Getting Caught Up In His Cycle Of Passionate Love - Chapter 18
Delicate Lu Isn’t So Delicate Anymore
The weather had gotten a lot colder in recent days. The atmosphere of winter was gradually encroaching upon them, and everyone was bundled up in down jackets.
Xu Tao Yue hadn’t brought thick clothes and hadn’t had time to buy new ones yet, so she could only layer her autumn jackets — still looking a bit chilly.
Seeing her hands red and cold, Lu Que sighed and handed her his coat.
“Xu Tao Yue, aren’t you cold?”
She took his coat and put it on. Only then did she feel slightly warmer.
“Of course I’m cold.”
“Then why aren’t you wearing warmer clothes?”
Xu Tao Yue was just lazy, but she still wanted to tease Lu Que.
“If I don’t dress warmly, Classmate Lu will give me his extra clothes~”
Lu Que: “…”
He really shouldn’t have asked.
The skies had been gloomy for several days. Xu Tao Yue had a strong feeling that a heavy snowfall was on its way.
Lu Que knocked her on the forehead and said bluntly,
“I think you just want to play in the snow.”
“Of course!” Xu Tao Yue responded without hesitation.
She rested her chin on her hand.
“Don’t you want to play too?”
Lu Que replied,
“Am I allowed to say no?”
“Of course not!”
Lu Que gave her a knowing look, a bit smug even, as he looked up at the dark skies — which really did seem to match Xu Tao Yue’s prediction.
Two mornings later, at 8 AM, tiny snowflakes really started drifting down.
Xu Tao Yue was a little excited, and even the usual dread of early classes was soothed by this first snow.
She remembered what Ye Wan had said to her the night before, and now it echoed in her ears from every angle:
“This year’s first snow is the perfect time to confess to someone you like.”
“Is that true?” Xu Tao Yue was skeptical.
“Of course it is! The tarot cards said so!”
Somehow, the two girls had recently become obsessed with tarot cards.
Xu Tao Yue nodded:
“Well, since the tarot cards say so… then I’ll be bold this first snow.”
Ye Wan was just about to say something but was caught off guard by Xu Tao Yue’s words.
“Huh?”
“Since when are you not bold?”
They both laughed.
Xu Tao Yue lowered her gaze.
A confession…
A proper, formal confession… was still kind of embarrassing.
Lu Que noticed something was off about her and casually asked:
“Haven’t you been looking forward to snow these past few days? Why do you seem down now that it’s actually snowing?”
Xu Tao Yue was startled by his sudden question.
“No, I’m not!”
“Wanna go outside later?”
“Huh?”
Lu Que pointed out the window.
“Xia Xiang Yang said we should all go make a snowman together.”
“If you don’t feel like it, we can skip it.”
Xu Tao Yue quickly agreed:
“Let’s go, let’s go! If even someone as busy as Xia Xiang Yang invited us out, how could we say no!”
Sure enough, the snow kept falling, growing thicker, and Xu Tao Yue was getting more and more excited.
“Lu Que, how much longer until class ends?”
“Ten minutes,” Lu Que said after glancing at his phone.
“Can I go out early?” It was obvious Xu Tao Yue was itching to get outside.
“What do you think?”
Technically, this wasn’t even Xu Tao Yue’s class.
Lu Que glanced at her and continued listening, but his face gradually darkened.
So much for saying she’d stay with him.
She’d let the snow outside completely steal her attention.
Lu Que didn’t know why, but he suddenly felt a little annoyed.
Xu Tao Yue noticed what was on his mind and gave a flattering smile.
“I’ll stay with you, I’ll stay with you. How could I leave you and go off on my own? That would make me a horrible person!”
Lu Que didn’t say anything.
Those last few minutes before class ended didn’t feel short — especially when you were looking forward to something. Time felt slower.
The moment class ended, Xu Tao Yue pushed Lu Que out of the classroom in a hurry.
“Come on, Lu Que!”
By now the snow had calmed down, and the noise from earlier had faded away with the crowds.
Ye Wan waved when she saw them walking over.
“Over here!”
Xu Tao Yue ran over.
“How did you guys find such a quiet, peaceful spot?”
Xia Xiang Yang shoved Ye Wan aside.
“I found it!”
Xu Tao Yue gave him a big thumbs-up.
“That’s impressive!”
Xia Xiang Yang looked proud.
“Of course!”
Ye Wan, without a word, dumped a handful of snow down Xia Xiang Yang’s neck.
Xia Xiang Yang shivered from the cold, brushing off the snow and ignoring Xu Tao Yue. He packed a big snowball and hurled it at Ye Wan.
“Ye Wan! You’re dead meat!!”
Ye Wan scoffed.
“You? With those skinny arms and legs?”
This time, Xia Xiang Yang aimed properly and hit her right in the forehead.
“Xia Xiang Yang!!!”
Ye Wan dragged Xu Tao Yue into this unexpected snowball war. Only Lu Que sat in the pavilion watching the three of them goof off. Snowball fights? A bit childish for his taste.
