Wang Jinglu leaned on the table with one hand propping up her chin, staring blankly at the glass window in front of her and the lights from the opposite building.

  She is daydreaming.

  For her, this kind of daze was not too common.

  After a while, she picked up her phone, opened the message, but hesitated for a moment and put it back. She got up and walked around the house, but felt more and more annoyed in her heart.

  A knock at the door sounded, she stood still and said: "Mom?"

  Tao Huijun pushed open the door and came in with a smile, asking: "Just now Mom heard that someone called you?"

  Wang Jinglu nodded expressionlessly and uttered a low "uh-huh".

  "What's wrong?" Tao Huijun asked again.

  Wang Jinglu opened her mouth, then closed it again, looking more and more annoyed. Then she said: "Mom, can you please not interfere with my business from now on? You even ask questions when I answer the phone..."

  "Okay, okay, Mom won't ask, Mom won't ask..." she said and closed the door on her way out.

  Just as she was about to leave, there was still a hint of smile on her face.

  It seems like... I'm really happy.

  That's right, the phone call just now was from Zhao Yuemin.

  No need to think about it, the number must be given by his father... or mother.

  He wants to invite Wang Jinglu to have dinner together.

  At that time, Wang Jinglu was slightly stunned, but before she could speak, the other person seemed to have anticipated that she might directly refuse him. So he immediately said: "Xiao Lu, don't rush to reject me, okay? The time is very flexible, Friday, Saturday, weekend, are all possible. Noon, evening, are also possible. Consider it, okay? Give me a chance."

  It must be said that although they had only met twice and were still deeply wary of each other, a man like Zhao Yuemin was truly hard to dislike. Even Wang Jingluo, who was extremely uncomfortable with the way Zhao Yuemin approached her, couldn't help but feel no displeasure towards him as a person.

  There's no doubt he's an excellent man who can easily make girls' hearts flutter.

  Especially his tone of voice, attitude... really makes it hard for people to say the word "refuse".

  With Wang Jinglu's personality, she was originally unwilling to make things difficult for others and couldn't say anything powerful, so once she opened her mouth before being interrupted by the other person, she immediately became entangled, until the other party hung up the phone, that sentence of refusal didn't even come out.

  Then, after hanging up the phone, she couldn't help but regret it constantly.

  Blaming oneself, accusing oneself... being too indecisive and handling things too irresolutely.

  What should I do?

  Call him back and refuse him?

  Yes, this is feasible.

  She even grasped her own tone of voice, softly imitating and practicing, "Hello, is this Mr. Zhao Yuemin? I'm Wang Jinglu... Yes, it's me. Sorry, I've been busy reviewing my lessons lately, really no time, so... sorry."

  She practiced twice and felt it wasn't enough; her tone and attitude were too soft, which would make him not give up easily.

  So...

  "Hello, is this Mr. Zhao Yuemin? I'm Wang Jingluo. Yes, I've thought about it and thank you for the invitation, but I don't have time. And I already have a boyfriend, so please don't call me again in the future, okay? I don't want him to misunderstand..."

  Seems like it's... too hard again?

  "If it's like this, then I'll definitely be nervous at that time, and I'm afraid even my voice will tremble..."

  She abruptly covered her face and fell back onto the bed.

  "I'm really useless!" she thought, "If it were my sister, she definitely wouldn't be as troublesome as me! She would have directly refused at the time and wouldn't have dragged things out!"

  "I'm not interested!" she said firmly.

  These four words have killed countless men!

  So what's next? Go have dinner with him?

  Don't even think about it!

  If it were another girl, she might think, "It's just a meal, who cares who you eat with? It's not like they're asking you to pay the bill. Why not go and at least get a free nice meal?"

  But Wang Jinglu was different.

  More than a decade of simple life, the family influence she had received since childhood, and that figure who was occupying her heart more and more every day, would make her extremely repelled to such things.

  Even thinking about having dinner with other men makes her feel a kind of guilt that is like betrayal.

  I'm unlikely to fall for him, so why have dinner with him?

  My sister once said that for things and people you don't like, you should just cut them off completely, giving neither the other party nor yourself any chance.

  She thinks her sister is right!

  Thinking of this, a determined look appeared on her face, and she reached out to grab the phone.

  But when she flipped to the other person's phone number, her fingers stopped there and didn't fall down for a long time.

  "It's so hard! What can I say without hurting him?"

  Underneath the unfamiliar number that still hasn't been saved as a contact is Li Qian's name.

  "Should I tell him? Let him help me make a call to reject?" she thought.

  But then I thought about it and decided against it.

