Chapter One Little Girl

  An Nanxiu found herself getting upset because Li Luyu was being overly concerned about An Zhi Shui, so she became even more sullen and glared at Li Luyu with a scowl, turning her head away and leaning proudly against the window: "Of course, this is your private matter, my advice you can ignore."

  Such advice, Li Luyu would not listen to. Many people do not like An Zhi Shui, and it is easy to find a few in the School of Business at Guofu University. But why doesn't An Nanxiu like her? Li Luyu couldn't understand, as An Zhi Shui had done nothing to offend Her Highness since they met.

  Of course, even Li Luyu didn't think he completely understood An Nanxiu's preferences. Who knows what other "never-before-seen" ideas she had?

  "Why don't you like her?" Li Luyou asked again.

  "I don't know." An Nanxiu lowered her head, staring intently at the bowl of soup in front of her, as if the inexplicable unpleasantness in her heart was all because of this bowl of soup.

  Li Luyu acknowledged her response, and it seemed that Annanxiu didn't need a specific reason for what she did, just like when she chose him in the first place. Perhaps there was another reason, but she didn't say, and Li Luyu tended to think that she simply found him slightly more pleasing to the eye.

  An Zhishui walked back in a while, with some wet water marks on her cheeks, but she had already shaken off that awkward mood.

  "What are you doing this afternoon?" An Zhi Shui sat down, her hands placed neatly on her abdomen, with a serious and solemn expression, as if she were discussing official business, just like when she was talking to her classmates at school.

  "Don't tell her." An Nanxiu spoke up again.

  Li Rouyou shook his head, when it came to interpersonal relationships and communication, An Nanxiu's performance was far inferior to An Zhi Shui. It seemed that he had to tell her that next time in such a situation she should quietly push him, then he would understand her meaning.

  "We're going to the second-hand market to buy a refrigerator and TV." Li Luyou pretended that An Nanxu didn't exist and spoke with An Zhishui.

  An Zhishui has somewhat adapted to it, and she lowered An Nanxiu's mental age again, probably around that of a 7 or 8 year old, an annoying, ill-mannered little girl. An Zhishui had a great psychological advantage over her, so she didn't bother with her.

  "Let's go together, I'll help you haggle." An Zhi saw that Shui was eager to try.

  "Alright, but it's quite far away. We'll take the bus and it will take two or three hours to get there and back." Li Ruyi was worried that An Zhi wouldn't be able to handle this kind of hardship, she looked like a delicate and refined person who had been pampered all her life.

  Li Luyu now has a lot of close contact with An Zhi Shui, and he is very clear that such fair and smooth skin like jade is not inferior to the delicate feeling of An Nan Xiu. It's not something that can be raised by ordinary so-called "rich nourishment".

  "It's okay, I haven't been to a second-hand market yet." An Zhi Shui raised her hand and clenched her fist, indicating that she was slightly excited.

  After settling the bill, the three of them went to take the bus. Once on the bus, An Nanxiu held onto Li Luyu's arm and squeezed in herself, watching as An Zhihui grasped the handrail with great effort to prevent himself from swaying left and right and bumping into others. An Nanxiu hummed softly and looked at Li Luyu.

  Li Luyu thought that An Nanxiu's mouth had a hint of a smile, with a slightly complacent look, but he couldn't understand why. What could he know about the thoughts and feelings of this little girl?

  An Zhishui was once again convinced that she had misunderstood Li Luyou last time. It turned out to be like this, looking over from a slightly lower angle outside the car window, it really looked like an intimate couple.

  Li Luyu saw the black Maybach Zeppelin again and pointed it out to Annan Xiu: "I've been seeing this kind of car for days, I don't know if it's the same one."

  "Hurry up and buy a car." When it comes to cars, Annanxiu still says this sentence.

  Many people look outward, even in Mediterranean countries, this kind of car is unlikely to be ubiquitous and seen on the streets every day.

  An Zhī shuǐ lowered her head and looked at her phone, pinching the screen with force.

  Maibach followed the bus for a while before turning around and leaving.

  "I'll go back first." This route passes through the residential area, and An Nanxiu also ignores Li Luyu and gets off the bus by herself.

  "After all, An Nanxiu had clearly shown her dislike for An Zhi Shui, and Li Luyu smiled apologetically."

  "It's okay." An Zhi Shui was actually quite magnanimous, especially when she saw An Nan Xiu as a naive little sister, which gave her a psychological advantage. Originally, her interpersonal relationships were handled poorly, but there were people who were even worse than her, so her mood wasn't bad.

  Many people came to the station, and the carriage was crowded. Li Luyu also didn't maintain that defensive posture anymore, standing beside An Zhi Shui.

