HomeFalling In LoveZhui Luo - Chapter 57

Zhui Luo – Chapter 57

With these words, Zhou Wan froze in place.

She hadn’t expected Lu Xixiao to say such things, whether true or false or just to spite Sheng Yan. She hadn’t expected him to say such humble and compromising words in front of everyone.

When Sheng Yan heard his words, the color drained from her face.

There was no greater way to strike at someone’s heart than this.

Lu Xixiao paid her no more attention, turning to lead Zhou Wan out with his arm around her shoulders.

Zhou Wan hadn’t yet recovered when she heard: “Hello, little sister.”

Zhou Wan looked up at the tall, thin man before her, startled for a moment before saying in surprise: “Brother Huang Ping?”

Huang Ping hadn’t changed much over the years, except for becoming much more tanned.

“Are you in City B now too?” Zhou Wan asked.

“No, I’m just here for a visit. I’ll have to go back to Pingchuan in a few days,” Huang Ping looked at her and smiled. “You’ve changed a lot though.”

Zhou Wan realized he must have witnessed everything that had just happened, and somewhat embarrassedly tucked her hair behind her ear, lowering her head with a wordless smile.

Lu Xixiao lit a cigarette and turned his head: “Haven’t had dinner yet?”

Zhou Wan nodded.

Huang Ping added: “Let’s go somewhere else to eat together. I’ll get indigestion if I keep eating at this fancy place.”

At this hour, all the well-known restaurants would have waiting lists. Lu Xixiao hadn’t eaten at ordinary restaurants in years. Finally, Zhou Wan suggested a music bar restaurant she had visited with her roommates during college – similar to a quiet bar, with a house band and decent food.

When they arrived, Zhou Wan ordered the food while Huang Ping added two pitchers of beer.

For a moment, it felt like they had returned to the past.

That winter break when she and Lu Xixiao went to Huang Ping’s supermarket, sitting on plastic stools eating hotpot.

At 8:30 PM, the band took the stage as the lights dimmed.

Huang Ping was talkative, and after drinking, he became even more so. Thanks to him, this was the first time Zhou Wan and Lu Xixiao had felt so relaxed together in recent days.

The host announced that it was the restaurant’s anniversary celebration, and each table could volunteer one man and one woman to play games, with the winners getting their meal comped.

As soon as this was announced, several tables raised their hands, mostly couples or married pairs.

“Anyone else?” the singer continued asking the audience.

Huang Ping, always eager for entertainment, raised his hand and pointed at Zhou Wan and Lu Xixiao: “Over here!”

Zhou Wan jumped in fright, quickly waving her hands in refusal.

The host, seeing an attractive pair, came down from the stage to encourage them: “Don’t be shy, miss. Our games are all perfectly proper.”

Laughter rippled through the crowd.

Zhou Wan glanced at Lu Xixiao, who seemed completely at ease and didn’t refuse. He stood up, and Zhou Wan, feeling it would be more awkward to keep refusing, followed him onto the stage.

The host held the microphone to Zhou Wan: “Are you and this handsome gentleman a couple?”

Zhou Wan shook her head: “No.”

“Then what’s your relationship?” the host asked, surprised.

Zhou Wan hesitated.

Her relationship with Lu Xixiao was indeed difficult to explain – they weren’t exactly friends either.

At this moment, Lu Xixiao tilted his head slightly and answered for her: “Ex.”

Ex.

A relationship full of history, combined with their looks, filled everything with mystery, immediately stirring up excitement from the crowd.

“Ex, huh―” the host laughed too. “Well, that’s perfect timing. We’ve prepared lots of compatibility questions today. How long has it been since you split up? Can you still remember things about each other?”

Zhou Wan wore a white coat today that made her look especially gentle and beautiful, with a kind of refined scholarly air.

She answered: “Almost seven years.”

“That’s quite a while. You both look so young too – was this a high school romance?”

“Yes.”

“Well, you’ll have to dig deep into your memories for today’s game. These questions might be quite challenging for you.”

Restaurant staff brought small whiteboards and markers for everyone, with pairs competing together, writing answers to questions that had to match to pass.

The first question was simple, asking what the woman called the man.

When they revealed their answers, there was a range of responses – special nicknames, “baby,” “brother,” “husband” – but when it came to Zhou Wan’s board, she had written three characters neatly: Lu Xixiao.

