Chapter 400: Chapter 320: Lin Lu, Confession!!!

Personality determines fate.

This phrase is sometimes very accurate.

Many of the situations Shen Qingning was in now were of her own making.

She was too proud and too aloof.

She was also too rational, rational to the point of always thinking of some compromising solutions.

But sometimes the world just doesn’t have a perfect solution.

Shen Qingning’s quote: “Only fools fall in love.”

She was right.

All she faced now was because she wasn’t foolish enough.

Once there was substantial progress between her and Cheng Zhu, she would arrogantly step back.

This was the second time she listened to Cheng Zhu singing “The Longest Movie.”

Only this time, she was amazed by Cheng Zhu’s singing and, after leaving the KTV, dwelled on the kiss in the car.

In the end, they even agreed to attend a Zhou Jielun concert together.

But at this moment, she watched the music video on the screen with a hazy look, reading the lyrics.

For a while, she didn’t know if she was getting tipsy or something else made her feel increasingly groggy.

Clearly, clearly we…

–“[Is love more precious when left unspoken?]”

–“No, it isn’t.”

…

…

As the song ended, Cheng Zhu put down the microphone, feeling like he performed very steadily despite the alcohol, a true singing god of Hang City.

Even Zhou Jielun would applaud for me!

And then, Shen Qingning heard the undisguised cheers and applause from Lin Lu next to her.

It was the first time she heard Cheng Zhu sing this song.

Her eyes, always expressive, were even brighter than usual.

“It sounds so good!”

Xu Ruoan, the instigator bomb, was really explosive once ignited.

Seeing Lin Lu’s behavior, she immediately took action, teasingly asking, “Is it really that good?”

Even the straightforward Lin Lu was somewhat embarrassed by her tone, but thankfully she was flushed from the alcohol, so it wasn’t clear if she was blushing.

“It is good, though,” Lin Lu felt she was telling the truth.

“Yes, yes, yes,” Xu Ruoan kept laughing at her.

Only Shen Minglang murmured to himself, “I sing alright too, don’t I? Not much worse than my cousin, right?”

Jiang Wanzhou, sitting beside him, rolled his eyes, letting him figure it out for himself.

He was very aware of how amazing Cheng Zhu was at singing, especially folk songs.

In recent years, folk music was still quite popular.

He had a natural voice for folk, which carried a story feeling with it–that was truly amazing.

Seeing that the next song was picked by Shen Minglang but Jiang Wanzhou had sung it before, Cheng Zhu immediately passed the microphone to him, letting the cousins sing a duet.

He was afraid of holding the microphone himself all the time, worried that the instigator bomb would pair him up with Lin Lu for a duet.

When the time was nearing midnight, they stopped singing.

Cheng Zhu had long since stopped sitting on the couch, at some point ending up on the outermost bench, closest to the birthday cake set up by the door.

This way, it was natural for him to retrieve the cake.

Assuming once again the role of the man of the house.

In the end, he inserted the birthday candles and lit them.

Lin Lu watched from the side, her face always brimming with a smile.

As the clock struck one in the morning, the lights in the private room were turned off, and everyone started to sing the birthday song together.

After the song, everyone shouted in unison, “Happy birthday, Lin Lu!”

Lin Lu clasped her hands before the birthday cake, making a wish.

But being her, whether it was the influence of alcohol or just her nature, she muttered her wish, her lips buzzing slightly.

This small gesture was imperceptible, even impossible to read through lip-reading.

“Wish for Cheng Zhu to hang out with me on Christmas Day!”

“Ah, no, he would probably agree to that right away, so wish for his milk tea shop to grow and prove that I really bring good fortune,” Lin Lu thought to herself.

“Huff–!” She puckered her lips and blew fiercely, extinguishing all the candles in one breath, quite pleased with herself.

As the wish-making ended, the lights in the private room were turned back on, and everyone applauded.

Wearing a black dress and a birthday crown, Lin Lu sat down and started cutting the cake for everyone.

The cake had the words “Happy Birthday Lin Lu” on it.

When she cut it, she specifically gave the piece with her name to Cheng Zhu.

It was one of those quirky little thoughts of a young girl.

Cheng Zhu accepted the piece of cake with a somewhat amused look.

“These ‘Lin Lu’ characters are about to be devoured by me,” he thought, looking at the cake.

Once everyone finished the cake, the intermission came to an end.

To be exact, Lin Lu’s birthday had just started, so everyone was willing to be lively, creating a spirited atmosphere.

The drinking games resumed, and they played “Ten Thirty,” everyone out for themselves.

Shen Qingning was out of it, looking lost and clueless about what cards to call, playing in a dazed state.

As a result, she had to drink as a penalty in the first round.

And, unfortunately, there was a lot to drink in this round.

Shen Minglang, Cheng Zhu, and Jiang Wanzhou all drank in her stead, but she also stubbornly poured herself some drink.

Around one o’clock, she leaned back on the couch, clearly having drunk too much.

In fact, everyone was quite buzzed by now, with only Cheng Zhu, that dog of a man, holding back his strength, not drunk in the slightest, just a bit tipsy.

Seeing his sister nearly unconscious, Shen Minglang promptly stood up, offering to take her home.

Lin Lu was concerned, and seeing that everyone had enough, suggested they call it a night.

As she announced the end of the evening, her gaze could not help but drift towards Cheng Zhu.

