Chapter 5: Lu Xiao Lin’s Automatic Assumptions
Lu Xiao Shan, his face dark, turned a corner in the cold wind, radiating an aura of inaccessibility—though, for Lu Xiao Lin, this was invisible.
Lu Xiao Lin had initially been indifferent to his older brother’s blind date – it was just a formality. But when he belatedly realized the blind date partner was Cheng Xiao Xiao, he jumped up and ran towards Dongxing Road. After running breathlessly for ten minutes, before reaching his destination, he encountered Lu Xiao Shan, walking home with a sullen face.
“So fast?” Lu Xiao Lin stopped on the street, taking a few breaths, looking at Lu Xiao Shan approaching with a puzzled expression, “Brother, you didn’t go on the blind date?”
Lu Xiao Shan glanced at him indifferently, without answering, circumventing Lu Xiao Lin and climbing the steps to the flowerbed on the sidewalk.
Lu Xiao Lin froze, blinking, then suddenly understood, raising his eyebrows, turning to chase after him, glancing at Lu Xiao Shan’s tense face, laughing, “You already went? I didn’t expect it. Hearing that it was Cheng Xiao Xiao, I rushed over, but I missed it—Haha, Brother, you actually went on a blind date with Cheng Xiao Xiao!”
“It was just a blind date,” Lu Xiao Shan stopped, turning around, his expression unfriendly as he looked at Lu Xiao Lin, saying calmly, “Both unmarried, what’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing wrong! Perfectly suitable!” Lu Xiao Lin’s raised eyebrows remained unchanged. He laughed, approaching Lu Xiao Shan, seeming to ignore the coldness in his eyes, radiating excitement, lowering his voice, gossiping, “I’m just curious, Brother, you wouldn’t actually have a crush on Cheng Xiao Xiao, would you?”
“What do you think?” Lu Xiao Shan looked away, sneering coldly.
“I think so!” Lu Xiao Lin nodded affirmatively, analyzing enthusiastically, “Look at your blind date requirements – high education, not too weak, not too strong, able to manage a household, good-looking… aren’t these tailored to her?”
Excited, Lu Xiao Lin felt he was close to the truth, expressing his long-held suspicion, “These requirements are clearly tailored to her!”
“We’re not on the same path,” Lu Xiao Shan slightly turned, his gaze sweeping over Lu Xiao Lin, coldly interrupting his train of thought, “If I remember correctly, you were the one who said that.”
“That’s right, I said that.” Lu Xiao Lin had an excellent memory, remembering events from years ago clearly, readily admitting it, without embarrassment, reanalyzing the chasm between Lu Xiao Shan and Cheng Xiao Xiao, just like years ago, very “objectively,” not shielding his brother.
“Look, meeting Cheng Xiao Xiao was accidental, but you still inquired about her, so it’s not surprising I would guess! Brother, do you remember what you were like back then? Smoking, drinking, fighting! In short, a second-rate, street tough image, and your intelligence and cultural cultivation were worlds apart from hers! You had a few merits, good looks, and a wealthy family – but that didn’t work with Cheng Xiao Xiao! How old was she then? A top student, a promising intellectual! Not only was she a good student, but she was also beautiful, had a straightforward personality, and a good family background. Many people wanted to pursue her, why would she choose you? She couldn’t possibly offer herself in marriage to thank you for saving her, could she?”
“So, I wasn’t wrong! If you were like you are now, a steady and cold CEO, maybe some naive girls would have a crush on you—but definitely not Cheng Xiao Xiao! That kind of girlish crush doesn’t exist in Cheng Xiao Xiao!” Lu Xiao Lin felt he had been incredibly perceptive back then, wisely preventing his brother from pursuing further, otherwise, that accidental encounter wouldn’t have supported a melodramatic “bitter love story,” and today’s blind date wouldn’t have happened!
Of course, Lu Xiao Lin’s involvement in the process was minimal, leading to some errors in judgment.
Lu Xiao Shan looked at Lu Xiao Lin coldly, without anger, patiently listening until he finished, before calmly asking, “Did you see me smoking and fighting?”
Lu Xiao Lin was stunned by this unexpected question, subconsciously recalling – he had seen his brother surrounded by thugs, scared, he had squatted in a corner and called the police! He had heard many versions of his brother’s entrepreneurial story, and had seen several cigarette packs in his brother’s pockets, but he had never actually seen his brother smoke or fight!
Had he been misinterpreting his brother? Was his brother only outwardly rebellious but actually serious?
But that couldn’t be right!
He remembered Cheng Xiao Xiao joking years ago, saying his brother looked like a gang leader, not a heroic savior!
Years ago, Cheng Xiao Xiao had been cornered by some thugs from another school, and his brother had happened to see it and rescued her. According to his investigations, Cheng Xiao Xiao had remained calm, choosing a corner with cameras, and even called the police afterward. Then, Cheng Xiao Xiao rationally persuaded his brother not to go to the police station, saying something like – although it’s presumptuous, but you look like a troublemaker, not a hero! To avoid being wrongly accused, I’ll go to the police station myself.
Haha, that was hilarious! His brother must have been furious, and later asked him about Cheng Xiao Xiao – Cheng Xiao Xiao was very famous, and his brother knew of her but had no understanding. Later, after Cheng Xiao Xiao gave her statement, she took his brother out for a barbecue to show her gratitude.
After that, these two people who were clearly not on the same path had some contact, occasionally discussing his brother’s immature business plans. He remembered his brother had invested all his savings from high school and university in the stock market and, on Cheng Xiao Xiao’s advice, liquidated his holdings at the peak, accumulating enough capital for his business.
In short, they had gotten along well, but after the college entrance exams, for some reason, they suddenly fell out! He saw his brother so angry that he feared he might overturn the table.
