Category: I Don’t Want to Be Reborn With You

Chapter 20: Caught Red-Handed

After Zhou Haiming’s outburst, Lu Li finally realized that he couldn’t abandon An Baili. He held her tightly, feeling the girl’s warmth, his mind filled with memories of his past life. He thought of the sea, the sky, and An Baili strolling across the grasslands wearing a straw hat.

The passionate kiss eventually came to an end. An Baili parted her lips slightly, panting with glazed eyes. She licked her red lips and asked uncertainly, “Are we back together now?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry… I, I’ll be obedient from now on…” She started crying again, her mouth pouting. She was truly a crybaby. Lu Li pinched An Baili’s soft cheek. It felt good, like kneading a teary-eyed ragdoll cat. “Baili, you have to be yourself from now on. Wen Hupo is Wen Hupo, An Baili is An Baili. I like the real you.”

“Oh.” She snuggled in his arms and obediently replied with an “oh,” not sure if she understood. In the past, Lu Li would have given An Baili a serious lecture, explaining the pros and cons, but now he understood. An Baili was An Baili, a timid, impulsive, and lonely girl. Although communication was a good strategy in relationships, not all girls liked to communicate. Learning to tolerate their timidity was the first lesson Lu Li learned after his rebirth.

“We’re late.” Lu Li casually took out his phone and glanced at the time. It was past eight-ten in the morning, and they were already late.

“I don’t want to go to school.” An Baili clung to him, refusing to let go. “But, but if you have to go, I’ll accompany you…”

He put his phone away and took An Baili’s hand: “Let’s skip school today.”

“Is that okay?”

“Baili, is there anywhere you want to go?”

***

The Jinjiang River had always been the largest river in Shenzhou, flowing through Jiangnan Province and dividing Chuanhai City in two, hence the name Chuanhai. The Chuanhai Cross-River Bridge was the largest cross-river bridge in the south, with a main span of 1,100 meters. Standing at the bridgehead and looking down at the river, one couldn’t help but be awestruck by the vastness of the river.

This place held a different meaning for An Baili.

“I flew out of the car like this. I regretted it while I was still in the air. My head was buzzing, and all I could do was shout ‘What should I do, what should I do.’” An Baili stood by the bridge, pointing to the sparkling river. There were a few fishing boats on the water. From afar, they looked like tiny black shadows.

“Would you dare to do it again?”

“No…” An Baili hung her head. “Li, why did you leave yesterday? How could you leave me alone at home?”

“My sister would worry if I didn’t go home. Silly girl.” After thinking for a moment, he realized that it was indeed unsafe for An Baili to live alone. Should he let her live at his house? Lu Li glanced at An Baili and saw the girl looking at him slyly, probably waiting for him to speak. He chuckled: “If you don’t mind the low-rent district, you can move next door to my house. There are several empty rooms.”

“Can’t, can’t I live with you?”

Of course she could, but Lu Li’s intuition told him that Sister Yameng might not agree. Thinking of Sister Yameng, Lu Li suddenly slapped his forehead, remembering a more troublesome person: Chu Jingyi. He had vowed that he had nothing to do with An Baili, so how could he explain the current situation to Silly Goose?

“You’re thinking about other girls.”

“What?”

“Every time you space out, you’re thinking about other girls.” An Baili snorted. She hesitated for a moment before saying aggrievedly, “If you’re still thinking about Wen Hupo… as long as you don’t abandon me again, it’s okay.” Lu Li’s spirits lifted. He was shocked by An Baili. In the past, An Baili would have acted coquettishly and told him not to think about other girls. Why was she so well-behaved today? No, it wasn’t just today. He remembered that when Secretary Long asked them the other day, An Baili quickly answered: “Just classmates.” She must have said that so as not to cause him any trouble…

“Baili, do you think I’m greedy?” Lu Li sighed, facing the river wind, his unbuttoned coat flapping.

Since the development of human civilization, monogamy had become the cornerstone of a stable society. Having a harem in modern society was actually a suppression of women’s self-awareness, an unequal treaty. Lu Li had asked himself more than once last night whether he was worthy, whether he had the right to accept their affection.

“Very greedy, very greedy.” An Baili suddenly burrowed into his arms, her cheek pressed against his chest. “But the thought that it’s better to have you bound by female charms than to lose you forever, so you won’t fly away like a bird one day, to a direction unknown to everyone.”

Am I that kind of person?

Lu Li was slightly taken aback.

“Those were Wen Hupo’s exact words.” An Baili suddenly smiled sadly. “That’s what she said to me back then. It’s a pity I didn’t understand what she meant at the time.”

Wen Hupo, or rather, Shirley Amber. The image of a blonde woman appeared in Lu Li’s mind. She always sat by the window alone, gazing into the distance with an unfocused gaze. Lu Li had always admired her secretly, and even his later personality was influenced by Wen Hupo.

“Li, let’s go back to school.” An Baili let go of his hand. “I’m a new person now!” She stood with her hands on her hips, revealing a bright smile, so radiant that Lu Li was dazzled. How long had it been since he had seen An Baili smile so freely? Marriage was truly the tomb of love. The more carefree and sweet it was before marriage, the more troubled it became by the trivialities of life after marriage. Ultimately, it was because he wasn’t strong enough – strong in a social sense. Lu Li secretly resolved to speed up the game development process so that the tragedy of love wouldn’t repeat itself.

Holding hands, the two boarded the bus back to Chuanhai No. 1 High School. An Baili was like a cub clinging to its mother, staying close to Lu Li, her hand never letting go. It wasn’t until they reached a corner of the school playground that An Baili reluctantly let go, looking around furtively before pleading, “One more kiss, just a quick one.”

Since he had reconciled with An Baili, there was no need to refuse. Lu Li pinched her cheek with one hand and slowly leaned in for a kiss under the girl’s coquettish gaze. The best way to tell if a man was a virgin was to kiss him and see if he got excited enough to get a boner. If he did, then he was a true magician. Lu Li’s mind wasn’t, but his body reacted honestly.

An Baili’s eyes were watery, her hot body pressed against Lu Li, the joystick pressing firmly against him. This was her usual flirting technique, and it always worked.

“You’re back?” Just as the two were getting lost in the moment, a familiar voice came from the corner that should have been deserted. Their movements froze.

Chu Jingyi stood there calmly, her hands clasped behind her back, watching them. She stood against the sunlight, like a Greek goddess descending to earth. Under the glare of the light, it was difficult to discern the Class Monitor’s expression.

Chapter 19: The Ordinary Man and the Saint

Turning back the clock an hour earlier, Zhou Haiming dragged Chen Shiwei out of the low-rent district. Chuanhai’s October was much colder than expected. He breathed out a puff of air, watching the mist dissipate before his eyes with a blank expression. It was his first time doing something like this, and Chen Shiwei was still a little nervous. He was a dull man and asked hesitantly, “Shouldn’t we call Xiao Qian too?”

Zhou Haiming didn’t answer, and Chen Shiwei didn’t dare to ask again.

The old security guard at the entrance of the community was still dozing off in his reclining chair, the alarm clock beside him clanging incessantly. As Zhou Haiming passed the gate, he glanced at the guard uneasily. Seeing that the latter was indifferent, he quickened his pace and entered the community. He wore a loose jacket, concealing an iron rod in his sleeve. The cold metal rod sent a chill through his head, and he said with a shiver, “Hurry up, stop dawdling.”

Chen Shiwei hung his head: “Haiming, let’s go back.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. This is a great opportunity for revenge.” Zhou Haiming said fiercely. “Don’t you want to seek justice for Brother Lu and Xiao Qian? We’ll sneak in, give that old bastard a whack, knock him out, and drag him out…”

“And then?”

“What then?”

“What do we do after knocking him out?”

“What do they do on TV? Don’t they always call the family and demand money?”

“Then how much should we ask for?”

“At least fifty thousand.”

Fifty thousand. This number stunned Chen Shiwei. He had never seen so much money in his life. Perhaps it was truly a simple desire for revenge, or perhaps it was pure greed, but Chen Shiwei stopped questioning Zhou Haiming’s decision and silently followed him.

The two arrived at An Gulai’s door and first knocked gently, but there was no response. Zhou Haiming took a deep breath, took out the iron rod, and smashed a hole in the old wooden door with a few blows. The neighbor next door heard the commotion and opened the door, but upon meeting the fierce gazes of the two delinquent youths, he quickly closed the door and pretended not to see anything.

An Gulai’s home was dead silent, as if no one had ever lived there. The two searched upstairs and downstairs roughly, but they couldn’t find An Gulai, let alone his daughter.

As the two rummaged through An Gulai’s house, An Baili, hiding under the bed, clutched a fruit knife tightly in her hand, her face pale. When she woke up, Lu Li was nowhere to be found, and she was so anxious that she was at her wit’s end. Just as she managed to calm down, she heard someone breaking in. An Baili only had time to find a fruit knife that hadn’t been used for many years. She didn’t dare to resist and could only cower under her bed.

If she were found by the bad guys, she would use this knife to kill herself. But she had just reconciled with Lu Li… Thinking of this, An Baili couldn’t help but start to cry.

Footsteps sounded at the door.

“Only this room hasn’t been thoroughly searched.”

“Search it. Take anything valuable.”

An Baili’s heart pounded. She didn’t even realize that her legs were trembling. At this critical moment, An Baili’s mind was filled with Lu Li’s smile. He stood with his back to the sun, reaching out a hand to her as she crouched in the corner, saying gently, “You look good in a skirt.”

The footsteps were getting closer.

“It seems like someone could hide under this bed?”

“Let’s see.”

