Getting Caught Up In His Cycle Of Passionate Love - Chapter 2

When It Comes to Threats, Lu Que Wins

Xu Tao Yue never expected that, years after graduating, she’d be thrown back into high school—senior year, no less. When she first woke up, it didn’t even feel real.

It wasn’t until Xu Wen dragged her out of bed early in the morning, shoved a suitcase into her arms, and pushed her onto the high-speed train that she finally realized—she was now a high school student. Worse yet, a poor boarding student.

Near the campus announcement board, it was chaos. Probably because the new semester had just started and there was a lot to hand in. The class lists had just been posted, and a crowd had gathered immediately.

Xu Tao Yue slung her backpack on and pushed her way to the front.

She didn’t even bother reading the rest of the sheet. As soon as she saw which classroom she was in for the evening study session, she buried her head and made her way there. She glanced at the honor roll on her way past and saw the name at the top—Lu Que.

A sense of pride bubbled up inside her.

As expected of the man I liked even before entering the story—he’s excellent.

When she got to the classroom, she went straight to the back row, tossed her bag on the desk, and laid down for a nap. It wasn’t until the class bell rang that she slowly woke up.

The teacher had already been standing on the podium for a while, getting ready to hand out textbooks. She’d heard that the senior Class 3 counselor was the strictest—Xiang Bai Jie—but she didn’t seem that bad. At least for now, she looked kind.

“Excuse me, teacher! I was late because I was helping my grandma cross the street.”

A sudden voice came from the doorway.

Xu Tao Yue almost laughed.

Seriously? That excuse is so overused. Couldn’t they come up with a better one?

She looked toward the door—
Oh. It was Lu Que.

Xu Tao Yue immediately sat up, rested her chin in her hands, and stared at the doorway.

Of course he would help an old lady cross the street. He’s such a kind person! Truly the guy I like.

Xiang Bai Jie sighed.
“Really? And how exactly did you help?”

Lu Que rubbed the bridge of his nose and answered nonchalantly:
“I ran a red light while helping the grandma, got caught by the traffic police, and received half an hour of moral education.”

Xu Tao Yue: “……”

The classroom burst into laughter. A piece of chalk flew toward him.

“Lu Que! You’re in your senior year and still showing up late—and just listen to your excuse! And what’s with that hair? Can’t you look like a student again?”

Lu Que looked up and met eyes with Xu Tao Yue, who was sitting in the back. The corners of his lips curved up slightly as he apologized:

“Sorry, teacher. I can’t dye it back.”

Xiang Bai Jie: “?”

“Someone told me she was born to be with a blonde guy. If I dye it back and she doesn’t like me anymore, what then?”

That one sentence sent ripples through Xu Tao Yue’s heart. The noise in the classroom grew louder, and although she tried to maintain her dignity, she instinctively shrank down in her seat.

“Lu-ge, you’re killing it! Who’s the lucky one who’s fallen for you?”

Lu Que answered with a touch of arrogance, his voice striking her heart directly:

“Seriously, is there anyone who doesn’t like me?”

Xiang Bai Jie didn’t even want to argue anymore. She told him to dye his hair back by the next day and motioned for him to take his seat.

Lu Que walked back casually, stopped beside her desk, and stared:
“Hey, you look familiar.”

Xu Tao Yue scooted over and offered the seat next to her:
“Maybe we had something in a past life.”

Then she added casually,

“Don’t you think so—future boyfriend?”

Lu Que: “……”

He had no comeback. He’d originally just wanted to tease her a little when he saw how shy she looked—but her bold response left him speechless. With no other choice, Lu Que decided to ignore her and take a nap.

When it came to thick skin, Xu Tao Yue won hands down.

…

The entire day passed and Xu Tao Yue didn’t find a chance to talk to her desk-mate. She seriously suspected that with how often he napped, the guy might be anemic or something.

It wasn’t until after school that Lu Que finally made it through the day. As he stuffed his things into his backpack, his desk-mate suddenly handed him something.

“Huh?” He stretched and took it, opening the bottle only to find it full of goji berries and chrysanthemum tea.

He frowned and screwed the lid back on, handing it back:
“What’s this?”

Xu Tao Yue looked genuinely sincere:
“Can I ask you something? Though it might be a bit rude…”

“Ask.”

“Did you… cheat on the exam?”

She had already phrased it as tactfully as she could, but he still flicked her on the forehead:
“What nonsense are you thinking?”

Xu Tao Yue sat by the window. Just by looking up, she could see the photo of the top student on the honor roll—Lu Que. The golden hour light made his picture look even clearer.

She pointed toward it.

“I’ve been secretly observing you. You haven’t studied all day. You only left during one break, and the rest of the time you were sleeping. How did you end up ranked number one?”

“Secret,” he replied.

“I feel like, as your future girlfriend, I have the right to share that secret.”

“Denied.” Lu Que rejected her proposal without hesitation. Then he stood up to leave.

Seeing him leave, Xu Tao Yue quickly stuffed her own things into her bag.

“Lu Que, wait for me!”

Hearing her call, Lu Que held back a chuckle and walked faster. Xu Tao Yue had to jog to catch up.

“Slow down!”

Lu Que glanced at her legs, then said with complete honesty:

“It’s not that I’m fast—it’s that your legs are short.”

