Chapter 100: Still Haven't Caught Up Yet?

Lu Qingyue froze, then suddenly realized he was calling her. Her face heated at once, and she hurriedly explained, "No, no..."

Cheng Xingye saw her cheeks turn red, and only then did he correct his classmate. "Don't call people names."

Zhang Mao gave a startled little "oh," staring at him in confusion and surprise. He could tell the man was perfectly calm, as if he were not joking at all.

After a few polite words, Lu Qingyue turned to go place the order.

Zhang Mao watched the girl's retreating figure and, a little unexpectedly, shot Cheng Xingye a look. Lowering his voice, he asked in puzzlement, "You still haven't won her over?"

Cheng Xingye did not feel embarrassed in the least. With both hands in his pockets, he answered lazily, "Mm."

Zhang Mao clicked his tongue in amazement, unable to keep from sympathizing. "That won't do. You've been chasing her for almost two months now, right?"

That struck straight at his sore spot.

Cheng Xingye let out a quiet sigh.

Not just two months. It was nearly two years already.

That little troublemaker thought in leaps and bounds and never played by the rules. He had tried every indirect and direct method he could think of, and still had not managed to coax a yes out of her.

Seeing his bleak, helpless expression, Zhang Mao found the whole thing truly odd.

By all rights, with Cheng Xingye's conditions, it should not be this hard. Could it be that he had been using the wrong method?

He coughed twice and lowered his voice to offer sincere advice. "Ahem. Bro. Maybe we should change tactics?"

Cheng Xingye looked at him sidelong.

Seeing that he was interested, Zhang Mao glanced warily at Lu Qingyue's back, then quietly taught him, "Ever heard of keeping someone guessing? Lure the enemy in deeper?"

After saying that, he worried his brother still might not understand, so he added a few more words of explanation. "Don't give her all the sweetness at once. You have to keep her hanging, make her heart itch with curiosity. Only then can you hold her in the palm of your hand and make her feel she can't do without you."

Cheng Xingye gave him an exasperated look. "And you think I need you to teach me that?"

He understood all of it. But he had never once thought of keeping her hanging.

That little troublemaker was cunning and clever; if he played mind games with her, she would see through him at once.

Besides, he could not bear to keep her hanging.

Even knowing she had some feelings for him, he did not want her to be made anxious and uncertain by him, to be tossed between hope and fear.

What he wanted to give her would never be something hot and cold, never something elusive. It would be open, steadfast, and full of unmistakable security.

He wanted her to know that no matter when she turned back, she would always see him waiting where he had always been.

Zhang Mao was baffled. "If you understand all that, then where exactly is the problem?"

Where was the problem?

Cheng Xingye sighed silently.

Wasn't it because that little troublemaker did not want to date at all, and only wanted to toy with his legs?

...Toying with his legs was impossible. At least for now.

The impeccably self-disciplined Cheng Xingye took her out to eat, did not even let her glimpse a single hair on his legs, and sent her straight home exactly as she had been.

Lu Qingyue's little wish did not come true, but when she got home she unexpectedly received warm greetings from her friends.

Zhou Tingting: You turn eighteen the day after tomorrow. Want a coming-of-age gift?

Lu Diandian: Coming-of-age... gift?

Lu Diandian: That sounds kind of exciting.

Zhou Tingting: ???

Zhou Tingting: Can you stop projecting the word "sexy" onto everything yourself?

Lu Diandian: ...Sorry, old habit.

Only after Zhou Tingting reminded her did she suddenly remember that the day after tomorrow really was her birthday.

With her eighteenth birthday approaching, of course it had to be celebrated in grand style, to mark the days when one would no longer need to sneak around watching little videos.

Thinking of this, Lu Qingyue grew eager and wanted to throw a birthday party, but she did not know where to arrange it.

When Lu Yi heard that she wanted a birthday party, he did not say much. He simply told her to hold it at home, then transferred her two thousand yuan.

