Embedded Files
Psst! We're moving!
During university, the two of them didn’t communicate much. However, Lu Ji had good relationships, and people in the class often tagged him in group chats, and he occasionally joined in for a few words.
Lin Jiayu’s position was awkward. She was Jiang Tu’s childhood friend, knew his secrets, and also knew Lu Ji’s secrets. Having chosen to side with Jiang Tu, she had to distance herself from Lu Ji and back then, from Zhu Xingyao as well.
Lin Jiayu didn’t know what to say to Lu Ji, and perhaps Lu Ji didn’t either.
Whenever Lu Ji appeared in the class group chat, Lin Jiayu would be lurking, occasionally searching through the chat records for keywords.
Sometimes Lin Jiayu wondered how familiar her relationship with Lu Ji was. They had been desk mates for two years; he was unreserved in front of her, even without secrets.
Lu Ji had always been his truest self in front of Lin Jiayu.
Therefore, he was also the most relaxed.
Lin Jiayu served herself a bowl of Tom Yum soup, looked up at him: “The movie starts filming on September 25th, I’ve told you about this, right?”
Lu Ji peeled a shrimp for himself, speaking indifferently: “No, why? Are you planning to invite me?”
“No, I just wanted to let you know. The shooting will mostly take place at No. 1 High School.” Lin Jiayu stared fixedly at his hands; Lu Ji’s hands were long and fair, even peeling shrimp was pleasing to the eye. On a whim, she suddenly said, “Give me one.”
“Hmm?”
Lu Ji looked confused, not understanding.
Lin Jiayu said: “Peel one for me too.”
Lu Ji paused, calmly looking at her, and placed the shrimp he was about to put into his mouth into the small bowl in front of her. After a while, she spoke again: “Give me another one.”
After a bit more time passed.
Lin Jiayu: “Give me another one.”
Lu Ji pursed his lips lightly and clicked his tongue: “Lin Jiayu, can’t you do it yourself?”
Lin Jiayu justified: “I’m too lazy to move, anyway, your hands are already dirty.”
Lu Ji: “...”
He clicked his tongue, somewhat resigned, picked up another shrimp, slowly peeled it, and placed it in her bowl. Lin Jiayu smiled and said: “Thank you.” She bit into the shrimp, quietly observing his expression, finding that he only showed a hint of disdain for a few seconds before returning to normal.
Throughout the entire dinner, Lu Ji peeled eight shrimps for Lin Jiayu.
After getting into the car, Lu Ji asked: “Where do you live?”
Lin Jiayu mentioned the hotel name, and Lu Ji drove off.
At the hotel entrance, Lu Ji took her things from the back seat and handed them to her: “Go ahead and head back.”
Lin Jiayu accepted them, looked up at him, somewhat puzzled: “Aren’t you going to scold me?”
He hadn’t mentioned the script or the movie much all evening. She had prepared herself to be scolded by him, but this evening, not only did he not scold her, he also got her shoes, peeled shrimp for her, and endured everything without complaint.
Lu Ji kept his hands in his pockets, looking at her nonchalantly: “What good would scolding you do? Can it make you take back the movie script, or destroy all the novels?”
Lin Jiayu: “...”
She whispered softly: “I don’t have that ability. I’ve already received the money; I can’t take it back.”
Lu Ji chuckled: “I’ve also received money; I can’t take it back either.”
Lin Jiayu: “...”
Was he referring to those red packets she sent?
“Then you’re really easy to bribe.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. She had received millions, while the red packets she sent him didn’t even amount to three thousand yuan...
Lin Jiayu had moon-shaped eyes, which curved beautifully when she smiled. Especially after she learned how to apply eyeliner, her eyes looked exceptionally beautiful and infectious when she smiled. Lu Ji remembered his grandfather praising her beauty, saying she seemed innocent. He looked at her for a few seconds, his tone gentle: “Go ahead and head upstairs.”
Back home, Lu Ji placed that book on the bookshelf. He leaned against the desk, lost in thought for a few seconds. He could tell that Lin Jiayu still liked him. He wasn’t sure how much she liked him, but he could confirm that she had a good impression of him.
What did she like about him? Even though she portrayed him so negatively in her book.
In high school, he indeed wasn’t very upright or honest. Some things had weighed on his mind for years, and thinking back on them still gave him a suffocating feeling.
At 10:30 PM.
Lin Jiayu had already packed her luggage, put on a face mask, and was lying in bed watching variety shows.
Suddenly, she received a WeChat message.
Lu Ji: “Lin Jiayu, what did you like about me in high school?”
