After saying this, she was too scared to look at Qin Si’s expression.

She had known Qin Si since childhood and knew how proud and sensitive he could be, especially in their relationship.

But this was the first time he had taken the initiative to invite her, and she had just rejected him like that.

It was the first time they had been so close.

He could clearly see the girl’s fair side profile, with teardrops on her long eyelashes.

Her eyes were very beautiful, pure and charming. When they were moist, they were like dew-laden stamens, and even her cheeks were moist.

She probably didn’t even realize that tears were already streaming down her face.

“Don’t cry,” he said, his voice somewhat hoarse.

Qin Si’s fingers were very cold, perhaps from being in the wind on the rooftop for too long, or perhaps because his body temperature was naturally low.

His long, slender fingers with distinct joints slowly touched her face.

Lu Nian looked at him foolishly, tilting her face up, her lips slightly parted.

A little probing, not rejected.

So, he held her wet face like this, silently wiping away her tears.

If she didn’t want to go, then so be it.

He didn’t want to force her to do anything.

As long as she didn’t cry.

Lu Nian’s tears stopped, and the slight chill on his fingertips finally left her cheeks.

The door to the rooftop closed.

The sun began to sink slowly in the west.

Lu Nian stood still on the rooftop, her cheeks tingling where he had touched them.

As the sun set, she walked home with heavy steps.

Just as she walked out of the school gate, she saw a familiar license plate parked by the roadside.

The Lu family’s car was parked by the roadside, and when he saw her, Lu Yang quickly got out of the car. “We’ve been calling you, why haven’t you been answering? Your classmates said you went to the infirmary, but you’ve been missing. Uncle was so worried.”

She brushed aside Lu Yang’s hand. “I’m not feeling well, can you take me home?”

Lu Yang noticed her strange appearance.

“Nian nian, where did you just go?” he asked anxiously, “Did someone bully you?”

Lu Nian shook her head, not wanting to say a word.

During this time of her period, she had been feeling unwell.

Now, because she was extremely depressed, she felt that she didn’t even have the strength to speak.

The plan to see Lu Zhihong today was naturally canceled.

Lu Yang directly took Lu Nian back to the Lu family home.

“Nian nian? What’s wrong with you?” Miaomiao was startled by her haggard appearance.

Lu Nian said softly, “It’s nothing, just my period. Miaomiao, do we have any painkillers left that I usually take?”

“We do,” Miaomiao breathed a sigh of relief, but seeing Lu Nian’s appearance, she was really worried. “It’s so severe, do you want me to call the doctor to come and see you?”

Lu Nian shook her head. “I just need to rest. Uncle Zhang has already contacted the school and arranged for me to take a day off.”

Miaomiao said, “Alright, I’ll go to the kitchen and make some porridge for you.”

Miaomiao brought over the medicine.

Lu Nian took the medicine and drank some water.

“I’ll take a nap now,” she told Miaomiao, “Don’t turn off the lights.”

“Okay,” Miaomiao replied.

She retreated from the room with light footsteps and closed the door behind her.

The room fell into silence.

“I want to go…” She sniffed and looked at the ceiling.

If she could live freely without constraints, doing things entirely according to her own wishes.

But that was not possible.

She thought, otherwise, after he finishes his exam, she’ll go and apologize to him, and explain everything.

Qin Si definitely wouldn’t mind.

She comforted herself.

Because from childhood to now, although Qin Si was always angry with her and often had nothing good to say, there has never been anything he couldn’t forgive her for.

Although he always speaks harshly, in fact, he has always been… even considerate towards her.

She was just weak, but not sleepy at all.

With Lu Zhihong not at home, she got up, took her tablet secretly, and logged onto Shanghai Tu.

She really wanted to draw now, especially to find a place to release her emotions.

The account where she met Lu already had a group of fans.

Although Lu Nian usually just posted her own drawings, without revealing any information about her real life, it had never been updated for almost half a month.

When she checked, there were a large number of unread notifications.

“Miss, it’s been so long since you last posted a new picture!”

“I really miss our little brother.”

“Miss, want to commission a piece?”

They were all asking for new pictures, praising her drawings as beautiful, and there were even requests for commissions, with the prices offered surprising Lu Nian a bit.

