Will You Make Me Leave?

Lin Miaomiao took several more big bites. After swallowing, she gently patted her stomach.

It was a mystery how she could eat so much without gaining any weight.

Not only was she thin all over, she wasn't even plump where she should have been. Even Chen Mo looked more like an adult than she did.

Liang Zhirou was different. She wasn't fat either, but she was dazzlingly full in all the right places.

Just then, Lin Miaomiao suddenly raised her juice and said, "Come on, let's celebrate our drama club's first performance coming to a successful conclusion!"

"Shouldn't you save that for tomorrow?" Chen Lu asked curiously.

Lin Miaomiao froze. "Oh, right..."

If I say it today, what will I say tomorrow? Saying it a second time won't have the same feeling.

Chen Lu couldn't help laughing at her stunned expression. He raised his cola and gave Liang Zhirou a look.

Seeing this, Liang Zhirou raised her own glass.

Chen Lu cleared his throat. "Then here's to our meeting."

Lin Miaomiao's lips curled up, revealing her cute little canine teeth. "Okay!"

It was already past eight in the evening when they came out.

A wave of heat hit their faces as soon as they stepped outside.

The streets were still ablaze with lights and nightlife. The nearby barbecue stalls and tables set outside added a lively touch of everyday life.

Quite a few drunk people were making a racket there. Plenty of meat skewers remained on the tables, while the peanuts and edamame kept disappearing.

Together with the sweltering air, they announced the arrival of summer.

Chen Lu let out a breath and asked Lin Miaomiao, "Are you going back on your own, or coming with me to take Liang Zhirou home first?"

Lin Miaomiao smiled, then shook her head. "I'll just get a cab back on my own. It's not far."

She knew Chen Lu wasn't particularly insistent on taking her home either.

Besides, as Liang Zhirou's best friend, even if she didn't know exactly what was going on with the girl and Chen Lu, she still had to keep a little distance.

Some people were great as close friends, laughing and bickering together, but taking things further would only sully the friendship.

That was what Chen Lu was to her.

Just as Chen Lu was taking Liang Zhirou toward where he had parked, Lin Miaomiao waved to him again.

"Come here. I have something to tell you."

Chen Lu found it strange, but walked over with a puzzled look.

Liang Zhirou continued toward the car.

Looking at Lin Miaomiao's somewhat serious expression, Chen Lu joked, "We're not right for each other. You'd better give up now."

Lin Miaomiao froze, nearly forgetting what she had wanted to say.

Furious, she shouted, "Chen Lu, you have no shame!"

Chen Lu suddenly took a couple of steps to the side, looking as though he didn't know her at all.

She turned her head in curiosity and saw that a lot of people at the barbecue stall next door were looking at her curiously.

...Forget what I said. Chen Lu isn't even fit to be a friend.

Once the curious onlookers had all looked away, Chen Lu came back and asked, "What did you want to say?"

Chen Lu thought he could probably guess. He figured it was about Mo Yuqing, since Lin Miaomiao had watched everything from up close.

If he went after one woman in the morning and another by night, then as Liang Zhirou's only female friend, she would naturally deal with a scumbag like him.

Wearing a rare serious expression, Lin Miaomiao said, "You'd better think this through."

"So you're saying that if I don't leave her side now, she won't be able to live without me?" Chen Lu asked softly, looking at Liang Zhirou in the distance.

Lin Miaomiao was taken aback. She hadn't expected Chen Lu to understand without her spelling it out, and thought, No wonder so many people like talking to smart people.

"Yes, but also no." She rubbed the back of her neck and looked Chen Lu straight in the eye. "What I mean is... she already can't live without you."

This silly girl's heart is too small, so small it might only have room for one man in her entire life.

When she sneaks glances at you, there's light in her eyes...

Chen Lu looked at her, somewhat speechless, as though she were stating something utterly unnecessary. Then the corners of his mouth suddenly lifted.

"Don't worry. I'll never leave her."

Just as he finished speaking, the ride Lin Miaomiao had booked arrived. Chen Lu waved and headed toward Liang Zhirou.

As he walked, he thought that Lin Miaomiao was surprisingly perceptive, perhaps only a little below Liu Yan's level.

She was genuinely good to Liang Zhirou, too.

He wondered how the two had met.

When Chen Lu reached Liang Zhirou, he saw her pressing her fingernail into a bump on her arm.

One press across, another down, and a cross appeared.

"Did a mosquito bite you?" Chen Lu asked.

Liang Zhirou nodded.

"My fault. I should've given you the car keys." He smiled and opened the car door, then asked, "Want me to blow on it for you?"

"N-no need..."

Chen Lu said no more, silently cursing the mosquito for not knowing better. If it had bitten me, couldn't I have had this silly girl blow on it for me?

He went on to carefully pull out the seat belt and fasten it for her.

"Did Miaomiao need something?" Liang Zhirou suddenly asked.

Liang Zhirou was different from other girls. When she asked a question, it was just a question; she wasn't probing.

She was genuinely worried that something might be wrong with Lin Miaomiao, not trying to ask what the two of them had talked about.

But Chen Lu didn't care whether she was probing or not. Smiling, he told her the truth. "She told me not to leave you."

Liang Zhirou's mind couldn't process it for a moment. She simply lowered her head in shame, her long, lovely hair hanging beside her ears.

All Chen Lu could see were her reddening ears and snow-white nape.

"Will you leave me?"

After a while, the girl asked in a trembling voice.

Fortunately, Chen Lu always listened carefully when she spoke, or he really wouldn't have heard her.

"Will you make me leave?" Chen Lu asked, looking at the reversing camera as he turned the steering wheel.

"No, I won't," Liang Zhirou said blankly.

How could I ever make you leave?

"Then I won't leave you."

Chen Lu smiled as he spoke.

A few minutes later, Liang Zhirou looked at the streets outside the window and seemed to notice something was wrong.

"This road isn't quite the same as the one to my home."

She was rather proud to find that she could recognize the route.

Chen Lu burst out laughing. "Of course it's different. This isn't the road to your home!"

How can you be so silly? If I really sold you off, you wouldn't even notice, would you?

"Where are you taking me?"

Liang Zhirou wasn't alarmed. She trusted Chen Lu completely, without the slightest doubt.

"To the mall, to buy you an outfit," Chen Lu said seriously.

The girl, who hadn't been worried before, panicked now. "Why are you buying me clothes?"

"You wear the same few white T-shirts in rotation every day. Shouldn't you get some new clothes?" Chen Lu reached out with his right hand and rubbed the hem of her shirt. It had been washed until the fabric was rough, and it didn't feel comfortable at all.

Seeing that the girl still seemed ready to refuse, he added:

"Didn't you buy me milk tea before? Are you going to refuse even when I'm returning the favor?

If we can't give and take, can we still be friends?"

"But that milk tea was very cheap."

"Can friendship be measured in money?"

Liang Zhirou paused. She didn't seem able to argue with that.

It wasn't until the car stopped in front of the mall that she remembered she had given him the milk tea to thank him in the first place.

I gave him a thank-you gift, and now he's giving me one in return?

Hasn't something gone wrong somewhere?