An Baili’s heart was in her throat, her lips bitten raw. She held the fruit knife in front of her with all her might. At this moment, another hurried footstep approached from afar:

“Zhou Haiming! Stop right there!” It was Lu Li’s voice. He was still panting heavily. Lu Li leaned against the doorframe, unable to straighten his waist. His legs were completely numb, as if they weren’t his own. Damn it, he should have exercised more. He just hoped he wasn’t too late: “Zhou Haiming, what are you doing?”

Zhou Haiming and Chen Shiwei were each carrying a bulging backpack. They were stunned when they suddenly saw Lu Li. “Brother Lu, I… we, it’s not…”

Lu Li didn’t have the patience to listen to their answers. He finally caught his breath: “What did you do to the people in this house?”

“There’s no one here…”

“Slap!”

Before he could finish his sentence, Lu Li walked up and punched Zhou Haiming in the face. To prevent Zhou Haiming from resisting, Lu Li tightly locked his neck. This sudden change stunned Chen Shiwei, who could only watch as Lu Li subdued Zhou Haiming on the ground. It all happened in a flash. One second Lu Li was asking questions calmly, the next he was attacking Zhou Haiming.

“What are you doing?! Lu Li! Are you crazy?!”

“You’re the ones who are crazy!” Lu Li pressed Zhou Haiming’s neck with his thigh and looked at Chen Shiwei threateningly. “Is this how you repay me? Breaking and entering? Kidnapping? Assault? Huh?! Answer me!”

Chen Shiwei was a man without his own opinions. Hearing this, he just took two steps back: “No, no, it’s not like that, we just…”

“We’re avenging you! Avenging the children of our low-rent district!” Zhou Haiming was still shouting hysterically. “Lu Li, I misjudged you! You’re a traitor after all! Just like what Shuming said, you’re a traitor! You’re no longer on our side! Are you?!”

His words chilled Lu Li’s heart. He suddenly felt that everything he had done for them was not worth it. What revenge? They were clearly blinded by greed! Last time, it was Zhou Haiming who shouted, “I’ll risk my life to help you.” This time, it was also Zhou Haiming who shouted, “You’re a traitor.” Perhaps both were his true feelings, but his true feelings were too cheap.

“Lu Li, let me go! We’re still friends! Chen Shiwei! What are you waiting for, pull him off me!” Zhou Haiming roared.

Lu Li had always considered the low-rent district his roots, and he always hoped that the people living there would have a better life. But it seemed like it was just his wishful thinking. Some people, when called mud, would really become mud, allowing themselves to be trampled on, and even taking pride in being able to stain other people’s heels.

Enough was enough.

Lu Li suddenly let out a long breath, and the knot in his heart that had been there for years loosened. In his previous life, when he wanted to give back to the low-rent district, he found that his former friends had either moved away or disappeared, and he had lost contact with them. That’s why, after his rebirth, when faced with Chu Xiaodong’s request, he readily accepted it, hoping to make amends.

“Ruan Qian told me.” Lu Li’s words silenced the furious Zhou Haiming. “Zhou Haiming, if you want to fall, don’t drag others down with you. Go fall by yourself.” After saying that, he released Zhou Haiming. After being freed, Zhou Haiming just clutched his neck and backed away: “Lu Li, from now on, we’re done. You have nothing to do with our low-rent district anymore! Don’t pretend to be charitable to us anymore, and we won’t have anything to do with you!”

“Shiwei, let’s go!”

“An Gulai has been sent to the police. The past grievances are completely settled.” The “past grievances” he was referring to were not only about An Gulai, but also about him and his past friends. Perhaps life was a process of constant abandonment, abandoning innocence, abandoning beauty, abandoning past friendships, and abandoning misplaced sympathy.

Zhou Haiming paused, said nothing, and left angrily with Chen Shiwei.

After the two left, Lu Li sat on the ground and rubbed his sore thighs: “Baili, are you alright?”

An Baili poked her head out from under the bed pitifully: “You, you knew I was hiding here?”

“Of course.” Lu Li couldn’t help but smile. He finally understood something. “When you were wronged in the past, you liked to hide under the bed when you didn’t want to talk to me, just to see me worry when I couldn’t find you.”

He wasn’t a saint. He couldn’t satisfy everyone, and he couldn’t abandon An Baili either. He was just an ordinary person, as ordinary as they come. Perhaps he wasn’t greedy for money, but he was lustful, he liked beautiful women, he liked An Baili, he liked Chu Jingyi, and he liked Wen Hupo. Life was short, like morning dew on earth. Since he couldn’t be a saint, he might as well be an ordinary man who faced his true heart.

Pretending to be a saint was too tiring, it wasn’t for him.

An Baili crawled out from under the bed, tears streaming down her face. She was about to hug Lu Li, but he embraced her first, and then kissed her passionately, just like their first love.

Chapter 18: Destined Peach Blossom Tribulation

An Baili nestled in Lu Li’s arms, slowly recounting the story of her first rebirth. Time ticked by, the night outside the window deepened, and the bustling city fell into a long silence, as if time had stopped flowing. The only thing still moving was the soft murmur of the girl in his arms. An Baili was a little tired, but she still clung tightly to Lu Li’s clothes, refusing to let go, and asked listlessly, “Have you forgiven me?”

“Yes.” Lu Li nodded gently. “I forgive you.”

An Baili smiled foolishly and fell asleep in his arms like a kitten. Her sleeping face was particularly pitiful, her body curled up into a ball, like a small abandoned animal. Only when Lu Li held her tighter did she relax a little. Lu Li took out his phone with one hand and sent a message to his sister to let her know he was safe, then placed An Baili on the simple flat bed. The Chuanhai No. 1 High School girl’s uniform was hanging on the clothes rack by the window, a stocking had been taken off, and there was a needle and thread on the table. An Baili must have been secretly mending her worn-out uniform, right?

The wind has stopped, the fragrance of dust and flowers is gone, the day is late, and I’m too tired to comb my hair. Everything has changed, all is lost, tears flow before words can be spoken. During the days he deliberately neglected An Baili, would she secretly cry at this small table? She probably would. Lu Li covered An Baili with the quilt and could still hear the girl’s murmurs in her sleep: “Don’t leave me…”

His eyes drifted to the bright moon outside the window, his thoughts wandering. He actually had a lot more to say to An Baili. He couldn’t figure out for himself whether it was love or sympathy that dominated his feelings for An Baili now. Or rather, had he married An Baili out of sympathy from the very beginning? It was precisely this “sympathy,” this mentality of a superior, that made him try to change An Baili, to hold his wife to such strict standards.

I’m such a self-righteous bastard. He thought to himself.

Since his rebirth, hadn’t he been looking down on the world with a detached attitude? But at this moment, Lu Li asked himself, did he really have the right to look down on them? Was he worthy?

It was Chu Jingyi’s face that flashed through his mind. At this soul-stirring moment, the first person he thought of was this innocent girl. Chu Jingyi liked him. This should be an obvious fact. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have acted as if nothing had happened after the forced kiss, otherwise, she wouldn’t have been jealous… He laughed self-deprecatingly. How obvious it was, why did he only realize it now?

Was he worthy?

The process of human growth was a long process of self-deconstruction. Admitting one’s own vileness, admitting one’s own vanity, admitting one’s own mediocrity – constantly analyzing oneself was growth.

He liked Chu Jingyi, this untainted girl. He liked Wen Hupo, who had a strange tacit understanding with him. And he also liked the pitiful and pathetic An Baili. Lu Li was surprised to find that he had become a greedy person.

An Baili’s murmurs in his ear interrupted his philosophical thoughts. The girl hadn’t woken up, she seemed to be having a nightmare. Lu Li held An Baili’s hand. The man’s body temperature brought her some sense of security, and An Baili’s long eyelashes stopped trembling, like a sleeping beauty entering a deep sleep.

“Li, love me again, okay?…” It was sleep talking.

Lu Li needed time to re-examine his own heart, so he couldn’t give An Baili a definite answer yet.

He needed to figure out where his heart truly belonged.

***

It was late at night when Lu Li returned home. The stars were bright, and the Milky Way was dazzling. The light in his room was still on. Was his sister here? Was she still awake? Lu Li took off his shoes and, as expected, saw Zou Yameng playing with her phone in his house.

“Sister, you’re still awake? It’s so late.” Lu Li asked as he tidied up the shoe cabinet.

“You haven’t had dinner yet. If I fall asleep, who will heat up the food for you?” This answer was extremely ordinary, but it was filled with the warmth of home, and Lu Li’s movements paused. He suddenly thought, no matter who he fell in love with, could he really abandon Sister Yameng? No, he couldn’t. Zou Yameng was a woman who was like a twin to him, his closest relative. If Sister Yameng were to be with another man, could he accept it?

The answer was no.

Was this the price?… Lu Li seemed to understand something. He felt like a fishing boat caught in four or five whirlpools, tormented by the agony of choice. No matter what choice he made in the future, he would hurt more people.

“You seem very down today.” Sister Yameng’s foot injury had mostly healed, and she could walk on her own now. She walked up to Lu Li and gave him a big hug without saying a word. It was a heavy, forceful hug. The scent of his sister filled his nostrils, and Lu Li remembered when he was a child, whenever he was bullied by older kids, he would run and hide behind Sister Yameng, watching her beat up the older kids, cheering excitedly from behind.

No matter what, his sister was his strong spiritual support, his eternal harbor.

He hugged his sister back: “Sister, I love you.”

He clearly felt his sister’s body stiffen instantly, like a cheetah ready to pounce on its prey, or like a weasel caught by its predator, not knowing what to do. Zou Yameng knew that the love Lu Li was talking about was family love, but she still put on a surprised and flustered expression as if she was deceiving herself: “I, I love you too.”

He had a simple dinner, chatted with his sister for a while, and didn’t know when he fell asleep.

