Chapter 29: You Look Adorable When You're Angry

Saturday. The sky was a clear, impossible blue, so flawless it felt more like an oil painting suspended overhead.

Bai Qingxia glanced up at the street sign above the road before lowering her head again, raising a small hand to shield her forehead. The sun was scorching. They’d agreed to meet at one o’clock, so she had to leave home a little after noon.

“Happiness Road…” she murmured, reading the address on the slip of paper. When the light across the street turned green, she hurried across the crosswalk.

After walking for a while, she came upon a beautiful artificial lake. Bai Qingxia, backpack slung over her shoulder, paused to stare for a moment, mesmerized. Only when she turned did she realize that the apartment complex from her note was right across from the lake.

She looked up. The grand, imposing entrance made her stop in her tracks. The buildings inside were new and towered toward the sky, their surroundings lush and meticulously landscaped—she could almost believe she’d wandered into a park.

The complex was called Happiness Lane, built in a neighborhood where property prices were high, perhaps because a bustling commercial street lay just next door.

Bai Qingxia walked slowly toward the entrance, momentarily at a loss—she had no idea how to get in. She’d never entered a place that looked so upscale. When she saw someone swipe a card to open the side gate, she hurriedly gripped her backpack straps, bowed her head, and followed closely behind.

The security guard in the booth was watching television. Afraid of being caught, Bai Qingxia quickened her pace.

…

The alarm went off. Lu Yuanqiu woke up in bed and immediately checked the time.

“Crap!”

He scrambled to the bathroom, splashed water on his face, then hastily pulled on a short-sleeved shirt. He’d barely finished dressing when the doorbell rang.

Lu Yuanqiu went to open the door, glancing at the clock in the living room—exactly one o’clock. That’s almost uncanny…

The door swung open. A girl in a school uniform stood there, a pink backpack on her shoulders, her expression tense and shy. She met Lu Yuanqiu’s eyes for only a moment before looking away, her earlobes tinged with red. Both hands clutched her backpack straps tightly.

It was the first time she’d ever visited a boy’s home, and it was Lu Yuanqiu’s at that.

“What are you waiting for? Come in!” Lu Yuanqiu grinned at her, quickly grabbed two cups, and dashed to the kitchen to rinse them.

Bai Qingxia stepped into the entryway. Glancing at the gleaming, mirror-like floor, she asked softly, “Should I… should I take off my shoes?”

Lu Yuanqiu, carrying the cups back into the living room, walked toward the water dispenser and joked, “Barefoot’s the way to go—feels great.”

At his words, Bai Qingxia glanced at Lu Yuanqiu’s bare feet, then bent to untie her own shoes.

“Come on, let’s go to my room—the one with the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign,” Lu Yuanqiu called as he poured two glasses of water. As he turned to look at her, the sight that met his eyes made him pause.

The girl stood primly by the door, her canvas shoes neatly placed to one side, a pair of white socks set atop them. Beneath her school uniform pants, her feet were bare, ten delicate toes pale and pink.

Lu Yuanqiu was momentarily speechless. He’d been joking—he hadn’t actually expected her to go barefoot. He’d thought she’d catch the teasing tone in his voice…

Was she always this literal?

Oh well, barefoot it is.

He shrugged. “Let’s go, to my room.”

Bai Qingxia hurried over, looking at him shyly. “Maybe we should greet your parents before we start the tutoring?”

“Um, actually…” Lu Yuanqiu hesitated, then said solemnly, “There’s no one else at home right now. It’s just you and me.”

At that, Bai Qingxia’s beautiful eyes widened in disbelief and her brows drew together. “You’re lying.”

Was she angry? Lu Yuanqiu sighed. “I can’t help it. My family was home this morning. You insisted on coming in the afternoon.”

“But my father needed lunch at noon,” Bai Qingxia replied, her eyes full of reproach.

He shrugged helplessly. “Nothing I can do. If we tutor in the afternoon, no one will be home.”

She was annoyed, but didn’t storm off. Only her earlobes flushed as she pursed her lips, standing there like a sulking pufferfish for a long moment before she relented. “Let’s start.”

“You’re adorable when you’re angry.” Lu Yuanqiu pinched her cheek.

Bai Qingxia swatted at his arm, but he dodged nimbly, leaving her hand grasping at air. The look in her eyes grew even more plaintive.

When she entered his room, her expression changed, becoming somewhat peculiar as she took in the furnishings: a bed, desk, bookshelf, basketball, guitar, building blocks, posters, figurines… It was messy.

Lu Yuanqiu set the cups on the desk and asked, “Does my room smell?”

Bai Qingxia shook her head, not quite truthfully.

Lu Yuanqiu suddenly protested, “See? You don’t smell anything, right? My mom and my sister are always saying my room reeks, like someone died in here.”

That made Bai Qingxia stifle a smile.

Seeing her laugh, Lu Yuanqiu grinned too. “That’s just slander. How could my room smell?”

Bai Qingxia stepped forward, her pale foot bumping the trash bin. She quickly pulled her foot back. Lu Yuanqiu hurried to move the bin aside and explained, “Uh, don’t misunderstand, the paper in there is from blowing my nose.”

“Misunderstand what?” the girl asked in confusion, looking up at him.

Lu Yuanqiu chuckled. “Don’t you know the joke? About the trash bin beside a boy’s bed and what the tissues are for?”

Bai Qingxia still looked puzzled. “You said they’re for blowing your nose.”

She was so innocent… Lu Yuanqiu stared at her in amazement, then decided to drop the subject.

Enough small talk—this was a study session, and the afternoon was short.

They pulled two chairs to the desk, sitting side by side as if they were deskmates once again, only closer now than they ever were at school. Lu Yuanqiu could smell the faint fragrance from Bai Qingxia and noticed the pale skin at her collar.

She always wore her school uniform, yet always seemed fresh. He wondered if she washed it every day—he’d never once seen her in a dirty uniform.

Lu Yuanqiu took out his math exercises, the pages littered with red crosses—all corrections he’d made himself. “So many mistakes. There are a few I just can’t figure out—I circled them. Could you explain, starting with this one?”

“Of course,” Bai Qingxia replied. With just a glance, she quickly found a solution, patiently writing out the steps with a red pen as she explained softly.

Lu Yuanqiu nodded frequently, sometimes frowning in puzzlement, but Bai Qingxia always answered swiftly.

“No wonder—so that’s how it works.”

“Try solving it yourself.”

“Kidding, I didn’t get it.”

The girl stared at him blankly with her beautiful eyes.

Lu Yuanqiu tugged at the corner of his mouth awkwardly—have mercy on an old soul.

He picked up his cup. Bai Qingxia glanced over, noting that his was the one on the right.

Five minutes later, Bai Qingxia asked, “Do you understand now?”

“This time I really do.”

At last, Bai Qingxia smiled. She looked at the cups on the desk and noticed that, instead of left and right, they were now arranged front and back.

Lu Yuanqiu was absorbed in his work, not realizing what he’d done.

Trusting her memory, she picked up one of the cups and took a sip.

“Like this?” Lu Yuanqiu handed over his solution.

Bai Qingxia, both hands cradling her cup, leaned forward and nodded. “That’s right.”

She did everything with both hands—even drinking water required her to cup the glass like a child. Lu Yuanqiu found it endearing, but then his expression changed. “Wait, you drank from my cup.”

“Pfft!” Bai Qingxia spluttered, spraying water all over his face.