Chapter 404: Day 9 into the Mary Sue Story

Chapter 404: The Ninth Day of Falling into a Mary Sue Story

When someone spoke to him, he was a beat slow to react: "Huh? Oh, yeah, that horse was pretty spirited..." His answer had nothing to do with the question, but his gaze drifted toward An Yi.

That friend: "...What?"

What was Lu Lu even talking about?

He followed Lu Lu's line of sight.

An Yi was slightly tilting his head, saying something to Tang Haoxuan, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips, his fingers absently tracing the rim of his glass.

Friend: "Oho~"

Something's off with this guy!

Tang Haoxuan asked Lu Lu if he wanted to go watch another game on the weekend. Lu Lu said "Mm-hmm" twice, but his eyes were fixed on An Yi, who raised a hand to tuck a strand of hair blown loose by the wind, revealing a stretch of fair wrist with prominent wrist bones.

Whenever An Yi seemed to notice something and his gaze was about to turn his way, Lu Lu would startle like a frightened thief, snapping his eyes away and pretending to be deeply fascinated by the tree next to them.

An Yi: "..."

Lu Lu's Adam's apple bobbed nervously as he picked up his glass and took a big gulp. The cold liquid slid down, but it did nothing to extinguish the fire burning hotter and hotter in his chest.

Once An Yi's gaze moved away, after a moment, he couldn't help but steal another glance over.

Tang Haoxuan was sitting right next to Lu Lu, taking in his friend's unusual, restless demeanor with a full view.

He leaned in, elbowing Lu Lu lightly, and said in a low, teasing voice: "Hey, Lu Lu, you okay? You've been acting weird ever since we got back from riding. Your face is so red, and your ears are too. You didn't get heatstroke, did you? It's not even that hot out."

"I'm fine!" Lu Lu shot him a look, his voice a little too loud.

An Yi looked over, a hint of curiosity in his eyes: "What's wrong?"

Caught in that direct gaze, Lu Lu felt the heat that had just begun to subside on his face blaze up again in an instant, his neck starting to burn too.

He waved his hands frantically, speaking incoherently: "N-nothing! Really! It's just... just a bit hot! Yeah, the sun's really strong today, and I sweated a lot from riding..."

As he spoke, he fanned himself with his hand, trying to sound more convincing, but his eyes didn't dare meet An Yi's, darting around uneasily.

An Yi looked at him.

Lu Lu's face was indeed flushed with an unnatural redness, fine beads of sweat had formed on his temples and the tip of his nose, and his breathing seemed a bit more rapid than usual.

He did look... a little hot.

An Yi didn't want to say much, but then he saw Lu Lu turn his head and stare fixedly at him, his drooping puppy-dog eyes glistening with moisture.

An Yi understood what he meant, smiled, nodded, and picked up the unopened bottle of chilled water beside him. Reaching across the table, he casually handed it to Lu Lu: "Drink some water. Cool off."

Lu Lu's gaze landed on the bottle, its transparent surface condensed with fine water droplets, then shifted to the hand holding the bottle.

The fingers were long and slender, knuckles not prominent, skin fair and clean, nails neatly trimmed and rounded.

It was just the simple act of handing over a bottle of water, yet when An Yi did it, it carried an indescribable... beauty.

Was there something wrong with his head?

Lu Lu felt like the bottle weighed a thousand pounds. He reached out with stiff movements and took the bottle.

His fingertips accidentally rose and lightly brushed against An Yi's fingers.

A slightly cool touch.

An Yi's fingers weren't much warmer than the chilled bottle.

But just that faint, barely-there contact made Lu Lu feel like the cool sensation wasn't staying on his fingertips—it shot up his fingers in an instant, raced along the nerves of his arm straight to his brain, then exploded, sweeping through his entire body.

Blood surged to his head and cheeks, his eardrums roared, and his heart pounded so fast he suspected it might stop any second.

His fingers suddenly tightened around the bottle, the plastic emitting a faint "crackle."

"Thanks." He heard his own voice, incredibly dry, squeeze out of his throat.

He didn't dare look at An Yi again, hurriedly lowering his head, twisting off the cap with effort, tilting his head back, and gulping down several big mouthfuls.

The icy liquid washed over his scorching throat and esophagus, bringing a brief cool sting, but it did nothing to quell the wildfire raging inside him—instead, it was like pouring oil on the flames, scorching his insides.

He was screwed.

He was truly screwed.

This realization, at this moment, along with the phantom sting lingering on his fingertips and the frantic pounding of his heart, was burned into his mind with absolute clarity.

An Yi sighed softly. How could he be so silly?

Though he was far cuter than Huang Fuxiao's love-hate saga that the comment section kept broadcasting in his ear.

When the get-together ended, it was already afternoon.

Everyone said goodbye and went to get their cars.

Lu Lu was practically following An Yi step for step: "An Yi, let me give you a ride back!"

An Yi glanced at him. Lu Lu's wet, pleading puppy-dog eyes that screamed "let me, let me" were far too convincing—the nervous anticipation flickering in them was almost overflowing.

An Yi paused, ultimately not objecting, and just smiled warmly: "Alright, then I'll trouble you."

"No trouble at all, no trouble at all!" Lu Lu jumped in immediately, his heart bursting with joy, and hurried off to bring the car around.

Behind them, Tang Haoxuan, who hadn't left yet, exchanged a knowing look with the other two friends, all wearing knowing, teasing grins that said "just as I thought" and "you know what I mean."

Tang Haoxuan even mouthed silently at Lu Lu's retreating back: "Good luck, buddy! You're on your own!"

The atmosphere in the car on the way back was completely different from the ride there.

Lu Lu was much quieter than before, but this silence wasn't born of boredom or fatigue—instead, the car was thick with a restless, dense, on-the-tip-of-his-tongue atmosphere.

He gripped the steering wheel with both hands, eyes fixed ahead, seemingly focused on driving, but his gaze would occasionally drift uncontrollably to the rearview mirror—An Yi sat in the passenger seat, head turned to watch the scenery receding outside the window, his expression serene, his profile looking especially gentle in the mellow evening light.

Whenever An Yi's figure in the mirror made the slightest move—like he was about to look up, or adjusting his sitting position—Lu Lu would immediately, like a thief caught in the act, snap his gaze away, stare intently at the road ahead, back straight as a board, pretending he'd just been checking the traffic behind them.

Once, twice, three times...

An Yi was looking out the window, but how could he possibly be unaware of such obvious and frequent little movements from the person beside him?

An Yi: "..." He sighed softly to himself, a little helpless, but also a little amused.

"Lu Lu."

"Huh?" Lu Lu responded instantly: "What's up, An Yi?"

An Yi smiled slightly: "If you keep this up, I won't dare let you drive me next time."

Lu Lu's face flushed, and he lowered his eyes in a hurt way: "Sorry, I'll drive properly... Let me drive you again next time."

An Yi smiled slightly but didn't answer.