Chapter 84: I Like You, I Really Really Like You

The two of them had just reached the lobby when they saw Li Sinian and Qin Wenxi walking in.

“Wow, you guys are really going all out. I’ve never eaten at a place like this!” Li Sinian exclaimed, genuinely happy for Chen Lu and Jiang Chao’s success.

Qin Wenxi was visibly startled when she saw Liang Zhirou, but she quickly recovered and smiled politely.

“Senior, is this your girlfriend?” she asked, sizing up Liang Zhirou.

Hearing this, Liang Zhirou lowered her head and shifted away from Chen Lu, no longer standing so close to him.

Before she could take two steps, Chen Lu pulled her back to his side. He joked, “This is my future boss.”

She thought he was still joking, while Qin Wenxi nodded in a way that suggested she understood but didn’t really.

“You two take a look and see what you want to eat. Jiang Chao is footing the bill today, order whatever you want.” Chen Lu said to Li Sinian.

He continued to gesture with his hands, “He just ordered a lobster this big.”

“Damn, take me to see it.”

“This way.”

Chen Lu pointed to where Liang Zhirou had been looking at the fish earlier. The next second, Li Sinian was already dragging him away.

No matter how old they get, guys will always have their childish moments. Like now, when almost half of the university students still believe in Ultraman and the existence of light.

They’re even willing to believe that someone is Qin Shi Huang.

Liang Zhirou was about to follow them when Qin Wenxi pulled her aside to chat.

“Hi, I’m Qin Wenxi. I’m a sophomore, and I’m in the law faculty like Senior Chen Lu.”

“Hello… I’m Liang Zhirou.” Liang Zhirou was a little nervous, she wasn’t very good at dealing with people who were so outgoing.

She also didn’t understand why the other girl would specifically mention that she was in the law faculty like Chen Lu.

“You and Senior seem to be really close. I haven’t seen him get close to other girls like this in a long time.” After saying that, she quickly explained, as if she had said something wrong, “You must know about Yuqing Senior, right?”

Liang Zhirou softly hummed in response.

Qin Wenxi continued to ask, “Do you like him?”

Liang Zhirou was taken aback and quickly waved her hands, “No, no.”

“I guess I was thinking too much. It’s true, you guys aren’t from the same world.”

……

As they were going up the stairs, Chen Lu noticed that the silly girl seemed a little down, so he couldn’t help but ask, “Are you not happy?”

Liang Zhirou returned to her usual stoic self, forcing back her tears and sobs, “I’m fine.”

Everyone was here to celebrate happily, she didn’t want to cause any trouble for Chen Lu by being emotional.

Of course, she couldn’t hide it from Chen Lu. After all, he could see her emotional fluctuations all the time.

Chen Lu wanted to observe the silly girl a little more, but these guys were just too rowdy. They were either egging him on to give a speech or pulling him to drink with them, leaving him no time to spare.

During the meal, Chen Lu would occasionally glance at Liang Zhirou beside him, his eyes filled with joy.

After a while, Liang Zhirou timidly approached Chen Lu, hesitating for a long time before whispering, “Can I go give Chen Mo his lesson? I’m a little uncomfortable staying here.”

Chen Lu’s initial joyful expression instantly vanished, his brows furrowed slightly as he glanced discreetly at Qin Wenxi in the distance.

He then returned to his previous demeanor, smiling and poking Liang Zhirou’s cheek, “Go if you want, I’ll come find you later.”

He said loudly, “Lin Miaomiao, I’ve been drinking, can you drive? Please take Liang Zhirou home for me.”

Lin Miaomiao stood up and rolled her eyes at him, “Just starting and already bossing your subordinates around? Let’s go, Zhirou.”

After the door closed slowly, Chen Lu curled his lips into a smile and said, “My future boss isn’t in a good mood.”

As everyone was laughing, he spoke again in a joking tone, “Remember, guys, making me angry might not get you fired, but making the boss angry will definitely get you killed.”

Jiang Chao snorted, “She’s not even your girlfriend yet, you’re already spoiling her?”

“Of course.” Chen Lu clinked his glass with Li Sinian, but his gaze remained on Qin Wenxi, “This silly girl is my heart.”

Qin Wenxi vaguely sensed that Chen Lu’s gaze was a little fierce, and she nervously looked away.

……

“Suddenly feel like it’s a good thing to be close to Chen Lu.” Lin Miaomiao smiled with her cute canine teeth, “Just a little too bossy, I haven’t even driven much since I got my license.”

“Let him fix it himself if you scratch or dent it later.”

Seeing that Liang Zhirou didn’t respond, she felt a little strange.

“Zhirou, you’re not happy? If I found out that the person I like was so powerful, I’d be over the moon. You’ll be a rich girl in the future.”

In Lin Miaomiao’s eyes, these two were meant to be together.

They were simply a perfect match, it was just too good to be true.

“I…”

“We’re not from the same world.” Liang Zhirou looked at the blurry taillights of the car ahead and said sadly.

She leaned against the window weakly, as if she had been drained of all her energy, lifeless.

Qin Wenxi had spoken the reality that she had buried deep in her heart, the reality she was most reluctant to face.

She not only had nothing, but also a lot of money to spend.

She was a living burden.

