Since such a thing had happened, Qian Wei was so restless that she didn’t even listen to Li Chongwen’s speech. Ever since Lu Xun saw the words “Li Chongwen” clearly, he had sent one slow and final glance at Qian Wei. From then on, he turned his head forward and never looked back, leaving Qian Wei to stare at what would later be agreed to be the most handsome back-of-a-man’s-head among all the interns at their law firm.
Qian Wei’s eyes bored into the back of Lu Xun’s head until she almost felt like bursting into tears. This time, she had really stumbled while planning her operations. She not only failed to kiss up to the future boss, but she also managed to gravely offend him.
Qian Wei felt muddled even up until it was finally Lu Xun’s turn to take the stage. She clutched the LED sign in her hand and had a fierce internal debate, she felt that probably she should use the sign to cheer Lu Xun on, but also probably she shouldn’t. Even if she folded it now and hid the words ‘Li Chongwen’, Lu Xun had already seen that the sign had been tailor-made for Li Chongwen so it seemed pointless…
“We would better embrace the exotic and different than turn hostile and defensive. Being magnanimous is at the core of Chinese culture…”*
Qian Wei really had to say, Lu Xun’s voice could truly be called beautiful. His American accent was rich and authentic and, combined with his high-spec face, it wouldn’t be too much to say that he had what it took to be a professional broadcaster. There was nothing to criticize about the content of his speech, his pronunciation, or his personal style, however, it was a bit of a pity that his face seemed a little unhappy and stayed frigid the whole time he spoke. But, if a person didn’t know better, they might really think that he was broadcasting live for CCTV.
When his speech was over, Lu Xun did return to the seating area where the law school students were gathered, instead, he walked out of the auditorium with a straight back.
“Hey! Qian Wei! Mo Tao! Mo Tao is on the stage!”
Hearing that cry, Qian Wei looked up and saw Mo Tao’s familiar peach blossom eyes up on the stage. It was probably the effects of new love, but Mo Tao really seemed to be shining as he stepped onto the stage. He was wearing a formal suit, but a small bee pendant on his lapel and the gaudy handkerchief in his breast pocket seemed to off-set some of that formality and highlight his gentle demeanor.
His speech took the Brithish-English route. After all, he was inarguably a hunk from University A so, as soon as he opened his mouth, his skillful London accent really showed off his aristocratic temperament. Qian Wei turned her head curiously and looked around. There was a particularly large group of people who had come to cheer for Mo Tao. Because of that, there were a large number of girls sitting in the section cheering for Mo Tao and Qian Wei really could not tell which one was Mo Tao’s girlfriend at all. After all, Mo Tao was obviously very popular with his classmates so there were many girls holding up signs with his name on them. And when he had walked into the auditorium there had been several girls with him so Qian Wei couldn’t be sure which one was his girlfriend.
Probably because he wanted to perform well in front of his girlfriend, today’s Mo Tao was going all out. His pair of peach blossom eyes were dazzling and he continuously sent flirtatious winks one after another to the scoring judge. It seemed that in order to win first place, he was even willing to sacrifice his body.
Mo Tao was one of the last few contestants and, after his speech, there were only few contestants left.
Liu Shiyun nudged Qian Wei and said, “Hey, how come Lu Xun hasn’t come back ever since he went out just now? What’s he doing? The competition is almost over.”
“Maybe he went to the bathroom.”
Liu Shiyun paused and looked at her watch: “If he’s been on the toilet this whole time, there must be a problem!”
Qian Wei had some doubts: “Ah~? What problem?”
“There must be something wrong with his prostate!” Liu Shiyun winked and said, “He’s been in the toilet for such a long time already and he still hasn’t come back yet. He must have an issue with frequent urination.”
“…” Qian Wei thought, not for the first time, that she really didn’t want this friend.
While thinking about that, Qian Wei looked around and found that not only had Lu Xun disappeared, Mo Tao was also gone. In the contestant seating where the contestants were still sitting and waiting for the end of the competition, she only recognized Li Chongwen.
