Standing Next To You-Chapter 339: Who is the stalker?

After watching the movie, the two ate at a nearby restaurant. As usual, Bei Sangyun secretly rented the entire place while Fei Chuan paid for their meal. When they finished eating, they returned to the mall and walked around.

During the course of their date, Bei Sangyun brought up meeting Grandma Pei again. At her persistent urging, Fei Chuan finally agreed to consider it and said he would think of the right time for them to meet

They visited every corner of the mall and played around. Whether it was a women’s or men’s boutique, a children’s or maternity store, they visited each one and imitated the teenagers they saw in other stores- trying out things while teasing each other. After visiting various stores, the only thing they bought was a pair of matching bracelets.

Under Bei Sangyun’s hopeful gaze, Fei Chuan put on the cheap bracelet, with red ears.

It was late in the afternoon when the two finally parted ways. Fei Chuan had a dinner meeting with a client, so they couldn’t stay for dinner together.

Fei Chuan watched as Bei Sangyun’s car drove off, standing there until the silhouette of the car disappeared.

He touched the bracelet on his wrist. It was a cheap bracelet that they had bought for 50 yuan. He had thought of buying her an expensive one, but Bei Sangyun had said that even the cheapest things could have greater value than expensive ones because of the memories attached to them.

She said it was a memento of their date.

A light smile appeared in Fei Chuan’s eyes.

Really, Bei Sangyun was truly romantic. It was an unexpected side of her that Fei Chuan found novel and... cute.

While Fei Chuan was savoring the sweet aftertaste of their date, the horn of a car suddenly startled him from behind. The car’s headlights were directed at him.

Fei Chuan stepped back to give them space. But the car remained unmoving.

The car door suddenly opened, and a tall young man with a smile stepped out and greeted him, "Fei Chuan?"

Fei Chuan squinted his eyes amidst the lights. He did not recognize the young man but found him vaguely familiar.

As the man walked forward and his face was fully revealed, Fei Chuan finally remembered where he had seen him.

After arriving in the capital, the first thing he did was look for Bei Sangyun. Upon discovering that the Lin family had adopted her, he investigated the Lin family members. This man’s photo had come up.

Fei Chuan had a good memory, and the name of the person came to his mind.

"Lin Fei."

Lin Fei raised an eyebrow. "I didn’t expect you to know me. Did my dear cousin tell you about me?"

Fei Chuan did not answer and instead asked, "Do you have business with me?"

Lin Fei stared at him for a few seconds and then tsked. "You have no manners, you’re rude and aloof. All you have is your face and a few secrets. Why does she even like you?"

Fei Chuan had read some reports about Lin Fei, and what he knew did not inspire respect. On the contrary, he disliked the man. Remembering those detailed reports, Fei Chuan narrowed his eyes.

"Have you been following Bei Sangyun?"

"I’m worried my cousin is being played by a jerk, so I came here to see for myself," Lin Fei stated, walking forward and meeting Fei Chuan’s eyes. His smile didn’t reach his eyes. "I wonder what kind of person is behind that innocent mask of yours."

Fei Chuan’s expression turned cold. This man was indeed following Bei Sangyun. To think there was such a perverted person around her.

"Do you not think you’re being too abnormal? Sneaking around her like that breaches her privacy," Fei Chuan retorted sharply.

Lin Fei chuckled at Fei Chuan’s response. "You’re not normal either. Do you think no one would find out why you chose to study at Tian Shen High? And what you’ve been doing since you returned to the capital? You’re the one sneaking around her, stalker."

Lin Fei had read in the reports that Fei Chuan had been investigating the Lin family for some time. Most of his inquiries had been about Bei Sangyun’s life in the capital over the past nine years.

Fei Chuan remained silent. It seemed Lin Fei had dug around enough.

But so what? What if he knows?

Fei Chuan shifted his weight to one foot and put his hand in his pocket. He smirked, displaying an arrogant attitude. "And? Are you going to tell her? Feel free. She might like me even more if you did."

Although Fei Chuan spoke confidently, the hand in his pocket trembled, betraying his facade.

