"What?!"
Lu Xiaobai was stunned. She almost choked on the egg in her mouth and started coughing violently.
Ruan Xingchen calmly took a bottle of mineral water from Lu Xiaobai's desk drawer, twisted it open, and handed it to her.
Lu Xiaobai gulped down a big mouthful, finally catching her breath. Still in disbelief, she asked again, "You just said… my uncle drove you to school?"
Ruan Xingchen nodded. "Yeah. Is there a problem?"
Lu Xiaobai stared at her, speechless.
This wasn't just a problem—this was a huge problem!
After a long pause, she asked with difficulty, "My uncle is not the type to meddle in other people's business. Don't you find it strange that he's treating you so well and even giving you a ride to school?"
Ruan Xingchen thought seriously for a moment. "Could it be… your uncle has fallen for me?"
Lu Xiaobai: "..."
Just then, the class bell rang, and the topic was dropped.
After five days off, returning to school made Ruan Xingchen feel lazy all over. She kept dozing off in class.
It was the final semester of senior year—an important time that would determine their futures—but the teachers were already used to Ruan Xingchen's lack of discipline. They couldn't be bothered to manage her anymore and simply let her be.
After class, Lu Xiaobai glared at her in frustration. "If you don't get into college, what are you going to do?"
Ruan Xingchen waved it off. "Art students don't need very high scores."
"Oh." Lu Xiaobai responded blankly. "Do you even have a score to begin with?"
Ruan Xingchen: "..."
The contempt from a top student… was a bit scary.
But she couldn't help it—disliking studying wasn't her fault!
Lu Xiaobai rolled her eyes, then suddenly remembered something. "Have those two 'cheap relatives' come to see you again?"
Ruan Xingchen shook her head. "No."
…
After school, the two girls took the bus back to Wutong Apartments.
Ruan Xingchen got off at the 11th floor, while Lu Xiaobai went straight up to the 12th.
It was only around 4:40 PM. Ruan Xingchen usually had dinner around 6.
Since she still had time, she took out her violin from the cabinet.
Opening the case, she picked up the violin and began playing according to the sheet music.
Although Ruan Xingchen wasn't good academically, she had a strong artistic talent. As a child, she loved watching people play the violin—whenever she saw it on TV, she would get excited and even imitate the posture and movements.
But back then, her mother had firmly refused to let her learn the violin. Every time it was mentioned, her mother would stop talking to her for days, so she eventually stopped bringing it up.
Later, after her mother passed away, with Lu Xiaobai's strong support, Ruan Xingchen finally gathered the courage to enroll in violin classes.
Unfortunately, she had already missed the best age to start.
Just as she was getting lost in the sound of her own playing, the doorbell rang, pulling her back to reality.
She opened the door and saw Lu Xiaobai.
"My uncle's not home, so I'm heading back. I still have evening self-study after dinner."
"Mm-hmm, go ahead, top student. Take care, top student."
After seeing Lu Xiaobai off, Ruan Xingchen returned to the sofa, picked up her violin, and tried playing again—but she couldn't get back into the same state. So she gave up and put it back into the case.
At that moment, her phone rang.
She glanced at the caller ID, hesitated for a moment, then answered.
A gentle male voice came through the receiver. "Xingchen, are you out of school?"
"I am."
"If you haven't eaten yet, want to come out and have dinner together?"
"No, I'll cook for myself."
There was a brief silence on the other end, his tone tinged with disappointment. "Xingchen, do you dislike seeing me that much?"
"No."
"Then come out."
"..."
Twenty minutes later, Ruan Xingchen arrived at the agreed location.
It was a newly opened Western restaurant in the city center.
She didn't like Western food. After sitting down, she didn't even look at the menu and directly ordered egg fried rice.
The man sitting opposite her rested his chin on his hands, staring at her without blinking, a faint smile on his lips. "If I had known you don't like Western food, I wouldn't have booked this place."
Ruan Xingchen smiled carelessly. "It's fine. After all, we're not that familiar."
The man's smile slowly faded. He frowned slightly. "Xingchen, I am your fiancé."
…
Having heard that a new Western restaurant had opened in the city center with elegant décor and great food, Wei Yuanxiao insisted on dragging Lu Jingyuan there after work.
After finishing their meal and coming downstairs, Wei Yuanxiao suddenly spotted two figures sitting by the window. He quickly grabbed Lu Jingyuan.
"Jingyuan, wait."
Lu Jingyuan brushed his hand off in annoyance and turned back. "Don't touch me."
"Don't look at me." Wei Yuanxiao gestured toward a direction. "Look over there—that girl… isn't that the little loli?"