There were two apples left. Chu Zhi stopped selling and folded the price list back into her down jacket pocket. While she was organizing her things, Lu Jiaheng took a phone call. Chu Zhi was lost in thought and didn’t pay attention to what he was saying on the other end. She held a stack of money in one hand and two apples in her arms, head lowered, thinking about something. She wanted to wait until he finished his call to thank him and return the money. She also hadn’t wished him a merry Christmas Eve yet.
Chu Zhi slowly took out her phone and checked the time – 8:30 PM. Lu Jiaheng had just hung up the phone and walked over. Chu Zhi was like a little turtle, her small face buried in her scarf with only her eyes showing, and even those were downcast, hiding her emotions.
Lu Jiaheng put his phone back in his pocket and raised his hand to pull her scarf up higher. “Are you cold?” His movements were careful, slowly pulling at the edges of the drooping scarf to cover her reddened nose.
Something seemed to amuse him. Lu Jiaheng suddenly let out a low laugh without warning and continued pulling the scarf up until it covered her eyes too.
Chu Zhi made a muffled sound and lifted her head, her face completely wrapped in the scarf. With her hands full of items and two apples in her arms, she couldn’t free them, so she just shook her head trying to get the scarf and his hands to move down.
His light gray wool scarf, which Chu Zhi had used as a cushion all evening, was probably unwearable now, and she still held it in her hand.
After shaking her head for a while, Chu Zhi realized this person seemed to have found it entertaining and was getting more into it, holding onto the scarf and playing along, firmly blocking her eyes.
With the scarf blocking the light, everything was dark. Chu Zhi stayed still for a moment, then frowned: “Lu Jiaheng, aren’t you being childish?”
Lu Jiaheng made an “oh” sound, paused for a few seconds, then slowly pulled her scarf down.
He wore a black down jacket, crisp material, unbuttoned and hanging carelessly open, revealing a light-colored sweater underneath.
Chu Zhi had always thought men looked better in sweaters than in shirts. She felt it was even harder for men to look good in sweaters than in shirts. And this feeling usually peaked when she saw Lu Jiaheng.
He really looked good in sweaters.
Without his scarf, Chu Zhi looked up at his long neck, where there was a slightly protruding Adam’s apple, then up to his pointed chin, his beautifully angular jaw, and his slightly curved thin lips.
Chu Zhi suddenly turned away, quickly lowering her head, not knowing why she suddenly couldn’t look up anymore.
She gathered the stack of money and handed it to him, along with an apple.
“Here’s this first,” she said softly.
Lu Jiaheng didn’t take it.
Chu Zhi thought for a moment and understood.
The apples he bought for thirty yuan each, she had sold for five yuan. He had lost quite a bit of money.
Thinking Lu Jiaheng must be unhappy and probably wouldn’t accept it, Chu Zhi put the other apple in her cloth bag hanging on her arm. She freed up one hand and, without even bending down, grabbed his wrist and pulled it over.
Lu Jiaheng let her pull him, his hand obediently extending, palm up.
Chu Zhi placed the crumpled stack of money in his palm, with the snake apple on top. The purplish-red snake apple, being one of the last ones left, wasn’t particularly attractive in shape, slightly crooked, barely managing to stay balanced in his palm.
The young girl had taken off her gloves, and her delicate white hand held his wrist. Having been outside for too long, her fingers were cool, yet seemed to burn like fire against his skin.
After giving him the apple and money, she patiently coaxed him like a child, her voice soft and gentle like chocolate syrup: “Come on, don’t be upset, I’ll pay you back the rest of the money too—”
Before she could finish the word, the person in front of her suddenly reached out his other empty arm, his long fingers holding the back of her head, applying gentle pressure, pulling her forward.
Chu Zhi stumbled forward unexpectedly, her forehead bumping directly into his chest.
His sweater material was soft, carrying his body warmth, mixed with clean laundry detergent smell, and a hint of his familiar scent. That scent was highly distinctive, unique and cool, both fitting and not fitting his entire demeanor.
Chu Zhi’s eyes widened slightly, and she remained motionless.
He had been too well-behaved recently.
So well-behaved that Chu Zhi had almost forgotten his aggressive side.
She didn’t struggle, quietly resting against his chest, feeling his chest rise and fall slightly with his breathing, feeling the gentle pressure from his hand on the back of her head. She blinked and softly asked, “What are you doing?”
Chu Zhi had asked him this question many times before.
Angry, embarrassed, confused, puzzled.
But Chu Zhi felt this time was somehow different.
Lu Jiaheng’s grip tightened slightly.
His voice hung above her head, slightly hoarse, a bit cautiously tense: “I’m sorry, just let me hug you for a moment, don’t move, just one minute.”
Chu Zhi pressed her lips together.
She moved her head slightly, turning it a little bit, and finally the darkness before her eyes was broken by some light from the street lamp seeping through the gaps.
Chu Zhi’s free hand lifted slightly, hovering behind his back. She bit her lip, but ultimately let it fall.
Only her fingertips lightly brushed against the material of his down jacket, like feathers, so light it was imperceptible.