“You two have the same values, how can you not be from the same world?” Lin Miaomiao said helplessly, “You may have nothing now, but it doesn’t mean you won’t be better in the future. Love is different, if you don’t seize it now, no matter how great you become in the future, the person you miss is gone.”

Liang Zhirou felt her earlobe suddenly being pinched, she turned her head and saw Lin Miaomiao looking at her, as if waiting for her answer.

“I don’t want to miss him.” Liang Zhirou said pitifully, “I just want to wait until my mom is cured.”

“You don’t want him to shoulder this burden for you?”

“Yeah.” Liang Zhirou responded with a sob.

Lin Miaomiao smiled helplessly after hearing this, “Silly girl, you’re truly the best girl in the world.”

……

After making sure her eyes were no longer red, Liang Zhirou slowly knocked on Chen Lu’s door.

Chen Mo immediately rushed over to hug her, “Sister Zhirou, you’re a lifesaver! I’m definitely going to get at least 120 on my English test this time!”

“I won’t be beaten up by Mom anymore!”

Liang Zhirou was startled, but didn’t push her away immediately, she said softly, “Really?”

“Yeah.” Chen Mo pulled Liang Zhirou to sit on the couch, then realized her brother hadn’t come back, “Where’s my brother?”

Chen Mo snorted angrily and slapped the sofa, “This clueless idiot.”

Liang Zhirou suddenly saw a red string dangling in front of her eyes, and only then did she notice the bracelet on Chen Mo’s wrist.

She froze there.

Then, she rubbed her eyes again and again, confirming that she had seen it correctly. Her mind went blank, as if something had suddenly exploded.

It was real.

It was really him…

The same person, after ten years, pulled her out of the mud twice.

How could this be…

“What’s wrong?” Chen Mo asked curiously.

Liang Zhirou pointed at the bracelet on her wrist with trembling fingers, “This is mine.”

“No wonder, I was wondering how my brother got something like this, so he stole it from you.” Chen Mo’s disdain for his brother deepened, and he handed the bracelet to Liang Zhirou.

Liang Zhirou, like an expert appraising antiques, carefully examined the bracelet in her hands, turning it over and over.

Chen Mo was busy applying for a reward from her mother, and it was another ten minutes before she noticed that Liang Zhirou was still staring at the bracelet.

“I, I’ll go out for a while.” Liang Zhirou said suddenly.

“Okay.”

A few seconds later, Chen Mo tilted her head and looked at the closed door, feeling more and more strange.

……

On the other side, the group of people continued to make a ruckus for a while before disbanding.

Chen Lu and Jiang Chao found a designated driver and chatted casually in the car, with Jiang Chao already drunk and only Chen Lu still relatively sober.

When he heard the text message notification, Chen Lu opened his phone and took a look.

Seeing the notification of the 80,000 yuan bonus arriving, he first breathed a sigh of relief, then a slight smile curled his lips, and he urged, “Hurry up and take me home.”

Now, apart from Liang Zhirou not liking him, all other problems had been solved.

She no longer needed to be afraid of dragging him down.

Chen Lu thought to himself, although he was unsure about the answer to whether Liang Zhirou liked him or not, at least all other factors had been ruled out.

Jiang Chao heard his trembling voice and teased, “You’re just going home, why are you so nervous?”

Chen Lu rolled his eyes, “What are you talking about, your dad is going to confess!”

“……”

The car stopped at the entrance of Li Jing Garden.

As soon as Chen Lu got out of the car, the alcohol was blown away by the evening breeze, and he felt much more sober.

“Go for it!” Jiang Chao shouted.

Chen Lu gave him an OK gesture, swaying slightly, and walked towards his house.

As he reached the entrance of the unit, he saw Liang Zhirou.

She was squatting there, her hands wrapped around her knees, crying and laughing.

Chen Lu shook his head, damn, he was drunk, he didn’t buy flowers.

How do you confess like this.

“What are you doing here?” Chen Lu asked, his voice clearly carrying a hint of alcohol.

“Waiting for you.” Liang Zhirou’s voice was a little hoarse.

Chen Lu, who was drunk, seemed a little slow. He nodded dumbly, without asking how long she had been waiting, he said something very unintelligent, “Then wait a little longer.”

“I’m going to buy something.”

Chen Lu turned around and took two steps, then was suddenly hugged from behind by Liang Zhirou. The girl pressed herself tightly against his back.

He felt the back of his shirt getting wet quickly.

This silly girl must be crying again.

“What’s wrong?” He felt strange, instinctively wanting to turn around.

“……Don’t turn around!” Liang Zhirou pleaded, her voice a little urgent.

“Okay, okay.” Chen Lu stood there quietly, his mind still not comprehending.

The two of them were instantly silent, so quiet that Chen Lu could clearly hear his own heartbeat, accompanied by the chirping of insects.

He stood there obediently, feeling the girl’s embrace behind him.

“I like you.”

After what seemed like a long time, the girl finally spoke with a sob, after Chen Lu felt that the back of his T-shirt was already soaked.

“I really really like you.”

As she spoke, she hugged him even tighter, as if she didn’t have high hopes for a successful confession, treating this as a final embrace.

“Please, don’t leave me, okay? I won’t be a burden forever, I’ll keep working hard for you, I’ll always like you.”

“Stay by my side forever, watch me, okay?”