Chapter 217: He Likes Her
That seemed to be such a long time ago.
Lu Huaiyu saw Ning Li and walked towards her.
Ning Li held her backpack straps tightly and walked forward as well.
“Second Brother!” She shouted.
Lu Huaiyu reached out and carried her bag for her.
Ning Li was planning to go back to the Ye family home after the movie, so she took her backpack along with her.
The backpack really did not match his ascetic and reserved appearance, but he did not seem to mind.
Lu Huaiyu glanced at Ning Li.
“Why are you wearing so little? Aren’t you cold?”
The temperature in December was quite low in Yunzhou.
Second High had three sets of school uniforms, one each for spring and fall, another for summer, and one for winter.
At this time, many students had already changed into their winter uniforms.
Ning Li was still wearing the single-layered coat for spring, a loose white sweater, and a black baseball cap.
It did not look like an early winter outfit.
She shook her head. “I’m fine.”
The Ye family driver would usually send her to and from school, and the classroom was warm, so she did not feel cold.
Lu Huaiyu nodded.
“Let’s go then. The movie starts at 7:40 pm.”
The two of them took a taxi to HG.
…
The car drove towards HG.
On Christmas night, the streets were very lively.
The buildings on both sides of the road were lit up with colorful, Christmas-themed lights.
There were Christmas trees, garlands, lights, and ribbons everywhere.
Ning Li looked out of the car window for a while.
When she was at school, the feeling of Christmas was already quite strong, but it still could not compare to the atmosphere outside.
Lu Huaiyu leaned back on the seat and looked at her. “Is it nice?”
Ning Li nodded. “Yeah, it’s so festive!”
In her past life, she had been in the sanatorium for a long time.
During that time, she was stuck looking at the same ward day after day.
There was nothing different between the days.
The white walls and sheets, and the pungent smell of disinfectant became a nightmare that she could not dispel from her mind.
It had been such a long time since she had seen such a festive season.
The people on the road were laughing and colorful lights reflected off of the glass windows.
‘It’s been such a long time…’
Ning Li looked out the window at the lively scene with her clear, bright eyes that seemed to reflect the radiant light, her whole person quiet and well-behaved.
Lu Huaiyu nodded gently and smiled.
“It’s very nice to look at.”
…
Twenty minutes later, they arrived at HG.
A huge Christmas tree stood in the middle of the square. There were all kinds of exquisite gift boxes piled up around it.
Lights were flashing as people were coming and going.
Ning Li followed Lu Huaiyu inside.
Since there were a lot of people, Ning Li followed closely.
Suddenly, a little girl of about ten years old ran next to her holding a handful of roses.
“Mister! Please buy a flower for your girlfriend!”
The little girl tilted her head and looked at Lu Huaiyu expectantly.
‘This guy is so handsome, and the lady next to him is so pretty too!’
Lu Huaiyu stood in place. Ning Li was surprised by the little girl’s words and accidentally walked into Lu Huaiyu’s back. She grabbed Lu Huaiyu’s arm to stabilize herself.
The man looked at her and raised his eyebrows.
Ning Li hurriedly let go of him. When she saw the roses in the little girl’s arms, she was dumbfounded.
‘Is this little girl confused? I’m still wearing my school uniform! How did I become Lu Huaiyu’s girlfriend all of a sudden?’
“Umm… Little girl, you’re mistaken. I’m not his girlfriend.” Ning Li hurriedly went forward to explain.
The little girl instantly froze and blinked innocently. She looked at Lu Huaiyu, then at Ning Li.
‘No? How could it be? I always have a very good eye for this kind of thing!’
She looked at Lu Huaiyu again in disbelief.
“Mister, haven’t you asked her yet? Then, it’s all the more reason for you to buy it!”
Ning Li never expected to hear this and froze in place for a while.
Behind her, Lu Huaiyu suddenly laughed.
Ning Li did not even dare to turn back for a moment.
She fished out her phone from her pocket. “Little girl, I’ll buy all these flowers from you, but I can’t take them with me, so I’ll just give them to you and you can take them home.”
The weather was quite cold, and this little girl was standing here selling flowers. Her cheeks and nose were red from the cold wind.
Hearing Ning Li, the little girl was instantly delighted.
“Thank you, pretty lady!”
She held up a QR code, and Ning Li transferred the money, before urging the little girl to hurry home.
The little girl thanked her several times. Only then did she leave happily.
Ning Li was inexplicably relieved and turned around.
“Second Brother, let’s…”
Once she turned around, she realized that Lu Huaiyu had disappeared.
She panicked. “Second Brother?”
There were people all around, and everyone’s face was filled with joyful smiles.
However, they were all unfamiliar faces.
None of them were Lu Huaiyu.
Her brows knitted slightly as she walked forward aimlessly.
Suddenly, her wrist was pulled from behind.
“I’m right here. Where are you going?”
Hearing this familiar deep, lazy voice, Ning Li’s panicked heart suddenly settled down.
She turned around and saw that it was Lu Huaiyu.
Her throat tightened. “Second Brother…”
Lu Huaiyu keenly noticed that Ning Li’s expression seemed to be a bit off.
She seemed…extraordinarily nervous.
Although she hid it very well, her eyes still had some panic the moment she looked over.
Lu Huaiyu’s eyes flickered.
It was the same look as that day when she was drunk.
However, Ning Li quickly regained composure. When he looked at her again, he could not see anything unusual.
Lu Huaiyu did not probe her and handed something to her. “This is for you.”
Only then did Ning Li notice that he was holding a balloon.
It was a small cake-shaped balloon.
Ning Li was speechless.
‘Isn’t this for coaxing children?
‘Did Lu Huaiyu leave just to buy this?’
Ning Li felt as if Lu Huaiyu had some kind of misunderstanding about her.
“The children were selling it and chose this.”
When she heard this, Ning Li looked in the direction he had just come from and saw a little boy who had sold off his last balloon and was ready to leave.
That little boy looked to be the same age as the little girl just now.
Ning Li held the balloon a little hesitantly. “Second Brother… It’s not good to bring this into the theater, right?”
Lu Huaiyu did not seem to think that it was a problem.
“It’s not very big. Just tie it to your school bag and bring it home later.”
He had deliberately chosen one of a suitable size.
Since he said so, Ning Li had no choice but to accept it. “Okay then.”
Lu Huaiyu looked at the time. “Let’s go, the movie’s about to start.”
He then led Ning Li towards the mall elevator.
Only then did Ning Li realize that he had not let go of her wrist.
‘It’s probably because there are too many people around…’ Ning Li thought and followed him.
When they reached the elevator, Lu Huaiyu let go of Ning Li’s hand.
Ning Li held the balloon and followed him into the elevator.
…
At the same time, the two kids from earlier met up.
The little boy was smiling and showing off. “I heard that you made a wrong judgment just now!”
The little girl grunted in defiance. “I wasn’t mistaken! That guy really likes that pretty lady!”