18: Chapter 18 Who is better?

Xu Wanning looked up at Lu Chengyue. Lu Chengyue was wearing a black hoodie, which made him feel completely different from when he wore his training uniform. It hit all of Xu Wanning's preferences perfectly. "Brother Chengyue." Her voice was filled with sweetness.

Lu Chengyue's heart was pounding wildly, and he rubbed his fingers in confusion.

"Hmm." This sound was completely different from before, indescribably sexy.

Lin Ci was stunned. Was the person Xu Wanning liked actually him?! What happened to the idea that girls nowadays liked guys who looked thin in clothes but muscular when undressed? Why was she so different?

"Let's go inside first." Lu Zhiyu called out from the front, and everyone started to file into the restaurant.

Lu Chengyue stood still and didn't move. He waited for Xu Wanning to go in before he walked inside, blocking Lin Ci, who was just about to enter, behind him.

Afterward, the other comrades went in one by one, with Lin Ci being the last one to enter.

Lin Ci clenched his fists. It felt like he had just been ostracized.

"Ningning, sit here. You're afraid of the heat." As soon as they reached the reserved private room, Lu Zhiyu hurriedly pointed to the seat by the window for Xu Wanning to sit.

Xu Wanning didn't refuse. She was indeed very afraid of the heat, and when she got hot, she would feel like she couldn't catch her breath. However, having been with Lu Chengyue for a long time in her past life, she had gotten somewhat used to it.

Lu Chengyue's body temperature was very high, and he always liked to hold her, even when they were sleeping. This led her to slowly get used to it, and she even became somewhat dependent on that temperature.

After she sat down, Wen Shuyang, Lu Zhiyu, and Song Yunqing naturally wanted to go over and sit next to her.

As it turned out, just as Lu Zhiyu's backside was about to touch the chair to Xu Wanning's right, she was pulled away by Lu Chengyue. "Today is your birthday; you sit at the head of the table." After saying that, he plopped himself down right next to Xu Wanning.

Lu Zhiyu was stunned for a moment, then happily went to the head seat, not thinking there was anything strange about it at all.

Only Xu Wanning and Lin Ci noticed it. Lin Ci had come in last and had seen with his own eyes that Lu Chengyue had been standing there without sitting down. He had waited for his teammates to leave the head seat open before making his move. It was intentional, absolutely intentional.

Xu Wanning, who had been the first to sit down, had of course seen it too. She chuckled inwardly, but it didn't show on her face at all.

After sitting down, Lu Chengyue kept staring at Xu Wanning. How could a girl be so beautiful? She was so beautiful that he didn't want to look away at all; he felt like he'd be losing out if he looked at her even a second less.

Her ears were small, and their shape was very beautiful. They must be very...

"Brother, can you guys drink alcohol today?" Seeing the waiter bring over the alcohol, Lu Zhiyu hurriedly asked.

Firefighters couldn't drink alcohol whenever they wanted. They could on their days off, but they had to report it in advance.

Lu Chengyue, who had been staring at Xu Wanning's ears, quickly withdrew his gaze and nodded unnaturally. "We can. We reported it."

"That's good." Lu Zhiyu stood up and distributed the beer.

While they were distributing the beer, Xu Wanning shifted to the right, and her knee 'accidentally' touched Lu Chengyue's knee. Through his jeans, she could clearly feel his muscles tense up for a moment.

He didn't pull away; he had absolutely no intention of pulling away.

Xu Wanning pretended not to notice and lowered her head to order the skewers she wanted to eat. Their knees remained touching like that, and neither moved away.

Lu Chengyue's body temperature transferred through the two layers of fabric, and a layer of fine goosebumps rose on Xu Wanning's lower leg. She was too familiar with this temperature, so familiar that her very bones were craving it.

Lu Zhiyu stood up. "Today is our first official meeting. Let me introduce you all to each other so that in the future, if you run into each other outside, you can at least say hello."

