Chapter 439 - 317: Fireworks are Fleeting (Part 2)

Xue Rui spoke in a deliberately casual tone, "You guys guessed right. Lin Ruoxi is also my girlfriend."

He didn’t know if his answer was right or wrong, but either way, he wasn’t willing to do Lin Ruoxi an injustice.

Gu Muxue sighed, then couldn’t help but smile.

’She felt so conflicted inside. Part of her wanted Xue Rui to deny Lin Ruoxi’s status, yet another part didn’t want him to.’

If he denied Lin Ruoxi, then she would be the one and only. But she felt that would be like ganging up with Xue Rui to bully Lin Ruoxi.

In the end, her heart leaned toward the latter option.

"Ahem! Ahem! Brother Rui, you can’t be serious." Someone choked on Xue Rui’s words.

Hearing this, Mei Lili whipped her head around and punched Xue Rui’s leg. "What are you talking about?"

Lin Ruoxi’s heart clenched as she watched. She wanted to stand up and stop her, but Gu Muxue pulled her back down into her seat.

"It’s fine. Sit down and eat," Gu Muxue said softly. ’As if Mei Lili could ever win against Xue Rui?’

’That Lin Ruoxi... she actually took it seriously.’

"Okay, I’ll listen to you," Lin Ruoxi whispered.

Gu Muxue sighed inwardly. Lin Ruoxi really was a woman of her word. She was completely obedient, showing not the slightest hint of jealousy. It seemed like Lin Ruoxi would do whatever she said, which made it very hard for Gu Muxue to get angry at her.

’She really couldn’t understand it. Why?’

At that moment, Xue Rui was all smiles. ’Mei Lili is my lucky star!’

Whenever things got awkward, Mei Lili would always be the one to stick her neck out and draw everyone’s attention. Even though she looked like she was interrogating him now, he knew he could get away with it by just acting shameless.

"Mei Lili, what’d you hit me for?"

"You bastard, you have the guts to repeat what you just said?" Mei Lili threatened.

"You want me to say it, so I should just say it? Let me warn you, though. There’s no chance for us," Xue Rui said with a deadpan expression.

With that, he turned and pushed Qiu Mengze’s hand off his leg. "And you, stop fucking touching my thigh. I’m not into guys."

Instantly, roars of laughter echoed through the room.

Given the joking atmosphere Xue Rui had just created, no one pursued the matter of Lin Ruoxi any further. After all, Lin Ruoxi and Gu Muxue were so close; it must have just been a joke between best friends.

Someone changed the subject. "I actually saw this at school once—two guys holding hands. You think they..."

"Don’t even talk about it. The food isn’t even here yet. Are you trying to make us lose our appetites?" Xue Rui said.

Lin Ruoxi blinked blankly. "Why can’t they hold hands? Girls hold hands all the time when they walk."

The first girl to ever hold her hand was Gu Muxue, which had made her incredibly happy.

’Does this mean I have a good friend now?’

Xue Rui cleared his throat. "Uh... there’s a difference. It’s better you don’t know."

Lin Ruoxi glanced to her right and saw Gu Muxue unwrapping a set of utensils for her.

"Oh, I can get it," Lin Ruoxi said, quickly trying to take over, but Gu Muxue stopped her.

Gu Muxue set a small bowl aside and, picking up the teapot, filled a teacup to the brim.

As Lin Ruoxi watched the tea fill the cup, the corners of her mouth turned down slightly.

’Is Gu Muxue trying to get me to leave?’

’A full cup of tea means it’s time for the guest to leave. Xue Rui taught me that...’

"What’s wrong?" Gu Muxue noticed the change in Lin Ruoxi’s expression, but she didn’t stop. She poured the tea into her own bowl, used it to rinse both sets of utensils, and only then placed them in front of Lin Ruoxi.

Lin Ruoxi shook her head, muttering. ’Was I overthinking things?’

Xue Rui kept watching the two women out of the corner of his eye. Gu Muxue was acting too strangely today, and it made him uneasy...

Qiu Mengze followed Xue Rui’s gaze. He saw Gu Muxue and Lin Ruoxi acting just like best friends. ’Could it be... she actually accepted Xue Rui’s two-timing?’

He gave Xue Rui a thumbs-up and whispered, "Badass."

Xue Rui’s lip twitched. ’Qiu Mengze is overthinking it. We’re not even close to that point.’

’That girl said she’d give me an answer today, but this harmonious scene right now is just too bizarre. I refuse to believe this is the answer...’

Xue Rui muttered to himself, picked up a cup of tea, and took a nervous sip. ’That girl still knows how to get to me. This is worse than her just beating me up.’

"Hey? That was the water for rinsing my cup," Qiu Mengze said.

"PFFT~"

"You bastard, where are you spraying that?!"

...

Before long, a colorful array of dishes was served, and the atmosphere at the dinner table was lively and warm. Everyone was either reminiscing about funny stories from high school or talking about the new people they met during military training...

"Aren’t we drinking?" someone asked, feeling like bragging just wasn’t the same without a couple of drinks.

"What’s the rush? It’s still early. We’ll drink at the KTV after dinner," Xue Rui said with a smile, passing a few bottles of soda over to Gu Muxue’s side of the table.

Gu Muxue was left-handed and had intentionally asked Lin Ruoxi to sit to her left. Now, as they ate, their chopsticks were already "clashing"!

Lin Ruoxi noticed Gu Muxue’s situation and chose to wait for her to finish getting her food before reaching for any herself.

Xue Rui had anticipated this. Lin Ruoxi’s constant yielding would only leave Muxue frustrated, with her anger having nowhere to land. It was like punching a pillow.

However, just as he was thinking this, Gu Muxue shot him a smile, then reached out her chopsticks and clamped down on the same piece of pork rib that Lin Ruoxi was going for.

’She’s doing it on purpose! She’s definitely doing this for me to see!’

Xue Rui wasn’t too worried. ’Lin Ruoxi will probably let her have it.’

But what happened next was completely beyond his expectations. Lin Ruoxi picked up the pork rib, lifting it off the plate, but Gu Muxue used her own chopsticks to press it back down.

’It’s over. How did they end up fighting over a piece of pork rib?’

After a one-second stalemate, Gu Muxue withdrew her chopsticks and set them aside.