Perhaps it was because too much had happened today, perhaps it was because the information he had received was too dense, but Lu Li didn’t sleep well. He dreamed of a peach blossom tree, with the inscription “Frenzied willow catkins dance with the wind, frivolous peach blossoms chase the flowing water” written next to it. The peach blossoms were in full bloom, a breathtaking sight. But strangely, there were six red threads hanging from the trunk of the tree, swaying in the wind, unattached and unsupported.

Just as Lu Li was about to take a closer look, he suddenly heard a faint sigh: “Destined fate, this tribulation.”

When he opened his eyes, it was already six o’clock the next morning. Sister Yameng was still sleeping in an unladylike position, her right leg resting on his abdomen, pinning him down like an octopus. The faint morning light shone through the gap in the curtains, falling on his sister’s thighs and waist. Her already fair thighs were especially dazzling in the sunlight, like a piece of fine white jade.

It seemed that his movement of getting up had disturbed Sister Yameng. She smacked her lips, and her right leg unconsciously tightened downwards. Lu Li gasped, arched his back slightly, and carefully lifted his sister’s slightly fleshy thigh, freeing Little Lu Li from its confinement. To be honest, it was a little uncomfortable being pressed down like that.

Sister Yameng’s sleeping posture was terrible. She was wearing a tank top and shorts, and even her bra strap had slipped off her shoulder, revealing most of her ample bosom, shaped like an inverted jade bowl. Lu Li wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but he could faintly smell the scent of milk. She was becoming less and less mindful of boundaries between men and women. He complained inwardly, then quickly tidied himself up, grabbed his backpack, and prepared for school.

He took out some change from his bag, counted it, and decided to skip breakfast today. Also, he had to make things clear with An Baili. Although he forgave her for her suicide attempt, it didn’t mean he wanted to rekindle their relationship. Ultimately, their marital problems hadn’t been resolved, and a temporary compromise would only lead to long-term pain. Lu Li was thinking about all sorts of messy things when he suddenly noticed an unread message on his phone.

It was from Secretary Long.

[Uncle Long: Are you free to come to the Chu family for dinner this Saturday?]

Lu Li gave an affirmative reply. He wouldn’t dare to put on airs with Chu Xiaodong, would he? The other party replied with a smiling emoji, very much like an elder.

On his way to school, Lu Li kept rehearsing in his mind what he would say to An Baili when he saw her. He had to soothe her emotions and explain things clearly. Things like starting over as friends, starting over as ordinary friends… Thinking about it carefully, it all sounded hypocritical. Lu Li hadn’t felt this apprehensive in a long time. The last time he was this nervous was during his college entrance exam. Seven interviewers had asked him many questions with stern faces, such as why he chose their school, what his shortcomings were, and to introduce his family… At that time, Lu Li felt like a mayfly, small and insignificant.

An Baili would definitely be very sad, right?

His scattered thoughts were cut short, leaving only this one thought.

His footsteps unconsciously slowed down, and the image of a country girl appeared in his mind: deliberately braided hair, black-rimmed glasses, thick bangs, like a bumpkin from the countryside. She didn’t understand anything, she had nothing, and could only cling to her only love like a drowning person.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed again. It was the special notification sound for people he had marked as important.

[Sister Yameng: Ruan Qian came knocking early this morning, saying she has something to tell you!]

Then came a voice message. It was indeed Ruan Qian using Sister Yameng’s message to send a voice message.

“Brother Lu! Haiming took Chen Shiwei to An Gulai’s house to cause trouble! Please help stop them!”

Boom! It was like a bolt of lightning striking Lu Li’s brain. The carefully crafted words he had prepared were instantly shattered, and all his thoughts converged into one name: “An Baili! An Baili!”

Vol 2 Chapter 17: The Price Has Been Paid

Absurd.

Lu Li’s only thought was absurdity. If An Baili had told him about rebirth in his previous life, he wouldn’t have believed a single word. But now, he was the one who was reborn, and he couldn’t help but believe it. Lu Li quickly calmed down, his gaze fixed on the unremarkable heart-shaped pendant.

An Baili didn’t light the lighter to die together, but to be reborn… This reason was unexpectedly compelling, and his heart wavered slightly. If what An Baili said was true, not only could he not hate her, but he should also thank her? Thank her for giving him a chance to make amends? He shook his head.

People always had to pay the price for their mistakes. This was the life principle that Lu Li had always believed in. Parents would bear the consequences of their children’s mistakes, and adults had to pay for their own mistakes. An Baili had always been an immature wife, willful and clingy. But what about him? Was he a mature husband?

Lu Li fell silent. He had made this mistake once in his previous life. Being too harsh on others, even attempting to control their personality, would only lead to tragedy.

No one was God.

An Baili pointed to the four fragments on the pendant: “Every time I’m reborn, a piece of the crystal breaks. This time, you and I were reborn, and two pieces broke at once. I guess this pendant has lost its power of rebirth. It’s a relic my mother gave me. When I was seven, An Gulai personally handed it to me and told me to keep it safe.”

“Wait. You said a piece breaks with each rebirth, but according to you, you’ve only been reborn twice, so there should only be three broken pieces. Why are all four broken?” Lu Li pointed to the pendant. He actually hoped that An Baili was lying. As long as he pointed out the flaws in her lies, she would cover her mouth with a smile and say: You saw through me.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

“Because someone used it before I got it.” An Baili solemnly placed the pendant in front of Lu Li. “I don’t know who used it, but one of the crystals was already broken.”

Mei Jinliu.

The name of An Baili’s mother flashed through Lu Li’s mind. It could only be her. This was also the reason why Mei Jinliu passed the pendant on to her daughter.

Lu Li couldn’t help but reach for the unassuming toy, a sense of awe rising in his heart. Humans were inherently afraid of the unpredictable and unknown. The moment he touched the pendant, Lu Li’s body froze. He felt a chill run down his spine, and an indescribable sense of horror washed over him.

“The price has been paid…”

It seemed like his own voice was speaking in his ear, but Lu Li swore he hadn’t moved his mouth! This chilling sensation only lasted for a moment. The next second, Lu Li picked up the pendant in one smooth motion, as if the pause had never happened.

“What’s wrong?” Seeing Lu Li in a daze, An Baili tilted her head and asked.

Did only he hear it? Lu Li swallowed and said nothing. What did “the price has been paid” mean? Did rebirth have a price? Then why didn’t An Baili pay the price… Wait!

Lu Li’s pupils constricted sharply. He remembered an unsolved mystery that had troubled him for many years in his previous life: he and An Baili had been married for many years, but they had no children! If what An Baili said was true, and she had been reborn twice, was the price she paid for the first time lifelong infertility?

Then what about this time?

He didn’t dare to think further, and he wasn’t even sure if the words he had just heard were real. Maybe it was just an auditory hallucination? Maybe he was just affected by An Baili’s bizarre narrative?

He held the pendant in his hand and examined it repeatedly, but the strange voice never reappeared. The pendant seemed to have completely lost its magic, no different from an ordinary toy.

“Li, everything I said is true. If I’m hiding anything, may lightning strike me five times.” Seeing that Lu Li hadn’t responded for a long time, An Baili thought he didn’t believe her and quickly raised her hand to swear. She suddenly saw the bloodstains on Lu Li’s right hand and gasped. She quickly got up and took out a clean handkerchief, wiping the bloodstains while saying with distress: “Does your hand hurt?”

Being cared for by a beautiful girl was a pleasant experience, and Lu Li’s expression softened considerably, just like in the past. This was the first time since his rebirth that he spoke to An Baili in such a gentle tone: “I believe you.” Did he really believe her? Lu Li didn’t believe the strangeness of the pendant, he simply believed in An Baili as a person.

Ever since An Baili lit the lighter, Lu Li’s mind had been filled with prejudice against her – disrespect for life, disrespect for love, disrespect for herself… But when An Baili desperately stood in front of the out-of-control An Gulai and shouted, “Don’t hurt Lu Li!”, the string in his heart that should have been silent was touched. He suddenly realized his foolishness. What was he doing? Was hurting An Baili really his intention? Could avoidance really solve the problem?

An Baili saw the small wound on Lu Li’s index finger. She looked at the absent-minded Lu Li with tenderness, opened her mouth slightly, and put his finger in her mouth, licking it with her moist and fragrant tongue, her body unconsciously leaning closer to his arm. Lu Li was moved by her, and she was also moved by him.

“I’m sorry… I really didn’t think much that day. When I heard you wanted a divorce, I, I… my mind went blank. I just wanted you to change your mind as soon as possible. If you still hate me, I don’t know what to do… Or, or you can hit me with a beer bottle too.” Lu Li laughed at her words. An Baili was still the same An Baili, she had never changed.

“If you forgive me, take my virginity.” Her voice was filled with guilt. “It has always belonged to you…”

Lu Li neither stopped An Baili nor made any further moves: “Baili, promise me one thing, okay?”

“Okay…”

“Respect yourself, don’t treat your body as an object.” Lu Li had been holding these words in his heart for a long time. He had wanted to say this to An Baili for a long time. He hoped that An Baili would be an independent, autonomous, strong, and self-loving girl, not a pitiful creature who could only use her body to exchange for love. Low self-esteem was an inherent human flaw that was difficult to escape.

“Okay.” An Baili’s body went limp. She felt Lu Li’s sincerity, and her heart was filled with warmth and sweetness. She couldn’t say anything, but just leaned weakly against him. What she didn’t tell Lu Li was that she was only so humble in front of him. In her eyes, Lu Li was like a shooting star across the sky, bright and dazzling, only staying in her world for a short time. He should be accompanied by the stars and the moon, not tied down to a weed like her. As long as she could keep Lu Li by her side, she was willing to pay any price.

