Several people had ordered alcohol, and the class monitor led the way, going from table to table to toast.

When it was Lu Zhe’s turn, they automatically skipped him, stepping around him to go to the next table.

Lu Zhe paused his chopsticks. He took out his phone, checked the time, and prepared to leave.

Just then, a message popped up.

Su Ci: Which private room number are you in?

Lu Zhe’s gaze darkened slightly. He directly called her.

On the other end of the call, Su Ci answered quickly. She asked him, “Lu Zhe, which private room are you in?”

Lu Zhe had always been smart. He reacted instantly and asked instead, “Where are you?”

“I’m at Yongxiang Tower. Hurry and tell me your private room number.”

Lu Zhe immediately stood up. “Tian-Di Room No. 1. Where are you now? I’ll go find you.”

He walked quickly toward the door. The moment he opened it, he saw Su Ci standing outside.

The girl was still holding her phone, smiling brightly at him. “Surprised?”

Lu Zhe hung up. His cool voice was especially pleasant amid the noisy surroundings. “Why did you come?”

Su Ci smiled. “To celebrate your graduation, of course.”

A lie.

She was actually here to keep watch, to prevent anyone from using the chance to confess to Lu Zhe.

She hadn’t attended her own class’s graduation gathering because she already knew several boys planned to confess to her, and someone had even told her that He Ermeng intended to make a deep, heartfelt confession at the party.

She couldn’t be bothered to deal with it, so she simply didn’t attend.

“Can I go in?” She came precisely to stake her claim, so of course she wanted to go in.

Lu Zhe asked, “Have you eaten yet?”

“No, I rushed here straight after getting off the plane.” Su Ci looked at him pitifully. “I’m tired and hungry.”

“I’ll take you inside to eat something.” Many people in the private room were drinking. The environment was chaotic and noisy, and Lu Zhe didn’t really want Su Ci to enter. But hearing the girl say she was hungry, he couldn’t think too much about it.

Lu Zhe led Su Ci into the private room.

The room, noisy just a second ago, suddenly went silent.

Everyone stared in disbelief at the stunningly beautiful girl following Lu Zhe inside.

Zhao Youyou and the school beauty Jiang Mengqi were already considered very good-looking at school, yet compared to this girl, they weren’t even worth a single strand of her hair. Couldn’t they see the delicate, pale fingers tugging lightly at the hem of Lu Zhe’s clothes—fingers so fine and fair they hardly seemed real?

Compared to the earlier ruckus, now everyone whispered quietly, afraid of disturbing the girl.

Lu Zhe had originally been sitting near the air conditioner, but that spot was narrow and directly facing the cold air—unsuitable for Su Ci.

“Brother Zhe, this way, this way—there’s an empty seat.” Li Dongliang waved.

He hadn’t expected Lu Zhe to actually bring out his little fairy. Looking at the expressions of the people around them—identical to his own shock back then—everyone had been stunned by Lu Zhe’s little fairy.

Lu Zhe led Su Ci over and sat down at the two empty seats beside Li Dongliang.

Being closer, many people now realized the girl beside Lu Zhe was even more beautiful up close. She was so fair, and she was completely barefaced—not even foundation. Probably not even sunscreen. Her skin was smooth and porcelain-white to an extreme.

Lu Zhe asked the waiter to bring a clean set of tableware. After scalding everything with hot water, he finally began helping Su Ci pick dishes.

After living with Su Ci for a while, he had come to understand her tastes.

Su Ci’s chair was positioned very close to Lu Zhe. She sat pressed right up against him, ignoring the people secretly stealing glances her way.

Su Ci drank the juice Lu Zhe poured for her and ate the dishes he picked for her. Her beautiful brows and eyes were full of smiles. “Lu Zhe, did you drink?”

The moment she walked in, she had smelled a strong scent of alcohol in the room.

Lu Zhe: “No.”

Su Ci glanced at the boy under the lights, his features even colder and sharper than usual. His eyes were clear, with no hint of drunkenness. She leaned closer and continued asking, “Did any girl confess to you just now?”

Lu Zhe gave her a faint glance. “No.”

Su Ci smiled, relieved, and began filling her stomach. She really was hungry.

People around them watched as Lu Zhe occasionally added food to the girl’s plate, while the girl ate with her snow-pale cheeks puffed out, her small mouth red and enticing. Tsk—where had Lu Zhe found such a beautiful little enchantress?

Everyone was filled with envy.

Someone braver edged closer and, blushing, said to Su Ci, “You… hello, there are still a lot of delicious dishes here. If you like something, I can order it for you.”

Su Ci slowly chewed the food in her mouth. After swallowing, she looked up and directly refused: “I only eat what Lu Zhe picks for me.”

She turned her head toward Lu Zhe. “I want to eat the five-colored lotus root.”

A faint smile appeared in the depths of Lu Zhe’s dark eyes. Without saying a word, he continued serving her food.

Someone secretly took a photo of Su Ci. Even though it was only her side profile, she was already breathtaking.

The person posted the photo on the school forum: All these years, we wrongly blamed Lu Zhe! I used to think he was blind for rejecting the school beauty, but it turns out the blind one was me!

The moment the post went up, comments flooded in.

“OP, I think I know who you are. I’m crying. I’m also here right now. The great beauty is sitting near me. My heart has nowhere to go, and my hands are shaking as I type.”

“Same, witnessing in person. Say no more—I’m jealous of Lu Zhe!”

“As a face-con, even if it’s only a side profile, I’m already dead.”

“Lu Zhe? Lu Zhe from Class 1, Senior Three? He has a girlfriend?”