Everyone stood up and put on their coats.

With her last bit of soberness, Shen Qingning insisted on walking out on her own, only agreeing to be supported by Shen Minglang.

“You drank too much,” he mildly scolded his sister: “I told you I would drink for you.”

“I… I didn’t drink too much,” the proud one was still acting proud even now.

Lin Lu saw her staggering steps and immediately went to help.

Seeing her step in, Cheng Zhu quickly called Shen Minglang to bring the car up to the door, then he started helping Shen Qingning.

Shen Qingning opened her bleary eyes, saw Cheng Zhu, and her heart settled a great deal, becoming even more out of it.

It took some effort to get her into the car, and then the instigator bomb Xu Ruoan struck again.

“Lu Lu, He Chong and I are going to head out now, to give you two some space.”

Without waiting for Lin Lu to respond, she dragged He Chong to the car.

After getting in the car, the tipsy He Chong was grinning and asked, “Where are we going now?”

“You were just okay today, take me home!” Xu Ruoan answered.

“Ah?” He Chong was baffled.

After a few drinks, you were usually so eager!

Meanwhile, Jiang Wanzhou and Ji Shiwen were also saying goodbye to Lin Lu.

Since Ji Shiwen hadn’t driven, Cheng Zhu started instructing Jiang Wanzhou: “It’s too late, unsafe to take a taxi, call a designated driver, and drop her off.”

“Ah? Well… okay then,” Jiang Wanzhou looked at Ji Shiwen, saying, “I’ll take you.”

Wearing black-rimmed glasses, Ji Shiwen was a bit embarrassed, declining at first, saying she could just take a taxi.

However, the spirited Lin Lu, fueled by alcohol, directly pulled Ji Shiwen into the car.

And just like that, she was pushed into President Jiang’s Mercedes G-Class.

After everyone left, only Cheng Zhu and Lin Lu remained in the parking lot outside the KTV.

They exchanged a look, and for some reason, Lin Lu suddenly laughed, flashing two adorable dimples.

“What are you laughing at?”

“Nothing!”

She held her slightly flushed face, just looking at Cheng Zhu, then suddenly exclaimed, “Cheng Zhu! It’s snowing! It’s snowing!”

“You’re drunk!” Cheng Zhu replied irritably.

Yet the next moment, he too was slightly taken aback.

Because he too saw the scattered snowflakes.

“Eh, it really is snowing?”

However, the snow was very light.

It was uncertain whether it would get heavier later.

Although her birthday event had ended, and it was chilly outside, neither of them wanted to leave.

She didn’t want to go home.

He knew she didn’t want to go home.

“Cheng Zhu, I do feel like drinking today,” Lin Lu said.

“Why? Because it’s your birthday?” he asked.

“No,” Lin Lu looked up at him, her breaths forming whisps of steam in the cold winter night, “I’m actually very bold, really cool! But today, I think I need some courage.”

Cheng Zhu, dumbfounded, looked down at her bright and lively eyes.

He could guess what was coming next.

“Has anyone told you you’re cool?” he reflexively changed the subject, acting on the basic instincts of a scoundrel.

“No!” Lin Lu was quite irritated at that remark, her finely shaped eyebrows furrowing, her lips tightly pursed, her face tensing up a bit.

“No one says I’m cool, but I just feel that I am cool, you can’t see my inner self!” Lin Lu was annoyed.

Everyone was always saying how cute she was.

Little did they know that her belief in being cool also radiated cuteness.

“Do you know when a person is the coolest?” Cheng Zhu smoothly continued with her words.

“When?” Lin Lu was genuinely curious.

“When a person doesn’t have someone they like, that’s when they’re the coolest,” Cheng Zhu said.

That was really what he thought.

Once you start to like someone, your heart becomes muddled and insecure, constantly hesitating…

So many things you could do on your own, but you start thinking how great it would be if the other person were there.

“Ah?” Lin Lu didn’t expect such an answer.

Then, amid the tiny snowflakes falling in the night sky, the tipsy Little Lu started seriously pondering Cheng Zhu’s words.

After a while, she voiced, “It kind of makes sense, no, it really makes sense!”

She recalled her friends who suddenly become different people once they started liking someone.

Especially those with unrequited love or secret crushes… or, like her, in an ambiguous phase, still unsure whether the other person liked her back.

Yes! When you don’t have someone you like, that’s when you’re the coolest!

With that thought, Lin Lu suddenly took in a deep breath.

Cheng Zhu jumped, thinking she might feel sick from drinking.

But he saw a very serious face.

Lin Lu wanted to take a step forward to be closer to him.

However, for some reason, she ended up stepping back a little, which somehow seemed more appropriate.

And so, there was a not too close, not too distant space between them.

Scattered snowflakes twirled between them.

Under the streetlight, the white and crystal-clear snowflakes stood out brightly.

Today’s snow was actually very small, but for some reason, in their memory, it seemed to be very heavy.

The usually a bit silly, adorable, straightforward, and enthusiastic girl, finally threw a pitch that was unmissable.

“Okay then, Cheng Zhu.” She suddenly smiled, retracting her previous arrogant self-praise, yet conveying a richer meaning.

“Cheng Zhu, I’m not cool at all now.”

…

(ps: Second update, written until half past two in the morning, I need monthly tickets!

Also, today is Christmas, happy birthday Little Lu!!!)