♡ Chapter 4 ♡

The two parted ways at the door of their house and went back to their respective homes.

Lu Yanzhou went into the kitchen to pour a glass of water. His WeChat notified him of several messages. He opened it to check and saw messages from the tech department group. He skimmed through them quickly before exiting.

Beneath the group messages was Yu Xia’s profile picture. Her WeChat name was “Living in Summer,” and there was one unread message—it was the emoji she had sent earlier. Her profile picture was a chibi version of herself—a little girl smiling brightly while holding a bouquet of sunflowers, with a small dimple on her cheek.

It was probably a drawing of herself.

He hesitated for a moment before opening the chat window and then clicking on her Moments.

He discovered that over an hour ago, she had posted an update on her Moments. The caption read: “If you order takeout and hang it on the door, make sure you remember to grab it. Don’t wear earplugs for too long when you sleep, or your neighbors might think you’ve collapsed at home. When you wake up, you’ll find the property management, security, and even the police gathered outside, debating whether to break your door down.”

The post included the emoji: “I’m really frustrated.”

“…”

Lu Yanzhou then clicked on the comments and saw only two replies from her.

[It’s fine, just a cold and fever.]
[To all the artists, make sure to rest, sleep more, and take care of yourselves.]

Artists?

Scrolling further, Lu Yanzhou found out that Yu Xia was the main illustrator for a comic series. Just a couple of days ago, she had happily celebrated a break from publishing.

There was a big difference between people who post a lot on Moments and those who don’t. From her Moments, Lu Yanzhou could learn about her profession, hobbies, and even her social circle.

Meanwhile, Yu Xia stared at Lu Yanzhou’s empty Moments and felt like she had lost out.

She reluctantly exited his Moments, only to notice that he had liked her post from earlier when she was getting an IV drip in the afternoon.

“…”

Someone who rarely posts on Moments actually liked her post?

That was absolutely ironic!

Yu Xia pretended not to see it and quickly washed up before climbing into bed to rest.

The next morning, as soon as she woke up, she went straight to the door to collect her takeout. The door was slightly ajar, and she extended her hand to grab the bag with perfect accuracy, then closed the door swiftly in one smooth motion.

Lu Yanzhou returned from his morning run. As he exited the elevator, he saw this scene.

“…”

With a soft click, the door, which had been closed, opened again.

Yu Xia peeked her head out, locking eyes with Lu Yanzhou. “Good morning.” She seemed to have heard a “ding” when she closed the door.

Lu Yanzhou glanced at her briefly. “Morning.”

Yu Xia flashed him a smile and then slammed the door shut with a loud thud.

Lu Yanzhou stared at the closed door, furrowing his brows. He had a feeling that she hadn’t really wanted to greet him. it seemed more like she had purposely wanted him to see her, as if to show, “I’m still alive.”

After breakfast, Yu Xia noticed that the rain had stopped outside. She had planned to go downstairs for a walk but as soon as she opened the window, the cold wind hit her face, and she sneezed.

Lu Yanzhou actually went for a morning run in this weather?

She quickly closed the window and decided to lie back on her bed and scroll through Weibo, checking comments and private messages from her followers.

She had over 200,000 followers, which was a decent number in the comic artist community. In her free time, she liked to draw casual sketches or occasional fan art.

[Dear, I’m so hungry, where’s the food?]
[No updates during the break? I’ve been waiting forever!]
[I get it, you’re probably stockpiling drafts since the break is just a month long. Will we get a continuation of the last comic? If not, no worries! New content is also good. I’m not rushing, I know I’ll wait for your updates!]

…

Her pen name was “Sanxia.” According to her mother, she was born on the hottest day of the year, which inspired the name, as it was both casual and fitting for the occasion.

Not many people like the sweltering heat of summer, but Yu Xia loved it. She wished there were three summers every year.

What should she draw?

Yu Xia scratched her head. Before she had gotten sick, she had an idea, but after the fever, she had forgotten it. She tried to remember, but it gave her a headache and she couldn’t recall anything.

She did, however, remember that Zhou Yu had followed her on Weibo. She had forgotten to block him.