The atmosphere in the room quieted down. Lu Li remained silent for a long time before asking: “Would you mind telling me about your first rebirth?”

Finally. An Baili’s body trembled slightly. Even though she had been mentally prepared, when she truly faced this request, she couldn’t help but feel fear. She was afraid that after Lu Li knew the truth, he would dislike her again, see through her hypocritical mask, and become a shooting star that would forever pass through the sky and disappear.

“I’m a thief.” The unexpected opening remark stunned Lu Li.

“I stole you from Wen Hupo.” The girl’s shoulders trembled. Was she crying?

Lu Li couldn’t help but hug An Baili, his chin resting on her head: “Don’t cry. Remember what I told you? The past can’t be changed, the future is yet to come, I only value the present.”

The more considerate Lu Li was, the more heartbroken An Baili cried: “I’m, I’m sorry… If I hadn’t interfered, you should have, should have a happy family with Wen Hupo, a pair of lovely children…”

Wen Hupo… Lu Li held her even tighter. He had to admit that he had liked Wen Hupo in his previous life. He liked her calm personality, her values that were similar to his own, her appearance, her little jokes… But in the end, he chose to be with An Baili because Wen Hupo still had her family, career, and status without him, while An Baili would truly have nothing without him.

“You married Wen Hupo in college… I, I was very sad and used some extreme methods to pester you… and then you hated me…” An Baili cried. “I remember when you heard the news of Wen Hupo’s pregnancy, you jumped for joy… That day, I was heartbroken. I felt like I had lost you forever… You were so good to me, you helped me so much, but I was greedy and wanted to have you forever…”

“I’m a thief…”

“That day, I drank alcohol for the first time, drove alone, and plunged into the river. When I woke up again, I was reborn in my first year of high school, which was my previous life.” An Baili spoke lightly, but Lu Li was horrified. “Then, then I did what Wen Hupo had done, getting closer and closer to you before she could…”

Many details from his previous life suddenly surfaced in his mind: no matter what he did, An Baili was always there; whenever he was alone with someone, An Baili would always show up and interrupt; he often ran into An Baili when he went out… So it was like this, so it was like this, was it all deliberately arranged by An Baili?

“Li, do you hate me like this?” When An Baili asked this question, she buried her head in Lu Li’s arms, her body trembling. She didn’t dare to look up, even covering her ears.

Lu Li’s gaze lost focus, as if he was staring into the void that he could never reach. He was thinking, peeling away the layers of his heart. After a long, long time, the young man finally made a decision.

Lu Li touched the girl’s head:

“Do you want me to hate you?”

“…No…”

“Then I don’t hate you.” He answered calmly.

“Wuu…” Hearing Lu Li’s answer, An Baili burst into tears. She clutched Lu Li’s school uniform tightly, determined never to let go.

Vol 2 Chapter 16: Love Me Again

An Gulai didn’t die. He only fainted. After all, he was the adoptive father who had raised An Baili for over ten years. Lu Li couldn’t bring himself to do anything too extreme. An Baili told him that although An Gulai didn’t like her, he still provided her with basic living expenses and never interfered too much in her life.

There was a knock on the door. An Baili, still shaken from the earlier events, clung tightly to Lu Li and looked at him with bewilderment. Lu Li comforted her: “It’s okay, it’s someone I called.” He wasn’t a true teenager after all, and wouldn’t act recklessly in the heat of the moment. Before coming here, he had sent a message to Secretary Long, saying that he had a conflict with An Gulai – although Lu Li didn’t know at the time whether An Gulai was An Baili’s father, he still did so. He dared to venture into the enemy camp only because he was prepared.

His deliberate provocation of An Gulai was to leave evidence of the latter’s criminal offense, to ensure this scum spent the rest of his life in prison. However, seeing the bruises on An Baili’s body, it was he who lost control first, which was quite unexpected.

He opened the door and saw Secretary Long himself, followed by several plainclothes police officers.

Seeing the bloodstains on Lu Li’s hands, Secretary Long was startled: “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. An Gulai tried to attack me, but I subdued him.”

Secretary Long explained to the police officers behind him: “This is my nephew, he’s a student at Chuanhai No. 1 High School.”

“Oh, oh. Are you alright, young man?” Was this the privilege of the upper class? The police were expressing concern before even investigating the facts. The plainclothes officers entered An’s residence and looked at the unconscious An Gulai with surprise, but they didn’t say anything. They just called an ambulance and sent An Gulai to the hospital. Then, a slightly older, chubby policeman briefly questioned Lu Li and An Baili before leaving, not even needing to take him to the police station.

Secretary Long had been watching with his hands clasped behind his back. After the police left, he nodded approvingly at Lu Li: “You’ve got guts, coming to see An Gulai alone.” Secretary Long was the liaison for Lu Li and Chu Xiaodong’s work, so he also knew about the grudge between Lu Li and An Gulai.

Lu Li didn’t expect Secretary Long to come in person and was quite flattered. Perhaps because he was still on duty, Secretary Long hadn’t taken off his name tag: “Secretary General of Chuanhai Political Department, Long Di.” A Secretary General in his thirties or forties was quite young and must have a significant background. Lu Li’s tone became even more respectful: “I was too reckless, I acted on impulse.”

“It’s good for young people to have spirit.” Secretary Long nodded and looked at An Baili, his gaze somewhat complicated. “Xiao Lu, is this your classmate or your girlfriend?”

Before Lu Li could answer, An Baili quickly replied: “Just an ordinary classmate.”

Lu Li’s heart was slightly touched, but he didn’t say anything. Secretary Long didn’t doubt her and smiled: “Xiao Lu, if you’re free, send me a message. Then I’ll be going?”

“Thank you so much for taking the time to help me personally!” He had to show the proper attitude since someone had gone out of their way for him. He saw Secretary Long off to his car before letting out a sigh of relief and slowly returning to An Baili’s home.

Finally, the matter with An Gulai was resolved, although in an unexpected way. With his and An Baili’s testimonies, An Gulai’s intentional assault charge was a certainty. Coupled with the evidence of tax evasion, An Gulai wouldn’t be leaving prison for the rest of his life.

However, with An Gulai gone, what about An Baili?

Lu Li looked at An Baili with a complicated gaze. He thought he had completely let go of her, but it didn’t seem to be the case. He couldn’t understand himself anymore, couldn’t understand if he still had feelings for An Baili. He said yes, but he wished he could stay as far away from her as possible. He said no, but seeing her suffering made his heart ache.

No wonder some people said that ex-wives were the most special people in the world. The love and hate, the complicated emotions were truly difficult to explain.

An Baili was unusually quiet today, not as lively as usual. There were still tear stains on her delicate face, and she looked at Lu Li with tenderness. Her eyes were the same as the woman who had laughed and cried in her wedding dress in the church years ago. But strangely, Lu Li suddenly couldn’t remember that woman’s face. It seemed to be An Baili, but it also seemed to be… Wen Hupo?

“Have you forgiven me?”

“Not yet, I’m waiting for your explanation.” He now understood why An Baili had such a personality. Growing up in An Gulai’s dysfunctional family, it would be strange if her mental health was normal. But this couldn’t be an excuse for An Baili to absolve herself. People always had to pay the price for their mistakes.

An Baili wasn’t surprised by Lu Li’s answer. She let out a sigh of relief: “As long as you’re willing to listen to my explanation, that’s enough. Li, no matter how absurd or fantastical what I’m about to say is, you have to listen to the end, okay?”

Lu Li frowned slightly and sat up straighter: “Go ahead.”

“Follow me.”

An Baili led Lu Li upstairs to her room. The girl’s bedroom wasn’t as he had imagined. It was simple and ordinary, without pink wallpaper, a bed full of stuffed animals, or a pendant-decorated ceiling lamp. An Baili carefully retrieved a square box from under the bed, the kind used to hold cheap plastic jewelry on the street.

She opened the box and took out a heart-shaped pendant, the kind of flamboyant street jewelry from the 1970s and 1980s, not something valuable.

“Li, you know about rebirth, right?”

Wasn’t that obvious?

“Of course I do, you and I were reborn, weren’t we?”

“…” An Baili took a deep breath, as if she had made a major decision. “This isn’t my first rebirth.”

Lu Li stiffened: “What did you say?”

After making up her mind, An Baili spoke more fluently: “This isn’t my first rebirth. Before this, I was reborn once. It’s all thanks to this.” She raised the heart-shaped pendant in her hand. Inside the cheap plastic shell were four broken pieces of crystal-like objects. No matter how you looked at it, this was a toy manufactured in coastal areas and sold inland. Lu Li couldn’t help but wonder if An Baili was deliberately teasing him.

Lu Li patiently listened: “Okay, go on.”

“Did you notice that I placed this pendant on the table when I lit the lighter that day?”

Did he? Lu Li’s head was heavy that day, and the room was dimly lit. He didn’t notice at all. But with An Baili’s reminder, he vaguely remembered the heart-shaped pendant. In his previous life, after An Baili married him, she had shown him this pendant while organizing her belongings, saying it was… her mother’s relic?

Thinking about it this way, the origin of this pendant became strange. Mei Jinliu, An Baili’s mother, died in childbirth, leaving only this pendant for her daughter before she died? He suddenly realized: “You mean, you didn’t want to drag me to suicide that day, but just wanted to… be reborn?”

Memories flashed through his mind, stopping at the last scene of his previous life:

Lack of oxygen and fatigue had numbed his brain. His reaction wasn’t as sharp as usual, and he didn’t notice the lighter in An Baili’s hand immediately. An Baili looked at Lu Li with affection: “I want you to love me again.”