  An Zhishui knew that in front of her was a stout aunt who had just gotten on the bus, whose plump buttocks were squeezing against An Zhishui, making her constantly lean towards Li Luyu.

  Li Luyu knew why those junior high school and high school students who had just fallen in love liked to take the bus. They would sit together on the bus, intentionally or unintentionally touching each other, their hearts racing and faces flushing, without having to bear the psychological pressure of being overly flirtatious, and without drawing attention from others. That kind of quiet, unspoken excitement was something that many people yearned for.

  An Zhī's body smelled very good, not that strong perfume smell, nor was it a pure and clean body scent. It was a mix of her hair, clothes, sunscreen, shower gel, and other cosmetics, all blended together to create a light and elegant fragrance that was very pleasant to smell.

  An Zhishui was obviously not used to taking the bus, shrinking his shoulders, holding onto a handrail with one hand and using the other to block himself from being touched by the big auntie, while also trying to put it behind him in case Li Luyu bumped into him.

  Li Rouyu squeezed between An Zhi and Da Shu, one hand holding the handrail, the other grasping the support rod that was originally behind her, encircling An Zhi in the middle, creating a limited but sufficient space to protect her.

  "This is good, Annanxiu likes it this way. I didn't mean anything else, don't mind." Li Luyou was kind-hearted, but he didn't want An Zhishui to misunderstand that he was trying to take advantage of the situation to get closer to her. He had already vaguely understood that An Zhishui was overly sensitive in this regard, which is why she reacted so fiercely when she received the love letter, not because she intentionally wanted to humiliate him.

  An Zhī's small nose was beaded with fine sweat, her white dress fluttering gently as the bus swayed. Her slender body was pressed against the pole, one hand still grasping the handrail, while the other clenched into a fist. Her cheeks were flushed red, and although the smell on the bus wasn't pleasant, she was now completely enveloped by Li Lùyóu's scent. She tried to hold her breath, but that was clearly impossible. With her mouth closed, her nose breathed in involuntarily, and that scent entered, making her realize it was Li Lùyóu's smell. Her cheeks grew even redder, her heart racing wildly, and her tense body relaxed slightly due to her increasingly rapid breathing.

  "Li Luyu, I...I've never been like this before..." An Zhi Shui felt a bit flustered, thinking that maybe she was being too excessive.

  "Don't be afraid, just think of it as trying something you've never done before. You don't often take the bus either, or maybe you won't in the future. Between two people, there are always some memorable things that happen and they become closer... I'm talking about friends. Maybe many years later, you'll coincidentally see the 318 bus again and coincidentally remember a boy who held up his arms to protect you... This is just a memory, it doesn't represent anything else. When we get to school, you're still the strict and dignified class leader, and I'm still the obedient Li Ruyou who listens to your criticism and guidance."

  Li Ruyu's mouth had a hint of a smile, but his mood was not as light and clear as those junior high school students. As he said, An Zhi Shui was still the class monitor who went around enforcing discipline and reporting misbehavior, while Li Ruyu was still the one who barely qualified as decent, mostly pretending to obey but actually insincere. He and An Zhi Shui were two different kinds of people, now and in the future. They were like a public bus and a Maybach - they might have waited together at a red light before, but the gap between them couldn't be bridged just because they had intersected once.

  Li Luyu didn't think much, nor did he think about what advantages he had now that might make up for it, or catch up... He had some repressed good feelings towards An Zhi Shui, but they hadn't reached the point of making him take it as his life goal.

  Listening to Li Rouyou say this, there's a hint of introspection about life and a touch of warmth, after all, recalling those things that crossed one's bottom line in younger years always feels not too bad.

  An Zhishui lifted her head, and he was looking at her with his head down. An Zhishui didn't avoid his gaze, but she didn't dare to open her mouth to speak loudly, fearing that her breath would spray onto his face.

  "In school, you can't just ignore me because of what happened today and then laugh and joke with me." An Zhi Shui felt that her relationship with Li Luoyu was definitely different from others, but she didn't want to admit that there was a close relationship between them. However, if she said she still wanted to maintain the strict and impartial stance of a class leader like before, it seemed unlikely, so she could only make this request to Li Luoyu.

  "When did I not listen to you? Every time you recruit people to do hard work, I'm always so enthusiastic. Do you still remember the 5,000-meter long run in our freshman year? Nobody signed up, and when you looked at me, I immediately raised my hand. Doesn't this count as cooperating with your work?" Li Lu couldn't help but laugh at this point.

  An Zhi looked at his smile, her tightly clenched fists relaxed, covering her chest, and that heart didn't beat so fiercely anymore, but softly, as if it was going to drill in and wrap something up.