Chapter 16: The Gentleman

Eight o’clock in the morning.

Li Mu definitely had an alarm clock and got out of bed on time.

Today was the day for school registration, and he had no intention of sleeping in.

Due to the layout of the house, his bed was only separated from Lu Xiaoxi’s by a wall.

He could still hear the sound of slippers pattering from next door.

It was an old community, so the sound insulation was just acceptable.

He thought he would have to wake Lu Xiaoxi up, but it turned out he was worrying for nothing.

Lu Xiaoxi was much more meticulous and disciplined than he was; she probably set her alarm for today a few days ago.

Lu Xiaoxi also opened her door at the same time.

Their eyes met, but he couldn’t hear a single “good morning” from Lu Xiaoxi.

Unlike boys, girls need to dress up when going out. Although Lu Xiaoxi didn’t wear makeup, she clearly put some thought into her outfit.

A white inner shirt paired with a brown little jacket, a deep red bow tied at the collar, carrying a small handbag, a brown short skirt covering her knees, and white socks wrapping her fair calves, matched with small black shoes, she exuded youthful vitality.

The girl was only one meter sixty-five tall, with a slender figure, which was not considered short among girls.

She looked quite pretty.

“Are you going for a cute style today?” Li Mu unabashedly stared at Lu Xiaoxi’s watery eyes.

“You are the one going for a cute style; I am naturally cute!”

At first, Lu Xiaoxi was fine, thinking Li Mu was just glancing at her, but she didn’t expect him to be so shameless. Even though they often saw each other, she couldn’t stand being stared at like that.

Li Mu stood right next to her; she didn’t dare to meet his gaze and could only sneak a look at him from the corner of her eye. He had a well-proportioned figure, smooth lines, standing at one meter eighty-three, just perfect—any taller would break that perfect ratio. He didn’t need to dress up deliberately to show off his handsome side.

Whether in real life or on TV, Lu Xiaoxi had never seen a boy more handsome than Li Mu.

“Do you think you look like a mature woman?”

“Li Mu, please don’t be so vulgar.” Lu Xiaoxi laughed in anger; her good mood for the day started to fade as she chatted with Li Mu.

Her little fist clenched, wanting to hit Li Mu.

She wondered if there were any online shops that customized sandbags; she wanted to order one and stick Li Mu’s photo on it.

When she was angry, feeling wronged, bored, or happy, no matter when, she wanted to hit the Li Mu sandbag, who told him to be so vulgar.

“Shall we go to school? The earlier we register, the earlier we can come back.” Li Mu was unaware that he was being mentally beaten up by the little girl.

After brushing his teeth and washing his face, he organized his backpack, making sure to bring along his admission notice and graduation certificate, and before leaving, he didn’t forget to check the mirror to confirm he still looked handsome before heading to the door.

“Wait for me.”

The bus stop was near the community, and it only took twenty minutes to get to school.

It was rush hour, and many office workers in formal attire were at the bus stop, carrying briefcases.

When the bus arrived, these people rushed on.

Li Mu wasn’t in a hurry; he waited for everyone else to board before following closely behind.

Many office workers didn’t take the seats, and when Li Mu got on, there was just one empty seat left.

“I am a gentleman; I will give you my seat.” Li Mu flashed a cheeky smile at Lu Xiaoxi behind him.

“I think you are more like a servant giving a seat to your master.” Lu Xiaoxi was happy but didn’t hold back her words.

Lu Xiaoxi was great in every way, but unfortunately, she had a mouth.

Most people on the bus would look at their phones, but Li Mu was the exception; he just stared at the advertisements on the bus, watching all the way.

Of course, this had nothing to do with the fact that he had been late for school several times before because he was distracted by his phone and had been punished by the teacher.

The things needed for school registration could fit into a small handbag; he didn’t know why Li Mu was carrying a big black backpack.

“Let me help you carry your backpack.”

“No need, there’s nothing in it.” Li Mu smiled.

“Suit yourself…”

The bus was crowded, and Li Mu was very close to her; she just needed to lean a little to the right to lean against Li Mu’s arm.

Boys were like heaters; even with the air conditioning, Lu Xiaoxi’s face still turned red.

She tried hard to tell herself that she was blushing from the heat, not because she was so close to Li Mu.

Li Mu stood right next to her, blocking her completely.

Occasionally, she could smell the scent of rose shower gel coming from Li Mu.

She was quite sure Li Mu had used her shower gel again.

What a bothersome guy, why did he have to smell so good?

It seemed like a long, long time ago, they had also taken the bus together. Back then, she and he liked to sit in the last four rows, squeezed by the window, watching the little cars outside. Sometimes when they saw street vendors selling snacks, they would giggle and shout to go buy some to eat.

Lu Xiaoxi didn’t know why she was thinking about this; was she fantasizing about the past?

What a joke, she hated Li Mu the most.

The bus suddenly braked hard, and she, distracted, couldn’t control herself and leaned forward due to inertia.

Her forehead bumped into something rough and warm; she seemed to guess what it was.

It was Li Mu’s palm that blocked her forehead, preventing her from hitting the backrest in front of her.

Warm and hot, Li Mu’s hand was distinctly bony.

It wasn’t until the bus started moving again that Lu Xiaoxi nervously lifted her head.

“Good thing I reacted quickly; you owe me a meal for this?” Li Mu looked at the red mark on the back of his hand from the pressure, shook it off, and the mark disappeared.

“You still haven’t paid me for yesterday’s ribs…”

“Uh, that cancels out.” Li Mu scratched his head, almost forgetting about it.

The bus was getting closer to the school, and the crowd was noticeably increasing.

He heard that there were many small vendors at the school gate, and today it was indeed the case.

There were many talented and capable people in college, and there were even more handsome boys and beautiful girls.

Standing at the school gate for ten minutes, the number of handsome guys and beautiful girls coming in and out was more than she had seen in a year.

“It must be crowded now; let’s go have breakfast first.” Li Mu poked Lu Xiaoxi’s back and pointed to a nearby stall selling rice rolls.

Lu Xiaoxi, who was starving after not eating for a while, thought the same.

“Boss, two servings of egg and meat rice rolls, and two bottles of cola.”

“Okay!” The boss, busy, poked his head out and welcomed the two to take a seat.

“Today our shop is having a promotion; buy two get one free, so I gave you an extra bowl.” The rice rolls were quickly served.

“Thank you, boss.”

Li Mu looked at it, got up, and ran to the next table to grab a bottle of chili sauce, “I know you can’t eat without chili.”

They had a hearty meal.

Li Mu, still feeling unsatisfied, rubbed his belly, took a sip of cola, and looked at Lu Xiaoxi, who still had more than half left, incredulous.

“You eat so fast at home, but you’re such a lady outside?”

Li Mu was truly surprised.

“Are you still claiming to be a gentleman?!” Lu Xiaoxi’s face turned red, quickly shoveling the remaining rice rolls.

Girls should be a bit reserved when outside.

“Wait a minute.”

“What now?”

“You have a strong garlic smell when you talk.” Li Mu pointed at the garlic chili sauce on the table, dramatically covering his nose.

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