Zhou Xiangyu performed well, and his parents were so pleased they increased his allowance. Gu Chenshi didn’t understand what this had to do with him.
Zhou Xiangyu said, “How is it not related to you? If it weren’t for you nagging me every day like an old lady to quit gaming, I wouldn’t have been so annoyed that I was afraid I’d be driven to death by your pestering. So I put the games aside for a while…”
Hearing this, Gu Chenshi realized it really did have something to do with him.
Gu Chenshi was genuinely happy that Zhou Xiangyu had actually listened to him, so he ate the chicken drumstick with a clear conscience.
Suddenly, Zhou Xiangyu gave him a meaningful look.
Gu Chenshi looked up and saw Lin Ranran and her deskmate Jing Shu carrying their freshly served meals toward them.
Gu Chenshi had a bad feeling—were they going to sit at their table?
There were plenty of empty seats over there, so why did they have to squeeze in with them?
The cafeteria belonged to everyone, and so did the tables and chairs. Of course, Gu Chenshi had no right to monopolize a table and prevent other students from sitting there, but he didn’t want to share a table with Lin Ranran.
However, if she did sit down, Gu Chenshi couldn’t just pick up his tray and move to another table.
Lin Ranran wasn’t worth any extra effort from him.
She didn’t even deserve to stir his emotions anymore.
He could now completely ignore Lin Ranran’s presence.
“Gu Chenshi, do you mind if we sit here?” Jing Shu smiled at them.
Gu Chenshi replied, “Sit wherever you like.”
Jing Shu said to Lin Ranran, “Ranran, let’s sit here for a bit.”
Lin Ranran nodded. She seemed no different from usual.
Jing Shu sat next to Zhou Xiangyu, while Lin Ranran naturally took the seat beside Gu Chenshi.
A faint, delicate fragrance wafted over.
Lin Ranran glanced at Gu Chenshi as if by accident, then frowned at her food. “I think I ordered too much. I might not be able to finish it.”
She had braised pork ribs in sweet and sour sauce, red-braised pork, and some Chinese lettuce.
It was quite a lavish lunch.
Gu Chenshi focused on eating his own meal, as if he hadn’t heard her.
Lin Ranran was very picky and had a small appetite.
Back when they used to eat together, Lin Ranran would give Gu Chenshi the food she didn’t like.
Eating the leftovers of the girl he liked had felt sweet to Gu Chenshi.
But now, looking back, Gu Chenshi felt like he had been a trash can—someone she could dump anything into, and he had actually felt happy about it. How ridiculous.
“Gu Chenshi, do you want some red-braised pork? I just got it, and I haven’t touched it yet,” Lin Ranran suddenly said to him.
Zhou Xiangyu wisely kept quiet and focused on his meal. Red-braised pork was his favorite, and he had ordered some too, but the portion was too small, and he hadn’t had enough.
If it were any other girl, he would have eagerly spoken up, “Give it to me, give it to me! I love it.”
But if it was Lin Ranran offering it to Gu Chenshi, then forget it.
Gu Chenshi said, “I have enough food. No need.”
His tone was perfectly ordinary, with nothing out of place.
Jing Shu glanced at Gu Chenshi. He hadn’t even looked up when he said that.
Without looking at Lin Ranran, she knew Lin Ranran must be feeling disappointed right now.
But she would definitely pretend not to care at all.
Clearly caring, yet insisting on putting on the queen’s airs…
Ah, Ranran, now do you understand? Some people, if not cherished at the time, once they leave, it might be very difficult to win them back.
How many people can foolishly stay in place, silently waiting, when facing a stone that cannot be warmed?
If you had accepted Gu Chenshi before he left, you wouldn’t be suffering like this now.
Jing Shu didn’t know the real reason why Gu Chenshi walked away, which is why she had such thoughts.
However, her thinking wasn’t wrong at all.
If this were Gu Chenshi’s previous life, if Gu Chenshi hadn’t seen the birthday gift Lin Ranran threw into the trash, even if he left disheartened without receiving a response, if Lin Ranran had tried to keep him, he might have been pleasantly surprised.
But often, there are no “ifs.”
Lin Ranran snorted, “Fine, don’t eat then.”
On the surface, she seemed to be complaining about Gu Chenshi’s ungratefulness, but deep down, she was miserable.
She had already taken the initiative to talk to him, even planned everything in advance—deliberately getting extra food, dragging Jing Shu to sit at his table, trying to mend their relationship—yet he didn’t accept it?
First, she thought Gu Chenshi wouldn’t last a few days before taking the initiative to find her. She was wrong.
Then she thought that as long as she gave him a way out, he would definitely take it. She was wrong again.
Finally, she naively believed that as long as she took the initiative to close the distance with Gu Chenshi, he would reconcile with her as before. She was still wrong!
Lin Ranran felt as if she were chewing wax, her heart filled with confusion and panic.
Only now did she seem to realize that no matter what she did, she and Gu Chenshi could never go back to how they were before.
This realization filled her with despair…
Watching Gu Chenshi finish his meal and leave arm-in-arm with Zhou Xiangyu, Lin Ranran suddenly felt like crying.
Jing Shu saw her reaction. As friends, seeing her so distressed, Jing Shu wanted to help her: “Ranran, what exactly happened between you and Gu Chenshi?”
What happened?
Lin Ranran wasn’t sure either.
She originally thought Gu Chenshi was angry because she let Kong Xiao take her home, but now she felt things might not be that simple. Yet, what exactly it was, she didn’t know.
Maybe it started with him being angry about Kong Xiao taking her home, and then her mother wrongfully accusing him… a combination of reasons.
Lin Ranran felt restless and irritable: “Who knows what’s wrong with him? Maybe he’s just acting up! Three-legged toads are hard to find, but two-legged men are everywhere. What’s so special about him?”
But even as she said this, she wouldn’t glance at other men, yet she couldn’t help but pay attention to his every move…
She wasn’t acting like herself at all, and it annoyed her!
On the way back to the classroom, Zhou Xiangyu said, “Old Gu, although I admire your determination to follow through, weren’t you always fond of Lin Ranran before? How could you let go so easily?”
Gu Chenshi replied, “It’s nothing. I just suddenly stopped liking her, so I let go.”
Zhou Xiangyu was about to call him a jerk but suddenly said, “Wait, Old Gu, don’t change the subject. You’re not the type to be fickle!”
Gu Chenshi smiled, “Thanks for affirming my character.”
“Actually, I really think Lin Ranran has started to see your good side now. How about reconsidering what I said to you earlier?”
“Love and career, not neglecting either—that’s what you call a true winner in life.”
Gu Chenshi said, “I have my own plans for my matters, so don’t worry unnecessarily.”
Zhou Xiangyu grew excited: “Do you see me worrying about other people’s affairs? It’s precisely because you’re my brother that I have to worry about this, just like how you urged me to prepare well for the exams before!”
Gu Chenshi fell silent for a moment: “Do you remember the scarf I secretly knitted for her over a month?”