On Monday morning, Su Nuonuo, as usual, carried her breakfast and ran toward the classroom, while also thinking about what she would say to Lu Zhiye.
Ever since that hug and the meal they had together yesterday, something between them had seemed different.
It felt like they were already dating. Hehe~
She did not go to her own seat first but instead came directly to Lu Zhiye’s desk. She handed the bag in front of him, her eyebrows curved into a smile:
“Lu Zhiye, today’s breakfast is pan-fried dumplings. I made them myself!”
In order to learn how to make pan-fried dumplings, she had pestered Zhou Qing early this morning, insisting on learning how to turn on the stove.
Zhou Qing had been startled and even suspected that she had been stimulated by something.
She had confidently made up an excuse…
She said that many classmates in her class knew how to cook, and since she was about to go to university, she could not even lack such basic kitchen skills—how embarrassing it would be if others found out.
Zhou Qing could not resist her and had no choice but to patiently teach her step by step. Unexpectedly, she had quite a good grasp, and none of the dumplings she pan-fried were burnt.
Hearing the three words “I made them myself,” Lu Zhiye’s eyes immediately lit up several degrees.
He did not say anything, but instead took out a sugar cake wrapped in oil paper and a bright orange from his desk drawer, and handed them to her.
His fingertips accidentally brushed against the back of her hand, and he quickly pulled back as if shocked by electricity. The tips of his ears quietly turned red.
Ever since that day she had hugged him from behind with red-rimmed eyes, and they had later eaten a meal together at home, Lu Zhiye had become like a piece of hard candy soaked in warm water—the sharp, cold edges around him had completely softened, and he no longer deliberately kept a stern face to maintain distance.
Su Nuonuo had not expected that he would also bring her breakfast. She was so pleasantly surprised that she could hardly contain herself.
She spun around in place without any concern for her image, attracting the attention of several classmates who had arrived early.
As more and more students entered the classroom, she hugged the orange and sugar cake and happily returned to her seat.
Just as Su Xiaoyu walked in, she immediately noticed what Su Nuonuo was holding and where she had come from—Lu Zhiye’s seat.
She whistled and leaned over with a teasing expression:
“Not bad, Nuonuo. So your one-sided pursuit has now upgraded into mutual feeding? Impressive!”
Su Nuonuo’s cheeks instantly burned. She glared at her in annoyance.
Unable to resist, she secretly turned her head and happened to meet Lu Zhiye’s smiling gaze.
That class was a math teacher going over a test paper, but Su Nuonuo could not focus at all. Her pen randomly drew circles on her draft paper.
She felt as though she had forgotten something important.
It was not until the end of class that she suddenly slapped her forehead.
She remembered!
As soon as the bell rang, Su Nuonuo shot up, grabbed Lu Zhiye’s wrist, and without explanation dragged him toward the hallway.
The wind carrying the noise of the classroom rushed past them. Her fingertips carried a slight cool sweat, yet her grip was firm and determined.
Lu Zhiye staggered slightly from being pulled, his brows faintly furrowing into a crease as he asked in a low voice, “What is it? Why are you in such a hurry?”
The iron door to the rooftop creaked open with a long, old sound.
Su Nuonuo released her grip, turned around, and looked at him seriously, her expression unusually earnest:
“Lu Zhiye, how has Grandpa Lu’s health been recently?”
Lu Zhiye paused, a trace of surprise flashing across his eyes. He clearly had not expected her to suddenly ask about Grandpa.
“Why are you suddenly asking about him?”
“Of course I care about him!” Su Nuonuo blurted out.
After speaking, fearing that he might see through her, she quickly lifted her chin and continued in a slightly stubborn and playful tone, “The fried dough sticks and sugar cakes Grandpa makes are so delicious—I just hope he lives a long life and keeps making them for me!”
The statement was half true and half fabricated, but her serious tone diluted any sense of forced urgency.
Lu Zhiye’s tightly pressed lips relaxed slightly, and he did not press further. He lowered his gaze, seemingly thinking about something.
After a few seconds, he looked up at her and said, “He’s been saying he’s been feeling dizzy lately.”
Su Nuonuo’s heart sank abruptly.
In her previous life, it had been at this very time that Grandpa Lu, due to uncontrolled high blood pressure, suddenly fainted near the college entrance examination period. That was why Lu Zhiye gave up the exam and went home to take care of him.