Chapter 15: The Boy in This Moment

“It’s me.” Lu Li’s voice was incredibly calm, but the emotions contained within were so complex that even he couldn’t decipher them. An Baili suddenly knelt before him, not daring to touch him: “I’m sorry, I’m truly sorry for what my father did… I didn’t know…” Her words were incoherent, and she sobbed uncontrollably. She knew clearly the profound impact An Gulai’s actions had on Lu Li. It could be said that all the suffering Lu Li endured in the first half of his life was thanks to An Gulai.

After obtaining the document, An Baili’s first reaction was to find Lu Li to confirm its authenticity. At that time, Lu Li was with Chu Jingyi, and after failing to find him, she calmed down and decided to confront her father at home. She didn’t know how to face Lu Li anymore. Guilt? Embarrassment? Shame? Did she even have the right to ask for Lu Li’s forgiveness? Was this the reason why Lu Li had broken up with her?

An Baili knelt on the ground, attempting to use this primitive way of admitting fault to seek Lu Li’s forgiveness for herself and her father. Lu Li didn’t look at her, but simply said: “You don’t have to kneel to anyone, including me.” After saying this, Lu Li didn’t help his former wife up, but calmly walked towards the living room. He was now like a volcano about to erupt, and it wasn’t just anger that was about to explode, but deeper emotions as well.

“You? You’ve come again?” An Gulai was lying on the sofa, surrounded by beer bottles. The TV was playing a music program, broadcasting Accusefive’s “Ugly People Make a Fuss”:

Cherishing suddenly became a trivial thing
As time passes, I fear that a heart full of emotions will be too much like a child
Often told it’s a reward for a bright future
How to judge, how to know the sinister intentions of this treacherous world

“Go cook, I have something to say to him.” An Gulai shouted at his daughter. An Baili wiped her tears, lowered her head, and walked into the kitchen. “Please, have a seat.” He made space for Lu Li on the sofa, acting naturally, not treating him as an ordinary student. The moment he saw the document his daughter brought back, An Gulai knew that Lu Li wasn’t an ordinary student. Perhaps, he could find the solace he sought in Lu Li?

An Gulai reeked of alcohol, the smell unbearable. Lu Li didn’t want to sit next to him at all.

“So? What do you want with me? Did you regret letting me go last time?” An Gulai chuckled. “It’s alright, I’m right here at your disposal.”

Lu Li said: “Your wife died in childbirth, didn’t she?”

An Gulai’s hypocritical and hateful smile instantly vanished, his eyes flashing with a wolf-like green light. His wife was his absolute taboo, his Achilles’ heel.

Lu Li fearlessly moved his face closer to An Gulai, just centimeters away from this father-in-law he had never met: “I know why you went crazy. In 1992, you met Mei Jinliu on a blind date. You were 21 that year, with a good family background, high status, high education, a rising star, right?”

“Mei Jinliu, such a beautiful girl. Although she was born into a working-class family, she was gentle, kind, intelligent, and considerate. Our rising star, An Gulai, naturally fell head over heels for her. A perfect love story.”

Lu Li grabbed An Gulai’s collar and straightened his alcohol-stained shirt: “But, everyone hid one thing from you, and that was that Mei Jinliu already had someone she admired. She only went on a blind date with you for her parents. You were happy like a fool for nine whole years! Until she gave birth to a daughter that wasn’t yours and died in the delivery room, right?”

An Gulai instantly exploded. He pushed Lu Li over, grabbed a glass beer bottle from the floor: “You’re fucking courting death! I’ll kill you!” These things were clearly written in the information provided by Chu Xiaodong. Lu Li brought them up again just to provoke him.

Yes, An Baili wasn’t An Gulai’s biological daughter. This was the truth. An Gulai loved Mei Jinliu too deeply. He had numbed himself countless times, trying to convince himself that An Baili was his own flesh and blood. But every time he was drunk, the scene of Mei Jinliu’s death would intrude on his mind:

“Husband, I’m sorry… but I don’t regret giving birth to this child… Please, please take good care of her…”

What could he do? What could he do? Even though Mei Jinliu had made an irreparable mistake, he couldn’t bring himself to hate her! This was the reason for An Gulai’s increasing depression over the past ten years. He hated himself for being a simp, he hated himself for being a cuckold, but he also hated Mei Jinliu. Why didn’t she tell him sooner? Maybe… maybe he would have forgiven her?

“Dad, Dad… no!” An Baili had been watching from the door. Seeing An Gulai pick up the glass beer bottle, she rushed in and shielded Lu Li. “Don’t hurt Lu Li! Don’t!”

“I’m not your father!” An Gulai roared. As soon as he said these words, all the strength seemed to drain from his body. He had bottled up these words for sixteen years, pretending to be An Baili’s biological father, just for Mei Jinliu’s last wish. He was too tired.

Lu Li suddenly grabbed An Baili’s hand and pulled up her sleeve before she could react, revealing the dense bruises on her arm. An Baili gasped and tried to pull her hand back, but Lu Li’s grip was tight, like an iron hoop binding her. An Baili noticed that Lu Li’s eyes were wide open. The usually placid Lu Li rarely showed such an expression.

“Who did this?”

“…” Yesterday, when An Baili came back with the document to confront her father, she was met with a beating.

Li still cares about me… An Baili felt a surge of untimely sweetness in her heart. As expected, no matter how many times he was reborn, Lu Li was still Lu Li, forever the boy who would care for her when she was down. She suddenly felt that everything was worth it, even being born into a terrible family, even being rejected by Lu Li after rebirth. As long as she had Lu Li’s concern, everything was worth it.

Lu Li felt the volcano in his chest on the verge of eruption. He came to find An Baili today for only two reasons: first, to retrieve the document; second, to make sure An Baili was safe. And now, he had one more thing to do. Lu Li silently pushed An Baili away, picked up the broken glass bottle from the floor, and slowly walked towards An Gulai, who was kneeling on the ground, crying.

The song on the TV reached its climax:

Ugly people make a fuss
You better confess everything
Found the accounts don’t add up, honesty is no longer reliable
Don’t admit it and still want to play dumb
Ugly people make a fuss but there’s no evidence to explain

If you asked Lu Li what youth was, he would definitely give an extremely romantic answer. But reality was never that romantic. The youth of the real world was often associated with impulsiveness, recklessness, and regret. If Lu Li were to describe it, it could all be summed up in one word:

Spirit.

Crack!

The emerald green beer bottle exploded like fireworks, shattering into countless pieces, complementing the splattering blood. An Gulai was jolted awake by the blow and angrily tried to fight back, but Lu Li kicked him over again and picked up another bottle with half the beer remaining.

“An Gulai, didn’t you want to die? Why are you resisting?” Even in extreme anger, Lu Li’s voice remained incredibly calm, even terrifying.

“I…” He said he wanted to die, but when truly faced with the threat of death, An Gulai found… he didn’t want to die anymore. Although Lu Li wasn’t physically imposing, he was muscular, young, and strong, with explosive power. An Gulai’s frail body couldn’t resist him at all. He could only look pleadingly at his daughter, no, at An Baili.

“Don’t… don’t kill me…”

An Baili hugged Lu Li’s leg, the sight of the blood on his hand shocking her. It wasn’t just An Gulai’s blood, but Lu Li’s as well. His fingers were embedded in the edges of the glass shards, gripping tighter and tighter, the blood flowing more and more. “Li, don’t kill him, you can’t kill him! You can’t kill him! Don’t dirty your hands…” An Baili cried.

Words were cheap, the more the cheaper. Often, the more taciturn a person was, the more weight their words carried. Just like anger. The less often someone got angry, the more terrifying they were when they did.

Crack! Lu Li smashed the bottle down mercilessly again. This time, he used too much force, causing his right hand to weaken, but An Gulai also lost consciousness after this blow. The old man collapsed weakly on the ground, blood oozing from his head, looking extremely frightening.

An Baili was startled. She was truly afraid that Lu Li would be involved in a murder case, afraid that Lu Li’s future would be ruined because of her. Suppressing her fear, she was about to check An Gulai’s breathing.

Lu Li suddenly grabbed her: “Now, I’m going to listen to your explanation.” His voice was trembling, even weak, showing that he was far from calm. An Baili’s eyes reddened, and she no longer cared about An Gulai’s life or death. She hugged Lu Li and sobbed uncontrollably.

On the TV, the song gradually came to an end:

Cherishing suddenly became a trivial thing
As time passes, I fear that a heart full of emotions will be too much like a child
Often told it’s a reward for a bright future
How to judge, how to know the sinister intentions of this treacherous world
Ugly people make a fuss

***

丑人多作怪 is a Chinese idiom that literally means “Ugly people make a fuss” or “Ugly people will do all kinds of weird things to get attention”. The idiom is often used to describe situations where people who are malicious, selfish, or unscrupulous cause problems or stir up trouble for others.

-It can also imply that these individuals are prone to making a scene or causing a commotion, often for their own benefit or to draw attention to themselves.

Vol2 Chapter 14: It’s Me

A solemn atmosphere hung over the second year (1) class today. The usual chatter and laughter of the young students were replaced by the rustling of ballpoint pens scratching against paper. Even Chu Jingyi, who usually chatted with Lu Li, refrained from idle conversation. The reason was simple: today was the monthly exam that would determine the spots for the Academic Competition. Everyone held their breath, hoping to be the best among the privileged children.

An Baili’s seat remained empty. Even as the bell rang for class, she still hadn’t arrived. Chu Jingyi, as the Class Monitor, put down her pen and paper, glanced at Lu Li with a strange expression, then walked towards the homeroom teacher’s office. She planned to write a leave note for An Baili and use the office phone to call her home, inquiring about the situation.

Not long after, Silly Goose returned to her seat, her mind preoccupied: “Lu Li, do you think Baili knows about what happened yesterday? Is that why she’s angry and not coming to school?”

“What did they say on the phone?”