She found his account and blocked him.

As soon as she finished, an idea suddenly flashed in her mind. The series of awkward events from the past few days would make great material!

Just as she was about to start drawing, Tang Yue’s call came through. She answered and put the phone on speaker while her eyes returned to the iPad screen.

“Darling, I just got off the subway. Hurry up and change, we’re going out for lunch and then shopping.”

Yu Xia instantly looked up, startled. “Huh?”

“Huh, what?” Tang Yue replied cheerfully. “I told you I was free these days and would come to see you!”

“…”

Oh no, she had forgotten about it.

From T University to here, she had to take a bus and then switch to the subway, which took almost two hours. Tang Yue often said she’d come to visit, but out of five times, she canceled three.

So when Tang Yue mentioned coming to visit a few days ago, Yu Xia didn’t pay much attention to it.

Yu Xia hesitated. “I had a fever yesterday… I forgot.”

“How did you get a fever?”ang Yue has been too busy recently and hasn’t checked her Moments very often. She didn’t see her Moments post yesterday. “Forget the shopping, let’s just eat at a Thai restaurant near your place and then head back to your place to chat.”

Yu Xia was now in a dilemma. She had promised Lu Yanzhou to have lunch with him, but now Tang Yue was coming to meet her. Tang Yue had traveled all the way here, and she couldn’t leave her alone, but when she thought of Lu Yanzhou’s indifferent expression, she hesitated to cancel their plans and suggested meeting another day.

For a moment, she was like a two-timing scumbag, wavering and caught in a dilemma.

Couldn’t she just have lunch with both of them?

After struggling for half a minute, she decided to ask Lu Yanzhou for his opinion.

Tang Yue definitely wouldn’t mind.

—

Lu Yanzhou took out a white windbreaker from his wardrobe but hesitated and put it back, switching it for a black one instead.

He grabbed the coat and headed out, glancing at his phone on the coffee table.

It was already twelve o’clock.

The restaurant was said to be nearby, but it would still take at least ten minutes to walk there. Ordering and waiting for the food would take another half an hour. He had no idea what time this girl next door considered “lunch.”

While he was thinking, there was a knock at the door.

It was right on time. He tugged at the corners of his mouth, put on his coat, and walked toward the door.

Yu Xia could vaguely hear footsteps approaching and took a deep breath. As soon as the door opened, she greeted him with a smile, looking at the neatly dressed man inside. “Hey, I want to ask you something.”

Lu Yanzhou tilted his head, motioning for her to speak.

“My best friend is coming to see me, and she’ll be here soon. I just wanted to ask… do you mind if the three of us have lunch together?” Yu Xia asked cautiously, trying to gauge his reaction. When she saw him squinting, looking a little displeased, she quickly explained, “My best friend is studying at T University. She’s beautiful and eloquent, and she definitely won’t—”

“Wait.”

This sounded familiar, almost exactly like the excuses some relatives and friends gave when trying to set him up with someone. Lu Yanzhou couldn’t help but interrupt her.

Yu Xia meant to say, “She definitely won’t make things awkward,” but after being interrupted, she could already sense where this was going. With a hint of disappointment, she sighed. “So, you don’t want to?”

It felt even more familiar now.

He looked at her and directly asked, “Are you going to introduce me to a girlfriend?”

“…” Yu Xia froze, not understanding why he would think that. Almost instinctively, she retorted, “No way! If that were the case, I’d do it for myself!”

Lu Yanzhou: “…………”

Recalling what she said last night, it seemed like she was telling him, “I like you.”

Lu Yanzhou didn’t know how to respond. Should he comment on her seamless dating views, or just tell her “It’s not going to happen”?

Yu Xia suddenly realized her awkwardness. She was shocked at how she had blurted that out. Was she really so mesmerized by his looks?

The atmosphere hung in an awkward silence for a moment.

Lu Yanzhou let out a hum through his nose. “You sure set your sights fast.”

“……”

°.✩┈┈∘*┈˃̶୨୧˂̶┈*∘┈┈✩.°

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