Bei Sangyun... wouldn’t think he was stalking her, right?

The Bei Sangyun back then was indifferent and didn’t care about him. If that were still the case, Fei Chuan might be unsure and nervous. But the Bei Sangyun he was currently dating was different. She cared a lot about him and ’like’ him. This was where his bit of confidence came from.

As expected, Lin Fei remained silent. He couldn’t disagree.

But he did not give up.

He gestured toward his car. "How about we talk more about this in a quieter place? I’m just a big brother checking out the boy my little sister is dating. Of course, that’s only if you’re serious about dating her. If not, you can reject my invitation."

Fei Chuan stared at him coldly. Because of how Lin Fei phrased it, Fei Chuan couldn’t reject him.

This Lin Fei was indeed tricky and annoying.

He walked toward him. "Fine. But in return, I want you to stop following Bei Sangyun around like a stalker."

Lin Fei smiled. "That depends."

****

Epilogue:

It had been a month since Fei Chuan returned to the capital.

The head of the Fei family had unexpectedly welcomed him back, telling him he would receive the same benefits as his cousins.

This was laughable to Fei Chuan. After being kicked out of the family, he held no goodwill towards anyone in that household. But there was one thing he looked forward to in coming to the capital: finding her.

So for the whole month, he searched for her.

He was just curious about where she was now and how she was doing.

After their fight, he had fallen ill, and when he woke up, she was gone. She had left the village and never returned.

In the years she was gone, Fei Chuan had done a lot of thinking and had made up his mind.

He realized he had hurt her. Out of all the people in the village, he had contributed the most to her departure. Fei Chuan couldn’t forget the look in her eyes during their last encounter—it was full of hate and loathing.

For nine years, he had never forgotten that look. The guilt he felt over her had taken deep root in his heart. He wanted to see her again and apologize.

He started making money through his hacking skills and was eventually able to locate her—in the capital.

But he couldn’t go look for her immediately. That was the one place he couldn’t set foot in.

Now that he was here, he finally had the chance to find her.

He just wanted to see her once, apologize, and see how she was doing.

So Fei Chuan used all his money to gather more information about Bei Sangyun: the family she was living with, the school she attended, and other details.

The information was quite expensive since it involved the wealthy and influential Lin family.

Through this, Fei Chuan learned about the members of the Lin family and Bei Sangyun’s life there.

As someone who had been picked up from the countryside, Bei Sangyun’s life in the Lin family was not smooth. She wasn’t treated well, and the people in the Lin family despised her.

There was someone who seemed close to her—Lin Fei. But to Fei Chuan, he appeared to be playing her, as if she were a novel toy to ease his boredom.

None of the members of the Lin family treated Bei Sangyun well.

For some reason, this made Fei Chuan angry. The Lin family was no different from the Fei family.

Fei Chuan looked at the school that Bei Sangyun currently attended: Tian Shen High.

He didn’t hesitate and enrolled in the same school. He thought that if they were in the same place, he would have more opportunities to apologize to her.

However...

His expectations were very different from reality.

Not only had Bei Sangyun changed so much, but he couldn’t even approach her and could only glance at her from afar.

More importantly, Bei Sangyun had not forgotten the grudge between them.

She and her followers bullied him at every chance they got. Because Fei Chuan still felt guilty for being the reason Bei Sangyun left the village, he endured the bullying and did not fight back.

However, the bullying became more unbearable, and the guilt he felt over Bei Sangyun gradually faded and turned into hate.

Fei Chuan was prideful and aloof to begin with. He was a person who held grudges and paid back debts tenfold. Since he felt he had already paid what he owed her, his good feelings toward her disappeared and transformed into loathing.

She was just too much.

Thus, as time passed, Fei Chuan gradually forgot why he came to the school in the first place. He just wanted to leave and start anew.

All his feelings toward Bei Sangyun, no matter what they were, converted into dislike and contempt.

Thus, he went abroad and promised to return with his head held high.

When he returned, he would make sure she had no choice but to acknowledge him and regret the bullying she had instigated.