She sighed a bit defeatedly, lowering her head, and mumbled, “This counts as harassment too.”
“I’m sorry.”
Chu Zhi became more depressed: “Is ‘I’m sorry’ all you can say today?”
Lu Jiaheng let out a long breath: “I’m afraid of scaring you, afraid you’ll run away, I’m trying my hardest to control myself,” his voice was low, his speech slow, somewhat helpless, “so stop touching me all the time, you’re making it harder.”
Only then did Chu Zhi remember that she was still holding his other wrist.
A stack of change and a snake apple separated them, their only distance.
Chu Zhi blushed, pulling back her hand like lightning, her heart pounding louder and louder.
Her face was red as blood, thankful that her head was pressed against his chest. She moved slightly and whispered in a tiny voice: “Who would run away…”
Just as she spoke, Lu Jiaheng’s hand loosened, and he stepped back two steps, releasing her.
Chu Zhi panicked, Chu Zhi was flustered, Chu Zhi thought he had heard, but she wasn’t mentally prepared yet.
She suddenly lifted her head, her big eyes darting around, looking at him nervously with a red face.
Lu Jiaheng tilted his head slightly, lowering his eyes.
Chu Zhi swallowed, took a deep breath, and mustered up the courage to look at him firmly.
Lu Jiaheng: “Hmm?”
“…” Chu Zhi sighed in relief.
Yet somehow, she felt a little bit disappointed.
She lowered her head, staring at her shoe tips, mumbling softly: “Nothing…”
Lu Jiaheng’s phone rang for the second time.
He showed no expression, just let the ringtone sound in his pocket, as if he didn’t plan to answer it.
Chu Zhi looked up: “You should answer it.”
The ringtone persisted stubbornly, and Lu Jiaheng’s lips curved slightly downward, showing a bit of impatience, lazily lowering his lashes: “What now?”
On the other end of the phone, Cheng Yi didn’t speak immediately.
After a few seconds, he said: “Your Highness, have you eaten?”
Lu Jiaheng was about to hang up when Cheng Yi quickly added: “You haven’t eaten, right? Is your junior hungry?”
Lu Jiaheng paused, glancing sideways at Chu Zhi, saying nothing.
Cheng Yi seemed to have supernatural vision, completely guessing it, chuckling twice before naming a location: “Bring your junior along for Christmas, you’ll never guess who’s back today.”
Lu Jiaheng showed little interest: “Oh, I can’t guess.”
“Lin Yujing is back.”
“…”
Cheng Yi was a bit puzzled: “Why aren’t you reacting?”
“What reaction should I have?”
“At least give me some reaction,” Cheng Yi suddenly made a lewd ‘oh’ sound, “Did I interrupt something? But that shouldn’t be right, you should still be in the painful pursuit stage, what are you doing with your junior?”
Lu Jiaheng lowered his eyes, looking at the snake apple and stack of change in his hand, carelessly saying: “Setting up a stall.”
“…” Cheng Yi didn’t react immediately: “What?”
“Just had a stall set up, now counting money,” Lu Jiaheng curved his lips, his tone quite pleased, “We earned over a hundred yuan.”
Cheng Yi: “…”
Among Lu Jiaheng’s four childhood friends, only Lin Yujing was a girl, and she was younger than all of them.
Normally, girls would be the ones being taken care of, but not Lin Yujing.
She was the leader.
The little lady of the Lin family, causing trouble everywhere, yet she had an extremely innocent face. So innocent that no matter what trouble she caused, as long as she stood quietly and pitifully to the side, all the parents would naturally assume she was innocent, and all the blame would fall on Lu Jiaheng and Cheng Yi.
Later, Lin Yujing’s parents separated, and she followed her mother to the south, not seeing them for many years.
The location was still chosen at Cheng Yi’s restaurant.
This time it wasn’t seafood, probably considering that Lin Yujing had lived in the south for many years, they switched to a table of local dishes.
When Chu Zhi and Lu Jiaheng arrived, it was almost nine o’clock, and the private room was already bustling with people.
As Chu Zhi followed Lu Jiaheng in, just before entering, the man gently raised his hand and inconspicuously patted her back.
Chu Zhi held an apple in her hands and looked up.
Lu Jiaheng lowered his head and softly said to her: “There might be quite a few people today.”
Chu Zhi didn’t quite understand.
She tilted her head in slight confusion, just about to ask him what he meant, when she heard a light, gentle female voice: “Oh my, Ah Heng.”
Chu Zhi turned to look at the owner of the voice.
The woman had a small face, thin eyelids, almond-shaped eyes slightly upturned, very fair skin, distinctively beautiful.
A soft white shirt with a nice drape, thin high-heeled boots, pencil pants wrapping her slender long legs.
Lin Yujing’s gaze lightly swept over Lu Jiaheng, her head slightly tilted, her pale thin lips curving into a gentle and friendly smile: “Long time no see, did you miss mommy?”
Chu Zhi: “…”
Chu Zhi thought Student Lu’s mother looked really young.
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