"This is my brother, Lu Chengyue. This is Jiang Yishen, Gu Yanzhou, Li Jingran, Xiao Zhaochen, Meng Chen..." She introduced them one by one according to the seating order. Xu Wanning didn't need to memorize their names; she already knew them from her past life.

"This is Song Yunqing, Wen Shuyang, and Xu Wanning. Wanning is our school's campus belle, and she has held the title for three consecutive years." Lu Zhiyu said with a look of pride.

Jiang Yishen cleared his throat, stood up, and raised his glass. "Wanning, you are indeed very beautiful. I wonder if this brother has a chance to get to know you?"

Lu Chengyue frowned. Was this guy for real? He really wanted to say no, but he didn't have the right. What if she was also... interested in Jiang Yishen?

Everyone fell silent. Wen Shuyang, Song Yunqing, and Lu Zhiyu carefully watched Xu Wanning's expression.

They all knew that Ningning didn't really like men expressing their interest in her in public, because it felt a bit like being morally coerced.

If they liked her, they could confess in private so that when she rejected them, the other party wouldn't be too embarrassed.

Xu Wanning didn't stand up or pick up her glass; instead, she bumped her knee against Lu Chengyue, who was next to her.

Lu Chengyue stood up and snatched the glass from Jiang Yishen's hand. "Are you drunk without even drinking?"

Jiang Yishen also noticed that Xu Wanning's expression wasn't very good, but he was in a bit of a dilemma. He knew he had been a bit rash; speaking like that just after meeting someone was indeed a bit frivolous.

The comrades next to him hurriedly pulled him back down to his seat and apologized to Xu Wanning. "Sorry about that. He doesn't have a high tolerance for alcohol; he gets drunk just by smelling it. Please don't mind him."

Xu Wanning shook her head. "It's fine."

In her past life, Jiang Yishen had pursued her for a long time, but she never agreed. It wasn't that he didn't look good; it was purely that there was no spark.

Later, Jiang Yishen got together with Ye Yuhe, who joined later. The two of them were actually quite good together; in Ye Yuhe's words, they were a match made in heaven.

Lu Chengyue turned to the side and looked down at Xu Wanning. "I'm sorry. He didn't mean any harm, really. He's not a bad person, nor is he a frivolous person."

Xu Wanning turned her head to look at him, her eyes filled with a hint of grievance. "So, are you saying that I should get to know him?"

Lu Chengyue's heart constricted. "No, he... he isn't worthy of you. You deserve better."

Xu Wanning didn't look away. "Better? Who is better?"

Lu Chengyue guiltily looked away. "Whichever you like."

Xu Wanning smiled. "You're right. Whoever I like is the best."

Lin Ci was sitting right opposite them. Watching the two of them talking alone made him feel terrible. He had actually lost to this rough man; he was, he was so miserable.

The barbecue skewers were served one after another. Lu Chengyue subconsciously picked up a lamb skewer and handed it to Xu Wanning, then suddenly realized something was wrong and stopped.

His arm hung in mid-air for a moment. He hesitated for half a second before looking at Xu Wanning. "Do you want to eat this?"

His voice was very flat and sounded very natural. If she hadn't felt his leg trembling, Xu Wanning would have believed him.

"Yes, thank you, Brother Chengyue." Xu Wanning nodded obediently.

Lu Chengyue handed the skewer over, his fingers pinching the very end of the stick, terrified of touching her and making her feel uncomfortable.

Xu Wanning reached out to take it, deliberately pinching the stick just above his fingers, and her palm brushed against his fingers.

He didn't let go immediately. It wasn't until a drop of oil from the barbecue dripped onto the table with a patter that he finally reacted.

After letting go, he picked up his beer and took a big gulp. His Adam's apple bobbed significantly, unable to suppress his nervousness at all.

Xu Wanning pretended not to notice and ate the skewer in her hand in small bites. Hehe, this A-Yue is truly tempting.