Chapter 50: So, you’ve liked me for quite a while?…

“Huh?” Yao Wenjing asked in confusion. “I know him?”

“Yes, you do.” For some reason, after being with Lu Liu, every time Lin Zhi mentioned his name, he found it hard to say it out loud. At this moment, he pretended to remain calm to hide the awkwardness inside and said, “It’s Lu Liu. Um, I’m with him now.”

Yao Wenjing was a bit surprised, but after thinking carefully, it seemed somewhat expected. He suddenly realized, “So it’s Lu Liu, no wonder…”

Lin Zhi waited for a moment but didn’t hear Yao Wenjing continue, so he couldn’t help but ask, “No wonder what?”

“Don’t you remember?” Yao Wenjing reminded him. “In the first semester of senior year, I mistakenly thought I liked you, and when Lu Liu found out, he seemed a bit unhappy. Now that I think about it, he might have been jealous back then.”

Lin Zhi recalled this and indeed remembered it. Back then, he and Yao Wenjing seemed to feel something strange too, but at that time, he was focused on getting into college to find “Zhi,” and didn’t want to appear like a jerk, so he deliberately ignored the lingering thoughts about Lu Liu and soon pushed that feeling to the back of his mind.

“Also,” Yao Wenjing seemed to be probing some mystery, following the clues, he came to many conclusions, and finally summed it up with one sentence, “Lu Liu is such a cold person, yet he cares so much about your business. I used to wonder why your relationship sometimes seemed so good and sometimes just average.”

“Huh?” Lin Zhi gave Yao Wenjing a doubtful look. “You think Lu Liu is cold?”

He must have some misunderstanding of what “cold” means because Lu Liu was obviously a warm person. It seemed that what Yao Wenjing said wasn’t necessarily reliable.

By the end of the day, Yao Wenjing still didn’t let Lin Zhi call Lu Liu out to eat together. It wasn’t because he was too casual, but mainly because…

Yao Wenjing furrowed his brows and said, “Don’t you think it would look like two best friends shopping together and then asking their boyfriends to pick them up after buying a bunch of things?”

“What?” Lin Zhi was speechless, then couldn’t help but laugh. “Your description… actually seems quite fitting.”

“Let’s eat with Lu Liu next time,” Yao Wenjing smiled. “We haven’t had a meal alone together for a while. You guys can meet anytime, but today, don’t let me be a third wheel.”

“Okay,” Lin Zhi agreed happily. After all, he had already told Yao Wenjing that they were all old friends. Whether or not they had that meal didn’t matter much, and there would always be future opportunities, so he wasn’t in a hurry.

After finishing their meals, they each went back to school. The next day, Lin Zhi got ready again, pulled out the sweater he bought yesterday, and found the larger size one. He happily prepared to go out.

Zhao Shaochuan, who had returned late the night before, was shocked. “Aren’t you tired? You’ve been going non-stop, don’t you want to rest for at least one day on the weekend?”

Lin Zhi didn’t explain that he wasn’t going on a date, but took the opportunity to boast, “I’m tired, I want to rest and be a homebody, but… my abilities won’t allow it.”

Yuan and Song, who were half-lying on the bed playing mobile games, overheard and felt deeply offended. They angrily killed three people in the game and calmly said, “Get lost, get lost. Dating is such a big deal? Love only affects my speed in fighting.”

Lin Zhi smiled and left with the sweater.

In fact, he had never felt tired of dating Lu Liu. They didn’t have the habit of staying out until the dorm curfew; usually, they would just have a meal together, take a walk after eating to digest, catch a good movie if they found one, and then find a quiet corner to be close to each other…

However, Zhao Shaochuan’s words reminded him. He wasn’t tired, but he wasn’t sure if Lu Liu was. Would Lu Liu think that their meetings were too frequent? After all, Lu Liu was someone who had even tried online dating in his previous life. Maybe he preferred a more American-style relationship with space.

Lu Liu was standing in his usual spot at the entrance to the school, waiting for him. The path was lined with tall, spherical-leaved trees. In the summer, the branches were lush and offered shade, but since autumn, the leaves had gradually withered and fallen, and by late autumn, the ground was covered with fallen leaves overnight. At this time, the few remaining leaves still hanging on the branches were almost all gone, and it seemed like they wouldn’t survive much longer.

At a glance, the scene looked bleak, and it felt as though Lu Liu standing alone by the road was surrounded by a faint sadness.

When he was still about ten meters away, Lu Liu turned and saw him. Immediately, he broke into a smile and walked toward him. Lin Zhi thought to himself that there was no sadness at all. It was as if flowers had bloomed on the bare tree trunks.

Lu Liu was wearing a thick baseball jacket, which made him look more energetic and youthful than usual. His long legs took large strides, making Lin Zhi feel a little impulsive. He couldn’t help but blame the fact that it was still broad daylight and there were no hidden spots.

When they got closer, Lu Liu naturally took the paper bag from Lin Zhi’s hand and asked, “What’s this? You brought something out.”

“For you.” In public, they couldn’t be too intimate, so Lin Zhi sneakily squeezed his fingers when Lu Liu took the paper bag.

Lu Liu’s smile seemed ready to take flight. He threw Lin Zhi a look of mutual understanding and eagerly opened the paper bag. “A sweater?”

“Mm.” Lin Zhi nodded. Just then, a couple walked past them, holding hands. Lin Zhi gritted his teeth secretly and, almost in competition, leaned closer to Lu Liu and whispered, “I have one too, couple outfits.”

Lu Liu chuckled. “Wear it next time we meet.”

“Okay.” Lin Zhi shoved his hands into his pockets, and his bent elbows rested against Lu Liu’s arm. When he grew bored, he began rubbing the arm back and forth, reporting on his progress. “I told Yao Wenjing yesterday.”

“What was his reaction?” Lu Liu asked casually.

“He was pretty calm.” Lin Zhi recalled what Yao Wenjing had said yesterday and turned to look at Lu Liu, summarizing, “He said you were jealous of him during senior year.”

Lin Zhi had intended to tease Lu Liu, but Lu Liu admitted it straightforwardly. “Yes, I felt like you two were so close that it was like you were practically sharing the same pants.”

Lin Zhi thought to himself, “It wasn’t that exaggerated,” but following the topic, he asked the question he had been curious about for a while. “So, does this mean you’ve liked me for a long time? When did it start?”

Lu Liu didn’t answer directly, instead asking, “What about you?”

Reluctant to back off, Lin Zhi reminisced about his high school life. “Actually, I don’t really know the exact time. By the time I realized it, it was already…”

Maybe it was the second semester of freshman year, or the first semester of sophomore year. Lin Zhi remembered one night before falling asleep, when a sudden thought popped into his mind that he might like Lu Liu. But before that, there were many times when he had secretly glanced at Lu Liu during class, would perk up whenever he heard Lu Liu’s name, and unconsciously paid attention to Lu Liu’s academic and daily life…

“Me too.” Lu Liu smiled. “This kind of thing is hard to pinpoint. Maybe I had that thought the first time I met you.”