Although Lu Jiaheng had dominated the social scene for years with many friends, he actually only had a few true close friends.
Among childhood friends, there was Cheng Yi, who went off to America to gild himself.
There was another who was younger than them but equally terrible in personality – they’d spent over a decade mutually despising each other, maintaining a relationship where they rarely contacted each other except during holidays, when they wouldn’t forget to burn paper money for each other. But she was Lu Jiaheng’s only female friend.
A girl analyzing another girl would definitely be more reliable than the chatty Cheng Yi. So, Lu Jiaheng swallowed his pride and dug out that dusty WeChat contact from a pile of “abd” contacts of various unknown young ladies, thought for a moment, and asked her: If I wanted to pursue you now, what would you want?
I want you to drop dead right now. Lin Yujing replied instantly.
“…”
Lu Jiaheng collapsed back into his bean bag chair, tossed his phone onto the table, and let out a cold laugh, thinking his brain must have been squeezed by a door to think of asking this person.
Young Master Lu chose to use Baidu instead.
Some of the forum advice actually seemed quite reasonable, like how pursuing a girl requires patience, you can’t just dive in aggressively as shy ones might get scared away.
Simply put, you need to progress gradually, influence subtly, and cater to her interests.
First, let her get used to you, become accustomed to your presence, develop good feelings and dependence on you.
There were even suggestions like giving her something every day for a certain number of days, then suddenly disappearing one day to see her reaction – that kind of sophisticated operation.
Cater to her interests, influence subtly, progress gradually.
Must have patience.
Lu Jiaheng truly knew very little about Chu Zhi’s preferences. The only thing he knew was that she really liked Cute-do ice cream.
Finally, he received a cup of oolong milk tea with cheese foam.
Lu Jiaheng lowered his hand to accept it, the warm cup heating his palm, dispersing all the negative energy from reading those text messages earlier.
He lowered his eyes, his fingertips rubbing against the paper cup wall, speaking very slowly with obvious implications: “You came back just to bring me this?”
After speaking, Lu Jiaheng couldn’t help secretly lifting the corners of his mouth.
Chu Zhi nodded, then hesitated before looking up to ask: “You don’t have a girlfriend?”
Lu Jiaheng froze: “When did I get a girlfriend?”
“Then— you don’t have a boyfriend either?” Chu Zhi asked with difficulty.
Lu Jiaheng: “…”
Lu Jiaheng’s temple twitched as he took a deep breath, somewhat helplessly: “Little Zhi, I don’t like men.”
Chu Zhi seemed to understand: “I know, you like—”
“Don’t like.” Lu Jiaheng didn’t let her finish, interrupting expressionlessly, “What I said at the train station that day was nonsense, it was fake, I don’t like that.”
Chu Zhi’s eyes widened slightly, and for some reason she seemed to feel relieved, her shoulders dropping, then suddenly feeling a bit guilty, though she didn’t know what she was feeling guilty about.
She secretly glanced at Lu Jiaheng, but he happened to be looking at her too. Chu Zhi didn’t know if he had been looking at her the whole time, but their eyes met, and her sneaking glance was caught immediately.
Chu Zhi froze, now unsure whether to look away or keep staring. The weather was already cold, her nose tip was red from the cold, and now her ears were red too, though her cheeks remained fair and tender, like a little snowman.
Lu Jiaheng watched her flustered appearance, slightly raising his eyebrows: “Why aren’t you continuing to ask?”
Chu Zhi lowered her head, her voice very soft: “Ask what…”
Lu Jiaheng lowered his gaze as that little head gradually buried down, and he also slightly bent forward to get closer: “Ask if I have someone I like?”
Chu Zhi didn’t speak.
Lu Jiaheng licked his lips and curved them into a somewhat mischievous smile, though his voice became increasingly soft and gentle: “Ask who that person is?”
Chu Zhi slowly raised her head: “You do.”
Lu Jiaheng paused: “Hmm?”
Chu Zhi continued slowly: “You like everyone.”
Her voice was very low, and she was looking down, so Lu Jiaheng didn’t hear clearly.
In late November the weather was a bit cold. After standing outside for a while, Chu Zhi’s hands were already getting stiff, and she tucked her fingers into her sleeves, fingertips hiding in the cuffs.
Suddenly a hand appeared before her, holding a milk tea cup.
Lu Jiaheng was giving the oolong milk tea with cheese foam back to her.
Chu Zhi looked up.
He straightened up: “Too lazy to hold it, you give it back to me later.”
Chu Zhi made an “oh” sound and took it.
The drink was still warm, and Chu Zhi’s hands began to warm up as she held it.
So the previous topic was interrupted, and the two walked together toward the library.
The young girl seemed to have fallen into her own little world again, obviously not quite present as she just followed him forward, until they reached the library entrance where she was about to walk straight in with a dazed look.
Lu Jiaheng raised his hand and grabbed the rabbit ears on her fluffy coat hood, pulling her back.
Chu Zhi was pulled back like a little chick being picked up, came back to her senses, raised her head with a bewildered look.
Lu Jiaheng reached his hand out to her: “Give it back.”
Chu Zhi remained confused: “Ah?”
His hand was fair and beautiful, fingers long, palm open and shaking slightly in front of her, persistently repeating like a child asking for candy: “Oolong milk tea, give it back.”
Chu Zhi: “…”
As soon as Chu Zhi entered the study room, she saw Gu Han waving frantically at her.
Friday afternoon had fewer people than usual, most of those without afternoon classes had already gone home. Lin Tong and the others were sitting at a long table in the corner, with the window seat empty.
Chu Zhi adjusted the coat hood that Lu Jiaheng had just pulled crooked, walked over and sat down.
As she was pulling out her books, Gu Han’s head leaned over.
