Giving and Receiving

"Liang Zhirou," Chen Lu called out.

The girl raised her head slightly, looking a little puzzled.

"Thank you."

Chen Lu thought for ages but couldn't come up with anything better to say.

Not that it mattered. No matter how flowery his words were, this dummy, who couldn't even catch the joke about having a bad stomach, might not understand them anyway.

Come to think of it, he hadn't been wrong about one thing yesterday-soft rice really was delicious.

"Mm!" Liang Zhirou's voice was soft and sweet, unusually cheerful.

All her sleepiness and fatigue vanished like smoke with those words of thanks, leaving no trace.

On the way here, Liang Zhirou had kept wondering if she should just forget it, beating the retreat drum countless times.

She had imagined countless possibilities: Chen Lu might politely refuse, or say it didn't taste good. She had even wondered if he might think she was being too strange.

She had all sorts of messy guesses, but she also felt that Chen Lu was a gentle person, and that he was more likely to force himself to finish it.

Though that would save her from embarrassment, she wanted even less for Chen Lu to force himself.

Fortunately, Chen Lu seemed to genuinely like it...

Chen Lu gulped down several large mouthfuls of water. Finally, the taste of century egg was gone from his mouth. He stretched contentedly, his eyes on the girl before him.

His face was expressionless, but his gaze was gentle.

Liang Zhirou also worked up the courage to look at him, and their eyes met in that instant.

Then the girl hurriedly looked away, as though trying to escape.

Without a word, neither of them mentioned "wanted to see me that badly" again.

"Why... why do you keep looking at me...?"

After a little while, the girl finally couldn't stand being stared at any longer. She hastily turned her face away and lowered her head, asking bashfully.

"Don't move." Chen Lu rubbed his forehead, seemingly thinking about something.

"Huh?"

"I said, don't move."

"Oh..."

Liang Zhirou was thoroughly confused, but she obediently stood in front of Chen Lu, her left arm hanging down and her right hand gripping it.

The girl turned her faintly flushed cheek away. Her arm pressed her white T-shirt tight, making the curves beneath it impossible to miss.

Anyone who didn't know better would have thought Chen Lu was bullying an innocent young maiden.

Liang Zhirou's face and ears turned red under his gaze, her earlobes burning. Her clear, bright eyes grew watery, and she looked ready to cry at any moment.

"What are you doing...?"

She grew a little uneasy, looking like someone being picked on, her voice tinged with tears.

Chen Lu didn't know whether to laugh or cry at her reaction. Once again, he forced down the urge to tease her and said half-jokingly:

"I'm thinking about how to repay you."

He felt Liang Zhirou was far too different from other girls. She had almost no life of her own, no hobbies of her own.

Though they hadn't known each other long, he had never seen Liang Zhirou smile.

This dummy instinctively suppressed her emotions and felt inferior to the bone.

What should I do...?

Chen Lu felt that, as this dummy's good friend, he should do something, even if only for that piece of candy and this breakfast.

But for the moment, he had no idea what to do.

"Huh? Why do you want to repay me?" Liang Zhirou wondered if she was still half asleep. She hadn't been on the same wavelength as him at any point today.

"Why do you only ever say 'mm' and 'huh'...?" Chen Lu chuckled. "Because I want us to be very, very good friends, it's best if what we give and receive is equal."

Finally, he looked into the distance and added thoughtfully, "That's how it'll last."

Liang Zhirou pursed her lips shyly, looked at the sun climbing higher and higher, and took out her phone to check the time.

She stole another glance at the gentle, handsome young man in front of her, then picked up the food container with a contented heart and gave him a little wave. "I'm going now."

"Where are you going?" Chen Lu asked, his voice full of curiosity and confusion.

So you came all this way just to bring me breakfast?

"To hand out flyers." Liang Zhirou held up a slender, fair index finger, looking rather proud. "I don't have classes today, so I can earn over a hundred extra."

After work, I can make Mom some pork ribs.

