Chapter 6: The Taste of Heartbreak
Long Jing, that brat, seemed to know that her song had become a hit online. She flew all the way from another province to collect her “salary” from the unscrupulous boss. To be honest, Long Jing had contributed significantly to the success of Evening Collection. Many gamers were casual players who didn’t care much about gameplay mechanics or the depth of the story. But a captivating piece of music could instantly win them over. Lu Li wasn’t a miser, and he didn’t want to shortchange the little girl. However, the game was still on the trending charts, the dust hadn’t settled, and the bank hadn’t responded yet. Half of the money in his account was actually inaccessible.
Since learning that her song was worth a fortune, Long Jing had become more reserved. Back at the Chu family, she put on airs, holding her head high and refusing to utter a word. Asking her to speak required an “appearance fee,” which actually amused Lu Li.
He didn’t know why this girl wasn’t going back to school. She claimed she was “taking a break.” However, Lu Li heard from Aunt Chu that Long Jing had a conflict with her classmates at school and couldn’t go back temporarily.
In short, this weekend passed with Chu Jingyi’s shyness and affection and Long Jing’s noisy chatter. Oh, and An Baili, too. She was actually studying during the weekend! The sun must have risen from the west… Lu Li thought, a bit rudely.
Monday. 7:00 a.m. Lu Li and An Baili arrived at school, and An Baili was immediately dragged away by Chu Jingyi to help with the statistics for the school sports meet. Lu Li, on the other hand, went to the activity classroom in Building Three alone.
Before entering, he unconsciously straightened the hem of his shirt and adjusted his belt, his mind replaying scenes from the amusement park over the weekend. Since last week, Wen Hupo had been acting strangely, and this strangeness reached its peak at the amusement park. After thinking it over, Lu Li felt that Wen Hupo was like a hunter who had set a trap, and he, Lu Li, was the prey…
But why?
He walked into the activity room and froze the moment he saw Wen Hupo.
Today, Wen Hupo wasn’t wearing her signature white dress or the Chuanhai No. 1 High School uniform. What was she wearing? She was wearing a maid outfit… Yes, a black and white maid outfit with intricate lace trim around the skirt. The skirt was neither too long nor too short, just reaching her knees. Her slender legs were covered in smooth white stockings. The glimpse of her fair skin between the stockings and the hem of her skirt was perhaps the so-called absolute territory.
The Western-style maid outfit paired with her Western blonde hair was a perfect match.
The moment Wen Hupo saw Lu Li, she instinctively covered her chest. The next second, she smiled faintly, lifted her skirt, and curtsied. “Good morning, Outstanding Representative~”
Lu Li felt like he had been transported to a parallel universe, a parallel universe where the Ming Dynasty had long since perished and China had experienced a dynasty called Qing. Or perhaps the female protagonist of some romance novel had transmigrated into Wen Hupo’s body. How else could he explain what he was seeing?
“Good morning.” Lu Li tried to sound casual. At times like this, if he showed surprise or bewilderment, he might fall into Wen Hupo’s trap.
He took out his phone and silently started the timer, then walked over to the seat opposite Wen Hupo. “Miss Hupo, do you have any new artwork?”
Wen Hupo was still smiling faintly. She didn’t answer Lu Li’s question immediately. Instead, she moved her chair and placed it next to Lu Li before sitting down. “Not yet.” She was actively closing the distance between them.
Lu Li felt a surge of excitement at first, but this excitement was quickly replaced by a deeper calm. He shifted his body slightly. “Miss Hupo, isn’t this a bit too close?”
“Is it?”
Wen Hupo knew exactly what she was doing.
“I already have a girlfriend. I don’t want to make her… them sad.” Lu Li paused slightly. Wen Hupo smiled. “Only you could say ‘girlfriends’ so righteously. Indeed, shamelessness is the basic skill of a scumbag.”
“…”
“So? Is this the conclusion the Outstanding Representative reached after two nights of contemplation over the weekend?” Wen Hupo’s sudden question caught Lu Li off guard. He was used to the ambiguous push-and-pull with girls, maintaining a comfortable distance, enjoying the warmth of flirtation without taking on any responsibility. But Wen Hupo had ripped away his protective shell without hesitation, choosing to start today’s conversation with a sarcastic question.
“…Yes.” Lu Li nodded earnestly. He was indeed shameless and greedy. He liked Wen Hupo, but he disliked hurting Chu Jingyi even more. That girl was pitifully pure. Many times, he could deceive her not because he was clever, but because Silly Goose trusted him unconditionally.
“So the story of you and me squeezing into a tiny bumper car, of us holding hands on the roller coaster, you’ll just pretend it doesn’t exist, is that it?” Wen Hupo still seemed to be smiling, but her smile was becoming increasingly sarcastic.
Hearing Wen Hupo’s blunt words, Lu Li couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows. “You really are deliberate… Why are you doing this? You’re not… You shouldn’t be this kind of person.” In his heart, Wen Hupo should have been a near-perfect woman, as noble and pure as the moon in the clouds.
“…” Wen Hupo was silent for a long time.
Lu Li didn’t want the atmosphere to be so awkward and changed the subject. “Why are you wearing a maid outfit today?”
Wen Hupo suddenly took out her phone and turned off the timer. “Nine minutes and fifteen seconds. Outstanding Representative, you held back for nine minutes and fifteen seconds before asking the question you wanted to ask the moment you walked in. Impressive patience.”
Lu Li also secretly turned off his phone’s timer. He had actually wanted to see how long it would take for Wen Hupo to explain her outfit.
“It’s the uniform of the maid at my house. I just thought it was interesting, so I wore it.”
“Just interesting?” It didn’t seem like Wen Hupo’s style.
“Just interesting. Because I thought it would be a unique experience in my life.” Wen Hupo narrowed her eyes slightly, trying to hide the emotions in her eyes with a smile. “Including getting close to you… Outstanding Representative, I don’t particularly like you. I just want to have a different life experience. Participating in the sports meet, going to the amusement park, it’s all just because it’s interesting.”
Lu Li felt something shatter inside him. Being described as “just interesting” and “just a life experience” by his white moonlight wasn’t a pleasant feeling. His head felt hot, but he still pretended to be calm. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because I don’t want to spend the rest of my life with only lonely memories.” Wen Hupo’s eyes were still narrowed. “Outstanding Representative, perhaps you still harbor some self-important expectations. But actually, from my perspective, I chose you to play this role simply because you’re the only male peer I’m familiar with. And, I also believe that you would be happy to help me fulfill this little wish, right?”
Hearing Wen Hupo’s answer, Lu Li’s image of the perfect and unblemished goddess shattered completely. He couldn’t describe what he was feeling, was it disappointment? Anger? Regret? Or a deeper, more complex emotion?
The brief encounter at the amusement park, was it all just a hypocritical and selfish charade? Were the warmth of her hand and the beads of sweat just illusions?
Wen Hupo… His mind flashed with this name, the image of the blonde girl, and the thirty-seven blank letters she had sent him. Finally, his gaze settled on the smiling girl in front of him, and he was speechless for a long time.
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