51: Chapter 51 You Missed Me

Xu Jingping thought it was Gu Xi who had returned, so he hurried over to open the door, "Did you forget something..."

A handsome young man he didn't recognize was standing outside. "Young man, who are you looking for?"

Lin Ci didn't recognize him either and asked politely, "Uncle, my name is Lin Ci. May I ask if Xu Wanning is here?"

Xu Jingping nodded, "Yes, she is. I'm her second uncle. Wait a moment, I'll go call her."

After saying this, he closed the main gate and walked a few steps into the courtyard, "Ningning, there's a young man named Lin Ci here to see you."

Xu Wanning hurried out of her room and went to the gate, "Why are you here?"

Lin Ci's face was filled with sadness, "I've processed my withdrawal from school and plan to return to my hometown. I came to say goodbye to you."

"What?" Xu Wanning had thought he wanted to bring his parents over to find a place to live; she hadn't expected that he had decided to leave.

Lin Ci smiled, "I grew up in the countryside and have many relatives. It's impossible to only look after my parents. If I were to bring everyone over, it would be too much trouble.

"Besides, the people in our village are very kind and helped me a lot. My college tuition was pooled together by them. I can't just abandon them. I've thought about it for a long time and decided to return to the village."

Xu Wanning didn't know what to say, "Ah, since that's the case, I won't try to persuade you otherwise. No matter where you are, as long as you live well, there is hope."

"Yes." Lin Ci stared at her for a long, long time, then opened his arms, "Can I have a hug? We might never see each other again."

Xu Wanning hugged him directly, "Lin Ci, you must live well. I'll be waiting for the day you become famous."

Based on what she knew of Lin Ci, he wouldn't be confined to just one village. Him returning was a good thing for many of the locals.

She firmly believed that Lin Ci would definitely reach great heights.

"Okay." Lin Ci took a deep breath and let go of Xu Wanning. His first love had ended just like that, "Goodbye."

"Goodbye." Xu Wanning waved her hand.

Lin Ci turned and left, raising his right arm high to wave. He didn't look back; he was afraid that if he did, he would shed tears.

Once Lin Ci's figure was out of sight, Xu Wanning turned around, only to see a row of heads crammed at the gate, peeking.

Seeing her look over, they hurriedly hid. Xu Jingping was almost caught in the gate, "Hehe, hehe."

Lu Zhiyu silently sent a message to her brother, [Brother, if you don't put in more effort, your little sister can't help you anymore.]

Xu Wanning didn't mind them watching; loving to watch the excitement was human nature, and she was the same, "Lin Ci came to say goodbye; he's going back to his hometown."

Lu Zhiyu was stunned, "Ah? So it really did trigger a butterfly effect."

Xu Wanning looked at her family and friends in the courtyard, "Yes. My rebirth is actually an opportunity for those who know the truth to make a new choice. In my past life, he couldn't protect his family and the villagers, but in this life, he can. And I have also achieved my goal."

Lin Wanqiu came over and hugged her daughter, "It's alright. In this life, we will definitely be able to live well."

Everyone went back to their own business.

In the evening, after finishing training with Grandpa Zhou, Xu Wanning returned to her room to cool down; she had to wait until she stopped sweating before taking a shower.

Her phone rang; Lu Chengyue had sent a message, [What are you doing?]

She didn't reply.

Half an hour later, [Wanning?]

She still didn't reply.

Another hour passed, and after Xu Wanning finished her shower, Lu Chengyue sent another message, [Are you alright?]

Xu Wanning stared at her phone, waiting for him to send the third message, waiting for him to worry, waiting for him to get nervous. At that moment, she replied, [Reading a novel, my phone was on silent.]

The other side replied in a second, [Oh, that's good as long as you're okay.]

Xu Wanning curled her lips, [Are you worried about me?]

[No.] In the dormitory, Lu Chengyue went from pacing back and forth to standing against the wall.

Heaven knows how miserable he felt when he opened his phone and saw the photo Xiao Yu sent of the two of them hugging.

They had only not been in contact for three days, so how, how did things progress so quickly with Lin Ci?

He hit his own head hard, blaming himself, blaming himself for putting on such an act.

[Then why did you send me three messages?] Xu Wanning's smile deepened.

Lu Chengyue didn't know how to reply, so he could only remain silent.

[Lu Chengyue.] Xu Wanning didn't wait for him.

[Hmm?]

[You missed me.] It was a statement, not a question; Xu Wanning firmly believed he missed her.

This time, Lu Chengyue didn't rush to deny it, but he didn't confirm it either; silence, only silence.

His ears were bright red, his heart was beating violently, and his hands were trembling; he had never experienced anything like this before.

Xu Wanning tossed her phone aside. That was enough for today; she would continue tomorrow. Lu Chengyue was off tomorrow and the day after, so he could check his phone all day, hehe.

Early the next morning, Xu Wanning sent a photo to Lu Chengyue to flirt with him.

In the photo, she was wearing his jacket, facing a mirror, and only the upper half of her body was captured. The jacket was very large, with the sleeves covering the backs of her hands, leaving her fingertips exposed.

The photo was taken before she showered, just for today, [Does it look good?]

As expected, Lu Chengyue replied very quickly, [Yes.]

At this moment, Lu Chengyue, who was lying on the bed, was very excited. Heaven knows how impactful it was to see a selfie of the girl he liked wearing his clothes first thing in the morning; he could only rely on deep breaths to calm down.

He glanced at the next bed; luckily, Jiang Yishen was still asleep, otherwise it would be embarrassing if he discovered it.

He tremblingly typed a few more words and sent them over, [You look very good in it.]

Xu Wanning stared at the blunt six characters on the screen. It was rare; the weight of these words was equivalent to being praised ten times by others.

[Then, will you let me wear it next time?] She continued to entice him.

Lu Chengyue buried his head in the quilt, [Yes.]

[Then I want to wear the clothes you'll be wearing when we meet next time.] Xu Wanning didn't even know she could say something so unreserved.

Lu Chengyue was confused, [Why? If you like my clothes, I'll give you the one you wore before.]

[Silly, I only want to wear what you've worn, because...]

Lu Chengyue's breathing stopped. She only wanted to wear what he had worn? What did that mean?

The next message popped up, [It has your scent.] It was followed by an emoji of a kitten burying itself into a quilt with an expression of enjoyment.

Lu Chengyue's breathing became increasingly rapid, and he became even more excited.

He pulled the quilt up tightly and lay on his side to prevent it from being too obvious.

He felt that he still couldn't quite handle this. What to do? What should he do? How exactly should he reply at a time like this?

Xu Wanning knew she had teased him enough, so she changed the subject, [The leadership says that on the 1st of next month, they will make an announcement to local governments, the military, the police, and the Fire Station. We can start preparing and let your comrades choose whether they want to bring their families over.]

[Their families are basically locals. As long as they don't run around, they'll be fine. We'll discuss it after the announcement.]

[Oh, alright then. As long as you have a plan in mind.]

Xu Wanning tapped herself. She had actually forgotten that most of them were locals. In her past life, they had also gone to pick up their families, but only half of the family members survived; the rest either turned into zombies or went out to collect supplies and never returned.

After waiting a while, Lu Chengyue sent another message, [Today is the Fire Station open house. Do you want to come?]