He had tentatively asked the reason, and—as expected, no one would tell him! After that, they went their separate ways.
However, he firmly believed that his brother must have had some feelings for Cheng Xiao Xiao!
The masses have sharp eyes! Circumstantial evidence can’t be wrong!
Lu Xiao Lin snapped back to reality, about to retort, but when he looked up, his brother was already gone, leaving only his back, clearly unwilling to listen to his rambling.
Lu Xiao Lin felt something was wrong with Lu Xiao Shan’s evasive answer. But since he was gone, he had no chance to probe further!
Lu Xiao Lin was excited, already accustomed to one party leaving a scene like this, he took out his phone and sent a message to the other party, inviting her to meet at a nearby coffee shop.
Lu’s parents walked up, seeing the two brothers talking from afar. When they got closer, the older brother was already gone, before they could say anything to the younger brother, Lu Xiao Lin put away his phone and hurried away, saying, “Mom and Dad, I’m going to meet a friend,” then disappeared.
The couple watched their sons’ backs, exchanged a speechless look, then sighed in unison.
…
Cheng Xiao Xiao received Lu Xiao Lin’s message after sending her mother home. Seeing his message, she smiled and replied “Okay.” When she arrived at the coffee shop, Lu Xiao Lin had already ordered coffee and was smiling, waving to her from a window seat – she and Lu Xiao Lin were high school classmates, and had occasionally contacted each other over the years. The purpose of his invitation was obvious!
“What? My brother sent you to get revenge?” The coffee shop was warm, Cheng Xiao Xiao sat down, sipping her hot coffee, relieved that it wasn’t so cold anymore!
Lu Xiao Lin looked at her cheerful smile, “Don’t tease me, you don’t know what my brother is like? Does he need my help to get revenge?”
Cheng Xiao Xiao glanced at Lu Xiao Lin lightly, leisurely interrupting him, “Stop! Don’t make it sound like I’m very familiar with your brother – I’ve only met him a few times, I don’t really know him!”
Lu Xiao Lin was taken aback by her offhand tone, looked at her suspiciously, his mind racing, quickly piecing things together, a deeper smile in his eyes, he asked with a wink, “I’m curious, what happened between you and my brother today? He looks gloomy, and you seem unhappy too – did you two have a fight?”
“Lu Xiao Lin,” Cheng Xiao Xiao helplessly put down her coffee cup, saying weakly, “Can you use some normal logic?”
“Oh, so you had an argument!” Lu Xiao Lin concluded on his own, taking a sip of coffee, shaking his head and sighing regretfully, “I was looking forward to you two getting together…”
“It’s not going to happen!” Cheng Xiao Xiao didn’t even lift her eyelids, bluntly interrupting Lu Xiao Lin’s unrealistic “fantasy”.
“Why?” Lu Xiao Lin was unhappy, sitting up straight, staring at Cheng Xiao Xiao, determined to get to the bottom of it, “You shouldn’t dislike my brother, right? Or—you actually admire him?”
Cheng Xiao Xiao had seen Lu Xiao Lin’s relentless questioning many years ago, remaining unmoved, sipping her hot coffee, patiently correcting his misunderstanding, “Young man, admiration comes in many forms. I don’t dislike you, I even admire you, so could we get together…?”
“No, no, no!” Lu Xiao Lin shuddered, shaking his head, realizing his reaction was hurtful, glancing at Cheng Xiao Xiao, stammering, “We’re not suitable, you see, there’s a bit of an age gap…”
“Oh,” Cheng Xiao Xiao’s expression was calm, nonchalantly nodding, “I understand.”
Although she and Lu Xiao Lin were high school classmates, as a child prodigy, he had entered school early and skipped several grades, so he was actually 4-5 years younger than his classmates.
Seeing Cheng Xiao Xiao’s reaction, Lu Xiao Lin belatedly realized he was being presumptuous, chuckling, hesitating for a moment, tentatively saying, “Actually, I think my brother might have some feelings for you…”
Cheng Xiao Xiao looked at Lu Xiao Lin, raising her eyebrows, “Your brother has a crush on me?”
“Cough, cough,” Lu Xiao Lin really choked this time. After catching his breath, he looked at Cheng Xiao Xiao resentfully, sighing, avoiding a lengthy explanation and simply saying, “To be honest, I’ve seriously considered this question—I think there was some kind of attraction, more specifically, the admiration of a underachiever for an overachiever, combined with a bit of defiance and curiosity after a shattering of his beliefs. But it’s not exactly a crush, otherwise, why would my brother have waited so long to contact you?”
Lu Xiao Lin paused, puzzled, “But I don’t understand, ten years ago, you could make my brother almost flip a table, and ten years later, you still managed to make him so angry? My brother is usually unmoved by anything, but why is he so easily angered by you… What did you say to my brother?”
“Nothing much,” Cheng Xiao Xiao leaned back comfortably on the sofa, pausing, concisely summarizing the blind date, “We just stated our requirements, but ultimately didn’t reach an agreement. That’s normal, I was thinking about catching up, but your brother didn’t seem to want to. He probably felt embarrassed and got angry.”
Lu Xiao Lin suddenly understood, widening his eyes, looking intently at Cheng Xiao Xiao, “What requirements did you mention?”
“Ask your brother.” Cheng Xiao Xiao calmly sipped her coffee, deflecting the question.
Lu Xiao Lin was frustrated, sighing again as he looked at Cheng Xiao Xiao, thinking hard – from the looks of it, his brother had been indirectly rejected by Cheng Xiao Xiao! No wonder he was so gloomy!
But that shouldn’t be right, his brother shouldn’t have such deep feelings for Cheng Xiao Xiao, otherwise, he wouldn’t have let others take advantage of the situation. Why did a simple rejection make him so angry?
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