“My legs aren’t that short! Really!” she huffed, catching up.

“Then why are you so low to the ground?”

“……”

Still, Lu Que secretly slowed down his pace.

Xu Tao Yue chattered beside him:
“Lu Que, how could you be so heartless and not add me on WeChat?”

“I can. And I will,” he said seriously.

Seeing her crestfallen expression, Lu Que’s mood improved dramatically. With that, he walked off toward home.

Xu Tao Yue clenched her fists and, once his back was turned, did a whole set of military-style air punches behind him to vent her frustration. Feeling slightly better, she strolled forward.

A warm breeze blew gently past, carrying that unique end-of-summer scent—the kind of air that marked the boundary between summer and autumn, soft and distinct.

Xu Tao Yue muttered under her breath:

“Tch. Whatever. Who needs his WeChat anyway?”

Of course… she really wanted it.

Lying to herself like a champ, Xu Tao Yue looked down and continued walking, not paying attention to where she was going—until she accidentally bumped into a girl. The girl’s things scattered all over the ground.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to!”

She rubbed her forehead and quickly crouched down to help gather the scattered items. She noticed the girl was wearing the same school uniform—must be a student at her school too.

The girl waved her hand to show it was fine and tried to leave, but Xu Tao Yue spotted a red stain behind her.

Without thinking, she took off her jacket and draped it over the girl’s shoulders, lowering her voice:

“Um… your period just started.”

The girl looked behind herself, confused:
“Ah… do you have a pad?”

Xu Tao Yue nodded, helped her settle on a bench nearby, then dashed off to the corner store. She quickly bought a pack of pads and rushed back.

“Here you go.”

Once the girl had changed, Xu Tao Yue finally relaxed.

“Thank you. Can I get your WeChat to send you money?” the girl asked, holding Xu’s jacket in her hands.

Xu Tao Yue waved it off:
“No need. You’re from our school, right?”

The girl nodded:
“I’m Ye Wan, from Class 3, Grade 12.”

Xu Tao Yue looked surprised:
“We’re in the same class? I didn’t see you today.”

Ye Wan smiled shyly:
“I was absent today for personal reasons.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Xu Tao Yue.”

Ye Wan looked down at the jacket:
“Can I wash it before I return it?”

Xu Tao Yue nodded:
“No worries. It’s not cold these days—return it whenever.”

Girls’ friendships often start simply.
Maybe it’s a borrowed pen. Maybe a kind gesture in a moment of need. Most often, it all begins with a sincere smile.

…

The next morning, clear skies.

After another voice-bomb from Xu Wen, Xu Tao Yue finally dragged herself out of bed and lazily walked to school.

She saw another crowd by the announcement board. Just as she was about to go over and check it out, Ye Wan walked out from the crowd.

“Wanwan! What’s going on in there?”

Ye Wan handed her a form:
“There’s going to be a research trip for seniors. The time’s TBD.”

“TBD? A research trip? What does that mean?”

Ye Wan explained:
“North An High School is organizing an outdoor learning trip. It’ll count toward our graduation score. We’ll have to submit a research report afterward. Didn’t you know?”

Xu Tao Yue scratched her head and laughed awkwardly:
“My memory’s not great—I forgot.”

Ye Wan didn’t question her. She just stared at the form thoughtfully:
“Where do you think we’ll go this year?”

“No idea.” Xu Tao Yue shrugged.
She suddenly felt like North An High wasn’t so bad. Her old school never organized any events like this.

Ye Wan nudged her with an elbow and gestured ahead. Xu Tao Yue looked up and saw Lu Que at the corner store, fiddling with something.

His hair was already back to black.

Seeing him again, Xu Tao Yue was once more lost in his good looks.

So handsome. Some people just suit every hairstyle. Lu Que is truly a man who can reach new heights of attractiveness no matter how he changes.

She handed her bag to Ye Wan and gave her a pleading look.

Of course Ye Wan knew exactly what she was thinking and let her go, muttering:

“People really are weak against beauty.”

Xu Tao Yue ran up behind Lu Que and watched him fumble for a long time before speaking:

“What are you doing? Class is about to start.”

He replied instinctively:

“Buying milk.”

“……”

And when he realized what he’d just said—it was too late.

Xu Tao Yue tried not to laugh and pointed at the milk in his hands:

“Oh… you like strawberry milk, huh? Two kinds too—both strawberry flavor.”

Lu Que gave her a cold glance and turned around, not saying a word.

“Oh come on! It’s fine if you like it. No need to be shy. I like it too,” she teased him with a grin.

“……”

Lu Que put all the milk back on the counter and walked away.

Xu Tao Yue saw his ears turn red and burst into silent laughter. She quickly grabbed the strawberry milk, paid for it, and chased after him.

“Lu Que! Don’t be shy! If you like me, I’ll buy it for you!”

Lu Que replied in his usual serious tone:

“I don’t like strawberry milk.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Lu Que replied coldly:
“If you don’t believe me… I may have to resort to unnecessary measures.”

Xu Tao Yue’s eyes sparkled, her mind racing with wild fantasies.

Ohhh—Unnecessary measures? Tied up? She liked that.

Almost like he could read her mind, Lu Que smiled darkly:

“Like… silencing you permanently.”

Xu Tao Yue: “……”

When it came to threats, Lu Que won.