Actually, she regretted asking that question right after she blurted it out.
Whether those two were together or not had nothing to do with her. She was extremely reluctant to get involved with them.
So she was eager to explain. "Sorry, what I meant was, I..."
But Lu Cheng cut in and answered first.
"No, I'm not with her. It was my mistake before. I put the love letter meant for you in the wrong place, which caused the misunderstanding."
"But I've already made it clear to her. Classmate Meng Ruozhao, the person I like is you. Do you still remember that at the end of last semester, you lent me your umbrella?"
What umbrella?
Meng Ruozhao couldn't recall.
Before Mei Mei started targeting her, she was quite popular at school and often helped her classmates casually.
She had lent out more than one or two umbrellas.
Seeing Meng Ruozhao's confused look, Lu Cheng got a bit anxious.
"It was raining heavily at that time. I was about to dash out when you walked over, gave me the umbrella in your hand, and then shared an umbrella with your classmate."
Lu Cheng was handsome and good at basketball. He was also the secret crush of many girls.
But the moment Meng Ruozhao held out the umbrella and said with a smile that she was lending it to him, he could hardly take his eyes off her.
He had always known that Meng Ruozhao from Class 3 was pretty.
But it was the first time he realized how stunningly beautiful she was.
Love at first sight happened in an instant.
After that, he also went to find her under the pretext of returning the umbrella, but he didn't get to see her in person.
It was her deskmate who saw him holding the umbrella and said, "Here to return it to Zhaozhao? Give it to me. I'll pass it on to her."
Then the deskmate snatched the umbrella away.
He couldn't very well take it back, so he left dejectedly.
After that, he never had the chance to find Meng Ruozhao again. He could only secretly keep an eye on her every move.
He also heard the rumors about her and Pei Jiangmu, the campus celebrity.
At that time, Pei Jiangmu was the most talked - about person at school.
He was handsome, a top - notch student, and his family background was mysterious.
Some even rumored that Pei Jiangmu was a descendant of the Pei family in Haicheng.
But this had never been confirmed.
As for Meng Ruozhao, some said she was Pei Jiangmu's cousin.
Others claimed that their parents were friends.
There were also rumors that Meng Ruozhao's parents were servants of the Pei family, which was why she had the chance to grow up with Pei Jiangmu.
And that was how she got the opportunity to study here.
No matter which rumor it was, the fact that Pei Jiangmu knew her was true.
But according to Lu Cheng's observation, they weren't particularly close. At least, they didn't go to and from school together.
However, because Pei Jiangmu knew Meng Ruozhao and had publicly stated that he didn't like puppy love.
Neither he nor anyone around him was allowed to engage in it.
So no one dared to give Meng Ruozhao a love letter.
But now, Pei Jiangmu had moved to the senior high school department. His reach couldn't extend here.
Moreover, Lu Cheng wasn't asking for puppy love. He just hoped that Meng Ruozhao would give him a chance to get closer to her.
They could officially be together after high school graduation, and that wouldn't count as puppy love.
Meng Ruozhao looked at Lu Cheng but really couldn't remember what had happened back then.
But she more or less understood what he was thinking, so she immediately said, "You don't need to feel grateful just because of such a small thing."
It wasn't like she had saved his life. Did he have to marry her in return?
Lu Cheng shook his head repeatedly. "No, I wrote you the love letter not because of gratitude."
After all, he was a shy teenager. For a moment, he didn't know how to explain that it wasn't gratitude but genuine love.
In a moment of desperation, he suddenly grabbed Meng Ruozhao's hand. His face blushed all the way to the tips of his ears.
"Meng Ruozhao, I really like you. I like you so much. You..."
Before he could finish his sentence, there was a sudden clapping sound at the door.
The two people in the classroom both turned their heads.
They saw Pei Jiangmu in his school uniform, leaning against the door against the light. His expression couldn't be seen clearly.
But they could feel that his gaze was firmly fixed on Meng Ruozhao.
To be precise, it was fixed on the hand that was being held.
He never expected that when he rushed to school in a hurry to find her because he saw she hadn't gone home yet, he would witness such a scene.
The sun - bright confession words were like sharp blades slicing through his retinas.
He heard the cracking sound of his interlocked knuckles. The muscles tensed under his school uniform trousers trembled slightly, and a rusty, coppery taste welled up in his throat.
His Zhaozhao had really grown up.
No, she had been corrupted by these people. She had even learned to stay in the classroom after school to be confessed to instead of going home.
She didn't even know how to resist when someone held her hand. Was this how he had taught her?
"Truly courageous."
He suddenly spoke up, and the force of his clapping was so loud that it was ear - piercing.
When Meng Ruozhao saw him, a surprised look flashed across her face immediately.
"Why are you here?"
During that period, Pei Jiangmu had been participating in a competition in another city, and they hadn't seen each other for a week.
But this sentence sounded a bit off to Pei Jiangmu's ears.
It was as if she was blaming him for interrupting this confession.
Lu Cheng also frowned and looked at Pei Jiangmu.
He didn't know what Pei Jiangmu meant by "truly courageous", but judging from his tone, it definitely wasn't a compliment.
Pei Jiangmu had walked between them and knocked Lu Cheng's hand away with a rather strong force.
"After all, not everyone has the guts to lay a finger on my girl."
The three words "my girl" with a drawn - out tail sound were like poisoned needles wrapped in honey. His drooping eyelashes hid the violent undercurrent in his eyes.
Lu Cheng's face changed abruptly. "Your girl?"
"What's wrong? Do you have an objection?"
Pei Jiangmu suddenly leaned forward, pulling Meng Ruozhao to his side. His warm breath brushed past Meng Ruozhao's ear.
"The rhythm of her breathing should be engraved in my bones."
He said this in his heart because he was afraid that if he said it out loud, even Meng Ruozhao would be shocked.
But this was exactly what he thought.
He tightened his grip on Meng Ruozhao's hand and just calmly looked at Lu Cheng, whose face had turned deathly pale.
Lu Cheng didn't believe it and looked at Meng Ruozhao for help. "Classmate Meng, you two..."
Meng Ruozhao was still immersed in the surprise of Pei Jiangmu coming to find her. She didn't even notice the undercurrent between the two men.
To be precise, she simply didn't understand the source of this tense atmosphere.
She thought Lu Cheng was just embarrassed and scared because his confession had been interrupted.
So she spoke with an apologetic tone. "Classmate Lu, I can't accept your feelings. I'm sorry. But we'll still be classmates in the future. Now I'm going home with my brother."
With these words, she offended both of them.
What Pei Jiangmu minded was that she only referred to him as her brother.
It was only natural that she didn't accept the other guy's confession. Why was she apologizing?
And still be classmates?
As for Lu Cheng, he thought she had silently admitted her relationship with Pei Jiangmu because she called Pei Jiangmu her brother but didn't deny Pei Jiangmu's claim of "my girl".
His heart seemed to have fallen into an ice cellar. All his joy was instantly extinguished.
This time, it was his turn to look at the hands that were clasped together.
Jealousy and heartache almost drowned him.
Pei Jiangmu didn't say another word, but the implication of asserting his sovereignty was strong enough.
Only then did Meng Ruozhao belatedly realize that the atmosphere was a bit off.
She looked at Lu Cheng's disappointed expression and then at Pei Jiangmu's slightly displeased face, feeling quite confused.
She could understand why Lu Cheng was disappointed.
But why was Pei Jiangmu unhappy?
Was it because the competition hadn't gone well?