Though she knew Chu Lulin wouldn’t react that way—this barbecue place was nothing like those high-end clubs—but it didn’t hurt to imagine.
Just as she was basking in her smugness, she turned around and locked eyes with Chu Lulin, who was not far away.
“Um, I was passing by and happened to pay the bill,” she said, feeling pathetic.
She was just secretly buying the bill, not sneaking around for an affair. Why did she feel guilty?
Chu Lulin’s eyes curved. He didn’t stand on ceremony. “Thank you, Sister, for celebrating my birthday with me.”
Jian Ran: “…You’re welcome.”
Indeed, no tear-jerking scene.
But that was okay. She had more tricks up her sleeve.
When they returned to the room, Jiang Ming brought out a cake. The group gathered around the birthday boy for the final event.
Lighting candles, singing the birthday song, making a wish, blowing out the candles, then cutting the cake.
Chu Lulin handed the first slice to Jian Ran, and the rest was divided among the others.
Jian Ran’s slice wasn’t too big, but not too small either. Normally, she could finish it easily, but tonight she couldn’t eat much after a few bites.
Thanks to everyone’s enthusiastic hospitality, she had already overeaten by trying a bit of everything.
But ever since she was a child, she had been taught not to waste food. Besides, it was Chu Lulin’s birthday cake; not finishing it seemed wrong.
She was stuck.
Chu Lulin seemed to notice her dilemma and took the remaining cake from her. “Give it to me.”
Jian Ran opened her mouth. “…I’ve already eaten from it.”
Chu Lulin smiled and said it was fine. “Don’t waste it.”
Jian Ran hummed in acknowledgment.
Guiltily, she glanced around and saw that no one was paying attention to them, so she quietly relaxed.
But when she saw Chu Lulin eating directly with the same fork—without switching—her ears turned red belatedly.
Wait!
When she was agonizing over the cake, she had been… chewing on that fork.
Chu Lulin noticed her stare and looked at her quizzically. “What’s wrong?”
Jian Ran bit her lip and averted her eyes. “N-nothing.”
When they left the barbecue place, Chu Lulin was going with Jian Ran to pick up something, so Jiang Ming and the others said goodbye and left first.
Since the car was parked at the A University gate, they were heading the same way. They walked one after another, only a few dozen meters apart.
In October, Jing City had already entered deep autumn.
The half-dried plane leaves along the road fluttered in the night breeze, brushing past their shoulders and landing on the greenbelt.
Jian Ran wore a long camel cashmere coat, her fluffy, slightly curled long hair cascading over her shoulders. Her jet-black hair and red lips, combined with her delicate features, made her strikingly beautiful and alluring.
Beneath her coat, her long, straight legs were clad in knee-high camel suede boots. She walked with a crisp, elegant step, her black embroidered skirt hugging her figure, outlining her slender waist.
Her mature, chic, and cool sister style drew plenty of stares.
Even though she was walking alongside a handsome guy like Chu Lulin, the gazes from all directions still lingered.
What if?
Who said a man and a woman walking together must be lovers? They could be siblings, after all. There were no intimate gestures between them.
Chu Lulin’s brow furrowed slightly.
He fixed his gaze on her hand hanging by her side, then grasped it without hesitation, holding it in his palm.
Jian Ran was startled and instinctively looked toward Jiang Ming and the others.
Fortunately, they were a distance away. Fortunately, it was nighttime. Fortunately… none of them turned around.
Her heart raced. She tried to pull her hand away, but he gripped it tighter.
“What are you doing?”
What if they get caught?
Chu Lulin gently rubbed her fingertips with his thumb and smiled. “They won’t notice.”
Jian Ran didn’t think so. Just as she was about to retort, Chu Lulin suddenly stopped, tilted his head slightly, and looked down at her.
“Don’t worry. I know your rules.”
Jian Ran’s eyelashes fluttered. She was confused.
What rules did she have?
“No holding hands in public, but it’s fine in private.”
Jian Ran’s eyes flickered with doubt. Where did that come from?
Then it struck her—he must have deduced that from the time she let go of his hand in front of Zhang Fan.