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

Chapter 4: The Tiger’s Thoughts

Sitting in the back seat of the bus, Lu Li took a bright red apple from the plastic bag. “Sorry, I really didn’t see you. Here, want an apple?” Chen Jianing was too short, and she was wearing a large white sun hat, making her hard to see. It wasn’t his fault.

The bus rattled along. Chen Jianing, sitting beside him, clenched the hem of her skirt tightly, glaring at him. It was worth noting that Chen Jianing was wearing a light purple dress today, revealing a small patch of fair skin below her neckline and her entire white arms. She exuded an air of youth and innocence, like a green jujube glistening with morning dew.

They often said that short girls shouldn’t wear dresses, as it would make their legs look shorter. But Lu Li thought that petite girls suited dresses the most. Dresses could fully release their delicate temperament, awakening the protective instincts in men.

“Who wants your apple? You didn’t even wash it, it’s dirty.” Chen Jianing snorted through her nose.

Lu Li simply wiped the apple and took a bite with a crunch. As expected, apples were still the worst fruit.

“Why did you come to Chuanhai? You didn’t even tell me beforehand, I could have welcomed you…” Lu Li looked at the radiant Chen Jianing in front of him and couldn’t help but think of the frail little girl lying in bed in Mulan City last year. Were they really the same person?

“First, tell me why you’re dressed so… so formally today?” Chen Jianing turned the tables, very much in her style. “Are you going on a date? With your girlfriend?” Perhaps it was his imagination, but Lu Li felt her voice tremble slightly when she said the word “girlfriend.”

“I’m going to visit Jingyi.” Actually, it was visiting his girlfriend. “It’s Chu Jingyi, you know her, I introduced her to you at the meeting…”

“And then?”

“What ‘and then’?”

“And then what are you going to do? Go on a date? Hold hands? Kiss? And then spend the night together?” Chen Jianing’s tone was slightly agitated. “It’s all your fault, you made me take the wrong bus! I didn’t want to take this bus!”

“How could that be… We haven’t reached that stage yet.” Lu Li pressed Chen Jianing’s right hand, as if touching a robot’s switch. After pressing the little tiger’s soft right hand, she instantly quieted down. “I’m going to talk to her sister.”

“…What’s wrong with her sister?” the little tiger asked.

Lu Li smiled knowingly. Sure enough, Chen Jianing was still the same. In his past life, Chen Jianing often threw tantrums. Whenever things were about to get out of control, Lu Li would use his trump card, either pressing her head or holding her hand, basically initiating physical contact. Chen Jianing would instantly calm down, as if her weak spot had been hit. This girl was actually very reserved deep down, perhaps a bit too reserved?

“Her sister doesn’t want to go to school, she’s just lying at home playing games all day.”

“Tsk, useless.” Her mouth was as unfiltered as ever. However, Chen Jianing did have the capital to be proud. Mulan University was, after all, a top-tier university in the country, one of the best choices for students from ordinary families, and one of the institutions with the highest success rate for ordinary people to achieve upward mobility. Chen Jianing’s ability to get into Mulan University showed that her learning ability far surpassed that of ordinary people. Lu Li had a sudden idea. Yes, he could ask Chen Jianing to tutor An Baili!

“You still haven’t told me why you suddenly came to Chuanhai.”

“I’m not telling you.”

This girl was really annoying. If he didn’t have a close relationship with her, Lu Li really wouldn’t want to indulge her. After chatting idly for a while, seeing that they had arrived at the stop, Lu Li released the left hand that was pressing down on the little tiger and was about to get off the bus when he felt someone tugging at the corner of his clothes. Looking back, it was Chen Jianing. She looked at Lu Li. “Where are you going?” Her voice was slightly sharp, laced with an indescribable panic. This reminded Lu Li of the time when his sister first stayed at school for table tennis training. He waited anxiously at the entrance of the low-rent district, hoping to see that familiar figure under the setting sun.

“I’m getting off.”

“Can I come with you?”

Lu Li didn’t ask her why she wanted to come along, just smiled peacefully and took her hand again. “Let’s go.” Chen Jianing obediently said “oh” and followed Lu Li.

“Didn’t you take the wrong bus?” Lu Li teased.

“…None of your business.”

And so, on his way to Chu Jingyi’s house, Lu Li picked up another feisty little tiger.

When they reached the entrance of Chu Jingyi’s residential complex, they saw Chu Jingyi in a plaid skirt from afar. Every time he visited the Chu family, Silly Goose would always wait for him far in advance. In Long Jing’s words, her sister had become a “waiting-for-husband stone.” Today’s Chu Jingyi was also exceptionally beautiful. She had carefully tied her hair into a bun, her two delicate eyebrows like crescent moons hanging in the western sky. Her bright eyes dispelled all the suffering in the world, and her smiling face revealed two dimples, so sweet that one would willingly drown in them.

Lu Li heard Chen Jianing snort softly behind him.

Seeing Lu Li, Chu Jingyi immediately skipped towards him like a fawn in a spring forest, her eyes overflowing with joy. Lu Li truly felt that this girl was the purest and most perfect girl in the world, so perfect that she shouldn’t even exist in this world.

“Lu Li~” she called out sweetly, her voice almost making Lu Li’s bones melt. Silly Goose suddenly noticed Chen Jianing behind Lu Li, her eyes lit up, and she quickly remembered this person. “You are… Chen Jianing?”

Afraid that Chen Jianing would speak, Lu Li took the initiative. “Yes, this is the planner of our production team, Chen Jianing. She’s also on summer vacation, so she came to Chuanhai to meet up with us.”

“Nice to meet you.” Silly Goose said politely, but her body subtly blocked the space between Lu Li and Chen Jianing, her hand naturally taking Lu Li’s. “Please come with us.”

Chen Jianing looked at the couple in front of her, noticing their unhesitating hand-holding. Her eyes dimmed imperceptibly, but she didn’t even have the courage to refuse, nodding numbly. She suddenly felt that it was better when they were on the bus, just the two of them, holding hands and talking about boring things. Unlike now, where she felt like a third wheel watching Lu Li chat and laugh with another girl.

This feeling… is so annoying…

Chen Jianing thought. She wanted to turn around and run away, just like she always did, run to a place where no one cared. But she was afraid that if she really ran away, no one would really care.

Didn’t she come to Chuanhai just to see Lu Li?

Just then, Lu Li’s other hand unhesitatingly took hers. “Let’s go, don’t space out.” That large hand was warm. It wasn’t holding her hand, just pulling her wrist, but she felt a sense of satisfaction.

“Oh…” She said calmly, her mind already swirling with various thoughts.

Chapter 3: Helping Elementary School Students is Fun

The next morning, Lu Li climbed off the cool mat on the floor. He saw Wen Hupo lying in bed, playing on her phone, her slender legs playfully swinging back and forth. She woke up quite early. She ate and slept, slept and ate, and hadn’t even painted recently, claiming she couldn’t afford the paints. Lu Li wondered if he should find something for Wen Hupo to do, otherwise she would really turn into a lazy cat after the summer vacation. Miss Lu, following her example, was curled up beside Wen Hupo, her little head swaying along with Wen Hupo’s legs, looking silly.

“Cats aren’t allowed on the bed,”

Lu Li said. He saw Wen Hupo’s long legs pause mid-air. Looking up her flawless legs, he could see her firm buttocks wrapped in light blue shorts. Her legs were pressed tightly together, completely concealing the scenery between them. Lu Li had heard that you could judge a woman’s virginity by the distance between her thighs, but he didn’t know if that was true.

He picked up Miss Lu. “I meant this cat.”

Hearing this, Wen Hupo quietly breathed a sigh of relief, and her legs started swinging freely again, radiating a sense of ease and leisure.

“Cats aren’t allowed on the bed, otherwise there will be cat hair everywhere.” As he was speaking, he heard a knock on the door. Lu Li straightened his pants and walked towards the door. Opening it, he saw An Baili pouting. The little village girl rolled her eyes at Lu Li, then peeked through the open door at Wen Hupo lying on the bed. “That’s supposed to be my spot!” Yes, before Wen Hupo arrived, An Baili was the one responsible for warming the bed every night.

