Chapter 161 Childhood Sweethearts If Line 3 "I only have you."
Xu Shiyue said it so casually, but Lu Shizhen immediately felt guilty.
There was also surprise.
Almost blurting it out, Lu Shizhen looked at Xu Shiyue and asked, "How did you know?!"
"I heard about it," Xu Shiyue said casually, as if she were simply recounting something ordinary.
But how could this be an ordinary thing!
Lu Shizhen's words were initially just her dissatisfaction with everyone saying that she was just talking big without any suspense. After PE class, she didn't even take it to heart, but Xu Shiyue heard about it and found out.
I heard it from whom?
Moonlight streamed through the window and fell on the desk, making Xu Shiyue's smile bright and meaningful.
There were no major barriers between the two worlds; communication and the internet could be used to connect normally without any obstacles. Lu Shizhen suddenly realized that since she had Chen Miaomiao as a channel to inquire about Xu Shiyue in Xu Shiyue's world, Xu Shiyue must also have someone similar to Chen Miaomiao in her world.
She was betrayed!
They're still on our side!
"What, are you planning to keep this from me and send me a message on the day of the ball saying you won't be seeing me today, and just end it like that?"
Just as Lu Shizhen finally realized, somewhat belatedly, that Xu Shiyue had actually corrupted and eroded her friends a long time ago, Xu Shiyue's voice came over.
The girl rested her head on her arm, her voice tinged with a hint of resentment as she asked Lu Shizhen a question.
There even seemed to be a hint of disappointment and frustration.
Upon hearing this, Lu Shizhen immediately and righteously denied Xu Shiyue's statement, saying, "How could that be! How could I do something so despicable!"
"Really? So you're telling me now?" Xu Shiyue tilted her head slightly, her cool voice carrying a hint of weakness, as she spoke the lines that Lu Shizhen would say according to the logic from before: "You said you don't plan to invite me to the ball, and that you're going to go with other girls or boys?"
"Of course not, I..."
Lu Shizhen was anxious to explain, but didn't know how.
She desperately didn't want Xu Shiyue to misunderstand her about this; in fact, she didn't want any misunderstandings from Xu Shiyue.
After hesitating for a moment, Lu Shizhen, disregarding her own pride, bluntly told Xu Shiyue what she had been thinking: "I just spoke too quickly and was not convinced."
"During PE class, everyone was discussing inviting partners to the dance. They all said that I've been with you all these years, so there's nothing to guess. And then I just... I wasn't having it, so I impulsively said those things..."
Lu Shizhen knew she was in the wrong, and her words lacked conviction.
Xu Shiyue gave a drawn-out "Oh," nodding to Lu Shizhen with an air of both judgment and resentment: "So that's how it is. I thought Sixteen had forgotten about the old one after finding someone new."
Lu Shizhen's brain worked unusually fast, and upon hearing Xu Shiyue's words, she immediately retorted: "What newcomers and oldcomers? Where did I get any newcomers! I only have you!"
However, spinning too fast will then lead to a fatal flaw.
—Because I didn't think about it, I forgot to check the different meanings of the language in different contexts.
Lu Shizhen stopped talking immediately after saying the last word.
But it was too late. The words had already been spoken and reached Xu Shiyue's ears without any time difference.
"You're the only one I have."
It's as if he indirectly acknowledged that among all his female friends, only Xu Shiyue was special. The ambiguity was like the moonlight shining through the window, hazy yet bright, making it impossible to ignore.
Although this is indeed the truth.
But Lu Shizhen never expected that she would say it so impulsively.
She had originally planned...
"So that's how it is..."
Lu Shizhen was still feeling annoyed and regretful when Xu Shiyue's voice came from beside her ear.
A faint smile touched her lips, and her curved eyebrows instantly conveyed even more embarrassment to Lu Shizhen.
Lu Shizhen immediately became flustered and opened her schoolbag as if trying to escape, pulling out her homework: "I have a lot of homework today, I need to start doing it."
After a pause, without even opening her notebook, Lu Shizhen reached into her schoolbag and stuffed a hot water bottle into Xu Shiyue's arms, who was slumped over the table. "Here, warm your stomach if it hurts."
This was something Lu Shizhen had prepared in advance after receiving the news that Xu Shiyue wasn't coming, guessing that she might be suffering from menstrual cramps.
She knew this person had a weak constitution and suffered from menstrual cramps, so she always prepared all sorts of things for her. From being flustered at the beginning, she has now become quite skilled and is almost an expert.
