Chapter 22 You Arrived at Just the Right Moment

Lu Mingfei mentally tallied the acquaintances he had encountered today.

In the morning, there was the class photo session, where he had stood next to Liu Miaomiao. That was to be expected, given it was graduation photo day.

At noon, he had snuck into an internet cafe to play StarCraft and bumped into the "Little Heaven-sent Girl," Su Xiaoqiang. That was a bit more absurd.

In the afternoon, he had met with Senior Brother Chu Zihang at a cafe. That had been planned, so it was acceptable.

But why, just as he was about to grab one last Swiss roll and leave, did he have to run into Chen Wenwen?

Chen Wenwen held a copy of *Jane Eyre* with a gold-leaf cover. She wore a white cotton dress, cinched at the waist with a pale green ribbon. Her soft, straight hair was tied back simply with a headband, cascading down to her waist. The hem of her skirt fell just at her knees, revealing a pair of fair, slender calves, with white lace-trimmed socks peeking out from her small black leather shoes.

Eileen Chang once said that perhaps every man has known two such women: the red one is the cinnabar mole on his chest, while the white one is the moonlight before his bed.

For Lu Mingfei, the red one was Nono, and the white one was Chen Wenwen.

In truth, if one were to examine it closely, Chen Wenwen had entered Lu Mingfei’s life long before Nono did.

The reasons he fell for Nono and Chen Wenwen were similar: both had offered him warmth during the lonelier, more wretched moments of his life.

There is truth in the saying that one can take advantage of a person's vulnerability. A shred of comfort offered when one is spiritually fragile often becomes the straw they cling to for support.

Chen Wenwen was a gentle girl.

Hachiman Hikigaya, a friend of Lu Mingfei’s from the world of light novels, once said he hated gentle girls because their kindness was universal, yet he would mistakenly believe it was reserved only for him.

Lu Mingfei couldn't say whether he hated it or not, but he wouldn't blame her. When you are living in misery and someone is willing to reach out, it means that person is fundamentally kind. You can hardly fault a good person for not loving you enough.

The beauty of the "white moonlight" lies in its unattainability.

Although Lu Mingfei had long since let go of his feelings for Chen Wenwen, running into one's "white moonlight" is like encountering a first love with her child on the street years after marriage—you can't help but feel a tremor in your heart, linger for a second glance, and reminisce about that fleeting youth that slipped through your fingers.

Moreover, the Chen Wenwen before him wasn't the woman with a child he might meet years later; this was the fifteen-year-old Chen Wenwen, her romantic history as clean as a blank sheet of paper. Lu Mingfei staring at her was, therefore, quite justifiable.

Chu Zihang’s gaze shifted back and forth between Lu Mingfei and Chen Wenwen, looking pensive.

Seeing Lu Mingfei and the others staring at her in unison, Chen Wenwen instinctively took a small step back, reached up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear, and said nervously, "I... am I interrupting?"

Interrupting? No, your timing is impeccable. You were the only one of the three school beauties of Shilan High School I hadn't met today; if you hadn't appeared, I really would have felt something was missing.

Might as well have me run into Ling and Nono while I'm out buying a toilet seat later, he thought, lamenting bitterly in his heart.

"Are you here for coffee?" Chu Zihang asked.

"No," Chen Wenwen replied, waving a hand at him. She pointed a slender finger toward the glass display case. "I’m just here to buy a cake and leave."

"Then you go ahead and order."

Chu Zihang stepped aside, and Chen Wenwen moved gracefully to the counter, stopping just a few dozen centimeters from Lu Mingfei. "Hello, I’d like a strawberry Swiss roll to go."

"That was the last one. It's sold out," the college student working the counter said, gesturing to the piece she had been about to plate for Lu Mingfei. "Would you like to try another flavor?"

"Oh..." A clear note of disappointment colored Chen Wenwen’s voice, and her gaze drifted unconsciously toward Lu Mingfei.