She looked at Chu Zhi with sparkling eyes, as if she had heard some amazing gossip, extremely excited.
The last time Chu Zhi saw this expression was when she was holding tarot cards wanting to measure her compatibility index with Xiao Yi.
Sure enough, Gu Han cleared her throat, with a mysterious expression: “My Zhi, I sense anomalies in your star chart, related to romance. I’m afraid there’s been some movement in your love house.”
Chu Zhi was shocked.
Gu Han continued: “Quick, tell me the first name that appears in your mind right now.”
Chu Zhi swallowed: “Daniel Wu1.”
Gu Han ignored this: “Yes, that’s right, a pink cup suddenly appeared in your romance house!”
Chu Zhi: “…”
Gu Han pressed on, rolling her eyes while shaking her leg: “My Zhi, this pink cup has deep feelings for you.”
Chu Zhi took off her coat and hung it on the chair, appearing unconcerned.
Chu Zhi’s first impression of Lu Jiaheng was actually slightly negative.
At that time at the campus gate, the young man was leaning lazily by the road, and when that girl came to ask for his number, he barely even looked at her.
He gave his number after just a fleeting glance.
Chu Zhi felt that when a girl takes the initiative to ask for a number from a boy she likes, it’s something that requires a lot of courage, so whether the boy gives his number or refuses, he should show the other person basic respect, not be so casual as if the person doesn’t matter at all.
During military training when Chu Zhi was being punished to stand, Lu Jiaheng would often wander around the field, and Chu Zhi had inadvertently seen several times girls going to ask for his WeChat.
Anyway, if they were pretty, he gave it to all of them.
Later after more interaction and familiarity, Chu Zhi felt this person was actually quite nice.
Except for his habitually flirtatious attitude toward girls, bit of a playboy.
Gu Han was still rolling her eyes and shaking her leg, lowering her voice mysteriously: “My Zhi, I can feel it! The pink cup’s vibrations are extremely strong now.”
Chu Zhi tilted her head, leaned in closer, and calmly said: “Han Han, you’re cross-eyed.”
Gu Han: “…”
The bar’s lighting was dim and ambiguous, with people sitting in twos and threes in the soft semicircular booths.
Lu Jiaheng took up an edge seat, sprawled lazily in the sofa, long legs propped up on the coffee table in front, holding a paper cup of milk tea.
The music and noise rumbled around him, but wearing headphones, he seemed unaffected, staring blankly at some spot.
A man and woman sitting beside him were fighting over a cup, feeding each other playfully. In the commotion, the man was pushed and lost his balance, falling toward Lu Jiaheng.
Lu Jiaheng was lost in thought when the man suddenly crashed into him with considerable force. He lost his balance, his whole body tilting to the side, one foot hitting the ground, the half-cup of oolong milk tea slipping from his hand.
The paper milk tea cup fell on the dark floor with a slight sound, almost inaudible in the boiling background noise.
Yet everyone in the booth seemed to have been hit with a mute button at the same time, all looking over.
Lu Jiaheng lowered his eyes, looking at the puddle of liquid that had completely spilled and spread to his feet, took off his headphones and closed his eyes for a moment, then turned his head toward the direction of the crash.
His black eyes were deep, showing no emotion, the corners of his lips slightly downturned, the air pressure a bit low.
Cheng Yi’s motion of holding his wine glass paused as he grimaced and shrunk his shoulders.
Seeing the atmosphere wasn’t quite right, someone finally couldn’t help coming over to ask: “What’s Aheng doing tonight, bringing milk tea and holding it preciously all evening?”
Cheng Yi found it a bit difficult to explain, put down his glass and raised his hand to point at the remains of the milk tea cup on the ground: “That— it was from his ancestor.”
That person was stunned: “Who?”
“His darling, I’m guessing, but it’s pretty much right.”
The man who had bumped into him was a bit high from drinking and hadn’t thought much of it at first, but seeing the other’s expression, his face changed and he quickly apologized.
Lu Jiaheng looked at him without speaking.
Seeing this, Cheng Yi quickly raised a bottle of wine and shouted: “Heng! May you have a noble son soon!!!!”
“…”
His shout was extremely loud, highly recognizable, and being so close, it pierced through the noisy music making Lu Jiaheng’s eardrums throb.
Lu Jiaheng turned his head, gave him a look like he was looking at an idiot, lowered his other leg from the coffee table, slowly put his headphones in his pocket, grabbed his coat and got up to leave.
Leaving the bar, as soon as the glass door closed, the chaos inside was completely shut out. The cold air outside was crisp, the city center’s night as bright as day with flowing traffic on the streets.
Lu Jiaheng put on his coat while walking along the road, taking out his phone to dial a number.
After several rings, the other side picked up.
Chu Zhi’s voice was still unhurried, soft and seemingly without temper: “Hello.”
Lu Jiaheng paused.
The other side was also quiet, after a while, she called him: “Senior?”
Lu Jiaheng stood at the street corner, stopped walking, looked at the huge LED screen advertisement on the opposite mall, cultivated his emotions for a moment before slowly speaking.
His tone was light, but somehow seemed unhappy,
“Little Zhi, my milk tea is gone.”
Chu Zhi was stunned: “Ah?”
He lowered his voice, sounding muffled and somehow appearing a bit aggrieved, a bit obedient,
“My oolong milk tea with cheese foam, someone just bumped it and made me drop it.”
[Author’s Note: I! Love! Making! My male leads! Act! Spoiled! Ah!!!!!!!!
What goes around comes around, young master, hurry up and hand over all those pretty girls’ WeChat numbers from your contacts, otherwise Zhi won’t believe you.]
- Daniel Wu Neh-Tsu, a Hong Kong actor in his 50s (lol). ↩︎
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