“The call didn’t go through. I tried three times.”

“…” As Lu Li remained silent, his deskmate spoke up: “Yesterday, before An Baili left, she sat in your seat, rummaged through your bag, looked at something for a while, and then left in a hurry.”

As expected… it was An Baili who stole the document. But why? The document contained information about An Gulai and evidence of his crimes. Logically, it shouldn’t have anything to do with An Baili. Lu Li stroked his chin, An Gulai, An Baili… both surnamed An, were they family? In his previous life, he had never met An Baili’s parents, nor had he ever heard her mention them. She only said they had passed away long ago, and Lu Li never doubted it.

Could An Gulai be An Baili’s father? Was An Baili the daughter An Gulai had mentioned studying at Chuanhai No. 1 High School?

This thought naturally arose, and Lu Li couldn’t find any evidence to refute it.

“Put all relevant materials in your bags or drawers and prepare for the exam.” The homeroom teacher patted the blackboard, pulling Lu Li back from his increasingly horrifying thoughts.

“Lu Li, good luck!” Silly Goose whispered encouragement. “Good luck to me too!”

However, Lu Li’s mind was elsewhere. His mind was filled with the image of An Baili. If An Baili was really An Gulai’s daughter, what would she do after getting the document? Destroy it to protect her father? Beg him not to prosecute her father? No, she chose to escape. Why escape? He couldn’t understand, couldn’t figure out what that woman was thinking!

He wished that An Baili would rush into the classroom at this moment and say awkwardly, “Sorry, I’m late.” But until the morning exam ended, An Baili’s seat remained empty. Lu Li’s palms were sweating. He realized that he didn’t understand An Baili at all. He had always looked down on her with a detached attitude, thinking he could completely control her. But now, Lu Li realized that An Baili had been acting along with him all along – he didn’t understand An Baili at all!

Yes, from the moment An Baili lit the lighter, everything had gone out of his control.

During lunch, Chu Jingyi saw that Lu Li was absent-minded and asked with concern: “Lu Li, are you feeling unwell?”

Lu Li didn’t want Silly Goose to worry, so he forced a smile: “I’m fine, I’m perfectly fine.”

“The geography exam this morning was so difficult… How did you do, Lu Li?”

“Ah… so-so.” His mind wasn’t on the exam, and he answered the questions carelessly. Lu Li could only say “so-so.” However, the liberal arts exams at Chuanhai No. 1 High School were more application-oriented, mostly subjective questions with no standard answers, testing the students’ comprehensive qualities. Lu Li was confident that even with an average performance, he was still much better than these high school students.

“Hmph, there was no geography exam in the morning.”

Only then did Lu Li realize that he had been tricked by this silly deer.

“Are you worried about An Baili?” The Class Monitor didn’t look at Lu Li, but instead focused on the lunch tray in front of her, poking at the shrimp meat with her chopsticks. Lu Li couldn’t see her expression and simply replied flatly: “I am a little worried.”

The Class Monitor suddenly gave an address.

“What?”

“This is Baili’s address. It’s the Class Monitor’s duty to remember the basic information of classmates.” She had no appetite and just kept poking at the prawns. “If you’re worried about Baili, go visit her.”

“Let’s go together, Class Monitor.”

“…” She remained silent for a while before answering, “No way. I still have to help the teacher organize the monthly exam papers today.”

Lu Li suddenly smiled: “Jingyi, lift your head.”

Silly Goose obediently raised her head, revealing a wronged expression, her small mouth pouting like Donald Duck, extremely cute. Lu Li’s heart stirred, and he quickly explained: “I’m worried about the document she stole, the one your father gave me.” As soon as he said that, he was stunned, not knowing why he explained it to Chu Jingyi. Fortunately, after hearing his words, Chu Jingyi’s expression softened slightly, and she nodded gently: “I know, you don’t have to explain to me… You’re my good friend… not…” Her voice trailed off at the end, like a mosquito’s murmur, impossible to hear clearly.

“What?”

“Nothing!” She ate the mangled shrimp meat in one bite, picked up her lunch tray, and ran away.

During the afternoon exam, Lu Li’s mood was much calmer. He finished the exam half an hour early and handed in his paper. After repeated confirmation from the homeroom teacher, he finally left Chuanhai No. 1 High School. He didn’t rush home, but instead took the bus to An Baili’s house. It cost one yuan per ride, cheap and convenient.

An Baili’s home was in the urban area. Lu Li had passed by this place when he bought a phone for his sister. The security guards of the community were a few listless old men, and Lu Li entered without being stopped. Security guards, securing no safety.

Going deeper into the community, he arrived at a slightly dilapidated old residential building. The originally white walls were now blackened and peeling, covered with mottled yellow stains. The corners were overgrown with creepers, and the environment was no different from the Low-Rent District. It was hard to imagine that a beauty like An Baili came from such a residential building. People always assumed that beautiful women only frequented high-end places and interacted with talented young men.

An Baili’s home was on the first floor. The windows were tightly shut, and the glass of one window was broken, simply boarded up with wood, looking extremely shabby. Walking to the door, he knocked gently and could hear a faint roar from inside: “Why don’t you open the door?!” It was indeed An Gulai’s voice. Lu Li’s heart sank. The worst had happened.

Life was unpredictable. Who would have thought that his ex-wife’s father was the culprit who had caused Lu Li’s displacement in the first half of his life?

The door opened a crack, and An Baili peeked out through the gap. Seeing Lu Li standing calmly, her small hand trembled, and she was about to close the door. Lu Li was quick-witted and inserted his palm into the gap. If An Baili forced the door shut, she would definitely injure his right hand.

An Baili stopped closing the door and looked at Lu Li with pleading eyes: “I’m sorry… I really didn’t know… I really didn’t know…”

It was time to put an end to everything. Lu Li thought. Then he pushed the door open with force and faced An Baili, who was wearing shabby clothes. An Baili’s eyes were panicked, trying to cover the patches on her clothes with her hands, not wanting Lu Li to see her poverty. Lu Li’s eyes, however, were incredibly calm, like an abyss.

As the two stood facing each other in silence, An Gulai’s voice came from the living room: “Who’s there? Can’t you speak?!” His tone was fierce, not like he was talking to his daughter, but roaring at an enemy.

“It’s me.”

Lu Li answered in An Baili’s stead, his voice as cold as ice.

v2Chapter 13: Saint Lu

Arriving home in the evening, Lu Li had dinner at his sister’s, watched TV with her for a while, then returned to his room and turned on his computer, logging into the Valve Platform. As soon as he logged in, over a thousand unread messages popped up, startling him. Clicking in, he discovered that his game page had received over nine hundred negative reviews, changing the game’s rating to “Overwhelmingly Negative.”

Not only that, but his game had “gloriously” climbed to fourth place on the weekly negative review leaderboard. This was not right.

The over nine hundred negative reviews were clearly copy-pasted, all criticizing the poor plot, poor optimization, and ugly art. Most of the reviewers were new accounts with low levels. It was definitely Chen Jianing playing tricks. Even something as tasteless as buying trolls was something she would do. She was probably still furious from the last time Lu Li angered her and was now deliberately seeking revenge.

However, thanks to Chen Jianing’s negative marketing, many passersby clicked in from the negative review leaderboard and left objective comments:

“It’s not that bad, is it? Did the development team offend someone? So many negative reviews?”

“The atmosphere is awesome! I’m optimistic!”

“Why is it another DEMO? Don’t tell me it’s going to be crowdfunded again?”

Well done, Xiao Chen. Lu Li silently gave her a thumbs up. What indie games lacked most was exposure. Many indie games often had good reputations but lacked exposure. Lu Li’s game had an excellent foundation, but the first week’s downloads were less than fifty. After Chen Jianing’s commotion, the downloads soared to over two thousand. Most players wouldn’t leave reviews, and the quality of the game would speak for itself. It wasn’t something that could be swayed by a few trolls.

Lu Li saw in the background that the positive rating was slowly rising. If this trend continued, it could return to a “Mixed” rating by the end of the month.

He happily clicked on Chen Jianing’s private message, unblocked her, and sent a message: “Thank you, Boss Chen!”

Chen Jianing quickly replied: “???”

Lu Li had no ill will towards Chen Jianing, so he readily sent a screenshot of the background: “Thanks to you, the traffic has increased a lot.”

“Are you sick? You’re happy even though the positive rating has dropped so much?” Chen Jianing was puzzled.

Lu Li shook his head in front of the screen. Chen Jianing was still too naive. In the internet age, traffic was king. What was the use of a high positive rating without a market? He hesitated for a moment, but still sent his insights. It would be better for Chen Jianing to understand these principles earlier and suffer fewer losses in the future, saving her from going crazy online every day.

“Oh.” She simply replied with one word. Ordinary people might think she didn’t care or respect him, but Lu Li understood. Chen Jianing was actually a very awkward girl. She was introverted, socially anxious, and had a slight tendency for self-abuse. Self-abuse didn’t refer to physical self-harm, but psychological self-harm, liking something but not saying it, agreeing but refuting, valuing but rejecting. Her honest reply of “Oh” actually meant that she agreed with Lu Li’s words, but she deliberately wanted to appear indifferent.

Spending a lifetime with such a girl would be very tiring. No wonder Chen Jianing never found a partner or got married in his previous life. Lu Li sighed.

“Apologize to me and say I didn’t plagiarize, and I’ll forgive you and delete the negative reviews.” Chen Jianing suddenly sent a message. She was ready to reconcile, but she was just saving face and insisted on Lu Li apologizing to her, giving her a way to step down gracefully. Lu Li didn’t want to indulge her and typed: “I won’t.”

“Hmph, just you wait.”

