Although he was quite far away, Leng Xuan recognized at a glance that the girl was Zhou Li. He truly felt a bit surprised, as he had not expected that Zhou Li, dressed in a skirt and showing off her fair, beautiful legs, could look so stunning!
Zhou Li also saw Leng Xuan, but she wasn’t entirely sure it was him because the clothes he wore seemed very upscale, and he looked much more handsome than the Leng Xuan she remembered. It wasn’t until Leng Xuan got closer, confirming beyond doubt it was him, that she felt her face turn red for no reason, and she said somewhat shyly, "You’re here!"
Leng Xuan smiled slightly and asked, "Is there something you need me for?"
With a hum, Zhou Li bit her lip and said, "Originally, I didn’t want to trouble you, but... but..." she trailed off, seeming on the verge of tears, with a shiny wetness in her eyes.
Leng Xuan was startled, furrowing his brow, his tone full of concern as he said, "What happened? Tell me, and if I can help, I won’t refuse!"
Zhou Li gave Leng Xuan a look and seeing the sincerity in his eyes, couldn’t help feeling a pang in her heart as she said, "Thank you, Leng Xuan."
Leng Xuan gave a wry smile and joked, "Why are you being so formal with me? Don’t forget, I am your boyfriend after all!"
Zhou Li’s face turned red, but she couldn’t help laughing and said, "Are you taking this seriously?"
Leng Xuan feigned seriousness and said, "What do you mean? It was clearly you who asked me to be your boyfriend, and now you want to deny it?"
Zhou Li cast a shy glower at Leng Xuan, then said, "But I also said it was just pretend."
Leng Xuan’s face was a picture of frustration as he said, "Just pretend? You didn’t specify a time frame for this pretending, did you?"
"Hm?" Zhou Li didn’t understand what Leng Xuan meant at first, but as soon as she did, she couldn’t help but burst into laughter, blinking her eyes and saying, "So what do you want to do?"
Leng Xuan hadn’t expected her to ask such a question and truly couldn’t help but feel a flutter in his chest. He couldn’t resist grasping her delicate, bonelike little hands, half-jokingly, half-seriously saying, "Well, it isn’t much, but since there is no deadline, our romantic relationship is indefinite. Right now, I am still your boyfriend!"
Zhou Li’s hand was gently held by Leng Xuan, and her heart couldn’t help pounding, her face flushing almost to her neck. Although she wanted to pull her hand back, she was afraid of hurting Leng Xuan’s pride, so she allowed him to continue holding it. Moreover, deep down, she actually liked the feeling of Leng Xuan holding her hand, though she hadn’t realized it herself.
"Leng Xuan, even though I don’t know you very well, I know you are a good person!" Zhou Li mustered her courage, looked straight into Leng Xuan’s eyes, and said, "Yesterday when I went home, my brother told me that my father is coming over today and bringing with him an old neighbor from my childhood, named Feng Gui..."
In Zhou Li’s account, the story was like this: after Zhou Li returned home last night, her brother Zhou Jingpeng told her, ’Do you remember Feng Gui? The kid who used to have a runny nose all the time, Little Gouzi.’
Zhou Li wasn’t sure why her brother suddenly brought this up, but she did have some recollection of the snotty Little Gouzi, whose father, Feng Dahai, made quite a bit of money in business and had moved the family to the city long ago.
So then, Zhou Li said, "I remember, what about him?"