HomeFalling In LoveZhui Luo - Chapter 60

Zhui Luo – Chapter 60

They never had a proper confession or a proper breakup.

A hasty beginning and end.

So let’s start everything over again.

You don’t need to move on from the past.

Just follow me, and I’ll create new memories for us, starting fresh.

After all, we’re both still young—it’s not too late to start over, not too late to get to know each other again.

Zhou Wan never imagined Lu Xixiao would say such things.

The proud Lu Xixiao.

Her mind was still in a daze when she followed him through the Lu family’s main gate.

Fortunately, this haze somewhat dispelled Zhou Wan’s fears.

Lu Xixiao had contacted Old Master Lu beforehand, as he was already waiting in the living room.

At the time, Lu Xixiao had only said he wanted to come back to see him, but since he never came without reason, Old Master Lu naturally knew why. When he saw Zhou Wan, he showed no surprise.

He was the same as before, emanating an intimidating authority beneath his kindness, and smiled at Zhou Wan: “Have a seat.”

Lu Xixiao held her hand as they sat down on the sofa.

The servant brought two cups of tea and quickly left, leaving the spacious living room to just the three of them.

“Long time no see, young student,” Old Master Lu said. “Oh right, you must have graduated by now, so I can’t call you young student anymore.”

Zhou Wan lowered her eyes: “Yes, I’ve graduated. You can just call me Zhou Wan.”

“Did you come to see me together with Ah Xiao today?”

The question was subtle, and Zhou Wan pressed her lips together, unsure how to answer.

Beside her, Lu Xixiao laughed: “I brought her here by force.”

Zhou Wan: “…”

Old Master Lu could guess the situation from Zhou Wan’s current state. He slowly took a sip of tea, then set the cup back down on the table, making a crisp sound.

Though soft, the sound still made Zhou Wan’s fingertips tremble.

“Ah Xiao, I’ve told you before,” Old Master Lu stopped beating around the bush, “She’s not the right person for you.”

Lu Xixiao joked: “Then who do you think is right for me?”

Knowing he wouldn’t listen, Old Master Lu didn’t directly answer his question: “Ah Xiao, don’t forget you spent a month in the hospital because of her.”

“Luo He’s target was always me, she was just caught in the middle. At worst, it was because of Lu Zhongyue’s illegitimate son—there’s no way to blame this on her.”

Whatever Old Master Lu said, Lu Xixiao had a counter ready.

“What about her affair with Guo Xiangling? She made a fool of the entire Lu family by herself, yet you still want to be with her—don’t tell me you want to marry her?”

Old Master Lu continued, “Do you know what others will say? The Lu family can’t afford to lose face like this.”

Lu Xixiao smirked, saying carelessly: “Then you might as well kick me out of the Lu family.”

“You insolent child!”

Old Master Lu slammed the teacup on the table, hot tea splashing out.

This was the first time Zhou Wan had seen Old Master Lu angry.

When such a widely respected elder became angry, his natural authority was imposing.

Lu Xixiao’s expression remained unchanged.

A long silence fell over the living room.

Zhou Wan’s fingers twisted together more and more tightly.

Finally, Lu Xixiao spoke, his voice softening again: “Grandfather.”

Old Master Lu paused.

He couldn’t remember how long it had been since Lu Xixiao had called him grandfather. In his memory, it was only when he was very young—later he followed others in calling him “Old Master.”

Lu Xixiao looked at him, his gaze calm, fearless, and resolute: “You should know that I’m different from Lu Zhongyue. I don’t need someone like my mother to accompany me and guide me onto the right path. Everything I’ve achieved these years proves that.”

“I’m grown up now and can decide my own life. I don’t want anyone else to experience a tragedy like my mother’s. I’ve never cared about others’ opinions and judgments—you don’t need to use those to frighten her or force her to think of my interests. I know what I want and what I can achieve.” Lu Xixiao had never said these things to anyone before.

If his past self had been lost in a fog, now he was walking on a bright, wide road.

There were still thorns and traps on that road, sometimes thick fog, but he was certain it was the path he needed to take.

“This is between her and me. In the past, I was immature and ignorant, my words carried no weight—I couldn’t help it. But now I make the decisions. Whether to forgive her or not is my choice, no one else can influence that.”

“Your previous agreements with her are now void. You told her to never appear before me again without asking my opinion—that wasn’t fair to me.”

“Grandfather, you’ve always been good at judging people, but two people being together isn’t just about being suitable—Lu Zhongyue and my mother are the examples. If they had divorced back then, all those later tragedies wouldn’t have happened.”

“I don’t know if Zhou Wan is truly the right person for me, but she’s the only one I can’t let go of. She makes me feel this world is still interesting. I don’t want anyone else but her.”