Suppressing the panic in her throat, she grabbed his arm and said urgently, “Then hurry and take Grandpa to the hospital for a checkup! Early-stage hypertension can be controlled with medication—you can’t delay this!”
Afraid that he would not take it seriously, Su Nuonuo racked her brain and fabricated another story, deliberately exaggerating the consequences:
“I’m telling you seriously! My aunt’s nephew’s uncle’s mother-in-law ignored her high blood pressure, and later she had a stroke and was bedridden for years! And the Grandpa Zhang in our neighborhood had it even worse—last winter he passed away just like that!”
Some of these words were fabricated, while others were based on what she had personally witnessed in her previous life.
After speaking, she fixed her gaze tightly on Lu Zhiye’s eyes and emphasized each word deliberately:
“Don’t take this lightly. Hurry and take Grandpa to the hospital. Do you hear me?”
Lu Zhiye lowered his gaze, looking at the hand clutching his arm. Her knuckles were faintly flushed from exertion.
The little girl’s voice carried a slight tremble from urgency, and the anxiety in her eyes was impossible to hide.
A subtle, indescribable feeling rose in his heart. She seemed especially concerned about Grandpa’s health—so concerned that… it did not seem as simple as just craving sugar cakes.
Yet her bright, earnest eyes, mixed with a hint of nervousness as if afraid he would not believe her, made it impossible for him to probe further.
His Adam’s apple rolled slightly.
He suddenly remembered his childhood. His parents had passed away early, leaving only Grandpa to raise him. No one had ever urged him so anxiously to take Grandpa for a medical checkup.
His fingers moved slightly, almost reaching out to cover the back of her hand.
But he restrained himself and simply replied in a low voice, “I understand.”
The faint heaviness in his voice had already dissipated at some point, leaving only a softness he himself had not noticed, stirred by her persistence.
Wind slipped through the gaps of the rooftop railing, causing the strands of hair on Su Nuonuo’s forehead to sway gently.
She clutched the hem of her clothes, hesitating for a long time before finally looking up at Lu Zhiye, her voice carrying a cautious expectation:
“Then… do we count as being in a relationship now?”
Lu Zhiye almost instinctively replied, “No.”
Those two light words fell like small stones onto Su Nuonuo’s heart.
The eyes that had just been bright as stars dimmed instantly.
She released the hem she had been gripping, her fingers curling slightly as she lowered her gaze, her voice as soft as a mosquito’s hum:
“Oh…”
The excitement and joy in her heart, like a balloon suddenly deflated, vanished in an instant.
A faint sourness rose in her nose, and she did not even dare to look up at him again, fearing he would notice her reddened eyes.
Lu Zhiye looked at her drooping head. She appeared dejected, like a small rabbit drenched in rain.
His Adam’s apple rolled. He raised his hand and lightly tapped her forehead with his knuckles, his motion carrying a hint of helpless indulgence, his voice softening:
“Why are you crying?”
Su Nuonuo suddenly lifted her head. As expected, her eyes were red, but she still stubbornly glared at him:
“Who’s crying!”
Lu Zhiye was amused by her stubborn expression. His fingertips brushed the corners of her reddened eyes, his gaze carrying a tenderness and restraint that others could not easily perceive.
He said, “We’re still in high school.”
He paused slightly, then looked toward the distant teaching building, where faint class bells could be heard.
The wind gently passed over the young man’s lean yet upright back.
His voice was low and sincere:
“At the moment, I have nothing to give you… except…”
He did not continue. Instead, he turned back to look into her eyes and said word by word:
“I want to wait until I get into university, until I can stand beside you and become worthy of you—then I’ll properly tell you that we’re together.”
He feared that a relationship now would affect her studies. He feared that rumors and gossip would disturb her peace of mind.
More than anything, he feared that he could not give her a stable future.
This feeling of liking someone weighed heavily in his heart—so heavy that he did not dare make promises lightly.
He could only guard it carefully, waiting for the right moment.
Su Nuonuo looked at him in a daze. The earlier disappointment slowly faded, replaced by something full and warm inside her chest.
Looking into the seriousness in his eyes, she suddenly understood.
So it was not that he did not like her—he simply… thought more deeply than she had expected.