Chapter 17 – I’m Not Even Allowed to Be Angry After Getting Rejected?

“No… no, it didn’t touch me.”

Shang Li’s face was still flushed with embarrassment, and her voice carried an inexplicable softness as she spoke.

Whether intentionally or not, Lu Siyu pressed on stubbornly, “So? Is your first kiss still intact?”

Shang Li: “……”

Lu Tinghe pushed his tongue against the inside of his cheek, then curled his lips into a wicked smile. “Lu Siyu, why do you care about that? Do you want Shang Li’s first kiss?”

Lu Siyu raised her delicately arched eyebrows and replied bluntly, “Whoever wants her first kiss knows that in their own heart.”

Just moments ago, the husky had caused quite a commotion, scattering all of Shang Li’s sketching tools across the floor. She was currently crouched beside the sofa, bending over to pick them up, completely unaware of the exchange between the two.

Today, Shang Li wore a cropped T-shirt and denim shorts. Because she was leaning forward, a sliver of her fair waist was exposed—slim waist, long legs, and graceful curves.

Lu Tinghe cast her a casual glance. Immediately, Lu Siyu nudged him, “Wipe your drool.”

Lu Tinghe ignored her. Lifting his eyelids lazily, he looked in Shang Li’s direction and called out, “So, is your first kiss still intact?”

This time, Shang Li clearly heard him. She whipped her head around, eyes wide as she glared at Lu Tinghe. “You… what did you just say?”

“Shang Li, you heard me.”

Shang Li couldn’t understand why Lu Tinghe would ask something like that. What did having her first kiss or not have to do with sketching a husky?

What kind of logic was that?

She clutched her sketching pencil and instinctively took a step back.

“My first kiss is still intact. I’ve never been in a relationship…”

Upon hearing this, Lu Tinghe walked over, squatted down to pick up a sketching eraser, and handed it to Shang Li, one corner of his mouth curled in a mischievous grin.

“Never been in a relationship? So you got rejected?”

Shang Li’s expression shifted in unpredictable ways, stiffening for a long moment before she finally spoke. “Who did I confess to?”

Lu Tinghe stared at her, an undercurrent seeming to ripple through the air between them.

After a moment, he stood up without expression, turning away and leaving Shang Li with nothing but a prideful view of the back of his head.

…

A short while later, Shang Li sat in front of her drawing board, entirely focused on sketching the husky. The pencil in her hand seemed almost to possess a life of its own—its strokes smooth and fluid like flowing clouds, yet at times swift and forceful like a sudden storm.

Under the interplay of light and shadow, the fluffy contours of the husky gradually came into focus. Every strand of fur was rendered with vivid detail, coming to life on the paper.

Beside her, Lu Tinghe was sitting casually next to the husky, feeding it meat sticks to keep it still and prevent it from moving around too much.

Not far off, Lu Siyu leaned in toward her younger brother with a sly smile. “Feeling grateful? How about buying me a car for good luck when Heshuo Technologies goes public?”

Lu Tinghe let out a short laugh. “Sure, I’ll buy you a car. But let’s be clear—you’ve got it wrong. I don’t like her. At all.”

His voice was just loud enough that Shang Li’s hand faltered slightly, the sketching pencil slipping and leaving behind a faint, off-mark line. She quickly reached for her eraser to clean it up.

Didn’t like her? That “her” in Lu Tinghe’s mouth must be referring to herself. So, Lu Siyu had misunderstood.

Thinking that, Shang Li picked up speed, wanting to finish the sketch quickly and put as much distance as possible between herself and Lu Tinghe.

Lu Siyu furrowed her brows, still unwilling to let the matter go. She whispered persistently, “Impossible. If you didn’t like her, why did you get into the same rideshare with her? And now you’ve come running to my house again—how do you explain that?”

Lu Tinghe replied with his usual rogue swagger, “Maybe I’m just a glutton for punishment.”

“…Lu Tinghe,” Lu Siyu’s throat tightened, and her voice rose, “don’t tell me you’re lashing out at her just because your confession got rejected?”

Lu Tinghe answered shamelessly, “That’s right. I got rejected after confessing, and I’m not even allowed to be pissed about it?”

