Chapter 126: The Third Wheel
Yu Fan was trying to guess what Li Mu was thinking. Meanwhile, Li Mu had already laid his head on Yu Fan’s thigh, eyes closed, enjoying the cool autumn breeze on his face.
He had to admit, spending time with Yu Fan felt really nice.
Yu Fan’s bright and cheerful smile seemed like it could heal anything. It washed away all the bad feelings he had earlier in an instant.
No wonder Yu Fan had so many friends.
Li Mu kind of wanted to copy his smile and look cheerful too, but after trying to move the corners of his mouth, he gave up.
“You must’ve gotten something from Wang Ruoyan, right?” Yu Fan asked.
“Yeah.” Li Mu unzipped his jacket and pulled out a pink notebook from the inside pocket. “She gave me her notes. They’re pretty good.”
Yu Fan took the notebook and flipped through it, but his eyes ended up landing on Li Mu’s slightly open jacket.
“Hmm, they’re big.”
“?”
“I meant the notes. They’re very detailed.” Yu Fan smiled and put the notebook into his bag. “You don’t mind if I copy it first?”
“Just give it back to me Saturday night. I need to copy it too. Or make a copy for me.”
Li Mu stretched and yawned. “Any news from Uncle Chen Yi?”
“That ghost is probably hiding somewhere,” Yu Fan explained. “It was the ghost’s first time killing someone. Maybe it’s scared.”
That sounded kind of weird.
Just as Li Mu was about to ask more, he noticed Wang Ruoyan walking over.
He quickly changed the subject. “Wang Ruoyan is pretty, isn’t she? Don’t you like her?”
"Not bad, she is quite pretty." Yu Fan looked up and greeted Wang Ruoyan.
The girl sat down cross-legged without hesitation, but when she saw Li Mu resting his head on Yu Fan’s thigh, a sudden pang of jealousy or unease started to rise in her.
She was quiet for a moment, then asked Yu Fan, “What time are we going out tomorrow?”
“Uh, maybe in the afternoon?” Yu Fan looked a bit awkward. He had only planned to go to an internet café with Li Mu to play games.
“Then how about the three of us go watch a movie?” she suggested, giving Li Mu a meaningful look.
Li Mu got the hint right away and sat up. “I think a movie sounds great!”
When the time came, he’d just buy a ticket for a different movie or a different time. That way, Yu Fan and Wang Ruoyan could be alone together with a good excuse.
“But there aren’t any good movies showing now, are there?” Yu Fan took out his phone to check, shaking his head. “I’m not really into movies.”
“Then… how about we go eat together?” Wang Ruoyan quickly added when she saw he might say no, “My treat this time!”
Yu Fan looked at her in surprise, and she blushed a little, saying shyly, “Usually when we drink milk tea near the school gate, you’re the one who pays.”
“Oh, I treat Xu Ze and Li Mu too when we go for milk tea.” Yu Fan waved his hand casually, not thinking much of it.
Li Mu was a bit shocked. This guy usually seemed socially smart, but why did he act so dense around girls?
“Okay then, it’s set. Saturday at 1 PM, we’ll eat together, and then…” Wang Ruoyan hesitated, then suggested, “Amusement park?”
“That’s a bit childish, isn’t it?” Yu Fan said with a frown.
Li Mu quickly jumped in, “I think the amusement park sounds great! I haven’t been in a long time.”
“Well… okay then.” Yu Fan finally agreed, although he didn’t sound excited.
Wang Ruoyan felt that sour feeling in her mouth getting even stronger, like she had just bitten into a big lemon.
Why was it that as long as Li Mu agrees, Yu Fan agrees too?!
“You’ve been to an amusement park before?” Yu Fan asked while playing with his phone.
Wang Ruoyan looked at Li Mu for help. Li Mu didn’t hesitate and said, “Three-person game at the internet café?”
“Three-person? But does Ruoyan know how to play Dota?”
“She does,” Li Mu said while giving her a sharp look.
The girl quickly nodded and said, “I can learn! I learn fast! When I first played Honor of Kings, I got MVP in my very first game!”
“Let's say it's your way of helping out the Chinese Dota community,” Yu Fan muttered, then nodded. “When the time comes, the two of us will carry you. You just play Position 4 or 5 and follow our lead.”
“P-Position 4 or 5?” Wang Ruoyan looked totally confused.
She looked at Li Mu and Yu Fan, suddenly feeling like maybe she didn’t belong.
Why didn’t she understand what Yu Fan was saying?
And wait a minute! Why does Li Mu look even prettier than her now? Sitting next to Yu Fan, the two of them looked more like a couple...
Luckily, after chatting about the game for a bit, Li Mu stood up and said, “I’m going to buy some snacks.”
“Get me a bag of chips,” Yu Fan said.
Wang Ruoyan quickly stood up too. “I’ll come with you. I want to get snacks too.”
The two of them walked toward the school’s small shop. After walking about a hundred meters and turning behind the classroom building, Li Mu finally stopped.
Just as he was about to speak, Wang Ruoyan looked at him and asked, “You and Yu Fan... are you really just friends?”
“What else would we be?”
“But when you two are together, you look like a perfect match...” she said sadly. “When I sit next to you guys, I feel like a third wheel.”
Li Mu froze, a chill running through him and goosebumps popping up.
He pressed his lips together and asked her, “Did you actually look into those games I told you about yesterday?”
“If you had, how could you have nothing to say just now?”
“You’re just not putting in enough effort when it comes to Yu Fan. Understand?”
Wang Ruoyan looked like a school kid being scolded for doing something wrong. She couldn’t even lift her head.
After a moment, she finally realized that Li Mu was seriously trying to help her get together with Yu Fan.
So she became even more sincere and said, “If I succeed, I’ll wash your clothes for a whole month!”
“I have a washing machine.”
“Why don’t girls’ dorms have one!” Wang Ruoyan widened her eyes.
That wasn’t the point…
“Anyway, when you go back on Friday, play a few rounds of Dota. Don’t show up on Saturday with no clue what’s going on.”
“Also, try to learn more about single-player games too.”
“Learn some common memes or jokes from the Dota community. That’ll help Yu Fan like you more.”
His mouth was dry from all the talking. It was probably the most he had spoken in a single day recently.
Wang Ruoyan nodded while typing his advice into her phone.
This girl… was really kind of dumb!
She usually had pretty good grades, too! So how could she be so clueless when it came to chasing a guy? She was worse than a guy at this!
If I were the one doing it… Yu Fan would’ve been in my bed by now...
Li Mu quickly shut down that wild thought, turned, and kept walking toward the shop. “What are we doing for the fitness test later?”
“Shot put, long jump, running…”
“Give me a few above-average scores, and I’ll skip it.”
Wang Ruoyan blinked. “That’s cheating.”
“It’s not an exam.”
“But still…”
Li Mu turned around and explained, “I need to come up with a plan for you. All the brainwork is making me tired. I’m not in shape to do sports right now.”
Mostly, he just didn’t want to embarrass himself with his current fitness level.
Wang Ruoyan thought for a bit, then muttered, “You're not as innocent as you appear. You’re kinda cunning.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”