But then, right before the end of the competition, Mo Tao and Lu Xun strode back into the auditorium. But, for some reason, the atmosphere between them seemed very wrong.
Lu Xun’s face was cold, while Mo Tao’s face was angry, and the left side of his face was red and swollen. Mo Tao had his hand clasped around the hand of a girl who was trailing behind him. That girl looked very warm and gentle and Qian Wei could tell at a glance that she must be the neighbor that Mo Tao was in love with.
As soon as Mo Tao entered the auditorium, without caring about who was looking, he stalked over angrily and stopped in front of Qian Wei. Then he turned back to Lu Xun and said: “OK, let’s settle this face-to-face! Ask Qian Wei if I’m lying!”
Qian Wei was at a loss for words. Eventually, she managed to ask: “What’s going on?”
Mo Tao was obviously still a little angry. He glanced over at Lu Xun, who still had an icy face, and said, “Ask him.” Then he pointed to the left side of his face. “Just look at what he’s done.” However, even though he said all that, Mo Tao didn’t really seem to care about his injury. Instead, his eyes were only on the girl behind him, full of anxiety and a desire to explain.
“Lu Xun? What happened?”
In the face of Qian Wei’s question, Lu Xun took another vicious look at Mo Tao before finally saying, “I had stepped outside to get some air, when I happened to see your boyfriend and this girl cuddling and kissing.” When he finished, he stared hard at the place where Mo Tao was still holding the girl’s hand. “It’s hard to believe that some people cheat so shamelessly nowadays.”
With that, Qian Wei finally understood what was going on…
“Lu Xun, listen to my explanation, this really isn’t what it looks like.” She said quickly.
Lu Xun raised an eyebrow and didn’t seem to believe her. “It isn’t what it looks like? Do you really love him that much? Even after all this, you still want to defend him? Could it be that what I saw was fake? What’s so good about this Mo Tao anyway? Has he fed you drugs or something?”
When the still-angry Mo Tao heard Lu Xun’s words, he immediately interjected: “What do you mean ‘what’s so good about me’! I’m fine okay! What’s wrong with me?!”
“Hey, hey, hey, be quiet, both of you!” Qian Wei felt like her head was swelling up, “No one talk, just listen to me.” Qian Wei turned her head to face Lu Xun. “Mo Tao is not my boyfriend!”
Lu Xun was surprised: “You broke up?”
“No, no, no!” Qian Wei exclaimed, “We have never actually been together!”
It was a long story and it wasn’t really appropriate to say it all out in the middle of the auditorium so, in the end, they all left and sat down in a cafe near the school. From there, Qian Wei used about a quarter of an hour to explain everything from beginning to end.
“So anyway. I have nothing to do with Mo Tao, and Mo Tao really didn’t cheat on me. I’m really sorry to have troubled both of you because of a misunderstanding.” Qian Wei finished.
Mo Tao’s anger seemed to have finally subsided by this point, he looked at Lu Xun and said: “Did you hear that? I’m really not the kind of person to cheat on a woman. Fortunately, everything was able to be explained clearly today, otherwise, the girlfriend I worked so hard to get to agree to date me might have thought that I was cheating on her because of a misunderstanding!”
Mo Tao’s girlfriend smiled and seemed a little embarrassed. Her face was slightly red as she said: “I’m sorry, I almost misunderstood you Mo Tao. It was my fault for not trusting you enough.”
After listening to the whole story, Lu Xun finally put down his chilly attitude. But when he spoke his tone was still a little stiff: “I’ll also apologize. I just didn’t expect that you two would pretend to be lovers.”
When Qian Wei saw that the atmosphere between the two had finally begun to loosen up she breathed a sigh of relief. Although she felt bad for being the cause of the fight, she felt a little moved. Lu Xun had always been a very protective person, even back when she used to work for him. She and her other colleagues would occasionally encounter clients with terrible attitudes and Lu Xun would always take over those clients without saying a word. He was never the type to ask his employees to endure or sacrifice themselves for the sake of the ‘bigger picture’. For instance, there was one time when an intern girl was being harassed by one of her managers, and when Lu Xun found out he directly interfered and helped the intern get justice. This time he had thought Mo Tao was cheating on her and, without asking anything, he directly beat him up to help her vent her anger. Qian Wei could only think that Lu Xun was a nice person who had a really good character.