Old Master Lu looked at the man before him, his grandson, and felt the time had passed so quickly—he could barely recognize Ah Xiao anymore.

He had truly grown into someone capable of standing on his own.

He was indeed different from Lu Zhongyue.

He had grown up wild, without the pampered young master’s afflictions. He could follow through on what he said and knew when to give and when to let go.

His bringing Zhou Wan back today wasn’t to get his permission at all—he was just informing him, officially closing the past.

With words said to this extent, not only would his refusal not affect Lu Xixiao’s decision, but it would push him away completely.

Old Master Lu looked at Lu Xixiao in silence for a long time. When he spoke again, his voice was hoarse, having lost its earlier authority.

In those few short minutes, he seemed to have suddenly aged.

“Even if she was using you from the moment she met you, you don’t care anymore.”

“Yes,” Lu Xixiao sat very straight, unmoved, and said quietly, “As long as it’s with her, even if I fall or hit a wall, I’m willing.”

*

After leaving the Lu residence, Zhou Wan’s tears wouldn’t stop.

Zhou Wan understood Lu Xixiao’s intention. She was used to running away, afraid to face things, so he brought her here, forcing her to confront her past self face-to-face.

To face that fake, selfish, dark sixteen-year-old Zhou Wan.

Then he gently embraced that helpless girl who was lost in her youth, telling her, it’s okay, you can be that way, don’t feel inferior or ashamed because of it.

I love you, I will love all of you.

Love you crowned in light, and love you covered in mud.

Lu Xixiao handed Zhou Wan a tissue, not trying to console her to stop crying.

In some ways, they were still as in sync as before. He gave her enough time to bid farewell to her past self, through tears.

Lu Xixiao silently drove to a cemetery.

It was Zhou Wan’s grandmother’s burial place.

Since leaving Pingchuan City, she has never returned and never visited her grandmother.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t thought about coming back—partly it was because holiday season plane tickets were too expensive, and partly because she was always running away, afraid to return.

Fortunately, back then she had spent almost all her money to find a nice cemetery, clean and well-maintained, with regular upkeep.

The cemetery was desolate. Zhou Wan looked at her grandmother’s photo on the tombstone.

“Grandmother,” she said softly, “I’ve come to see you. It’s been… such a long time.”

She spoke intermittently to her grandmother about many things.

Told her she had graduated, where she went to university, the beautiful scenery she had seen, the excellent people she had met, told her that in the days without her, her Wan-wan had tried hard to grow up.

Lu Xixiao stood quietly by her side throughout, accompanying her.

Finally, Zhou Wan wiped the tears from her face and said softly, “Let’s go.”

“Mm.”

They returned to the car.

Lu Xixiao had bought tickets back to B City. After growing up, life becomes busy and exhausting, with people coming and going, changing batch after batch, and rarely staying for long.

Unlike in youth, when each day at school meant seeing those familiar, energetic faces.

“Zhou Wan,” Lu Xixiao suddenly spoke.

She turned her head, her voice still choked: “Mm.”

“Do you remember? I promised I would always be by your side.”

Zhou Wan froze for a moment, her thoughts returning to the past.

Back then, right after her grandmother passed away, she had fallen into despair and breakdown. It was Lu Xixiao who rushed to her home, and held her in his arms as she cried out in pain, while he patted her shoulder, eyes red, repeating again and again, tirelessly: “Wan-wan, I’m here, I’ll always be here.”

People streamed around them.

But fortunately, in the end, neither of them got lost.

*

Back in B City, Lu Xixiao took his pillow and a blanket to the guest room.

Zhou Wan paused, asking: “What are you doing?”

“Didn’t I say I wanted to properly pursue you again?” Lu Xixiao raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Though I’ve never seriously pursued anyone before, since it’s pursuing, we certainly can’t sleep together like this anymore.”

“…”

Zhou Wan thought to herself, that they had already gone that far, so this seemed unnecessary. Moreover, although she wasn’t ready to be openly together with Lu Xixiao again, she felt embarrassed to let him pursue her.

She felt somewhat regretful, wondering how she always managed to make their relationship so strange.

But she didn’t dare say it out loud, feeling that speaking up would seem like some kind of invitation.

But Lu Xixiao saw through it anyway, glancing at her face with a casual, lazy expression: “Besides, sleeping with someone who’s pursuing you—isn’t that deliberately testing me?”

“…”

Lu Xixiao leaned down close to her, gripping her chin and shaking it playfully: “I can’t withstand the test, can’t be like Liu Xiahui. Remember to lock your door at night.”

“…”

He was going too far with his teasing.

Zhou Wan turned her head away with a red face, not daring to look at him anymore.

