Looking at the chat window between himself and Li Yu, Zhou Lu irritably ran a hand through his hair and muttered with a sense of gloom, “Tch. What is Xiao Yu busy with? I’ve sent so many messages and he hasn’t replied to a single one.”
He raised his right hand to eye the cigarette that had not yet burned down to the filter, took a fierce drag, and then stubbed it out in the ashtray. He rested his forehead in his hand and closed his eyes in front of the bar counter.
The surroundings were filled with noisy music and the roaring cheers of the crowd. He rarely came to bars, but whenever he felt irritable, this was the only place he could come to drink and clear his head.
“Zhou Lu?” someone asked uncertainly.
Zhou Lu glanced sideways, looking at the questioning young woman.
“Ah, it really is you, Brother Lu!” Recognizing Zhou Lu’s face, Shen Yu’s expression lit up with excitement.
Zhou Lu’s tall, slender figure half-leaned against the bar counter, his slender, phoenix-like eyes narrowed slightly as he sized up the woman before him.
“You are?”
“Brother Lu, you don’t remember me? I, I even gave you a watch before, but you didn’t want it. I guess I must have picked the wrong gift. You must not like watches, right?”
Zhou Lu remained seated, casually resting one leg over the edge of his stool, radiating an aura of languid indifference. Hah. If she hadn’t brought it up, Zhou Lu wouldn’t have remembered at all! So it was her! If not for that awkward gift of hers, he wouldn’t have known how to confess his feelings to Xiao Yu even to this day! Come to think of it, he really had this woman to thank. But still.
Seeing Zhou Lu’s gaze examining her, Shen Yu’s heart was already bursting with joy, her pulse racing wildly! Her fingers twitched nervously against each other as she blinked shyly at Zhou Lu.
Zhou Lu looked at Shen Yu standing before him. He caught no trace of alcohol on her breath, yet her face was flushed with color. With a look of disgust, he pulled back his gaze and picked up his wine glass to take a heavy gulp.
Damn it, I hate it the most when women pull this kind of stunt on me!
Not a single person in this world could compare to even a fraction of Li Yu!
At the thought of Li Yu, Zhou Lu’s brown eyes took on a pure, luminous sheen. A gentle breeze drifted past, stirring the stray locks of hair over his forehead, and a slight curve touched the corner of his mouth.
Seeing the gentle smile on Zhou Lu’s face, Shen Yu assumed that her approach had piqued his interest. Her heart swelled with delight, her eyes flashing with brilliance, and she convinced herself she needed to be bolder!
Zhou Lu was drinking and had no spare attention to deal with her, when suddenly the back of his hand was covered by something.
Her hand lightly rested over the back of his hand.
As if touching something filthy, Zhou Lu instantly sprang up, shaking her hand off.
The veins at his temples throbbing, his eyes filled with rage and revulsion, he snapped, “Who gave you permission to touch me?!”
The people around them were startled by Zhou Lu’s sudden, furious outburst and turned to look over in their direction.
Shen Yu flinched violently from the roar. She bit her lower lip, forcing the tears welling up in her eyes not to fall, and looked at Zhou Lu with a wronged expression.
She hadn’t expected that she would get such a huge reaction just from touching him. Every time she had run into Zhou Lu at school or elsewhere before, he had always looked so gentle and considerate. But why today? Could it really be that she had crossed the line?
Watching Zhou Lu’s retreating back, Shen Yu lowered her head dejectedly.
Zhou Lu turned on the faucet, frantically scrubbing his left hand where he had just been touched.
After washing it seven or eight times, nearly exhausting all the hand soap, and making sure no trace of that woman’s scent remained on his skin, he finally dried his hands with a paper towel.
Zhou Lu’s mood at the moment was heavy and gloomy. He never wanted to run into that woman again!
He looked up at the mirror. Reflected in the glass was a face darkened and rimmed with red, looking terrifyingly sinister. Zhou Lu frowned slightly, scooped up some water with his hands, and splashed it over his face.
No. I can’t be like this. Xiao Yu mustn’t see this side of me. He doesn’t like this kind of thing. I can’t scare him.
His phone screen lit up, and Zhou Lu answered the call with a trace of irritation in his voice.
“Young Master Lu, we still haven’t found anything.”
“I told you to report your investigation progress to me every single month. Look at how many years have passed! You’ve been searching for someone and haven’t found a shred of news! What use am I paying you for?!” Still carrying residual anger from what had just happened, Zhou Lu unleashed his temper directly onto the person on the other end of the line.
He had been searching for that person for so long without a single piece of news. Could it be that he was no longer alive in this world?
Zhou Lu was startled by his own thought.
No, it can’t be. No.
He won’t die.
Zhou Lu had no idea why he was still so stubbornly obsessed with finding him to this day.
Suddenly, the image of Li Yu flashing a bright smile at him flickered across Zhou Lu’s mind.
He clenched his fists and let out a sigh.
Forget it, if he can’t be found, then so be it. Now that Xiao Yu is by my side, it must be an arrangement of fate. I shouldn’t stubbornly keep searching anymore.