Mo Tao was anxious to spend time with his girlfriend so after they talked things through and cleared up the misunderstanding, he didn’t want to stay any longer. He just hurriedly pulled his girlfriend with him and disappeared.
After Mo Tao left, Qian Wei ordered a few more dishes. After all, Lu Xun’s behavior this time was really too heroic. Although Mo Tao hadn’t really been cheating on her, Qian Wei still wanted to thank Lu Xun for acting on her behalf because of their friendship.
As they ate, Qian Wei drank some beer and began to feel both her body and her heart getting a little hot: “Lu Xun, today I’ve discovered that you are really nice.”
Because of her sudden compliment, Lu Xun seemed slightly stunned and began acting somewhat unnatural. He seemed to be trying to put on his usual reserved face, but Qian Wei could tell that he was happy because his ears had flushed red.
“But, ah~, you were a little too impulsive to just hit him directly like that.” Qian Wei patted him on the shoulder. “I know that you’ve also studied law. If Mo Tao really wanted to make trouble for you, it wouldn’t be good if he had decided to call the police.”
But Lu Xun didn’t seem convinced. He raised his eyebrows and asked, “How could he make trouble for me?”
“When I fell into the water last time, didn’t you tell me to think more for my own sake before trying to think for the sake of others?” Qian Wei looked at him seriously and said, “You should also think for your own sake at critical moments.”
“I think for my own sake just fine.” Lu Xun snorted, “Rather, you’re the one I should be saying that to. I don’t know what you were thinking. Going out to pretend to be a couple with Mo Tao, is he really worth it? Does he need you looking out for him? Disgraceful!”
“…” Seeing Lu Xun’s angry face, Qian Wei didn’t dare to answer. Though privately she thought that Mo Tao was actually quite nice. After all, he was good-looking, even-tempered, knowledgeable, and widely regarded as one of their school’s most handsome guys. Probably Lu Xun, this guy, was still upset over being rejected by Mo Zixin so now he hated to see anyone else who had fallen in love. With that thought in mind, Qian Wei decided that she had better just stay silent so as not to stimulate this heartbroken and lovesick man.
However, even though he was complaining, Lu Xun somehow seemed to be in a good mood. Qian Wei could tell because his appetite was actually very good and he ate heartily from the dishes she had ordered.
“So does this mean that you’re single?” As they were heading back to the dormitory, Lu Xun suddenly asked that question out of nowhere.
Qian Wei subconsciously nodded and then said, “Why do you ask?”
“It’s nothing, I was just curious. But don’t you want to fall in love? Don’t you feel envious when you see the people around you forming couples?”
“No.” Qian Wei answered immediately without needing to think, “Not at all.”
To tell the truth, a person would get used to it after they were single for a long time, they would no longer feel that urge to change the status quo and try to fall in love. Although Qian Wei had been single all the way until she was 28 years old in her last life, aside from ‘falling in love’, she had always felt very fulfilled and had always enjoyed her own small life. Her friends all around her had slowly been falling in love and forming their own families but despite that Qian Wei had never really felt the desire to fall in love herself. She had never felt that her life was somehow incomplete because she had never fallen in love and she only ever felt that, if it was fated, then love would come naturally, but if it wasn’t fated then she didn’t need to be anxious about it. On the whole, she never had any enthusiasm to change her single status, because her life had always been comfortable and pleasant enough.
“To be honest, I don’t think I will ever fall in love unless the other person is very good and I like them very much, because I’m already happy with my life now. I control all of my time every day, which means I can always do whatever I want. I never have to worry or think for a second person, but it would be different if I fell in love. I would have to date them and while dating them I would have to give them a lot of consideration, which would mean wasting a lot of time and energy.”
