Su Nuonuo rushed all the way home feeling sweet and content. When she pushed the door open, she even straightened her skirt, pretending that she had just come back from buying something.
Her mother was sitting in the living room scrolling on her phone. She glanced up at her and frowned as she reminded, “You went to buy materials and took so long?”
Su Nuonuo’s heart skipped a beat. She quickly nodded obediently, clasping her hidden hands behind her back, and coaxed softly, “I ran into a classmate on the way and chatted for a bit. Mom, I’ll go back to my room and put things away first~”
Afraid her mother would keep questioning her, she ran upstairs in small, quick steps.
When she left, she had told her mother she was going to buy study materials, but in reality, she had gone to Lu Zhiye’s house and hadn’t bought anything at all.
Fortunately, her mother never checked her bag. So this matter was considered smoothly covered up.
As for her mother’s prejudice against Lu Zhiye, she could not let her guard down yet.
Thinking of something, she headed straight to the window and suddenly pulled back the curtains—immediately spotting Lu Zhiye downstairs.
He was still standing stiffly at the intersection, not moving, carefully holding Little Little Nuomi in his arms. His broad shoulders were held straight, and his pair of dark eyes were fixed on her window.
The morning light fell upon him, softening his cold and sharp contours. The hand holding the kitten was so gentle it seemed afraid of hurting it, yet his whole body remained tense, betraying the nervousness of someone who had been caught peeking.
He looked somewhat at a loss.
Su Nuonuo’s heart warmed. She quickly took out her phone and dialed his number. As soon as the call connected, she called out brightly, “Little Ye~”
On the other end of the line, Lu Zhiye stiffened all over. His throat rolled heavily, and his voice came out low, tight, and tinged with unmistakable nervousness: “Mm.”
He no longer objected to her calling him that.
His family had always called him that. Now adding her to the list—it didn’t seem unacceptable anymore.
“Why are you still not leaving?” Su Nuonuo asked while leaning against the window glass, her eyes curved into sweet crescents, her tone direct and soft. “Are you reluctant to leave me?”
Being asked this made Lu Zhiye’s ears turn bright red. He looked up and met her sparkling gaze, but still stubbornly denied it: “No.”
Su Nuonuo smiled with her brows and eyes fully curved, not hiding her joy at all. Lowering her voice, she boldly and sweetly confirmed, “Then, Little Ye, see you tomorrow! I want to see you earlier~”
“Alright.” Lu Zhiye responded quickly. Lowering his eyes, he glanced at Little Little Nuomi in his arms. His ears turned even redder, and he even lowered his breathing slightly.
“I’m hanging up~ Go home and take care of Little Nuomi!” Su Nuonuo said brightly. Without waiting for his reply, she ended the call. Yet she still leaned against the window and waved at him, smiling openly while covering her mouth with her hand, trying to stifle her laughter so her mother wouldn’t hear.
Lu Zhiye stood holding the black-screen phone, unmoving. He awkwardly raised his other hand and waved back.
His movements were stiff, like a puppet being controlled by strings, but his dark eyes were filled entirely with her reflection.
The panic in his eyes mixed with hidden joy. The embarrassment of this pure-hearted school bully was fully exposed in his reddened ears and his tightly set jawline.
Only after Su Nuonuo made a heart gesture toward him did he snap back to his senses. Holding the kitten, he turned and walked away quickly—his pace almost like he was fleeing.
After taking a couple of steps, he couldn’t resist glancing back at the window, afraid of missing her figure.
He murmured under his breath without realizing it, “Tomorrow… see you earlier.”
By the window, Su Nuonuo had seen all of his embarrassment. She smiled until her eyes narrowed into slits, covering her warm cheeks as she laughed softly.
A young girl’s feelings were direct and passionate. Her mind was already full of how she would find an excuse to go out and see him tomorrow—she had no time to care about being reserved at all.
Her mother’s voice calling her came from downstairs. She hurriedly pulled the curtains shut, patted her flushed cheeks, and responded as if nothing had happened. Yet inside, her heart was bubbling with sweetness.
