16、
The meal lasted nearly two hours. When they came out, the vice class monitor actually suggested continuing on to karaoke. Anning had no choice but to admire his energy. She was just waiting for everyone else to object, yet unexpectedly, everyone was enthusiastic about it…
Anning: “I…”
“Li Anning, come on, it’s rare! I remember you sing really well!” One of the girls from their class came over and hooked an arm around her.
Did she sing well…? According to Qiangwei, she was hopelessly tone-deaf.
Still, Anning had never been very good at refusing girls. Just as she was caught in a dilemma, Xu Moting—standing two meters away with one hand in his pocket, casually chatting with someone—lifted a hand and beckoned to her.
Anning muttered under her breath, “Why don’t you just throw me a bone while you’re at it?”
The female classmate stared at her in disbelief, momentarily speechless.
Nearby, W stopped Anning, who was about to leave, and asked, “You heading back to campus?”
Anning: “Mm.”
“I can give you a ride. My home’s near X University.”
“Uh, no need, thank you.” Anning had already vaguely sensed W’s “special attention” toward her, which made her even less willing to trouble him.
W glanced toward Xu Moting in the distance. “Back then… I thought you’d apply to a university farther away from this city.”
Anning looked puzzled. “Why?”
W: “At the time, your family—”
“Anning, let’s go.” Xu Moting called to her softly just then.
Anning didn’t notice that this was the first time he had called her by name. She only thought about how to naturally use this chance to say goodbye to W.
“Um, he’s calling me… bye.”
As Anning hurried over, two other classmates came up to ask Xu Moting for his number. Anning waited a while and thought maybe she should just leave first… actually, she hadn’t needed to wait for him in the first place, had she…?
“Your phone’s ringing,” Xu Moting reminded her.
His expression remained calm and indifferent, completely betraying nothing of how he’d half-lured and half-ordered her over earlier.
A beat slower than usual, Anning pulled her phone out of her pocket. It was her older cousin’s call. She was about to step aside to answer it when Xu Moting said, “Take it here. We’re leaving soon anyway.”
Helpless, Anning answered. The person on the other end immediately demanded to know why she wasn’t home this weekend when they’d agreed he would stop by to pick something up.
“I forgot.” Anning apologized. “Mm, I’m not going back tonight. The stuff’s in my room. The door’s unlocked, so just go in and get it yourself…”
When she hung up, the two people in front of her were both looking at her with amused smiles. One of the boys spoke first.
“Li Anning, your boyfriend?”
Anning: “No…”
The girl couldn’t help teasing her a little too, leaving Anning thoroughly helpless. Xu Moting, meanwhile, seemed the least interested in the topic.
The vice class monitor came over again to confirm that they really weren’t joining karaoke, sighing regretfully.
“It’s one thing for Xu here to be a busy man, but Li Anning, why aren’t you coming either?”
Anning sighed softly. “…Do I really look that free?”
This time, Xu Moting actually smiled a little. He said to the vice class monitor, “I’ll cover the karaoke expenses. We’ll head off first.”
Before the vice class monitor could even tease them, Anning had already been led away by someone lightly holding her shoulder…
As the taxi drove farther away, someone sighed emotionally behind them.
“She’s basically Xu Moting’s property now. Anyone who touches her gets killed without mercy.”
Some people laughed in agreement. Some felt faint bitterness. Others fell into thoughtful silence… after all, five or six years carried quite a few emotions behind them.
Meanwhile, sitting in the car, Anning only felt that… well… it was very quiet. Extremely quiet.
The person beside her was staring out the window at the street scenery, looking somewhat distracted. His profile was cold and handsome. Anning had always felt he looked vaguely familiar, but at the same time she’d thought perhaps he was simply too good-looking, so she’d unconsciously noticed him a few times in passing on campus…
She’d never imagined they actually knew each other.
How was she supposed to handle this?
Anning wasn’t used to starting conversations. So she only glanced at him occasionally, then continued keeping silent.
Until he turned his head, those deep eyes looking directly at her.
“What?”
That really was his catchphrase, huh…
“You already knew before that we went to the same middle school?”
“How long ago is ‘before’?”
Uh… so cold.
Anning felt a little discouraged. She lowered her head and stopped talking, vaguely feeling she must’ve offended him somehow.
“Do you remember Lin Wenxin?”
He abruptly brought up something completely unrelated.
“I thought you didn’t even remember people from the neighboring class.”
Lin… classmate L?
The vice class monitor had mentioned that name several times during dinner…
Anning didn’t know how to respond, so she remained silent. He also seemed as though he didn’t actually want an answer.
The radio was playing a music program in the car. The host’s sweet voice was introducing a male singer’s new album.
At the end of that day, Xu Moting said something to her—
And those words left Anning unable to calm down for a very long time.
“I once wrote you a letter too. Do you remember?”
Long afterward, her mind was still in complete chaos.
There had simply been too many surprises today!
She had actually rejected Xu Moting before?