klisemfg Chapter 108: Clearly Knowing One's Place
Chapter 108: Clearly Knowing One's Place
Lu Lin saw the incoming call on Zhou Yuwen's phone. She just glanced at it before turning around to tidy up the snacks she had just bought.Zhou Yuwen answered the call.
“Zhou Yuwen, what were you doing last night?” Zheng Yanyan immediately asked.
Zhou Yuwen moved away from Lu Lin and said that something came up last night, so he went to bed early.
“What was so important that you couldn't even reply to my message?”
Zheng Yanyan had waited for Zhou Yuwen’s message until 1 a.m. Normally, she wouldn't mind as much since Lu Lin would keep her company chatting, but last night both Zhou Yuwen and Lu Lin seemed to have ignored her, which made her quite upset.
“Zhou Yuwen, do you even consider me your girlfriend? What could be more important than replying to your girlfriend?” Zheng Yanyan was full of grievances.
Zhou Yuwen calmly replied, “Well, didn't you also not contact me the day before?”
“I…” Zheng Yanyan was momentarily speechless. She hadn't contacted Zhou Yuwen the day before because she wanted to see if he would reach out to her first. But she hadn’t expected that to become Zhou Yuwen’s excuse.
Zhou Yuwen continued, “Now you know how it feels when you don't reach out to me, don't you?”
One sentence, and all of Zheng Yanyan’s pent-up grievances vanished.
“Alright, it’s my fault,” Zhou Yuwen’s words actually made Zheng Yanyan feel a bit happy, thinking that maybe he had been just as anxious about her silence. Perhaps he ignored her last night out of spite, so it was forgivable.
Of course, Zheng Yanyan wouldn’t admit that she had deliberately ignored Zhou Yuwen the day before. That would make her seem too desperate. ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by noveⅼfire.net
Instead, she said that she had been chatting with Lu Lin and had forgotten to message Zhou Yuwen.
“Oh, so am I still your boyfriend then? You could actually forget about me?” Zhou Yuwen feigned discontent.
“Alright, alright, I was wrong. Don’t be mad, hubby!” Zheng Yanyan immediately switched to a sweet, coaxing tone.
Zhou Yuwen wasn’t too far from Lu Lin while talking with Zheng Yanyan, so Lu Lin could hear everything clearly. It was the first time she had heard Zheng Yanyan lower herself so much to placate a man.
Zheng Yanyan kept coaxing Zhou Yuwen and chatted with him for a bit longer, asking about what he was doing today.
She even suggested, “Lu Lin’s alone in the dormitory today. If you’re free, why don’t you go out with her?”
Zhou Yuwen replied, “I’m not that familiar with her. What’s there to do?”
Lu Lin, who was munching on chips, rolled her eyes. "What a dog," she thought.
“True, true,” Zheng Yanyan giggled and then asked, “So what are you doing at school?”
“I have a flight to Hong Kong tonight.”
“You’re going to Hong Kong!?” Zheng Yanyan sounded excited. “What are you going to Hong Kong for? I heard you need a passport to go there.”
Zhou Yuwen had already taken care of that.
“Are you going for a trip? You didn’t even tell me! I really want to go to Hong Kong!”
A casual comment from Zhou Yuwen once again sparked the young girl’s imagination, and she started fantasizing about Hong Kong. She continued talking about how there’s Disneyland in Hong Kong and asked if he was planning to go.
Zhou Yuwen said, “What would a guy like me do at Disneyland?”
“True, true. Then you can take me there next time, hubby,” Zheng Yanyan said with a giggle.
Zhou Yuwen replied, “We’ll see.”
The conversation dragged on, and it didn’t seem like it would end anytime soon.
Lu Lin finished her chips and had a small piece of cake. She played with her phone for a while, but seeing that Zhou Yuwen and Zheng Yanyan were still chatting, she got bored.
She decided to change her clothes and head back to school.