Lu Zhiye had walked quite far, still secretly rubbing his burning ears. Looking at the little kitten in his arms, he muttered softly, “Tomorrow you’ll be able to see your mom.”
Lu Zhiye took Little Little Nuomi home by bus. As soon as he opened the door, Lu Weiguo poked his head out from another room. Spotting the small creature in his arms, he asked, “Where did this kitten come from?”
After changing his shoes, Lu Zhiye replied, “I found it near her house. Her mother won’t allow pets, so she asked me to take it back and raise it.”
Lu Weiguo smiled with narrowed eyes and nodded. “That makes sense. It’s inconvenient to keep pets in an apartment. Take good care of it.”
Lu Zhiye gave a quiet “mm” and turned to find a cardboard box.
With only two people in the house and each occupying a floor, raising a cat was indeed convenient.
He found a clean cardboard box, laid a soft towel inside, and gently placed the kitten in it, careful not to hurt the little creature.
Just as he was about to go upstairs, Lu Weiguo followed behind him, smiling as he reminded, “Handle it gently, don’t scare the kitten. That Nuonuo girl is kind-hearted—she must like this little one, which is why she let you keep it.”
Lu Zhiye responded softly. Thinking of something, he took a bottle of milk from the fridge. Given the weather, cold milk wasn’t suitable, so he warmed it in a pot and then fed the kitten little by little with a cotton swab.
His hands, which were usually decisive in fights, were now steady in a way that seemed almost unnatural. His cold, sharp brows relaxed, and his eyes were filled with clumsy gentleness.
Lu Weiguo smiled as he took out his phone and recorded this scene.
Su Nuonuo had already added him on WeChat before leaving.
He intended to record this moment and share it with Su Nuonuo.
Little Little Nuomi lapped up the milk, softly rubbing against his fingers.
His throat moved slightly as that bright, cheerful voice of Su Nuonuo saying “Little Ye, see you tomorrow” echoed in his ears again. His ears turned completely red once more.
But in the next second, his brows suddenly knitted together. His heart sank.
He remembered that he had to go to the repair shop to work early the next morning and would be there the entire day.
She would come, but he wouldn’t be there to see her.
Lu Zhiye suddenly stood up. The sweetness from earlier vanished instantly, replaced by anxiety. He paced back and forth, feeling restless and helpless.
Seeing his distracted state, Lu Weiguo raised his brows and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Lu Zhiye pressed his lips together and nodded, his tone carrying regret: “I have to work at the repair shop all day tomorrow. She might come.”
Lu Weiguo smiled knowingly. “Then hurry and tell that girl.”
He took out his phone, opened the chat with Su Nuonuo, and hovered his fingers over the input box for a long time, typing and deleting repeatedly.
Who would have thought that a fierce school bully in fights would become so clumsy with words in front of Su Nuonuo?
After struggling for several minutes, he finally typed out a very stiff sentence, not even adding an emoji: “I have to work tomorrow, so I can’t meet.”
The moment he sent it, his hand trembled slightly. He immediately locked his phone and tossed it aside, but in less than a second, he picked it up again and stared fixedly at the chat window.
He was afraid she would feel disappointed. Afraid she would be unhappy. Even more afraid that the joy in her words “see you earlier” would fall through.
Even Little Little Nuomi, who had been rubbing against his pant leg and meowing softly, couldn’t draw his attention.
His mind was filled with Su Nuonuo’s smiling eyes and her direct, passionate words: “I want to see you earlier.”
His fingers repeatedly traced the edge of his phone as his throat rolled again and again. He murmured softly in frustration, “Why am I so bad with words…”
Watching his flustered demeanor, Lu Weiguo couldn’t help but laugh. “Look at you. If you like her, just say it properly. Being clumsy with words doesn’t matter as long as your heart is sincere. Nuonuo understands.”
Lu Zhiye didn’t respond, but his ears turned even redder. His heart was both anxious and sweet. He only hoped that Su Nuonuo wouldn’t be upset—and even more, that she wouldn’t refuse to see him because of this.
When Su Nuonuo saw his message, she immediately thought of where he worked.
It happened that she would go and take a look tomorrow.