Chapter 91: Your Little Girl Is Looking for You

Because the matter weighed on her heart and she could not find any way to resolve it, Lu Qingyue simply stopped thinking about it and decided to leave everything to the natural course of events.

These days, Cheng Xingye also seemed to be very busy. They were graduating this year, and after the defense they still had to attend commencement, then complete the procedures for leaving campus.

Watching Lu Yi rush about with hardly a moment to spare, Lu Qingyue imagined the same schedule for Cheng Xingye and felt that he was probably just as occupied. So she consciously did not disturb him and stayed home to tidy up her entire bedroom.

After an entire year of senior year, her room had become a mess fit for a kennel, with papers and textbooks stuffed everywhere.

Taking advantage of the holiday, Lu Qingyue carried down all her books and test papers, sorted them out, and planned to hand them over to the cleaning auntie as scrap to sell when she came.

Once she was done, half the bookshelf was emptied, and the various little trinkets she had pushed into the corners were finally exposed to the light.

The uppermost shelf of the bookcase had never been properly organized, simply because she could not quite reach it in daily life.

Since she was cleaning this time anyway, she fetched a chair, stood on it, and took everything out to wipe it clean.

Standing on the chair, she groped around and pulled out from inside a scented eraser she had bought in elementary school, lip balm she had secretly purchased in middle school, and a pair of headphones that had long since fallen out of use.

Just as she was about to take everything down, she accidentally knocked against something, and with a sharp clack it fell to the floor.

Lu Qingyue hurriedly jumped down from the chair and picked it up. It was a lovely silver bracelet.

Delicate and petite, it looked old enough to have acquired a faint oxidized patina, its former luster long faded.

Lu Qingyue ran to the bathroom and scrubbed it with toothpaste and water.

After the rinse washed away the foam, the bracelet recovered a little of its shine, and the two tiny charms hanging from it were also cleaned. The letters engraved on them could just barely be made out: one was L, the other Q.

Lu Qingyue guessed it must have been the initials of her name, LQY, though the Y must have come off at some point.

She did not mind being left with one charm missing. It was enough that it was hers.

So, after wiping away the water droplets, she adjusted the size and casually put it on her wrist.

...

On June 25, the college entrance exam results were released. Lu Qingyue sat in front of the computer early to check her score. When the final result came out, it startled the entire family.

She had scored the highest she ever had in her life: 671 points.

That score exceeded the admission cutoff for the previous year’s top two universities in their province, and it could almost be said that she was free to choose from universities all over the country.

After the results were announced, First Affiliated High School immediately held a guidance meeting for filling out college applications.

After the meeting, Lu Qingyue was left behind by her homeroom teacher for a long talk. The gist was to ask whether she had any intention of making a run for one of the top two universities.

Lu Qingyue said she wanted to think about it a little more. Although her score meant she could choose any university in the country, with this score, if she went to a top two university, she might only be able to pick somewhat unpopular majors.

After talking with the teacher, she left through the school gate and took a shortcut along the path behind the playground. By chance, she passed Jiang University’s basketball court.

June had brought graduation season to Jiang University.

Every college was busy taking graduation photos and holding commencement ceremonies.

On the vast basketball court and the field behind it, there were graduates everywhere in caps and gowns, posing for pictures.

Lu Qingyue looked around for quite a while but did not see Lu Yi, nor Cheng Xingye. Instead, she saw Chen Shujie running in and out, busy taking photos with several close friends.

Lu Qingyue waited nearby for a while. Only after he had finished taking photos did she finally squeeze over and catch hold of him.

“Brother Shujie, where’s my brother?”

Chen Shujie turned around and froze.

“Dot?”

Ever since word had spread that Cheng Xingye might be getting married, he and Lou Zhao had not seen the girl for a long time. Seeing her now, they were both surprised and delighted, and also deeply moved.

As expected of the person his Wild Brother had set his sights on—the little girl looked even more delicate and pretty than before after not being seen for so long.

No wonder Cheng Xingye had clung to her shamelessly like a dog. With such a beautiful girl, who could possibly resist?