“Be good, she’s just staying here temporarily. She’ll move out once she finds a place.” When would Wen Hupo find a place? Lu Li wasn’t sure. Judging by her appearance, she didn’t seem to have any intention of moving out… Indeed, it was time to put buying a house on the agenda. How should he explain this to his sister? He couldn’t just say that there were too many women in his house and it was getting crowded, right?

Sister Yameng would kill him. Lu Li shivered.

“Look at her, living such a comfortable life, not going to school or work, expecting everything to be handed to her. I, I…” An Baili’s eyes welled up. “I’m so envious…”

“She doesn’t go to class every day, but she still ranked tenth in the final exams. You study hard every night, but you ranked tenth from the bottom. How can you compare?” Lu Li tapped the little village girl’s head. “Are you still planning to go to university?” Speaking of which, An Baili’s grades had indeed become a problem. There was only one year left before the college entrance exams. An Baili couldn’t fall behind, right? Lu Li stroked his chin, wondering if he should ask Jingyi and Wen Hupo to tutor An Baili together? Or maybe they could form a study group?

Lu Li couldn’t help but fantasize: In the study group, three fair little bottoms lined up neatly. Whoever didn’t study hard, he would reach out with his oily hand and give them a slap, making their flesh tremble…

“Hey, what are you daydreaming about?” An Baili stood on tiptoe and pinched Lu Li’s nose. “I’m just slow, what can I do? Why are you dressed so nicely today? Who are you trying to impress?”

“I’m going to the Chu family’s.” Lu Li hugged An Baili and lifted her into the house. “Keep Hupo company, I won’t be back for lunch.”

“I want to go too~” An Baili didn’t want to be alone with Wen Hupo. That expressionless woman was so annoying.

Lu Li was going on important business, to persuade the little girl Long Jing to go back to school. Bringing the “bad example” An Baili along might just make the two girls bond over their shared misfortune. Then Long Jing would point at An Baili and cry, “Look, Sister Baili is so dumb, she doesn’t go to class every day, but she still found a good husband. I don’t want to go to school either…”

Lu Li ignored An Baili’s whining, gave them a few instructions, closed the door, and left, leaving the two girls staring at each other in the room.

“Hey, Wen Hupo, no intimate contact with my Lu Li.” An Baili grumbled. “First, no holding hands. Second, no kissing. Third, no…” She rattled off a long list of rules. Wen Hupo rubbed her ears and turned around, puzzled. “What did you just say?”

---

Lu Li truly hoped the two girls would get along. In his past life, An Baili was always jealous of Wen Hupo. It was his fault for not being aware enough, often making An Baili cry. Dealing with Wen Hupo was like dealing with a cat. If you got too close, she would push you away. If you kept your distance, she would watch you constantly. You couldn’t force affection, you had to wait for the cat to come to you. An Baili had the personality of a dog owner, boisterous and loud, naturally disliked by cats.

Lu Li’s mind wandered as he boarded the bus. Ten minutes later, he got off at the market stop. Although he was already very familiar with Aunt Chu, he couldn’t show up empty-handed. That was basic etiquette. He bought some fruits and walked back to the bus stop. As he was waiting for the bus, he suddenly saw a white hat brim struggling through the crowd at the bottom of his vision.

“Excuse me, let me through, let me through…” A young girl’s voice. Lu Li looked down and only saw the tip of a large white hat. This girl was too short, about the same height as Chen Jianing.

There were many people waiting at the bus stop, and the girl was too small, struggling to navigate through the crowd. A bus arrived, and people surged forward. The girl in the white hat was about to be swept away by the crowd. She cried out, “I’m not taking this bus… Don’t push me… Hey…”

Lu Li reacted quickly. He reached out and grabbed the girl, using his body to shield her from the crowd. Chuanhai City was a first-tier city after all, and some popular bus stops were extremely crowded, especially during rush hour. Pushing and shoving were common.

“Th-thank you…” the girl whispered, her voice so soft that Lu Li could barely hear her.

“Mm, no problem.” Lu Li replied casually.

Unexpectedly, the girl in the white hat suddenly trembled and looked up in disbelief. The brim of her white sun hat was long and had been bent out of shape by the crowd, casting a shadow over half her face, revealing only a delicate chin and half of her pink lips.

Lu Li felt a sense of familiarity. Was she a student from a nearby elementary school?

But the next second, the girl in the white hat burst into tears and started hitting Lu Li with her small fists. “You’re so annoying! You saw me and didn’t even say hello!”

Lu Li was stunned by the sudden attack. He felt the voice sounded increasingly familiar, eventually overlapping with Chen Jianing’s voice. This height, this voice, this unreasonable barrage of punches, who else could it be but Chen Jianing?!

Why was she in Chuanhai?!

Lu Li looked up at the bright sun hanging high in the blue sky.

He almost forgot, Chen Jianing was also on summer vacation…

Chapter 2: A Cat’s Daily Life

That evening, after washing the dishes, Lu Li sat down at his computer and logged onto the Valve platform.

“Mr. Producer, were you late that day?”

Just as Lu Li thought the turmoil in his life had temporarily subsided and the sweetness of everyday life was about to embrace him, a message from “Zhu Xi” brought him crashing back to reality. His price hadn’t been eliminated yet, it wasn’t time to rest. And he still hadn’t figured out how “Zhu Xi” knew what would happen on June 6th.

After pondering for a moment, Lu Li replied, “Unfortunately, I was still late, but luckily, I didn’t leave with any regrets.”

“Is that so… So what I saw couldn’t be changed after all…” A short line of text conveyed the sadness of the girl on the other side of the screen. “Mr. Producer, are you on holiday?”

Normally, Lu Li would have playfully asked how she knew he was a student. But pretending to be foolish in front of a princess would just make him look truly foolish. So he simply went along with the topic. “Yes. You should be in school too, right?” Zhu Xi seemed to be studying in the capital. Did princesses have to wake up at seven every morning and rush to class before the bell rang? Thinking about it, perhaps being a princess wasn’t such a big deal after all.

When he was young, he used to think that people who didn’t have to go to school were amazing. When he grew up, he thought that people who didn’t have to work were amazing. Now, he felt that only he himself deserved to be called amazing.

“I’ve never been to school.” “Zhu Xi” sent a “joking” message. Lu Li chuckled dryly, assuming she was kidding.

“Mr. Producer, since you’re on holiday, can I visit your production team?” She suddenly asked, startling Lu Li. He had been chatting with “Zhu Xi” online for so long that he had even gotten used to imagining her as a sweet and lovely girl. But the thought of the real Zhu Xi, with her sharp short hair and cold eyes, sent shivers down his spine. People were very different. Some people, you just needed one look to know they were different from ordinary people, as if they had come into this world with some grand mission.

“Can I?” No emojis, just those three pitiful words. Lu Li inexplicably softened.

“Yes…”

Lu Li, oh Lu Li, you can’t be so degenerate. A pretty girl acts cute, and you just nod along? Lu Li told himself. But he had to admit, the fact that the Poison Princess, who ruled over Shenzhou with an iron fist, would actually act cute towards him, filled him with a sense of vanity that couldn’t be faked.

“Yay!” “Zhu Xi” sent a peace sign emoji. “My sister just came back recently, I’ll ask her to take me to see Mr. Producer~ She’ll definitely be able to find you.”

Your sister? Zhu Xi seemed to have many sisters. Wasn’t her relationship with her siblings terrible?

Before he could think further, he suddenly heard the bathroom door open and close behind him. A wave of hot air rushed out, followed by a pair of slender jade legs. Wen Hupo was wearing one of Lu Li’s t-shirts. It was too big for her, revealing half of her shoulder and completely covering her bottom. At first glance, it looked like she wasn’t wearing any pants, her legs dazzlingly white.

She also carried the scent of shower gel.

“Don’t turn around…” she said.

Lu Li didn’t turn around. He just tilted his head, sneakily glancing at Wen Hupo, who had just emerged from the shower. The blonde girl was drying her wet hair with a towel while climbing into bed. After covering her bare legs with the thin blanket, she whispered, “You can turn around now.”

Lu Li bet that An Baili was eavesdropping outside the door right now.

He turned off the computer and took out the hairdryer from the desk drawer. “Let me dry it for you.” The moment his gaze fell on Wen Hupo’s face with her wet hair, Lu Li was momentarily stunned. The platinum blonde hair, darkened by the water, turned into a bright gold. Strands of wet hair clung to her rosy cheeks and fair, graceful neck, resembling a beauty from a classical sculpture. Especially her lips, still glistening with water droplets, were as tempting as cherries in May, bright red and sparkling.

