Chapter 408 - 305: Xiaorui, Just How Big a Mistake Did You Make?

Gu Muxue had just reached the watermelon stand when Xue Rui suddenly popped out from inside. A flash of joy flickered in her eyes, but it quickly turned to annoyance.

She was happy he could make it, but she was also furious. Xue Rui hadn’t sent her a single message on WeChat all afternoon to explain himself.

Xue Rui pretended to look up nonchalantly, as if he had only just noticed Gu Muxue. In a surprised tone, he said, "Muxue, you’re here? I got some watermelon ready for you, chilled it and everything."

As he spoke, he pulled off his disposable gloves and took a box of pre-sliced watermelon from a cooler.

The chubby guy stared at Xue Rui in disbelief. ’How can he act so natural?’

’Putting on gloves just to throw them away, wiping away sweat as he talks... all to make it look like cutting watermelon is hard work.’

’But all Xue Rui did was take out the watermelon Li Ruihao had already sliced!’

"So shameless," the chubby guy muttered under his breath.

’Xue Rui prepared it? He didn’t do a single thing!’

Xue Rui shot a glance at the chubby guy. ’Didn’t do anything?’

’Wrong. He put two new toothpicks in the box.’

"Impressive," the chubby guy murmured. Xue Rui was a real eye-opener.

However, Gu Muxue ignored Xue Rui completely and turned to leave.

Holding the container of sliced watermelon, Xue Rui jogged a few steps to catch up. "Muxue, have some watermelon to cool off."

The girl pouted and turned her head away. ’Cool off?’

The next moment, however, she saw her roommates approaching.

"Muxue, we’re here to help too. Let’s all go grab dinner after," Gao Shufen said.

Xue Rui waved to them. "Hey, everyone! Come have some watermelon. I saved some for you."

"Alrighty." Gao Shufen gave Xue Rui a wink. She could guess why he was here. ’He must have made Gu Muxue angry and now he’s here to apologize.’

’What are they helping with?’

Xue Rui was suddenly curious. ’What on earth did Li Ruihao say to get Gu Muxue over here with just a word or two?’

’The girl is usually so cautious. How could she be lured away so easily by a stranger?’

"An upperclassman just said the watermelon stand needed watching, so Muxue said she’d go over and help," Gao Shufen explained.

Gu Muxue’s face flushed crimson. ’What is happening?’

’Didn’t I tell them I didn’t need help? Why did my roommates come over anyway...?’

’Besides, I was just giving Xue Rui the cold shoulder, and now my real reason for coming here has been exposed...’

’Wouldn’t this just make Xue Rui unbearably smug?’

At this thought, she indignantly pinched Xue Rui’s side.

Xue Rui didn’t dodge or flinch, simply wrapping an arm around the girl’s waist with a grin.

That was just how the girl was—she never said what she truly felt. She hadn’t messaged him all afternoon, as if gearing up for a huge fight, yet the moment his business needed help, she was the first to volunteer.

He did notice, however, that the moment he put his arm around her, the girl’s body went rigid. Her jaw was clenched, and her eyes kept darting around, as if she was very concerned about what others would think.

*Phew.* Xue Rui silently exhaled. ’Have I never put my arm around her before?’

’I picked up too many habits from my time with that other girl, and now I’ve brought them here with Muxue...’

’Luckily, she didn’t flip out. She was saving face for him in front of all these people.’

"Everyone, help yourselves to some watermelon." Xue Rui took Gu Muxue’s hand and led her aside, asking another male student to entertain her roommates.

Xue Rui pulled out the candied hawthorns he’d bought earlier. "Muxue, I bought you some candied hawthorns."

Gu Muxue turned her head away again. ’I’m not that easy to win over. Does he think a few skewers of candied hawthorns can just smooth everything over?’

The girl was in her military training uniform and a little cap. Her cheeks were flushed a cute red, though it was hard to tell if it was from the sun or from the embarrassment of having her true intentions revealed. Her beautiful, almond-shaped eyes, however, were downcast, betraying a hint of disappointment.

"You look so beautiful, even in your training uniform. I spotted you the second I got here, so I had someone call you over."

Gu Muxue’s long eyelashes fluttered. The corners of her lips tilted up ever so slightly before quickly falling again.

Xue Rui knew she wasn’t the type to cause a scene in public or have a big fight in front of their classmates, so he grew bolder. He took off her cap and playfully ruffled her hair.

"Don’t be angry anymore. Let me explain, okay?" Xue Rui said, pinching her rosy cheek before giving her chin a little poke.

Honestly, he felt like he was teasing a stressed-out cat that could lash out and claw him at any second.

Gu Muxue shot him a fierce glare, and Xue Rui quickly retracted his hand.

