Chapter 18: Boyfriend and Girlfriend
“Go-good morning.” The next morning, as soon as Lu Li pushed open the door to Chen Jianing’s room, he heard her greet him. This was a rare occurrence. Chen Jianing was not a polite girl, rarely taking the initiative to greet anyone. If she encountered someone she knew on the street, she would just lower her head and pretend not to see them.
“Did you take your medicine?” Lu Li touched Chen Jianing’s forehead. It didn’t seem as hot anymore.
Chen Jianing uncomfortably dodged his hand. “I already greeted you, why didn’t you answer me?”
“Good morning.” Lu Li said perfunctorily.
“Is this how boyfriends are?”
“How?”
“Indifferent and aloof.”
Lu Li paused, puzzled. “Then what do you want?”
“I read online that boyfriends usually dote on their girlfriends and speak to them gently.”
“Don’t believe everything you read online.” Lu Li took out the breakfast. Today’s breakfast included salad, steamed sponge cake, and freshly squeezed juice. “Am I not gentle enough with you usually?”
He was gentle enough. But it felt like it shouldn’t be just that. Chen Jianing looked at Lu Li’s face. Somehow, Lu Li was the kind of boy who made her feel insecure. She always felt that he would be equally gentle with any other girl. Thinking about this made her chest tighten. Didn’t Lu Li like her? Then he should show a little more sincerity…
While poking at the salad with her fork, Chen Jianing mumbled, “Lu Li…”
“What?”
“What do boyfriends and girlfriends usually do?”
Lu Li recalled the dates he had with An Baili in his past life. “Anything. As long as you’re together, even just squatting by the roadside and counting people can be fun.”
“Isn’t that boring?” Chen Jianing didn’t understand. Shouldn’t love be romantic and colorful? Squatting by the roadside and counting people was too dull. Love should be associated with amusement parks, Ferris wheels, neon lights, and balloons. Two people who liked each other, holding hands and enjoying the beauty of the world together, that was what ideal love should be like, right?
“You’re still young.” As soon as Lu Li finished this sentence, he heard Chen Jianing chuckle.
“You little man, calling me young? I’m older than you, you know.” Chen Jianing teased.
“I have more experience than you.”
Chen Jianing’s heart skipped a beat. She suddenly felt like her heart was hanging in mid-air, unable to find a place to land. “You’ve been in love before?” She stared at Lu Li intently, holding her breath. She hoped he would deny it, but she also regretted asking the question so impulsively.
Lu Li didn’t want to lie to her and nodded frankly. “Yes.”
“Oh.” Chen Jianing lowered her head and continued mixing her salad, her excitement instantly gone, like a child watching their sandcastle being washed away by the tide. A sense of loss enveloped her.
Why am I sad?… I don’t even like Lu Li, and he’s just my temporary boyfriend. What does his romantic history have to do with me? She started to rationalize. Chen Jianing always did this. When she encountered something unpleasant, she would find all sorts of strange excuses in her mind and achieve “victory” in her own head. Perhaps this was the source of her awkward personality.
Lu Li opened the drawer of the bedside table and saw that the fever medicine was untouched. He knew that she hadn’t taken her medicine on time. What a child, needing constant reminders to take her medicine… Lu Li warmed a cup of water and took out the pills. “Come on, open your mouth.” Chen Jianing didn’t move. She was still sulking and didn’t really want to pay attention to Lu Li.
“Be good, open your mouth.”
Chen Jianing looked at Lu Li and saw a gentle light in his eyes. That gaze was so familiar, her mother often looked at her like that. A soft spot in her heart was touched by Lu Li. She obediently opened her mouth without saying anything, as docile as a lamb.
The sugar coating of the pill melted, leaving a bitter aftertaste. Chen Jianing used to hate taking medicine, especially traditional Chinese medicine. She had to swallow dozens of small pills in one go, which always made her choke. But now, she was willing to savor the bitterness, wishing she could slow down and make Lu Li stay a little longer.
Unfortunately, Lu Li didn’t understand the girl’s thoughts. After seeing Chen Jianing finish her medicine, he prepared to leave.
“Get some sleep after taking your medicine. I’ll come back to call you for lunch.” Just as Lu Li was about to get up, Chen Jianing suddenly grabbed his hand and said pitifully, “Is that all?”
“What?”
“Is that all there is to being in love?”
Yes. Lu Li wanted to answer that way. The more passionate the love, the shorter its shelf life. On the other hand, the more ordinary and mundane the love, the longer it lasted. He and Chen Jianing had never had a fiery passion, only day-to-day companionship. Perhaps this was the reason why Chen Jianing trusted him in her final days. Although they had only known each other for a month, they got along like old friends.
“What else?”
Chen Jianing opened and closed her mouth, but didn’t say anything. Lu Li noticed her cherry-like lips, pink and tender, glistening with a watery sheen. He suddenly understood what Chen Jianing meant.
It was a kiss.
If there was one thing that young couples had to experience, it was definitely kissing. Holding hands was too bland, going to bed was too much, so kissing was the most appropriate. A man’s kiss was often cheap, while a girl’s, especially a young girl’s, was particularly precious. Chen Jianing’s shyness prevented her from saying those words.
A thousand thoughts flashed through Lu Li’s mind, from “Aren’t you afraid of getting infected?” to “Do I really want to kiss Chen Jianing?” from “The early forms of human civilization” to “Where did I come from? Where am I going?” All those words condensed into one sentence: “Want to try a kiss?”
A blush crept onto Chen Jianing’s delicate face, the alluring crimson gradually spreading to her earlobes and then to her slender, white neck. “Mmm…” Her voice was soft, like the whimper of a newborn tiger cub.
Besides shyness, there was also curiosity. What did kissing feel like? She thought she would never get the answer in her lifetime.
Lu Li cupped Chen Jianing’s face in his hands. It was hot to the touch, soft and bouncy, like egg white or smooth jelly. Chen Jianing closed her eyes, her eyelashes trembling, her pink lips moving restlessly. Lu Li silently kissed her. He could clearly feel Chen Jianing taking a sharp breath.
Just as Lu Li’s lips touched hers, this damn girl suddenly blew air into his mouth, as if inflating a balloon. Lu Li felt a chill in his throat and quickly pushed her face away. “What are you doing, blowing air?”
Chen Jianing’s face crumpled. “I, I was too nervous…” She always messed things up when she was nervous. The moment Lu Li kissed her, her mind went blank, and she actually thought about her experience blowing up balloons. To relieve her nervousness, she instinctively blew a puff of air into Lu Li’s mouth.
Lu Li’s forehead was sweating. Only this troublesome girl could do something so outrageous. He swore he would never be fooled by her appearance again!
“Wh-where are you going?”
“To brush my teeth.” Lu Li said fiercely.
“No, no more kissing?” Chen Jianing felt both happy and disappointed.
“No more kissing.”
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