Qian Wei thought further and continued, “Plus, when two people are together, no matter how well they might seem to understand each other, there will always be a period of adjustment, there will always be quarrels when one person is in a bad mood, there will always be different points of view, and in the end there may even be a breakup. In short, there are a lot of troubles that a person might end up suffering in vain. I may even end up shedding tears and feeling sad or losing my current freedom and lack of restraint!”
Qian Wei patted Lu Xun on the shoulder and continued. “So, in fact, there is also a certain beauty in being single. You should cherish the single life you have now!”
Lu Xun was silent for a moment, but eventually, he looked over and said, “Then, what kind of man do you like?” He coughed awkwardly. “I meant, what kind of person do you think would make you want to step out of your current safe environment and try to fall in love?” Lu Xun’s voice was a little unnatural as he continued. “Do you have any particular requirements for appearance or any other things?”
“I’m something of a connoisseur. So, to be honest, I don’t pay too much attention to appearance. As long as they look pleasing enough to the eye it’s fine, the more important thing is what’s inside. I’ve said it before but I hope my future boyfriend will be sensible and considerate, ah~, after all, the most annoying kinds of men are the ones who are over-possessive and controlling, because they are the types to be jealous all the time. It’s a little too childish and immature.”
“…”
*this line is completely in English in the raws so I’m leaving it as-is
That last sentence basically slapping him in the face XD
words come out of our FL’s mouth but it doesnt get processed by her brain. Now I’m starting to really think if this is actually a JP WN and not a CN WN, I mean the writing is already a clear proof it’s JP WN… I’m just so amazed that an author can actually write a character this dense ohhh well, I guess because the overall scenario allows for it, and prolly because the readers can turn off their brains.
I knew that the dude who died of stomach cancer in the 1st timeline will be used accordingly to allow for said moment to move forth, who cant see that well? I do know prolly, that he wont die this 2nd timeline so I’m going to fairly assume that he’d pursue FL. I might be wrong tho.
I really like how partial FL is tho. I guess what plagued her on the 1st timeline was what she did to Lu Xun, but know the more I read the more I think that she really misunderstand everything in the 1st timeline. Oh well I might be blowing out proportions here but I think that just because this current timeline she looks proactive I just think she isnt. I think there’s a clear difference between a proactive heroine and dense heroine. I think she’s 0% former and 200% the latter. Which I just feel like what applied to the 1st timeline because you cant just change your personality, unless author’s pen move differently on what I had in mind. I know that the author will try to force ML and FL to be a couple but now I feel like that’s quite sad. I really think that the MC viewing all the things to transpire in her life in this 2nd timeline and to see the good side of things and enjoy life without being plagued by her misunderstanding is a good sort of progression. She’s closed to other student and her school life just didnt revolve during that faithful fuck up with Lu Xun during her Uni. life. I feel like there’s a tranquility and a sort of serene atmosphere when this FL of our saw the conclusions that she had set to do. If for instance, Mo Zixin and Lu Xun did actually date, and her actually leaving to pursue things in abroad will not be a possibility because of Lu Xun. But I just know this sort of ending really doesnt come off as possible because the WN’s plot summary is you know, not this. I just feel sad tbf. The more and more I think about the title of the WN the more I think that you know what, it might actually be a series worth 5/5 of my time if the ending were for them to not be a couple because I feel like; going to the 1st timeline, I just want her to enjoy the single life she did mention. I mean that’s a good thing all the romantic entanglement she had with Lu Xun doesnt really make me like root for them tbf it’s like, I think it’s just for both of them to interact which is ehhh, honestly I dont think it’s bad it’s just so-so and for me to see it transpire, it’s alright. Like on the scale of all things, 1/10.
I do hope that the dude who died of stomach cancer in the 1st timeline will be saved but the connotation of it do I feel like leads to the love triangle in the future. But then again if he dies in 2nd timeline I wouldnt be shocked, I feel bad for his sister tho.