Chen Lu's first instinct was to offer to help her, but he quickly dismissed the thought.

Liang Zhirou needed help, but certainly not kindness forced upon her like that.

She didn't need "charity."

That would only make the insecure girl feel more embarrassed.

"You have something to do today? But you said you were coming over last night. I thought you were coming to help."

Chen Lu spoke helplessly, feeling a little disappointed.

He felt he had fallen for Lin Miaomiao's trick.

He had fallen for it hook, line, and sinker.

Hadn't Lin Miaomiao really used Liang Zhirou as bait?

Chen Lu had never imagined he would actually bite.

Liang Zhirou was leaving for her part-time job, but he had promised again and again to help, so he really couldn't bring himself to leave.

His plan to get to know Liang Zhirou better seemed to have fallen through, but Chen Lu wasn't in a hurry.

"Will you come back when you're done?"

Somehow, Chen Lu found himself asking.

"Yes."

Liang Zhirou answered immediately for no apparent reason, then hurriedly worked out whether she would actually have time to come back. Once she was sure she did, she nodded firmly again.

"Okay, I'll wait for you," Chen Lu said with a quiet laugh.

After watching the girl disappear from sight, Chen Lu walked over to the drama club crowd in a bad mood. Seeing Lin Miaomiao about to sit down after running through the script, he quietly pulled her chair away.

"Ah! That hurts!!"

Liang Zhirou walked toward the bus stop, feeling the breeze that kept brushing against her cheeks.

After the Qingming Festival, the weather had grown warmer and warmer. The sunlight was mild, and willow fluff drifted lightly through the air like falling snow.

The students around her walked together, laughing and chatting about the latest gossip or games. The girls passing by were all dressed up like blooming flowers, freely giving expression to their youth. Only she seemed out of place in the scene.

Liang Zhirou brushed the loose strands of hair the wind had blown out of place back behind her ear, then took out her phone, wiped the screen, and looked at herself.

She didn't seem to measure up to the girl she had seen in the cafeteria at all.

Even if their hairstyles and looks were about the same, her timid gaze and long bangs cost her far too many points.

A moment later, the girl sighed quietly and tied her hair back into a ponytail.

She was going to work, after all. Long hair was inconvenient and would make her feel hot.

Liang Zhirou couldn't figure out why she had let her hair down in the first place.

It was really inexplicable.

By evening, dusk was deepening.

Chen Lu looked at the sun turning fiery red on the horizon and yawned lazily.

The lights came on over the sports field. There were no longer any runners; it had become the domain of couples strolling hand in hand.

The drama club members were still running through their lines with enthusiasm. Their performance seemed to have been inspired by The Age of Awakening.

The script they were performing roughly told the story of the awakening and transformation of students at this university during that era.

Through the perspectives of several students, it showed the changing ideas of that period, telling a story that began with their initial ignorance and ended with them following in the footsteps of the martyrs.

Chen Lu studied history extensively outside class, and when he wasn't needed for manual labor, he could actually discuss revisions with the student who had written the script.

His knowledge of modern history wasn't as detailed, though, because reading about it truly hurt his heart.

When he read about earlier history, he would at most sigh with emotion, but modern history often brought tears to his eyes.

"Whoa, senior, how come you know how to do everything?" The bespectacled boy stared at Chen Lu in astonishment, growing more pleased with his revised script the more he read it.

He really couldn't figure out where the vice president had found a senior like this, who could help with anything, just like Doraemon.

Chen Lu's knowledge of history was precise enough to include the exact years, while most of his own knowledge... had already been returned to his high school history teacher.

Now, all he knew was that he could eat three bowls of rice in one sitting.

"I learn a little of everything when I have nothing to do. I'm idle anyway, and it doesn't hurt to know a few more things."

Chen Lu picked up a speaker and shrugged as he spoke, following the rest of the group as they carried everything back.

Just then, a girl struggling somewhat with the things she was carrying came staggering along beside him.

It was Liang Zhirou.