Chapter 19: Daily Life
Ever since he confessed to An Ran'er at the beach, Li Nuo had been distracted for several days.
He still did not understand what happened that night. How did he suddenly find the courage to say those things to An Ran'er?
At first, he worried about how he would face her after returning to school. Luckily, she had taken leave for some reason and had not come to school these past few days.
Still, he never expected that An Ran'er did not like boys. Of course, he did not know whether that was just an excuse she used to reject him.
But in the end, he had still been rejected, hadn't he...
Looking out the classroom window, he let out several long sighs.
At that moment, someone patted him on the shoulder from behind.
"What's wrong, Xiao Nuo? Why are you sighing all the time?"
Li Nuo turned around and looked at Zhou Qikuan, who was currently looking happier than ever. He sighed again.
"I really envy you."
"Huh? Why would you envy me?"
"You're tall, handsome, and rich."
"Oh, come on. Stop that and tell me what's bothering you. Maybe it'll cheer me up."
Li Nuo did not want to tell anyone that his confession had been rejected, so he brushed it off.
"Nothing. I just thought about some sad things."
Since Li Nuo said that, Zhou Qikuan did not ask further. Instead, he comforted him.
"Then stop thinking about sad things. You should smile more. Good things happen when people smile."
"Yeah, yeah."
Li Nuo answered expressionlessly. Then he suddenly thought of something.
"By the way, how are things going with that girl, Ye Feilu?"
"What do you mean, how are things going?"
Zhou Qikuan scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Don't you like her? Have you confessed yet?"
"What are you talking about, Xiao Nuo? We've only met twice!"
Clearly startled, Zhou Qikuan's face turned slightly red as he quickly replied. Seeing his reaction, Li Nuo smiled teasingly.
"Really? You two looked pretty close at the beach."
"You don't get it. It's because we have common interests."
"Yeah, sure."
"But I did get her contact information. Let me show you."
He took out his phone and opened QQ, showing Li Nuo an account with an anime girl profile picture.
"So it's just her QQ."
"Of course not. I also got her phone number!"
"That's it?"
Li Nuo looked unimpressed. It seemed Zhou Qikuan was not doing much better than him after all.
Seeing Li Nuo's doubtful look, Zhou Qikuan got a little worked up.
"Just wait and see. I'll confess to her sooner or later!"
The moment he finished speaking, a girl's voice came from behind him.
"Who are you planning to confess to?"
The voice made Zhou Qikuan jump. He turned around and saw Su Wenwen standing behind him.
Trying to stay calm, he said,
"W-What's it to you?"
"Of course it concerns me. I'm your fiancée!"
Su Wenwen answered seriously. Her words immediately attracted the attention of the nearby students.
"Fiancée?"
"People really get engaged while still in high school?"
"I thought that only happened in manga."
………………………
The whispers from the students annoyed Zhou Qikuan.
He grabbed Su Wenwen's arm and pulled her out into the hallway.
After reaching a quiet place, he said,
"Su Wenwen, I'm begging you. Can you stop telling everyone you're my fiancée?"
"You still haven't told me who you're going to confess to."
Seeing that she refused to let it go, Zhou Qikuan decided not to hide it anymore.
"I'll be honest. I already like someone else. So stop following me around."
Su Wenwen's expression changed slightly after hearing that. Then she calmly asked,
"Can you tell me when this started? And what's her name?"
"It started last week. Her name is Ye Feilu. Happy now?"
Zhou Qikuan answered impatiently.
"Ye Feilu, is it? Fine. I understand."
A trace of resentment appeared in Su Wenwen's eyes as she stared at him. Then she turned around and left.
Only after she was gone did Zhou Qikuan finally relax.
He felt that since he had already made things this clear, Su Wenwen would finally give up on the idea of marrying him.
Back in the classroom, Li Nuo immediately asked,
"So? What did you tell her?"
"I told her everything."
"Huh. And she didn't get angry?"
"I don't know. But she should understand now that there's no future between us."
"Looks like being too attractive isn't always a good thing."
Li Nuo said thoughtfully. "You brat, are you making fun of me?"
Zhou Qikuan cracked his knuckles.
"No, no, not at all."
Li Nuo quickly turned back around.
Teenagers all had their own troubles.
………………………
Time passed, and before long, school was over.
Sitting on the bus home, Li Nuo wondered whether he should ask An Ran'er why she had not come to school these past few days.
But after thinking about it for a long time, he still did not have the courage to send the message.
Before returning to his rented apartment, he went to his usual part-time job at the noodle shop.
There were not many customers today.
When he entered, he saw the owner rolling dough in the kitchen.
"Aunt Ye, I'm here to help."
After putting down his schoolbag, he called out to the owner's wife, who was checking the accounts.
Hearing his voice, she looked up and smiled.
"Oh, Xiao Nuo, you're here. There aren't many customers right now. Can you help wash the dishes in the kitchen?"
"Sure, no problem."
Because the noodle shop was small, Li Nuo was the only waiter.
So whenever business was slow, he would help out in the kitchen by washing dishes.
After finishing all the dishes, he had nothing else to do.
There were simply too few customers today.
While he was sitting on a chair daydreaming, the owner's wife brought over a steaming bowl of beef noodles.
"You haven't had dinner yet, have you? Eat this first. It's not busy anyway."
Looking at her kind smile, Li Nuo nodded blankly and started eating.
Seeing him devour the noodles, she chuckled.
"Slow down. Don't choke."
"Mhm."
While Li Nuo was eating, she looked at him with a smile and said,
"Xiao Nuo, it would've been great if you were a girl. With that pretty little face of yours, everyone would adore you. You're hardworking, good at taking care of a home, and you're obedient and sensible too."
"Cough! Cough!"
Li Nuo almost choked on the noodles.
"Aunt Ye, please stop joking with me."
"I'm not joking."
She shook her head.
"If you were a girl, I'd definitely introduce you to my useless son. What a pity..."
"......"
Li Nuo said nothing more and quietly finished his bowl of noodles.