♡ Chapter 10 ♡

Yu Xia tried to take a deep breath but still couldn’t calm her racing heart. She picked up her chopsticks, glaring at him with a red face. “Can you stop talking for now? I still want to eat.”

Lu Yanzhou smiled and raised his hand in surrender, nodding toward the table, signaling for her to continue eating.

The silence felt even more awkward.

It was a strange mix of awkwardness and tension, especially when she accidentally glanced up and met his gaze. The atmosphere became unbearably charged. His eyes were open and direct, and Yu Xia couldn’t handle it. She quickly tried to eat faster, hoping to maintain her composure while looking somewhat graceful.

She swore this was the most stimulating meal she’d ever had.

After putting down her chopsticks, she stood up before Lu Yanzhou could tidy up. “I… I should go now. Thanks for the meal. Next time, I’ll treat you.”

Although it was a bit rude, Yu Xia was too caught up in her love-struck thoughts. With Lu Yanzhou around, she couldn’t calm down at all.

Lu Yanzhou seemed to see through her thoughts. He stood up slowly, sizing her up for a few seconds before saying, “Alright, I’ll see you out.”

See her out?

Yu Xia feared he might surprise her by asking if she wanted a hug, so she quickly shook her head. “No, no need. I can walk by myself.”

Her movements were hurried, almost as if she was trying to prove she could do it. But the more rushed she was, the more likely she was to make a mistake. She accidentally caught her foot on the chair leg and nearly lost her balance.

Lu Yanzhou quickly stepped behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder to steady her.

His deep voice came from above her head. “Am I making you that nervous?”

Yu Xia froze for a moment. She felt like a mess, too flustered to act. Normally, she could run away when nervous, but now, she couldn’t even do that. She felt embarrassed and helpless. Taking a deep breath, as if to prove she wasn’t that scared, she suddenly turned around and grabbed his shirt collar. Her cool fingertips brushed against his neck.

Lu Yanzhou froze for a moment, his gaze dropping to her, his heartbeat quickening.

“Maybe you should just take me home,” Yu Xia mumbled, her ears turning bright red. She didn’t dare look up and focused on the buttons of his shirt. With a sense of reckless abandon, she added, “I’m afraid I’ll trip and fall. That would be too embarrassing.”

Well, it wasn’t like she hadn’t been hugged before…

If he hugged her again, it wouldn’t hurt, right?

Lu Yanzhou’s throat moved slightly as he bent down and scooped her up, taking a step forward. “This is the last time.”

“Huh?”

Yu Xia didn’t process it at first. Her mind went blank, and she stared at him, wide-eyed, in disbelief. “The last time you’ll hug me?” Was that it? His two princess hugs were the extent of his flirtation?

Lu Yanzhou was tall, with long legs, and their apartment wasn’t big. It only took a few steps to reach the entrance. Standing by the door, he looked down at her. “Next time you want to be carried, I’ll have to take responsibility.”

Yu Xia’s heart raced, and her love-struck brain was revived once again.

He was so bad.

What kind of teasing was this? It was practically a scam!

Her ears were burning, and she had no idea where to put her hand on his shoulder. Lu Yanzhou didn’t seem to expect an answer from her. He opened the door.

Soon, they stopped at her door. He leaned in and softly asked, “At the door, or should I walk you inside?”

“Just at the door is fine,” Yu Xia thought she couldn’t let him inside now.

Lu Yanzhou complied, setting her down. Yu Xia leaned against the door, entering the password. With a soft click, the door opened. She quickly turned to glance at him. “I’ll be going now. I need to handle some stuff on Weibo and then work on some sketches.”

Lu Yanzhou raised an eyebrow. “That comic strip?”

“No!” Yu Xia denied it quickly. She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to continue with the comic. “It’s just some backlog for my real job.”

Her real job.

Lu Yanzhou was easily amused by her words. He chuckled and said, “Mm, go ahead, then. Call me if you need anything.”

Yu Xia took a deep breath and finally looked up to meet his gaze. “I broke up with my ex less than two weeks ago. You really don’t mind?”

Lu Yanzhou looked at her, his voice low. “What do you want me to say? That I mind?”

“Well… like, moving on so quickly.” Yu Xia wasn’t sure what she meant exactly, just that it felt too fast. It was happening too quickly, and it scared her a little.

Lu Yanzhou was silent for two seconds. “That just means I showed up at the right time.”

“…”

Yu Xia had to grip the door tightly to keep from collapsing.

There was still one thing she wanted to confirm. “So, are you chasing me now?”

After asking, she suddenly felt like she had the upper hand again.

Lu Yanzhou froze for a second. He finally understood her confusing, fluctuating attitude—it was because she wanted him to take the lead. He gave her a half-smile, looking at her. “If you want to be lazy, you can let me take over.”

“…”

—

Three minutes later, Yu Xia collapsed on the couch, rolling around with her face buried in the pillow. No matter how much she rubbed her face into it, she couldn’t calm down.

Just in time, her phone rang. It was Tang Yue.

She answered it, and the line was filled with screams. “Ahhh! I’m doomed!”

