Lu Ze spent the entire day with Liang Xiao outside. By evening, he couldn’t stay at his place any longer. After some hesitation, he decided not to return to school and went straight home.
Xu Jingjing was surprised to see him. “What a rare guest! Why did you suddenly come home?”
Lu Ze smiled. “I figured you must miss me, so I came to visit.”
Xu Jingjing glanced behind him. “You’re alone?”
“Who else would be here?”
“What about that handsome guy?” Xu Jingjing teased. “Why didn’t you bring him along?”
Lu Ze sighed helplessly. “For the sake of family harmony, of course. If you keep calling him ‘handsome guy,’ aren’t you afraid the ‘old handsome guy’ will get jealous?”
Xu Jingjing laughed uncontrollably. Lu Ze walked closer and said, “Stop laughing, boss. You’re getting wrinkles.”
Xu Jingjing lightly slapped his back. “You’re so annoying… The ‘old handsome guy’ isn’t home, so there’s no chance for jealousy.”
“What’s he up to now?” Lu Ze asked.
“He went riding with his motorcycle buddies.”
“Then I came back at just the right time.”
“Exactly! Come here and let me give you a kiss.”
After saying that, Xu Jingjing wrapped her arms around Lu Ze’s neck. Lu Ze reluctantly bent down, and she kissed him on the cheek. “Surprisingly, you don’t smell bad!”
“Come on,” Lu Ze laughed. “I’ve never smelled bad, okay?”
“Have you eaten dinner?” Xu Jingjing asked.
“I have, with Xiao-ge.”
“Then have some fruit salad,” she suggested.
Lu Ze looked at her knowingly. “Just admit you want to eat it.”
“Isn’t that what I’m doing?” she replied.
Clicking his tongue in exasperation, Lu Ze headed to the kitchen to make fruit salad for Boss Xu, who always ordered him around when the ‘old handsome guy’ wasn’t home.
While watching him from the side, Xu Jingjing asked, “Baby, how did you meet that handsome guy?”
The mention of Liang Xiao calling him “baby” suddenly came to Lu Ze’s mind, and his ears turned slightly red. He quickly said, “Next time, don’t call me ‘baby’ in front of others.”
Xu Jingjing grinned mischievously. “You won’t let me call him Xiao Xiao either, and now I can’t call you baby? Are you rebelling?”
“We’re adults now,” Lu Ze joked with a smile. “It’s embarrassing.”
“If I can call you that, why can’t I call him Xiao Xiao? It sounds so affectionate,” she teased.
Lu Ze burst out laughing and couldn’t stop. “Mom… Please stop calling him that! Xiao Xiao sounds like a girl’s name—it doesn’t suit his vibe at all.”
“Oh? But calling him Xiao-ge suits him? Why not just call him Brother Liang instead?”
Sighing loudly, Lu Ze said, “Fine! Call him whatever you want in private, but please don’t do it in front of him.”
“Got it—Baby, do you have something on your mind?”
Lu Ze glanced at her, surprised. “You can tell?”
“Who am I?”
The smile on Lu Ze’s face faded slightly. “Yeah, there’s something.”
“Tell me about it. Is it a relationship issue? Something to do with Jing Jing?”
“No,” Lu Ze replied. “Don’t bring her up again. That’s in the past. It’s… I have a friend who likes me, but I don’t like him back. Now it seems like we can’t even stay friends.”
Xu Jingjing paused for a moment before cautiously asking, “Which friend? Someone from college?”
“No,” Lu Ze said, lowering his gaze. “Don’t ask who it is. I just want advice.”
He handed her the fruit salad he’d prepared, and Xu Jingjing fed him a bite. “Baby, there’s no solution to this kind of thing. If you don’t like him, you can’t stay friends—it’s too cruel.”
“I know,” Lu Ze said, finding the salad tasteless in his mouth. “It’s just a pity. I genuinely liked him as a friend.”
Xu Jingjing gently patted his head and said softly, “Leave it to time. Maybe one day, when your friend no longer likes you, you two can be friends again. Friendships come and go, and haven’t you made new friends recently?”