Lu Xixiao had written his name as well.

The host noticed their answers and joked: “Was this what you called him while dating, or what you call your enemy after breaking up?”

Zhou Wan said: “It’s always been this.”

From beginning to end, every time Zhou Wan called him, it was always his full name: Lu Xixiao.

“You two had quite an unusual relationship. Never thought about using more intimate nicknames?”

Lu Xixiao smiled slightly, speaking carelessly: “Asked her to call me brother once, but she wouldn’t.”

Zhou Wan’s fingertips froze.

The second question asked which number relationship this was for each person – what number partner you were for them, and what number they were for you.

This question was meant to stir up trouble. Several couples were clever, both writing “first,” while two couples whose answers didn’t match were eliminated, and one pair nearly started arguing on stage.

Then came Zhou Wan and Lu Xixiao’s answers.

Zhou Wan’s answer was: Don’t know; First.

She didn’t know which number she was for him, but he was her first.

Lu Xixiao’s answer was: First; Forgot.

“Well now, you two are quite interesting.”

The host was amused and turned to Lu Xixiao, “You don’t even know which number she was? Were there too many to count? Sounds like a proper playboy.”

He didn’t know about the endless entanglements and grudges between Zhou Wan and Lu Xixiao.

He just assumed it was a youthful romance, and the fact they could share a meal now meant they must have moved on.

The host patted Zhou Wan’s shoulder, joking: “Congratulations, sister, good riddance. Better stay away from playboys.”

By this point, everyone assumed this was a story of a good girl falling for a playboy in her youth.

The next dozen questions covered topics like each other’s birthdays, when and where they first met, and their most memorable moment together… The number of couples remaining on stage gradually decreased until the final question, when only Zhou Wan and Lu Xixiao and one other couple remained.

Just one more elimination would determine who won the free meal.

No one had expected that a couple who broke up seven years ago would make it to the finals, having answered all the previous questions correctly.

Washed by time and years, their story became even more mysterious, making people curious.

The final question was: Why did you like the other person?

The host was particularly considerate, saying to Zhou Wan and Lu Xixiao: “This question might not be appropriate for you two, so let’s change it. Your question will be: Why did you decide to separate?”

Zhou Wan: “…”

Her fingers unconsciously tightened on the pen.

Why did she decide to leave Lu Xixiao?

Because from the very beginning, what they had was wrong. From the first day, she got together with Lu Xixiao, she could already see their ending.

She just hadn’t expected that day would come in such a twisted, unbearable way.

This question required more content, so they were given three minutes to write their answers.

But even as the three minutes ended, Zhou Wan hadn’t written a single word.

It was something she couldn’t bring herself to speak of, something sinful.

The other couple showed their boards first, once again having matching answers, showing everyone a particularly sweet love story through their dozen answers.

For the finale, all attention turned to Zhou Wan and Lu Xixiao.

They revealed their boards.

Zhou Wan’s board was completely blank, without a single word.

Lu Xixiao had written one sentence – “I desperately moved toward you, but from beginning to end, all you thought about was how to leave me.”

Zhou Wan hadn’t expected Lu Xixiao to answer this question.

He was someone who never liked to open up his privacy and past for others to see.

So when she saw these words, her heart contracted painfully, tears nearly falling immediately.

It was a past that couldn’t be touched.

All these years, Zhou Wan had never dared to think deeply about it.

She had changed to a completely new environment, changed her phone number, changed all her social media accounts, and actively or forcibly cut off contact with all her former friends.

She had no parents, no relatives, and no roots. During college breaks when friends were frantically booking tickets home, she alone stayed at school, with nowhere to go.

She didn’t want to be left behind, so she lived very earnestly, and ran forward very hard, leaving everything about Lu Xixiao completely behind in Pingchuan City, in the past, in that place, she never dared to set foot in again.

She wanted to be like Lu Xixiao’s other past relationships – not dwelling on the past, clean and decisive.

But now she heard him say: I desperately moved toward you, but from beginning to end, all you thought about was how to leave me.

In that instant, countless memories flooded Zhou Wan’s mind, rushing to the surface.

She remembered the very beginning when she had decided never to get involved in Lu Xixiao’s life again, but he had stopped her, calling out to her with a hoarse voice of compromise, saying, “Zhou Wan, I’m hungry.”