However, she didn’t need money, and she didn’t have time to take on commissions now, so she could only politely decline.

Lu Nian flipped through the drawings she had done before.

During this period, it seemed like she had been drawing him a lot.

She picked up her tablet, sat up from the bed, and put on a piece of clothing.

Every time her mood was unsettled and needed to be vented, she wanted to pick up a brush.

Slowly composing the picture, the lines began to emerge.

The rooftop under the setting sun.

The young man bent slightly, and she drew the slightly open collar of his shirt, revealing a glimpse of delicate and slim clavicle. His skin was very fair, always like jade without warmth.

But she noticed a faint redness under his collar, which Lu Nian didn’t see clearly.

He moved slightly, and it was covered up again.

Lu Nian’s hand paused, then she looked away and continued to draw his hand.

The shirt sleeves were casually rolled up to his elbows, revealing distinct wrist bones, all tinged with a warm color from the sunset.

Backgrounds had always been her strong suit.

She blurred it out, using watercolor techniques.

… Sketching, coloring, she didn’t feel tired at all, just kept drawing until she finished,

and uploaded the picture.

But this time, she added a sentence.

“I rejected the sunset.”

Not long after updating, in the late night, after drawing continuously for so long, Lu Nian felt dizzy and her head was heavy.

She got up, took some water from the water dispenser, and her lower abdomen was no longer in so much pain.

She took a short nap, then took out her phone and logged into Shanghai Tu, but was startled by the notifications.

It was already so late.

“Even though he didn’t show his face, this little brother is particularly beautiful this time.”

“Lick the clavicle, lick the fingers.”

“This time it’s even a modern style, is it a college paro?!”

“I thought the little brother had a prototype? Could it still be a high school student?”

“Mrs., you added a caption this time, what does it mean to reject the sunset? Could it be that you rejected the little brother who secretly loves you?”

“The upstairs guess is wrong, the subject is clearly ‘I’ rejected, so it’s Mrs. who rejected the little brother?”

“Why is everyone talking about rejection? I think the atmosphere looks pretty good.”

Clearly, there was only one picture and one line of text.

Lu Nian looked at the discussions. Her finger hesitated over the delete key for a long time, but in the end, she didn’t press it.

Even though none of them were the truth.

But, whatever.

She had already blurred everything out and made sure not to leak any personal information.

This was currently the only place where she could freely vent her emotions.

The next day, Lu Nian didn’t come to school.

At the end of the school day, Zhao Yayuan was texting with his head down.

Chen Mo caught up to him from behind. “Boss, did you see the oath-taking ceremony post the other day?”

Without looking up, Zhao Yayuan asked, “What post?”

“It’s about the senior in high school, it’s already been deleted.”

“What does it have to do with me?” Zhao Yayuan asked impatiently.

“It’s just, I heard a little rumor, not many people know about it, it’s really just a little rumor.”

Zhao Yayuan was getting impatient. “Spit it out already.”

“It’s about the person who was said to have sponsored the girl in the post. It’s your rumored girlfriend, isn’t it?”

Zhao Yayuan asked, “Lu Nian?”

Lu Nian was beautiful, and anyone with eyes could see that. She had excellent grades, many talents, and she was also the only daughter of Lu Yang and Lu Zhihong, making her stand out even more. Lu Nian didn’t have many friends to begin with. She was introverted and with the close watch of Lu Yang and Lu Zhihong, aside from necessary social interactions outside, she actually only had a few friends, and even fewer of those were of the opposite sex, almost none at all.

Many people privately thought of her as an unattainable goddess.

Zhao Yayuan’s refined features were filled with anger. “If anyone spreads rumors, tell me, I’ll personally confront them.”

“Is it not true?” Chen Mo asked hesitantly.

The rumor was very detailed, with quite a few specifics.

Zhao Yayuan raised his eyes. “Do you know more than I do?”

He looked like a beautiful young man, but his temper was actually quite bad, rebellious and arrogant, capable of doing all sorts of reckless things. And with his background, not many people dared to provoke him.

Chen Mo knew he had a bad temper and quickly raised his hands. “Got it, got it, I’ll go out tomorrow and debunk it, official debunking, certified by Boss Zhao himself.”

Zhao Yayuan patted him on the back. “Get lost.”