Chapter 013

“Dad, Lu Jin is taking me to buy extracurricular tutoring books at the Xinhua Bookstore on Yingchun Road. I don’t know when I’ll be back. If I’m late, you can go to a restaurant for lunch,” He Ye said to her father while having breakfast on the weekend.

There were several small bookstores near the No. 2 Middle School, and He Ye usually chose tutoring materials from there. She had never thought of going to the more distant Xinhua Bookstore.

He Yong put down his bowl. “He’s taking you there?”

He Ye nodded, “Yes, he often goes there and is quite familiar with it. Besides, he has read a lot of books, so it’s easier for him to find what I need.”

He Yong looked at his daughter, who was eating seriously with her head down, and asked as naturally as possible, “You two seem to be quite familiar with each other.”

He Ye paused.

Were they familiar?

They were in the same class, but in the classroom, He Ye hardly ever spoke to Lu Jin or Zhou Xiangming. To other students, it seemed like they didn’t know each other at all.

After evening self-study, the three of them walked together, but Zhou Xiangming was the most lively one on the road. Both she and Lu Jin were quiet and taciturn.

After thinking about it, He Ye answered her father, “Not really, but he’s very helpful.”

He Yong’s suspicions were eased by his daughter’s innocence and frankness.

He remembered his own youth. If he liked a girl, even if he wanted to pursue her, he would definitely do it behind the parents’ backs.

As for Lu Jin, this kid even went to the supermarket to suggest installing surveillance cameras and did so very openly, without showing any ulterior motives.

Maybe he was overthinking things about the children, especially Lu Jin, who was a top student. His thought process when dealing with girls was probably different from that of ordinary people.

“Go ahead. If it’s really late, you can eat out at noon.”

As he said this, He Yong limped to the bedroom and returned with five brand-new hundred-dollar bills, which he placed in front of his daughter.

He Ye protested, “This is too much. How much can the two of us eat?”

He Yong replied, “They’ve helped you a lot. Pick a slightly better restaurant.”

He Ye had no choice but to put the money into her schoolbag.

Xinhua Bookstore opened at nine o’clock, and the two agreed to meet at the south gate of the community at half past eight because they had to go to another stop to catch a bus that went directly to the bookstore.

He Ye went downstairs at 8:20 and walked along the shade of the trees towards the south gate. As soon as she turned onto the main road, she saw Lu Jin waiting at the south gate of the community on a bicycle.

The next second, he rode towards her.

He Ye clenched her hands.

It was true that she was happy Lu Jin helped her choose the tutoring materials, but it was also true that she felt awkward about their relationship along the way.

From childhood to adulthood, what He Ye envied most was not classmates with better grades but those who were lively, generous, and good at socializing, including Zhu Qing and Zhou Xiangming.

Soon, Lu Jin turned the bike around and stopped next to He Ye, “Hop on.”

He Ye sat on the bike, holding her schoolbag. The bright sunlight shining from the opposite side made her lean towards Lu Jin’s back.

The temperature had started to drop, so he wore a thin black jacket with the buttons unbuttoned, the hem of his jacket fluttering in the wind.

After a moment of silence, He Ye tried to start a conversation, “Do you have any books you want to buy?”

Lu Jin replied, “Yes, some magazines are about to be published.”

He Ye felt relieved. If Lu Jin had made this trip just to accompany her, she would have felt very pressured.

“My dad told me to treat you to a meal if we come back late.”

“You report to your dad wherever you go?”

“That’s about right. Otherwise, he would think I was at home and wait for me to bring lunch over.”

Lu Jin looked at her shadow on the ground and wanted to make a joke, but he gave up.

It was clear that He Ye, who was focused only on studying, never doubted whether he had any ulterior motives.

When they arrived at the bus stop, Lu Jin parked his bicycle and stood in front of the platform with He Ye to wait.

Although it was the weekend, the bus they were going to take passed by the most popular attraction in the city.

So, when Lu Jin helped He Ye squeeze into the bus, there were no seats left.

“Let’s go to the back.”

Lu Jin skillfully led He Ye to the back of the bus, which was much less crowded. He still stood behind her to prevent others from touching her.

After three stops, an old lady next to He Ye got off the bus.

He Ye turned around and looked at Lu Jin, “Please, sit down.”

Lu Jin said, “You sit down, I…”

Before he could finish, a figure quickly squeezed in from behind him and took the empty seat in the blink of an eye.

He Ye was speechless.

She was definitely unhappy. She glanced at the unfriendly face of the middle-aged man who took the seat. She didn’t dare to get angry, but she was too lazy to stay next to him. She pursed her lips and moved to another spot.

Lu Jin followed her, looked at her, smiled, and asked in her ear, “Are you angry?”

He Ye pursed her lips even tighter.

Lu Jin said, “Next time there’s an empty seat, just sit down so that outsiders don’t get the advantage.”

He Ye didn’t think much about it, but when Lu Jin spoke, his breath seemed to tickle her ear, giving her a strange feeling.

Two more stops later, before He Ye could react, Lu Jin suddenly stepped past her and took the seat that had just been vacated.

He Ye was impressed by his speed. Lu Jin gave her a look, but she shook her head, motioning for him to sit down.

Instead, Lu Jin stood up.

Seeing that some passengers around were ready to take the seat, He Ye quickly moved over and was then pulled into the chair by Lu Jin. He stood beside her, holding the back of the chair with his left hand and grabbing the horizontal railing above the car wall with his right hand, completely surrounding He Ye.

If He Ye turned her head to the right, she would see Lu Jin’s waist and legs.

It was a very awkward position, so He Ye had to sit upright, either looking forward or out the window.