She remembered the night they got together when Lu Xixiao asked if she wanted to date, and though she said yes, in her heart, she thought Lu Xixiao would eventually tire of her, and then she could leave, keeping that one secret that could never see the light of day.

She remembered after they went to see the snow together, Lu Xixiao sent her a voice message saying, “Zhou Wan, spend every New Year with me from now on,” and though her heart trembled, she didn’t dare reply.

She remembered telling him very early on, “If we ever separate, let’s never contact each other again, okay?”

She remembered that Lu Xixiao had known early on that she was Guo Xiangling’s daughter, knew about her using him, but still recklessly rushed forward to take a knife for her, yet after staying with him until his wound healed, she had asked for a breakup.

At that time, she truly loved Lu Xixiao and genuinely cared for him, hoping for his happiness.

But at the same time, she had indeed never thought about staying with him forever.

Looking at it now, Lu Xixiao had been wronged.

He hadn’t done anything wrong at all.

The onlookers in the bar were also somewhat bewildered by now.

They had assumed it was a story of a playboy and a good girl, but now it seemed the one who had suffered heartbreak was the man, not the woman.

The host finally sensed the complexity between them and stopped joking, smoothly moving past the topic with some light banter.

Zhou Wan and Lu Xixiao returned to their seats.

They had made it to the final round, almost winning the free meal reward.

“Alright, it’s all in the past,” Huang Ping hadn’t expected this kind of game and tried to ease the atmosphere. “Let’s drink.”

Lu Xixiao remained silent, picked up his glass and drained it, then stood up.

Huang Ping asked: “Where are you going? Leaving?”

He walked away without looking back: “Bathroom.”

Only Huang Ping and Zhou Wan remained at the table.

Zhou Wan kept her head down, drinking soup, still thinking about what had just happened.

“Little sister,” Huang Ping spoke to her, “how have you been these years?”

Zhou Wan paused, then smiled and said: “Pretty good, just living a normal life.”

“I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but some time after you left, he suddenly fell seriously ill, got so thin he was barely recognizable.”

“At first I didn’t think that illness had anything to do with you, after all, you’d been separated for a while by then, but when I went to see him, he was delirious with fever, constantly calling your name.”

Huang Ping lifted his glass, took a drink, and continued softly, “I’d never seen him take a breakup so hard before – this was Lu Xixiao we’re talking about – but he became someone I didn’t recognize. Honestly, I blamed you at the time. I thought of him as my little brother, and I couldn’t bear to see him like that.”

“He acts tough but has a soft heart. Even though he might say pretty words to girls, he never actually shows his true self, his true heart to others.”

“You probably never knew, but he told me very early on that he knew you had a secret.”

Zhou Wan’s eyelashes trembled: “When?”

Huang Ping thought for a moment: “When you two had that huge fight, almost broke up, I think it was a few days before you went away for that competition.”

Zhou Wan remembered what Lu Xixiao had said during that argument―

Do you even consider me your boyfriend? You won’t tell me anything, keeping everything to yourself, letting no one in. Zhou Wan, is this how you date someone?

After all this time, she hadn’t forgotten anything.

So he had noticed that early on.

“Little sister, he’s a smart person. He said himself that if he wanted to know, he could find out what you were hiding from him, but he didn’t dare.”

Huang Ping laughed helplessly, “To hear Lu Xixiao say he ‘didn’t dare’ – before all this, I couldn’t have imagined those words coming from his mouth even in my dreams.”

Zhou Wan had thought she was the one controlling everything between her and Lu Xixiao.

She had walked into his life on her own, and she had left his life on her own.

Only now did she realize that Lu Xixiao had just been pretending to be fooled – he would rather be deceived than be apart from her.

It was his indulgence that had allowed her to control their relationship.

Zhou Wan propped her face with her hand, pressing hard against her eye socket, took a deep breath, and asked softly: “Brother Huang Ping, can you tell me about his years since then?”

“You haven’t asked him?”

Zhou Wan shook her head: “I don’t dare.”

Huang Ping sighed: “Well, he was okay. After that serious illness, he started studying properly. He’s smart – there’s nothing he can’t do if he puts his mind to it. Later, he did well in the college entrance exam and could have gone to any top university, but his grandfather planned to send him abroad.”

Zhou Wan looked up: “Abroad?”

“I think his grandfather was afraid he’d choose a university in City B, afraid he’d run into you again, but I hadn’t expected him to be so obedient and go abroad for school.”