  Although she was reluctant to admit it, Wang Jingluo knew in her heart that compared to a mature and elegant man like Zhao Yuemin, Li Qian was still very immature. Letting him help her make this call, what could he say?

  Is it threatening?

  That makes both himself and Li Qian appear extremely weak.

  "Whatever," she thought, "I never answer his calls anyway, he should understand that I'm rejecting him. Yeah, exactly, if he still wants to call again, then I'll just directly reject him."

  Thinking of this, Wang Jinglu suddenly felt a slight relief in her heart.

  Then, as if by a ghostly intervention, her fingers landed on Li Qian's name.

  The phone call is out.

  She felt inexplicably anxious yet somehow expectant in her heart.

  "Hey, what's wrong?" he said.

  "Uh, nothing... are you asleep?" she said hastily. Having said that, she was even more annoyed, it's only 8:01, he would be sleeping, what a joke!

  As expected, he chuckled on the other end of the phone and said, "Nope. Something up? Why didn't you just send a text?"

  Although she couldn't see it, Wang Jinglu felt that her face must have been bright red already, because she felt a little embarrassed - how embarrassing!

  And then what? Call him yourself... Is there something going on?

  The answer is no.

  She just wants to hear the other person's voice, and if she can say a few more words, that would be even better. Right, at this moment, if he could tell a joke to amuse himself, that would be perfect!

  Then she fell silent for a moment and said: "Can you tell me a joke?"

  On the other end of the phone, Li Qian was slightly stunned.

  Then he said: "I was reviewing my lessons, where would I have thought of a joke."

  "Oh." Wang Jinglu was slightly disappointed and nodded subconsciously, asking: "What are you reviewing?"

  "I'm studying history, and next I'll learn some Russian," he said. "But history is so hard, especially the history of the Soviet Union... Do you know where the Soviet Union was strongest and greatest?"

  Listening to Wang Jinglu, he was still puzzled and thought that Li Qian's history wasn't too bad, it was just modern and contemporary history, what's so difficult about it? But then he heard Li Qian suddenly turn the topic to the Soviet Union's strongest place...

  She furrowed her brow and thought for a moment, unsure what Li Qian meant, so she asked in return: "Where?"

  "The Soviet people have successfully overcome difficulties which would not exist in other socialist countries!" he said seriously.

  "Oh."

  Wang Jinglu was stunned for a moment before suddenly coming back to her senses and couldn't help but burst out laughing!

  "You're really sharp-tongued," she said with a smile.

  But then she suddenly got a bit excited and asked: "Is there any more? Tell another one."

  On the other end of the phone, Li Qian didn't laugh. He thought for a moment and said: "It's said that in the 1950s, an American diplomatic delegation visited the Soviet Union, and Soviet officials accompanied them on a tour to observe the great achievements of socialist construction. They proudly said that once the next five-year plan was completed, every family in the Soviet Union would have an airplane. The American officials were shocked and asked what they would use airplanes for. The Soviet official said, 'Of course, it's useful! For example, if you're in Moscow and hear that Leningrad has started supplying bread, then you can fly over to line up and wait for bread...'"

  Wang Jinglu rarely "hehe" laughed.

  She usually just smiles slightly with her mouth closed even when she laughs.

  At this time, Li Qian also smiled and said: "Don't want it anymore, can't think of it, all forgotten."

  Wang Jinglu turned over on the bed and suddenly thought of Li Qian reviewing his lessons, her eyes lit up and she asked: "Are you going to review Russian later?"

  "Uh-huh."

  "Shall I tutor you in Russian?"

  "Ah?" He was somewhat surprised.

  "Is it good?" Wang Jinglu excitedly asked again.

  "Then... you come over?"

  Yes, there is no light on the rooftop, it's impossible to do homework, have to go to their home!

  At the thought of this, Wang Jinglu hesitated slightly.

  It's been a long time since everyone grew up, and she hasn't gone to the opposite door for a long time. Going to Li Qian's house so late at night, his dad and mom won't think too much about it, will they?

  But soon, Wang Jinglu quickly turned over and jumped down from the bed, although a bit flustered, still very excited.

  "I'm going right now!" she said.

  …………

  The doorbell rang, and Li Qian hurried over to open the door, taking out a new pair of slippers and placing them in front of her.

  Under the bright top light, Wang Jinglu's face had a touch of bright blush.

  "Is Xiaolu coming to play?"

  Li's mother, who was watching TV, turned around and greeted Wang Jinglu with a smile.

  Li's father also turned around and gave a smile.

