Chapter 286 - 260: Hello, Lin Ruoxi, I’m Gu Muxue

Xue Rui was momentarily conflicted. The girl was about to take the initiative and kiss him again. ’Should I close my eyes or keep them open?’

Lin Ruoxi paused. ’I can’t let Xue Rui eat my lipstick...’ she thought.

Xue Rui noticed her hesitation. ’So the girl knows how to be shy after all?’ he thought.

’But isn’t it a little late for that? Is she really that slow on the uptake?’

However, reality was the complete opposite of what he’d imagined. As many of the other customers watched with fond smiles, Lin Ruoxi’s red lips gently pressed against his forehead, leaving behind a faint, crimson kiss mark.

Yu Minlan covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. Lin Ruoxi really had Xue Rui’s number; she had actually managed to leave him momentarily flustered.

Xue Rui sighed helplessly and waved his hand. "What are you snickering at? Go pay for this."

"Oh." Yu Minlan departed reluctantly, looking back over her shoulder every few steps as if hoping Lin Ruoxi would do something else.

"Honey, look," a woman picking out cosmetics said. "It looks like the woman is older in that relationship."

The man nodded. "I think so too."

Lin Ruoxi’s demeanor was much more mature now than before. Combined with the way she had bent down to kiss Xue Rui, she exuded a doting air, leading many people to assume she was the dominant one in the relationship.

Xue Rui smiled faintly and patted the seat beside him, motioning for the girl to sit down.

Lin Ruoxi sat down beside Xue Rui without a moment’s hesitation. Xue Rui’s hand naturally reached out to pinch her cheek.

The woman’s eyes flew wide. Shouldn’t it be the cool, aloof girl pinching the boy’s cheek? Why was it the other way around?

Besides, the girl was being incredibly docile, even leaning her head in for the boy to stroke.

On the night of the Qixi Festival, there were couples hugging and kissing everywhere, but this was the first time she’d seen a pair quite this strange.

She smiled and asked, "Young lady, who’s older between the two of you?"

Lin Ruoxi, who was hugging Xue Rui’s arm, reached up to wipe the kiss mark from his forehead. "Um, I’m a little older."

"So who pursued who?" The woman found this all too interesting. The girl looked so cold on the outside, but her voice was surprisingly soft and child-like. She couldn’t resist chatting with Lin Ruoxi a little longer.

"I... I pursued him," Lin Ruoxi said obediently.

"You’re a lucky man," the woman teased.

"You’re right, miss," Xue Rui replied with a smile.

"Don’t ’miss’ me, I’m over forty," the woman chided with a laugh, unable to hide her delight.

Xue Rui feigned surprise. "I couldn’t tell at all, miss."

"Such a smooth-talker. You must have sweet-talked her into being your girlfriend, didn’t you? Young girls are so gullible." The woman’s eyes crinkled as she smiled.

"Xue Rui wouldn’t lie to me," Lin Ruoxi said, looking at him with eyes full of affection.

’Lin Ruoxi actually knew that Xue Rui told lies sometimes. But as long as he was the one telling them to her, and she was willing to believe him, it didn’t count as a lie.’

"You’d better keep an eye on him, dear," the woman said, patting Lin Ruoxi’s shoulder with a grin as she left.

After buying the cosmetics, Xue Rui took Lin Ruoxi to browse the Chanel handbag section.

The result was that the young lady’s jaw nearly hit the floor when she saw the prices. She grabbed Xue Rui and started dragging him out of the store.

Lin Ruoxi whispered, "I... I don’t think it’s worth it. That bag can’t even fit a laptop."

Xue Rui shook his head. ’Even if I forced the issue and bought it for her, she wouldn’t feel good about it later.’

"Do you want me to carry a bag like that?" Lin Ruoxi asked. She figured he must have brought her here because he liked them.

"I do," Xue Rui said. ’Luxury goods are symbols that distinguish social classes. If Lin Ruoxi carried one, it would save her the trouble of being harassed.’

"Um, I just saw some that look the same online for only a few hundred yuan," Lin Ruoxi said timidly.

Xue Rui waved a hand dismissively. "Those are fakes. Let’s go home and have dinner."

With that, there wasn’t anywhere else for them to go, and the girl seemed eager to get home anyway.

The young lady found her happiness in simple things, like getting a brand-new glass jar after finishing a can of fruit, or getting a small bottle for free when buying a large drum of peanut oil...

’So, getting her to use luxury goods was practically impossible. After all, if she couldn’t even bear to throw away a plastic bag, how could she ever bring herself to use a handbag that cost tens of thousands of yuan?’

...

The two returned to their rented apartment. Xue Rui was surprised to find the room was cool, as if the air conditioner had been left on all day.

