Chapter 99: I Must Repay This with My Whole Self

A scorching warmth settled over her lower back, and Lu Qingyue could not help flinching, nearly melting entirely into his arms.

But she quickly recovered her wits, slapped his hand away in displeasure, and reprimanded him with righteous indignation.

“How shameless can you be? Weren’t you treating Sister Zixuan with utmost respect before, practically worshipping her like your lifesaving benefactor? Now that you know the one who saved you was me, why are you showing not a shred of courtesy or respect?”

Cheng Xingye calmly withdrew his hand, his fingertips lingering with deliberate leisure. He raised a brow at her.

“Then what would count as courteous and respectful enough?”

Lu Qingyue had only been making things difficult for him; naturally, she had no answer in mind.

But then she recalled what Lu Yi had told her yesterday: Cheng Xingye’s family owned a publicly listed company. So she figured he might really be the kind to show gratitude with money. Thinking this, she tilted her head and cast a doubtful glance toward the back seat.

Yet the back seat was empty. Not to mention a fortune, there was not even a single coin.

She was still puzzled when Cheng Xingye leaned over as well, following her gaze toward the back.

“What are you looking for?”

Lu Qingyue did not hide it. She said honestly, “Money. I thought you’d express your gratitude to your lifesaver with money.”

Cheng Xingye: “?”

Silently exasperated, he looked away, lifted a hand to cup her cheek, and pushed the little money-grubber’s head back around before speaking with slow, almost gentle patience.

“A lifesaving favor isn’t worth a mere pittance.”

Lu Qingyue thought: A pittance? That would be several billion.

Her wish to witness something grand had come to nothing. She gave a meek “oh,” and was about to climb off him when he suddenly spoke again.

“I’d have to repay it with my whole person.”

Lu Qingyue froze halfway through climbing down. Realizing what he meant, she looked up sharply—only to meet his deep, dark gaze head-on.

In that instant, her heartbeat betrayed her again and raced unhelpfully. Before her mind could even catch up, her mouth had already blurted out on instinct,

“No need, no need. You’ve saved me too, so we’re even.”

But Cheng Xingye was unmoved. “We’re not even.”

As he spoke, he straightened a little, as though about to lean in and kiss her again.

Lu Qingyue’s heart jumped. She politely refused at once.

“Don’t rush to repay me yet. I need to think it over a little more.”

Cheng Xingye paused, then lazily lifted his eyes to her.

“Think over what?”

Lu Qingyue had plenty to think about. Seeing him ask, she immediately began counting on her fingers and reciting the list to him.

“Everything has to be considered, okay? Background, looks, figure, and so on...”

As she spoke, her voice gradually grew smaller, while her gaze drifted downward.

Cheng Xingye drove a sports sedan. Though the seat had been adjusted, with his height of over six feet he still sat inside with his long legs somewhat cramped.

Ever since their first meeting, she had never forgotten those long legs. And the flag she had once planted—that in this lifetime she absolutely had to get a chance to touch him once—was still vivid in her memory.

At that thought, Lu Qingyue’s courage swelled. She asked eagerly, trying to negotiate,

“So can I touch your legs first?”

...

The daylight stretched on. Traffic flowed along the road in a blur, while the parked cars by the curb caught fleeting ribbons of light and shadow.

Lu Qingyue was suddenly tossed back into the passenger seat with a thump, her backside even smarting from the fall.

Her attempt to take advantage of him had failed. In the blink of an eye, she had become the type who strikes first with a false accusation, and she immediately bit back in mock outrage.

“Why are you so stingy?!”

The stingy man withdrew his gaze, rested a calm hand on the steering wheel, and without even glancing at her, refused with an air of upright virtue.

“It’s not stinginess. It’s just inconvenient. I’m rather old-fashioned. If anyone’s going to touch me, it can only be my girlfriend.”

Lu Qingyue immediately caught the key point.

“So a girlfriend can touch you?”

Cheng Xingye’s fingertips curled slightly around the wheel. In an even tone, he answered, “Mm.”

But after he had hinted so clearly, the person beside him fell silent.

Cheng Xingye turned his head to look at her.

The girl wore a conflicted expression, sitting in the passenger seat and twisting her fingers together, looking as though she were tempted despite herself.

A smile tugged at Cheng Xingye’s lips. He asked again, carefully and casually,

“Want to touch?”

Lu Qingyue answered without hesitation, “Yes.”

“Then do you want to date?”

He coaxed her gently.

But Lu Qingyue did not take the bait. She glanced at him warily.

So this was what he had been waiting for.

She could clearly see the faint upward curve at the corner of his mouth, and she did not let herself be lured into the trap. She declined decisively.

“No.”

What kind of person pursues a girl so perfunctorily?

They always said men stopped cherishing things once they got them. If she started dating him so casually, then when they eventually broke up, he probably would not feel any regret or nostalgia at all.

Lu Qingyue’s thoughts were cautious and far-reaching; she had even imagined the scene of their breakup someday in the future.

If Cheng Xingye knew what was going through her mind at that moment, he would probably have been angered to death on the spot.

Fortunately, he did not have mind-reading powers. Seeing the forlorn, wistful look on the girl’s face, he even reflected on whether he had been pushing too hard and made her unhappy.

He let out a long sigh and stopped teasing her, responding with helpless resignation and a hint of self-mockery.

“Fine.”

At the very least, she was not resisting his closeness now, and given the old bond between them from childhood, he was certainly different from everyone else in her eyes.

Only then did the restlessness in Cheng Xingye’s heart ease a little.

...

The two of them went to the mall to eat.

When they came out of the restaurant, they happened upon a stand selling Italian ice cream by the entrance.

Lu Qingyue wanted some and stood in front of the signboard choosing a flavor, when she suddenly heard a strong voice from behind.

“Brother Ye?”

Zhang Mao had spotted the most famous campus heartthrob in their college buying ice cream from far away, and called out to him loudly at once.

Cheng Xingye and Lu Qingyue both turned around almost simultaneously.

Zhang Mao ran over, only then noticing that there was also a pretty girl beside him.

He recognized her immediately. He had seen this girl at the scene where the graduation photos were being taken. Back then, Cheng Xingye, that iron tree that had not bloomed even once in a hundred years, had even admitted personally that he was pursuing her.

By now, nearly two months had passed since the graduation photo day, so Zhang Mao naturally assumed the two of them must already be together. He blurted out instinctively,

“Sister-in-law, hello.”