Chapter 64: You Will Have Your Moment to Cry

Lu Qingyue paused in the middle of opening the car door, turning her head back in astonishment.

Cheng Xingye had one hand on the steering wheel and turned to look at her as well.

His gaze was indifferent, his voice cold.

The entire demeanor radiated a moodiness—his eyelids drooping lazily, a careless air about him.

Suddenly, Lu Qingyue understood: he had come to see her today purely because of what happened at lunch!

Though, she had to admit, she’d been careless. Their photo had been posted on the forum, and if Cheng Xingye happened to browse, he’d certainly have seen it!

Yet, when confronted by him like this, Lu Qingyue’s heart skipped with unease, but she quickly regained her composure.

After all, she hadn’t really done anything with Xiao Qingrong—what was there to feel guilty about?

With that thought, she relaxed.

The ambient lighting in the car bathed her in a gentle blue glow.

Tilting her head mischievously, she smiled at him instead of answering, and asked, “Are you jealous?”

So this is what a man looks like when he’s jealous?

Looking at his cool, handsome face, Lu Qingyue suddenly felt a joy and pride welling up from deep within—a sense of being loved wholeheartedly, impossible to suppress.

Cheng Xingye snorted dismissively, turning his head away, his eyes barely glancing at the dashboard as he said in a flat tone, “Jealous of whom? The two of you together aren’t even as old as my shoe size. What’s there to be jealous about?”

Lu Qingyue: “...”

She couldn’t help but do the math. If she counted by nominal age, she was seventeen, Xiao Qingrong was eighteen—that made thirty-five.

As for Cheng Xingye’s shoe size...

She glanced down.

...Fine.

Not much harm, but the insult was immense.

While Lu Qingyue mulled over all this, in Cheng Xingye’s eyes, her silence seemed to confirm his suspicions.

He coolly unfastened his seatbelt, pushed open the door, and got out, radiating a distinct air of indifference.

Seeing him leave, Lu Qingyue hurriedly jumped out as well, running to catch up with him.

“Hey, what are you doing?” she called, stifling her amusement and, worried he’d walk faster, instinctively reached out to grab his hand.

He didn’t acknowledge her, nor did he slow his pace. But his fingers opened, slipping in between hers with an unspoken certainty, his knuckles pressing firmly against her palm, interlocking their fingers.

Lu Qingyue was momentarily stunned.

It was the first time she’d ever held hands with a man like this.

Warm palms pressed together, the moist touch meeting, an unspoken intimacy quietly blossoming.

Her ears grew hot, her heartbeat quickened.

Her thoughts grew muddled, yet obediently she let him lead her into the elevator.

As the doors closed, their reflections appeared in the mirrored panel.

Cheng Xingye pressed the button for the fifth floor, glanced at her in the reflection, and asked offhandedly, “So you’re really not going to explain?”

Lu Qingyue snapped back to reality, noticed their hands still entwined, and with that reassurance, smiled brightly, answering lightly, “There’s nothing to explain! We just happened to meet in the cafeteria and shared a table, that’s all.”

Cheng Xingye turned to look at her, his expression still detached—it wasn’t clear if he believed her, but he was definitely still annoyed.

Lu Qingyue met his gaze without flinching, curiosity brimming for this man.

Who would have thought someone usually so composed could be so petulant and proud when jealous?

Taking advantage of his indulgence, she swayed their joined hands and deliberately leaned closer to this proud young master, suppressing a laugh as she asked again, “Cheng Xingye? Are you jealous?”

Cheng Xingye thought this kid was getting bolder—she didn’t even call him ‘brother’ anymore, just his name.

He didn’t answer, letting her snuggle up to him, his eyes fixed ahead, refusing to look at her.

“No.”

The word came out stiff and unyielding.

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye—seeing that the little rascal still didn’t seem to care, the irritation in his heart surged again.

Annoyed, he pried his hand from hers, shoved both hands into his pockets, and adopted a distant air, feigning nonchalance as he said, “What did I tell you before? If you can’t be steadfast, don’t mess with me.”

Lu Qingyue blinked, tilting her head up to look at his jealous, oblivious face, her lips barely able to contain a smile.

She was secretly delighted, not at all bothered that he’d let go. She put her hands behind her back, lifted her chin, and stood before him.

“Cheng Xingye, if you admit you’re jealous, I’ll coax you properly,” she teased.

Just then, the elevator doors opened. Cheng Xingye pressed her shoulder, turned her around, and nudged her out.

As they walked, he asked offhandedly, “So how do you plan to coax me?”

Wasn’t that an admission of jealousy?

Lu Qingyue pondered for a few seconds, a teasing smile on her lips, as she reached to unzip her school jacket.

Cheng Xingye watched, heart skipping a beat as she revealed a fitted T-shirt underneath, outlining her graceful figure.

“...Don’t give me that indecent nonsense,” he warned.

She was still so young! How could her mind be so full of mischief?

It wasn’t that he disliked her intimacy, but she was simply too young. Some thoughts, as soon as they surfaced, felt criminal even to him.

But Lu Qingyue just grinned mischievously, pulled a keychain from her pocket, and opened her palm to show him.

“What were you thinking?! It’s a keychain!”

On the small keychain hung an adorably ugly lop-eared bunny.

It had clearly been with her for a while—the fur was even scuffed in places.

It looked shabby and ugly, showing no sign of being a heartfelt gift.

Normally, if Cheng Xingye received a present like this, he’d probably toss it in a box, never to see daylight again.

But he stared at the little keychain for a few seconds, then, helplessly, picked it up, hooked it into his palm, and slipped it into his pocket as if it were nothing.

Lu Qingyue noticed his indifference despite accepting the gift, tilted her head, and asked uncertainly, “You seem a bit… disappointed?”

Cheng Xingye cleared his throat. “Not at all.”

Though the keychain was ugly, coming from her pocket, it had a quirky, adorable charm.

It was actually pretty cute, he thought, his standards obviously double.

Lu Qingyue didn’t quite believe him, suspecting that his earlier offhand remark about indecency was his true thought.

But with people coming and going in the mall, she was too embarrassed to press further. Instead, she poked his arm and asked sweetly, “So, did I manage to coax you?”

Cheng Xingye didn’t look at her, playing hard to please. “No.”

Did she really think a used keychain was enough for him? He wasn’t that easy to win over.

Lu Qingyue assumed he disliked that it was secondhand, so she offered sincerely, “Then give it back. I’ll buy you a new one.”

But the man just slipped his hand into his pocket, quickened his pace, and shielded the keychain from her grasp.

“Not giving it back.”

Lu Qingyue hurried after him. “Why are you so hard to please?”

She shook his arm, then suddenly had an idea.

“How about I just go with the indecent approach after all?”

Cheng Xingye: “...”

This time he finally stopped, turning to look down at her with a warning in his eyes.

The little rascal, oblivious to the danger, smiled and pretended to reach for her jacket zipper again, trying to tempt him with her looks.

Cheng Xingye curled his lips.

Here she goes again.

Did she think he was that easy to manipulate?

His eyes narrowed dangerously as he stared at her, and finally he drawled, “You’d better watch it. In two years, you’ll be the one crying.”

But Lu Qingyue wasn’t fazed at all—her eyes sparkled with excitement.

“Wow—really? I’m already looking forward to it…”

Cheng Xingye: “...Just stop it.”