Chapter 441 - 318: I Want to Run Away With You

Xue Rui’s phone chimed. A look at the notification bar showed that Lin Ruoxi had sent him a picture.

’The word "[Image]"? Coming from Lin Ruoxi?’

’If something was up, the little lass would just hit him with a video call. She never sent photos...’

He tapped open the photo. Gu Muxue and Lin Ruoxi were in the frame together. Gu Muxue was smiling radiantly, while Lin Ruoxi was crouched down, flashing a peace sign...

Judging from the background, the two must have taken a selfie right after going downstairs.

’The gal looked so happy, and the little lass looked just as happy. This was a sight he had dreamed of seeing.’

But now that he was actually seeing it, a chill ran down his spine...

Beside him, Mei Lili tilted her head to glance at Xue Rui’s phone screen.

"Xue Rui, since when did Lin Ruoxi and Muxue get so close? Muxue usually holds my hand..." Mei Lili pouted, looking quite dejected.

Her best friend had a new best friend, and she felt a pang of jealousy. She had wanted to go with Gu Muxue, too, but had been quietly turned down...

Xue Rui nonchalantly turned off his phone screen. "What are you getting jealous about? Besides, doesn’t she usually hold my hand?"

He felt differently than Mei Lili. More than anything, he was on tenterhooks. The intent behind Gu Muxue’s photo was obvious—it was a blatant warning not to expect Lin Ruoxi to act as a messenger.

’What was going on?’

’The little lass wasn’t listening to him anymore? She was listening to that gal instead?’

"You guys don’t know this, but back in high school, every time a teacher was looking for someone, the excuse was always ’in the bathroom.’ Eventually, the school just fucking tore down all the stall dividers in the boys’ bathroom. A lot of the doors in the girls’ bathroom were moved over from the boys’..."

Qiu Mengze and his classmates were chatting about many of the school’s "secret histories" from their time in high school.

The most classic tale among them was, without a doubt, the overnight disappearance of the bathroom stall dividers...

Wang Juan covered her mouth, her surprised gaze sweeping across the table. Her eyes clearly spelled it out: ’How would you know what the girls’ bathroom looks like?’

"Oh, he got caught by Director Wang once and was kept after school during the holidays to clean the building’s bathrooms. I saw him and the maintenance crew moving things into the girls’ bathroom," Mei Lili explained.

"How do you know that?" Qiu Mengze looked incredulous. That was supposed to be an unsolved campus mystery he’d pried out of the maintenance staff himself.

"You didn’t know? You’re quite famous among the girls at our school. Everyone knows everything that goes on with you," Mei Lili said earnestly.

"Really?" Qiu Mengze’s voice went up a notch. He’d never imagined so many girls paid attention to him.

He’d received a lot of praise in his senior year, going from the bottom of the grade rankings all the way into the double digits. The principal had even praised him during an assembly...

’Could that have been when it started?’

At first, Wang Juan looked as if she’d had an epiphany, but her expression soon turned awkward. She said sheepishly, "That’s about right."

"What did they say about me?" Qiu Mengze was dying of curiosity. ’Why are people only telling me this now, after we’ve graduated!’

"Er, it was nothing. I forget..." Wang Juan didn’t think she and Qiu Mengze were particularly close, and some things were just too awkward to say out loud.

Xue Rui patted Qiu Mengze’s leg. "Good deeds don’t leave the house, but bad deeds travel a thousand miles."

"Mengze, sometimes in life, ignorance is bliss."

Qiu Mengze pushed Xue Rui’s hand away with a strange look. He recalled what Xue Rui had just said and decided to get a little payback:

"Don’t touch me. Go to Thailand and get the surgery, then maybe I’ll consider it."

Xue Rui hurriedly scooted his chair away, putting on a deliberately wary look. "You’re actually considering it? And to think I’ve always treated you like a brother!"

"Brother Rui, cut it out! I just ate, I can’t take this much excitement," someone said, clutching their stomach and roaring with laughter.

"It wasn’t a big deal, just about the pervert by the bathroom entrance. You stopped hanging around there in our senior year, so everyone stopped talking about it..." Mei Lili said with a mischievous grin.

"HAHAHA!"

The room was filled with a joyous atmosphere.

"Ahem... I’m full. Let’s hurry up and go sing," Qiu Mengze said, clearing his throat. ’Why can’t I ever escape being called a pervert?’

’That whole thing was a year or two ago. He couldn’t believe Mei Lili would bring it up again!’

’Looking back, I was such a fucking idiot back then...’

...

「Meanwhile, across the street was a scene of dazzling lights and vibrant nightlife.」

Inside a KTV, Lin Ruoxi gazed around, taking in the environment, while Gu Muxue and Yang Xing were at the front desk speaking with an employee.

"We have a reservation for one room. Please get the package ready. The name is Xue, phone number..." Gu Muxue fluently recited Xue Rui’s phone number.

Yang Xing shook his head. ’His own daughter in elementary school couldn’t even memorize his phone number yet. If she ever recited some boy’s number as smoothly as Gu Muxue just had, he’d feel terrible just thinking about it...’

He glanced curiously at Lin Ruoxi, who stood behind him. Earlier, in the car, he had seen this young girl clinging to Xue Rui’s arm. At the time, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but when he rubbed them and looked again, she had already let go...

’Gu Muxue and this girl seem to be on great terms. Are they new best friends?’

At that moment, Gu Muxue made another request: "I’d like to get another room, a quiet one."

"For how many people?" the employee asked, glancing behind Gu Muxue to see only one other pretty girl.

"Two," Gu Muxue said.

"I’m sorry, we’re fully booked for the weekend. We don’t have any empty rooms," the employee said politely.

Yang Xing smiled and took a small step forward. "Muxue, let me handle this."

’If they were really full, why bother asking how many people there were?’

It was obvious discrimination; they assumed two girls wouldn’t order many drinks. He casually tossed his car keys onto the counter and said in a tone that brooked no refusal, "Give us the one in the far corner."