He looked around and did not see Lu Yi anywhere, then said in confusion, “Your brother doesn’t seem to be here. He should be at the lab building. Wait here for a bit, he should be back soon!”

Lu Qingyue let out an oh and awkwardly touched the tip of her ear.

“And Cheng Xingye?”

Chen Shujie saw that she was looking for Cheng Xingye, and, feeling guilty, glanced around before lowering his voice to ask, “You and Wild Brother... haven’t broken up, right?”

Lu Qingyue did not catch on and subconsciously asked, “What?”

Chen Shujie looked left and right again to make sure Lu Yi was not around, then said quietly, “Didn’t you and Wild Brother have a falling-out? This whole year, whenever your brother and he ran into each other in the dorm, we were all afraid the building was going to turn into a haunted house.”

Lu Qingyue was stunned. Suddenly, she felt that with Lu Yi’s personality, it would not be impossible for him and Cheng Xingye to end up with a blood feud.

She pressed her lips together and was about to say something when Chen Shujie suddenly waved vigorously behind her.

“Wild Brother! Your girl is looking for you!”

Lu Qingyue: ???

Lu Qingyue: ...

Who was his girl?!

Probably because Cheng Xingye’s name was so famous, the moment Chen Shujie called out, the surrounding gazes turned toward her all at once, as if they had substance.

Lu Qingyue instantly became the center of attention. Curious, gossipy looks landed on her from all directions, making her uncomfortable and embarrassed, almost wanting to hide.

She stood there, at a loss while being scrutinized, when suddenly a hand closed around her wrist.

The grip was just right, loosely holding her slender wrist without allowing her to break free.

Then a familiar masculine scent with a hint of sea salt drifted from behind her. She was tugged around, and a tall body shielded her from most of the eyes behind her.

What came into view was a well-made white shirt, its collar neatly fastened, with a dark academic gown layered over it.

His build was broad and solid, and even the oversized gown looked crisp and sharply tailored on him. His usual cool detachment was touched with a more refined, restrained elegance.

Cheng Xingye had not expected her to come here. His expression held surprise, along with unconcealed delight.

His hand on her wrist slid slightly lower, brushing the tender flesh of her palm as he asked in a low voice, “Why did you come here?”

Lu Qingyue’s hand was still held by him, and the tips of her ears grew a little warm.

She did not want to seem as though she had rushed here because she could not hold back any longer, so she pressed her lips together and casually made up an excuse.

“I came back to school for a meeting, and happened to be passing by... to see my brother.”

She said the last two words rather stiffly, and her gaze also flickered away unconsciously.

Cheng Xingye saw at once that she truly was not good at lying. He could see through her with one glance, yet he could not bear to expose her.

Suppressing a laugh, he answered with an indulgent hum and asked smoothly, “Then stay here for a bit? I’ll take you to eat later.”

Lu Qingyue immediately grew wary of his kindness and said at once, “No need. I’m going back soon.”

She still had not figured out where their relationship was headed. If he asked her about it later, she would not know how to answer. So her first instinct was to stall as long as possible and talk after she had made up her mind.

But Cheng Xingye remained unmoved, still not letting go of her hand.

He gave her a lazy sideways glance and asked calmly, “Your brother hasn’t arrived yet. Didn’t you come to see him?”

Lu Qingyue instantly felt as though she had dug a pit for herself.

Like a child caught in a lie, her scalp tingled, and in guilty panic her eyes darted everywhere. In the end, she could only struggle to patch things up for herself.

“Oh... then I’ll wait a little longer for him...”

The more guilty she felt, the more her tail end of speech floated upward, sounding both timid and soft, making it hard for anyone to bear teasing her further.

Cheng Xingye pressed his lips together, restraining a smile.

Just as he was about to say something else, someone nearby called for him to come over and take a photo with their advisor.

Cheng Xingye answered, his palm loosening as he let go of her wrist. Before leaving, he still could not help reminding her, “Then don’t go far. Wait right here.”

Lu Qingyue lifted her small face. “Okay.”

Cheng Xingye then touched her head once more before turning and walking toward the crowd gathering for the photo.