"Did you forget to turn it off?" he asked with a helpless sigh. ’The girl won’t say anything,’ he thought, ’but she’s probably going to be heartbroken over the electricity bill.’

Lin Ruoxi waved her phone. "I turned it on remotely while we were on our way back. I wanted it to be cool for you the moment you walked in."

Xue Rui plopped down on the sofa. Shopping really was exhausting. ’And the girl made another practical little gadget. How thoughtful of her.’

Just then, Lin Ruoxi was bustling about in the kitchen, reheating the leftovers from lunch...

This was the kind of life Lin Ruoxi enjoyed—simple, inexpensive, and spent quietly by Xue Rui’s side.

Xue Rui knew this, of course. He was even more certain of it after their shopping trip today...

After dinner and washing up, Lin Ruoxi brought Xue Rui a basin of hot water for his customary foot soak. Xue Rui sat on the sofa, casually chatting on his phone. ’In his mind, Gu Muxue’s Qixi Festival gift was to make their relationship completely public.’

’If he were a faithful man, that would have been a wonderful surprise.’

’But the reality was the exact opposite. For a scumbag like him, a gift like that was a scare!’

Just as he was thinking this, the young lady came over with a towel to dry his feet. Xue Rui was rather overwhelmed by the gesture. Even though he was plenty thick-skinned, being waited on by her like this still made him feel a pang of guilt.

"You don’t have to, I can do it myself," Xue Rui said. He’d felt that ever since they had made their relationship official, a trace of assertiveness had entered the girl’s attitude.

The result was just as Xue Rui had predicted.

Lin Ruoxi turned a deaf ear to his words, enjoying the privileges that came with her status as his girlfriend.

After she finished tidying up, Lin Ruoxi sat on the sofa, patted her lap, and said softly, "I... I got a gift for you, too."

Xue Rui gulped. ’Is she inviting me to use her lap? I love this gift!’

Just as he leaned in with wicked intentions, the girl gently put an arm around his shoulders and pressed him down.

Xue Rui’s neck went stiff, but he only hesitated for a second. The one thing he was absolutely sure of was that this girl would never, ever hurt him.

Lin Ruoxi guided Xue Rui’s head onto her lap and pulled out a small, illuminated earpick. Seeing him nuzzling against her legs made her feel a little ticklish. She giggled and said, "You... You lie still, now. Don’t fidget."

Xue Rui felt an inexplicable sense of disappointment. ’So the gift was an earpick?’

But as he felt her soft legs beneath his head, his heart calmed. This was the kind of atmosphere he always felt when he was with Lin Ruoxi, and he loved it.

Lin Ruoxi connected the earpick to a phone and gently placed the phone in Xue Rui’s hands.

Lying on Lin Ruoxi’s lap, Xue Rui watched the image of his own ear on the screen. ’The girl was so thoughtful,’ he mused, but his attention was focused more on her legs than on the screen’s display.

Suddenly, he heard the PING of a message notification.

Without a doubt, it was his phone on the coffee table. But with an earpick currently in his ear, he was trapped.

It was just a single notification, and Xue Rui was certain Lin Ruoxi wouldn’t look at his phone, but how could anyone not feel anxious in a situation like this?

He was terrified that if he ignored Gu Muxue, the little minx would get tired of waiting and call him...

Lin Ruoxi noticed that Xue Rui’s attention was fixed on his phone. She smiled faintly and fetched it for him.

There were now two phones sitting beside Xue Rui. He glanced at the message with a hint of trepidation.

Creditor: Send me Qiu Mengze’s phone number.

Xue Rui breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, it wasn’t a flirtatious message. He decided to just be open about it and chat with Gu Muxue right in front of the girl.

Xue Rui: What do you want his number for? He’s just a pathetic simp.

Gu Muxue: We’re old classmates. I should at least add him on WeChat.

Gu Muxue had noticed that more and more people were using WeChat, so she planned on adding all her frequently-contacted friends and relatives, especially those who were close to Xue Rui. Qiu Mengze was naturally on that list.

Xue Rui casually sent Qiu Mengze’s phone number and tossed his phone aside.

Even though the girl had finished cleaning his ear, he chose to remain lazily on her lap.

Just as Xue Rui was feeling relieved, Lin Ruoxi’s phone buzzed. He casually picked it up to take a look and saw a friend request...

The moment he saw the profile picture, Xue Rui’s hand trembled. He was all too familiar with the cat avatar Gu Muxue used; he had just been chatting with that very avatar a moment ago...

However, the message attached to the request made Xue Rui’s heart skip a beat.

[Hello, Lin Ruoxi. I’m Gu Muxue.]