Lu Qingyue accepted the money with delight and asked respectfully whether her generous patron would like to bring his friends along as well.

Lu Yi gave a cold snort. "What would I do playing with a bunch of kids like you? Playing house?"

His tone was as irritating as could be, and his bearing was as cocky as ever.

Lu Qingyue had lived with him for eighteen years and did not mind his temperament at all. She neatly tucked the money into her WeChat wallet, then lifted her chin with smug satisfaction and corrected him word by word, "Brother, don't say that. We'll all be adults soon. Who's any better than anyone else?"

Lu Yi stared at her blankly, then shut her down with icy ruthlessness. "Even if you're grown, I'm still your brother. If you're so capable, don't come asking me for money again."

Lu Qingyue immediately wilted and turned sweet-tongued. "Fine, fine! You're my brother! You're my only brother!"

After all, he was all sharp words and a soft heart. As long as she coaxed him according to his wishes, she could still get money from him next time.

After smoothly flattering her one and only brother, Lu Qingyue was in high spirits. Taking the money, she happily went to inform Zhou Tingting and the others.

...

For her eighteenth birthday, Lu Qingyue's parents, hearing that she wanted to hold the party at home, very considerately booked a resort hotel for a trip and left all the space in the house to the two siblings to arrange.

Lu Yi usually did not seem all that reliable, but when it came to handling this sort of thing, he was quite adept.

When Lu Qingyue came downstairs after her afternoon nap, the living room was already adorned with all kinds of balloons and streamers. In the small garden outside, soft rugs and picnic tables and chairs had also been laid out, ready for a barbecue that evening.

As the afterglow of sunset spilled into the yard, the guests had nearly all arrived.

Besides the classmates Lu Qingyue had invited herself, Lu Yi had also had Chen Shujie gather a few close friends to come and liven things up, making the party more bustling and lively.

Lu Qingyue was wearing a spaghetti-strap floral dress. Her soft, thick hair was tied into a bun, with a few fluffy strands casually pulled loose around her temples. She looked gentle and comfortable, her entire person naturally radiating the fresh vigor of youth.

She was chatting with Zhou Tingting and the others on the second-floor terrace when she suddenly caught sight of an unexpected figure at the gate. Her expression faltered.

Lu Yi was downstairs in the small garden greeting guests.

Luo Zhao and Chen Shujie had arrived early and were clustered beside him, no one knew discussing what.

Lu Yi tilted his head to listen, and when his gaze drifted by chance toward the entrance, he immediately frowned.

"Why did she come too?"

Chen Shujie turned around and froze at once, his face awkward and shocked. "Huh? I told Hannan and the others to call more people over. Why did he bring Xu Qian too?"

Nearly everyone who came today was a classmate of Lu Yi's. Apart from Chen Shujie and Luo Zhao, most of them did not know there was any little grievance between them, so they had simply thought it would be fun to join a birthday party and had invited everyone along.

Frowning, Lu Yi withdrew his gaze, displeased.

Perhaps because it was a birthday celebration and he could not bring himself to turn people away outright, he ended up only instructing them somewhat uneasily, "Forget it. Keep an eye on things tonight. Don't let her start an argument with Diandian."

...

By the time Lu Qingyue came downstairs, everyone was already there.

They were gathered around the sofa, eating, drinking, and playing, with bursts of laughter rising now and then.

Before she even reached them, Lu Qingyue spotted the man seated right in the middle of the sofa.

Tonight he wore a light gray casual shirt, the cuffs neatly rolled up several turns to reveal the clean, slender lines of his arms.

He seemed to be born with his own spotlight, dazzling wherever he went. People kept coming up to speak with him from time to time; he answered with a faint smile. Then, all at once, his gaze flicked casually toward the stairway and landed on the young girl standing on the steps.

His face still wore that indifferent ease, but the instant he saw her, whether it was an illusion or not, the corners of his lips seemed to lift ever so slightly as he met her eyes in a glance that was secretive and tinged with ambiguity.