Thanks to Xia Rui’s cooperation and help, the project progress went very well, far surpassing Liang Rou’s delayed schedule.
Liang Rou was quite happy, not only because the work was progressing smoothly, but also because focusing on work helped her forget past troubles, making her feel much more at ease.
Around seven in the evening, Liang Rou glanced at her phone and decided it was time to go home.
“I should head back. My girlfriend is still waiting for me at home,” Liang Rou boasted, showing off her girlfriend a little.
The smile on Xia Rui’s face instantly froze, but only for a second before she quickly regained her composure.
She immediately grabbed her bag and stood up.
“Alright~ I’ll go downstairs with you. Senior, the parking lot is so dark right now. It’s not safe for two girls to be alone.”
Liang Rou nodded in agreement.
Not to mention now, even when she was a boy, she wouldn’t dare to go to the parking lot alone late at night.
Probably because she’d heard too many ghost stories, she always felt the parking lot at night was eerie—cold and dark, as if something bad might happen.
“Let’s go then.”
The two of them walked side by side, chatting and laughing as they descended to the underground garage.
However, just as Liang Rou put on her pink helmet, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a small figure flickering behind a car nearby.
She shivered instantly, her face filled with fear as she looked toward the rear of the car, but found no one there.
“Xia, Xia Rui.”
Liang Rou tremblingly grabbed Xia Rui’s hand.
Though Xia Rui didn’t understand what was wrong, she felt a flicker of joy inside. She immediately asked with concern, “What happened, Senior?”
Liang Rou stiffly turned her head, giving Xia Rui two quick blinks. She didn’t dare say outright what she had seen—afraid of alerting the shadow lurking nearby.
Seeing Liang Rou’s fearful, uneasy expression, the smile on Xia Rui’s face froze as well. Being a smart person, she quickly looked around and then pulled Liang Rou off the scooter.
“Senior, you’re riding home with me today,” she whispered, holding Liang Rou’s hand before soothingly wrapping an arm around her shoulder.
“It’s alright. Don’t be afraid. Even if we run into danger, I’ll protect you.”
Xia Rui meant every word.
She had already decided that if there really was a bad guy, she would push Liang Rou into the car first and lock the doors.
After all, she had some training and wouldn’t be easily harmed by a knife.
But Liang Rou, so fragile and delicate, would probably be knocked down after just a few moves.
She had to protect her senior!
Just as Xia Rui’s fighting spirit surged, an unbelievable voice came from behind them.
“Rou Rou?”
Liang Rou’s body tensed up, then slowly relaxed.
She felt like crying and laughing at the same time.
The voice was clearly An Luxi’s, so the small figure she had seen must have been An Luxi… right?
Though uncertain, Liang Rou immediately turned and ran toward An Luxi.
An Luxi silently watched Liang Rou running over, her eyes dark and inscrutable.
Earlier, seeing Liang Rou and Xia Rui leaning against each other had triggered a hallucination.
That vision chilled her to the bone, as if time had reversed five years.
It was more disturbing than catching Liang Rou and Xia Rui in an affair.
In the middle of the night, memories of all those past events swirled in her mind, often jolting her awake from nightmares.
Only when Liang Rou lay beside her did she feel safe.
Her girlfriend was here, right beside her… how wonderful.
An Luxi’s expression grew distant.
As for why she had hallucinated, it was because on the way here, she had seen a familiar figure from the past.
She had come.
She really had come. Like a demon, like a bloodhound with a keen nose, she always found her way back.
But what if she was mistaken? There were many people who looked similar, and she hadn’t seen the face clearly… Maybe she was just scaring herself.
At that moment, Liang Rou grabbed An Luxi’s hand and nervously whispered, “Xiao Lu, how long have you been here? Were you really standing behind the car waiting for me just now?”
An Luxi immediately snapped out of her memory trance.
Though still a little panicked at first, once she realized she had hallucinated and that the people in front of her were indeed Liang Rou and Xia Rui, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
However, she still felt gloomy, having seen Liang Rou and Xia Rui so close together.
Still, she answered her girlfriend’s question, “I just got here not long ago. I waited for a while, and yes, I was standing behind the car waiting for you.”
Hearing this, Liang Rou finally relaxed and tears of relief streamed down her face.
“Oh, Xiao Lu, you really scared me to death… You hid there and didn’t say hi. I thought we ran into a bad guy! I was so frightened I almost took Xia Rui’s car and left…”
After saying this, she turned to Xia Rui.
“Xia Rui just comforted me, told me not to be afraid. How could I not be scared… My legs were shaking so much, if Xia Rui hadn’t held me up, I probably would’ve just sat down right there.”
“Eh?” An Luxi was momentarily stunned, then immediately smiled sheepishly.
“Sorry, Rou Rou, I just wanted to surprise you~ Didn’t mean to scare you both. Really sorry~”
Though she said this, her heart was actually very happy.
So these two had clung to each other because they were scared. No wonder a moment ago they were waving goodbye, and the next moment suddenly leaning on each other.
Liang Rou patted her chest vigorously. “Alright, alright, it’s not your fault. Just don’t hide like that next time when you want to surprise me. I’m a coward and get scared easily.”
An Luxi stuck her tongue out embarrassedly, then looked apologetically at Xia Rui and apologized again.
Xia Rui still felt hollow inside from Liang Rou’s sudden softness, but forced a smile and said a few “It’s okay”s. Then she watched as Liang Rou and An Luxi rode off together.
“Tch.”
She looked after them unwillingly, then returned to her own car feeling lonely.
However, none of the three noticed the figure standing behind that car—Wen Xiaoliang.
“So that’s who the girlfriend in the Moments posts is,” Wen Xiaoliang casually swiped through Liang Rou’s Moments, looking at the official announcement post where only half the body showed, the face hidden, with a ‘Yay’ gesture.
“Why is it her?” Wen Xiaoliang muttered. “I thought running into her in this city just now was pure coincidence…”