“Why?” Su Man didn’t understand. She looked directly at him. “We can walk over and wait for the car together.”

Lu Yuwen hesitated for a moment, then said, “My ankle is still hurting a bit. If you go on ahead, I can rest here for a little while and then come find you. Is that alright?”

Su Man answered without really thinking, “Then I’ll stay here with you. When it’s not hurting anymore, we can go together.”

She genuinely couldn’t understand why, over a distance of just a few dozen meters, the two of them would need to split up.

Lu Yuwen seemed truly troubled. After a silence, he said softly, “Why don’t you go over there and check if there are any taxis? There are a lot of visitors around here today — it might be hard to get one.”

“Then we’ll just book a ride-share. They’re very convenient these days.” Su Man’s brow furrowed. “Why do you keep insisting on me walking over alone?”

Lu Yuwen smiled helplessly. “My ankle……”

“That’s exactly why I should be there helping you walk.” Su Man felt a flicker of unhappiness. She didn’t like this — something that couldn’t be said plainly in a few words, this sense of evasiveness and concealment.

“Lu Yuwen, are you angry with me?” she asked sincerely. “Because I left you behind to chase after that motorcycle just now?”

Lu Yuwen looked briefly surprised, then shook his head, “How could I be?”

“Then why do you keep trying to send me away?” Su Man’s mouth pulled downward. “I know… I’m impulsive. My parents have told me a hundred times, and Li Li says I act without thinking too. Last time I got suspended just for being a busybody, and this time I did it again… do you think I don’t know how to learn from my mistakes? But I can’t help it — by the time I come back to my senses, it’s already happened……”

She pressed her lips together, looking genuinely a little wronged.

A flaw you could change just by willing it to change isn’t really a flaw. She’d love to be mature, steady, and clear-headed too — it just wasn’t something you could wish yourself into overnight……

Lu Yuwen looked at her, was quiet for a moment, then raised his hand and gently drew her into his arms.

“I’m not angry with you.” He said softly. “Manman, I think you’re wonderful. Exceptionally wonderful… the most wonderful I’ve ever seen.”

Su Man kept her head lowered, and asked in a muffled voice, “Then why do you have to separate from me?”

Lu Yuwen was momentarily at a loss for words. He fell silent again for a while, then spoke slowly. “Shall I tell you a story?”

Su Man said with a heavy heart, “I’m not in the mood for stories right now.”

Lu Yuwen laughed softly, pulling her closer. “It doesn’t matter — you have to listen. You can only leave after you’ve heard it.”

“Then go ahead.” Su Man cooperated. “It’ll give your ankle a chance to rest.”

She found a row of stone stools along the riverbank, helped Lu Yuwen sit down, and then began to listen to the story he wanted to tell.

It was his own story.

He said, “I told you before that I’ve had trouble with my legs since I was young, but I never told you how serious it was… Back then, when I walked, I had a slight limp. Because of that, while I did make friends, I generally avoided going out with them. I didn’t want to draw any extra attention.

“Over time, it would get to me — so I told myself: if there’s ever a girl who doesn’t mind my imperfection, who’s willing to endure the odd looks from others for my sake, I will be one hundred percent devoted to her, and cherish her for the rest of my life. And later, I truly did meet such a girl……”

Su Man’s heart gave a small leap when she heard that. She thought Lu Yuwen was talking about her — but then she heard him continue:

“That girl was very sunny, very confident. She came and sat down across from me of her own accord, and said she wanted to get to know me.”

Su Man: “……”

That wasn’t her, then.

Her first meeting with Lu Yuwen had been nothing like this harmonious, beautiful scene.

—