“Isn’t he the one with the terminal illness? I’ve seen him at school—cold and expressionless. How is this insanely gorgeous girl blind enough to be his girlfriend?”

“Setting everything else aside—OP, is this photo straight from the camera? You didn’t use level-10 beauty filter, right? Does a side profile like this even exist?”

OP replied to the comment above: “Straight from the camera. No beauty filter. No color filter. The photo isn’t even one-tenth as beautiful as she is in real life!”

“I’m also here, same class as OP. I testify—she’s unbelievably pretty. I could fangirl over Lu Zhe’s girlfriend’s face for a lifetime.”

“I take back everything I ever said about Lu Zhe being blind to the school beauty. Turns out he wasn’t blind—he just didn’t even look at her!”

OP: “I heard Lu Zhe’s girlfriend say she only eats what he picks for her.”

“Nothing else needs to be said—I’m jealous of Lu Zhe! I want to be Lu Zhe!”

“Jealous of Lu Zhe +1.”

“Jealous of Lu Zhe +100.”

“Move aside, let me—Jealous of Lu Zhe +10086…”

Su Ci’s appearance suddenly made everyone in school realize—

Lu Zhe was not pitiful at all.

He had a girlfriend no one could compare to.

Those who had mocked Lu Zhe for being “ungrateful” and rejecting the school beauty now felt their faces swelling from the slap.

– – – ˗ˋˏ♡ˎˊ˗ – – –

By the time they returned to the residence, it was already past nine.

Su Ci hadn’t brought any luggage with her. Her room and her belongings were still here, and Lu Zhe had kept everything carefully intact.

After rushing all the way back and covered in travel dust, Su Ci took a shower. When she came out, she went straight to knock on Lu Zhe’s door.

She twisted the handle and found it unlocked.

She pushed the door open directly and saw Lu Zhe doing push-ups on the floor.

The boy had always been disciplined. He exercised almost every day.

Seeing the girl enter, Lu Zhe stopped.

“Keep going, don’t mind me.” Su Ci sat down on his folding bed, her eyes bright as she watched him. “I haven’t seen you do push-ups in so long. Keep going, I won’t disturb you.”

Lu Zhe gave her a faint glance, but he really did resume his push-ups.

He was still wearing his school uniform. Because of the exercise, he had worked up a sweat. His back was wet, the fabric clinging to him, the subtle outline of his back muscles faintly visible—quietly powerful, silently enticing.

Su Ci watched intently.

Whoever said a man was most handsome when working—she felt a man was most handsome when exercising.

She watched the veins standing out on Lu Zhe’s forearms, the way his muscles tightened with each movement. No wonder every part of him felt solid and firm.

Su Ci sat on the folding bed watching for a while. Somehow, she felt a strange, indescribable sensation spreading through her body. Especially as she watched the force and power in Lu Zhe’s movements, that feeling grew even stronger.

She felt like she urgently needed to do something.

“Lu Zhe…” She had barely spoken when—

Lu Zhe’s phone on the side suddenly rang.

Lu Zhe got up. “What is it?”

Su Ci pressed her lips together. “Take the call first.”

The call was from Fat Fu. Lu Zhe subconsciously frowned, a bad feeling rising. He answered.

“A’Zhe, the old director passed away.”

Lu Zhe tightened his grip on the phone.

“I’m driving over now to pick you up. Pack up,” Fat Fu said.

The director had passed away—they needed to return to attend the funeral.

“Mm.”

Su Ci hadn’t heard what was said on the other end of Lu Zhe’s call. She saw the boy’s expression darken immediately and asked quickly, “What happened?”

“The director is gone. Fat Fu will come pick me up later. You—”

Last time she went to the orphanage, she had suffered quite a bit. Now it was late at night, and rushing over immediately would be even harder on her.

“I’ll go with you.” Su Ci stood up. “I’ll change clothes first, wait for me.”

She had just taken a shower, and was wearing a white nightdress.

Fat Fu arrived quickly. When he saw Su Ci standing beside Lu Zhe, he wasn’t surprised at all. “Get in.”

This time, compared to the last visit to the orphanage, the mood was much heavier. Fat Fu had no intention of cracking jokes. He drove quietly.

It was already past ten at night. Normally, Su Ci would have long been lying in bed, but now, inside the dimly lit car, sleepiness began creeping up on her.

Lu Zhe’s voice was cool, yet gentle. “Sleep for a while first. I’ll wake you when we arrive.”

Su Ci leaned directly against him, and to her surprise, the strange sensation inside her body eased a little.

Instinctively, she leaned closer.

She didn’t know if it was because Lu Zhe’s skin temperature was slightly cool, but being pressed against him felt very comfortable.

Like a little snail, Su Ci inched even closer against him.

It really was comfortable. And that odd, restless feeling inside her body had lessened a lot.

Suddenly, Lu Zhe lowered his head. He leaned close to the girl’s ear, voice suppressed, almost gritted between his teeth. “Don’t move around. Are you going to sleep or not?”

In the depths of his dark eyes, there was none of the usual coldness—only a surging, inexplicable turbulence.

Did she think he was someone without a sense of touch?

Being rubbed against by such a soft, boneless little body over and over—who wouldn’t catch fire?

“I can’t sleep.” Su Ci looked at him pitifully. “Why don’t you… hug me?”

Lu Zhe pressed a hand to his forehead. “If you don’t want to sleep, then don’t. Sit properly.”

Who else behaved like her—soft like she had no bones, draped over someone else entirely?

Su Ci knew Lu Zhe was in a bad mood and didn’t want to make trouble for him, but her body wasn’t cooperating. She had no idea what was happening to her at all.