HomeFalling In LoveZhui Luo - Chapter 5

Zhui Luo – Chapter 5

In the deep night after the rain, fallen osmanthus flowers lined the road, a blanket of golden yellow trampled into the mud. They reflected the moonlight, releasing their final traces of fragrance.

This time, they walked side by side rather than one behind the other.

The street was quiet, with yellow streetlights casting down their glow. Overhead, electrical wires crisscrossed, pressing down darkly above them.

Lu Xixiao’s phone rang, and he answered.

“Hello?”

“Not coming.”

“Don’t feel like going over.”

With that, he hung up.

His voice was pleasant to hear – magnetic, deep, and slightly hoarse, carrying a nasal quality and casual amusement. It wasn’t as low as it had been right after school earlier.

Zhou Wan turned her head to look at him.

He was incredibly tall, forcing her to tilt her head back.

He looked to one side, and Zhou Wan followed his gaze to an old-style hotpot restaurant. Though traditional, it was known for its authentic taste. Many people came specifically for it, and during dinner hours it was often packed.

“Want to eat?” Lu Xixiao suddenly asked.

“What?”

Zhou Wan only processed what he’d said after she’d already asked. She blinked.

She remembered the two names she’d written on draft paper a few days ago.

She pressed her lips together. Was she going to do this?

She knew that once this decision was made, there would be no turning back.

Perhaps her previously peaceful school life would be disrupted.

And she would completely become the type of person she despised.

Before she could answer, Lu Xixiao stopped asking and walked directly toward the restaurant.

“Um—” Zhou Wan called out, stopping him.

She ultimately couldn’t overcome the darkness in her heart.

Lu Xixiao stopped and turned back. The street and moonlight fell on his head as he raised his eyebrows in silent inquiry.

Zhou Wan took a breath and said softly, “It’s so late, let’s not have a hotpot. There’s a noodle shop next door.”

That hotpot place was too expensive.

Zhou Wan found an excuse.

Lu Xixiao had no objection to what they ate and followed Zhou Wan into the neighboring noodle shop.

The shop was run-down, with plastic tables and chairs that gleamed with an oily sheen under the cold fluorescent lights. Because it was cheap, the shop mostly did takeout orders, with few people dining in.

Zhou Wan had been here several times and knew the owner.

“Uncle Kang, I want a bowl of Three Delicacies noodles.” Zhou Wan turned to Lu Xixiao beside her, “What would you like?”

He scanned the menu without much interest and said flatly, “The same.”

Uncle Kang responded, “Alright! Two bowls of Three Delicacies noodles!”

At the table, Zhou Wan stopped Lu Xixiao and pulled out some tissues to carefully wipe clean his side of the seat – after all, it was her suggestion to eat there.

The young woman kept her eyes down, her plain face notable only for thick eyelashes and large eyes, giving her a clean appearance and an inexplicable allure.

She was small and thin with fair skin, looking so delicate that she might cry at the slightest provocation. Yet those doe eyes held a stubborn, unyielding quality, creating a strangely harmonious contrast.

No wonder she’d attracted bullying from Ma Shao’s gang.

Lu Xixiao silently tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Hey.”

Zhou Wan looked up. “Hmm?”

“Next time you run into people like this afternoon, just say my name.”

Zhou Wan was startled, not expecting him to say something like that. She nodded. “Mm.”

“What ‘mm’? Do you even know my name?”

“I do,” Zhou Wan said, finishing cleaning his side of the table and chairs before moving to the opposite side.

“What is it?”

“Lu Xixiao,” she said.

That was the first time Zhou Wan called his name.

Many years later, whenever Lu Xixiao thought back to Zhou Wan, he could always remember this moment – the first time she called his name.

Her voice was clear and pleasant, but unlike some girls who made it sound sticky and sweet, hers was crisp and straightforward.

But that’s getting ahead of the story.

At that moment, when Zhou Wan called his name, she looked up into his eyes. The young woman’s frank and crystal-clear gaze crashed into his pupils, making that single utterance inexplicably solemn. He heard her say: “Lu Xixiao.”

Serious, ceremonious.

Lu Xixiao knew many people and had heard his name called with all sorts of emotions – happy, sad, angry, coquettish.

He was naturally casual and unrestrained and naturally attracted similar people. This was the first time he’d heard “Lu Xixiao” spoken so solemnly.

It consumed all his usual reactions, causing a sensation like a spasm along his spine, subtle yet enormous.

Finally, he smiled lazily. “Fine, next time you run into those thugs, keeping quiet might work better.”

Zhou Wan didn’t know about the huge waves her single utterance had caused in his heart and naturally didn’t understand the meaning of his words. “What?”

Lu Xixiao couldn’t be bothered to explain, and Zhou Wan didn’t ask further.

Uncle Kang brought over two bowls of Three Delicacies noodles.

Zhou Wan had ordered a small portion with two liang of noodles. As she ate, she noticed from the corner of her eye that Lu Xixiao barely touched his chopsticks and soon stopped eating altogether.

Perhaps his privileged upbringing had made him picky about food.

When Zhou Wan put down her chopsticks,

Lu Xixiao asked: “Ready to go?”

“Wait a moment.”

Zhou Wan ordered another bowl of vegetable noodles to take away.

This was her habit, and Uncle Kang had already started cooking the noodles. He said, “Oh, I’m out of takeout boxes. There are some by the door, could you grab one for me?”