Zhou Yuwen noticed Lu Lin had changed and finally interrupted Zheng Yanyan’s endless chatter. “Alright, I have other things to do. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Oh, okay. How long are you going for, hubby?” Zheng Yanyan quickly asked.
“Four days.”
“Doesn’t that overlap with the start of the school term?”
“Yeah, I’ll take two days off.”
After chatting with Zheng Yanyan for almost thirty minutes, Zhou Yuwen felt a bit guilty toward Lu Lin, who hadn’t made a sound the entire time.
Zhou Yuwen said, “It’s still early. Let’s have lunch first, and then I’ll take you back to school.”
“No need. I can find my way back on my own. It’s not far,” Lu Lin replied nonchalantly.
Zhou Yuwen asked, “What if I ask you to stay with me? Would you agree?”
Lu Lin maintained a straight face and responded, “If you treat me to a big lunch, I’ll consider it.”
After saying that, she turned around, pretending to be indifferent, but couldn’t hold back a smile.
However, before Lu Lin could get away with it, Zhou Yuwen grabbed her, pulling her into his arms. He pressed his forehead against hers and asked, “Were you waiting for me to say that?”
“Pfft!” Lu Lin couldn’t help but laugh but still denied it. “No.”
“I’m not even your girlfriend. Just call me when you need me.”
There was a trace of bitterness in her voice, but Zhou Yuwen didn’t let her finish. He kissed her.
“Mmph.”
Lu Lin let out a soft sound as Zhou Yuwen pressed her onto the sofa, kissing her neck, his hand sliding to her waist.
In no time, she was back in her favorite flared jeans.
As he held her by the waist, he murmured into her ear, “So, if I want you now, would you give in?”
“Mm.” With her eyes closed, Lu Lin let him kiss her neck, making soft sounds in response. She knew that whenever Zhou Yuwen wanted her, she’d give in.
Even though her body hadn’t fully recovered, she didn’t want to kill his mood. After all, wasn’t that what women did—to make their men happy?
Zhou Yuwen lifted Lu Lin, carrying her back into the bedroom.
Afterwards, they lay together in bed, chatting briefly.
“Are you really going to Hong Kong?” Lu Lin asked.
“Yes.”
“Oh.” She paused, pondering for a moment. “Is it far?”
“Quite a bit south.”
The two of them lay there until two in the afternoon, Zhou Yuwen being considerate not to ask too much of her, knowing she’d just had her first experience.
At two, Lu Lin finally got up, saying she should return to her dorm.
“Don’t you still have a flight to catch?”
“Yeah, I need to transfer in Pudong first, then catch the plane. Let’s get some lunch first, and then I’ll drop you off.”
They went to a simple café near campus for a quiet meal.
Although National Day was supposed to be a seven-day holiday, with the weekends tacked on, it stretched to nine days, so it was still break time.
Campus was mostly deserted, and they wandered like an ordinary couple.
When Zhou Yuwen parked, Lu Lin waited on the sidewalk. Yesterday, Zhou Yuwen had bought her two new outfits, including the flared jeans and a cropped blouse, which she wore now.
Walking beside Zhou Yuwen, Lu Lin hesitated only a moment before taking his hand.
Maybe… she did want to experience what it felt like to be in love.
After lunch, they strolled down the snack street, and Lu Lin stopped in front of a convenience store. “Buy me a drink?”
“Go ahead.”
She chose a bottle of her favorite drink, and they returned to the car. Zhou Yuwen intended to drop her off at the dorm.
But Lu Lin said the gate would be fine.
“A lot of students will be returning today, so I’d rather not risk anyone in the Girls’ Dorm seeing me,” she explained.
He pulled over across from the school gate, and Lu Lin sat in the passenger seat, sipping her drink.
She could feel Zhou Yuwen’s gaze, so she kept her eyes fixed ahead.
“I’ll be off, then?”
“You’re just going to leave like that?” he asked.
Lu Lin chuckled, “Why, what else?”
