67 Have We Met Before? (3)

After a lot of thinking, Song Luli decided to show Han Ru a piece of her mind. She put on makeup and dressed up as Lexi. She stormed off to his house, walking down his pathway. On the porch, the man she met nearly a month ago was smoking outside. 

He blocked her way. "Are you okay?" he asked. 

Song Luli was breathing hard, infuriated. "I want to speak with Han Ru. Get out of my way!" she demanded. 

Jie put a hand on each of her shoulders. "If you're upset about something, it's rash to speak to someone without thinking over it," he said. 

Song Luli tried to calm down her breathing. "You're right," she admitted, though she didn't want to. 

Jie then said, "Let's go somewhere." 

Song Luli's eyes widened. "Where?" 

"Anywhere," he suggested. "To clear your head." 

Song Luli exhaled deeply. Yes. She should take that distraction; she needed to be clear-minded and not thinking of Han Ru. 

Jie took her to a festival. There were desserts, stalls, and fireworks, and her eyes beamed at everything that came into her line of sight. They both played games and spoke about school and where their education may take them. Song Luli confessed she had no idea what she wanted to do after graduation, but that taking one step at a time may lead her somewhere. 

There was a photo booth by one of the stalls where Song Luli pulled his sleeve and asked, "Can we take pictures?" 

Jie smiled. "All right," he said. 

They both went into the photo booth and selected a frame before snapping photos. Song Luli noticed that Jie's hair was tousled, so she reached out to fix his dark strands. He then caught her wrist; his pale-blue eyes glued onto hers. Song Luli's breath caught, staring at him. Everything about his face crafted to perfection, and she wondered how she was able to spend time with him. Why did he want to spend time with her?

He leaned forward, near her face. Song Luli was panting slightly, nervous at the fact that she's never kissed anyone before. He inched closer, and his lips pressed against hers. Song Luli opened her mouth, allowing his tongue to peer through. 

Her face turned hot and red as Jie kissed her fiercely. She didn't expect herself to be doing this, and she didn't understand why it felt so good. She kissed him back, harder, colliding. After a few long moments, Song Luli broke apart from him, gasping for air. 

Realizing what she had done, Song Luli stepped outside the photobooth ahead of him, and she ran away. She felt like she deceived him, and if Jie were to find out that she lied, it might hurt them both. 

...

Long Jie was left stunned when that girl ran away from him. 

Did he do something wrong? 

He took the photos she had left behind, but there was no clear image of her face; only the image of them kissing hard against each other's mouths. 

Long Jie flushed. He had never met anyone like her and yet he won and lost her within such a short time. 

When she was with Han Ru at the party, he felt irritated. And he wasn't expecting to see her again when she stormed across the pathway. But he had to take the opportunity away from Han Ru. He had his sights on her first. 

He walked back home with the photo booth pictures in his pocket. He couldn't wrap his mind around that girl and couldn't stop wondering why she meant so much to him. 

Inside the house, his aunt, Xue Teegan, greeted him. "Jie. Why did you come back looking so upset?" 

Long Jie sighed deeply. "Nothing. Can you help me take the black dye out of my hair?"

Xue Teegan sighed. "I told you not to dye it because you lost a bet. It will be difficult getting back to your natural colour," she said. 

"It will grow. But for now, help me bring it back," Long Jie begged. 

Xue Teegan released a breath. "I should have some dye upstairs." 

She then guided him to the bathroom, applying the dye and developer in his hair. Long Jie wanted to remove it desperately. It didn't feel like him. 

After he finished, he went into his cousin's room, startling him awake. 

Yin Hao was snoring loudly before he fell out of his bed. "I'm awake!" he said, glancing at Long Jie, who had pushed him. 

"Can you help me find a girl?" Long Jie asked. 

"Eh?" Yin Hao asked. "You? A girl?" 

Long Jie rolled his eyes. "Can you help me or not?"

"Do you know her name? Do you have a photo?" 

Long Jie gave him everything he knew.

"There's no one by the name of Lexi registered in Han Ru's school," said Yin Hao.

"She came with the Su Xiang and Song Meiling to that party. She must know the Song family," Long Jie replied.

Yin Hao dug up some more information. "Mhm. No one named Lexi is registered in the Song family either, but by the description of her age and familial relations, the person who comes close is Song Luli." 

"Song Luli?" Long Jie asked. "I know who that is."

Song Luli was a childhood friend. 

And after that summer, Long Jie couldn't bear to leave the country. And the years that followed Song Luli didn't appear on his radar. But he waited. 

'Long Jie won't marry any of the girls we suggest,' his father once said. 

'I heard he's frigid,' a random woman gossiped from behind. 

'Why don't you marry Song Luli?' his mother asked him once. 

'Song Luli?' Long Jie asked his mother to repeat.

'Yes. She needs the money to support her company.' 

Long Jie never thought that Song Luli would be in the market for a marriage meeting. He decided to permanently stay in the country, and meet the girl from his past. They were both so busy. But Long Jie won't let the opportunity slide. 

The day of the meeting, Long Jie felt nervous about seeing her, so he went in late, expecting her to be gone. 

When he entered the room, he saw her again. Indeed, it was her. But her eyes and beautiful, solemn expression told him that she was hollow and devoid of love. Long Jie didn't want to scare her away. So he decided to be cynical, pretending to be devoid of love, too. And it seemed to have caught her attention. 

He decided to take things slow. He could make Song Luli fall for him. She ran away from him once, and he wouldn't let it happen again.