He Treats You Differently

The boy who was pulled aside studied her from head to toe. With an air of complete understanding, he said, "Another one looking for him to confess? You're late. He's been called out by another girl and is probably being gifted a love letter somewhere. Come back tomorrow but remember to be earlier. That girl was already waiting outside the classroom even before class had ended."

He waved at her and left.

Mu Xiaoxiao was left rooted to the spot and didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She had wanted to say that she was Lu Yichen's friend and not someone who was here to make a confession, but the boy had left before she could explain it to him.

She shrugged. "It looks like I'm not fated to have a meal with him today. Yu Zhe, let's go and eat on our own!"

Yu Zhe seemed to have already predicted such a situation. "Before, I've only heard stories about girls queuing up to profess their love for him every day, but now I believe them."

"That's totally normal. He's not only handsome but also extremely intelligent and has such a gentle demeanor—of course girls will go crazy over him!" As Mu Xiaoxiao declared this, she felt a little rueful. Someone like Lu Yichen was extraordinarily remarkable and someone she should be friends with.

Upon hearing what she said, Yu Zhe made a flabbergasted expression as though what she said was a fantastic story. He said unbelievingly, "Gentle? Did you get it wrong? Lu Yichen is infamous for his haughtiness—despite so many girls confessing to him every day, he has never given them any consideration."

Mu Xiaoxiao thought for a while before shaking her head. "No, I don't think so. I think he's quite gentle—he's definitely not haughty as you say he is," she declared.

"He's only gentle with you then." However, Yu Zhe was still in disbelief. He had only known of the cold and haughty side of Lu Yichen and never heard anyone describe him as gentle.

Mu Xiaoxiao drew back the corners of her mouth and smiled, letting her imagination run wild. "Really? Could it be that I'm special to him?"

Yu Zhe felt a headache coming when he saw her expression. He asked, "What do we do now? Are we going to the cafeteria to eat? I'm hungry."

"Let's go. We're going to eat of course; I'm hungry too. I wanted to find Lu Yichen to eat together, but it's a pity that he's not here. It's okay though. I'll look for him next time."

She said this as some thoughts ran through her mind while grinning madly.

Yu Zhe couldn't help but ridicule her, saying, "You should just drop it. I don't think you actually know him — you just want to get acquainted with him, right? I'll advise you to give up. A person such as Lu Yichen isn't someone you should want to be friends with."

"I'm not going to explain it to you; we're going to eat! Where's the cafeteria? Why is this school so big? My legs hurt from walking."

Mu Xiaoxiao started to complain after walking just a little.

Actually, her school in America was also quite big, but since she had walked a fair bit this afternoon and the day before, her legs were really aching now.

Yu Zhe suspected that she was pretending, but because her pinched faced seemed to reflect true discomfort, his heart softened. "Do you want me to carry you?" he asked.

Mu Xiaoxiao wanted to agree but stopped. "How far are we from the cafeteria?" she asked.

"It's not that far — it's just around the corner."

Mu Xiaoxiao said resentfully, "Never mind then… We're going to get there soon anyway. Come on then."

If it was still far, she wouldn't mind letting Yu Zhe carry her. She rejected the idea to avoid weird stares and because it was so close.