Zhou Wan went to the door and brought back a stack of takeout boxes. When she returned to the counter, Lu Xixiao was already standing there.

Uncle Kang quickly packed up the vegetable noodles.

“How much is it, Uncle Kang?” Zhou Wan asked.

Uncle Kang smiled, “This handsome young man already paid.”

Zhou Wan was stunned for a moment as she took the noodles from him.

Outside, the street was even quieter. One of the streetlights by the door was broken, and there was the sharp cry of a stray cat.

“Those noodles just now,” Zhou Wan asked, “how much were they?”

Lu Xixiao glanced down at her. “Don’t worry about it.”

“No, that won’t do,” Zhou Wan insisted. “How about I transfer the money to you directly by phone?”

The noodles only cost twenty-some yuan, and Lu Xixiao couldn’t be bothered to go back and forth over such a small amount.

If she wanted to pay it back, fine, whatever.

But just as she took out her phone, it automatically shut down from low battery.

Zhou Wan: “Then tell me your number, and I’ll add you and transfer it over.”

Lu Xixiao gave her his phone number.

Zhou Wan entered the number and pressed “Search” –

His profile picture was black, and his name was simply “Lu Xixiao.”

In an age when everyone had fancy online names, Lu Xixiao simply used his real name, though he certainly had the status to do so. Zhou Wan had seen how he always had countless friends around him; his name truly carried weight.

Zhou Wan stared at his profile picture for a while, then selected “Add to Contacts.”

*

It was very late when she got home.

But these days Grandmother’s skin condition had flared up again, and she often couldn’t sleep through the night.

Zhou Wan quietly entered her room and, sure enough, found her still awake. She handed over the noodles: “Grandmother, you probably didn’t eat much dinner. Have something to eat before sleeping.”

“Oh my, why did you spend money again?” Grandmother said this but smiled. “I’ve told you to save this money. I’m useless, just a burden. We can’t let this affect your college fund.”

Zhou Wan put a small table on the bed and opened the still-steaming noodles. “Grandmother, please eat.”

She also took out a tube of ointment from the drawer and applied it to Grandmother’s reddened skin. Scratching with fingernails could easily break the skin and cause infection, so as she applied the ointment, she massaged in circles with her fingertips to help ease the torment of the illness.

As she massaged, she looked down and said, “Grandmother, don’t worry about my school expenses. I’ve already thought it through. Our school has a reward system – if you get into a good university in the college entrance exam, there are corresponding monetary rewards. They’re quite substantial, enough to cover four years of college tuition.”

Grandmother patted the back of her hand. “Grandmother knows you’re sensible and clever, but it pains me that at such a young age, you not only have to study hard but also worry about so many things.”

Zhou Wan silently shook her head.

“I just hope our Wan Wan, after all the hardship, will have smooth sailing ahead, that everything will go as wished, that you’ll be successful and accomplished.”

Saying this, Grandmother paused, then continued, “No, no, actually my Wan Wan doesn’t need to become what others consider successful. Grandmother only hopes you’ll be happy and free, that you’ll become a kind person.”

Zhou Wan’s fingers paused.

Become a kind person.

The young woman’s dark brown pupils deepened, swallowing many dark thoughts and unspeakable ideas.

“Grandmother,” Zhou Wan asked softly, “what makes someone a kind person?”

Grandmother smiled, “Wan Wan is already one.”

Zhou Wan said nothing more and continued applying the ointment.

She had an obedient appearance, decent grades, and was best at playing the well-behaved, modest role. Probably everyone who knew her would agree on this point – she was a kind person.

Only Zhou Wan knew that she wasn’t kind at all.

Her hatred for Guo Xiangling had sprouted long ago. Sometimes she craved her mother’s love, sometimes she despised her affectation, wanted revenge, and wanted her to pay for what she had done.

The friends around her were all sunny and warm, wearing their likes and dislikes on their faces. Even that thug called “Ma Shao” they met today was at least purely and openly bad.

But she kept all her badness hidden in her heart.

She had been accustomed to pretending since childhood.

She approached Lu Xixiao inconspicuously, using such a despicable method, all just to get revenge on Guo Xiangling.

In the dim room, Zhou Wan’s eyes gradually reddened.

She mocked herself inwardly. She was thoroughly bad. Even though all of this was her own decision, at this moment she still blamed others and fate for forcing her to become like this, while she played the victim and wallowed in self-pity.

Just this once.

Zhou Wan silently told herself, just this once.

She would only be bad this one time.

After venting years of bitterness, she would truly become a kind person.

“Oh right,” Grandmother interrupted her scattered thoughts, “tomorrow is your father’s death anniversary. If you have time, remember to visit him.”

“Mm, I remember.”

Grandmother patted her head. “Alright, go to sleep now.”

Zhou Wan returned to her bedroom and after showering, washed all of her school uniform that had been dirtied that day.

Her hands were fair and delicate, with sensitive skin. After washing the clothes, her hands were red from the laundry detergent and broke out in small rashes.

It was always like this, and Zhou Wan was used to it. The rashes would fade after a night’s sleep.

She didn’t dwell on it and lay down in bed.

This whole day had left her feeling particularly exhausted. Only when she smelled the sunshine scent in her blanket did her body finally relax?

She closed her eyes, curling up in the excessively dark and quiet night.

It was then that her phone suddenly lit up beside the bed.

She opened it –

[Lu Xixiao] has accepted your friend request.

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