Chapter 6: Matching Umbrellas

“You’re not stupid after all. I thought even if I sold you, you could still count the money for me.” Chen Lu joked.

“You’re not that kind of person.” The girl shook her head gently. “You were the only one who helped me back then.”

Chen Lu chuckled to himself. “Don’t thank me anymore.”

Liang Zhirou’s mouth had just opened, but she closed it obediently after hearing this. Her little head turned for a moment, and then she cautiously asked, “Then, can I treat you to dinner?”

Chen Lu was about to refuse, but then he noticed the girl was deeply lowering her head, her fingers repeatedly fiddling with her clothes.

He mentally scolded himself, then quickly smiled and said:

“It seems my stomach has its own thoughts. Let’s go, I’m going to take you for a good meal.”

If he didn’t accept this girl’s gratitude, it would only make her feel more inferior.

Liang Zhirou seemed to be in a much better mood now, nodding repeatedly.

Chen Lu found it amusing. She actually took it seriously when he said he wanted to take her for a good meal. How could someone be so easily tricked?

There were a lot of people around, so Chen Lu reached out and gently pinched Liang Zhirou’s sleeve, slowly pushing forward together.

Liang Zhirou took advantage of Chen Lu not looking back, glancing at him, then at her own pinched sleeve.

This gentle touch, just right and not crossing the line, filled her heart with a sense of security.

She secretly wished she could walk like this for a little longer.

Unfortunately, the good times didn’t last long. When they reached a less crowded area, Chen Lu immediately let go of her hand, turned around and looked at her. “The cafeteria is too crowded at this time, and it’s expensive and not tasty. Let’s go out to eat.”

“Okay, whatever you want to eat, let’s go.” The girl immediately replied, then lowered her head nervously. “But I don’t have an umbrella…”

It wasn’t raining when she came.

Chen Lu glanced at the dense rain outside and said indifferently, “It’s alright, we’ll have one soon.”

Then he picked up his phone and his thumb quickly tapped the screen.

Chen Lu: Boss, boss, I’m at the library, send two umbrellas over quickly, reply when you receive this.

Jiang Chao: Organization received, over.

Chen Lu: Remember to bring one for yourself, I’m going out to eat with a girl.

Jiang Chao: ?

Good son was very efficient. Within a few minutes, he ran over here.

“Here you go, I’m off.” Jiang Chao climbed two flights of stairs, then handed the umbrella to Chen Lu who was coming to meet him.

Seeing Liang Zhirou, he gave Chen Lu a meaningful look.

“Why is there only one?” Chen Lu asked curiously.

Jiang Chao looked at him with a straight face, “The other one suddenly broke.”

Looking at Jiang Chao’s departing back, Chen Lu sighed helplessly, slowly opened the umbrella and covered the girl who was standing there in a daze.

“Make do with this?”

Liang Zhirou lowered her head, nervously pinching her fingers, then softly hummed in response, following silently beside Chen Lu, looking meek and docile.

The two stood under the same umbrella, gradually merging into the crowd.

Seeing that Liang Zhirou was hesitant to speak, Chen Lu didn’t take the initiative to start a conversation. The two walked quietly in the fine rain.

The raindrops kept hitting the umbrella, making a crackling sound, gradually covering the girl’s rapid heartbeat.

This was the first time she had walked so close to a boy, let alone shared an umbrella.

After a while, Chen Lu led her to the school gate, stopping at an old street.

“It’s here.”

Hearing Chen Lu’s voice, the girl raised her head. The first thing she saw was a well-decorated hotpot restaurant. She pursed her lips, but still said seriously, “Let’s go in.”

Money could be earned again, but favors had to be repaid…

Especially since Chen Lu was the first person to step forward and help her.

“Not that one, it’s this one. Who eats hotpot at noon?” Chen Lu pointed to a noodle shop next door.

“This shop has been open for twenty years. I used to come here with my dad when I was a kid.”

