19: Chapter 19 Don't you have anything to say to me?

Lu Zhiyu was familiar with everyone and was in charge of chatting with them; Wen Shuyang was more extroverted and quickly became friendly with the Firefighters.

Xu Wanning and Song Yunqing silently ate their own food, being as well-behaved as could be.

However, Xu Wanning was only well-behaved on the surface; in reality, she was secretly plotting how to seduce Lu Chengyue in a little while.

Suddenly, her eyes lit up. She deliberately got some grease on her finger, raised her hand, and brought it near Lu Chengyue's face. "Brother Chengyue, do you have any tissues?"

Lu Chengyue drew a sharp breath, his Adam's apple bobbing. Those long, fair fingers were right before his eyes; he wanted to bite them.

He pulled a crumpled pack of tissues from his pocket and handed her one.

As Xu Wanning took it, her little finger inadvertently brushed against the back of his hand. It was very light, like a kitten rubbing against its owner's ankle.

Lu Chengyue was startled and leaned back, his chair letting out a harsh screech against the floor.

Lu Zhiyu, who was happily eating skewers, paused and looked over. "Are you okay?"

Lu Chengyue shook his head. "The chair was uneven. It's nothing."

Xu Wanning secretly looked at his reddened ear tips; set against the dim light of the barbecue restaurant, they were even more eye-catching.

She lowered her head to wipe her hand, her lips curving into a smile she couldn't suppress.

When they were nearly finished eating, Xu Wanning pulled out the cake she had prepared beforehand from under the table. On the cake was a candle shaped like the number '21'. "Zhiyu, make a wish."

Lu Chengyue tacitly took out a lighter and lit the candle.

Lu Zhiyu looked at the cake in surprise. She had thought she wouldn't be able to have cake today. Even though she didn't particularly like cake, it would have been a pity not to have one on her birthday. "Ningning~~"

"Alright, alright." Xu Wanning patted her head. "Make a wish first."

"Okay." Lu Zhiyu clenched her hands into fists and closed her eyes.

Wen Shuyang took the lead, and everyone sang the birthday song together.

Xu Wanning was sitting next to Lu Chengyue. As they clapped, their arms brushed against each other. Her heart was beating rhythmically, but neither of them pulled away.

The meal lasted for three whole hours. Lin Ci was completely wilted; his first time liking a girl had ended just like that.

Seeing how much she liked Lu Chengyue, he finally understood that girls become even more beautiful in front of the person they like, glowing faintly.

After the meal, Lu Chengyue went to pay the bill. Since everyone had been drinking, they called a designated driver when they came out.

Lu Chengyue looked at his comrades. "You guys go back first. I'll take them back to the university."

"Alright." A few of the comrades nodded quickly and dragged the already dead-drunk Jiang Yishen away.

In the back seat of the van, Lu Zhiyu sat in the middle, with Xu Wanning and Lu Chengyue sitting on either side of her.

As soon as the car started, Lu Zhiyu leaned on Lu Chengyue's shoulder and fell asleep. Lu Chengyue half-embraced his sister, his arm brushing against Xu Wanning's.

As the car turned, Xu Wanning's body tilted to the right due to inertia, and her shoulder bumped into his arm.

It was very hard, like bumping into a wall.

Lu Chengyue looked down at his sister, confirmed she hadn't woken up, and then moved his arm outward by two centimeters.

It wasn't to avoid Xu Wanning, but to pull his arm out from under Lu Zhiyu's shoulder so that his sister could lean against his chest and sleep more comfortably. However, doing this caused his entire arm to press against Xu Wanning's arm.

Lu Chengyue's heart was pounding. He should have moved his arm away; after all, the back seat was very spacious. But he didn't.

Xu Wanning turned her head to look out the car window. Even though she knew Zhiyu was A-Yue's sister, she still felt a little jealous. She wanted to be held by A-Yue, too.

The car drove for five minutes; they stayed pressed against each other like that, neither of them speaking.

The streetlights outside the window slid past one by one, the light and shadow flickering across her face. Using the reflection in the car window, she secretly looked at Lu Chengyue's profile.

His tense jawline, his lips pressed into a straight line—she loved every part of him.

Lu Chengyue appeared calm on the surface, but his breathing rate was much faster than normal, his chest rising and falling rapidly. He knew Xu Wanning was looking at him.

The car soon stopped at the school gate. Lu Zhiyu was groggily woken up by Lu Chengyue and moved to the side. Lu Chengyue and Xu Wanning got out from either side.

Lin Ci had no presence throughout the whole process; he said a quick greeting and walked towards the medical school.

Lu Chengyue walked over to the three girls who were linking arms and looked down at Xu Wanning. "Send me a message when you arrive."

Xu Wanning gave a hum and left, pulling her two friends along.

After walking a dozen steps, she couldn't help but look back. Lu Chengyue hadn't left yet; his hands were in his pockets, and he was watching their direction.

The streetlights stretched his shadow out very, very long.

Xu Wanning quickly turned back. Tsk, she had eaten so well in her past life, hehe.

However, she hadn't had a chance to tell him about The Apocalypse today. But it didn't matter; Zhiyu would say it tomorrow anyway.

When she arrived at the dormitory, Xu Wanning sent a message over: [Arrived.]

The reply came in a second: [Mm.]

Alright, another simple word. But considering he replied in a second, forget it, don't be angry, don't be angry. [Zhiyu drank a bit too much, sorry to trouble you with taking care of her.]

A message came over quickly: [She is my sister.]

Xu Wanning took a deep breath. ╭(╯^╰)╮, unhappy. Chasing someone is so hard. [Then what about me?]

A long time passed, so long that she had already finished washing up and put her phone by her side, ready to sleep, before the phone vibrated again.

[What?]

Xu Wanning helplessly wanted to punch the wall. [Do you have nothing to say to me?]

This time, the reply came quickly: [Goodnight.]

Aaaaaah! She wanted to scream out loud.

Thirty seconds later, another message arrived: [Sleep early.]

Xu Wanning didn't reply. She shoved her phone under her pillow and went to sleep, fuming.

Meanwhile, at the Lu household, Lu Chengyue was lying in bed, unable to sleep at all.

It wasn't that he hadn't seen Xu Wanning's messages, nor that he hadn't understood them; he just still couldn't quite believe it.

He was afraid—afraid that she was just playing around, afraid that after he gave everything, he would end up covered in wounds. Wait a little longer, wait a little longer.

Early the next morning, the three of them hurriedly packed their things and rushed to the airport to catch a flight home.

The flight took three hours. As soon as the plane landed and Xu Wanning went out, she saw her mom and dad there to pick her up. She jogged over and hugged them. That's great, Mom and Dad are both alive and well.

Seeing their daughter's eyes filled with tears, the couple panicked. "What's wrong?"

"Let's talk at home." Xu Wanning linked arms with them, got into the car, and went home.

After arriving home, Mother Xu quickly pulled her daughter to sit on the sofa. "What exactly is the matter? Tell Mom, did you have a fight with your boyfriend at school?"

Xu Wanning shook her head and grabbed her mother's and father's hands. "Mom, Dad, everything I'm about to say is true. You must believe me."

Father Xu patted his daughter's hand. "Alright, go ahead. We'll believe whatever you say."

Xu Wanning waved her hand, and the coffee table instantly vanished. Under her parents' astonished gazes, she spoke, "Mom, Dad, this is a Space Ability. I've returned from The Apocalypse three years in the future."

"W-what?" Mother Xu grabbed her daughter's arm.

"The Apocalypse?" Father Xu was so shocked he nearly jumped up.