Some girls are like cats, the more you yield and obey them, the gentler they become. Chu Jingyi was this type. If you listened to her in everything, she would actually be considerate of you. But some girls are the opposite. If you really obey them, it will only lead to worse results. Chen Jianing was this type.

Lu Li remembered that in his previous life, Chen Jianing once lost her temper for no reason. She deleted Lu Li’s contact information and warned him never to contact her again. She wanted to leave the city and fly away alone, even withdrawing from the apartment she shared with An Baili and Lu Li. As a result, during a heavy downpour, Lu Li held an umbrella and saw a bewildered, petite girl dragging a large suitcase, sitting in a daze at the breakfast shop downstairs. The thunder and rain poured, the air was damp and cold. Ten hours had passed since Chen Jianing decided to cut ties. Lu Li didn’t ask her why she hadn’t left, but silently helped her carry the suitcase upstairs.

“…” Perhaps because of shame, Chen Jianing’s ears were very red. “I don’t need your help! Go take care of your girlfriend!”

“Have you eaten dinner?”

“…” Silence.

“Want to eat Mala Xiang Guo? I’ll order you extra fish tofu.”

“…Not at all.” He could hear her swallowing.

“Let’s go home.”

“…Oh.”

If Lu Li hadn’t gone to find her in the heavy rain, how could he have imagined that this girl was hiding in the breakfast shop downstairs, lost in thought?

The Chen Jianing in Lu Li’s memory was a stubborn girl. To be honest, if they weren’t business partners, Lu Li wouldn’t want to have anything to do with such a girl. Unfortunately, fate was so strange.

He suddenly thought, if he hadn’t been reborn, what would Chen Jianing’s reaction be when she learned of his death? She would be sad, wouldn’t she? Would she cry for him? What would she say at his funeral? And what about Wen Hupo? She would probably be very happy, happy that this liar had finally received his retribution.

Indeed, it was truly fortunate to be reborn.

Closing his computer, Lu Li heard someone knocking on the door. It was Zou Yameng’s voice: “Little Li, are you there?”

Lu Li quickly opened the door: “Of course I am.” His eyes widened as soon as he opened the door. Sister Yameng was dressed particularly coolly. She wore a gray tank top, highlighting her ample bosom, her delicate waist exposed, and two distinct abdominal muscles that made one want to touch them. On her lower body were drawstring shorts that barely covered her tight buttocks, and her two toned legs were particularly eye-catching. If his gaze wandered a little lower, he would notice that the shorts were too tight, faintly outlining the shape of her camel toe.

Lu Li remembered that this pair of shorts were bought by his sister two years ago. His sister was reluctant to throw them away, so she often wore them as home pants. Lu Li felt that he should remind his sister to change her pants. Being too frugal wasn’t a good thing.

“Where are you looking?” Sister Yameng lightly patted Lu Li’s head. She was tall and could reach his head without standing on tiptoe. However, her arm movement was too large, causing her soft chest to jiggle slightly like jelly. A line of poetry flashed through Lu Li’s mind: “Like willow branches swaying like silk threads, holding a ball of soft snow in hand.”

“No, nowhere.” Lu Li was rarely flustered. He felt remorseful. He had just forced a kiss on Silly Goose today, and now he had desires for his sister at night. Lu Li, oh Lu Li, you are truly a beast driven by your lower body! As Lu Li lowered his head, a sly glint flashed through Zou Yameng’s eyes.

“Let’s sleep together tonight.”

“Huh… what?!”

“I can’t sleep alone and want to talk to you. And it’s been a long time since we slept together, hasn’t it?”

Sweat beaded on Lu Li’s forehead. Sleeping together was one thing, but sister, you’re dressed too coolly. Do you really think I’m harmless?

***

The next day, at Chuanhai No. 1 High School. Chu Jingyi was cramming for the exam, flipping through her books with a rustling sound. Suddenly, she saw Lu Li walk into the classroom looking listless and asked curiously: “Lu Li, didn’t you sleep well last night? Why are your dark circles so heavy?”

“Last night, I had an in-depth discussion on philosophical issues with ancient sages. I thought too deeply.” Lu Li felt that last night must have been the most determined night in his history. He had to address himself as “Saint Lu.” From Freud to Hegel, from Zhu Xi, Cheng Hao, Cheng Yi to Confucius, Mencius, Zhuangzi, and Laozi, he had traveled through human history in one night, chatting and laughing with these figures. If he wasn’t tired, who would be?

Silly Goose’s eyes sparkled: “You’re so hardworking!”

“You’re too kind!”

Chapter 12: Does the Setting Sun Have a Taste Too?

The students of Chuanhai No. 1 High School were all respectable individuals, with strict upbringing. There had never been a theft incident at the school. It didn’t make sense for anyone to hold a grudge against him either. Lu Li had never made any enemies during his entire year at Chuanhai No. 1 High School. After thinking it over and over again, he concluded that the document could only have been taken by An Baili. Recalling An Baili’s anxious search for him earlier, Lu Li felt more and more certain that this guess was likely the truth. But why did An Baili take the document? Where was she now? Why didn’t she come to class?

Lu Li, burdened with worries, endured until the second class in the afternoon, but An Baili still hadn’t returned. Ironically, it was usually An Baili who looked at him with anticipation, but now it was Lu Li who was eager to see her. In the end, he didn’t wait for An Baili, but he did wait for Silly Goose, who had finally composed herself.

Chu Jingyi’s clothes were neatly arranged, her small leather boots gleaming under the sunlight, spotless and ethereal. She seemed calm as usual, only her gaze would pause unnaturally when it swept past Lu Li.

The moment he saw the Class Monitor, Lu Li recalled the sweet taste of the girl’s lips. The taste of young girls was always bittersweet, full of vitality and youthful energy, different from mature women. If he had to choose, Lu Li preferred young girls.

She sat down behind Lu Li, silently opened her textbook, and prepared for class. Lu Li turned around to talk to her, but was slapped in the face by the Class Monitor’s textbook: “I don’t want to talk to you right now!”

Fine, if you don’t want to talk, then don’t. Lu Li also turned around proudly. What kind of man would continue to offer a warm face to a cold shoulder? A few minutes later, Lu Li turned his head again, this time with a smile: “Jingyi, do you know where An Baili went?” A prime minister’s heart should be broad enough to tolerate a boat. There was no need to argue with a silly deer.

Hearing this, Chu Jingyi felt a pang of displeasure, and her mouth pouted involuntarily: “How would I know? If you’re so concerned, go find her yourself.” As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized how jealous she sounded, and even she blushed: “I mean, I don’t know. Baili must have been angered by you and ran away. She likes you so much, but you…” Rather than blaming Lu Li, she was blaming herself.

But you kissed me… The girl swallowed these words, deciding to keep them a secret for the rest of her life. Unless, unless…

The afternoon classes ended quickly. The homeroom teacher held a class meeting and announced that there would be a monthly exam tomorrow. The top ten students would be eligible to go to Mulan City to participate in the Academic Competition. Lu Li knew about this competition. He didn’t have the chance to participate in his previous life, so he must strive for it this time, because this competition was highly valuable and extremely beneficial for college entrance. There were only three subjects in the liberal arts competition: Literature, Moral Philosophy, and Jurisprudence, corresponding to the high school courses of Chinese, Ideology and Morality, and Law.

Lu Li packed his school bag, wanting to say a few words to Chu Jingyi. After all, he had suddenly kissed the innocent girl, he had to show some gesture. His gaze met Chu Jingyi’s, and their thoughts were surprisingly aligned. However, Silly Goose was too embarrassed to speak first, just looking at him pitifully.

“Class Monitor, let’s go to the botanical garden for duty together.” Today was originally his and An Baili’s turn to inspect the botanical garden.

“Okay.”

Perhaps it was just her imagination, but Chu Jingyi felt that everyone was looking at her and Lu Li differently, with ambiguous and scrutinizing gazes, as if they all knew what had happened in the activity classroom today. She lowered her head and counted the eyelets on her shoelaces, wishing she could find a crack in the ground to hide in.

It’s all Lu Li’s fault. She thought. Good friends don’t kiss and hug, and they don’t stick their tongues into each other’s mouths… Lu Li was taking advantage of the fact that she was his only good friend.

The botanical garden was a secluded place, a good place for heart-to-heart talks. During college, Lu Li also liked to date An Baili in the woods, but unfortunately, his mentality was completely different now. Although it was called inspecting the botanical garden, it was actually just signing a name on the attendance sheet. If the botanical garden really needed maintenance, there were professionals to handle it.

Lu Li found a bench under a sweet-scented osmanthus tree and sat down with the Class Monitor. It was the season when the sweet-scented osmanthus flowers were in full bloom, their fragrance overflowing and wafting for miles. If they had come earlier, they could have picked gardenias in the botanical garden. The flowers and leaves were white and soft, with a lingering fragrance, a perfect match for Chu Jingyi.

Lu Li still had the leisure to appreciate flowers and associate them with women, but the Class Monitor didn’t have the same mood. She sat on the bench as if on pins and needles, feeling more and more like this was a date between young lovers. Various thoughts raced through her head. What did Lu Li mean? Did, did he like her? What, what should she do?

“Class Monitor, I was impulsive back in the activity classroom.” Lu Li started the conversation, getting straight to the point with sincerity. This indeed made Chu Jingyi’s tense shoulders relax slowly.

“You… why did you kiss… kiss… me like that.” She was even too embarrassed to say the word “kiss”. This girl was so pure that it made one’s heart ache. Times were changing, and many high school students in modern society had already tasted the forbidden fruit, going out with boys and girls arm in arm. Girls like Chu Jingyi were becoming increasingly rare. Thanks to Chu Xiaodong, he was a capable man who provided his daughter with a perfect growing environment.

Hmm, next time he saw Chu Xiaodong, he would reward him with a third-class merit.