Tang Yue thought she was talking about the hot search and quickly reassured her. “It’s okay! I saw you gained tens of thousands of followers, which is a good thing. Is Zhou Yu and his girlfriend causing trouble for you? People have been asking me if he really cheated. It’s spreading around…”

“I’m not talking about that,” Yu Xia said, not wanting to hear the name Zhou Yu right now as it would ruin the mood.

“Then what are you talking about?”

Yu Xia took a few deep breaths before she could calmly explain the situation.

After listening, Tang Yue immediately understood. “So, you’re trying to say that you’re going to fall in love, aren’t you?”

Yu Xia quickly changed the subject. “Let’s talk about Zhou Yu. I’m worried he might cause trouble for me.” She needed to distract herself and calm down.

“Forget about him. Don’t worry, I won’t let him spread rumors,” Tang Yue said thoughtfully. “You focus on dating that handsome neighbor of yours.”

After hanging up, Yu Xia browsed through Weibo, and after thinking for a while, she posted a new update. The post said roughly: that the story was purely fictional, not a tutorial on romance, and advised people to be cautious about learning from it. If anyone suffered a breakup, she wouldn’t take responsibility.

That should be enough, right?

She didn’t want to clarify anything about Zhou Yu. In a few days, she’d be attending a comic convention, and she was worried that if the heat around this topic suddenly surged, someone might dig into it. If it led to things involving Lu Yanzhou, it would be troublesome.

The next day was the weekend, and Lu Yanzhou asked her if she wanted to come over for a meal.

Yu Xia felt that she had finally gained some upper hand, so she decided to be a little reserved and declined.

Maybe it was because she was feeling too restless inside, but a girl who could stay home for half a month working on a manuscript without going out was now thinking about going out even with a sprained ankle.

On Monday evening, Lu Yanzhou worked a bit late. Before leaving, he habitually checked his social media feed. Sure enough, Yu Xia had updated her WeChat Moments as usual.

Living in Spring: Want to go out, want to go downstairs. When can my poor foot heal enough for me to walk and run again? [frustrated] [frustrated].

Her username had changed from Living in Winter to Living in Spring.

Lu Yanzhou looked at her new name and couldn’t help but smile. He called Zhuo Sheng. “Do you still have that wheelchair from before?”

Zhuo Sheng had been in a car accident last year, breaking his leg and using a wheelchair for two months.

“Yeah, it’s in the company’s storage room. What do you need it for?” Zhuo Sheng casually asked.

Lu Yanzhou replied, “Nothing, just need it for a few days.”

Zhuo Sheng was puzzled. “But you’re fine, why do you need a wheelchair?”

“For someone else,” Lu Yanzhou said, then hung up. He grabbed the car keys from the table, drove to the office’s storage room, and loaded the wheelchair into his car before heading home.

Yu Xia had just finished dinner when she heard a knock at the door. Her first instinct was that it was Lu Yanzhou, so she quickly tidied up her clothes and hair, then limped to the door to open it.

When she saw the wheelchair by his side, she froze.

Lu Yanzhou looked at her and smiled, “I’m taking you downstairs.”

“…”

In the end, Yu Xia still sat in the wheelchair.

This was her first time using a wheelchair, and it happened to be around the time when everyone was out for their evening stroll. Elderly people were already doing Tai Chi and dancing in the small plaza.

“Did you buy this wheelchair?” Yu Xia asked as she sat in the wheelchair, restlessly looking around and enjoying the feeling of being pushed.

“It belongs to a business partner of mine,” Lu Yanzhou explained, introducing Zhuo Sheng and briefly explaining why he had a wheelchair. “You should treat him to a meal sometime and thank him for the wheelchair.”

Yu Xia chuckled, “Okay.”

Lu Yanzhou’s phone received an email. He pushed the wheelchair under a big tree and said to Yu Xia, “I need to handle an email. It’ll only take a few minutes.”

Yu Xia nodded and looked toward the small plaza, watching the elderly people exercise.

An elderly man passing by stopped, looked at her, and said, “Isn’t this Xia Xia? What happened to your foot? Why are you in a wheelchair?”

Yu Xia was taken aback. The man seemed a bit familiar, but the light under the tree was dim, and she couldn’t immediately remember who he was. “I sprained my foot, I can’t walk, so I’m using the wheelchair to go downstairs for a walk.”

“Oh, that’s good,” the elderly man said with a smile. “When your foot’s better, come down and exercise with us. You young people don’t get enough exercise.”

Yu Xia: “…”

She remembered now. A while ago, she had gone downstairs for a walk after her comic series went on hiatus and saw a group of elderly people practicing Ba Duan Jin^[1]Ba Duan Jin, or “Eight Pieces of Brocade,” is a traditional Chinese exercise made up of eight gentle qigong movements designed to improve health and energy flow. Practiced slowly with … Continue reading. She had joined in with them, and this old man had helped her by demonstrating the correct movements.

She didn’t know when Lu Yanzhou put down his phone. He was standing behind her, suddenly laughing softly. “The first time I saw you, you were mixed in with a group of elderly people doing Tai Chi.”

“…………”

Huh? Yu Xia turned back in surprise.