The Beauty Said She Has A Secret Crush On Me - Chapter 9

Chapter 9

It was another beautiful morning. Zhuang Lu quickly put on her down jacket, but noticed Tao Ru nestled under her covers, not even showing her head.

After a moment’s thought, she tapped the outer railing of Tao Ru’s bed and called out, “First class attendance by the Discipline Protection Department. They deduct activity points directly.” Activity points were linked to scholarships. Tao Ru shrank further into the bed without a sound. Zhuang Lu figured she was being nosy, picked up her bag, and left.

Today, she was going to the Shaw Building (Yifu Lou) for class with her first female friend in life, Wu Nianxi.

Stepping out the door, she saw Wu Nianxi standing in the sunlight of the corridor, looking like a sunflower, her slender figure remarkably upright. Hearing the door close, Wu Nianxi turned her head. Seeing Zhuang Lu, she flashed a smile brighter than the sunshine, flying over like a swallow and nestling into Zhuang Lu’s sturdy arm.

Zhuang Lu almost instinctively wanted to step back, feeling the intimacy was too much. But looking at Wu Nianxi’s moist, warm eyes fixed on her, she decided that affection between girls must be this close, and she used a little force to embrace Wu Nianxi’s slender shoulder.

The two joked and walked to the cafeteria like this. Right before class, the cafeteria was bustling with people, and the serving windows were packed.

In the past, Wu Nianxi would never come to the cafeteria at this time. She would rely on her stored bread or crackers for breakfast. She hated crowds, disliked congestion, and especially loathed the sense of disorder from people not queuing.

This time, however, she felt quite cheerful. Though she didn’t know where this inexplicable cheerfulness came from, she seemed unwilling to delve deeper, as if delving would lead to eternal damnation.

She was once again effortlessly shielded by Zhuang Lu’s chest, who easily pushed their way to the front.

Wu Nianxi looked up and asked Zhuang Lu, “What do you want to eat? My treat.”

The surrounding noise was deafening. Zhuang Lu glared fiercely at a boy who was trying to cut in front of her. She only heard Wu Nianxi’s gentle voice but didn’t catch the content. She lowered her head slightly. “What did you say?”

Wu Nianxi was startled by the sudden lowering of the head. The distance between their faces was too close—just a few centimeters from their noses touching. Her heart raced, and her mind felt momentarily hazy. Relying on instinct, she asked softly, “What do you want to eat?”

Zhuang Lu was completely oblivious to Wu Nianxi’s abnormality. “A three-yuan sauce pancake and soy milk. What are you doing! Whose bag are you reaching into!” The latter half of the sentence roared like thunder. She turned her head to look at a young man, who was startled by her shout and immediately turned and ran. Wu Nianxi looked past Zhuang Lu’s arm and could only see the boy’s dirty leather jacket.

It was only then that Zhuang Lu glanced at the owner of the bag. The owner of the black backpack was also stunned by Zhuang Lu’s roar, but his expression shifted from shock to a slight smile. The smile created a beautiful dimple at the corner of his mouth, and his tear trough became more pronounced. It was Wen Zhuo.

“Junior. What a coincidence.” Wen Zhuo adjusted his backpack, which had been unzipped, and expressed his admiration to Zhuang Lu.

Seeing Wen Zhuo’s small dimples up close, Zhuang Lu was slightly dazed. What a coincidence.

Wu Nianxi noticed Zhuang Lu staring blankly at Wen Zhuo’s face, and felt inexplicably uncomfortable, biting her lower lip slightly.

The three squeezed out of the cafeteria and simultaneously took a deep breath, filling their lungs with fresh air.

“Juniors, where are you headed?” Wen Zhuo was wearing a baseball jacket today, making him look particularly agile. His slender fingers held a cup of black rice porridge, and his other hand hung down, his index finger hooking two large steamed buns.

“To the Shaw Building for class. Niannian and I planned to walk past Qingfeng Garden.”

“I’m going to the Shaw Building too. Shall we walk together?” Wen Zhuo raised the hand holding the large steamed buns and glanced at his black wrist watch. “We have fifteen minutes. It’s just enough time to walk there.”

It was the same main road, so walking together was fine. Zhuang Lu nodded carelessly.

Wu Nianxi, who had been quiet since Wen Zhuo appeared, had a hint of complex emotion creep into her expression. Then, she realized she couldn’t hold Zhuang Lu’s hand because Zhuang Lu was happily eating her breakfast with both hands. Wu Nianxi glanced at Wen Zhuo, her eyes even more complex. Wen Zhuo sensed Wu Nianxi’s gaze and smiled at the junior sought after by his roommate.

He knew her, of course. Lin Yun, his roommate, was completely infatuated with this junior and had been persistently pursuing her. Seeing a proper science student frown while memorizing the Classic of Poetry was quite comical, yet despite all this, the junior hadn’t agreed to date him.

The outwardly gentle and weak girl actually had strong opinions. Soft on the outside, firm on the inside. That was Wen Zhuo’s impression of Wu Nianxi. He liked girls with this personality. His ex-girlfriend had been like that—never wavering once she had made up her mind, and never forcing herself to agree to something she didn’t want.

Wu Nianxi turned her gaze away the moment Wen Zhuo smiled, looking aside.