The quiet room was filled with the soft rustling of pen strokes. Light shone down from Lu Shizhen's side, casting her shadow into Xu Shiyue's line of sight.
She lay there on the table, her half-closed eyes carrying a cat-like languor, silently watching Lu Shizhen, who was haphazardly solving some kind of problem.
After a while, Xu Shiyue called out softly, "Sixteen."
Lu Shizhen immediately stopped writing and turned her head: "What's wrong?"
"My period hasn't started yet. I was just a little sleepy and dozed off while waiting for you," Xu Shiyue said softly, a hint of slyness in her voice. As she spoke, she pushed the hot water bottle in her arms closer to herself.
Upon hearing this, Lu Shizhen was taken aback by her own misjudgment.
At the same time, Xu Shiyue changed the subject and said to her, "Also, this is your first dance after you come of age, so it has to be mine."
The girl's voice was more resolute than it had been at any moment before; her clear, cold voice was like the sound of a hammer sealing a coffin.
Her words didn't sound like a discussion; rather, they carried a hint of stubbornness and authoritarianism.
Lu Shizhen didn't find these words domineering, and nodded, saying, "I know, it's definitely yours."
The strokes on the paper stopped before forming a complete number.
Lu Shizhen looked up at Xu Shiyue beside her and said seriously, "And from now on, don't just believe whatever they say."
“I understand.” Xu Shiyue nodded.
I understood it from the beginning.
After the brief interlude, the two of them sat together again, writing their assignments as usual.
The moonlight cast two shadows side by side as they wrote at their desks, and Lu Shizhen seemed somewhat absent-minded.
Her gaze was fixed on a challenging math problem, but her peripheral vision was filled with Xu Shiyue.
The complex mathematical formulas and verification techniques couldn't hold her brain back. Lu Shizhen's mind was filled with the image of how she had hurriedly prepared hot water for Xu Shiyue when she arrived, and how she had frantically explained things to her after Xu Shiyue misunderstood her.
She almost revealed the secret hidden in her heart.
"Lu Shizhen, have you ever fantasized about love?"
Long-forgotten memories resurfaced in Lu Shizhen's mind, like a recollection, yet also like a reminder of something.
Lu Shizhen still remembers that when she discussed this issue with Xu Shiyue, her health was not very good, and it was questionable whether she could live to the age where she could legally date.
Now, she is an adult.
She has healthily crossed the threshold of eighteen years old and just completed her coming-of-age ceremony in the winter not long ago.
The innocent buds that had been buried deep in the girl's heart had long since grown into thick vines that reached straight to the sky.
They were itching to act, and it was almost impossible to hide it anymore.
She didn't just want Xu Shiyue to be her dance partner.
She also wanted to confess her feelings to Xu Shiyue on the day of the ball.
.
The summer sky is always azure, and the scorching heat seems to trap the cicadas' chirping in a hood, without diminishing it even on weekends.
Lu Shizhen thought that air conditioning was simply the greatest invention in human history as she walked out of Xu Shiyue's room in her slippers.
While Mrs. Xu was making breakfast in the kitchen, she keenly noticed the footsteps, and then Lu Shizhen came downstairs under her gaze.
Her eyes widened in surprise at first, but quickly turned into a smile, and her voice became gentle and soft: "Zhenzhen, did you sleep well last night? What time did you arrive last night? I was asleep and couldn't greet you, I'm so sorry."
"No, Auntie." Lu Shizhen waved her hand apologetically, explaining with the same excuse she and Xu Shiyue usually used, "I came very late yesterday. I hadn't finished some of my questions, and since it's the weekend today, I decided to finish my evening self-study with the boarding students before coming here."
"I see." Mrs. Xu nodded. She was very relieved about the girl who had grown up with her daughter. She didn't ask any more questions, but sighed, "It feels like time has become so tight since you entered your senior year of high school. You wish you could stretch a day into forty-eight hours. Sometimes in October, you don't go to bed until eleven or twelve o'clock. It's really tiring."
"Yes," Lu Shizhen said somewhat guiltily, quickening her pace to help Xu's mother bring out the breakfast.
Mrs. Xu smiled with some relief and followed Lu Shizhen toward the restaurant, continuing to chat with her: "Your school's dance is great, it'll help you relax. You must bring Shiyue along, sometimes she gets so engrossed in her studies that she forgets to eat and sleep, that's not good."
Lu Shizhen was surprised that Xu's mother had told her before she even asked. She was overjoyed and patted her chest to assure her, "Don't worry, Auntie, I will definitely take Shiyue with me."
Looking at Lu Shizhen's appearance, Mrs. Xu's smile deepened.