As soon as the words fell, *crack*—the 8B sketching pencil in Shang Li’s hand snapped in two.

Rejected after confessing? Who had Lu Tinghe confessed to? Ning Mo? That didn’t make sense. The two of them seemed to get along so well.

Realizing her emotions had veered off track, Shang Li quickly composed herself, lowered her head to conceal the panic rising inside, and switched to a spare pencil, speeding up her sketching pace.

Roughly two to three hours later, a lifelike pet portrait came to life on the paper.

Lu Siyu was absolutely delighted with the drawing and didn’t hesitate to transfer one thousand yuan to Shang Li via WeChat.

Shang Li felt a bit embarrassed. “Sister Siyu, that’s really too much. The market rate is only around two or three hundred…”

“Shang Li, you’re the top student at Jingdu University’s Design School. It’s an honor for us to have you draw Hehe. It’s worth every cent.”

Honestly, whether or not Lu Tinghe actually liked the young girl in front of her, after just this short time together, Lu Siyu found herself unexpectedly fond of her. Maybe their energies just aligned well.

Lu Tinghe cut in irritably from the side, “Can you change your dog’s name already? If he ever gets neutered, I’ll feel like I’ve been castrated too.”

Lu Siyu ignored him and pulled Shang Li to sit beside her. “I asked my manager to bring food. Look—it’s already almost evening and you haven’t even had lunch yet. I’d feel terrible letting you go like this. Eat before you leave.”

Shang Li glanced at Lu Tinghe. The man just happened to be looking her way too. Flustered, she quickly averted her eyes and stood up.

“No, I shouldn’t bother you guys…”

Lu Tinghe said faintly, “Shang Li, did you forget what you put together with my shirt that day?”

Shang Li: “……”

“Sit. You can leave after you eat.”

“…Okay.”

Not long after, Sister Wang, Lu Siyu’s manager, brought over a grand meal from the famous Cantonese restaurant *Dragon Phoenix Pavilion*.

The three of them sat at the dining table. Shang Li deliberately chose to sit next to Lu Siyu, putting as much distance as possible between herself and Lu Tinghe.

During the meal, Lu Siyu chatted casually with Shang Li. “Shang Li, is your Design School mostly guys or girls?”

Shang Li answered while eating, “About even. It’s not like the Engineering School, where the male-to-female ratio is really skewed.”

“I see. Then with how pretty you are, you must have a lot of guys chasing after you?”

Shang Li: “……”

“Come on, tell me all about it. I’ve been feeling nostalgic for my university days lately—thinking about doing a campus drama.”

As Lu Siyu spoke, she picked up some food with her chopsticks and placed it into Shang Li’s bowl.

The very next second—*smack*.

Before anyone could react, Lu Siyu’s chopsticks were slapped clean out of her hand by Lu Tinghe.

Eyes wide, Lu Siyu shouted, “What the hell is wrong with you?!”

Lu Tinghe lifted his gaze and replied flatly, “She’s allergic to zucchini. Don’t give her that.”

Shang Li was stunned. She blurted out without thinking, “How do you know I’m allergic to zucchini?”

Lu Tinghe said coolly, “Always picking fights with things you can’t handle—that’s so you.”

Shang Li: “……”

She was so embarrassed by his words, she wished she could evacuate the entire planet.

It was true—she was allergic to zucchini. But she also loved eating it. Every so often, she couldn’t resist sneaking a bite, only to end up with tiny red rashes on her arms, unbearably itchy.

Now, she kept her head down and quietly shoveled rice into her mouth. She didn’t say another word, even chewing more softly than usual—just wanting to finish quickly and leave.

She didn’t understand why, even after she’d done her best to stay away from Lu Tinghe, he kept forcing his way back into her world. If she’d known things would turn out like this, she never would have come here to sketch the husky.

Maybe it was doomed from the moment they met again—once her heart stirred, there was no turning back.

Lu Tinghe seemed to pick up on her thoughts. His expression darkened, almost involuntarily.

Finally, as the meal ended, he pulled out his chair and stood up. “Shang Li, I’ll take you home.”