprise, excitement, and happiness.
"So you didn’t start liking me at your grandmother’s birthday party? You’ve been secretly in love with me for a long time." Lin Banxia’s lips curled up in a small, smug smile, inexplicably feeling immensely happy.
"Yes, I’ve been secretly watching over you all along. But I never expected that after being away on a business trip for three months, I’d return to find out you were with Huo Qinglin. At that time, it felt like my entire world was crumbling." Yan Ting spoke of those dark days, a lingering resentment in his voice.
He resented her for not waiting for him and instead quickly falling in love with another man.
"I..." Lin Banxia faltered, then whispered, "I didn’t know you’d always liked me. If I had known, I wouldn’t have even considered that scoundrel Huo Qinglin."