Although it wasn’t good to bring an unfamiliar girl to this place to eat, after all, Liang Zhirou was treating him, and this place was cheap and delicious, making it a good choice.

Chen Lu’s explanation was reasonable, and Liang Zhirou didn’t suspect anything, following him inside.

Even though it was raining outside, the shop was still full of customers, mostly students from Yuhang University.

Obviously, no delicious restaurant could escape the eyes of contemporary university students.

Chen Lu didn’t compete, quietly watching Liang Zhirou scan the code to pay, one bowl each, a total of twenty-eight yuan.

“Only freshmen like to eat in the cafeteria like fools.” Chen Lu chuckled. “Try it, see if it’s delicious.”

Liang Zhirou handed Chen Lu a pair of chopsticks from her hand, then lowered her head and ate in small bites, occasionally stealing a glance at Chen Lu, before quickly turning away.

Chen Lu looked at the timid girl in front of him, his thoughts a little complex.

It seemed that ever since he met this girl for the first time, everything had unfolded so strangely.

Although he didn’t know who had entered whose world, Chen Lu felt that Liang Zhirou had brought a unique color to his life.

He never expected Liang Zhirou to actually wait for him there. She was afraid he wouldn’t find her, so she stood in a place where she would get wet.

The warmth in his heart hadn’t subsided yet, like a pebble suddenly thrown into a lake, causing ripples in his heart.

“Delicious, right?” Chen Lu asked with a smile.

“Hmm…”

Although Liang Zhirou’s eating manners were good, her small mouth was still puffed up, and her eyes met Chen Lu’s unintentionally.

Then, she quickly lowered her head like an ostrich, her cheeks flushed with a subtle blush, as if she couldn’t see him if he couldn’t see her.

Girls seemed to dislike appearing like a foodie in front of others.

Looking at the girl whose mouth was puffed up like a hamster, Chen Lu’s lips inexplicably curled up.

He rested his chin on his hand and quietly watched her.

Then he looked at the drizzle outside, feeling that time was gentle and life was beautiful.

“Why are you saving money like this even though you’re working part-time?”

Chen Lu looked at the burn mark on the girl’s arm and asked softly.

Liang Zhirou quickly swallowed the food in her mouth and slowly said, “Because I need to save money for my mom’s surgery.”

Seeing the girl’s expression suddenly dim, Chen Lu simply bypassed the topic.

He suddenly felt a little sorry for this silly girl who waited for him in the rain.

“Is that Lin Miaomiao your friend?”

Seeing the girl nod, Chen Lu asked again, “Then, do I count as your friend?”

The girl suddenly froze. Although her eyes were covered by her bangs, Chen Lu could vaguely see her eyes blinking.

Her eyes were really beautiful, so beautiful that Chen Lu could still imagine them from just looking at them last night.

They were already etched in his mind.

“Can I?” After a while, the girl asked cautiously, raising her head slightly, seemingly with some anticipation.

Can… I?

What are you talking about?

Isn’t it me asking you?

Chen Lu was a bit confused. This sentence almost fried his CPU.

“Can… I guess?”

“Thank you.” Liang Zhirou said softly. “Before, I only had her as a friend…”

Chen Lu didn’t say anything more after hearing this, but took out his phone and placed it in front of the girl.

“Since we’re all friends now, let’s have dinner together sometime.”

Liang Zhirou took her own phone with both hands and scanned it. Her phone was old and cheap, but it was clearly well-maintained, completely different from Chen Lu’s Syrian war-damaged version.

“Why is your avatar a bubble machine?” Chen Lu couldn’t help but ask with a smile.

It was really strange. He thought Jiang Chao’s avatar of Kun Ge was already abstract enough.

“Because someone gave it to me.”

“I bought this thing too. This model was quite expensive when I was a kid. I gave mine away and got a good beating from my mom when I got home.”

Chen Lu laughed, then stopped laughing. He thought of the little girl who had probably lost her father, and then saw Liang Zhirou in front of him, who was saving every penny to treat her mother.

This world was really not gentle at all.