Unreliable

"What's wrong?"

Lu Zhiyu had gone shopping and had lunch with Li Wei. He noticed that whenever she spoke, she seemed to want to say something but held back. Setting down his chopsticks, he looked at her and asked.

Li Wei shook her head. "It's nothing. I just feel like, even when we've only been apart for a little while, the next time I see you, there's always this extra sense of distance and unfamiliarity."

Lu Zhiyu knew, of course, that it was because he often went into the Universe Scroll and stayed there for months at a time. Whenever he appeared again, only a day had passed for Li Wei, while for him it felt like a reunion after a long separation.

Lu Zhiyu smiled. "Isn't that kind of mysterious? It's like every day feels different."

Li Wei seemed less like her usual queenly self today and more sentimental. "But I feel like you never really belong to me. You can always tell what I'm thinking, what I like, and what I'm interested in."

"But I've realized I know nothing about you. You're tall, handsome, and gentle. You can give me the romantic love I want and fulfill all my fantasies about men. You're perfect, but I don't know what you're thinking. I've thought about it carefully, and I've realized I don't know you at all. I don't know what you like or dislike. I don't even know about your family or your past!"

Lu Zhiyu looked into Li Wei's eyes, and they gazed at each other. "Why are you thinking about something so serious today? Isn't it enough for two people to be together and be happy?"

Li Wei lowered her head. "My mom called me. She said I have to settle down and find someone to marry this year. I'm not young anymore. In two years, I'll be thirty. You know, women are different from men. Once we turn thirty, we really start to age. And you're younger than me, too!"

Lu Zhiyu froze for a moment and took Li Wei's hand. "So, do you want to marry me?"

Li Wei glanced at Lu Zhiyu, her gaze unfocused, but for the first time, she pulled her hand free. "I don't know."

Lu Zhiyu waved over a server. After paying the bill, he said, "Let's go out and walk around. Haven't you been saying lately that you have nothing to wear? I also bought two movie tickets for tonight. It's an action movie you love. We can watch it together."

They went shopping together. At a shoe store, Lu Zhiyu waited by the counter, loaded down with bags. Several saleswomen whispered and pointed at him. One even pretended to play on her phone while secretly taking pictures, forgetting to turn off the flash. When Lu Zhiyu looked over, her face immediately turned bright red with embarrassment.

"Lu Zhiyu? What are you doing here?"

A clear voice called from behind him. Lu Zhiyu turned and immediately recognized an old acquaintance. "Cai Jiajia?"

Cai Jiajia was wearing tight jeans and a sweatshirt today, along with a pair of glasses. She looked healthy, with a hint of playfulness. Pushing her glasses up, she asked Lu Zhiyu, "Why haven't I seen you at the gym lately? That VIP membership you bought wasn't cheap. Are you just not going anymore?"

Lu Zhiyu shook his head. "I was afraid of disrupting your life, so I stopped going. How have you been? Are you still working there?"

Cai Jiajia nodded. "I'm still working there as a trainer. What about you?"

Lu Zhiyu was about to answer when Li Wei came out from the back after trying on shoes. She saw Cai Jiajia. "Who's this?"

Before Lu Zhiyu could speak, Cai Jiajia quickly explained, "I'm a friend of Lu Zhiyu's. You're his girlfriend, right? Nice to meet you!"

Cai Jiajia didn't even give her name. She nodded, then said to Lu Zhiyu, "I'll leave you two to your shopping. See you!"

Lu Zhiyu nodded, and Cai Jiajia turned to leave. At that moment, Li Wei furrowed her brows and asked Lu Zhiyu, "Who is she? I feel like there's something between you two."

Lu Zhiyu immediately said, "We're just friends. We barely even said anything, and you've already decided there's something going on?"

Li Wei said at once, "The way she looked at you was strange. And she looked at me with hostility, too. Tell me, is she your ex?"

Lu Zhiyu was about to make an excuse, but when he saw Li Wei's expression, he sighed. "All right, I don't want to lie to you. But after we broke up, we never stayed in touch. We just happened to run into each other today."

Li Wei suddenly grew furious. "How many ex-girlfriends do you have? You never tell me about your past. What exactly are you hiding?"

Lu Zhiyu was at a loss. "I'm not hiding anything. I'm a grown man. It's normal to have had a few girlfriends, isn't it?"

"A few? What about her, and that Xia Fan who keeps coming to your shop every day? And Xiao Le at your shop is always flirting with you, too!"

"I told you, I haven't done anything to betray you. Don't make wild guesses, okay? Let's calm down and talk this through."

Li Wei was so agitated that she started arguing with Lu Zhiyu right there in the street. Quite a few people turned to look. Lu Zhiyu picked up the bags she had dropped on the ground and looked at her. He tried to take her hand, but she pulled away again.

They walked down the street, one ahead of the other. After a long while, Li Wei finally said, "Weren't we going to see a movie?"

They watched the movie in silence. It was a comedy, and everyone else was laughing, but the two of them said nothing. Lu Zhiyu didn't probe Li Wei's thoughts. Just as she'd said, he knew everything about her, while she knew nothing about him. It made him feel like a bit of a scoundrel.

"Let's break up."

"Why? There's nothing seriously wrong with our relationship, is there?"

"Maybe it was a mistake from the start. I was attracted to you, but the truth is, we're not right for each other. And you're a few years younger than me."

"Are those the reasons?"

Li Wei was silent for a long time. Then she said the same words Lu Zhiyu had heard before: "I feel like you don't belong to me. You don't love me!"

At the cinema entrance, Li Wei wrapped her arms around Lu Zhiyu's neck. After one long kiss, she ended their relationship. If this had happened to the old Lu Zhiyu, he might have thought it romantic. Now, it only left a bitter taste.

Sitting in the plaza at night, Lu Zhiyu scrolled through his phone and saw that Cai Jiajia had sent him a few WeChat messages. He casually replied.

"Ding-dong!"

As soon as he replied, his phone rang again. Lu Zhiyu glanced at it and saw Cai Jiajia's response: "Since you're free, come out for a drink!"

Lu Zhiyu sat with Cai Jiajia at the bar in a quiet bar. A gentle, tranquil song was playing, sung in Italian. He had no idea what the hell it was about.

"Did you get dumped? Was it because of me?" Cai Jiajia sat beside Lu Zhiyu, her legs crossed. In the light, her profile looked rather alluring.

Lu Zhiyu shook his head. "It had nothing to do with you. But the reason was pretty similar to yours!"

Cai Jiajia immediately burst out laughing. Lu Zhiyu looked helpless. "What are you laughing at? Is it that funny?"

Cai Jiajia covered her mouth. "It's because you're unreliable!"

After sitting for a while, Lu Zhiyu picked up his jacket and stood. "I'll head out first, then. If anything comes up..."

Before Lu Zhiyu could finish, Cai Jiajia grabbed his hand and pressed herself against him, right into his arms. "You're really leaving just like that?"