“Because I thought you were very cute at the time.”

“Cu, cute?…”

“Yes. Your face was red, your eyes were watery, your ears were twitching slightly, and your little hands were gripping my arm so tightly that it hurt. So I couldn’t help but kiss you. Are you angry?”

“Angry!” Chu Jingyi’s words lacked any force. “You, you did that to me, how can I explain it to… to my husband in the future? Did, did I do something wrong…” She started to whimper again at the end, truly a wronged little girl.

The sun was setting in the west, the warm yellow sunlight filtering through the leaves, casting mottled shadows on their faces. The fragrance of sweet-scented osmanthus and the girl’s body fragrance intertwined, as beautiful as a dream. This kind of scene was perfect for a confession. Lu Li felt a sweetness in his nose, a psychological sweetness. He suddenly realized that he enjoyed spending time with Chu Jingyi, without having to worry about life or reality.

“It’s a little sweet.”

“…What…”

“I’m talking about the sunlight.” Lu Li looked at the crimson clouds. “The setting sun is a little sweet.”

“Does the setting sun have a taste too? You, you’re lying to me again…”

“It does. The setting sun has a taste too. The morning sunlight tastes bitter, like fresh lotus seeds in summer. Swallowing the core whole makes it feel even more bitter.” Lu Li’s voice was gentle and meaningful, deeply attracting the Class Monitor. She looked at Lu Li’s profile and was somewhat mesmerized.

“The midday sunlight tastes like Red Bull, with a bit of the pleasure of a hearty drink and a bit of hesitant awkwardness. Some people taste the pleasure, while others taste the hesitation.”

“…Then what does the setting sun taste like?”

Lu Li looked into her eyes.

“At least now, it’s sweet.”

He didn’t think Chu Jingyi could understand his metaphor, so he could say these words without any psychological burden.

Silly Goose quieted down, seemingly savoring his words, chewing on them one by one. After a long time, she finally spoke: “…Only this time. Next, next time you must ask for my consent…” Lu Li was stunned for a while before realizing that she was talking about the kiss.

There was a look in her eyes that Lu Li couldn’t quite understand, a look he had seen in his sister’s eyes: “After all, you are my best friend… I’ll forgive you this time…”

Best friend? Lu Li felt relieved, partly relieved, partly with a man’s selfish regret. He didn’t want to lose the pure friendship between him and Chu Jingyi, but he also had a desire to possess her. This contradiction was something that even Lu Li, who had lived two lives, couldn’t resolve.

Under the setting sun, the young man extended his little finger for the first time: “Pinky promise?”

Chu Jingyi was stunned for a moment, then excitedly extended her hand: “Pinky promise!”

“Pinky promise, hang on a hundred years, no changes. Whoever changes is a big white goose!”

Under the sweet-scented osmanthus tree, Silly Goose’s clear voice echoed like a paper airplane, passing through the leaves, over the teaching building, soaring into the vast sky, and finally disappearing into the orange-red horizon.

Like a swan taking flight.

Chapter 11: I’m Really Not a Scumbag

“Lu Li, are you in there?”

No! Lu Li desperately wanted to shout it out. The person he least wanted to see was An Baili. But upon hearing An Baili’s call, Silly Goose foolishly prepared to answer. Lu Li quickly covered the girl’s mouth, holding her close, enveloped in her sweet fragrance.

“Shh, don’t let her find us.”

The Silly Goose in his arms struggled for a bit, then quieted down. Just as Lu Li was about to let go, An Baili’s dragging footsteps came from outside the door.

An Baili’s footsteps were particularly sluggish, as if she were wearing ill-fitting rain boots, trudging through the muddy ground after the rain. Lu Li held Chu Jingyi and crouched by the wall, effectively hiding from An Baili’s sight. He felt like a thief, a shameful one at that. When faced with something he couldn’t handle, Lu Li’s subconscious reaction was to avoid it. This was the case now. He couldn’t deal with An Baili’s unreasonable persistence, so he could only try his best to avoid her.

The superpower Lu Li desired most was mind-reading, because then he would know what was going on in An Baili’s head.

He felt warmth on his arm, the girl’s breath against his skin. Even through the school uniform, he could feel the beating of Silly Goose’s heart. It was beating fast, like a war drum, or like continuous heavy rain. Lu Li lowered his head and made a silent gesture to Chu Jingyi, but when his gaze fell on Silly Goose, he couldn’t look away.

Chu Jingyi’s skin had a pinkish hue, her eyes were misty as she looked up at him, her small mouth moist and glistening, like ripe cherries that made one’s mouth water.

He felt his breathing quicken slightly: “Don’t speak.”

The Class Monitor nodded obediently, like a docile lamb.

Don’t be so obedient, okay? Lu Li thought to himself. It would make him want to bully her.

“Lu Li, are you there?” An Baili’s voice came from the classroom. She looked inside from the window. “Hey, where are you?”

Chu Jingyi subconsciously wanted to push Lu Li away, but another voice in her head told her that it was normal for good friends to hug each other. Was it? The last vestiges of her reason rebelled, but in the end, they were swallowed by emotions she couldn’t understand.

Being held… felt so comfortable, so warm, so safe, and… sleepy.

Lu Li didn’t dare look at Chu Jingyi in his arms anymore. In his panic to avoid An Baili, he had created an even more awkward situation. If An Baili found them in this state, it would be impossible to explain, especially since Silly Goose had lost her mind for some reason, her eyes watery and affectionate, with the infatuated look of a young girl. He couldn’t help but slap himself. He was a grown man, was it necessary to hide like this?

“Don’t hit yourself, okay?” Silly Goose’s voice was very gentle. Usually, Silly Goose’s tone was generous and gentle, although soft, but completely different from the atmosphere of this sentence.

If she had a peaceful family, she would definitely be the typical virtuous wife and good mother, gentle and considerate, dignified and generous. The noble ladies in traditional culture who were devoted to their husbands and children, virtuous and kind, were probably nothing more than this. It was only then that Lu Li realized that Chu Jingyi was the perfect image of a partner in his mind, except for… the insurmountable class gap between them.

“I don’t want An Baili to find me.”

“Mmm…” A soft response, filled with a woman’s infinite tolerance and compromise. Nothing is more amorous than this, lost in the tenderness of love. This single “mmm” contained too much information. Lu Li realized that Silly Goose wasn’t silly at all. She had actually understood a lot, but she deliberately acted silly in front of him.

Even heroes succumb to the charms of beauties, let alone Lu Li, who wasn’t a hero. He felt his own heart pounding, a red carp named Chu Jingyi leaping in the lake of emotions that had been dormant for many years.

The next second, Chu Jingyi felt her lips being covered, her delicate body suddenly stiffening.

It’s, it’s normal for good, good friends to, to kiss…

She had completely lost her mind, thinking nonsense. She felt like she had done the most unimaginable thing in her life.

Outside the window, An Baili’s anxious calls continued. She felt inexplicably guilty, as if she had wronged An Baili, as if she were a despicable thief.

An Baili’s voice gradually faded away.

Silly Goose was now truly a silly goose, staring blankly at Lu Li, without any reaction. It seemed her brain had crashed.

Lu Li took a deep breath, inhaling the girl’s sweet scent into his lungs, and only then did he realize he had gone too far. He had been touched by Chu Jingyi’s expression in his panic, and in his infatuation, he had actually thought of spending his life with her, and then kissed her without thinking about the consequences. After calming down, he realized he was just being lustful!

He found excuses for himself in his heart. It wasn’t his fault, it was the fault of young people having too much hormone secretion and being unable to control themselves. It was also because the Class Monitor’s expression was too charming, anyone would be unable to resist.

“Kiss… that… why… did you… stick your tongue out…” Silly Goose asked hesitantly.

Is that what you’re asking? Shouldn’t you be slapping me?

Lu Li said: “Well, that’s how it’s done. It’s always like this. Mmm. That’s right.”

“…Is it… normal for… good friends… to do this…?” The little girl suddenly became worried.

Seeing her pitiful appearance, Lu Li couldn’t bear to lie to her: “No, it’s not.” He believed that if he said it was normal, this girl would definitely take his words as gospel and then ask for whatever she wanted. But the last bit of conscience Lu Li had left made him choose to tell the truth.

As expected, upon hearing this answer, Chu Jingyi’s eyes suddenly reddened: “Then, then what should I do? Did, did I make a big mistake…”

“I was the one who kissed you. I’m the one who made the mistake.”

Silly Goose’s small pink fist suddenly came up: “It’s all your fault! You bad guy!” Her fist was soft and had no strength at all. Lu Li puffed out his chest, letting her hit him more comfortably.

“You’re the biggest bad guy in the world! It’s all your fault! Wuu…”

When Silly Goose started to cry, Lu Li panicked. He reached out to hug and comfort her, but felt it was too intimate, so his hands hovered in mid-air, neither advancing nor retreating. It wasn’t Silly Goose who stopped him, but the image of Chu Jingyi’s family background that flashed through his mind.

Suddenly, Silly Goose stood up and rushed out the door, suppressing her sobs. Her face was a mixture of three parts regret, three parts panic, three parts bewilderment, and one part joy that only she knew. Lu Li stood up as if possessed, and shouted at her back: “I’m not a scumbag.”

Then, as if afraid his self-defense wasn’t strong enough, he shouted again: “I’m really not a scumbag!”

***

When Lu Li returned to the classroom of the second year (1) class of liberal arts, the seats of the two girls behind him – Chu Jingyi and An Baili – were both empty, their fragrant presence gone. His unknown female deskmate teased him: “Did you offend them?”

Lu Li gave a dry laugh, not knowing how to answer. He opened his school bag and suddenly his face changed color. The document Chu Xiaodong had given him was gone!