Chapter 562 - 363: Whose Fault Do You Think It Is?

CLATTER! The shiny phone fell to the floor.

Startled by Gu Muxue, Xue Rui instinctively stumbled to his feet. He lost his grip on both the cake and the phone, but he chose to save the former.

"Phew... Muxue, you scared me." Xue Rui let out a breath of relief. The flame hadn’t gone out, but his right hand had crushed the little bear’s legs, and his fingers were covered in sticky cream...

The candlelight flickered, casting shifting light and shadows across the room. Gu Muxue shot up and wrapped the blanket tightly around herself, leaving only her eyes to peer out warily.

"Get out. I didn’t say you could come in."

Gu Muxue said, her voice muffled.

Xue Rui shamelessly sat down on the edge of Gu Muxue’s bed. He put on a wide smile. "Happy birthday, Muxue."

Gu Muxue’s beautiful eyes narrowed. "Xiaorui, you’re such a hypocrite. This afternoon, you were the one who said birthday candles were bad luck, that ’blowing out the candle and pulling it out’ meant breaking up. Are you trying to jinx us?"

Xue Rui might have seemed unprincipled, but in reality, he was just trying to make her happy.

’And in truth, she was very happy.’

"Of course not. That was then, this is now. Can’t we just reverse the order? ’Pulling out the candle and then blowing it out’ should be fine, right?"

As he spoke, Xue Rui took the candle from the bear’s head and gently held it out in front of Gu Muxue.

’Xue Rui must have some other motive,’ Gu Muxue thought. ’Otherwise, why did he close the bedroom door before he sat down?’

’Once the candle goes out, the room will be pitch-black...’

Gu Muxue stared warily into Xue Rui’s eyes, then reached out and turned on the small night light on the headboard. She pouted and said, "Why should I? Do I have to blow it out just because you say so?"

Gu Muxue wasn’t the gullible Lin Ruoxi, who would do whatever Xue Rui asked. She enjoyed contradicting Xue Rui.

However, she then noticed a flash of pain cross Xue Rui’s face. Gu Muxue’s gaze traveled down to the small candle in his hand, and she saw a drop of hot wax fall onto his finger. But he didn’t flinch.

A flicker of sympathy crossed Gu Muxue’s eyes. She huffed, slowly closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.

Xue Rui noticed her subtle reaction. ’Her gaze was clearly on my hand just now...’

’So who’s the real hypocrite here?’

Seeing the young woman’s chest rise slightly, the corners of Xue Rui’s mouth curled up. He moved the candle aside and quickly brought his own face to where the candle had been.

’No, even closer.’

A second later, Xue Rui precisely met a pair of soft, warm lips...

Gu Muxue’s eyes flew wide open. Her cheeks, puffed out with the breath she’d been holding, made her look just like an angry little pufferfish.

But Xue Rui didn’t linger. Instead, he quickly pulled back and asked in a tone of disbelief, "Muxue, why did you kiss me?"

Gu Muxue’s mind was a complete blank. Just as she was trying to figure out how to react, Xue Rui suddenly took a step back and played the victim.

"Sigh... That was my first kiss of the day," Xue Rui lamented with a sigh.

’Getting a kiss from this girl the normal way is too hard. Besides, my actual first kiss was with Lin Ruoxi already. It’s better to just play this off as a joke; it’ll make her feel better, too.’

’What girl doesn’t want her first kiss to be unforgettable?’

’A kiss like this... she’ll probably never forget it for the rest of her life.’

"You!" Gu Muxue’s face flushed red, whether from anger or embarrassment, it was hard to tell.

Gu Muxue gritted her teeth and kicked Xue Rui off the bed. "I hope it hurts! I couldn’t care less about you."

Watching Xue Rui fall off the bed, still desperately protecting the little bear cake in his hands, Gu Muxue couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.

She thought for a moment and felt it was unfair. She said quietly, "Xiaorui, my first kiss was already given to someone else. You’re too late."

Hearing this, Xue Rui felt a little uncomfortable, but he immediately guessed what she was getting at.

’It’s probably just some wordplay. Like her mom or dad or someone. What kid hasn’t been kissed by their parents?’

Xue Rui, sitting on the floor, said, "I know."

Gu Muxue’s expression was a little unnatural. "She... she told you?"

’That makes sense. It’s not like Lin Ruoxi can keep any secrets from Xue Rui...’

"Hm?" A jolt went through Xue Rui. Things weren’t as simple as he thought.

He mentally crossed "family members" off the list. Judging by Gu Muxue’s reaction, this seemed like something that had happened recently.

’Who would she give her kiss to?’

The "someone else" Gu Muxue mentioned...

’Was it a he? Or a she?’

An image of the two of them acting intimately in the living room earlier suddenly flashed through Xue Rui’s mind. He quickly figured out who the "someone" Gu Muxue was talking about was...

"Xixi never told me," Xue Rui said helplessly.

’She must have been the one to make the first move!’

Gu Muxue clutched her pajamas tightly, not daring to look Xue Rui in the eye. ’So he didn’t know?’

’I know what I did was wrong, but it already happened...’

She felt as if she’d made some kind of mistake and felt inexplicably guilty.

’What’s wrong with me?’

Gu Muxue’s mind went blank. Everything that had happened since the start of the school year felt like a dream, and the images of two people were now imprinted on her heart.

GULP. Xue Rui swallowed hard. He really wanted to post on a forum and ask the all-knowing netizens for help:

[My girlfriend kissed my other girlfriend. What should I do in this situation?]

[Waiting online, it’s pretty urgent.]

But he didn’t even have to think about it to know that all he’d get in response would be a flood of attacks and insults...

"Sigh..." Xue Rui shook his head and sighed.

’It’s a little weird, but... maybe it’s not that hard to accept?’

"I’m sorry..."

"I’m sorry..."

Xue Rui and Gu Muxue apologized at almost the exact same time. After they spoke, they both fell silent again.