Looking at the boy in front of her, his face wearing a teasing smile, Lin Nuo’er felt her heart pounding wildly, as if a little deer was crashing around inside her chest.
Women always dress up for the ones they like.
When was the last time she had seriously tried to make herself look prettier?
Probably back when she first entered university—when she wore a white dress and left Gu Zhe stunned.
When a girl is willing to put in three times her usual effort just to appear radiant in front of a guy, that guy has basically already won big.
But looking at Gu Zhe now, Lin Nuo’er also felt a strange unease.
The Gu Zhe she remembered… didn’t quite look like this.
“Hmph, so smooth with your words. Are you like this with every girl?” she asked.
Gu Zhe blinked. “Why would you say that?”
Lin Nuo’er realized her question had been a bit much. She pursed her lips and said casually, “Nothing, just afraid you’ll go flirt with other girls.”
Afraid he’d see through her thoughts, Lin Nuo’er took long strides forward, gesturing for Gu Zhe to follow her. “Let’s go, your big sister is treating you to milk tea!”
Gu Zhe could tell something was off in her expression.
With her personality, any time she said something half-sarcastic about other girls, there had to be something bothering her deep inside.
Soon, the two of them arrived at the cafeteria’s newly opened milk tea shop.
It seemed the promotion had worked well—on its first day, there was already a long line of students queued up to try it.
“What do you want to drink?” Gu Zhe asked.
“I’ll look at the menu myself, seems like they’ve got lots of new items.”
But Gu Zhe gently pushed her into an empty seat.
“Just sit here and wait.”
“There’s no reason for a girl to stand in line when she’s out with a guy.”
“Just listen to me. I’ll be quick.”
Lin Nuo’er, who was never good at sitting still, stared at him with wide eyes. “Then what do I do now?”
Gu Zhe gave her a half-smile, looking into her bright, lively eyes. “Think about how you’re going to phrase the question you want to ask me.”
Lin Nuo’er was startled. “Huh? How did you know I had something to ask?”
“Wait, who said I was going to ask you anything?”
Gu Zhe shrugged. “Nuo’er, you’ve got a mouth. Aside from sipping milk tea, it’s also used for talking, right?”
“You little…!” Lin Nuo’er was fuming.
Before she could explode, Gu Zhe had already gone to line up, leaving her behind, gritting her teeth in frustration.
Damn it! This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
Why did it always feel like Gu Zhe had her completely figured out these days?
It was such a strange sensation.
Like using a fascia blade—painful, but oddly satisfying.
He was such a tease, yet when thinking about it late at night, she couldn’t help but hide under her blanket and roll around.
Hmph!
So what if I ask!
It’s not like I’m guilty of anything!
About ten minutes later, Gu Zhe returned with two drinks in hand, standing in front of a puffed-up Lin Nuo’er.
“Here—one milk tea, one fruit tea. Pick the one you want.”
“I want both!” Lin Nuo’er snatched both drinks like a spoiled child.
But Gu Zhe didn’t mind. He just sat down across from her, smiling gently. “Sure, they’re both yours. If you want more, I’ll get you two more later.”
Lin Nuo’er froze.
She hadn’t expected him to say that.
She was clearly just being unreasonable.
Yet the look in Gu Zhe’s eyes said, it’s okay—go ahead and be unreasonable.
No matter how you act, I’ll accept it.
Lin Nuo’er lowered her head, poked the straw into a cup, and took a small sip.
The sweet flavor, the smooth texture—it all tasted like being spoiled.
“If you keep this up… you’ll spoil me,” she mumbled, straw still in her mouth.
Her voice was soft, half-muffled.
In the noisy cafeteria, Gu Zhe didn’t quite catch it. “What did you say?”
“Nothing.” Lin Nuo’er shook her head, looked up at him, and finally asked what had been bothering her.
“Gu Zhe, I want to know, why did you suddenly…”
“Hm?”
Lin Nuo’er clenched her fists and steeled herself.
“Why did you suddenly start being so nice to me?”
The air froze for a few seconds.
Lin Nuo’er could clearly feel her face burning.
But she wasn’t the type to back down.
Since she’d decided to ask, there was no turning back.
No matter what his answer was, she would face it.
Gu Zhe smiled lightly. “Aren’t we friends? You literally risked everything for me. Isn’t it normal for me to do a little something in return?”
“A girl who’s willing to 1v1 someone offline for me? You don’t come across that every day.”
Even after two lifetimes, Gu Zhe still felt unsure deep down.
He knew Lin Nuo’er had probably already made peace with the idea that they’d never have any deeper connection.
Two people drifting apart like parallel lines… suddenly curving and getting closer again.
It was natural for her to feel uneasy.
Pushing too fast would only make things feel shallow.
“Nuo’er,” Gu Zhe called her name with unexpected seriousness.
Lin Nuo’er flinched, her composure breaking as her cheeks instantly turned red.
Oh my god.
Is he about to confess?
Lin Nuo’er, what kind of dumb question did you just ask?!
Weren’t you supposed to bring up the project?
How did it turn into something like this?!
If Xiao Zhezi really confessed, then what?
Should she accept?
He and Song Yihan were inseparable not long ago. All this recent attention she was getting… used to belong to Song Yihan.
What girl wouldn’t feel a little bitterness remembering that?
But if she rejected him…
Gu Zhe was taking the initiative. They’d been good friends since middle school. Moving from friends to lovers—wasn’t that exactly the story she used to dream about?
Gu Zhe’s voice brought her back to reality.
“Everything I’ve done has come from the bottom of my heart.”
“Effort and companionship should be given to people who deserve them—not wasted on those who are cold and unfeeling.”
“No one’s sincerity deserves to be trampled.”
“Maybe I didn’t understand that before…”
“But now I do.”
“I finally know who’s truly worth it.”