Chapter 047

The ancient street was packed with people, and you had to wait in line to take photos at any good spot.

Zhu Qing pulled He Ye into the line, while Zhou Xiangming, acting as their photographer, stood by with his camera, ready to go.

Lu Jin went out and bought some barbecue.

Holding a big bag of tinfoil in his left hand, he unwrapped it and handed He Ye a beef skewer.

This was what He Ye had ordered earlier.

Zhu Qing pouted, “Hey, I’m hungrier than Xiao Ye. Why didn’t our university genius give it to me first?”

He Ye gave her a quiet glare.

Lu Jin smiled and handed Zhu Qing the grilled squid she had ordered, explaining, “The more you fear someone, the more you should respect them.”

He Ye: “…”

Zhu Qing laughed: “Xiao Ye is so soft, how could she scare a college bully like you?”

Lu Jin stopped explaining and gave Zhou Xiangming a squid skewer. He took out a beef skewer himself and rewrapped the rest.

Zhou Xiangming took a bite, chewing it while pretending to chop his left hand holding the skewer with his right hand. He then winked at Zhu Qing: “If you were treated like this, wouldn’t you be scared?”

Zhu Qing: “Go away, stop teasing our Xiao Ye.”

He Ye: “…”

If her best friend Zhu Qing hadn’t been smiling so brightly, He Ye might have actually believed she wasn’t enjoying the teasing just as much as Zhou Xiangming! She glared at the culprit.

Lu Jin looked back calmly, making He Ye lower her head and focus on eating her beef skewer.

Halfway through the skewer, it was finally their turn to take pictures.

Zhu Qing casually handed her unfinished food to the idle college bully. He Ye couldn’t do it as naturally as Zhu Qing. While hesitating, a familiar hand reached out: “Old classmate, you’re welcome.”

He Ye couldn’t help but laugh and quickly handed the skewer to Lu Jin, following Zhu Qing onto the stone bridge.

The lights reflected on the water, and the ripples mirrored their figures.

He Ye leaned on the guardrail in the pose they had planned, pretending to look at the cruise ship Zhu Qing was pointing at. But her eyes couldn’t help but drift toward the shore at the end of the bridge, where Zhou Xiangming held a camera, and Lu Jin stood quietly beside him.

“He Ye, look at the water, not at me,” Zhou Xiangming said, gesturing toward the river with his hand.

Zhu Qing whispered with a chuckle: “He’s such a fool.”

He Ye blushed but dared not get distracted again.

They walked around the ancient street for over an hour, mostly taking pictures or waiting in line to take pictures.

Zhu Qing pretended to care about Lu Jin: “You’re just waiting here—aren’t you bored? Why not go back first?”

He Ye lowered her eyes and sipped her milk tea.

Lu Jin glanced at her and said, “It’s nice to just enjoy the scenery.”

Zhu Qing and Zhou Xiangming exchanged knowing smiles and rolled their eyes at each other.

Even after 8 p.m., the ancient street was still bustling.

The four of them had walked the whole ancient street and returned to the south entrance. Zhu Qing looked at her phone and asked, “Should we wrap up tonight or head somewhere else?”

Lu Jin and Zhou Xiangming both looked at He Ye.

He Ye: “How about heading back? I still need to remove my makeup and change clothes.”

Zhu Qing: “Good point, let’s take a taxi to my cousin’s place. How did you get here?”

Zhou Xiangming: “I drove—one car per person. With that setup, we should definitely not be calling a taxi. I’d be embarrassed to admit it at a class reunion.”

Zhu Qing glanced at Lu Jin: “What about you, college bully?”

Lu Jin: “I’ll drive you.”

Zhu Qing, pleased, said: “As expected, college bully is straightforward. Then we’ll ride in your car—I’ve been wanting to check out the Panamera too.”

Lu Jin pointed to the parking lot across the street: “The car’s over there. You guys wait here?”

Zhu Qing replied, “No need, let’s walk together—parking here is tricky.”

Lu Jin led the way.

Zhu Qing walked with He Ye on her arm.

Zhou Xiangming trailed behind, puzzled: “Wait, both of you are riding in his car?”

Zhu Qing: “What else?”

Zhou Xiangming: “Someone should come with me. It’s boring to drive alone.”

Zhu Qing: “You could just head home.”

Zhou Xiangming: “No way, I haven’t seen He Ye in ages. I want to hang out more.”

He Ye: “…Could you two stop flirting and leave me out of it?”

Her words sparked a playful retaliation. Zhu Qing released her arm and began tickling her, while Zhou Xiangming rolled up his sleeves to join in.

He Ye laughed and ran ahead.

“Stop it,” Lu Jin said, grabbing her wrist and pulling her back. Almost at the same moment, an electric bike sped by just three steps away.

He Ye: “…”

Lu Jin let go of her hand, blocking her behind him, and glared at the other two: “Even elementary students know not to play around while crossing the road. How old are you?”

Zhu Qing, not very close to him, immediately felt awkward after being scolded.

Zhou Xiangming, not one to fear Lu Jin, raised his chin toward He Ye and said, “Don’t be biased—she started it by teasing us first.”

Lu Jin looked at him: “It’s just a fact. And honestly, I think you two *were* flirting.”

Zhou Xiangming retorted: “You don’t know anything! If you did, you wouldn’t have been fooled by He Ye…”

Suddenly, Zhou Xiangming felt a sharp pain and looked down in disbelief to find his foot being stepped on.

Zhu Qing glared at him: “Shut up! We’re all friends here—give the college bully some face.”

