Vol2 Chapter 7: Sneaking Around
Back in the classroom, An Baili’s seat was still empty, while Silly Goose was daydreaming at her desk. Seeing Lu Li approach, Chu Jingyi looked at him with that same hesitant expression. He deliberately glanced at her shoes, worried that she might have followed him and An Baili to the rooftop and eavesdropped on their conversation. But seeing her clueless expression, he chuckled to himself, realizing he was being paranoid.
Anyone could have eavesdropped, except for Silly Goose. Even if he jumped off a building, he would still believe that.
“Lu Li, um, about that…” Chu Jingyi called out to him. “Actually, there’s something else I wanted to tell you…”
“Hmm?”
“Well, Lu Li… I’m sorry…” She suddenly bowed deeply, startling him.
Lu Li jumped back, quickly helping her up. How could he, a nobody, accept an apology from the daughter of the Chuanhai Prime Minister? With a snap of her fingers, he would be packing his bags and leaving Chuanhai City. He forced a smile. “What are you apologizing for?”
“I thought you and An Baili were a couple, and I made a lot of assumptions and arrangements. I must have bothered you.”
“That? I thought we cleared that up last time.” Lu Li was confused as to why she was bringing it up again. Hadn’t they talked about it on the phone?
“I just felt like I needed to formally apologize.” Silly Goose stuck out her tongue. When a girl, especially a pretty girl like Chu Jingyi, did that, it looked adorable. But when a woman got older, it just seemed greasy. So Lu Li firmly believed that sticking out your tongue was something you should do while you were young!
“It’s no big deal.”
“There’s one more thing… well, how should I put it?”
Chu Jingyi looked strange, like she was lying or making something up on the spot. It reminded him of himself in his previous life, pitching ideas to investors, making up stories and exaggerating facts. It was quite similar to Chu Jingyi’s current demeanor. If An Baili had acted like this, he would have stormed off. People had a strange bias. If an honest person did something, most people would assume it was an honest act without questioning it. But if a cunning person did something, even if it was proven to be legitimate, most people would still believe it was some kind of trickery.
“Ah, it’s about the study… study group. Would you like to join my study group? You see, the midterms are coming up, so…”
“Sure.” Lu Li agreed readily, then added cautiously, “Is An Baili joining too?”
“N-no, Baili… she… she can’t.” Her lies were full of holes.
He had a pretty good grasp of this girl’s thoughts. Chu Jingyi probably wanted to make amends for her past mistakes. That was how innocent girls were. They would immediately try to compensate for any wrongdoing, afraid of causing trouble. Thinking this, his tone softened.
“What will we do in the study group? How many people are there?”
Chu Jingyi blushed, stammering. “Well, just two… for now.” She had been too careless. She should have prepared a script beforehand. She admired people who could lie effortlessly. Just a few simple lies were making her avoid his gaze. But his eyes were so gentle, so warm… It made her feel strangely comforted.
Lu Li chuckled. Silly Goose starting a study group was one thing, but doing it so secretively, like they were engaging in some illicit activity, was incredibly endearing.
He lowered his voice, playing along. “Okay, let’s keep this under wraps.”
“O-okay!” She actually responded seriously.
If Silly Goose ever became an undercover agent, the world would be ending. How could someone as shrewd as Chu Xiaodong have raised such a naive daughter? No, it was precisely because he was so shrewd that Chu Jingyi could thrive in a sheltered environment.
Just as Lu Li thought the conversation was over, Silly Goose tugged at his sleeve again.
“Lu Li, do you really hate Baili?”
“Yes.”
It was hard to say who was more at fault in their relationship, but at least he knew they were fundamentally incompatible. A flawed love would only lead to a flawed marriage, hurting both individuals, both families, and even innocent children. He didn’t want to relive that with An Baili. Not at all.
“You… you won’t lie to me again, right?” She asked cautiously.
What did she mean by “again”? Did he often lie to her? Even if he did, they were just small, harmless lies. As the saying went, a scholar’s lies weren’t lies; they were copyright fees…
“Pinky promise.” She extended her little finger, her delicate hand pale and smooth, her nails neatly trimmed. She seemed to have a habit of making pinky promises. Perhaps they held a special significance in her world.
“No, that’s childish.”
“Liar…” She pouted, and he almost couldn’t resist poking her cheek.
“Pinky promise.” She repeated, her voice softer, almost pleading.
He wanted to hear it again, so he deliberately said, “No.”
“Please~”
His entire body tingled. He quickly agreed. “Okay, okay, I’ll promise anything.” He couldn’t blame King Zhou of Shang. When a pretty girl acted cute, it was hard for a man to resist, his protective instincts and vanity both satisfied.
“Pinky swear, a hundred years, no changes. Whoever breaks it will be…”
Lu Li answered quickly, “Whoever breaks it will be a big white goose.”
“Why a big white goose?”
“Because big white geese are silly and clueless.”
“Really?” She tilted her head, thinking seriously. “That seems right. You know so much.”
And so, their secret intelligence organization, no, their study group, was established. Little did Lu Li know that the promise he had just made to Chu Jingyi was the beginning of his descent into another whirlpool…
After school that day, Lu Li received a WeChat message from his sister.
[Sister Yameng: Someone’s knocking on your door. I didn’t answer. I don’t know who it is.]
When he rushed back to his apartment, he saw an unexpected visitor.
“Ruan Qian? What are you doing here?” It was the girl who was always with Zhou Haiming. She had copied his smoky eye makeup and was pacing anxiously outside his door.
“Brother Lu, you’re finally back!”
“Where are Zhou Haiming and Chen Shiwei? Aren’t you always together? Come in and sit down.” He was about to unlock the door when Ruan Qian blurted out, “We ran into that An Gulai! Haiming and Shiwei got into a fight with him! Brother Lu, please help us!”
His eyes sharpened. “An Gulai? The same An Gulai you mentioned before?”
“Little Pear, what’s wrong?” Zou Yameng opened her door next door. “Is there a fight? Count me in!”
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