Chapter 25: Bargaining

Chen Lu sat in a coffee shop on the first floor of the mall. The environment was very good, with few people at the moment, and it was very quiet.

Just like the music playing in the store, the entire shop’s decoration was in the Victorian style.

The tables, chairs, and tableware were all very classical.

The only flaw was that the lighting was a bit dim.

After a while, a long-haired girl timidly walked in.

Chen Lu, sitting in the corner, waved to her, signaling her to come over directly.

This was Liang Zhirou’s first time entering a store like this.

She had always thought it was a very high-end place, and the things there must be very expensive.

Now it seemed that it was indeed expensive, but not as shocking as she had imagined.

“Why do you always arrive early…” Liang Zhirou sat opposite Chen Lu, feeling a little embarrassed.

It seemed that except for that time when she sent clothes to Chen Lu, every time after that, Chen Lu had been waiting for her beforehand.

Even when she brought Chen Lu breakfast every day, she always thought she had arrived early enough, but she could still see Chen Lu sitting in the familiar place waiting for her.

She inexplicably felt a sense of satisfaction that she was being valued.

“Habit.” Chen Lu chuckled lightly.

This was indeed his habit, but some people would take his efforts to heart, while others wouldn’t.

Seeing the hair tie on Liang Zhirou’s wrist, the smile on Chen Lu’s face deepened. He had only mentioned it casually back then, but this silly girl actually remembered it…

He continued, “Actually, I was accompanying my sister shopping at the mall before I came here. It’s just a pity I didn’t run into you.”

Liang Zhirou pretended not to know anything, “Is… is that so? Maybe we just missed each other. I haven’t seen you either.”

She said this, but she had actually been watching Chen Lu until he disappeared from her sight.

She never thought that Chen Lu would go around to the other side to look for her.

Chen Lu looked at Liang Zhirou’s reaction, the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

This silly girl couldn’t even lie properly.

“It’s a bit of a pity.” Chen Lu looked at the nervous girl in front of him, completely certain that she was the one in the mascot costume that day.

This gaze made Liang Zhirou uncomfortable, so she quickly took out the things she had bought to change the subject.

She carefully placed the shopping bag on the table and said in a voice as thin as a mosquito, “I bought you some milk tea…”

Hearing that this was for him, Chen Lu was a little surprised and stared at her with bright eyes.

The girl was helpless now. She couldn’t bear to be looked at without changing the subject, but even after changing the subject, she felt so embarrassed that she couldn’t look at him.

She could only lower her head and avoid his gaze, not daring to look at him.

Chen Lu didn’t hesitate, took it, and then froze for a moment, curiously asking, “Didn’t you buy any for yourself?”

“I finished it on the way. I didn’t know what flavor you liked, so I just picked one. Try it and see if you like it…” Liang Zhirou finally squeezed these words out of her throat with great effort. Her ears turned crimson, and her head lowered even further.

“I like it very much.” Chen Lu smiled softly, making the girl dazed.

The incredibly handsome boy in front of her and his gentle smile were the only ray of light shining into her dark life.

She loved seeing him smile the most.

“That’s good…” Liang Zhirou finally breathed a sigh of relief, even the fatigue on her face dissipated a lot.

This was the first time she had bought milk tea for a boy, and she was so nervous.

Just as Chen Lu was about to continue teasing her, his phone rang.

Chen Lu picked it up with a displeased expression and glanced at it.

It was actually Lin Miaomiao calling.

“What’s up?” Chen Lu asked with a bit of annoyance. Wasn’t this interrupting things?

Lin Miaomiao’s voice was anxious, “Liang Zhirou is missing! I can’t get through to her phone at all!”

“You can’t get through to her phone, so you call me?”

“You… oh, right, why am I calling you?” The other end of the phone emitted a not-so-intelligent sound.

Chen Lu smiled at Liang Zhirou, who looked curious, and put the call on speakerphone, “Don’t tease you, I’m right next to her now. Her phone is dead.”

“Then I’m relieved. I knew this silly girl wouldn’t even rent a power bank.”