She still remembered how surprised she was when the child brought her best friend to see her in October. The child was confined to a wheelchair, and although her legs looked well-maintained, it still evoked a sense of heartache.
Fortunately, the child was able to stand up and now looks healthy.
Her personality is also impeccable; she's like a little sun, radiating sunshine.
A few strands of chestnut brown hair fell down her side as Mrs. Xu leaned against the table, watching Lu Shizhen set up breakfast for her, her eyes filled with satisfaction.
But this satisfaction didn't last long before it was interrupted by Xu Shiyue's voice in her ear: "Mom, what are you and Sixteen talking about?"
Xu Shiyue gave up her toiletries to the proactive Lu Shizhen, so she got up a little later than Lu Shizhen.
She had just come down the stairs when she heard Lu Shizhen chatting with her mother. She brushed her hair aside and asked casually.
"I told Sixteen that I'd take you two to pick out clothes after breakfast, right? Let's eat quickly and try on a few more outfits while it's still early." Xu's mother said calmly, concealing her request for Lu Shizhen to help Xu Shiyue relax. Her tone was also full of fighting spirit. "It's the last dance on campus, so our little Shiyue and little Sixteen must dress up nicely."
Although it wasn't the first time, Lu Shizhen still felt a little embarrassed when she heard Xu's mother call her that.
Somewhat bewildered, she looked up at Xu Shiyue and saw that he was also looking at her with gentle eyes.
Then I felt relieved.
.
The world around Xu Shiyue wasn't that different from the world around Lu Shizhen; both were high-end shopping malls with few people and expensive items.
Xu's mother personally drove Xu Shiyue and Lu Shizhen to the store they had booked to choose clothes. The flowing tulle skirts piled up together were so eye-catching that it was hard to look away.
The heavy curtain was pulled back, and Xu Shiyue walked out of the fitting room, her skirt trailing behind her.
The deep green color flowed across the satin skirt, and the pale skin glowed with a porcelain-like sheen under this color.
Because it was for a ball, although the dress still used a lot of design and fabric, it wasn't exaggerated to the point of puffing out.
The delicate shoulder straps hugged the collarbone, supporting the weight of the entire dress, while the well-tailored sway neckline created an elegant yet languid feel.
Just now, to make it easier to try on clothes, Xu Shiyue casually clipped her hair up with a clip.
A few stray strands of hair couldn't hide her slender and straight neck, where the bones at the spine protruded slightly, running down her neck until they were cut off by the fabric across it, her beautiful butterfly-shaped shoulder blades looking as if wings were lurking beneath them.
The fluorescent lights in the room shone on Xu Shiyue, giving her a youthful elegance that was somewhere between an adult woman and a teenage girl.
Lu Shizhen, who was being led by the shop assistant to the fitting room, suddenly stopped, her gaze fixed on Xu Shiyue with a dazed expression.
"Does it look good?" Xu Shiyue walked out of the fitting room and looked straight at Lu Shizhen and asked.
"It looks good." Lu Shizhen nodded, feeling a little annoyed by her lack of vocabulary, and also a little afraid that she would reveal more about her feelings for Xu Shiyue.
Xu Shiyue looked at Lu Shizhen with a smile in her eyes, then asked Lu Shizhen, who was walking into the inner room, "Where are you going?"
"My dress doesn't fit well, I need to get it altered," Lu Shizhen said, pinching the excess fabric around her waist with a hint of helplessness.
"Then let's go quickly." Xu Shiyue didn't waste any time and gestured to the shop assistant next to her.
As Xu's mother watched Xu Shiyue walk up to her, her skirt trailing behind her, she admired her daughter and exclaimed, "I didn't expect Zhenzhen to look so plump, but she's actually quite thin. I was completely wrong."
"Mom, you forgot, Sixteen was sick for a long time before that," Xu Shiyue said, sitting down next to her mother.
So over the years, Xu Shiyue has tried many ways to help Lu Shizhen gain weight, but unfortunately, none of them have been very effective.
She was hospitalized for too long when she was sick, and she was too young.
"Yes, poor little thing." Mrs. Xu sighed and instructed her daughter, "October, you must take good care of Zhenzhen from now on."
"Yes." Xu Shiyue nodded. "I will, Mom."
Evenly spaced spotlights cast a soft glow. Xu Shiyue watched Lu Shizhen's retreating figure with the shop assistant, a secret hidden beneath her calm eyes.
She will take good care of Lu Shizhen.
No matter how long into the future.
She decided to confess her feelings to Lu Shizhen on the day of Lu Shizhen's ball.
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