The unexpected visitor clearly knew Chu Zhi, and Yin Mingshuo seemed reluctant to discuss certain topics with Chu Zhi while others were present. His expression darkened as he turned to glare at the man beside him.
Lu Jiaheng paid him no attention, his focus entirely on the adorable creature before him, not even bothering to raise his eyelids.
Yin Mingshuo took a deep breath, adjusted his expression, and turned back to Chu Zhi. “I’ll be going then. Wait for my call in a couple of days, okay?”
Chu Zhi wasn’t paying attention to him either and barely registered what he said, just waving goodbye.
The wave proved unfortunate – with a splat, her barely-licked vanilla ice cream detached from the cone and fell to the ground.
“…”
TAT… Chu Zhi wanted to cry.
“Do you like vanilla flavor?”
“I think cherry flavor is good too.”
“This place also has mango yogurt.”
“Or maybe chocolate?”
In the small store, a girl in military training uniform leaned over the freezer, staring at the different flavors of Cornetto ice cream, completely unable to make a decision.
Behind her, the tall man just stood there silently, watching her indecision.
The girl had removed her military training cap, and her hair was a bit messy from being pressed down all day. Her hair tie was loose, making her small ponytail droop limply, with loose strands escaping around her temples like a little madwoman.
After five minutes of deliberation, the little madwoman turned around dissatisfiedly to ask him: “Which flavor do you want anyway?”
“Any is fine,” Lu Jiaheng’s lips curled into a smile as he casually leaned against the nearby shelf with his hands in his pockets, trying to look cool. Unfortunately, the shelf was too full, and several bags of soft candy fell to the ground.
Lu Jiaheng: “…”
Just as he was about to crouch down, Chu Zhi sighed worriedly and went to help him pick everything up.
The little vegetable crouched in front of him, curling up into a ball as she picked up the candy, becoming a head of cabbage.
After picking everything up, the cabbage stood and carefully put each bag back on the shelf.
He stood sideways as she stood in front of him, not even reaching his shoulder, her little arms stretched up not even as tall as he was.
While putting the candy back, she tilted her head up to look at him: “Then shall I buy you cherry flavor?”
Lu Jiaheng’s thoughts were wandering, and he absently nodded with a mild “mm.”
When Chu Zhi went to pay, the shop owner smiled at her and quietly leaned in to whisper: “Your boyfriend is what they call nowadays… tsundere?”
Chu Zhi was startled and leaned in to whisper back: “Auntie, he’s not my boyfriend, and that’s not what tsundere means.”
The owner had clearly misunderstood and continued smiling: “Then you should try harder, if you like him be more proactive.”
Chu Zhi quickly shook her head: “No, it’s not like that, I don’t have those kinds of feelings for him.”
The auntie clearly didn’t believe her, wearing an expression that seemed to say “young girls are just shy” as she handed over the ice cream.
Chu Zhi took the Cornetto to the entrance and held it up to him.
Lu Jiaheng didn’t take it, just looked down at it.
Chu Zhi’s small hand shook slightly as she urged: “Eat it quickly, it’s going to melt.”
The man lazily said “oh” and took it, his lips curving as he spoke slowly: “Actually, thinking about it now, I’d rather have vanilla flavor.”
Chu Zhi: “…”
After Chu Zhi went back in to buy him a vanilla one, the person standing at the entrance had already opened the cherry one, the pink cone wrapper peeled back a third to reveal the ice cream inside.
Seeing her come out, the man took the vanilla one from her hand and passed her the cherry one: “You dropped yours earlier.”
Mentioning this, Chu Zhi still felt a bit embarrassed and lowered her head: “I really didn’t mean that earlier, mainly because—”
“Because what?”
Chu Zhi hesitated, her voice very low: “You were too scary before…”
Lu Jiaheng couldn’t help laughing while unwrapping the blue Cornetto wrapper.
Had he been too harsh?
He reflected for a second, but didn’t think so.
The two walked unhurriedly along the tennis court fence, each holding a Cornetto. As they passed the multimedia building from earlier, Lu Jiaheng finally spoke: “Was that your boyfriend just now?”
Chu Zhi licked her cherry ice cream: “Ex-boyfriend.”
He licked his lips and looked down with a smile: “Looks like I interrupted his attempt to clear his name.”
Chu Zhi shook her head and bit the cone with a crisp crunch: “I’m not stupid.”
Lu Jiaheng raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
“It’s not what you think, let me explain, you’re still the one I love most—” Chu Zhi said flatly, mumbling slowly, “These eight o’clock soap opera lines are so cheesy.”
Lu Jiaheng was inexplicably in a good mood and nodded in agreement: “They are cheesy.”
“But it’s amazing how long he and his ex-girlfriend could make out,” Chu Zhi crunched on her cone thoughtfully.
The little girl beside him bounced along as she complained, her carefree attitude almost making one feel sorry for her ex-boyfriend.
Afraid she couldn’t keep up, he deliberately walked very slowly, each step like slow motion.