“What are you looking at?” The cherry-like lips moved up and down, and Lu Li finally saw the hint of suspicion on Wen Hupo’s face.

“I’m looking at how beautiful you are.”

“Hmm.” If it were before, she would definitely say, “Save those words for your little girlfriends.” But now, Wen Hupo just hummed noncommittally, seemingly enjoying the compliment.

Since Wen Hupo moved in with him, Lu Li had become the foreign young lady’s sole male servant. Wen Hupo showered punctually every day, and Lu Li would dry her hair with a hairdryer afterwards. For Lu Li, this wasn’t a chore. He stood close to Wen Hupo, clearly smelling the girl’s fresh scent, feeling the warmth radiating from her soft body.

The hairdryer was loud. Miss Lu, disturbed by the noise, leaped out of her cat bed and jumped onto the windowsill to watch the moon. Lu Li thought about sealing the window, just in case Miss Lu fell off someday.

“Hupo…” Lu Li called her name. The hairdryer’s noise was deafening, forcing him to raise his voice. “You said the other day that you liked me a little. Was that true?”

Lu Li saw Wen Hupo’s earlobes suddenly turn red, followed by her cheeks, transforming from pale white to pink in just a few seconds. “What did you say?”

“I asked if you like me.”

“The hairdryer is too loud, I can’t hear…” Wen Hupo replied.

Lu Li smiled. He actually already knew the answer. He only pointed it out to see Wen Hupo blush. It was a rare sight. Humans could land on the moon many times, but Wen Hupo might only blush this once.

Hupo’s hair felt wonderful, making him reluctant to let go. A girl’s hair was actually very special. The more a girl cherished herself, the more she cared about her hair. If a girl willingly let you play with her hair, it usually meant she had feelings for you. Just like a man’s head, there were three types of people who could pat a man’s head: enemies, friends, and lovers.

Lu Li suddenly realized that Wen Hupo had never braided her long hair. On a whim, he said, “Let me braid your hair.” He knew how to braid hair. Besides braiding, he actually knew how to draw eyebrows and a little bit of other strange things. Spending a lot of time with girls, one always learned something.

“You know how to braid hair?” Wen Hupo asked. “Have you braided anyone’s hair before? An Baili?”

“No… You’re the first.” Lu Li added silently in his heart, the first in this life.

As expected, hearing this, Wen Hupo just hummed in agreement, not objecting. “Only my mother used to braid my hair. I never learned how myself. Later… after moving to the Amber family, I never had the mood to take care of my hair anymore.”

“Then I’ll braid it for you from now on.” Lu Li replied casually, gathering her hair.

The blonde girl’s body softened. She whispered, “You’re not my mother…” She swore that when she said this, her inner voice was firm and decisive, like a female warrior from the Siberian highlands, but the words that actually came out were soft and gentle, as if spoken by a different person.

“Someone has to take care of you…”

Hearing this, Wen Hupo’s eyes inexplicably moistened, her nose tingling. The figures of her adoptive parents from her childhood gradually faded away. The lonely Amber seemed to see, at the end of the castle, a young man waving at her. It had been… it had been so many years since anyone had taken care of her… She had always taken good care of herself… always…

I’m doomed. She thought.

Volume 7: The Boisterous Summer

Chapter 1: The Beginning of the Holiday

Summer.

What a romantic word for a man. Besides the sunlight piercing through the water and shattering into shimmering fragments, summer also brought the sight of girls in short sleeves, their skin glowing faintly, and the dazzling display of ivory-white legs on the streets. Those girls always wore sun hats or sunglasses, obscuring most of their faces, which paradoxically made them seem even more beautiful in men’s eyes. Lu Li’s favorite pastime used to be buying an old-fashioned popsicle wrapped in paper, sitting on the steps in the low-rent district, and counting how many pairs of hot pants walked by.

June 17th was the first day of summer vacation. He had two whole months ahead of him to spend. He had to think carefully about how to spend this holiday. In the past, Lu Li wouldn’t have had this problem. He would just ask Baili. But now, besides An Baili, there was also Chu Jingyi, and… Wen Hupo.

“Wen Hupo, why are you still living in our house?!” An Baili’s frantic voice pulled Lu Li back from his wandering thoughts. He glanced sideways at the little village girl, and then at the blonde woman sitting calmly on his bed.

Wen Hupo’s eyelids were half-closed, as if she were dozing off. She leaned against the wall listlessly and said, “I have nowhere else to go. Lu Li picked me up, so of course I’m staying here.”

An Baili was so angry at her nonchalant attitude that steam practically puffed out of her nostrils. “Go rent your own place!”

“No money.”

“Then go get a job!”

“I don’t know how to work.” Wen Hupo said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“Then how long are you planning to stay?! You’ve already been here for two weeks! I see you occupying Lu Li’s bed every day!” An Baili gritted her teeth. Wen Hupo never said she would be staying at Lu Li’s place when she decided to stay.

“I’m not sleeping in the same bed with him.” Wen Hupo lifted her eyelids slightly, like a cat granting a fleeting moment of attention. “Why are you in such a hurry?”

It was true, they weren’t sleeping in the same bed. Lu Li was sleeping on the floor. Occasionally, when he wanted to sleep over at Baili’s place next door, Wen Hupo would stare at him with those deep eyes, as if she could read his mind, nipping all his inappropriate thoughts in the bud. Lu Li had also suggested letting Wen Hupo stay in his sister’s empty room next door, or letting her stay at Silly Goose’s big villa, but Wen Hupo always refused for one reason or another.

She was like a cat, keeping her distance yet always nearby, never getting too close, but unwilling to let Lu Li disappear from her sight.

Sometimes, when Lu Li was writing his script, he would look up and find Wen Hupo secretly watching him. When he asked what was wrong, she would just say she was watching TV.

Having Wen Hupo living with them seemed to have a significant impact on his life. For example, he couldn’t walk around the house in his underwear anymore. He had to knock before entering the bathroom, and even before entering his own apartment. The most baffling thing was that there were now four or five towels hanging on the hook in the bathroom, and he couldn’t figure out what each one was for. Oh, and the most torturous part was sweeping up hair every morning.

Lu Li glanced at Miss Lu in the corner. She was curled up lazily in the little nest Wen Hupo had prepared for her, listening contentedly to the two girls arguing, living a more comfortable life than Lu Li himself.

Since the day Wen Hupo moved in, this home seemed to have gained a bit more vitality. Although living with An Baili or Sister Yameng was happy, it always felt like everyone was carrying some burden, some unspoken pressure. Wen Hupo didn’t have these pressures. She would casually find a place to sit, cross her slender white legs, and start reading, not thinking about tomorrow, not thinking about the future. Perhaps for her, this kind of life was already the best future.

“You lazy bum! You’ll starve to death sooner or later!” An Baili shouted angrily. “Before the next semester starts, you have to move out!”

“Go to sleep early.” Wen Hupo glanced at the scorching sun outside and nodded lightly.

“You! You’re making me so mad!” An Baili ran over to Lu Li, who was spacing out, crying. “Li, she always looks down on me! Look at her eyes!”

“Okay, okay, don’t be angry, don’t be angry.” Lu Li hugged An Baili like a baby, and sure enough, she started smiling sweetly again. “Baili, I was thinking, should we go on a trip this holiday? I’ve already planned the route… Let’s go to Mulan, then to the capital…”

Wen Hupo interjected coldly, “I don’t want to go anywhere, it’s too sunny.”

An Baili seized the opportunity. “Who invited you? Hmph, stay home and ferment.”

“Hey, hey, listen to me…” Lu Li had a headache. Just as he was about to elaborate on his grand travel plans, he received a call from Silly Goose.

He left the two bickering girls and walked outside with his phone. “Yi Bao~”

His affectionate tone made the Class Monitor blush. She said softly, “Lower your voice… Mom heard you, she’s laughing at me… Don’t call me that next time.”

After composing herself, Chu Jingyi said, “Lu Li, actually, there’s something I need your help with—” The next second, a little girl’s shout came through the phone, “I’m stealing it!—”

“Hey! Give me back my phone!” Chu Jingyi’s voice suddenly became faint.

Long Jing snatched the phone and shouted into the receiver, “Brother-in-law! You owe me money! Brother-in-law! You owe me money!”

