Chapter 128: This Is So Unfair!
‘Big Harvest’ was a pretty well-known hotpot and dry pot restaurant in the area. They didn’t eat there often, but Li Mu really liked the flavor of the food, especially the crispy fish dry pot, it was amazing.
The three of them walked into the restaurant and followed the server to a table for four.
Li Mu noticed that Wang Ruoyan was about to sit down, and quickly gave her a look.
This girl is really clueless! If you sit down first, then Yu Fan will end up sitting next to me!
Thankfully, she wasn’t completely clueless. When she saw Li Mu glaring at her, she paused and looked eagerly at Yu Fan instead.
Yu Fan didn’t think too much. He sat down casually and was about to call Li Mu over, but then Wang Ruoyan sat right next to him.
Yu Fan frowned a little, clearly uncomfortable. He scooted inwards a bit, trying to avoid any physical contact with her, and looked up at Li Mu with a helpless expression, asking for help with his eyes.
Even though Yu Fan had hung out with girls before, mostly through gaming, he never felt very connected to them. They just didn’t have much in common, so deep down, he often felt a bit awkward around them.
But with Li Mu, he could talk about games, history, military, science, space, politics... pretty much anything! It was definitely better than being next to some sweet, clueless girl, wasn't it?
However, Li Mu completely ignored his silent plea and sat down across from them.
Yu Fan looked miserable. He sneaked a glance at Wang Ruoyan beside him.
Sure, he admitted she was older than Li Mu, and a bit shorter in height, which made her kind of cute. He also knew that she liked him.
But... he still preferred being around Li Mu.
The food arrived. Li Mu purposely stayed quiet and focused on eating, giving Wang Ruoyan a chance to talk.
But the silly girl just sat there, blushing, stealing glances at Yu Fan while eating… and somehow looking super satisfied with that.
Li Mu was so frustrated! He lightly kicked her under the table and gave her another look.
Only then did Wang Ruoyan suddenly speak up, “Umm... Yu Fan, when we go to the internet café later, which hero should I play?”
At least she brought up the topic of games. If she had started talking about makeup or skincare, Li Mu really wouldn’t have been able to help.
When it came to games, Yu Fan immediately perked up, “Shadow Fiend or Meepo would be good for you!”
“Huh?”
Seeing her confused expression, Yu Fan quickly switched to classic gamer nonsense to mess with her.
“Shadow Fiend has really cool skills! At the start, go mid, plant a tree, use the roulette, then dance a bit...”
Wang Ruoyan had tried hard yesterday to learn about the game, but there were just too many inside jokes. She didn’t have time to catch up.
Now she just nodded slowly, still looking confused, her eyes full of doubt.
Li Mu finally felt relieved when he saw the two actually talking.
What was going on with these two?!
Yu Fan always said that if any girl confessed to him, he wouldn’t reject her. But looking at him now, it was obvious. This guy was totally dense! He didn’t even seem to understand what girls were!
And Wang Ruoyan, seriously... she said she liked Yu Fan, but she was so clumsy about it. Aren’t you a girl?! Why do you need someone to teach you how to flirt?!
If she kept being this clueless, Li Mu felt like he might just have to show her how it’s done himself.
He took a sip of orange juice, happily eating and watching the two interact.
The mood’s getting there. Maybe Wang Ruoyan will confess to him soon?
Then he’d finally find out whether Yu Fan was actually gay or not!
And he was sitting right here, so no matter how Yu Fan reacted, he’d see everything clearly.
Just as things were going well, Yu Fan suddenly stood up and said, “I’m going to the restroom, excuse me.”
After he left, Wang Ruoyan looked to Li Mu for help. “Is Shadow Fiend really as awesome as he said?”
“???”
The girl’s eyes were sparkling. “It sounded really cool!”
“When he comes back, why don’t you just tell him you like him?”
“Huh?”
Li Mu felt mentally exhausted. He really didn’t want to deal with this anymore.
He was worried Yu Fan would finish eating and just go home if things kept dragging on.
Wang Ruoyan’s face was as red as an apple. She stammered, “But... how should I say it?”
“Don’t tell me you want me to show you how?”
“I mean... you could.”
“......”
Seeing his speechless face, she gave a bitter little smile and said, “But Yu Fan really doesn’t seem to like me...”
“It actually looks more like he likes you.”
As a girl, she was sensitive to these things. She muttered, “When he’s with you, he acts totally different than when he’s with other people.”
Li Mu took a sip of orange juice. “Don’t make it weird.”
“But it’s true! The way he looks at you is different.”
“I’m a guy.”
That made Wang Ruoyan even more frustrated. She covered her face with both hands and looked like she was about to cry.
“I can’t even compete with a guy...”
“???”
“Li Mu, that ‘older sister’ of yours... it was actually you, wasn’t it?”
Before Li Mu could deny it, Wang Ruoyan pouted and said, “Anyone with eyes could tell. Even if you were twins, how could a brother and sister look that alike?”
“People just didn’t notice because they didn’t think much of it.”
Li Mu went quiet and didn’t respond. He was afraid she was trying to trap him into admitting something.
“So that whole thing about your ‘sister’ dating Yu Fan... it was all just to cover up the fact that you were cross-dressing, right?”
Wang Ruoyan frowned slightly and kept going, “Or maybe... you and Yu Fan really are dating, and this was just a prank on me. But I don’t think you two are that mean.”
He had no words. Nothing he could say would help.
“I think... I’ll just give up.” Wang Ruoyan lay her head down on the table, completely defeated.
“I’m not as pretty as you. Yu Fan clearly likes you more. Guys must understand other guys better too. How are girls supposed to compete? It’s so unfair.”
Li Mu quickly said, “No, it’s not like that between me and him—”
But before he could finish, Wang Ruoyan cut him off. “Even if you two aren’t dating, having a super good-looking guy best friend is still super annoying.”
Honestly, if Li Mu had a girlfriend, and his girlfriend’s best friend looked more handsome than most guys, he’d probably feel uncomfortable too.
He understood where she was coming from. But that didn’t make the situation any less awkward.
Luckily, Yu Fan came back at that moment.
He happily plopped down next to Li Mu and looked up, “Ruoyan, can you pass me my bowl and chopsticks?”
Wang Ruoyan looked even more down, but nodded and handed them over.
Li Mu could only let out a long sigh.
“What’s wrong with you now?”
Yu Fan glanced at him and cheerfully picked up a piece of boneless fish, putting it in Li Mu’s bowl.
“Here, eat this one. It doesn’t have any bones. Cheer up!”
“......”
Wang Ruoyan almost snapped her chopsticks in half.
She was the girl! The one treating them to the meal! And Yu Fan hadn’t even given her any food!
She really can't compete with a guy.
Li Mu was starting to suspect Yu Fan was doing it on purpose. So he leaned closer and quietly asked in Yu Fan’s ear, “Can’t you tell that Wang Ruoyan likes you?”
Yu Fan blinked innocently, then leaned in and whispered back, “But... she’s not even as pretty as you, right?”
“I mean, it was fine before, but now I think, if your girlfriend isn’t even better-looking than a guy, that’s kinda depressing, isn’t it?”
Wang Ruoyan watched the two of them whispering intimately to each other, she didn’t even feel like eating anymore.