Volume 10: Pro and Con
Chapter 21: The Siege
“It’s all your fault, you made everyone laugh at me!”
Chen Jianing walked angrily down the road, looking like she was about to cry. At times like these, arguing with a girl about right and wrong was actually meaningless. Lu Li didn’t argue back, just kept up with Chen Jianing. “Do you still have class?”
“Stay away from me!” Chen Jianing said loudly. “I hate you!”
Lu Li slowed his pace a little. He thought maybe the girl was on her period. “If you’re not feeling well, you should go back and rest today.”
“Keep your distance from me! Don’t walk so close!”
Lu Li’s patience was also wearing thin. “Chen Jianing, did I offend you again?” In an argument with a woman, the word “again” was a taboo word that added fuel to the fire. Hearing the hardness in Lu Li’s tone, fear and grievance welled up in Chen Jianing’s heart all at once. “I just hate you!”
Lu Li took a deep breath. He had been tormented by this girl’s awkwardness for some time in his past life. Her greatest skill was bottling up her frustrations without saying a word, getting angry at herself, hurting both herself and her loved ones. Counting them up: couldn’t speak well, loved to be sarcastic, reclusive and withdrawn, had a difficult personality, refused to communicate—this girl was practically a walking collection of problems. Lu Li felt that if it weren’t for him, most people who encountered her would probably just wash their hands of her.
“I’m sorry, my tone wasn’t very good just now. Did you run into some trouble?” There’s always a reason for abnormal behavior. The Little Tiger had been chatting and laughing happily with him yesterday, but today she suddenly had a cold face… He remembered that the Little Tiger’s abnormality had started after she saw a certain message yesterday.
“…” No words. If she were willing to communicate frankly, she wouldn’t be that Chen Jianing. There’s no harm without comparison. Lu Li thought of his Yibao. She said whatever was on her mind, loved when she loved, hated when she hated, and when she felt wronged, she would tell Lu Li and ask for help. Lu Li thought, sometimes someone really needed to come and straighten out this Annoying Ghost.
Lu Li said, “Did you find a boyfriend?”
“?”
“If the message yesterday was from that one-meter-eighty-tall boyfriend you mentioned before, then I really should keep my distance from you.” Lu Li was, of course, deliberately provoking her. Who else besides him would be willing to keep this awkward ghost company? “You were all smiles yesterday, but today you’re a completely different person. This is the only reason I can think of.”
Although Chen Jianing was clumsy with her words, her mind wasn’t too slow. She could hear the dissatisfaction in Lu Li’s words. Lu Li was unhappy, and she became even angrier. “Yes! He told me not to get too close to other boys! Stay away from me in the future! And don’t contact me again except for work arrangements!”
You damn girl, you’re still living in my house. You can’t get any closer! Lu Li thought. This Annoying Ghost really didn’t think before she spoke. The more stubborn she was, the more Lu Li wanted to see her stumble.
“Mm. Okay. I get it.” Lu Li deliberately put on a cold face, turned around without a word, and walked away. He didn’t like using the cold shoulder treatment on those close to him, but this was the only way to teach this damn girl a lesson right now.
Chen Jianing’s voice was trembling. “Where are you going?”
“Keeping my distance from you. Aren’t you going to find your boyfriend?” Lu Li glanced back, no smile on his face. “You’re backing out already?” If the Little Tiger were willing to soften up a bit, Lu Li would take the opportunity to apologize to her. He didn’t really want to make the little girl sad.
“Oh! Then you can go!” Chen Jianing’s performance was very consistent. “I hate you! Hurry up and go!”
Sometimes, quarrels arise simply because neither side is willing to back down first. It starts as a small matter but gradually escalates into a battle of dignity. If he were arguing with Yameng, Lu Li could just act cute with his sister and everything would be fine. If he were arguing with Baili… well, she didn’t argue anymore. If he were arguing with Jingyi, Lu Li would be willing to take the initiative to back down, but he knew the Silly Goose would have cooled down before he did. If he were to argue with Hupo, the two of them would only discuss the matter at hand and generally wouldn’t argue.
Only Chen Jianing… Lu Li felt a bit of resentment in his heart.
“Fine.” Lu Li couldn’t be bothered to say more.
Chen Jianing watched Lu Li disappear from her sight, her heart tightening, and she began to regret it again. It’s always like this… she thought. It’s always like this. I always regret it after I act on impulse. Well, now she had gotten her wish and had driven Lu Li away. She looked at the sky. It was a bit overcast, a gloomy day. Perhaps a storm was brewing. Against the backdrop of this weather, Chen Jianing’s mood worsened.
She kicked a stone by the road, missed, and kicked the stone step instead, so pained she was about to cry.
“Even you are bullying me,” she thought aggrievedly.
…
Since his past life, Lu Li had repeatedly told himself not to bicker with Chen Jianing. She was just a bit awkward and stubborn, not a bad girl at heart. She would regret things and soften up, it was just that her mouth never let up. They say a girl’s lips are fragrant and soft. Perhaps Chen Jianing was an exception. Even if a nuclear bomb went off, that little mouth of hers would still be standing firm.
But he wasn’t really her husband, so why should he back down and tolerate her to this extent?
This girl was born with a good appearance, yet she had never even been in a relationship. There were objective reasons for this. Her terrible personality was enough to scare many people away. Lu Li asked himself, had he been attracted to the Annoying Ghost’s appearance recently?
Lu Li planned to give that girl the cold shoulder for a few days, to let both of them think things over. If she had really run into some trouble, Lu Li wouldn’t just sit by and do nothing.
After temporarily parting with Chen Jianing, Lu Li found that he seemed to have nothing to do all of a sudden. Usually at this time, he would have already taken the Little Tiger to the company. He would explain the company’s affairs to the Little Tiger in great detail, and in the end, he would even bicker with her. Now that the Little Tiger wasn’t here, he didn’t need to rush to the company.
Lu Li found a stone pier and sat down. The weather felt gloomy, as if it were about to rain. Baili was making music at the villa, Hupo was creating original art on her computer at the villa, and Yameng was competing in the Capital City. He had suddenly become a person without company.
After getting used to the girls’ chattering, he, on the contrary, felt that the quiet he had once cherished was a bit lonely. Lu Li took out his phone, wanting to send a message to his sister. Just then, the sound of thudding footsteps came from in front of him. Lu Li knew that in this school, only one person wore high heels to class. No, she wasn’t going to class. She only came to the school once a week. It was called a “visit,” it was called “gracing them with her presence.”
Zhu Xi looked down at him from above. “It’s really not easy to have a word with you.”
Zhu Xi’s figure was already tall and slender, and with high heels, she was even more so. She was wearing a pair of light blue skinny jeans, and her beautiful legs were enough to attract everyone’s attention. Lu Li had an ill-intentioned thought: were the Little Tiger’s legs even half as long as Zhu Xi’s?
“You, with the surname Lu, I have something to say to you.”
“I refuse.” Lu Li felt a sour thrill in his heart. Saying these two words to the current princess could truly be listed as one of the top ten pleasures in life.
