Chapter 11

The whole afternoon, Jiang Qiao couldn’t shake the image of her swollen ankle from her mind.

At the end of the last class, students gradually filed out. After Lu Xun finished delivering the assignments to the teacher, he returned to the classroom and found that Jiang Qiao hadn’t left yet.

The classroom window was open, and the fan whirred loudly. Jiang Qiao was sleeping with her head resting on the desk, her hair gently blowing in the breeze, swaying a little.

Lu Xun’s gaze shifted away, but his eyes instinctively moved toward her ankle. The red mark hadn’t faded—it had turned dark blue, making it especially noticeable on her fair skin.

She hadn’t applied any medicine.

In the few seconds that Lu Xun was lost in thought, Jiang Qiao woke up just in time to meet his gaze.

“Are you done?” Jiang Qiao yawned, her eyes still misty.

Lu Xun quickly hid the emotions in his eyes, returning to his usual indifferent expression. “Mm.”

Jiang Qiao, still half asleep, followed him like a little puppy. Her forehead bumped into his solid back, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Lu Xun must have stopped walking at some point, and he lowered his voice. “Why are you following me?”

“To go on a date,” Jiang Qiao said nonchalantly, but immediately felt a bit embarrassed after the words left her mouth. She quickly added, “Dating always involves going on dates.”

“You know a lot,” Lu Xun remarked.

“Of course,” Jiang Qiao’s competitive side kicked in again. “I’ve told you before, many people like me.”

“Heh.” Lu Xun laughed, the tone of his voice unclear. “Impressive.”

Jiang Qiao: “…………..”

She knew he was mocking her.

Lu Xun stood by the bus stop sign, and from the corner of his eye, he saw Jiang Qiao squat down at his feet, a tiny figure.

He paused with his fingers holding the phone, then opened it after a moment.

A few minutes later, a taxi stopped at the curb. Jiang Qiao couldn’t help but glance at it with envy, thinking that it would be great if it was there to pick her up.

Lu Xun was poor, and stingy with her. He probably wouldn’t even give her the two yuan for the bus, let alone pay for a taxi.

Jiang Qiao lowered her head, feeling sorry for herself. She thought how great she was for sacrificing for love.

That dog Lu Xun!

She muttered angrily, and just as the taxi door opened, Lu Xun walked over to the car, holding the door. Jiang Qiao still had her head down.

He furrowed his brows and spoke with obvious impatience. “Missy, what are you still squatting there for?”

Huh?

What?

Jiang Qiao looked up, and her dream had come true. She stood up too suddenly, almost stumbling, but managed to steady herself and quickly walked toward the car, fearing Lu Xun might change his mind.

Lu Xun raised his hand slightly, then lowered it without saying a word. He got in the car as well.

During the ride, Jiang Qiao babbled about a few places she’d just asked her friends about—ideal date spots.

Lu Xun kept his eyes closed, silent.

When they got out of the car, Jiang Qiao finally understood why he had been so calm.

The taxi had already been booked for a specific place.

Looking at the familiar location in front of her, she couldn’t help but frown. “You brought me here for a date?!”

Jiang Qiao couldn’t believe it—Lu Xun brought her to the Red Hall.

If it had been anyone else, she would have thought they had ulterior motives, possibly trying to take advantage of her.

But if it was Lu Xun… well, that couldn’t completely rule out the suspicion either!

“You came here yourself, it’s not a date,” Lu Xun simply and directly countered her question.

Fine, fine, it was her fault for being so shameless.

Jiang Qiao pouted her pretty little face. “Then what are you doing here?”

Lu Xun: “Work.”

Jiang Qiao: “……………”

She instinctively glanced at Lu Xun’s lips, noticing that the bruise had faded and there was no trace of the previous injury.

Lu Xun, perhaps sensing her gaze, pressed his thumb against the corner of his mouth.

Jiang Qiao, no longer as confident, said, “Why didn’t you tell me earlier…”

“Would it have helped?” Lu Xun shot her a glance, clearly implying that even if he had told her, she would still have followed him.

Jiang Qiao was at a loss for words. Indeed, Lu Xun had figured her out completely.

If he had told her beforehand, she would have followed him anyway.

Her current persona was that of a shameless, clingy dog.

Lu Xun went inside to change, and the hotel manager happened to come by to collect some reports. He was startled when he saw Jiang Qiao sitting on the couch. “Miss Jiang, what are you doing here? Let me check Mr. Peng’s suite number for you…”

He assumed Jiang Qiao was here to meet Peng Yang.

Jiang Qiao occasionally glanced toward the staff break room and shook her head, disinterested. “No need.”

The manager was confused and was about to ask again when Jiang Qiao, who had seemed listless just a moment ago, suddenly perked up, her eyes lighting up and a smile spreading across her face. “Lu Xun.”

Following Jiang Qiao’s gaze, the manager saw the familiar, cool, and handsome figure of Lu Xun.

He had changed into a white shirt and black suit pants, looking more mature and refined, like a tall, straight poplar tree.

The manager’s eyes widened, looking from Jiang Qiao to Lu Xun, and quietly asked, “What’s going on?”

Lu Xun paused while rolling up his sleeves. “It’s nothing. Just pretend she’s not here.”

The manager was speechless: “Pretend she’s not here?! Do you think this is some random stray cat or dog?”

“You might want to remember how you got punched a few days ago,” the manager reminded him through gritted teeth.

Having worked in a bar for years, he’d seen people who were troubled by love, but he never expected someone as cold-hearted as Lu Xun to be so unclear about things.

“…I haven’t forgotten.”

Unexpectedly, Lu Xun responded in a calm tone, showing no sign of emotion.

The manager didn’t want to get involved any further, so he gave a few more instructions and left.

During the two hours Lu Xun worked, Jiang Qiao ate three plates of fruit and ordered takeout twice to the hotel.

She was picky with her food. She’d take a few bites of crab roe noodles and then claim she was tired of them, forcing Lu Xun to eat it.

When he ignored her, she threatened to file a complaint.

For the third time, she said, “If you don’t eat, I’ll have the manager fire you.”

Lu Xun’s expression darkened, and he mechanically picked up the slightly cold crab roe noodles with his chopsticks and ate them without any expression, his movements swift, as if he were eating a plain steamed bun.

He was simply completing a task.

Once he started eating, everything else went smoothly.

Blueberries, millets, shredded chicken porridge—Jiang Qiao fed him whatever she had, and he ate it.

At one point, Jiang Qiao took a nap. When she woke up and didn’t see Lu Xun, she was about to ask someone when she saw him walk in from outside. He had changed out of his work clothes and was holding a plastic bag.

Noticing her gaze, Lu Xun shifted the plastic bag behind his back.

“You’re off work and didn’t call me,” Jiang Qiao complained without noticing his small movements.

Lu Xun replied indifferently, “I forgot.”

Forgot?! He could forget that? Why didn’t he forget himself?

Was she really so invisible?

Jiang Qiao had been holding in her frustration all day, and now she couldn’t hold it anymore. She lowered her head and walked ahead, not caring whether Lu Xun was following her.

He probably wasn’t. Lu Xun would be happy if she walked off without him.

Jiang Qiao felt somewhat dejected, both aggrieved and disappointed. As she passed a street lined with sycamore trees, a handful of dry, yellow leaves fell to the ground. She stepped on one in frustration.

Still feeling unsatisfied, she wanted to step on another, but then she heard the familiar, indifferent voice from behind. “Did the leaves offend you?”