To My Old Lover - Chapter 12
Chapter 12
The weather was beautiful on the day Wen Ning was discharged from the hospital.
I went to handle the paperwork.
When I returned, I saw Lu Chenzhou standing at the door of the ward, holding a bouquet of flowers.
They weren’t roses.
They were sunflowers.
Wen Ning didn’t give him any face.
“Brother Lu, you’re trying to court my sister with these?”
Lu Chenzhou asked earnestly, “Are they not good?”
Wen Ning shook his head.
“They’re… very healthy.”
Standing at the door, I felt like laughing.
Lu Chenzhou turned and saw me, immediately straightening his posture.
He looked like a student being called on by a teacher.
I walked over.
“Who are the flowers for?”
He said, “For Wen Ning.”
Wen Ning immediately took them.
“Thanks, Brother-in-law.”
Me: “…”
Lu Chenzhou lowered his head and smiled.
I glared at him.
“What are you laughing at?”
“Nothing.”
He said it was nothing, but his eyes were filled with a light he couldn’t hide.
Once the discharge procedures were finished, Wen Ning was picked up by his classmates.
Lu Chenzhou and I stood at the hospital entrance.
A spring breeze blew past.
It wasn’t cold.
I said, “You don’t need to walk me.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you still following?”
“I want to ask you something.”
I stopped.
Lu Chenzhou looked at me.
This time, he didn’t grab me directly like he used to.
He didn’t decide where I was going for me, either.
He just stood there.
A little nervous.
A little clumsy.
“Wen Qiao, can I court you?”
I looked at him for a long time.
So long that the light in his eyes began to dim, bit by bit.
Only then did I speak.
“You can’t throw the Lu family’s money at me.”
He immediately replied, “I won’t.”
“You can’t make decisions for me.”
“I won’t.”
“You can’t interfere with my work.”
“I won’t.”
“I don’t ever want to hear you say you’re doing something ‘for my own good’ again.”
He paused for a moment.
“I’ll change.”
I nodded.
“One more thing.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed.
“Tell me.”
I took a step closer.
“This time, it’s your turn to chase me.”
Lu Chenzhou froze in place.
A second later, his eyes turned incredibly red, yet he smiled.
It wasn’t the kind of smile suppressed by decorum at the engagement party.
It wasn’t the pained smile from the press conference.
It was very youthful.
Like four years ago, when he waited for me to finish class on the school playground, holding two cups of nearly melted iced milk tea.
He said, “Okay.”
I turned and walked forward.
He followed.
He didn’t take my hand.
He just walked side-by-side with me.
As we passed the hospital gates, I suddenly remembered the night of the engagement party.
They had forced me to toast him and his new flame.
They had forced me to admit I was the loser.
But now, Lu Chenzhou was standing by my side.
Song Qiming was waiting to be investigated.
Song Mingzhu had gone abroad, but she sent me a message before she left.
She said, “Don’t forgive him too quickly. If a man gets what he wants too easily, he’ll get cocky.”
I replied, “Same to you.”
She sent back a smiley face.
It was cold.
Very much like her.
I looked down and smiled slightly.
Lu Chenzhou asked, “What are you laughing at?”
I said, “Nothing.”
He looked at me.
“Wen Qiao.”
“Hmm?”
“Thank you for still being willing to let me chase you.”
I stopped walking.
Sunlight fell between us.
I looked at him.
“Lu Chenzhou, I’m not giving you a reward.”
“I know.”
“I’m giving myself a chance.”
His eyes flickered slightly.
I continued walking forward.
“So you’d better work hard for it.”
There was a second of silence behind me.
Then, he laughed and caught up.
“As you command.”
This time, I didn’t look back.
And I didn’t run away.
Because some old flames shouldn’t be toasted like a cup of cold wine.
They should be smashed to pieces.
And then, we can pick up the pieces ourselves, slowly, together.