Then, a snowball came flying at him. He blocked it with his hand — cold and wet.
Xu Tao Yue had meant to throw it at Xia Xiang Yang, but accidentally hit Lu Que instead. She stood frozen in place.
“Ah, uh…”
Ye Wan and Xia Xiang Yang both paused and looked at Lu Que.
“Lu Que, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to!”
Lu Que kept his head down, so they couldn’t see his expression. He stood up, dusted himself off.
“Xu Tao Yue.”
Xu Tao Yue stared back blankly.
“Huh?”
Without another word, Lu Que packed a loose snowball and threw it at her.
“You’re done for.”
Xu Tao Yue: “!!!”
The moment he said that, she started running.
“Ahhh! Didn’t you say playing with us was too childish?! You’re having more fun than we are!”
Lu Que didn’t reply — instead, he shoved a cold hand down the back of her collar.
Then the four of them crashed into a tree together, and snow from the branches fell on all of them. They stood there, covered in white, laughing like fools.
“What are you laughing at?” Xu Tao Yue was bent over, giggling, but still had to ask.
“What about you?” they countered.
“It’s so dumb — hahaha,” Xu Tao Yue said as she brushed off the snow from herself, then helped clean the snow off Lu Que’s clothes.
Lu Que’s eyes softened.
“Yeah, you’re dumb.”
Ye Wan pulled out two icy shards from who knows where.
“Wanna eat these?”
Another round of laughter followed. Xu Tao Yue raised her hand first:
“I want strawberry flavor!”
Lu Que: “…”
Well, I guess… the confession under the first snow didn’t happen.
But it kind of felt like… we’ll grow old together.
Winter Break
Winter break finally arrived after all of Xu Tao Yue’s desperate longing. Once exams were over, she grabbed Lu Que and dashed home.
Ye Wan and Xia Xiang Yang had finished their exams a week earlier and had already gone back, leaving only Xu Tao Yue and Lu Que to battle finals on campus.
After enduring a whole semester, Xu Tao Yue could finally go home. Following her “if you’re not excited to go home, there’s something wrong with you” philosophy, she dragged her suitcase out the door right after her last exam.
“Lu Que, hurry up! We’re gonna miss the train!”
Lu Que wasn’t in a rush. There was actually plenty of time — Xu Tao Yue was just eager to go home.
“No need to panic.”
Xu Tao Yue shoved her suitcase at him.
“Why not panic? Don’t you want to see Zhuo Mi?”
Lu Que snorted.
“Oh, so now you care about Zhuo Mi?”
Xu Tao Yue grinned.
“Aiya, now I feel kinda bad.”
“You? Feel bad?”
Xu Tao Yue nodded rapidly.
“Of course, of course.”
Seeing her like this — Lu Que thought she was kinda cute. Maybe he’d gone mad. He couldn’t even stop smiling.
On the train, even though Xu Tao Yue had been planning this “novel-like moment” for a year now, it still didn’t feel too late.
She connected her headphones to Bluetooth and handed one to Lu Que.
“Classmate Lu, can we listen to my music this time?”
Lu Que took it.
“What, not listening to English vocab anymore?”
Xu Tao Yue pouted.
“I never wanted to, okay… I only did it to get closer to you! No one willingly listens to English words for hours!”
“Besides, those words have bad vibes.”
Xu Tao Yue could spin a reason for anything. Lu Que was curious now.
“Oh? What kind of bad vibes?”
“The first word is abandon. Telling me to give up? No way!”
Lu Que found her nonstop chatter oddly cute. Realizing this, he turned away and ignored her.
Xu Tao Yue thought Lu Que had been acting weird lately. Ever since she arrived in this time period, he’d been having little mood swings.
She shrugged and closed her eyes. She hadn’t slept well the night before, and now that she was on her way home — excited to see Zhuo Mi and her little brother — she drifted off to catch up on sleep.
Her head bobbed and wobbled until Lu Que finally couldn’t take it. He gently moved her head to rest on his shoulder. And by the time he realized what he’d done… it was too late.
Lu Que: “…”
Xu Tao Yue must’ve been having sweet dreams, because a little bit of drool began to escape from her lips.
Lu Que: “…”
He really regretted it. Why did he do this to himself?
He let out a quiet sigh. He couldn’t even hear the music anymore — all that was left was the loud thumping of his heartbeat.
A declaration to himself:
Lu Que… really liked Xu Tao Yue.
When they got off the train, Xu Tao Yue finally realized she’d been sleeping on his shoulder the entire way.
“Lu Que, why didn’t you wake me up?”
“Would you have woken up if I did?”
Xu Tao Yue shook her head.
“Most likely, I’d have slept even better.”
Lu Que: “…”
She rubbed the red marks on her face.
“Did you nap too?”
“A little bit.”
Xu Tao Yue frowned and poked his face.
“Then that’s unfair!”
“?”
“We slept the same amount, but my face has marks and yours doesn’t!”
Lu Que: “…”
“Your face is supposed to be the delicate one!”
Yeah… ‘Delicate Lu’ isn’t so delicate anymore.