The brat’s voice was exceptionally clear and loud, almost deafening. Lu Li had to move the phone away from his ear. “Long Jing, you haven’t gone home yet?! Aren’t you going to school?!”

“None of your business!” she retorted, then abruptly hung up.

Lu Li waited for more than ten minutes, and sure enough, Chu Jingyi called back. The silly girl said angrily, “She’s so naughty…”

Lu Li chuckled. It was a good thing he didn’t send Wen Hupo to the Chu family’s house, otherwise Wen Hupo would have been driven back to her country by this little demon. “Um, Long Jing hasn’t left yet?”

A whole semester had passed, and that brat still hadn’t gone back to school? Had she dropped out?

“That’s the problem.” Chu Jingyi’s voice sounded a bit down. “Uncle Long has called many times, but Long Jing refuses to go back to school. If they force her, she cries and throws tantrums and even goes on hunger strike. It’s been dragging on until now. Lu Li, you’re good at handling Long Jing. Do you have any way to make her go back to school? Uncle Long’s family are all intellectuals, we can’t let Long Jing become illiterate, right?” Lu Li couldn’t help but chuckle at her worried tone.

Illiterate? Didn’t that fit Long Jing perfectly?

“Kids are all like that.”

“Long Jing isn’t a kid anymore.” Silly Goose said coquettishly. “We can’t treat her like a child anymore. Last time she even asked… asked…” Her voice trailed off.

“Asked what?”

“No-nothing.” Asked when sister and brother-in-law were getting married and having kids. Could she tell Lu Li that?

Lu Li thought for a moment and said, “How about this, I’ll come over to your place tomorrow and have a good talk with the little demon, oh, I mean, Long Jing.”

“Okay, okay, great, great.” Even through the phone, Lu Li could picture Silly Goose’s excited expression. “Then it’s settled, you have to come tomorrow.”

Just as Silly Goose was about to hang up, Lu Li suddenly said, “Yi Bao, girlfriends are supposed to blow a kiss through the phone when they hang up.”

There was a brief silence on the other end, followed by a faint sucking sound.

“Mwah~”

As if embarrassed, or perhaps savoring the lingering warmth of their affection, Silly Goose waited a few seconds before hanging up.

Chapter 34: Conversation Before Departure (Part 2)

“Whether I stay or not isn’t up to me.” Wen Hupo continued to deflect, not daring to meet An Baili’s intense gaze. Honestly, Wen Hupo had always looked down on An Baili, thinking she was obsessed with love and lacked self-respect. But now she realized she had no right to judge others. To judge others, one must first judge oneself, and criticizing herself was Wen Hupo’s greatest weakness.

An Baili pressed, “Then who decides?”

“My biological father.” Few people added the prefix “biological” when referring to their father. Those who emphasized this identity were often not satisfied with their fathers.

“Can Jingyi call him and talk to him?” An Baili asked nervously. She didn’t know how to persuade Wen Hupo’s father. Usually, when faced with difficulties, she would seek Lu Li’s help. But not this time. This time, it was her turn to help Lu Li.

Of course, she could. Wen Hupo thought to herself. Mr. Diplomat was just an insignificant heir among the middle generation of the Amber family. After Old Osric’s death, he didn’t even fight for the core assets, but instead argued with the bank about inheritance taxes. This showed the extent of his ambition. The Chu family was a top aristocratic family in China. Let alone Chu Jingyi, even a dog coming out of the Chu family’s gate would make Mr. Diplomat bow and scrape.

“Say something, Hupo. I’ve poured my heart out to you, can’t you say something too?” An Baili stomped her foot impatiently.

Wen Hupo’s cherry lips opened and closed, opened and closed again, but no words came out. Her mind was a chaotic mess, like the infinite and patternless digits of pi. There was the self-destructive urge to admit that she did like Lu Li, the pride that made her want to deny it, the strange sense of shame she felt in front of An Baili, and many other subtle and indescribable emotions.

“I do like Lu Li.” Finally, the blonde girl spoke. The divine radiance faded from her face, replaced by a womanly blush. “An Baili, but I can’t accept becoming his appendage. If I stay, I’ll only become your rival, your competitor. Even so, you still want me to stay?”

“Yes.” Light shone in An Baili’s eyes. “I told you, I love him. As long as it makes him happy, I’ll support him wholeheartedly. Hupo, I used to be afraid of you, but now I’m not afraid at all. No matter what, you can’t completely take Lu Li away from me anymore.”

So confident… Wen Hupo smiled faintly. After confessing, the heavy psychological burden lifted. “An Baili, thank you.”

“Thank me?”

“Yes. You taught me a lot today, about life, about myself.” Wen Hupo gently twirled a strand of hair. “I’ll stay, but I need Jingyi’s help. Will she be willing to help me? She… reacted quite strongly back then.”

“I told Jingyi about your situation. She said she would definitely help you. It has nothing to do with Lu Li.” An Baili breathed a sigh of relief. Her biggest fear was that Wen Hupo would still refuse to open up. “Actually, a lot of what I said to you today, Jingyi taught me.”

“I know. You couldn’t have guessed my thoughts so accurately.” Wen Hupo chuckled softly. This laughter made An Baili clench her fists slightly. Wen Hupo was still annoying. Lu Li needed to discipline this little wildcat properly. “Jingyi is truly too kind. An Baili, let’s make a promise, okay?”

“Hmm?”

“No matter how we compete, we must not let Jingyi be the one who cries.”

“Hmph… You underestimate Lu Li…” An Baili mumbled. “With him around, Jingyi will just be happy all day, why would she cry?”

“That’s for the best. That’s for the best.” Wen Hupo let out a long breath. She had never felt the air so fresh. It was as if the world was an onion, and another layer had been peeled away, revealing a whole new world to her.

“Then I’ll tell Lu Li.”

Wen Hupo quickly stopped her. “Don’t tell him. I… I still need some time to prepare myself mentally.”

“But Lu Li has been losing sleep and appetite because of you lately. How long are you going to wait?”

Lu Li lost sleep and appetite because of me? Although she felt a little guilty, she also felt a strange sense of satisfaction. So this was what it felt like to be missed? Wen Hupo thought for a moment. “My flight is on June 6th. After Jingyi talks to my father, I’ll go talk to Lu Li myself that day.”

“June 6th? That’s only a few days away! We should tell Lu Li sooner. What if he gets impulsive and goes to the airport to find you, or even rushes through security? That would be disastrous.” An Baili slapped her forehead. She knew her husband’s temperament well. He might seem gentle and considerate, but when he got stubborn, he would risk everything.

Wen Hupo shook her head. “He won’t. He doesn’t know which day I’m leaving. Telling him in advance might backfire. You just need to give Lu Li and me some time alone after school on June 6th.”

An Baili pouted. What was with this little wildcat’s bossy tone? Anyone who didn’t know better would think Wen Hupo was the one in charge! Hmph, sooner or later, Lu Li will train you to be obedient, and you’ll have to call me “sister~” when you see me.

Thinking of this, An Baili suddenly giggled.

“What are you laughing at?” Wen Hupo frowned. Did she say something wrong?

“No-nothing.” An Baili suddenly remembered something else. “Hupo, do you want to hear the story of you and Lu Li before my rebirth?”

Wen Hupo was silent for a moment. She thought of the wedding in her dream, the family in her dream, thought of many things, and finally said, “No. Since you said it happened before your rebirth, let it stay in the past. I only believe in the present, and the future.”

“You don’t actually believe in rebirth, do you?”

“Who knows?” Wen Hupo smiled enigmatically. “Maybe I do, maybe I don’t.”

An Baili was flustered by Wen Hupo’s question, feeling annoyed. Wen Hupo was still so annoying!

After the two girls finalized their plan, neither expected that the one who would be truly stressed was the absent Class Monitor.

Chu Jingyi had no idea how to use her family’s status to pressure Wen Hupo’s father into letting her stay. She was too embarrassed to ask her elders. After thinking about it for several nights, the Class Monitor finally braced herself and called Mr. Diplomat. Mr. Diplomat happened to be at the airport waiting for Wen Hupo. He was surprised to receive a call from an unknown number. Hearing the caller identify herself as Chu Jingyi, his daughter’s class monitor, he immediately put on a smile. However, his smile quickly froze as he listened to the girl lecturing him about the Chuanhai No. 1 High School Rules, the Compulsory Education Law, and the High School Student Discipline Regulations. By the time Mr. Diplomat hung up the phone, his head was still buzzing.