Wen Zhuo found it a bit inexplicable and stopped looking at her. He only saw Junior Zhuang Lu, with a single untamed hair sticking up, her eyes shining in the morning glow as she looked at her sauce pancake, chewing it as if it were a gourmet meal. Her chubby, large face also looked a bit silly, completely losing the overwhelming power she had shown just moments ago.

“Is this sauce pancake good?” Wen Zhuo couldn’t help but ask, his tone carrying a friendly familiarity.

Zhuang Lu had just taken a bite and quickly nodded before even finishing chewing the pancake, bobbing her head like a chick pecking rice. Yes, her double chin was also jiggling, which was slightly funny. The corners of Wen Zhuo’s mouth lifted, deepening his dimples.

Zhuang Lu swallowed the bite of pancake and further promoted it. “It’s super delicious. When this sauce pancake first arrived at the cafeteria in October, almost every one they made sold out instantly. Senior, would you like a taste? I haven’t eaten this piece yet.”

In the past, Wen Zhuo would have habitually politely declined and said thank you. But this time, perhaps Zhuang Lu’s promotion was so vivid that it piqued Wen Zhuo’s curiosity about the pancake’s deliciousness. He readily grabbed that piece of pancake and put it in his mouth. The sauce spread on the pancake was the first thing that hit his taste buds, followed by the soft texture of the pancake. It really was very tasty!

Zhuang Lu said, “Senior, this should be a Northern snack of yours. I remember it’s from the area of Western Shandong and Eastern Henan.”

Wen Zhuo nodded. “It tastes a little different, though. I feel like the sauce here is slightly sweeter. The sauce up north has a stronger flavor.”

“I wish I could go to Xi’an! I really want to eat Xi’an’s delicacies!”

Wen Zhuo laughed. “Why the sudden jump to Xi’an?”

Zhuang Lu sighed discontentedly. “For Northern cuisine, I only submit to Xi’an. This association led my thoughts there.”

Wu Nianxi, who had been quiet all along, gently raised the sauce pancake in her hand towards Zhuang Lu. She didn’t want to watch Zhuang Lu and Wen Zhuo talking anymore, so she naturally pleaded, “Zhuāng Zhuāng, I can’t finish it. You help me.”

“Okay.” Zhuang Lu was delighted and took the pancake.

The trio walked past Qingfeng Garden. Just after turning a corner, they saw a large group of students gathered ahead. Zhuang Lu’s ears twitched. Even with layers of people, she could still hear a girl’s wail.

It was obvious that Wen Zhuo and Wu Nianxi had also heard it. The three exchanged glances and squeezed toward the crowd. The moment they pushed forward, Zhuang Lu instinctively shielded Wu Nianxi, the movement of protecting her in front of her chest being perfectly natural and smooth.

Wu Nianxi looked up at Zhuang Lu’s face, realizing this was her unconscious action. A sudden, unspeakable sense of security welled up inside her.

Before she could delve into that feeling, Wu Nianxi was led by Zhuang Lu to the front row. The scene suddenly opened up. Wu Nianxi could now see clearly: a tall, muscular boy was slapping a girl.

The girl was tall but also frail. She immediately wailed and was knocked to the ground by the slap. Wu Nianxi found the girl familiar. After thinking carefully, she recognized her: wasn’t this the girl who had rushed onto the football field and kissed the forward after Tuesday’s game!

As Wu Nianxi recognized her, Wen Zhuo also recognized her. He not only recognized Cai Jing on the ground but also the angry, violent boy. He was the forward for the graduate basketball team, named Zhang Kunrong.

Zhuang Lu only felt the girl looked familiar and didn’t think much of it. But she noticed that with so many people gathered men and women not a single person stepped forward to intervene. After the boy slapped the girl, the anger on his face didn’t diminish at all; it intensified. He took a step forward, grabbed the whimpering girl, and raised his other hand high, about to strike again. He was going to continue the violence! Zhuang Lu was furious. Her anger stemmed from the boy’s violence and the inaction of the bystanders.

Zhuang Lu took a big step, intending to intervene, but was stopped by Wen Zhuo.

“Senior!” Zhuang Lu forcefully suppressed her anger and called out in confusion.

Wen Zhuo knew Zhang Kunrong and knew he was an honest, good-tempered person. In contrast was Cai Jing’s reputation, which was far from good. Many boys claimed to have slept with her, and even a nude photo of her had circulated to Wen Zhuo. For a good-tempered person to be this enraged, Cai Jing must have done something wrong to Zhang Kunrong.

A tall boy not far from Zhuang Lu glanced at her and said, “That bitch deserves it. You’d best not stick your nose in other people’s business.” Then he nodded to Wen Zhuo. “You should know about this, right? Your buddy felt guilty and didn’t come out.”

Wen Zhuo recognized this tall boy, also from the graduate basketball team, and usually close to Zhang Kunrong. “Senior Zhang and Cai Jing are a couple? Does Yu Hu know about this?” Yu Hu was the Law School football team’s forward and was good friends with Wen Zhuo.

The tall boy sneered. “That little slut hooked up with Kunrong and then immediately cheated on him. I don’t know if that brat Yu Hu knows, but he slipped away earlier, so he probably feels disgraced.”

Then he challenged, “Fatty, this is a private matter. You have no right to interfere.”

Zhuang Lu completely ignored the provocation. However, in the time Wen Zhuo was restraining her, Zhang Kunrong had stopped hitting Cai Jing but started pulling at her clothes, yelling, “Let’s see you slut around now!”

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