Thinking of Liang Xiao, Lu Ze smiled faintly. “Boss Xu, how about giving me a little extra pay this month? I’m running short.”
Xu Jingjing raised an eyebrow. “You don’t even have a girlfriend anymore—how are you still running out of money?”
Lu Ze sighed. His new friend was proving to be expensive.
——————
Lu Ze avoided everyone over the weekend but returned to school on Monday morning.
Passing by the basketball court, he thought about playing but realized it wouldn’t be fun without Jiang Yijie to team up with him.
Back in the dormitory, only Sun Zhuoyu was there. “Yo! You’re finally back! Ever since you got yourself a boyfriend, you’ve been staying out all night—I haven’t seen you for days!”
Lu Ze pulled out a chair and sat down. “Have you won her over yet?”
Sun Zhuoyu immediately straightened up. “I’m planning to confess this weekend officially. Where do you think would be a good spot?”
“Nothing special—just somewhere outside school like a restaurant or amusement park. If she wants to say yes, she’ll agree as long as you’re not confessing in a bathroom.”
“Damn…” Sun Zhuoyu laughed. “Even if I lost my mind, I wouldn’t confess in a bathroom! Should I prepare anything else? Flowers? Gifts?”
“Your sincerity matters most,” Lu Ze said. “Flowers and a gift are enough. Dress sharply—your senior has a good personality; I think she’ll agree this time. But don’t make it too grand—if she says no, don’t put her in an awkward spot.”
“Come on, after learning from you for so long, I’ve got this under control.”
For the next few days, Sun Zhuoyu busied himself with his confession plans while Lu Ze and Mao Xin occasionally offered suggestions.
“Why not invite Jie-ge too?” Sun Zhuoyu suggested. “The more people, the more fun—it’ll make three pairs instead of five people awkwardly splitting up for activities.”
“He…” Lu Ze hesitated for a moment before replying, “He’s been really busy lately; probably won’t have time.”
“Then just invite your boyfriend. Is he busy on Saturday too?”
“I’ll ask him,” Lu Ze replied.
He sent a message to Liang Xiao: [Xiao-ge, are you busy?]
Liang Xiao responded: [Just got off work.]
Sometimes, Lu Ze would send random messages to Liang Xiao, but he always found Liang Xiao a bit distant when it came to texting. He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination.
Lu Ze: [Are you free this Saturday? My roommate is planning to confess at the amusement park, but we’re one person short, so he wants me to invite you.]
Liang Xiao: [I have a client appointment this weekend, but the time isn’t confirmed yet. I’ll check.]
Lu Ze: [Alright.]
While waiting for Liang Xiao’s reply, Lu Ze opened his social media feed. The moment he refreshed it, he noticed that Jiang Yijie, who had been inactive for days, had posted something—a photo of beef noodles from the third cafeteria with no caption.
A sudden wave of emotion overwhelmed Lu Ze. Feeling stifled, he clicked on Jiang Yijie’s profile and sent him a message: [Jie-ge.]
Jiang Yijie replied instantly: [Yeah?]
Just as Lu Ze was hesitating about what to say, Jiang Yijie took the initiative: [I’m sorry. I know you’re not gay and don’t like guys. Let’s not contact each other for now.]
Staring at the message, Lu Ze felt his eyes sting. He replied: [You don’t need to apologize; you’ve done nothing wrong.]
Jiang Yijie: [The problem is with me. I know you value friendship deeply, but my feelings for you are different. So don’t pity me or anything—let’s just stop talking for now; otherwise, I can’t control myself.]
Lu Ze didn’t reply again and simply stared at their chat in a daze. Two notifications broke his trance. He checked them:
Liang Xiao: [I’m free on Saturday.]
Liang Xiao: [Is it an all-day thing?]
In that moment, guilt surged through Lu Ze because he realized that if he had to like a guy, it wouldn’t be Jiang Yijie… but Liang Xiao might be an exception.
When it came to Liang Xiao, he didn’t seem to feel any resistance at all.
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