After hanging up the phone, she couldn’t even finish her al.
Tears stread down her face. She wiped them with the back of her hand and took the food to throw it away.
Not far away, Zhou Li couldn’t help but keep an eye on Xu Yuejiao. He saw her finish a call, seemingly on the verge of a breakdown, wiping away tears uncontrollably, and then tossing away her barely touched al.
This made him a little worried.
Did sothing happen back ho? Otherwise, how could soone like her, who was always so optimistic and carefree, break down crying in public?
Because of this, he quickly finished his own al and looked over at Ming Jingru. "I’m leaving first."
Ming Jingru was still pretending to be demure in front of Zhou Li, even trying to offer him the at from her bowl to create an ambiguous connection between them. But to her surprise, Zhou Li only ate a few quick mouthfuls before leaving.
She couldn’t figure out what the rush was about.
Usually, he would leave the at to her, but today it seed like he was in such a hurry that he even ate it himself.
Zhou Li walked straight out of the cafeteria to look for Xu Yuejiao.
He didn’t quite understand why he felt so conflicted. Clearly, he had already told himself that he and Xu Yuejiao were not ant for the sa path and that he should stay far away from her moving forward.
And yet, he couldn’t stand to see her sad or upset.
He had sworn to be ruthless, but still, he was afraid sothing might happen to her.
Zhou Li arrived at the factory’s back courtyard. Their factory wasn’t large, and the courtyard was enclosed with corrugated iron sheets—just an open space where Little Black was tied up.
If employees didn’t stay in the dormitory, those who ca by bike would park their bikes here in the backyard.
The cold wind howled, and he wasn’t sure if he would find her there; maybe she had gone back to the dorm to rest for lunch.
But even so, he spotted the girl crouched in the corner.
She didn’t seem afraid of the cold, petting Little Black with her hand.
As Zhou Li walked closer, he heard Xu Yuejiao’s tearful voice drift over.
"Little Black, what do you think I should do? Should I give up liking him?"
Hearing these words, Zhou Li’s steps faltered, and even his breathing grew lighter.
He wanted to hear what else Xu Yuejiao had to say, but at the sa ti, he was a bit scared.
"Do you think that by constantly chasing after him like this, I look pathetic? Honestly, I don’t want to be like this either. I’ve never been this humble in my entire life. But still, I just like him." Xu Yuejiao sniffled.
"To be honest, I’ve never t anyone like him before. And thinking about it, it’s not like he’s even that exceptional. He treats so poorly, yet I still like him so much..."
"It makes so miserable to like him. He doesn’t like and even finds particularly annoying. You see, I even ca here to work just to chase after him. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have even t you. But he thinks I’m crazy."
"In the end, do you think everything I’ve done is just a matter of moving myself to tears?"
Zhou Li heard every word, his lips pressing tightly together. He wanted to tell Xu Yuejiao it wasn’t like that.
But then he rembered—they were never going to be together. If he said too much, she might cling to false hope.
And yet, he couldn’t give her a future.
Thinking of this, Zhou Li stayed silent.
Xu Yuejiao continued playing with Little Black. While teasing him, she spoke, "Little Black, do you understand what I’m saying? I saw him having lunch with Ming Jingru today, laughing and chatting. That’s when I realized I an nothing to him. So, I’ve decided to stop liking him."
"My parents dote on so much and can’t even bear to see suffer. But here I am, suffering so much for liking him, only for him to think of as less than nothing."
Seeing how Xu Yuejiao painted him more and more as loathso, Zhou Li finally couldn’t hold back. "That’s not true."
He had deliberately behaved coldly toward her, hoping to make her stop liking him. After all, they were not from the sa world.
But hearing what she had to say, he couldn’t help but refute her.
Otherwise, who knew what else Xu Yuejiao might say about him?
Xu Yuejiao had only been venting her frustrations to Little Black, not expecting Zhou Li to overhear. She was startled and imdiately stood up.
But because she had been crouching too long, blood circulation hadn’t caught up, and everything went black before her eyes. She started to collapse forward.
It’s over, she thought. Zhou Li hates her so much; he probably wouldn’t care if she fell to her death.
But in the next mont, an arm wrapped around her waist.
She was pulled into a warm embrace.
At that mont, Xu Yuejiao felt as though ti had slowed down, and every movent seed to happen in slow motion.
In Zhou Li’s arms, she could hear his steady heartbeat.
For so reason, his heartbeat seed a little irregular.
But before she could linger on the thought, Zhou Li had already pulled away.
"Can’t even stand up properly."
Hearing his annoyed tone, Xu Yuejiao snapped back to reality.
"Oh... uh... did you just hear what I said?" she asked, completely ignoring his jab and getting straight to the point.
Zhou Li gave a faint "Mm."
It’s over! Xu Yuejiao’s face imdiately turned bright red. She had rambled on and on earlier, not even sure what she had said herself.
But she was certain most of it involved Zhou Li. And now he’d heard all of it.
Xu Yuejiao wanted to dig a hole and bury herself on the spot.
What should I do...
Zhou Li stared at her quietly, watching as she hung her head, looking so embarrassed she seed like she wanted to disappear into thin air.
For so reason, he found her incredibly adorable at that mont.
So, he decided not to explain right away and wanted to see what she would say next.
She must be feeling guilty now.
"I... I was just spouting nonsense earlier. Don’t take it seriously, okay? Just pretend you didn’t hear it," she implored.
Zhou Li responded calmly, "But I did hear it."
Xu Yuejiao: "...Can’t you just pretend you didn’t?"
"No."
"Please, just act like you didn’t hear it!"
"But I did. How could I unhear it?"
Hearing Zhou Li reject her again and again, Xu Yuejiao was on the verge of panic.
But she also knew she was making an unreasonable request.
All she could say was, "Fine. If you heard it, then so be it. Whatever."
Seeing her giving up in frustration, Zhou Li pressed his lips tightly together and said, "You misunderstood earlier. I didn’t see you as nothing."
Hearing this, Xu Yuejiao covered her face. So, he had really heard everything she said.
He says he didn’t see her as nothing, but even if that were true, it’s not like he saw her as sothing special either.
"I know. It doesn’t matter if you see as nothing. After all, you don’t like ."
It’s not true...
Zhou Li wanted to say sothing, but in the end, he couldn’t find the words.
If he admitted he liked her, Xu Yuejiao would probably hope for them to be together.
But right now, he simply didn’t have the ti for a relationship.
And besides, he didn’t want to be in a relationship with her in his current state.
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