He stared blankly at his phone screen.

Did he just get lectured by a high school student?

Why did his face feel so hot?

(End of this volume)

Chapter 33: Conversation Before Departure

June 7th, 1 p.m. Mr. Diplomat exited the airport and headed straight for the Amber family castle. His sons and daughters were already waiting for him at the entrance. “Father! Father! You’re finally back!” Mr. Diplomat looked at his own flesh and blood with a cold expression, as if they were strangers. “Who took Old Osric’s ashes?”

“Hansen…”

“A bunch of useless fools!” His spittle rained down on their faces. “Osric’s ashes hold a five-thousandth priority in the inheritance division! That urn of ashes is worth more than all five of you combined! And you let Hansen take it?! Did I leave you in charge of the family just to sit around and do nothing?!”

One of them quickly changed the subject. “Father, um, what about our sister? The one, the one… uh… uh…”

“Shirley,” an older woman reminded him.

“Oh, Shirley Amber, why didn’t she come back?”

At the mention of Shirley Amber, Mr. Diplomat’s face darkened even further. “She stayed in China.”

“What?!”

“How could she?”

“Doesn’t she have any sense of the bigger picture?”

Accusations flew, each trying to appease their father’s anger by attacking Shirley.

“Father, are you really going to let her stay in China?” the older woman asked.

“What else can I do?…” Mr. Diplomat’s face was grim. “Do any of you dare to challenge someone with the surname Chu on Chinese soil?”

---

Time rewound to more than ten days earlier. While Lu Li was walking alone on the Jinjiang Bridge, receiving life advice from a drunken man about “not giving up,” An Baili was undertaking a difficult task – taming a wildcat.

Stray cats weren’t easy to raise. They were too fragile, and because they were separated from their mothers too early, they retained their wild instincts and were prone to aggression. Especially during the first few days at home, they would meow incessantly at night, disturbing everyone’s sleep.

Who was the little wildcat? She didn’t say, but everyone knew.

Wen Hupo was packing her paints in the activity classroom. She glanced up and saw An Baili standing hesitantly at the front door. Her movements slowed slightly, hundreds of thoughts flashing through her mind. Finally, she said, “You didn’t go home with Lu Li today?” In fact, since their argument, the blonde girl had barely interacted with An Baili or Chu Jingyi. She was like the sloth frozen in ice in Ice Age, isolated from the world.

“Wen Hupo, since you like Lu Li, don’t go back to your country. Stay here.” An Baili didn’t bother with pleasantries, knowing that Wen Hupo’s clever words would easily twist her around in circles.

“…I don’t like Lu Li.” Wen Hupo lowered her gaze, turned her back to An Baili, and continued packing her paint box.

An Baili entered the room and locked the door behind her. “It’s just the two of us in the entire Building Three now. I think we can stop pretending, right?”

“…”

“Hupo, if you won’t admit it, I’ll admit it for you. Tell me, if you didn’t like Lu Li, why did you agree to play the prince and princess with him?”

“…Circumstances forced me…”

“You’re such a proud person. If it were any other boy, would you have continued playing the princess?” An Baili pressed her aggressively.

“…” Wen Hupo couldn’t answer. The answer was no. If the prince hadn’t been Lu Li, she wouldn’t have accepted the final misplaced kiss scene, she wouldn’t have even been able to perform the duet earlier.

“If you don’t like Lu Li, why did you help him draw the character designs for his game?”

“To repay his kindness. He helped me clear up those rumors…” Her voice lacked conviction. She knew this reason wasn’t convincing. Just to repay a favor, she spent the entire winter break and Spring Festival drawing for Lu Li? And didn’t even ask for payment afterwards?

“If you don’t like Lu Li, why did you hold his hand at the amusement park? Are you the type of woman who casually touches men?”

Of course not. As a solitary observer, she rarely even touched people of the same sex, let alone the opposite sex. “Did Jingyi tell you even that?” Wen Hupo was surprised by the intimacy between An Baili and Chu Jingyi, but also felt a strange sense of relief. Luckily, Jingyi only saw her holding Lu Li’s hand and didn’t see them squeezed together in the tiny bumper car…

“If you don’t like him, why did you insist on teaming up with him for the sports meet? Why did you name the cat you found together Lu Li? Why didn’t you even dare to tell him yourself that you were leaving?” An Baili became more and more agitated, her pretty face flushed red. “Hupo, how long are you going to deceive yourself? Your every action tells everyone that Lu Li is special to you, that you care about him deeply, that you like him!”

This time, Wen Hupo didn’t refute her. She turned around and looked steadily at An Baili. An Baili instinctively shrank back, but then straightened her posture. Wen Hupo knew that An Baili wasn’t capable of such sharp thinking. This must be Chu Jingyi’s conclusion. She always felt that Jingyi was very similar to her, possessing extraordinary insight into people’s hearts, just like now.

“Shirley Amber. Do you know? I used to be afraid of you, and I hated you.” An Baili thought of something, her eyes reddening. “Do you believe in rebirth?”

Wen Hupo paused, then shook her head.

“Let me tell you, Wen Hupo, without my interference, you and Lu Li would have had a happy marriage. You would have had a considerate husband who cared for his family, a pair of lovely and intelligent children, a comfortable life, and a successful career. You would have been the happiest woman in the world.” An Baili’s voice was hoarse.

Wen Hupo didn’t scoff. She seemed to be thinking. Rebirth? What an absurd word, like a fantasy from cheap literature. But the future An Baili described made her yearn for it. Could someone like her really have such a future? Wen Hupo had thought more than once that she and Lu Li were too compatible, so compatible that it seemed like they were made for each other. Was it possible that the world was a novel, and Lu Li and Wen Hupo were destined to be together?

She thought of those dreams again, those dreams that felt both real and unreal, ambiguous and elusive.

Rebirth?

“I believe you.” The blonde angel actually nodded slightly, which surprised An Baili. “An Baili, don’t you like Lu Li? Why are you persuading me to stay?”

An Baili gathered her thoughts before speaking. “I don’t like him.”

“…”

“I love him, love him to the bone.”

Wen Hupo noticed that for the first time, An Baili’s eyes shone with her own light. This girl, who had always lived for others, was now firmly declaring her own humble will, even from a position of submission.

Chapter 32: The Cat’s Home

Wen Hupo, in the end, couldn’t be persuaded to stay. Perhaps she had already boarded the plane and didn’t hear Lu Li’s shouts, or perhaps she heard them but didn’t care. In any case, she didn’t stay. Lu Li initially felt regret, regret for his own hesitant feelings, then numbness, and finally, a touch of annoyance towards Wen Hupo. But all these emotions eventually subsided into calmness.

He was taken to an interrogation room by the police. At first, two people in suits questioned him, then two police officers in blue shirts, and then back to the people in suits. The small interrogation room had only one light source above the table. He didn’t know how long the interrogation would last, feeling vaguely like it could go on for a century.

At some point, someone opened the door to the interrogation room and said, “He can go.”

He could go just like that? Lu Li was still dazed from the interrogation. He looked at the person numbly. “I can go?”

“Yes. Someone very important vouched for you.” The person smiled kindly. “It was a misunderstanding. You can leave.”

Who vouched for him? Lu Li first thought of Chu Jingyi, but that wasn’t right. How would Chu Jingyi know he had been arrested? Besides Chu Jingyi, who else had that kind of influence?

“Who?”

“They want you to guess.” The person smiled again, this time with a hint of teasing.

By the time Lu Li walked out of the police station, he still hadn’t seen the “very important person” who had vouched for him. It was as if they were deliberately avoiding him. Would Chu Jingyi do that?

He pressed his temples, still feeling dizzy. The air in the interrogation room was stuffy, the environment oppressive, and the interrogators kept applying pressure. An ordinary middle school student would have been crying for their parents long ago. He checked his phone. It was 7 p.m. Baili had sent a message saying she was spending the night at Jingyi’s place and told him to take care of himself. Those two girls were getting closer and closer.

They definitely couldn’t guess that Lu Li had stormed the airport just to see Wen Hupo one last time, and almost got tasered as a terrorist. It was best not to tell them about this, ever, to avoid worrying them.