Lu Mingfei suddenly felt as if he were playing a visual novel, having triggered a key plot point by running into a heroine. Two options seemed to hover before his eyes:

Option A: Ignore Chen Wenwen’s gaze and eat the Swiss roll himself. Satiety +1.

Option B: Give the Swiss roll to Chen Wenwen. Satiety -1, Affection +10.

The heroine was blinking at the Swiss roll, essentially dangling the "increase affection" option right in front of him. Even a fool would know what to choose.

"You can have this one," Lu Mingfei chose Option B decisively.

It wasn't about farming favor points; even if it hadn't been Chen Wenwen—if it had been Liu Miaomiao or any other girl—he would have yielded the cake.

Well... if it had been Su Xiaoqiang, he might not have.

"Are you sure?" A small flicker of joy lit up Chen Wenwen’s face, but she immediately frowned. "But wouldn't that be bad? There's only one left, and I’m sure you wanted it too. I’ll just pick a different flavor."

"It’s fine, really. I already had one just now."

"But..."

"You really don't want it?"

"No, thank you."

"Then we don't want it either. You can put it away."

Lu Mingfei knew Chen Wenwen’s character; she seemed quiet and gentle, but she had a strong sense of pride and was quite sensitive. It wasn't easy for her to accept favors. Deciding to drop it, he nudged Chu Zihang and headed for the door.

"You really didn't want it?" Chu Zihang asked as he led the way. "You looked like you really wanted to eat it."

"It’s fine, honestly. I just wanted to try it out. I’m a country bumpkin who doesn't appreciate fine dining; twenty yuan is better spent on a McDonald’s meal, and I’d even have two yuan left over for internet time."

Chu Zihang nodded. "No wonder you have no interest in Liu Miaomiao from your class. So you prefer this type of girl. Personally, though, if I had to choose, I think Liu Miaomiao would be a better match for you."

Lu Mingfei panicked. "Hey, hey, Senior Brother! What do you mean I have no interest in Liu Miaomiao? It’s a question of whether she’s interested in me... Besides, what makes you think Liu Miaomiao is a better fit for me than Chen Wenwen?"

Lu Mingfei thought to himself that Liu Miaomiao was clearly interested in the senior himself; even if Chu Zihang pretended not to notice, he surely had to be aware of her devotion.

Even if you seem like a block of stone, you can't actually be one, right? When the "Little Dragon Girl" was throwing hints your way back then, you noticed it, didn't you?

"Chen Wenwen? You even know her name?"

Lu Mingfei quickly clapped a hand over his mouth, realizing he had slipped up.

"I don't know, I don't know! I was just talking nonsense."

Chu Zihang didn't press the matter, continuing instead, "Have you heard of the MBTI personality test? It’s based on Jungian typology. It classifies human personality into sixteen types. That girl earlier is likely a classic INFP, and you are probably an ISFP. You two are well-suited to be good friends, but not lovers."

*Damn*, what kind of test is this? It even predicted that Chen Wenwen would only ever see me as a friend.

Lu Mingfei was unconvinced. "Then tell me, what kind of girl am I actually compatible with?"

Chu Zihang pondered. "An ISFP should be paired with an extroverted personality—someone bold, charismatic, confident, and radiant."

Lu Mingfei broke into a cold sweat, a thousand horses stampeding through his mind. He almost suspected Chu Zihang had time-traveled too. The "paralyzed-face" senior might as well have just pointed at Chen Motong directly. Did this MBTI test have to be so accurate?

"As for Liu Miaomiao, she might lack a bit of self-confidence, but her personality is likely more extroverted than that girl's, which could provide you with some balance."

Chu Zihang continued analyzing his love life, only for Lu Mingfei to interrupt.

"Wait, why are we already assuming I have to choose between Liu Miaomiao and Chen Wenwen? Senior, you’re giving me too much credit."

Chu Zihang stated calmly, "The Shilan High School forum says you already rejected Liu Miaomiao’s confession."

"Huh?" Lu Mingfei was stunned.

I rejected Liu Miaomiao’s confession?

Senior, are you just messing with me?