Chapter 79: I Have Nothing to Do With Him Anymore

Lu Qingyue's tears fell so suddenly, catching Lu Yi off guard even though he had braced himself for this moment. It made his chest ache with a stifling sorrow.

The truth was, Lu Qingyue was not one to cry easily.

Since elementary school, Lu Yi had scarcely seen her shed tears.

She was like a perpetually radiant little sun; even darkness seemed to retreat in her presence.

But now, she sat alone amidst the shadows, painstakingly piecing together the fragments of her broken spirit.

Lu Yi wanted to reach out and pat her head.

But then he suddenly remembered—it seemed he hadn't done that in a very long time.

After more than a decade of sibling companionship, their daily interactions had mostly been filled with trivial bickering.

At this moment, it struck him: the little tagalong who used to follow him everywhere in a daze was already seventeen, soon to be an adult.

Were the things he’d scolded her for before perhaps too harsh?

As these thoughts crossed his mind, he still lifted his hand and gently ruffled her hair, asking in a low voice,

"Are you still feeling very sad?"

Lu Qingyue pressed her lips together, feeling a bit embarrassed, but she still faced her feelings honestly.

"Mm," she replied.

Though she kept herself busy every day, trying to fill her time so she wouldn't dwell on things, the sour, aching sadness remained buried deep inside her—a ticking time bomb. She never knew when it would explode, or for what reason.

Like now, when Lu Yi's seemingly casual concern brought a sudden collapse inside her heart.

Seeing her so downcast, her once bright and lively eyes now dulled, Lu Yi found himself resenting Cheng Xingye all the more.

He pressed his nose as he pondered for a few seconds, then asked seriously,

"How about this—do you want your brother to go and break one of his legs for you?"

Lu Qingyue was startled. "Huh?"

After everything that had happened, she hadn't truly blamed Cheng Xingye.

He had his own circumstances; he didn't want to owe anyone, but he seemed powerless to change anything.

Whether or not Ye Zixuan was his one true love, as long as that debt of gratitude remained, he and his parents would never be able to say no to the Ye family.

So the best outcome was for her to withdraw on her own, each of them moving on with their lives.

Hearing Lu Yi say this, her heart skipped a beat, afraid he might actually go through with it, so she quickly stopped him.

"Let it go. He's about to get married. If you cripple his leg, what if he ends up with no heirs?"

Lu Yi: "???"

What did breaking that guy's leg have to do with leaving him childless?

Lu Yi paused for a few seconds, then said uncertainly,

"…I wasn't talking about that leg."

Lu Qingyue: "…Huh?"

She suddenly realized that when Lu Yi said "leg," he really did mean it literally.

The previously stifling, sorrowful atmosphere evaporated at once, replaced by a wave of awkward silence.

Lu Yi looked down at her, at a loss for words.

After a while, he pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation and said,

"If you can still make jokes like that, maybe you’re not as miserable as you think?"

Lu Qingyue looked away sheepishly.

"I really am upset. Thinking like that is just a habit."

She couldn't really be blamed. Her mind was filled with all sorts of knowledge, half of which was not exactly proper.

But what did her thoughts have to do with her, Lu Qingyue, anyway?!

Lu Yi let out a laugh.

He suddenly felt that girls like her were truly rare and precious.

Who wouldn't like a smart, quick-witted girl with such a lively mind?

No wonder that mutt Cheng Xingye had foolishly tried to pursue her.

He silently cursed Cheng Xingye to himself, then patted her head and offered earnest advice.

"Focus on your studies, get into a good university, find a boyfriend better than him, and then walk past him one day just to make him regret it."

Lu Qingyue let out a little noise of protest.

"But what if, by then, he already has kids? Wouldn't that just make me look even more pathetic?"

Given the age difference—he was six years older than her—he was on track to get married soon, and might even be holding a child next year...

Lu Yi glanced at her. "Then what do you want to do?"

Lu Qingyue imagined herself still single after graduation, unable to find a boyfriend, while Cheng Xingye had two children, a wife on one arm and kids on the other, bumping into her on the street. The thought made her chest tighten.

After pondering seriously for a moment, she said with sudden gravity,

"Maybe you should just go and break that leg of his after all."

Lu Yi: "…"

…

Time passed quickly.

A little over a week after their bizarre conversation, the new school term began.

Lu Qingyue hadn’t left the house during that time, quietly preparing for the college entrance exam as if she were cut off from the world.

She still zoned out from time to time, but for the most part, she was back to her old self—bantering with Lu Yi at the dinner table, joking and laughing.