Wen Hupo still hadn’t replied, as if she were dead.

Lu Li felt inexplicably irritated. He turned off his phone and hailed a taxi to the school. His laptop was still in the activity classroom.

So, in the end, he couldn’t keep Wen Hupo from leaving? Fine, let her go. But why did she have to say “I actually like you a little” at the end? Was she deliberately trying to make him agonize over it for the rest of his life? For a girl like Wen Hupo to say she liked someone, what did that mean?

Lu Li repeatedly opened Wen Hupo’s chat window, wanting to say something more, but after hesitating for a long time, he didn’t send anything. Saying too much would just make him look like a clown. Wen Hupo herself had chosen to leave without looking back. What else could he say?

The sky was still ominously dark. As he walked out of the school with his laptop, the drizzle suddenly turned into a downpour. In the pouring rain, a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, tearing a rift in the dark clouds. Perhaps this lightning was the sky’s way of venting its pent-up frustration after a whole day of suppression.

Lu Li had to take shelter under the school corridor, waiting for the rain to subside. At this time, the school was already empty. Even the most diligent Yi Bao would have gone home before six. The only person who might still be at school was Wen Hupo… Damn it, why was he thinking about Wen Hupo again?

“Meow~”

The sound of a cat.

Lu Li felt something rubbing against his leg. He looked down and saw a small cat with mottled fur. Behind the kitten was a slightly larger cat mother with somewhat dull fur.

Lu Li had spent half a day putting up “Lost Cat” posters for Wen Hupo and was very familiar with Miss Lu’s appearance. He was sure that the kitten rubbing against his leg was the Miss Lu that Wen Hupo had lost. No wonder they couldn’t find her. Her mother must have taken her back, and they had returned to the school.

The stray cats on campus were relatively tame and friendly towards people, probably because they were well taken care of by the students. They wouldn’t run away when they saw people, but would instead approach them, meowing cutely. Lu Li squatted down and gently stroked the kitten. “Why didn’t you come out sooner? Wen Hupo was worried sick looking for you.”

That wasn’t entirely true. If Wen Hupo had come to school regularly, she would have eventually found Miss Lu, who had been brought back by her mother. But unfortunately… fate played tricks.

“Meow~”

Miss Lu meowed, seeming to enjoy Lu Li’s touch.

If only you had appeared a day earlier, no, even half a day earlier…

Lu Li sighed.

The mother cat meowed, seemingly calling for Miss Lu to leave. But Miss Lu meowed back a few times and then sat down on Lu Li’s shoes. Seeing this, the mother cat just turned around and disappeared into the damp bushes.

Lu Li picked up the kitten and smiled with relief. “You’re quite loyal, unlike a certain stubborn woman who just flies back to her country without a second thought. I’ll take care of you from now on.”

The kitten obediently rubbed against Lu Li’s chin, looking incredibly cute.

If only Wen Hupo were this obedient. This thought crossed Lu Li’s mind, and he chuckled self-deprecatingly. If Wen Hupo were this obedient, would she still be Wen Hupo?

The rain subsided slightly. Lu Li quickly hailed a taxi and returned to the low-rent district during the lull between downpours. On the way home, he saw the “Lost Cat” posters he had put up with Wen Hupo, now crumpled and floating on the wet pavement, washed away by the heavy rain. The words on them were blurred: “Beloved X lost at XXXXXXX, please contact XXXX if you have X, reward for XXX useful info XX, generous reward for finding XX cat!”

Unfortunately, she never found Miss Lu in the end. Knowing Wen Hupo’s personality, she would probably remember this for the rest of her life.

“If you had come back earlier, you would have been adopted by a lovely young lady, not carried away by a rough guy like me.” Lu Li poked the kitten’s pink nose.

“Meow~” What was the kitten saying? He didn’t understand. But Lu Li guessed it must be agreeing with him.

He shook his head. He seemed to be obsessed today, always thinking about Wen Hupo no matter what he did. How long would this state last? Baili wasn’t home today, so he would just make some instant noodles for himself… Shrimp and fish cake noodles sounded good.

As he reached the corridor, the rain started pouring again, heavier than before. Raindrops hammered down, creating a deafening roar. A flash of lightning illuminated the sky, followed by a series of thunderclaps. Could the damp air of the south seep into people’s hearts? Could the torrential rain wash away the city? The answers seemed to be the same.

Lu Li suddenly noticed a figure squatting in front of his door, a large suitcase beside them.

Who was it? Lu Li rubbed his eyes.

As he got closer, closer, he rubbed his eyes again.

The blonde girl looked up, clutching her stomach. “You… took so long to come back? I’m starving…”

“You, you?” Lu Li stammered. The kitten in his arms leaped out and jumped into the gentle arms of the young lady. He finally managed to speak clearly. “Didn’t you go back to your country? Why, why are you squatting at my door?”

“…” Wen Hupo’s eyes held a hint of resentment. “Didn’t you say so?”

“I, what did I say?”

“You said, if I were homeless, I should just find a place to squat and wait for a kind person to pick me up.” Her face flushed, her long eyelashes trembling slightly. “Aren’t you going to pick me up?”

At this moment, there was no thunder, but Lu Li’s heart was struck by lightning.

The rain poured down relentlessly, the sound incessant. If Lu Li were to write his autobiography, he would write that on June 6th, he picked up two cats, one named Lu Li, and the other named Wen Hupo.

Chapter 31: The Future Cannot Be Changed

First time.

Everyone has precious firsts. The first breath, the first time opening their eyes, the first time calling out “Mom” and “Dad,” the first time walking… The word “first” always evokes a sense of solemn importance. Every breath, every blink, every clash of lips and tongues afterwards, never holds the same excitement and anticipation as the first time. Many years later, when he recalled his first time, he would still laugh like an innocent child.

What about the first time his heart fluttered?

Lu Li held the guidance letter from the dean’s office, anxiously running his fingers through his hair. The teacher in the logistics office actually said that his game club didn’t have enough active members and wanted to revoke their venue qualification. How could that be? He had put in a lot of effort to secure an activity classroom, running back and forth between teachers, finally getting an empty room that no one wanted. Now those two fat guys in the logistics office wanted to take it back with just a piece of paper?!

Maybe he should ask the Class Monitor for help? He heard she had connections… An image of a girl with her hands on her hips appeared in Lu Li’s mind, then he shook his head. No, she didn’t seem easy to get along with. It was better to keep his distance.

Lu Li sighed and walked towards Building Three. He suddenly noticed that the door to his activity classroom was open. He worried that someone had broken in. After all, his only valuable possessions were in that room! Thinking of this, Lu Li strode into the classroom and saw a figure slumped over a desk in the corner. Before he could see who it was, Lu Li went to the podium first, checking that his small safe was still there, and then breathed a sigh of relief.

“Hey… How did you get in?” Lu Li frowned and called out to the person in the corner.

No answer.

Lu Li slowly walked closer and saw long blonde hair glowing orange-red in the sunset. It was a girl. And she was sleeping on the desk.

Lu Li tilted his head, observing the girl’s face. She looked like a foreigner, and unbelievably beautiful. Almost as beautiful as An Baili?

Just as Lu Li was carefully evaluating her in his mind, the girl suddenly opened her eyes, revealing a pair of light-colored eyes, as deep as the ocean abyss, as distant as the starry sky. In that instant, Lu Li suddenly understood the meaning of “adding the finishing touch.” He felt like she could see right through him, leaving him nowhere to hide, nowhere to escape.

“…Who are you?” Her voice was also pleasant, cool and clear, like a mountain spring in spring.

“…”

---

“Mr. XXX, Mr. XXX, please go to the airport police station on the second floor to claim your ID card.”

“Mr. XXX, Mr. XXX, please go to the airport police station on the second floor to claim your ID card.”

The airport announcement pulled Lu Li back from his memories. His phone showed 3:35 p.m. Although the driver had tried his best to speed, he still couldn’t reach the airport before 3:30.

“Dear passengers, we regret to inform you that flight CA4336 from Chuanhai to XX has been delayed due to weather conditions. The estimated…”

CA4336 was the flight to America scheduled for 3:30 p.m. If Lu Li wasn’t mistaken, Wen Hupo should be on this flight. That meant he still had a chance to stop her.

