Chapter 30 Part 2

That method, she really couldn't do it.

"Lu Xixiao," she said, breaking the silence.

"Mn."

"In the past, when you got angry over things like that, did those girls all coax you that way?"

"What?"

Zhou Wan found it hard to say. She paused for a moment, then said softly, "By... kissing you."

Lu Xixiao suddenly stopped walking. He stared at her for a good while, then tugged at the corner of his mouth emotionlessly, "None of them had the guts you do, to make me jealous."

"Were you jealous?"

"..."

Lu Xixiao's face turned cold. "Shut up."

Zhou Wan: "..."

Before they started dating, Zhou Wan only knew from others and from the internet that some girls would have little tantrums in a relationship, a behavior called "acting up."

After they started dating, she learned that this kind of "acting up" was not limited to girls.

After finishing their clay pot meal, Lu Xixiao called for a car.

Zhou Wan got in the car. After a while, she realized they weren't heading in the direction of her home.

"Where are we going?" Zhou Wan asked.

"That place I took you to last time," Lu Xixiao said. "The place for motorcycles."

Zhou Wan said, "Oh," and sat back quietly again.

It was the same small supermarket, but today there were a lot of people and vehicles outside. Zhou Wan followed Lu Xixiao out of the car. As soon as she walked in, she saw those same roguish-looking guys from last time, who greeted her with a smile, "Long time no see, little sister."

Lu Xixiao looked up. "Who are you calling sister?"

Yellow Hair laughed, "I called her little sister last time too, how come I can't today?"

Lu Xixiao couldn't be bothered with him. He took Zhou Wan's schoolbag and led her to a table in the corner. "You can study here."

Zhou Wan was taken aback. "Huh?"

Lu Xixiao looked at her. "There's a race inside. I'm going in to watch. You just stay here."

"I can go with you."

"You don't like it anyway," Lu Xixiao said flatly. "When's the physics competition?"

"Next March."

Lu Xixiao hummed in acknowledgment. "Go on and study. I won't be a bad influence on you."

Lu Xixiao quickly lifted the rolling shutter door at the side and went in. The roar of engines and the sound of cheers and screams came from inside, then softened as the shutter was pulled back down.

Zhou Wan was someone who could easily focus her mind. She wasn't distracted by such an environment and soon buried her head in her problems to start working.

After finishing a unit's worth of problems, Yellow Hair came over with a box of strawberries. "Have some, little sister. Studying is mentally draining."

Zhou Wan quickly waved her hands, saying there was no need.

Yellow Hair sighed. "If only your boyfriend were one-tenth as polite as you."

"..."

Yellow Hair laughed. "Alright, no more joking. Go on and eat. It's from the store anyway, it's free."

"But you have to spend money to stock up."

"Oh, right. No wonder Ah Xiao said you get good grades. I almost forgot I have to restock. Explains why I haven't made any money after running this supermarket for so many years."

"..."

"Go on, eat up. After you're done and Ah Xiao comes out, I can rip him off properly."

"..."

Zhou Wan felt that Lu Xixiao's friends were all strange characters, every one of them.

As he spoke, Yellow Hair sat down in front of Zhou Wan as if they were old friends, looking like he was about to start a long chat with her.

"Little sister, how old are you this year?"

"16."

Yellow Hair slammed the table. "That beast!"

"...I just started school early. I'm in the same grade as him."

"Same grade..." Yellow Hair laughed. "That term sounds a little out of place when you put it together with Ah Xiao. He doesn't really go to school much, does he."

"Yeah, he hasn't gone these past few days."

"Actually, Ah Xiao used to be a really good student. Super smart."

Zhou Wan was stunned for a moment.

Yellow Hair looked at her expression. "Can't imagine it, right?"

Zhou Wan asked, "Before his mother passed away?"

This time it was Yellow Hair's turn to be stunned. "Wow, little sister. You even know about that. You've got some skills."

"..."

"I met Ah Xiao around the time his mom passed away. He came to my store to buy something. That little bastard, he's been a beast since he was a kid. He bought my stuff and still gave me a nasty look. I forgot what trivial crap it was about, but anyway, I got into a fight with him."

"I'm three years older than him, and at that age, I was much taller. Anyway, I beat him up good. The little brat was so scared he held his head and bawled, and called me his big brother right on the spot."

Zhou Wan felt his words probably had some artistic embellishment.

It was possible Lu Xixiao lost the fight, but holding his head and crying, and acknowledging him as a big brother on the spot? Absolutely impossible.

"After my dad found out, he dragged me over to apologize to him. Then, feeling sorry for him for not going home, he even brought him back to my place for dinner. Who knew that shameless bastard would actually end up staying at my house."

Zhou Wan smiled. "And then?"

"And then we became friends after fighting. Later, he started hanging out with me, racing motorcycles," Yellow Hair said. "He's really smart. He was good at his studies back then, learned racing fast, and was daring."

Zhou Wan looked towards the rolling shutter door. "I didn't expect so many people to be into this."

"Usually, there aren't this many people. It's because there's a competition today, with prize money. The champion gets ten thousand yuan. Actually, if Ah Xiao participated, the championship would definitely be his. Too bad he's not interested."

"When you guys met, how old was Lu Xixiao?"

"Elementary school." Yellow Hair thought for a moment and gestured a height with his hand. "About this tall. Maybe third grade."

Third grade.

All those changes happened so early on.

Yellow Hair was a chatterbox. He continued, "Those few days he stayed at my place, I saw his test paper. It was for Math Olympiad, super hard. It made my dad depressed. He'd grab me every day and scold me for being useless."

"Actually, all the way until middle school, his grades were excellent. He could casually take a test and get into the top ten of his year. Later, his maternal grandparents also passed away. After that, he seemed to have a huge fight with his dad, moved out to live by himself, and from then on, he rarely went to school, just messing around all day."

Just as he was speaking, Lu Xixiao suddenly walked out. "What are you telling her now?"

Yellow Hair immediately made a "shush" gesture at Zhou Wan, then turned his head and said, "I was just looking at what problems your girlfriend is doing."

Lu Xixiao scoffed lightly, "Can you even understand them?"

"Tch, as if you can understand them."

"Even if I can't understand them, she's still mine." Lu Xixiao, for some reason, had his competitive spirit ignited.

Zhou Wan: "..."

Yellow Hair waved his hand. "Get lost, you're annoying to look at."

Lu Xixiao ignored him and asked Zhou Wan, "Done studying?"

"Done." Zhou Wan quickly packed her schoolbag.

"Let's go then."

Yellow Hair: "Really leaving? The race isn't over yet, is it?"

"A bunch of trash, nothing worth watching."

"..."

'Talking to him is so frustrating.'

'I don't know how his girlfriend puts up with him.'

Yellow Hair cast a sympathetic glance at Zhou Wan.

On the way back, Zhou Wan's mind was filled with what Yellow Hair had just said.

Although Zhou Wan didn't believe that studying was the only way out—perhaps for her, that statement was the truth—it wasn't the case for someone like Lu Xixiao, who came from a wealthy family.

But she still felt that it was such a pity for him, who once had such good grades, to be beaten down by reality step by step to his current state.

He was meant to shine.