She pretended to be serious and ignored him, going to open her computer.

While waiting for the computer to start up, she recalled Lu Xixiao’s earlier actions and couldn’t help but smile secretly for a moment.

Since returning from Pingchuan City, their complicated relationship seemed to have been sorted out, and they could finally interact openly and naturally.

After arranging the guest room and taking a shower, Lu Xixiao came out to find Zhou Wan still sitting at the computer.

“What are you doing?” He poured two glasses of water, walked over to place one beside Zhou Wan, and sat down next to her, looking at her computer.

“Job hunting stuff,” Zhou Wan said quietly. “After leaving Shengxing, I sent out many resumes but didn’t get any responses. I haven’t checked recently, but today I found nearly a hundred replies.”

She paused, then couldn’t help but speculate, turning to look at Lu Xixiao: “Did you do something?”

“No.”

Lu Xixiao smiled, “With your resume, you wouldn’t have trouble finding work anyway. Shengxing is struggling now, even having tax problems—they probably won’t recover. Naturally, others don’t need to be concerned anymore, so of course they’re rushing to hire you.”

Zhou Wan nodded and continued looking through the responses.

“Have you decided which company to join?” Lu Xixiao asked.

“I studied media in university, and because I thought new media was the future direction, I’ve focused on that area since my internship. But after working in it, I feel I’m not suited for it—it’s not what I like doing.”

Zhou Wan said, “Just now I saw a newspaper sent me a message. I hadn’t sent them a resume; they contacted me on their own.”

Lu Xixiao listened attentively: “You want to join a newspaper?”

“…Mm.” Zhou Wan hesitated, “What do you think?”

“You can try it, see if you like it.”

“But traditional print media is already a sunset industry, the development potential might not match new media.” Zhou Wan paused, “If I go there, would you dislike it?”

Lu Xixiao was stunned, then as if hearing something amusing, asked back: “What?”

“Well… you’re so accomplished. Your future partner should at least somewhat match up to you, so you won’t lose out too much.”

Zhou Wan said, “At Shengxing I was already a department head, and at similar companies, I wouldn’t start too low. But at a newspaper, I might have to start as an intern reporter. I’m not sure if I’m good at it, or if there’s room for promotion in the future.”

Lu Xixiao discovered Zhou Wan’s thought process was indeed unique.

She was even considering whether he would lose out.

While Lu Xixiao was still pondering her logic and hadn’t answered, Zhou Wan thought he was contemplating this issue and became nervous.

She quickly added: “But I’ll work hard to do well.”

Lu Xixiao: “…”

“I studied journalism in university too, so I’m not completely starting from zero. If I join the newspaper, I’ll work seriously, try hard to get promoted, and do my best to become more capable.”

Her expression was so serious it was like giving a work report.

Lu Xixiao really couldn’t understand how dating had gotten mixed up with all this.

Zhou Wan paused slightly, lowered her eyes, and continued: “My roommate interned at a newspaper before. That year when B City had a cold wave and frost, severely damaging crops, she spent the whole week helping farmers deal with the disaster. I want to help people like that too.”

“Lu Xixiao, I won’t be like that anymore.”

Her voice was somewhat low, deep, and shy. She lowered her head like a little girl embarrassed to admit her mistakes.

“I won’t lie to you anymore. I’ll discipline myself properly. I’ll become better, I definitely will become better… Lu Xixiao, I won’t disappoint you.”

Lu Xixiao was stunned for a moment.

He belatedly understood Zhou Wan’s meaning.

He couldn’t help but curl his lips.

Finding this version of Zhou Wan both frank and adorable.

He held back for a long time but ultimately couldn’t contain himself and laughed out loud.

Though Zhou Wan had spoken so seriously and sincerely, it only made Lu Xixiao laugh until his shoulders shook.

Zhou Wan looked at him, initially somewhat dissatisfied, but seeing him laughing as he leaned back in his chair, she was stunned.

She hadn’t seen Lu Xixiao like this for so long, so very long.

To be precise, even looking back through her memories, she had rarely seen it.

That man in his suit and leather shoes seemed to transform back into a bold and unrestrained youth, his narrow eyes filled with laughter, his expression relaxed, the sharp lines of his face softening, his whole person becoming gentle.

“Wan-wan.”

He said with a laugh, playfully, “Tell me, who’s pursuing whom now?”

“…”

“You don’t need to change.” Lu Xixiao said in good spirits, “After all, I like you when you’re being bad.”

“…”

He leaned in slightly closer, his voice lowering, tone ambiguous and mischievous: “For example, the way you hooked your arms around my neck to seduce me the day before yesterday—I liked that.”

“…”

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