The sky outside was ominously dark, yet it was only drizzling, making one worry if the dark clouds were brewing some sinister plot. Chuanhai was prone to rain after entering summer, but this kind of oppressive gloom was rare.

The airport was bustling with people. Lu Li quickly scanned the crowd, trying to find the blonde woman. He soon realized that this was too inefficient, and Wen Hupo was likely already waiting in the departure lounge. So he went to the information desk and asked them to make an announcement. However, after the announcer called her name three times and Lu Li waited anxiously for another seven or eight minutes, Wen Hupo still didn’t appear.

“Sir, the person you’re looking for might not be at our airport,” the announcer said politely.

No. She wasn’t absent. She just didn’t want to come.

Lu Li’s gaze fell on the security checkpoint. His only option now was to rush in and find her himself. But forcing his way through airport security was too risky, and he didn’t have a ticket. How could he reasonably get past security?

Time ticked by, and Lu Li grew increasingly anxious.

Just as Lu Li was racking his brain, the announcement came again: “Flight CA4336 from Chuanhai to XX is now boarding. Please proceed to the gate.”

“Flight CA4336 from Chuanhai to XX is now boarding. Please proceed to the gate.”

So soon?!

There was no time to think anymore. Lu Li looked down. CA4336 was boarding at the international terminal on the first floor. He had to get there as fast as possible. Lu Li tensed his muscles and walked towards the security checkpoint, where only a few people remained. Airport security was always the strictest, and he knew the consequences of forcing his way through… But… but… He could deal with the consequences later. If Wen Hupo left, she would never come back!

Soon it was Lu Li’s turn. The security personnel asked for his boarding pass and ID card. Lu Li had neither, but he pretended to search his pockets for a while. In those brief seconds, what was going through the mind of this reborn Lu Li? He didn’t know. Even when he thought back on it later, he couldn’t recall his exact thoughts.

He said, “You dropped your keys.”

Then, he bolted, sprinting towards the security gate like his life depended on it.

First second: The two security personnel looked down for the “keys.”

Second second: The woman sitting behind the security scanner shouted, “Hey!”

Third second: The security gate turned red, emitting a piercing alarm.

Fourth second: Lu Li had already passed through security and was running towards the stairs to the first floor.

Fifth second: Police officers in black uniforms appeared out of nowhere and rushed towards him.

Everything happened in a flash.

Lu Li didn’t run down the stairs, he leaped down, taking several steps at a time. Even though his legs were numb, he forced them to keep moving. He heard someone talking on a walkie-talkie behind him and saw more than a dozen police officers blocking his way at the bottom of the stairs. Despair washed over him. Weren’t they supposed to be Chinese? How could they be so efficient?

But… almost there… If he could just reach that spot…

When he was only seven or eight steps away from the bottom of the stairs, Lu Li was surrounded by police officers. He shouted towards the departure lounge on the first floor, “Wen Hupo—!!”

The next second, he was tackled to the ground by the police officers. Four or five pairs of hands pinned him down, searching him for dangerous items.

“Wen Hupo!!” he shouted again. He wasn’t calling out to the blonde girl, not Shirley Amber, not even Wen Hupo. He was calling out to that first moment his heart fluttered. He hoped Wen Hupo would hear his voice and change her mind, hoped that stubborn girl wouldn’t hesitate like him, hoped that no one would have any more regrets in this life.

But until flight CA4336 with the red tail marking took off, until Lu Li was handcuffed by the police, Wen Hupo never appeared. The plane ruthlessly ascended into the sky and disappeared from Lu Li’s sight.

Chapter 30: Lingering Melodies

The rain continued for days. For most people, the most irritating kind of rain wasn’t a downpour, but a persistent drizzle, a constant, melancholic complaint like a lonely woman in her chambers, its capricious nature reflecting the changing seasons between spring and summer. For Lu Li, however, this drizzle was strangely calming.

Puddles had formed along the covered walkway in the school park, reflecting the gray sky.

Lu Li had been searching for days, but he hadn’t seen Wen Hupo. What worried him most was that the activity classroom had been meticulously cleaned. The empty paint boxes were gone, and so was the easel. The entire classroom looked brand new, so new that it felt unfamiliar to Lu Li.

She truly was like a ghost, suddenly appearing, suddenly disappearing, arriving with boundless promise and imagination, leaving him with a lingering sense of loss. The thought of Wen Hupo cleaning the activity classroom alone, embarking on her journey home in solitude, filled Lu Li with a deep sense of unease.

Before the rain intensified, Lu Li asked Chu Jingyi for half a day off and rushed to Wen Hupo’s villa.

The “Lost Cat” poster was still on the small courtyard wall in front of the villa: “Beloved cat lost near the intersection of Tanyang Road. Please contact XXXX if you have any information. A reward will be given for any useful information, and a generous reward for finding the cat!”

The little maid with freckles was sweeping the damp leaves from the front path. Seeing Lu Li, she instinctively clasped her hands behind her back and bowed slightly. “Good afternoon, Mr. Lu.”

“Where’s Hupo? Is she home?” Lu Li asked anxiously.

“Miss Shirley?” The little maid looked puzzled. “She just left.”

She just left. These words made Lu Li’s heart clench. “Left? Where did she go?”

The maid’s confusion deepened. “Didn’t Miss Shirley have a flight on the 6th? She left for her home country today. Didn’t she tell you?”

The 6th? June 6th? Lu Li’s head throbbed. He vaguely remembered someone mentioning it. What day was it today? Lu Li took out his phone. The white letters “June 6th” on the lock screen were glaring. Today… Wen Hupo left China today. Why didn’t she say anything? Did she not consider him a friend?!

The little maid continued, “Actually, Miss has already terminated the lease on this villa. I’m just here to do the final cleaning.” Terminated the lease? Was she truly determined to leave? The hesitation in Lu Li’s heart instantly turned into regret and unwillingness, a surge of complex emotions exploding within him.

The thought of never seeing that golden figure again felt like a piece of his heart was being ripped out. He interrupted the maid’s rambling explanation. “When did she leave?”

“Two hours ago.”

Two hours ago… Then she must have already arrived at the airport, even boarded the plane.

Seeing Lu Li’s pale face, the little maid tried to comfort him. “Miss took a large suitcase with her, filled with clothes and personal belongings. I don’t know why she brought so many things, but she must be traveling slowly. If you hurry, you might still be able to catch her… Oh, right, I heard Miss mention her flight was at 3:30 this afternoon.”

Lu Li thanked her hurriedly, checking the time on his phone as he ran out. It was already 3 p.m.! Wen Hupo’s flight would be taking off in half an hour! Half an hour!

That stubborn woman, how could she be so proud? Couldn’t she have at least told him? Lu Li tried calling Wen Hupo on WeChat while hailing a taxi. “Driver, to Chuanhai Airport, how long will it take? It’s urgent, I have a 3:30 flight.”

The driver raised an eyebrow. “It’s already 3:05! Even if I speed, it’ll take at least forty minutes! You should reschedule your flight, young man. There’s no way I can get you there in half an hour!”

“Driver, I’ll pay you double, please drive as fast as you can.”

The old driver rolled down his window. “Get in, get in, I won’t charge you double. I’ll take another route and try my best to get you there. Hurry up!”

“Thank you, driver!”

Lu Li got into the back seat of the taxi and repeatedly called Wen Hupo, but there was no answer. With Wen Hupo’s meticulous nature, she couldn’t have missed the incoming calls. The only explanation was that she was deliberately ignoring them.

Lu Li’s mind raced, replaying every moment he had spent with Wen Hupo over the past six months. He only had one thought: make her stay! A man’s first love always held a special place in his heart. She could make him feel like a naive teenager again, cautious and shy. Even if his feelings were one-sided, he would still idealize her, cherishing the memory of their time together.

Make Wen Hupo stay.

This thought burned in his heart like an unquenchable fire.

He sent her messages on WeChat, begging her not to board the plane, using every excuse he could think of to make her stay. He could see the “typing…” indicator at the top of the screen, but she never replied.

That woman! Lu Li couldn’t help but curse. He knew these literary types all too well. They were all stubborn and difficult, including himself. That’s why he disliked dealing with scholars.

The driver swerved the steering wheel, turning into a narrow alley, passing through a run-down neighborhood, and then back onto the main road amidst the curses of streetwalkers. While driving, the driver said, “Young man, even if I speed, it’ll still take at least half an hour. This is already the shortest route. You still have to collect your ticket and go through security. You won’t make it! Reschedule your flight! I won’t charge you extra!”