Until one day, Lu Yi was heading out to see his girlfriend, and Xi Yu casually remarked,

"You’ve been dating for so long—you might as well go get your marriage license."

Lu Yi snorted dismissively, "Who gets married before finishing college?"

As soon as he said it, both of them fell silent.

Lu Qingyue, sitting on the sofa peeling an orange, paused for a split second but didn’t look up.

Because of Lu Yi’s words, she was suddenly reminded of the name she’d been trying so hard to bury deep in her heart.

The one person she longed to possess with just a glance—he was probably smiling now, choosing wedding rings with his fiancée, or helping her try on wedding dresses.

Lu Qingyue sniffled softly, slowly peeled her orange, and put a slice in her mouth.

This year’s oranges weren’t sweet at all. The first bite was all sour juice, flooding her mouth and trickling straight to her heart.

Her nose stung, her eyes stung. Lu Qingyue lowered her head, her lips curving into a self-mocking smile where no one could see.

How I envy him for letting go so quickly. If only I weren't so foolish, still thinking about him.

…

On the first day of term, Xi Yu drove her to school.

Jiangda High School required seniors to board at school, so Lu Qingyue packed a small suitcase and dragged it out herself, loading it into the trunk.

The plane tree branches unfurled in the morning sunlight, leaves interlacing and overlapping, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

After stowing her suitcase, Lu Qingyue got into the passenger seat.

As she turned to fasten her seatbelt, she suddenly noticed a familiar black sedan parked by the curb.

The windows were tinted so dark she couldn't see inside, but Lu Qingyue recognized the owner instantly.

The sadness was still there, but she had already packed it away, hiding it in the deepest corner of her heart.

So she calmly withdrew her gaze and buckled her seatbelt.

…

The classroom was in chaos on the first day back.

As soon as Lu Qingyue walked in the front door, Zhou Tingting waved frantically at her.

"Lu Qingyue! Let me copy your homework!"

The moment the class’s top student arrived, several other students who hadn’t finished their assignments flocked over, hoping to copy from her.

Lu Qingyue didn’t mind. She set her backpack on the desk, unzipped it, and pulled out all her homework.

In the blink of an eye, her homework was divided up and snatched away. Before she could even react, her hands were empty.

Lu Qingyue: "...Six."

Zhou Tingting scribbled furiously beside her, sighing,

"You actually finished all of it?! Didn’t you go out with your military-instructor brother over the break?"

Lu Qingyue: "..."

Some things are better left unmentioned…

She gazed at the back of Zhou Tingting’s head, lowered her voice, and said,

"We’re not together anymore."

Zhou Tingting was confused. "Huh?"

A few seconds later, her pen paused as realization hit her.

"Wait—why? Who ended it?!"

Lu Qingyue took out her textbooks, stacking them neatly on her desk, and answered calmly, "I did."

Zhou Tingting was utterly stunned!

But seeing how composed Lu Qingyue looked, she couldn’t figure out what on earth had happened between them.

She forgot about copying homework and asked in a low, incredulous voice,

"You dumped him?"

Lu Qingyue felt that, really, it wasn’t about who dumped whom.

But her pride wouldn’t let her be seen as the loser, so she snorted,

"Something like that."

Zhou Tingting was even more bewildered. She stared at Lu Qingyue’s indifferent little face, processing for a long while, then suddenly realized her best friend was really something!

Such a handsome guy—and she just let him go?

After thinking it over, Zhou Tingting’s face grew solemn and she said seriously, with mock sympathy,

"That poor military-instructor brother—so handsome and still got dumped! Do you have his contact info? Maybe I could comfort him?"

Lu Qingyue rolled her eyes. "Please, as if I can’t tell what you’re up to!"

Zhou Tingting grinned mischievously.

"Hey, waste not, want not, right?"

Lu Qingyue wasn’t in the mood for jokes. She pressed her lips together and replied breezily,

"Forget it. He’s getting married."

Zhou Tingting: "???"

Zhou Tingting: "……"

…

Senior year began in a flurry—there wasn’t even enough time in a day, let alone a minute, to get everything done.

Dorm life was a bit strange at first, but she quickly adapted.

Her drawer no longer held the little snacks someone used to give her, but now and then a love letter would appear there instead. On rainy days, Xi Yu and Lu Jiachen would take turns picking her up, but that familiar tall figure was no longer waiting at the school gates.

Life was changing in every way, and so were the people around her. The top students moved up to the honors class; those who struggled fell behind. By the time the dust settled, more than half the first month had already slipped by.