Lin Jiayu froze, looked down at her phone, bit her lip, and after a while, replied: “Why are you suddenly asking this?”
Lu Ji: “Curiosity.”
Lin Jiayu: “...”
You’re being quite direct. Just because you’re curious doesn’t mean I have to satisfy your curiosity, does it?
The other party is typing...
Lu Ji: “I used to think you probably looked down on me, maybe even disliked me.”
Lin Jiayu’s feelings towards Lu Ji were indeed complicated. Rationally speaking, she shouldn’t have liked Lu Ji because Lu Ji liked Zhu Xingyao, and he was secretly competing with Jiang Tu. She fully understood Jiang Tu’s situation; he couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud.
But Lu Ji... His reluctance to speak might have been youthful arrogance or perhaps an unwillingness to let go of that affection.
Regardless, he wasn’t very upright in his actions. He had his dark sides.
And she was the person who saw them most clearly.
Lin Jiayu thought for a long time. She didn’t know what kind of answer Lu Ji was expecting, nor where her answer would lead their relationship. After much deliberation, she slowly replied: “Although I know you have flaws, you knew those things were done by Jiang Tu yet never denied them. I was angry at one point, but if you had spoken up, things might have turned out differently, not necessarily better than now.”
Lu Ji frowned, about to type a response.
Seeing “the other party is typing...”
She hadn’t finished speaking.
He leaned back on the sofa, waiting patiently.
Lin Jiayu: “As for why I liked you, it’s simple.”
Lin Jiayu: “Lu Ji, you might have forgotten, but you were our school’s god at No. 1 High. You had excellent grades, were admitted to Tsinghua University, and most importantly, you were handsome! Schoolgirls are shallow; they only care about appearances.”
Lin Jiayu: “Coincidentally, I’m just a shallow female classmate.”
So, falling for you
Seemed like the simplest thing in the world.
Finally, Lin Jiayu sent an emoji: Super righteous.jpg.
Lu Ji: “...”
He laughed, leaning back on the sofa, looking down at his phone screen, wondering what else she might say. After half a minute, she didn’t send any more messages.
The next morning, while shaving in front of the mirror, Lu Ji subconsciously glanced at the man in the mirror—a 27-year-old single man, no bad habits, handsome, owning a house, a car, and a career in Beijing, the golden bachelor in others’ eyes.
At noon, Lu Ji’s mother called: “Are you coming back this weekend?”
Lu Ji looked at his computer: “No, I’ll be back during National Day.”
Lu Ji’s mother happily said: “That’s perfect. A daughter of your father’s good friend recently returned from abroad. She’s quite pretty. Come back and meet her for a meal.”
“No need. I’ve told you not to arrange blind dates for me.” Lu Ji frowned, “I don’t need them.”
Lu Ji’s mother cheerfully continued: “Do you know how famous you are now? That girl knows about your high school days, but she still likes you. It’s all in the past. Don’t keep isolating yourself. You’re already twenty-seven or twenty-eight, still not dating. When do you plan to get married? Xu Xiangyang and Li Xixi are almost getting married. Look at them…”
“They broke up.”
“...”
Lu Ji’s mother was stunned for a while before asking: “Really?”
Lu Ji said indifferently: “Yes.”
Lu Ji’s mother thought for a moment and said: “Maybe they’ll reconcile in a few days? Don’t they break up often?”
Lu Ji clicked his mouse, somewhat indifferent: “They probably won’t reconcile this time. They’ve been broken up for nearly a month.” He didn’t know if Li Xixi was serious this time, but Xu Xiangyang was genuinely anxious, preparing a proposal—success or failure awaited.
After a while, Lu Ji’s mother humphed: “Let him deal with his breakup. You focus on your blind dates and your love life. It’s not mutually exclusive!”
Lu Ji: “...”
It made sense, but he didn’t want to go on blind dates.
After finally calming his mother down and hanging up, Lu Ji sighed lightly. He suddenly remembered that Lin Jiayu had once complained on social media about her family forcing her to go on blind dates. He licked his lips, lowered his head, and opened WeChat.
Lu Ji scrolled through Lin Jiayu’s social media, noticing that her last blind date was a few months ago.
He thought for a moment and sent Lin Jiayu a message: “Lin Jiayu, are you still going on blind dates recently?”
Lin Jiayu had just boarded the plane, and the flight attendant was reminding passengers to switch their phones to airplane mode.
She looked down at the message, unsure why Lu Ji suddenly asked this question.
Lin Jiayu: “Not recently. The last blind date was introduced by Jiang Tu.”
Lin Jiayu: “Lu classmate, are you also going to introduce someone to me?”
Google Sites
Report abuse