Chapter 30: Not Ready to Grow Up

Feeling the cool breeze, Liang Zhirou’s stifling heat dissipated somewhat.

She couldn’t help but wonder if she was dreaming.

She really didn’t want to wake up.

Not at all.

At this moment, Chen Lu’s phone suddenly rang, making her very nervous.

Was he going to be called back…?

“My mom.” Chen Lu said, then answered the phone.

“Mom, what’s wrong?”

“How did you lose yourself while sending someone else?” Wang Xiaoxia said angrily.

Because they were so close, Liang Zhirou could also hear the voice on the phone.

She unconsciously clenched the spatula.

“I forgot to report to the organization, I’m having dinner at her house tonight. Please approve it.”

“Approved, I was just about to tell you that your dad and I are going out for hotpot, so you can find a place to eat yourself.”

Hearing this, Chen Lu felt like a stone was stuck in his heart.

The girl continued to stir-fry the food.

Chen Lu looked at her back, savoring the feeling of holding her just now.

……

Not long after, several dishes were placed on the table.

At Chen Lu’s strong request, Liang Zhirou still made the fish into soup.

A bowl of fish soup, a plate of shredded cabbage, and braised eggplant.

The braised eggplant was made by Chen Lu.

This dinner was already considered very sumptuous for Liang Zhirou.

The three of them sat around the small dining table and ate together.

Liang Zhirou was becoming increasingly nervous. She had never imagined that she would be having dinner with another boy and his mother.

She lowered her head and didn’t dare to speak, afraid that Xiao Xunfang would ask her something.

The intimate contact she had made in the kitchen without her mother’s knowledge made her cheeks still flushed.

She was so delicate, making Chen Lu dazed.

“Here, Auntie, try what I made.” Chen Lu didn’t pick up the food for her, but pushed the dish he made towards Xiao Xunfang.

He was enthusiastic, but also very measured.

“You, this child…” Xiao Xunfang muttered, but still showed a very happy smile, taking a bite and tasting it.

She then nodded repeatedly, “You can cook?”

Liang Zhirou also secretly took a bite, then quickly took another bite secretly.

Chen Lu couldn’t help but smile, suddenly feeling a little ridiculous about how he had learned to cook her favorite dishes in order to coax Mo Yuqing in the past.

Wasn’t there someone who would love to eat anything he made, no matter what or how it was made?

Except for the porridge he cooked, this was the first time Chen Lu had tasted Liang Zhirou’s cooking.

It was really delicious, and it seemed like she had specially modified it to suit his taste.

It was obvious that this silly girl had remembered everything he said about his tastes and preferences during their casual conversations.

“Eat more.” Chen Lu said to Liang Zhirou.

The girl nodded, noticing that Chen Lu only poured two spoonfuls of fish soup over his rice, she asked, “Don’t you like fish?”

“I don’t like it.”

“Why?”

“It has bones.”

“Then do you like fish without bones?”

“I don’t like that either.”

Liang Zhirou was confused, she couldn’t help but ask again, “Why?”

“Fish without bones isn’t tasty.”

“…” Liang Zhirou had never been so speechless.

Xiao Xunfang watched the two of them chat with each other, a smile in her eyes, and secretly sighed that this was the kind of life her daughter should be living at this age…

Liang Zhirou had been suppressed for too long… Girls of this age should be experiencing the first stirrings of love, teasing and laughing with boys.

Moreover, she really liked this boy Chen Lu more and more.

Especially when they first met, Chen Lu confronted that middle-aged woman, but still remembered to push her to a shady spot.

She knew that it couldn’t be a show, it could only be a natural act of kindness.

Chen Lu felt that he was already eating very fast, but there was still food in his bowl.

He looked up and just happened to see Liang Zhirou picking food for him, the girl was stunned when she noticed his gaze, then continued to pick food for him as if nothing had happened.

“You eat yours.” Chen Lu was helpless, this silly girl had been watching how he was eating for so long, she hadn’t touched her own rice for a long time.

At this time, Liang Zhirou was as stubborn as a calf, picking food for him and serving him soup.

Every time Chen Lu wanted to refuse, he would see the girl’s blinking eyes and her outstretched hand, and his heart would soften instantly.

Something was wrong, was this silly girl starting to find his weaknesses?

After a while, Chen Lu really couldn’t eat anymore, and quickly stopped Liang Zhirou’s feeding-like behavior.

He could bully her in the cafeteria, but in front of her mother, this was her home ground.

“Don’t you like the food I made?” Liang Zhirou asked.

“I like it, I wish I could eat it every day.”

Chen Lu blurted out without thinking.

“You can let her make it for you every day in the future.” Xiao Xunfang joked.

Liang Zhirou was flustered, “Mom!”

“Xiao Lu, you must be getting ready for your internship soon, right? Or are you preparing for the postgraduate entrance exam?” Xiao Xunfang suddenly remembered this matter, and couldn’t help but ask.

Chen Lu thought for a moment, “I haven’t decided yet, I’m a little lost.”

He looked at Liang Zhirou, then smiled wryly, “I wasted too much time before, and I never considered what I wanted to do in the future.”

Although Xiao Xunfang’s face was haggard, her smile was very gentle, “It’s okay, you’re still young.”

Chen Lu’s lips curled up slightly, he didn’t say anything.

His classmates were taking the postgraduate entrance exam, preparing to find jobs, or starting businesses.

He couldn’t wait any longer.

It was true that he was young, but if he wanted to continue playing carefree, he was already past that age.

Thinking about this, he felt a strange sense of anxiety in his heart.

The waves of life were already crashing down on him, but he didn’t seem ready.

……

After dinner, they washed the dishes and chatted for a while, it was almost nine o’clock in the evening.

Chen Lu didn’t know why he had been dawdling for so long, he quickly got up to leave before his mother called.

Liang Zhirou followed him out to see him off, she couldn’t chase him away.

The alley, which was pitch black in the evening, now had rows of streetlights lit up.

The white light fell on the uneven road, casting long shadows on the two of them.

They walked side by side, very slowly.

For a while, there was nothing to say.

“Aren’t you happy?” Liang Zhirou pursed her lips, she made up her mind and asked.

At the same time, she recalled whether she had done anything to upset Chen Lu.

Chen Lu looked at the girl beside him in feigned surprise, “You can tell?”

“Do you want some candy?” The girl asked again.

“Yes.”

Chen Lu unwrapped the fruit candy and put it in his mouth, savoring the sweetness.

He pressed the fruit candy against his tongue, imitating a child’s tone of voice, “I’m not unhappy, I’m just not ready to grow up.”

Liang Zhirou understood this time, “Don’t worry, you’re so amazing. And…”

“And what?” Chen Lu turned his head to look at her.

“And, I’ll be with you.”

There was silence again.

Liang Zhirou felt something strange, Chen Lu was taller than her, why did she never need to catch up to him?

So she slowly slowed down her pace.

Chen Lu was still walking beside her.

Slow down a little more.

Chen Lu still didn’t walk ahead, he was still a little behind her.

“Why are you always walking a little slower than me?”

Liang Zhirou liked to ask Chen Lu all sorts of nonsensical questions, because he seemed to know everything, and he was willing to tell her.

Even when she listened to Chen Lu’s rambling and cheating her, she still found it fun.

“This way, you’re all in my line of sight, it’s easier to deal with any emergencies.” Chen Lu said softly, stopping in his tracks, “I’ll send you here, go back quickly.”

It wasn’t until the boy’s silhouette under the streetlight completely disappeared that Liang Zhirou reluctantly turned around and left.