Chapter 43: The Deterioration of Friendship

A hearty meal.

Li Mu almost cried from the spiciness.

“Next time, I won’t come to eat here.”

“Who cares if you come or not?”

“Give me Little Fei.”

“What for?” Lu Xiaoxi half-squinted her eyes, wary of him; only she could be affectionate with Little Fei.

“Just a little touch and then I’ll go back, no kissing.”

“You better.” Lu Xiaoxi allowed Li Mu to hold the cat.

But when he reached out, she felt his arm gently brush against her chest.

She covered her chest, her big, watery eyes reflecting Li Mu.

Was this guy feeling bold?

Was he taking advantage of the fact that there were only two of them, lost in lust?

This was her home; if she yelled, Li Mu’s family would definitely hear it, Aunt Su and Uncle Li would surely hear.

Li Mu was still teasing Little Fei, seemingly unaware of the situation, and Lu Xiaoxi, who was about to explode, hesitated again.

Maybe it was just an accidental touch.

Her gaze became even more resentful.

She had woken up early today, planning to shower and then sleep, but this guy suddenly wanted her to make him a late-night snack and help him heat up the food. A big boy eating slowly, from eleven o’clock chewing slowly to eleven-thirty.

It was hard to believe he wasn’t doing it on purpose.

It was all this guy’s fault!

Lu Xiaoxi snorted twice and kicked Li Mu under the table.

Li Mu was wearing shorts, and his calves had hair; her foot felt ticklish.

He ignored her and gave Little Fei a kiss on the face.

Although Little Fei was as fat as a pig and covered in fur, it felt nice to pet.

Little Fei, the whole pig, was frustrated, gave up resisting, and was lifted by Li Mu like a piece of dried meat, posed in various positions.

Seeing that Li Mu was ignoring her, Lu Xiaoxi lightly kicked his calf again.

Li Mu didn’t let her have her way; he easily trapped her small foot between his two feet.

“What are you doing?!” Lu Xiaoxi’s delicate brows furrowed together as she pushed against the table, unable to break free. The blush on her face was uncertain whether it was from straining or shyness.

“Are you addicted to kicking people?”

“Let go!”

“I won’t.”

“Let go!” Lu Xiaoxi pouted; the current position was very strange, adding an overwhelming sense of shame. If he didn’t let go, she would really get angry!

Footsteps came from the stairway, followed by the sound of a key being inserted into the lock, and Li Mu immediately released her foot.

Lu Xiaoxi was freed from her restraints and sat quietly in her seat.

“Ah, Li Mu came to play with Xiaoxi.”

Qin Xiaoqian was changing her shoes at the door and saw an extra boy at the dining table, smiling cheerfully.

“No, I’m looking for Little Fei.”

With such a beautiful girl like Lu Xiaoxi here, you came to play with Little Fei; do you even believe that yourself?

Qin Xiaoqian saw through it but didn’t say anything; as long as the young ones didn’t cross the line, she didn’t want to interfere.

“Hurry back, I want to sleep.” Lu Xiaoxi stood up, snatched Little Fei away, and pushed Li Mu out.

Li Mu smiled and walked to the door, looking back again.

Lu Xiaoxi held Little Fei, watching him by the table, her little eyes seemed to blame him.

“Good night.” After saying that, Li Mu opened the door and walked out.

Lu Xiaoxi stood there in a daze, tightening her grip on Little Fei.

Disgusting! Pervert! Lewd! Big idiot!

Lu Xiaoxi lowered her head, put down Little Fei, and rushed into her room, wrapping herself tightly in her small blanket, leaving only half of her head exposed.

The dim light from the lamp illuminated her face, her big eyes blinking, the words from earlier echoing in her ears.

Good night…? Who wants to say good night to you!

This phrase, Li Mu had also said to her yesterday, but it was on WeChat.

Although she had trouble sleeping last night, it was nothing compared to the… chaotic heartbeat she felt today.

There was still a yellow dog plush toy on the bed.

Lu Xiaoxi hugged the plush dog to her chest, resting her chin on it, her warm breath bouncing back to her face, moistening her eyes, trembling under the light of the small lamp.

Damn Li Mu!

A gust of cool wind blew through.

Lu Xiaoxi, barefoot, wanted to close the window.

Her gaze was suddenly drawn to a small white object; she held it in her palm and looked at it.

A sunny doll… it was a birthday gift Li Mu had given her when they were kids.

When they were young, she couldn’t afford to buy gifts, so she had to make one herself.

A simple piece of white cloth, a ping pong ball, and a black string made up a birthday gift.

She vaguely remembered being very happy when she received the gift, kissing someone on the face, leaving a puddle of saliva, and that person had wiped it off in disgust…

Did she give Li Mu a birthday gift that year?

It seemed to be a yo-yo she won in a five-yuan lottery? Or a toy gun? She couldn’t remember, only that in middle school, she had given Li Mu a greeting card and at most a bag of Wang Wang snacks.

When they were young, she really liked sticking to Li Mu.

This sunny doll had hung by the window for too long, long enough for her to completely get used to it, completely forget about its existence, until today when it caught her attention.

Perhaps after enduring the wind and rain, the snow-white sunny doll had also developed mold spots, looking mottled and worn.

Looking at the sunny doll’s eternally unchanged smiling face, Lu Xiaoxi suddenly felt a stir; this was a birthday gift Li Mu had given her.

She wondered if it could be cleaned.

She clumsily untied the string and took out the ping pong ball inside.

The ping pong ball had some ugly writing on it.

Li Mu’s name was on top, and Lu Xiaoxi’s name was below, encircled by a big heart.

It had been over ten years, and she only discovered it today.

She carefully opened the package of cleaning solution and soaked the white cloth in it.

She returned to the bed, placing the ping pong ball with the heart design on one side of the pillow, thought for a moment, and then brought over the origami crane, sending Li Mu a “good night” before quietly falling asleep with the plush toy.

Wuwu—

The surroundings were filled with his scent—

Her parents had already gone to sleep.

Li Mu washed his face and returned to his room, lazily lying on the bed in a star shape.

The feeling of fullness made it hard for him to fall asleep quickly.

Seeing the good night message from Little Pig Lu, Li Mu plugged in his phone to charge, lying quietly on the bed, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.

He turned to his side and met the gaze of the pig plush toy.

Resting his head on the pillow, the soft touch made it hard for him to extricate himself.

Li Mu had always thought of himself as a sunny boy, but he never expected to have a day where he liked plush toys.

His hand unconsciously rubbed the dog tooth on his left wrist.

A petite figure invaded his mind.

It was the girl under the quiet pavilion, frowning with her willow brows, pursing her lips as she played Go with him.

It was the charming girl who had given him mooncakes before the festival.

It was the beautiful silhouette walking under the moonlight, holding a plush toy, strolling among the lanterns.

What kind of feelings did he have for Lu Xiaoxi?

Recalling all the events that had happened together since childhood, it actually made him blush and his heart race.

He heard his mom say that after he and Lu Xiaoxi were born, they were placed in adjacent beds in the hospital.

He and Lu Xiaoxi had known each other for a true 19 years.

If the time they spent together was seen as a timeline, starting from infancy, the 19 years had been so tightly packed.

The development of their relationship had been too bumpy.

This also led him to make incorrect judgments about their feelings.

Whether childhood sweethearts or friends, no matter what their relationship was now, he had to admit one thing.

The friendship between him and her had passed its expiration date and had begun to deteriorate.

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