“He had an uncle on his mother’s side who had settled abroad. His uncle helped him out, and during university, the foundation of his current company was formed. After that, he pretty much cut ties with the Lu family, never took their money again, never owed them any favors, and made his way to where he is now.”

“Later on, I started to understand why he gave up studying domestically to go abroad. From then until now, he’s been busy every day. Sometimes I worried he was pushing himself too hard, but he did manage to stand on his own.”

“Zhou Wan, his mother’s tragedy was caused by family constraints. Why do you think he pushed himself so hard to grow up? Can’t you figure it out?”

Lu Xixiao returned, and Huang Ping stopped talking.

He would soon return to Pingchuan City, and Lu Xixiao would be busy the next few days with no time to meet again, so they drank more than usual, not leaving until nearly midnight.

In recent years, Lu Xixiao rarely drank this late except for business occasions, and unusually, he had drunk a bit too much, feeling slightly dizzy.

He went to pay the bill while Zhou Wan and Huang Ping went outside first, she took out her phone to call for a designated driver.

The entertainment district was always busy and noisy in the late hours.

There was a bar just dozens of meters away, its rock music so loud it could be heard from across the street.

Most people on the street were either heading out to drink or already stumbling drunk.

Just then, two drunk men approached from nearby, cursing and arguing, holding bottles of alcohol while walking, drinking, and cursing, reeking of alcohol.

Zhou Wan glanced at them and stepped back to avoid them.

The two drunk men’s argument grew more intense, even showing signs of turning physical. One of them impatiently shoved hard, falling backward himself, while the other twisted and stumbled forward, losing balance and falling toward Zhou Wan.

She couldn’t react in time, too late to dodge, and instinctively closed her eyes tight, raising her hands to protect her face and head.

At that moment, she was suddenly pulled by a strong force.

Her nose filled with Lu Xixiao’s unique scent.

His arm wrapped around Zhou Wan’s head, completely protecting her in his embrace.

When Zhou Wan opened her eyes, she saw the drunk man fall, the bottle in his hand shattering against Lu Xixiao’s shoulder.

“Lu Xixiao…”

He released Zhou Wan with a dark expression, turning to face the drunk man.

The man had sobered up somewhat after his fall, seeing the glass bottle shards scattered before him, and upon noticing the man’s wealthy appearance, immediately apologized.

Lu Xixiao didn’t pursue the matter, waving for him to leave.

Fortunately, the glass shards hadn’t cut his skin, only staining his clothes with alcohol.

“Are you okay?” he turned to ask.

Zhou Wan shook her head, getting napkins from the restaurant staff to help wipe the alcohol from his clothes.

“It’s fine,” Lu Xixiao said dismissively, taking off his jacket and carrying it, “Just need a shower when we get back.”

The designated driver arrived.

They first dropped Huang Ping at his hotel and then headed home.

As the elevator slowly ascended, Zhou Wan suddenly realized something, freezing in place.

Just now, Lu Xixiao’s instinct had been to embrace her from the front – otherwise, if those glass shards had cut his neck or face, it would have been very serious.

That was true instinct.

The elevator doors opened.

Lu Xixiao walked out, but seeing Zhou Wan not moving, he looked back: “What’s wrong?”

“Lu Xixiao.”

Zhou Wan’s voice trembled slightly, “That year at the abandoned station, did you shield me because you didn’t have time to react?”

Lu Xixiao’s steps halted.

He watched as tears welled up in the woman’s eyes, her features painted with heart-wrenching colors.

“No,” his voice was deep and magnetic as he gazed steadily at Zhou Wan.

But he thought he must be drunk to give this answer.

“…Then why?”

Lu Xixiao lowered his head and laughed slightly, resigned and compromising: “I did it on purpose.”

Luo He had never been clean in his methods, and Lu Xixiao had suffered from him before, so he had been on guard, noticing as soon as he reached into his pocket.

Originally, he could have dodged without injury.

But a youth’s love knows no bounds, no measure.

At that moment, he wanted to use the most striking blood, the most dramatic method, to use Zhou Wan’s guilt to keep his girl from leaving.

Zhou Wan’s mind seemed to buzz, falling into a silent roar.

All she could think about was that operating room light that had stayed on all night, and his written words―

I desperately moved toward you, but from beginning to end, all you thought about was how to leave me.

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