“Aren’t you going to give me a kiss?”
Oddly enough, even though they’d been intimate, Lu Lin felt shy at the suggestion, bowing her head for a moment.
After ten seconds, she finally leaned over, brushing her lips softly against his.
“Done,” she murmured.
Yesterday, Lu Lin’s lips had tasted faintly of smoke, but today, having only had her drink, her lips tasted sweet.
Unhappy with just a brief kiss, Zhou Yuwen gently bit her lip as they parted.
She laughed, “Why’d you bite me?”
“Think I’ll let you get away that easily?” he replied.
Lowering her gaze, a faint smile played on her lips.
Both of them seemed reluctant to part but couldn’t find an excuse to linger.
Worried he might find her clingy, Lu Lin finally broke the silence. “I’ll go. Don’t want you missing your train.”
“Alright.”
Zhou Yuwen wasn’t quite sure of her thoughts, so he pulled a stack of bills—around 3,000 RMB—from his wallet.
“I’m heading to Hong Kong. Buy yourself something nice while I’m gone.”
But Lu Lin’s expression turned cold. “I don’t need your money.”
Zhou Yuwen chuckled, “Just take it. Who’d say no to extra cash?”
“I said I don’t need it.” With a hint of irritation, she stepped out of the car and walked away.
Somewhat baffled, Zhou Yuwen considered going after her, but by the time he stepped out, she was already crossing the street.
In the end, he let her go.
That afternoon, Zhou Yuwen caught the 3 p.m. high-speed train, arriving in Pudong by five, and then caught his 9 p.m. flight. He didn’t arrive in Hong Kong until late at night, dealing with arrangements for learning about virtual currency investments, which took quite a bit of time. As he disembarked, a message from Zheng Yanyan awaited him, asking if he’d arrived.
“Just got off the plane,” he replied.
“Honey, bring me back a gift! (kiss emoji)” she replied playfully.
“What do you want?”
She listed several things and then asked him to bring back a couple of pairs of CK underwear.
Zhou Yuwen sent her a teasing emoji. “I’m not in the habit of buying people’s underwear.”
“Come on! It’s a brand, and I heard it’s super comfortable. Get it for me, and I’ll wear it just for you.” she teased.
“Maybe. If I see it, I’ll pick it up.”
“You’re the best, honey! Love you so much!” she replied.
Aside from Zheng Yanyan, Su Qing had sent him messages too. Lately, she’d been all about making money, asking about stocks, Bitcoin, and even the lottery.
She asked if he knew how to open a stock account since she wanted to buy Kweichow Moutai shares.
Zhou Yuwen told her to inquire at a brokerage, adding that stocks are risky, so she should be careful.
But Su Qing seemed confident, “Moutai’s going to go up! Don’t believe me? Want to bet?”
Zhou Yuwen replied that she’d need enough capital; otherwise, just knowing it’ll go up isn’t enough.
“That’s why I want to buy Bitcoin! I borrowed 5,000 RMB from my mom. Just wait; once I make it big, I’ll keep you as my trophy husband! (grin emoji)”
“Transfer it to me; I’ll buy it for you.”
“No need, I already bought it myself (grin emoji).”
“?” Zhou Yuwen asked, “How’d you buy it?”
“I joined a group online and bought it there. Just wait—I’m going to be loaded! (shy emoji)”
“And you only spent 5,000?”
“No, including my allowance, it’s 7,000.”
“Alright.”
The amount wasn’t much, so Zhou Yuwen saw no need to tell her he was in Hong Kong to buy Bitcoin himself. She was likely scammed by that group chat, and if Bitcoin tanked, the group’s organizers would pocket her money.
After a few messages, he advised her to take the money back. Su Qing responded confidently, “Don’t underestimate me—I’m smarter than you think!”
“Alright.”
Others had messaged Zhou Yuwen, too. But oddly, not a single message had come from Lu Lin.
It was as though they were barely more than acquaintances, only reaching out when needed.