Zhou Xiangming: “I’m sticking up for us, and you’re siding with him?”

Zhu Qing snorted: “Who said I’m helping him? Fine, I’ll ride in your car. It’s just a Panamera. In a few years, I’ll have Xiao Ye buy me one too.”

She quickly walked toward the parking lot without looking back.

Zhou Xiangming threw a mock punch at Lu Jin and chased after her, grinning.

He Ye was stunned. How did things escalate so quickly?

Lu Jin turned around, his face cold: “If you want to ride with them, that’s fine with me.”

His mood visibly darkened, though it wasn’t clear whether he was upset by the childishness of the two or by Zhou Xiangming for bringing up old wounds.

After all, being reminded in public that you were dumped in a relationship is embarrassing for anyone, right?

If He Ye were to run off with Zhou Xiangming now, it would feel like rubbing salt in the wound.

“I’ll ride with you. I don’t want to be the third wheel over there.” He Ye tried to lighten the mood and whispered as she watched Zhou Xiangming and Zhu Qing ahead: “It’s obvious they like each other, but they won’t admit it.”

“You could tell?”

Lu Jin’s voice softened slightly, and He Ye glanced at him.

Lu Jin avoided the topic and said, “Let’s go.” 

The atmosphere shifted awkwardly. 

He Ye quietly sat in the passenger seat beside him. 

Zhu Qing thought: [Is Lu Jin really angry? He seemed distant before, but tonight he got intense, and I was a bit scared.]

He Ye replied: [He’s not really angry; he’s just focused on safety and pointing out that you two were flirting.]

Zhu Qing responded: [Why don’t you try standing behind him and see if he looks at you like that? Oh wait, you probably can’t handle that kind of gaze from him.]

He Ye: [What about you and Zhou Xiangming?]

Zhu Qing: [He didn’t seem bothered by Lu Jin’s absence until a year after returning to China. So, he wouldn’t care about this small issue. Plus, I don’t want to be a third wheel for you.]

He Ye: [I don’t want to be a third wheel for you either.]

Zhu Qing: [Yeah, being a third wheel isn’t as fun as sitting next to your super handsome ex-boyfriend.]

He Ye bit her lip and turned her phone over.

When she looked up, she saw that Lu Jin hadn’t started driving yet. He was looking at her, and she felt guilty: “Were you watching us chat?”

Lu Jin replied, “No, I was looking at the jewelry in your hair. Is it really gold?”

He Ye said, “…That’s not possible; my rent is too low.”

Lu Jin then asked for the address, and the car started moving. As they were about to leave the parking lot, He Ye spotted Zhou Xiangming’s car. He waved and smiled at her, but then his expression changed, and he glared at Lu Jin.

He Ye noticed Lu Jin sneer slightly. 

She thought that this awkwardness would pass soon.

Half an hour later, both cars stopped near the Hanfu shop.

Zhu Qing waited for He Ye before they went inside together.

Zhou Xiangming approached Lu Jin and knocked on his window.

Lu Jin rolled it down.

Zhou Xiangming leaned down to talk: “How is it? Do you think there’s a chance? He Ye seems to like you more now.”

Though Lu Jin broke up with He Ye, Zhou Xiangming remembered how heartbroken Lu Jin was that night, while He Ye had turned cold.

Lu Jin didn’t respond. Instead, he leaned back, his dark eyes focused on the Hanfu shop, as if he could see He Ye just by looking in that direction.

Zhou Xiangming sighed: “Seeing you like this makes me not want to fall in love. Breaking up feels like losing half your life.”

Lu Jin finally glanced at him and said, “You won’t.”

Zhou Xiangming raised an eyebrow: “What do you mean?”

Lu Jin smiled slightly: “You can’t even get a girlfriend, so of course you won’t get dumped.”

Before Zhou Xiangming could react, Lu Jin rolled the window back up.

Zhou Xiangming was left frustrated and went back to his car, cursing.

Lu Jin watched him go, then took out his phone to reply to work messages.

While he was busy typing, he glanced at the Hanfu shop.

Zhou Xiangming messaged: [I don’t know how long I have to wait; should I play a game?]

Lu Jin replied: [Are you waiting to drop Zhu Qing off?]

Zhou Xiangming said: [She doesn’t know you well, so it’s better for me to take her home.]

Lu Jin replied: [If you like her, go for it. Don’t hesitate, or she might not wait for you.]

Zhou Xiangming shot back: [A guy who got dumped so badly can’t advise me!]

Lu Jin smiled.

Inside the Hanfu shop, He Ye was getting her hair done after removing her makeup. 

Her phone lit up on the table.

He Ye cautiously avoided the hairdresser’s sight.

Her team leader messaged: [I had a bad attitude in the parking lot. I’ll drop Zhu Qing off first and then take you home.]

He Ye replied: [Would she prefer Zhou Xiangming to take her?]

Team Leader responded: [You can ask her.]

After finishing her hair, Zhu Qing rushed over to He Ye.

He Ye shared Lu Jin’s message with Zhu Qing.

Zhu Qing exclaimed: “Wow, the university bully is so polite? I definitely need to give him credit.”

So, as the two friends left the Hanfu shop, they headed straight to Lu Jin’s Panamera.

Passing by Zhou Xiangming’s car, He Ye smiled and waved at him.

Zhou Xiangming was left staring in confusion as they walked over. He opened the car door and called out, “Wait, what’s happening?”

The girls ignored him.

In the driver’s seat, Lu Jin watched his friend standing alone in a flashy jacket and drove away.

Zhou Xiangming thought: “…”