Chapter 61: Can You Please Stop Messing With Me?

After Cheng Xingye finished speaking, he pulled her into his arms without giving her a chance to refuse.

He was tall, and to accommodate her height, he had to bend slightly at the waist. The posture was almost like cradling a child, his cool and sharp presence enveloping her instantly.

She was held tightly against his chest, her fitful temper not yet fully dissipated. For a brief moment, Lu Qingyue’s mind went blank, but her body remained tense, her neck stiffened instinctively as she resisted his embrace.

She stood there rigidly, stubborn as a lamppost, her temper locked in a silent contest with him. Yet her body was already growing weak, her feet unsteady as if she stood on cotton, soft and unable to hold her weight.

Cheng Xingye simply held her quietly, making no other move. Sensing her resistance, he tilted his head with a dry laugh, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he spoke in a coaxing, almost pleading tone, “Don’t make things difficult for me, alright?”

He lowered his head to look at her. Her face remained taut, the corners of her lips turned down in stubborn defiance.

Lu Qingyue knew she was being petulant, but if she didn’t speak her mind, she felt stifled. So she looked him in the eyes, bit her lip, and asked, “Then why wouldn’t you let me hug you this afternoon?”

Hadn’t he said she would be his sooner or later?

So why couldn’t she even hold him for a moment?

It wasn’t as if she was being unreasonable, or forcing him to start a relationship right now. She just liked him so much—she only wanted to hold him for a while...

A faint lump rose in her throat, but she struggled to voice these words.

She did not know who first fell in love in this ambiguous tangle, or who had given more of their heart. She feared that if she revealed her hand too quickly, she would forever lose the initiative with him.

Cheng Xingye gazed at her in silence, his eyes deep and shadowed, as though restraining some emotion.

The moon drifted overhead again. In the shifting silver light, the air was thick with unspoken longing.

After a long pause, he swallowed hard, conceding in a tone of surrender, “I never said you couldn’t.”

How could he dare refuse her...

She’d ignored his calls in a fit of pique; if he hadn’t caught her here tonight, she would probably have stayed angry for days.

Cheng Xingye had never been in a relationship, but coaxing someone came naturally to him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have waited here nearly an hour on a chilly night.

But Lu Qingyue was unmoved. She snorted, “You definitely wouldn’t let me!”

As she spoke, she tried to wriggle out of his arms.

Her soft, petite frame squirmed against him, and Cheng Xingye’s body went rigid in an instant. He quickly stopped her from struggling, helplessly cupping the back of her head and tilting her face up.

His dark eyes locked onto hers, lips curling into a rueful smile as he explained in a low, sincere voice, “This afternoon, I had my reasons. After all, your brother and I are still friends right now. If I’m hugging and holding his little sister, do you want to make him furious?”

Lu Qingyue paused.

She truly hadn’t considered that.

She was still a bit disgruntled, but obediently stayed in his arms, muttering under her breath, “Then why not just stop being friends with him?”

Cheng Xingye: “...”

He was momentarily speechless, utterly confounded by her logic.

How could anyone say something so heartless with such seriousness?

He looked at her rosy lips, stared for a few seconds, then burst out laughing, finally compromising, “Alright, if I ever want to do anything inappropriate to his little sister, I’ll remember to break off our friendship first.”

This time, Lu Qingyue was satisfied. “Hmph.” She rubbed herself against him with abandon.

Her soft, delicate body pressed closer. No matter how much self-control Cheng Xingye had, he couldn’t stop himself from raising his hand to gently stroke the back of her head.

Two warm bodies held each other closely in the dim moonlight, sharing a secret embrace.

But Cheng Xingye didn’t hold her for long.

After a while, he released her, pinched her soft cheek, and reached into the car for a paper bag, handing it to her.

Before opening it, Lu Qingyue spotted the logo—it was from a popular velvet cake shop.

Yet another sugar-coated bribe.

She kept her face calm, but inside she was overjoyed.

Feigning indifference, she took the bag, not missing the chance to smugly remark, “You sure know how to please people.”

Watching her proud little expression, Cheng Xingye resisted the urge to flick her forehead, ruffling her hair absentmindedly instead. “Alright, stop acting coy after getting what you want. You should head back now.”

She’d been out long enough; if she didn’t go home soon, her family would worry.

Lu Qingyue murmured in agreement, clutching the bag as she turned to leave. After a few steps, she looked back.

He was still standing by the car, so she waved at him before darting into the house.

Inside, Lu Jiachun and Xi Yu were still watching TV. Hearing the door, they turned and called, “You’re back?”

Lu Qingyue replied perfunctorily, then bounded up the stairs with her cake.

From her bedroom window, she could see Cheng Xingye’s black coupe still parked outside.

His tall, upright figure leaned against the car door, bathed in cold moonlight that traced the lines of his broad, slender frame.

She watched him for a while. Seeing that he had no intention of leaving, she pulled out her phone, puzzled, and sent him a message.

[Ludian]: Why haven’t you left yet?

In the silent, empty street, Cheng Xingye glanced down at his phone.

He wanted to leave, truly.

But he was uncomfortably tense.

How was he supposed to walk away?

……

Monday, 11:45 a.m. The classroom was filled with yawns.

After finishing the math quiz, Lu Qingyue fished out a physics practice sheet, preparing to use the last fifteen minutes to get in some more practice.

Zhou Tingting sprawled on the desk beside her, yanking at her hair in agony, tormented by the math problems.

Seeing her friend’s suffering, Lu Qingyue laughed, reached into her desk, and handed her a bottle of strawberry yogurt, whispering, “Pull yourself together! There are only fifteen minutes left before we have to hand it in.”

Zhou Tingting let out a wail, accepted the yogurt, and grumbled, “Where did you get this?”

Ever since this semester started, all sorts of snacks kept turning up in Lu Qingyue’s desk—sometimes chocolate, sometimes gummies, sometimes yogurt. A different treat for nearly every day of the week.

Hearing Zhou Tingting’s question, Hu Qiuyue turned around from the desk in front, gave a knowing glance at the strawberry yogurt, and declared, “Where else could it come from? Must be from our instructor brother!”

Zhou Tingting instantly understood.

She clutched the yogurt, torn between envy and jealousy, clutching her chest in mock despair. “Damn it, why don’t I have an instructor brother bringing me treats?”

Lu Qingyue just smiled, saying nothing, her head bent over the physics problems.

In early April, with the weather not yet fully warm, Lu Qingyue wore a pale sweater, sunlight streaming in as she sat by the window. Her fluffy bun made her look every bit the delicate little princess.

Hu Qiuyue watched her working intently for a few seconds, then couldn’t help but sigh, ruthlessly shattering Zhou Tingting’s dreams. “What are you thinking? She’s a breath of spring in April; you’re three treasures of the northeast. How can you compare?”

Zhou Tingting: “???”

Zhou Tingting: “……”

She could accept that Lu Qingyue was a breath of spring in April—but who on earth was calling her three treasures of the northeast?!