The Return Of The God Level Assassin

Chapter 1318: OF COURSE WE SHOULD

TIME moved forward like it always did. Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into a month. For Luo Yan, the sharp pain that had been there at the beginning faded. It wasn't really gone, but it wasn't as heavy anymore. It settled into a quiet ache in his heart that came and went. Some days he barely noticed it. Other days it felt like his chest was being squeezed tight. But the feeling was easier to carry now. It didn't knock the breath out of him the way it did at first.

Amidst all of this, Luo Jin's eighteenth birthday came and went. There was no big celebration. It would have felt wrong, with their grandfather's forty-nine days still not yet passed. So Luo Jin just had a quiet dinner at a restaurant with their father and Luo Ren.

Luo Yan actually wanted to go as well, but he had class and couldn't just take a leave. So instead, he gave Luo Jin a special gift. He reserved the small pavilion in the middle of the lake at Yuexing Pavillion for him and Su Yuqi. A private dinner would be set up there, just for the two of them, with all of Luo Jin's favorite dishes. NPCs playing the guqin would be in the background while they ate. And when the meal was done, fireworks would light up the sky over the water.

It would be a whole evening designed for him and her to spend together, with no one else getting in the way. So, of course, Luo Jin took it gratefully.

Luo Yan didn't want to pry, so he never asked how that evening went. He just hoped they had a good time.

Another month passed since then and it's now already December.

Luo Yan sat in the FIT Building's fourth-floor lab, eyes fixed on the code on his screen. The air was dry and smelled of stale coffee. Around him, other freshmen were hunched over their own computers, faces lit by the glow of their monitors. Finals were coming up, and everyone was trying to get their projects finished.

He had been working on a program for his programming class. It was a simple management system, nothing too complicated. He had done this before, in his past life, so he wasn't really worried. He just needed to get through it so he could have a worry-free winter break.

This school year, winter break would start in mid-January. That meant he would still be in B City for his birthday, which was only four days away. His aunt wanted to throw a big celebration. Probably to show everyone that the Bai family was doing fine after his grandfather passed away. His uncle agreed. His father didn't have a strong opinion either way, but he made it clear he would cover all the expenses.

As for Luo Yan, he would have preferred a private celebration, but a party was fine. He let his aunt plan everything because he could tell she needed the distraction. Besides, the party would also double as a late celebration for Luo Jin's birthday. So it would be a joint event that would be held this coming Saturday at some expensive hotel. That's probably why he had a feeling the scale of it was going to be bigger than he expected.

He finished what he could for the day and saved his work. Then he stood up, stretched the stiffness out of his shoulders, and made small talk with his classmates as they all filed out of the lab. The hallway was crowded with students heading out into the chilly night.

He pulled out his phone to call Shen Ji Yun when an arm came around his shoulders from behind. He tensed for a split second before the familiar scent of Shen Ji Yun surround him. And his body immediately relaxed.

Luo Yan tapped his chest lightly. "You scared me, Brother Ji Yun."

"Sorry," Shen Ji Yun said, his smile a little sheepish.

"Have you been waiting long?" Luo Yan asked.

Shen Ji Yun shook his head. "I just finished too. Figured I'd come find you instead."

"How's your thesis preparation going?" Luo Yan said, tilting his head up at him.

Luo Yan knew that since Shen Ji Yun was a graduating student, this semester was all about preparing his thesis. Most of the graduating students he saw on campus spent their days buried in books or glued to their laptops, working through drafts and meeting with their advisors. Shen Ji Yun was no different. His defense wouldn't happen until next semester, but that didn't make the work any lighter. He still had to finish his research, write everything up, and make sure his advisor was satisfied with the results. It was a lot, Luo Yan should know since he had done it before. But Shen Ji Yun handled it quietly, like he handled most things.

"It's going fine," Shen Ji Yun answered.

"If you need help, you know you can ask me, right?" Luo Yan said, looking up at Shen Ji Yun with sincerity.

Shen Ji Yun smiled at the offer. He wasn't about to ask his first-year undergraduate boyfriend for help with his graduate thesis. But he didn't say that. He just nodded, knowing that if he argued, Luo Yan would only insist more.

"I will," he said.

Luo Yan stared at him for a moment, then pouted. "Hmp. You say that now, but I know you won't."

Shen Ji Yun chuckled. Luo Yan was adorable when he pouted like that. He had to resist the urge to lean down and kiss him right there.

"How's the party planning going?" Shen Ji Yun asked, steering the conversation elsewhere.

Luo Yan let it go and answered. "Honestly? I have no clue. I left everything to Aunt Xiulan."

It would probably be a big party, then. Knowing how the Bai family handled events in the past, especially the company parties they threw.

"Can we celebrate your birthday together, just the two of us, on Friday?" Shen Ji Yun asked in a hopeful tone.

Luo Yan grinned up at him. "I was wondering when you'd ask. Of course we should."