’She was here waiting for an explanation, but did this... this grinning fool look like he was sorry at all?’

’But... he did get her watermelon. And it was different from the others’—the rind was cut off, and it came with toothpicks.’

She snatched the watermelon and candied hawthorns from his hands, walked over to the watermelon stand, and shared the hawthorns with her roommates.

Gao Shufen asked with a laugh, "Muxue, now that Xue Rui is here, are you still eating with us later?"

Gu Muxue snuck a glance at Xue Rui and said quietly, "You guys go ahead and eat. Xue Rui and I have to talk..."

"Got it, got it." Gao Shufen made an OK sign with her hand.

...

When Gu Muxue walked back over to him, Xue Rui subconsciously reached for her hand, only to hear her say in a low voice, "Don’t touch me."

Xue Rui swallowed. Her reaction was much stronger than he’d anticipated. Since they met up, she had only said three words to him...

The good news, however, was that she was already eating the watermelon and was holding the candied hawthorns.

That gave Xue Rui some confidence. As angry as Gu Muxue was, she would still listen to his explanation, as long as he could give her a good enough reason.

He wanted to just be completely honest with her, but the girl was too proud...

’If I’m honest, she’ll probably beat me up on the spot, and after that, she’ll be impossible to console.’

The last time Gu Muxue had misunderstood his relationship with Lin Ruoxi was back in their second year of high school. Back then, the girl had given him the silent treatment for a whole month...

Now that they were officially a couple, a misunderstanding like this could lead straight to threats of a breakup.

To be honest, he had no confidence at all.

The two of them strolled through campus. When they reached a long corridor covered in climbing ivy, Gu Muxue sat down on a bench.

Xue Rui sat down next to her and placed a hand on her leg, but she immediately scooted away.

Xue Rui didn’t try to move closer again. Instead, his eyes scanned the area around Gu Muxue.

His gaze gave Gu Muxue the creeps. ’This corridor is pretty dark,’ she thought. ’What is he looking at?’

’Is he trying to scare me again?’

She pursed her lips and steeled herself. ’No matter how he tries to scare me, I won’t lean on him for protection.’

A sharp SMACK echoed out. Xue Rui had slapped a mosquito.

Gu Muxue looked up at Xue Rui, who was now standing in front of her, and the corners of her lips curled up involuntarily. She had intentionally picked a spot with a lot of mosquitoes. ’If he wasn’t going to talk, he could just sit there and feed the mosquitoes. It would be his punishment.’

’Her training uniform was thick, anyway; the mosquitoes couldn’t bite through it.’

’But... when Xue Rui noticed how bad the mosquitoes were, his first thought was to get rid of them for her?’

"Hmph. You can stay here and feed the mosquitoes." Her heart softened, and she stood up to walk away.

Xue Rui didn’t follow her right away. Instead, he wondered, ’If I said something like this to that other girl, what would she do?’

He considered it for a moment. ’That other girl would probably really sit here all night.’

’She had a kind of magic that made it impossible to get angry with her, maybe because of that stubborn, one-track mind of hers...’

’Hm, maybe I can learn from that sometimes. It might help this one cool down.’

Gu Muxue was now walking very slowly, clearly waiting for him, but he didn’t follow. Instead, he obediently sat right where he was.

Eventually, Gu Muxue shuffled slowly back to him.

Just then, two striped mosquitoes were feasting on Xue Rui’s arm. ’What would that other girl do?’ Xue Rui wondered.

’Since the order was to feed the mosquitoes, she would never shoo them away.’ So, he didn’t shoo them away either.

Gu Muxue reached out and slapped the mosquitoes off his arm, then started waving the skewer of candied hawthorns near him to keep them away. She frowned. "Xiaorui, are you stupid?"

She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ’Was he really just sitting here feeding the mosquitoes?’

’She was just saying it out of anger. How could she actually let him suffer like this...?’

Xue Rui looked at her guiltily. "Muxue, I wanted to wait until you were in a better mood before I explained."

"If letting the mosquitoes feed on me makes you feel better, then I’ll let them."

As Xue Rui said this, even he felt a pang of pity for himself.

’So pathetic.’

’Acting weak once in a while could make this girl come back around. That other girl’s tactics really are pretty effective...’

Gu Muxue’s gaze unfocused. In the past, it was always Xue Rui who bullied her. It was out of a desire for "revenge" that she had gotten closer and closer to him.

But even after they finally became a couple, she rarely ever got the upper hand with him...

She had never seen such a compliant Xue Rui before. A wave of pity and affection washed over her, but at the same time, a growing panic began to set in...

’Why is Xue Rui being so obedient?’

’Xiaorui, just what huge mistake did you make?’