Yet he didn’t show any impatience.
Lu Jiaheng felt his patience was unprecedented, perhaps because the evening temperature was just right.
The ice cream was cool on his tongue, its sweet fragrance seeping into his taste buds, giving the illusion that the air was filled with a faint vanilla scent.
The military training students had long dispersed from the field, with only a few scattered people jogging and chatting. Halfway through their walk, Lu Jiaheng’s phone rang and he answered it.
The voice on the other end was quite loud, even Chu Zhi could vaguely hear it. Sure enough, the man frowned in disgust and held the phone far away, waited a while, then brought it back to his ear and responded perfunctorily: “I heard you.”
Chu Zhi: “…”
Senior, what exactly did you hear?
“Mm, I’ll bring someone later.”
“…”
Huh?
He hung up the phone and looked down. Chu Zhi still had the cone in her mouth, and noticing his gaze, she looked up at him too.
Lu Jiaheng played with his phone in his hand: “Have you eaten?”
Chu Zhi shook her head: “I’ll change clothes in the dorm and then go eat.”
He nodded and spoke naturally: “Want to come with me?” He paused and added, “It’s a friend’s birthday.”
Actually, this question was just a formality.
Lu Jiaheng thought.
After all, she probably wouldn’t refuse.
Chu Zhi made an “ah” sound, looking a bit troubled: “But I already promised my roommates we’d eat together.”
“…”
A little person in his mind suddenly appeared and gave him a slap.
“Mm, alright, you go ahead then.” Young Master Lu nodded expressionlessly.
Chu Zhi still felt a bit awkward: “Then, happy birthday to your friend.”
Young Master Lu, who had just been slapped in the face and hadn’t had time to feel dejected, paused for a second at her words, then suddenly leaned closer.
Their distance suddenly shortened, his peach blossom eyes dark, habitually tilted at the corners as he stared at her with a smile: “How will you wish them?”
Chu Zhi hadn’t expected this question and was a bit slow to react, making a blank “ah” sound.
He wasn’t in a hurry, repeating very slowly, seemingly considerate in giving her time to process and think: “How do you plan to wish my friend happy birthday?”
Then, he watched as she showed a troubled expression.
This was really quite difficult.
Although Chu Zhi felt they had become much more familiar after meeting him today, they still couldn’t be considered “close acquaintances.”
His friend’s birthday seemed even more removed from her.
Chu Zhi puffed up her cheeks, first checking the pockets of her military training jacket, which only contained some change, her phone, and a sunscreen.
She drooped her shoulders, frowning in thought under the man’s playful gaze.
After quite a while, she suddenly pointed at his phone: “Can I borrow your phone for a moment?”
He raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything, just handed her the phone.
The man’s phone didn’t have a password lock, and Chu Zhi took it, sliding it open directly. She slowly searched for a while, then opened the voice memo app.
Lu Jiaheng looked down and watched as she opened the voice memo and her delicate white finger tapped the red recording button, then brought the phone a bit closer.
She started singing.
Lu Jiaheng was completely stunned.
He certainly knew how difficult his request was, that she really had no way to fulfill it.
He just wanted to tease her a bit, to see her flustered expression, to play with her, and then naturally pat her little head, flirt a bit, comfort her.
At six-thirty in the evening, the sun was inching below the horizon, the sky not yet completely dark, but the campus lights had already lit up.
The little girl stood in front of him, holding his phone, earnestly singing “Happy Birthday” a cappella.
Her voice was soft, her eyelashes lowered, long and dense like two fluffy brushes.
She sang slowly, each note like a soft coconut milk candy that had been rolled in chocolate sauce, sprinkled with white sugar frost, and presented to him.
Lu Jiaheng stared at her unblinkingly, his throat suddenly starting to itch, his Adam’s apple unconsciously bobbing.
Chu Zhi sang the entire birthday song, paused, typed in “Happy Birthday Song,” and saved it as a new voice memo.
After doing all this, she handed the phone back to him, seeming to feel this was too perfunctory and a bit embarrassed.
He didn’t speak, just stared at the less than thirty-second recording on his phone for a long while.
Chu Zhi tilted her head, looking up at him with doe eyes clear and pure: “Senior, I’ll head back first then.”
The senior raised his eyes to look at her, his gaze somewhat deep.
The little girl didn’t notice, swinging her arms and smiling cheerfully as she said goodbye, turning to skip away.
Lu Jiaheng watched her figure disappear, holding his locked phone in his hand, standing still in place.
After standing there for three minutes, his shoulders suddenly slumped slightly, and he laughed.
The sound was low and hoarse, a bit confused, a bit defeated,
“This isn’t right…”
Author’s Note: Young Master Lu is caught off guard and confused three times in a row – Who am I? Where am I? Why do I feel like I’ve been flirted with? That’s impossible, right? This isn’t how it was supposed to go.
Q: Does the female lead know the male lead’s name today? A: No!!!!
Actually, I really think names aren’t important, what do you all think?
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