Watching Him Smile

After lazing around all day and staying up half the night, Chen Lu only got his clothes together at noon the next day, ready to accompany Chen Mo on a shopping trip.

As he got ready, he didn't forget to send Liang Zhirou a message.

Chen Lu: Are you working your part-time job at Guomao Shopping Mall today too? What time do you get off? I need to talk to you about something.

Liang Zhirou: Huh? What do you want to talk about...

Chen Lu: Now I know who I learned to say "huh?" all the time from. Anyway, it's very important, so I have to tell you in person.

Liang Zhirou: I get off at six.

Chen Lu: I'll come pick you up then.

Liang Zhirou: Okay.

All he had to do was spend a whole day shopping with Chen Mo, and not only could he make his little sister happy, he could also find Liang Zhirou an easier part-time job.

Then their parents would be happy too, with Chen Mo spending a little more time studying every day.

Chen Lu felt it was a pretty good deal. If he stayed home, he'd only read and play games anyway.

The two of them arrived at Guomao Shopping Mall, where Liang Zhirou worked part-time.

Although he had prepared himself, he never imagined the mall could be so crowded during the holiday.

Fortunately, the air conditioning was on full blast, making it less irritating.

Chen Mo clung to his arm, pulling him over to look at this and then that, as if she had an endless supply of energy.

It left Chen Lu puzzled. How did girls, creatures who couldn't even unscrew a bottle cap, manage to shop for so long without feeling tired?

"Bro, I want fruit tea!"

"I'll buy you one."

"Bro, I want to buy a new skirt later!"

"...Fine."

"Buy me a necklace too?" Chen Mo asked, stopping in front of a jewelry counter, her eyes shining.

"Get lost. Push your luck any further and I'll buy you a set of Five-Year College Entrance Exams and Three-Year Mock Exams."

Chen Mo wasn't annoyed. She kept grinning mischievously and said, "Bro, you wouldn't want your good friend to lose this job, would you?"

"How about this pearl necklace? I think it'd suit you." Chen Lu pointed at a necklace in the display case, as if nothing had happened.

"Nice, nice. You've got a pretty good eye! Take it out and let me try it on!"

A while later, Chen Mo continued shopping with the bag containing the necklace, while Chen Lu already looked like death.

Only then did he discover the flaw in his plan.

This was a world where he alone got hurt...

Chen Lu trudged along half-dead, letting Chen Mo drag him this way and that.

At six, the sky had only grown a little darker, but much of the heat outside had dissipated.

After work, Liang Zhirou carried a cup of milk tea in one hand while vigorously kneading her aching neck with the other. Looking at the record of the 200-yuan transfer on Weixun, she was filled with joy.

This was the fruit of her labor today.

After the ache in her neck eased a little, she took off her hair tie and let her hair fall loose naturally.

Chen Lu had said he liked it that way.

Only then did she suddenly realize her phone had just two percent battery left.

She saw a place up ahead where she could rent a power bank, but after some thought, the girl decided against it.

It would cost several yuan.

She used the last of her battery to send Chen Lu a message, and the two agreed on a place to meet.

Chen Lu was sitting in a café on the mall's first floor. The atmosphere was lovely, and there weren't many people there at this hour, so it was quiet.

Like the music playing in the shop, the décor was Victorian in style.

The tables, chairs, and tableware were all very classical.

The only flaw in an otherwise perfect setting was that the lighting was a little dim.

Before long, a long-haired girl timidly walked in.

Chen Lu, sitting in a corner, waved to her and motioned for her to come straight over.

This was Liang Zhirou's first time in a place like this.

She had always thought it was the sort of place that was very fancy and upscale, where everything had to be extremely expensive.

Now that she saw it, it was a little pricey, but nowhere near as shockingly expensive as she had imagined.

"How come you always get here early...?" Liang Zhirou sat down across from Chen Lu, a little embarrassed.

It seemed that apart from the day she had waited for Chen Lu outside the library, he was always the one waiting for her ahead of time.

Even when she brought him breakfast every day, she always thought she had arrived early enough, only to see him sitting in the familiar spot, waiting for her.

For some reason, it gave her a sense of satisfaction to feel so valued.

"Habit," Chen Lu said with a light chuckle.

It really was his habit, though some people appreciated what he did for them, while others didn't.

Seeing the hair tie on Liang Zhirou's wrist, Chen Lu's smile deepened. He had only mentioned it in passing at the time, but he hadn't expected this silly girl to actually remember...

He added, "Actually, I was shopping with my little sister the whole time before I came here. It's just a shame I didn't run into you."

Liang Zhirou pretended not to know anything. "R-really? We probably just missed each other. I didn't see you either."

"That's a bit of a shame," he said with a light chuckle.

The way he was looking at Liang Zhirou made her uncomfortable, so she hurriedly took out what she had bought to change the subject.

She carefully placed the milk tea on the table and pushed it toward him. "I bought you some milk tea..." she said softly.

Hearing that it was for him, Chen Lu was a little surprised and gazed at her intently.

Now the girl was at a loss. If she didn't change the subject, his gaze made her uncomfortable all over, but even after she changed it, his gaze still made her terribly shy.

All she could do was lower her head and look away, not daring to meet his eyes.

Chen Lu accepted it without ceremony, then paused and asked curiously, "Didn't you buy one for yourself?"

"I finished mine on the way. I didn't know what flavor you liked, so I just picked one at random. Try it and see if you like it..." Liang Zhirou took an enormous amount of effort to finally squeeze the words out of her throat. Her ears grew burning hot, and she lowered her head even further.

"I love it," Chen Lu said with a gentle smile, making the girl's thoughts drift for a moment.

The incredibly handsome boy before her and his gentle smile were the only ray of light shining into her dim life.

More than anything, she loved watching him smile.