Chapter 15: Giving and Receiving

“Liang Zhirou.” Chen Lu called out.

The girl looked up slightly, confused.

“Thank you.”

Chen Lu thought for a long time but couldn’t think of anything better to say.

It didn’t matter anyway. No matter how flowery his words, the simple-minded girl who couldn’t even understand the “bad stomach” joke wouldn’t understand them.

Speaking of which, there was one thing he got wrong yesterday – soft rice was really delicious.

“Hmm!” Liang Zhirou’s voice was soft and sweet, unusually cheerful.

All her drowsiness and fatigue vanished with this “thank you,” leaving no trace.

On her way here, Liang Zhirou had repeatedly considered giving up, backing out countless times.

She had imagined countless possibilities in her mind, such as Chen Lu politely refusing, or saying it wasn’t good, or even wondering if he would find her too strange.

She had many messy guesses, but she always felt that Chen Lu was a gentle person, and the most likely scenario was that he would force himself to finish it.

Although that way she wouldn’t lose face, she didn’t want Chen Lu to force himself.

Thankfully, Chen Lu seemed to really like…

Chen Lu gulped down a few large mouthfuls of water, finally getting rid of the taste of preserved egg in his mouth. He stretched with satisfaction, his gaze fixed on the girl in front of him.

He was expressionless, but his eyes were gentle.

Liang Zhirou also mustered her courage and looked at him, their eyes meeting for a moment.

Then, the girl turned away as if trying to escape.

They both tacitly avoided mentioning the phrase “so eager to see me.”

“You… why are you staring at me…”

After a while, the girl finally couldn’t stand it anymore, she turned her face away, lowered her head, and asked in a coy voice.

“Don’t move.” Chen Lu rubbed his forehead, seemingly thinking about something.

“Ah?”

“I said don’t move.”

“Oh…”

Liang Zhirou was confused, but she still obediently stood in front of Chen Lu, her left arm hanging down, her right hand grabbing her left arm.

The girl turned away her slightly flushed cheeks, her white T-shirt was a bit tight from her arm pressing against it, making the rise and fall of her chest incredibly eye-catching.

One might think Chen Lu was bullying a good girl.

Liang Zhirou was blushing furiously, her earlobes were burning hot, and those clear, watery eyes also became teary, as if she were about to cry the next second.

“What are you doing…”

Her heart became a little uneasy, like a sulky child, her voice choked with tears.

Chen Lu was amused by her reaction. He once again suppressed the urge to tease her and joked half-heartedly:

“I’m thinking about how to repay you.”

He felt that Liang Zhirou was too different from other girls. She had almost no life of her own, no hobbies of her own.

Although they hadn’t known each other for long, he had never seen Liang Zhirou smile.

This simple-minded girl instinctively suppressed her emotions, her self-esteem was crushed to the core.

What should he do…

Chen Lu felt that as a good friend of this simple-minded girl, he should do something, even if it was just for the candy and the breakfast.

But he had no idea what to do.

“Ah? Why do you have to repay me?” Liang Zhirou suspected she wasn’t fully awake. She hadn’t been on the same wavelength as him at all today.

“How can you just say ‘hmm’ and ‘ah’…” Chen Lu scoffed, “Because I want to be very, very good friends with you, so the giving and receiving between us should be equal.”

Finally, he looked at the distance thoughtfully and added, “That’s the only way it will last.”

Liang Zhirou shyly pursed her lips, looked at the rising sun, and checked the time on her phone.

She secretly glanced at the handsome and gentle boy in front of her again, then, satisfied, she picked up her lunchbox and waved at him gently, “I’m going.”

“Where are you going?” Chen Lu asked curiously, his voice full of confusion.

So you just came to deliver breakfast?

“To hand out flyers.” Liang Zhirou stretched out her slender, white finger, as if quite proud, “I have no classes today, I can earn more than a hundred.”

After work, she could cook pork ribs for her mother.

Chen Lu’s first instinct was to go and help, then he quickly dismissed the idea.

Liang Zhirou needed help, but not this kind of forced kindness.

She didn’t need “charity.”

That would only make the already self-conscious girl even more embarrassed.

“Do you have something to do today? You said last night that you were coming, I thought you were coming to help.”

Chen Lu said helplessly, feeling a little disappointed.

He felt like he had been tricked by Lin Miaomiao.

Tricked big time.

Did Lin Miaomiao really not use Liang Zhirou as bait?

Chen Lu never expected that he would actually take the bait.

Liang Zhirou had to leave because of her part-time job, and he had promised to help, so he was too embarrassed to leave.

He wanted to learn more about Liang Zhirou’s plans, but it seemed that was out of the question. But Chen Lu wasn’t in a hurry.

“Will you come back after you’re done?”

Chen Lu asked impulsively.

“I will.”

Liang Zhirou also answered impulsively, then quickly calculated whether she had time to come back. When she confirmed that there was no problem, she nodded vigorously again.

“Okay, I’ll wait for you.” Chen Lu chuckled.

Watching the girl disappear, Chen Lu walked towards the group of drama club members in a bad mood. Seeing Lin Miaomiao, who had finished rehearsing, about to sit down, he quietly pulled the chair away.

“Ah! It hurts!!”

…

Liang Zhirou walked towards the bus stop, feeling the gentle breeze blowing on her cheeks.

After Qingming Festival, the weather had become increasingly warmer. The sun was warm, the willows were fluffy, and they drifted around like snowflakes.

The students around her were walking in groups, laughing and chatting about all sorts of gossip or games. The girls passing by were all dressed up, freely expressing their youth. Only she was out of place in this scene.

Liang Zhirou brushed her hair, which had been blown loose by the wind, back behind her ear, took out her phone, wiped the screen, and looked at her reflection.

She seemed, not at all comparable to the girl she saw in the cafeteria.

Even if their hairstyles and looks were similar, her timid gaze and long bangs had dragged her down too many points.

After a moment, the girl quietly sighed and tied her hair back into a ponytail.

After all, she was going to work, and long hair was inconvenient and stuffy.

Liang Zhirou couldn’t figure out why she had let her hair down.

It was so strange.

In the evening, dusk descended.

Chen Lu watched the sun turn red in the sky, yawning lazily.

The lights on the playground had come on, and there were no more runners, it had become a haven for couples to walk hand-in-hand.

The drama club members were still passionately reciting their lines. Their play seemed to be inspired by “Awakening Age.”

The script they were performing this time was about the awakening and transformation of students at this university during that era.

Through the perspectives of a few students, it showed the ideological changes of that time, from the initial ignorance to the later following in the footsteps of the martyrs.

Chen Lu had a deep understanding of history outside of class, so when he wasn’t needed as a laborer, he could actually discuss and revise the script with the students who were writing it.

However, his knowledge of modern history was not as detailed, because he really felt heartbroken when he read it.

When I read history before that, I could only sigh in emotion, but when I read modern history, I often shed tears.

“Damn, senior, how do you know everything?” The bespectacled boy looked at Chen Lu in amazement, becoming increasingly satisfied with the revised script.

He really couldn’t understand where the vice president had found such a senior, it was like Doraemon, able to help with everything.

Chen Lu’s knowledge of history was even precise to the year, while most of his knowledge… had been returned to his high school history teacher.

He only knew that he could eat three bowls of rice in one meal.

“I learn a little bit of everything when I have nothing to do. Whether there are dates or not, seeing a tree, I’ll just take a shot, it won’t hurt to try.”

Chen Lu carried the sound system, shrugged, and then followed the group to move everything back.

At this time, a girl was carrying something with difficulty, swaying as she followed him.

It was Liang Zhirou.