Chapter 22: Errand Fee

Lu Qingyue paused for a moment, then immediately changed her tone.
“Rong, I’ve already turned you down three times. Doesn’t that make it clear I really have no interest in you? Why keep wasting your time and money on me?”

Xiao Qingrong, seeing her lay things out so plainly, just smiled nonchalantly.
“Just because you’re not interested now doesn’t mean you never will be.”

He was quite confident in himself. Aside from his grades being a bit lacking, he was actually tall and good-looking, and he played basketball. Sometimes he’d even find love letters from girls tucked into his desk. He knew a pretty girl like Lu Qingyue would be hard to pursue, but hadn’t it always been said that affection grows over time? Wasn’t the whole point of chasing a girl to be persistent?

Lu Qingyue looked at his inexplicable self-assurance, thought for a moment, and asked sincerely,
“How about you come back for me in ten years?”

Xiao Qingrong: “...In ten years, you’ll probably be married!”

Lu Qingyue was baffled. “What? Do you have something against married women?”

Xiao Qingrong: “....”

Zhou Tingting and a few classmates nearby were laughing so hard they were nearly faint.
“Hahahahahaha...”

Xiao Qingrong’s face was a spectacle, turning blue and red in turn, unable to maintain his composure.

This awkward conversation was finally ended by the ringing of the class bell.

For the rest of the day, Lu Qingyue didn’t see Xiao Qingrong again. Unexpectedly, during PE class in the afternoon, she ran into him once more.

Their grade’s three classes shared the period. After running three laps around the track, they were dismissed. The boys headed for the basketball courts, while most of the girls made for the snack shop.

The sports field at Jiang University Affiliated High School had a back gate that led to Jiang University’s basketball courts. When the school’s courts were crowded, boys would sometimes head over to the university side to play.

Lu Qingyue, Zhou Tingting, and Hu Qiuyue bought ice creams at the snack shop, then wandered idly along the track, eating as they went.

The edge of the field was lined with small-leaf banyan trees, lush and verdant even at this time of year. The afternoon sun filtered warmly through the branches, bathing them in gentle light.

As they passed the back gate, they happened to see the boys from their class and Class 2 fighting over the basketball courts.

At fifteen or sixteen, the boys were all over 1.7 meters tall—Xiao Qingrong himself was nearly 1.8 meters—but their behavior was still childishly immature. The two classes’ boys were in a noisy scuffle. Xiao Qingrong and a few others from his class chased after their class’s PE monitor, each grabbing a leg and trying to drag him into a tree trunk.

The three girls couldn’t truly empathize, but just watching made them wince in sympathy.

Zhou Tingting wore a look of utter exasperation.
“These boys are such idiots... Good thing you didn’t say yes to Xiao Qingrong this morning.”

Hu Qiuyue agreed. “I don’t like him either. He’s so immature. Not like our Instructor Lu or Chief Instructor, who are both handsome and mature and actually manly.”

Lu Qingyue pondered. Weren’t her brother and Cheng Xingye just like this at that age? Still, she found it hard to picture Lu Yi and Cheng Xingye dragging each other into a tree trunk.

At the mention of these famously handsome upperclassmen, Zhou Tingting and Hu Qiuyue’s conversation quickly veered off course.

Thinking of Cheng Xingye’s devastatingly handsome face, Zhou Tingting’s heart filled with pink bubbles of infatuation.
“That playboy is truly gorgeous... I don’t think I’ll ever meet anyone more handsome in my whole life.”

Hu Qiuyue had less contact with Cheng Xingye; throughout the week of military training, it was always Lu Yi leading them, so she naturally sided with him.
“I actually prefer Instructor Lu.”

Lu Qingyue: “???”

She couldn’t believe anyone would like her sharp-tongued brother. She turned her head in disbelief.
“You like my brother? How is it that you’re already blind at such a young age?”

Younger girls often developed inexplicable crushes on good-looking upperclassmen. Besides, Lu Yi, while sharp-tongued, was actually quite gentlemanly and proper with girls other than Lu Qingyue, never making them feel awkward or uncomfortable.

Hu Qiuyue had a good impression of the instructor who’d looked after them for a week, and with the filter of good looks, she asked in confusion,
“What’s wrong with your brother? He’s clearly really manly...”

Lu Qingyue thought to herself, what manliness? Aside from bullying her verbally all day long, he didn’t seem to have any other skills. Not as considerate as Cheng Xingye, at least.

Speaking of Cheng Xingye, she realized she hadn’t seen him lately. Maybe he’d changed girlfriends again and was busy with a new romance...

Lost in her musings, Lu Qingyue was wondering where Cheng Xingye had gone when a few girls from another class, overhearing their conversation, turned around in surprise and asked,
“Instructor Lu is your brother?”

Lu Qingyue was taken aback, then nodded with a wary look.
“Why? You like my brother too?”

Although these girls weren’t in their class, everyone knew during military training that Class 1’s instructor was a super handsome upperclassman. Several times, they’d snuck over during breaks just to get a glimpse of him.

When they realized Lu Qingyue was actually that handsome instructor’s sister, the girls were shocked and elated, rushing off to spread the news.

“Ahhh—she’s Instructor Lu’s sister!”

“Wow! I wish I could be his sister too!”

“But if you’re his sister, you can’t chase after him...”

Lu Qingyue: “???”

Just how desperate were they to want to chase after her brother?

....

At 5:20, the school bell signaled the end of the day.

Lu Qingyue had just slung on her backpack and hurried out the school gate when she was suddenly stopped at the stairwell by two girls. She recognized them as being from Class 2. They’d also been watching the boys play basketball during PE, but she didn’t know their names.

Shy and hesitant, they called her over. One of them finally mustered her courage, handed her a pink envelope, and cautiously asked,
“Could you give this to Senior Lu?”

Senior Lu? Who was that?

Lu Qingyue puzzled over it for a moment before realizing they meant her ostentatious older brother.

Someone actually liked her brother?

A little surprised, she looked at the cute, well-behaved girl in front of her and couldn’t help wanting to persuade her to turn back before it was too late.

But her hesitation was misinterpreted; the other girl thought she was reluctant to do the favor because of the distance, so she quickly offered,
“I can buy you bubble tea, or give you money.”

Lu Qingyue: “That’s not what I meant... What money?”

She only had 600 yuan for living expenses this month. Even for ice cream during PE, she only dared buy the ones under two yuan—life was distinctly lacking in dignity.

At the mention of “money,” her eyes lit up involuntarily, as if she’d discovered a new way to earn some cash.

Sensing her wavering, the girl seized the opportunity, blushing as she whispered,
“...A delivery fee?”

Why not? Although Jiang University was close to their school, it was still a ten-minute walk.

Honestly, Lu Qingyue was tempted. Who would turn down money?

Thinking of her empty pockets, she was even more inclined. She coughed softly in mock reluctance.
“Ahem, is that really okay?”

“It’s only fair. I checked on Meituan—delivery from here to Jiang University is five yuan. So, I’ll give you five yuan too, is that alright?”

Lu Qingyue thought, if Meituan and Ele.me can make this money, why shouldn’t I? She wasn’t stealing or cheating; it was all honest hard work. Besides, she could guarantee the letter would be safely delivered to Lu Yi without any mistakes.

With that, she immediately pulled out her phone, opened her WeChat payment code, and handed it over with a clear conscience.
“Alright, just transfer it to me!”