After Falling for the Handsome CEO - Chapter 23

Chapter 23: He Was Nobody to Yan Yu

Scalding tears fell from his eyes, blurring into the breakfast he was eating. He froze for a moment, blinking through the moisture.

“I… I…” In a daze, Shen Jin reached up to touch his eyes. He felt only wetness on his fingertips, which felt cold against his skin. “Why am I…”

He couldn’t understand why he was crying for no reason. Yan Yu hadn’t really done anything to him; he had simply forgotten a promise… he had simply been busy… busy buying breakfast for someone else.

Yan Yu remembered to buy breakfast for someone else, yet forgot that Shen Jin had spent the morning cooking for him.

Shen Jin felt as though the softest part of his heart had been stepped on ruthlessly. It hurt intensely, yet he could find no valid reason to complain. He could only endure it in silence.

He tried his best not to overthink. He quickly wiped his eyes, not wanting anyone to see him in this pathetic state—and fearing even more that Yan Yu might suddenly return and catch him like this.

But he probably wouldn’t be coming back.

The tears he had just held back began to fall again. He had never been someone who liked to cry, knowing that tears changed nothing and served no purpose.

But when it came to Yan Yu, he didn’t know what to do. He felt as though he had been living in a beautiful, wonderful dream, and now that the dream had ended, he was left with nothing but heartbreak.

“It’s… it’s nothing…” Shen Jin buried his head even lower, shoveling spoonful after spoonful of rice into his mouth. The food that usually tasted sweet now tasted only of bitterness.

Bai Yujin happened to be at the hospital. Seeing someone in the distance with their head buried, eating breakfast alone, he thought he might have mistaken the person. He walked over and said with a smile, “Here to see your sister again?”

Shen Jin jumped in shock. In his haste to wipe his tears, he fumbled, and the food in his hand fell to the floor with a messy splat.

“Why so clumsy?” Bai Yujin let out a surprised sound and walked over quickly, teasing, “You got so scared you dropped your food. You’re too—”

He stopped mid-sentence. He saw Shen Jin look up—his eyes were red, and despite his efforts, a misty layer of tears still clouded his gaze. Shen Jin looked at him helplessly before staring down at the ruined breakfast on the floor.

For a moment, Bai Yujin felt that Shen Jin wasn’t mourning a dropped meal—his gaze was far too tragic for that.

Bai Yujin had never seen him like this. He froze, staring at him, trying to find a clue as to what was wrong. He even began to stutter: “What… what’s the matter?”

Having known each other for a while through Shen Jin’s tutoring at the Bai house, the two had become quite familiar. As friends, Shen Jin genuinely liked Bai Yujin’s cheerful personality.

Now that his embarrassing state had been discovered, his attempt to hide it had only backfired. He could only force a smile that looked more painful than crying, his voice trembling: “It’s your fault… I… my breakfast fell on the floor…”

He wasn’t truly blaming Bai Yujin; he simply couldn’t think of any other excuse to explain away his state.

His mind was filled with images of his sweet moments with Yan Yu, followed immediately by the sight of Yan Yu walking away with that handsome youth. His heart ached pulse by pulse, and he found himself unable to stop thinking about him.

Confused, Bai Yujin looked at the food on the floor and then at Shen Jin’s red eyes. “It’s just a dropped breakfast. I’ll buy you another one.”

Shen Jin froze. The color drained further from his face. He blinked back the tears and whispered in a voice as thin as silk, “What…”

That’s right. It’s just a simple breakfast. Yan Yu probably thinks the same way… It wasn’t something he had to eat. I was the only one sentimental enough to think a cheap meal was precious…

“You… you’re right. It’s just… a breakfast…” Shen Jin bit his lip, desperately forcing a smile and swallowing his tears. “It’s nothing. If I don’t eat it, I don’t eat it.”

Bai Yujin didn’t think too much of it; he didn’t believe someone would be this sad over a meal. He said casually, “Yeah. Let’s get a broom and clean this up before the nurses come by to nag us. I’ll help you.”

Because his sudden appearance had caused the accident, Bai Yujin grabbed the nearby broom and dustpan. With a quick sweep, he cleared the mess and tossed the breakfast into a nearby trash can.

Shen Jin watched blankly as the food he had poured his heart into was swept away and discarded like common trash. He couldn’t say a word.

“What is it?” Bai Yujin felt strange being stared at like that. Seeing the glazed look in those red eyes, he instinctively reached out and gently touched Shen Jin’s face, his voice softening. “Why are you crying? Did something happen?”

The touch made Shen Jin flinch. He awkwardly moved his face away and bit his lip, forcing out a few words: “I’m not… I don’t cry…”

He couldn’t cry. He had no right to. He wasn’t anyone to Yan Yu—just a playmate in a casual fling. And in Yan Yu’s heart, from beginning to end, there had only ever been one person.