As she spoke, Lin Miaomiao seemed to remember something and suddenly shouted:

“You two lovebirds! You deserve to be drowned in a pigsty!”

Liang Zhirou felt guilty and didn’t say anything. She was figuring out what to buy for Lin Miaomiao.

After a moment of silence, she looked up and asked:

“What did you want to talk to me about?”

The girl still remembered why Chen Lu had brought her here. Even if there wasn’t a reason, she was willing to stay like this, but she was still afraid that Chen Lu really had something to say.

“My parents are looking for a tutor for my sister recently. I’m asking if you’re interested.” Chen Lu didn’t say that he had already paved the way and she could only agree.

He had to trick this stubborn and somewhat adorable silly girl step by step.

“I… I’m not suitable…” Liang Zhirou quickly refused. She wasn’t against being a tutor before, but because she was so shy, people only tried a lesson with her before changing tutors.

Since then, she hadn’t looked for this type of part-time job again.

“It’s fine, you’re afraid of tutoring my sister? Isn’t that better than going to strangers?”

Seeing the girl shaking her head like a rattle, Chen Lu bent down, extended his index finger, and gently pressed it against her forehead, stopping her.

“Do you remember our agreement?” Chen Lu looked at her and asked.

Liang Zhirou blinked. The boy’s determined gaze reassured her. After a few seconds, she finally made up her mind and slowly said:

“I… I’ll try?”

“That’s right.” Chen Lu sat back in his seat with satisfaction and took a sip of coffee, “My parents decided this. You’ll try teaching her a lesson first. If they’re both satisfied, then it’ll be every weekend, two days, two hours in the evening, three hundred yuan per hour.”

“Too… too expensive…”

“Pfft! Cough cough cough…”

Chen Lu almost choked to death. His mind couldn’t process it for a moment.

“What did you say? Too expensive?!” He looked at her with disbelief.

Are you crazy?!

“You’re getting paid to work. What do you mean too expensive? Liang Zhirou, are you an idiot?” Chen Lu coughed, then laughed and said angrily.

Liang Zhirou felt a little embarrassed and mumbled, “I’m… I’m stupid, so I… I can’t teach well.”

“You’re really stupid, yet you still got into this school.” Chen Lu said, taking out his phone and showing her the fees charged by other students in this university who worked as tutors. “Look, they’re all from our school.”

All of them were several hundred yuan per hour. Those with more experience even charged more, and parents were still scrambling to get them.

When it came to their children’s studies, parents never felt bad about spending money. They would do their best.

Seeing that the girl was still shaking her head, Chen Lu continued, “You’re so stupid, so two hundred and fifty yuan per hour is just right for you. It can’t be any lower.”

Chen Lu felt strange. It felt like their roles had reversed.

This tutor wasn’t asking for a higher price, she was actually trying to lower it.

This was truly a sight to behold.

“Can it be cheaper?” Liang Zhirou bit her lip, quietly raising her head, afraid that if she raised her head, she would see Chen Lu staring at her angrily. Fortunately, Chen Lu was looking at her with a speechless expression, so she continued to mutter softly, “Two… two hundred yuan will do?”

She still felt two hundred yuan per hour was high. If she calculated it as eight lessons per month, sixteen hours of lessons, she would earn three thousand two hundred yuan…

That was even higher than her salary at the hotpot restaurant.

“You can do it for free.” Chen Lu said impatiently.

“Free is also okay… but I have to choose a time when I’m not working.” The girl was serious. As long as Chen Lu didn’t dislike her teaching, free was free.

She was willing to help Chen Lu, even if it would be tiring.

Chen Lu didn’t say anything, just stared at her silently.

Liang Zhirou couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

“You… don’t be angry.” The girl’s voice was timid. Chen Lu didn’t speak, so she didn’t dare to look up, but she would peek at him from time to time to see what his expression was.

After a while, Chen Lu slowly got up, sat next to her with a blank expression, and reached out to rub her head.

Liang Zhirou didn’t resist, just closed her eyes tightly.

Chen Lu applied a little force, then gently and slowly straightened her hair.

Then he took a deep breath and smiled helplessly, “Two hundred is two hundred.”