“I have to stop someone very important from leaving! I have to hurry!”

The driver looked at Lu Li through the rearview mirror and suddenly slammed on the accelerator. “Alright! Hold on tight!”

Outside, the rain continued to fall, the sky a gloomy gray. An old taxi sped down the road.

---

Wen Hupo dragged her suitcase, her gaze lost in the crowd. After a while, she realized she hadn’t replied to Lu Li’s messages. She opened the chat window. A long message filled the input box. She had thought about it for a long time, then deleted it all.

It felt like nothing she could say was appropriate at this moment.

She looked at Lu Li’s profile picture, wondering when things had changed. Was it when she first felt that the world wasn’t so boring after all? Or was it when she first chatted with Lu Li for two hours straight? In her colorless world, Lu Li was the only one who brought in a splash of color.

She had asked herself countless times, what kind of person was Lu Li? She knew that being curious about a man was a dangerous sign, but she couldn’t help but wonder, if it were Lu Li, what would he do in this situation?

She thought Lu Li was a promiscuous scumbag, but she also saw his genuine affection for the two girls, the harmony of their three-way relationship. She thought he was a hypocritical and superficial person, but she also saw his innocence and cynicism. Lu Li constantly challenged her preconceived notions about the world, making her realize that perhaps this world wasn’t so boring after all. The boring one was her.

Wen Hupo wished there was someone who understood her as well as Lu Li did, someone as passionate and free as him, as ambitious and pragmatic. But that person couldn’t be Lu Li.

After hesitating for a long time, she typed a message in the chat box: “I actually like you a little.” This was the most unrestrained and bold confession her reserved soul could muster.

After sending the message, she turned off her phone, stopped thinking, and walked towards the gate, dragging her suitcase with a determined stride.

This was enough.

Ten minutes until her flight.

I’m taking a day off.

I’m feeling sick and have a terrible headache. Taking a break from updates for now.

Chapter 29: Buying a House

Drip, drip.

Drip, drip.

It was the sound of water droplets falling into the sink. The sound was crisp and clear, evoking endless thoughts. Lu Li watched as the water droplets slowly emerged from the faucet, elongated, and deformed, then suddenly transformed into a perfect sphere, plopping into the sink and disappearing. The dripping sound synced with the ticking of the clock, the passage of time taking on a concrete form, filling him with an inexplicable sense of unease.

“Honey, why are you taking so long to wash the dishes?” An Baili’s voice came. “Hurry up, let’s go look at houses!”

“Oh, oh, I’m almost done.” Lu Li snapped out of his daze. Even washing dishes made him think of Wen Hupo. He was truly obsessed.

Evening Collection was a huge success, selling over 500,000 copies in its first month and winning the Silver Award for Game of the Month on the Valve platform. As the game’s reach expanded, a second wave of sales was coming. There were even rumors that it would be nominated for the TGB Independent Game of the Year award, and at the very least, would win the Best Art award. Eternal Joy Studio had become quite famous, but there was little information about the team online. This was because Lu Li had been very careful about media exposure. The backgrounds of the team members were, after all, quite complicated, especially Chu Jingyi. He had to be cautious.

The soaring success of his game also led to a rapid increase in Lu Li’s personal assets. After providing proof of income to the bank and paying a hefty sum in value-added tax, Zou Yameng’s account now held nineteen million yuan – even with the bank’s withdrawal limits, Lu Li could access up to five million in cash at any time.

The Chinese had two inherent desires: to cultivate land and to buy property. With their newfound wealth, Lu Li and An Baili’s first thought was to move out of the low-rent district and buy a house in the city center. An Baili was urging him to choose their new home.

Lu Li finished washing the dishes, dried his hands, and naturally embraced An Baili, who was staring intently at her phone screen. “Li, the Chuanhai government has a talent recruitment program. If you own a local business and have over ten million yuan in savings in a local bank, you can buy a villa in Lianxin District at half price! You’re planning to start a company, aren’t you?”

Lianxin District was the affluent area of Chuanhai, with the best infrastructure and environment.

“Even half price would be ten million yuan? We’ve never lived so extravagantly, not even in our past lives.”

An Baili puffed out her cheeks. “This is different! In our past life, it was just the two of us. In this life, it’s not just us, right? What about Jingyi? What about Zou Yameng? What about Wen Hupo? We need to buy a bigger and better house… Ow, that hurts! Don’t knock on my head!”

“First, don’t call her Zou Yameng, it’s Sister Yameng. Second, Wen Hupo definitely won’t live with us.” Lu Li said righteously. “What kind of person do you think I am?”

The word “us” warmed An Baili’s heart. She wrapped her arms around Lu Li’s neck and gave him a sweet kiss. They cuddled for a while before remembering the matter of buying a house.

“Li, I checked carefully. The villas in Lianxin District have the most rooms, even more than Jingyi’s house. I think, with your tendency to attract girls, it’s better to buy a house with more rooms.” An Baili said languidly, nestled in his arms. “And I already asked Jingyi. She said she could ask her father to nominate you for the ‘Chuanhai Outstanding Young Entrepreneur’ title. That way, we can get a bigger discount on the house and pay less taxes every year.”

So he really has become an outstanding representative. Lu Li chuckled wryly and rubbed An Baili’s bottom. “Don’t trouble the Chu family anymore, I can handle our own affairs. It’s not worth asking for favors just for a small discount. And there’s no rush. We can buy a house after we turn eighteen next year. By then, who knows, maybe our assets will have doubled.”

An Baili kissed Lu Li on the cheek. “Whatever you say~”

With the serious matters settled, Lu Li felt a surge of desire. His hands started wandering. One arm wrapped around An Baili, his hand reaching over her shoulder and cupping her breast. The other hand slid down her flat stomach, gently teasing.

An Baili bit her lower lip, her eyes filled with desire. “I still have something to tell you, stop it…”

“Go ahead, it doesn’t bother me.” He pinched her nipple gently, rolling it between his fingers, and it hardened slightly. There were many signs of a woman’s arousal, but the hardening of her nipples was the most obvious.

“Mmm… Wen Hupo is actually going back to her country… She said she’s not coming back… Mmm…” An Baili gasped, her thighs tightening around Lu Li’s hand, stopping his movements.

“I know, she told me.”

“Are you really willing to let her go? I know you’ve had a crush on her for a long time… You bad boy…” Her face flushed, clearly aroused.

“I might have a crush on her, but she doesn’t care about me.” Lu Li gently traced her nipple with his fingernail, his other hand slipping away, leaving a trail of moisture.

“She, she doesn’t care about you? Mmm, slow down…”

“How can you say she cares about me?”

“How can you be so clueless… If she didn’t care about you, would she specifically ask you to participate in the sports meet? If she didn’t care about you, would she spend so much time with you in the activity classroom, talking nonsense? An Baili said coquettishly.

“…Does that mean she cares?”

“Of course it does!” An Baili bit Lu Li’s neck. “She’s such an aloof girl, why would she approach you if she didn’t care? She didn’t paint for anyone else, but she painted for you. She didn’t play the prince and princess with anyone else, but she played them with you. And that time at the amusement park, Jingyi told me too, if she didn’t like you, would she have held your hand?”

After An Baili pointed out these blatant truths, Lu Li realized that his connection with Wen Hupo was deeper than he had imagined.

“But she clearly said she doesn’t like me.” Lu Li didn’t need to pretend in front of An Baili. He asked sincerely, like he was seeking advice. Some things, girls understood best.

“You’re so stupid. She’s so proud, asking her to admit that she likes someone, especially a man who already has a girlfriend, is probably worse than killing her. Have you forgotten how she ran away last time? Oh… right, you didn’t know about that in your past life…”

Was that really the case?

Lu Li’s heart wavered.

“Silly Lu Li, since we have the chance to be reborn, don’t let any of us live with regrets, okay?” An Baili kissed Lu Li, silencing him. They embraced and fell onto the bed, and what followed was naturally a night of passion…

It was unclear why An Baili was speaking up for Wen Hupo, but Lu Li had finally made up his mind. He decided to try to convince Wen Hupo to stay one more time. But he didn’t expect that, from that day on, Wen Hupo would never return to school…