She didn’t notice that Lu Jin kept his eyes down, and his gaze almost never left her face.

At Xinhua Bookstore, high school tutoring materials alone occupied a large area.

He Ye’s eyes lit up, and she wished she could take all these books and test papers home.

“I’ll help you choose, and you can see if there’s anything else you want to buy,” Lu Jin told He Ye, encouraging her to move around freely and not stay by his side.

He Ye nodded and walked away quietly.

Many students were at the bookstore to buy books. As He Ye was choosing, she looked up inadvertently and suddenly saw Chen Xuan, the second top student in the class.

A strange girl was next to Chen Xuan, and the two walked into the store, chatting and laughing.

Glancing at Lu Jin, who was only a few steps away, He Ye quickly dodged and hid in the innermost bookshelf.

“Lu Jin?” Someone suddenly patted his shoulder gently, and Lu Jin frowned and turned back.

Chen Xuan smiled in surprise. “It’s you! What a coincidence. Are you here to buy books too?”

Lu Jin looked indifferent, hummed in acknowledgment, and turned away, indicating he had no intention of continuing the interaction.

Chen Xuan, a good student and pretty, had always had boys approach her. This was the first time she was openly ignored.

She was so embarrassed that her pretty face turned pale.

Her companion considerately took her away. “Is this the school idol you mentioned? He looks handsome, but his temper is terrible.”

Chen Xuan, who had recovered a little, smiled bitterly. “I didn’t expect him to be like this in private. When someone asked for his help in the classroom, he was always willing.”

Lu Jin couldn’t hear the girls’ conversation. The moment he turned around, he looked toward the place where He Ye had been.

But He Ye was not there.

He sent her a message: [Where are you?]

He Ye replied: [Inside. Notify me when Chen Xuan leaves.]

Lu Jin: [Why are you hiding from her?]

He Ye: [I’m afraid she’ll misunderstand.]

Lu Jin: [Misunderstand what?]

He Ye: [Misunderstand us.]

Lu Jin: [You’re not afraid of Uncle misunderstanding, so why are you afraid of her, an outsider?]

He Ye: [It’s different. My dad knows you’re helpful and that I will never fall in love too early. Chen Xuan doesn’t understand us, and if she tells others, I won’t be able to explain myself clearly.]

Zhu Qing often chatted with He Ye about gossip in and out of class. At this turbulent age of youth, both real and imaginary ambiguities were too easy to happen.

He Ye didn’t want to be the object of gossip and speculation among her classmates.

Chen Xuan might not say too much, but she wanted to avoid this possibility.

Lu Jin’s gaze lingered on “I will never fall in love too early” and “You are helpful.”

He smiled and said, “Okay, I’ll call you after they leave.”

It was half an hour later when He Ye came out.

Lu Jin tapped the book in his hand. “I’ve chosen it.”

He Ye was overjoyed as she took the books and looked at them one by one. The math and science sections focused on detailed explanations of large questions, the Chinese section focused on reading comprehension and composition, and the English section focused on grammar refinement.

“I’ll go look around somewhere else.”

Seeing that she was reading intently, Lu Jin gave her some instructions and walked away. Looking back from a distance, he saw that He Ye was still holding the books and hadn’t paid any attention to where he was going.

She was even wearing the No. 2 Middle School uniform pants with a white jacket on top.

It was an ordinary ponytail, the only thing unusual being her pretty and serious face.

It was only half past ten when the two left the bookstore.

The newly bought books were placed in He Ye’s schoolbag, which was slung over Lu Jin’s shoulders.

Lu Jin decided, “Let’s go back.”

He Ye protested, “But I promised to treat you to a meal.”

Lu Jin suggested, “It’s too early. Why not buy some groceries and cook at home?”

He Ye followed him toward the station. “Your parents aren’t home again today?”

Lu Jin replied, “Yeah.”

He Ye asked, “Don’t they have weekends?”

Lu Jin answered, “Occasionally, but they’ve been very busy lately. If you hadn’t treated me, I would have had to cook for myself at noon.”

He Ye: …

Of course, there was no problem treating him to a restaurant meal, but inviting Lu Jin to eat at her home seemed a bit strange.

Sensing her hesitation, Lu Jin explained, “I’ll give you the lunch box. Let me know before you go downstairs to the supermarket, and I’ll come over.”

This was much simpler. He Ye only emphasized, “My cooking isn’t as good as yours.”

Lu Jin reassured her, “It doesn’t matter. I’m not picky.”

After getting off the bus, Lu Jin first took He Ye to the farmers’ market to buy vegetables. Then they went to Building 10 to pick up his lunch box and returned to the downstairs of Building 7.

He Ye prepared three lunches as agreed.

She wanted to deliver the food to Lu Jin by bike, so she didn’t send a message in advance. However, Lu Jin was already waiting under the shade of the trees near Building 7, leaving her no chance to play the delivery girl.

“How long have you been waiting?” He Ye asked as she handed over the lunch box.

Lu Jin replied, “Five minutes? I guessed the time.”

He Ye smiled and waited for him to leave first.

Lu Jin placed the lunch box on the back seat of his bike and held the handlebars with both hands as if he were about to leave. Then he suddenly tilted his head, looked at the girl next to him, and whispered, “Don’t tell Uncle about this treat. If he asks, just say I didn’t ask you for it.”

He Ye looked over in surprise and met his dark and narrow eyes.

Lu Jin said, “I was afraid Uncle would misunderstand, so I didn’t tell him when I brought you food last time.”

He Ye was stunned.

Lu Jin continued, “Did you tell him?”

He Ye quickly shook her head, as there was no need to mention it.

Lu Jin smiled. “That’s good. See you tomorrow.”