  It's unclear whether Li Qian had given her some prior instructions, but in any case, Li's mother didn't display the same level of enthusiasm as before - Wang Jinglu was actually afraid she'd be too enthusiastic and make a big fuss like welcoming a new daughter-in-law.

  "Auntie, Uncle Li, I've come to tutor Li Qian in Russian." She said with a red face after changing into slippers and walking into the living room.

  Mr. Li nodded and smiled warmly, "Alright, alright, Li Qian's Russian is particularly poor, you help him out!"

  Wang Jinglu nodded and said "uh-huh".

  At this time, Li's mother said: "Then... Xiaojian, take Xiaolu to your room and sit down. If you want to eat or drink something, just go to the fridge yourself... Xiaolu, Auntie won't entertain you anymore, Auntie is watching TV dramas, you guys study!"

  Wang Jinglu nodded again and said "good", then seemed to let out a breath of relief, following Li Qian into his bedroom.

  Li Qian pushed open the door and saw Wang Jingluo slightly curiously pacing back and forth in the room, so he smiled and said: "Sit down! Sit on the edge of the bed or sit on a chair, whichever you like."

  Wang Jinglu nodded and sat down beside the bed. She turned her head and saw a history textbook and a Russian language textbook on the table.

  "You're really reviewing your lessons!" She was a bit surprised.

  Li Qian in memory was not that fond of studying. At least after going home, he absolutely did not touch his textbooks.

  Li Qian smiled and said in a low voice, "It's been a long time since I came here, huh?"

  Wang Jinglu smiled and nodded.

  The big ceiling fan whirred and whizzed, but it wasn't too hot inside. For a moment, it seemed like neither of them knew what to say, the atmosphere was somewhat awkwardly silent.

  This is Li Qian's bedroom, which is naturally different from the rooftop platform.

  At this time, Wang Jinglu saw the guitar on the headboard and was very happy to have finally found a topic, so she asked: "I remember you didn't like guitars, why are you messing with it again? In the past few days when I went to school, I seemed to see you carrying a guitar too?"

  Li Qian took the guitar and strummed it, "You're going to rush to the Beijing Film Academy, but you don't allow me to pursue some art?"

  Wang Jinglu heard this and smiled.

  After a while, she asked: "So what can you play now? Have you learned a few songs?"

  Li Qian sighed and said, "Alas, it's not that easy to learn. I can only play a little star now, and I still can't play it smoothly."

  Wang Jinglu still had a smiling face, looking very interested, and said: "You play it for me to listen?"

  Li Qian pretended to sigh, picked up the guitar, and plucked the strings one by one. As he strummed, he sang in a slow and deliberate tone, "Twinkle, twinkle, little stars, how I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky. Twinkle, twinkle, little stars, how I wonder what you are."

  Unexpectedly, Wang Jinglu listened to such a simple and childish performance, but she didn't laugh at all. Instead, she seriously encouraged Li Qian, "You played very well! Although this piece is simple, you didn't make any mistakes with each note, which shows that you've been practicing hard these past few days! Don't rush, take your time, and you'll definitely get better with practice! Once you master the simple pieces, you can move on to more complex ones."

  Li Qian looked at her helplessly, sighed and said, "Okay, you're really not interesting... What I said earlier was all a lie. Actually, I've been practicing for a long time and can play it very well. Don't believe me? Listen..."

  As he spoke, he suddenly launched into a particularly complex and flashy guitar solo, leaving Wang Jinglu stunned on the spot. Then, her eyes gradually revealed an inexplicable glow.

  After Li Qianxuan finished, she looked at Li Qian with a hint of a smile on her face and sparkling eyes, asking: "So, you can play and sing by yourself without any problem?"

  Li Qian nodded and said, "Of course, no problem!"

  Wang Jinglu smiled and said, "Then sing a song for me."

  Li Qian turned his head and glanced at the Russian textbook on the table, "I'm saying, is this considered tuition?"

  Wang Jinglu also turned to look at the Russian textbook, and the smile on her face became even brighter. She nodded without hesitation and said firmly: "Alright! This is the tuition!"

  Li Qian was speechless.

  He hugged his guitar, thought for a moment, and decided to go with campus folk songs after all.

  Of course, it's an urban legend of this time and space campus.

  "Do you still remember that snowy winter,"

  We met by chance on the train.

  You mentioned your past love affair

  Your heart is already broken beyond repair.

  ……”

  As soon as he started playing the guitar and singing, Li Qian's heart was filled with nothing but the guitar, and his eyes were completely focused on it. Even when he was singing, he would often close his eyes and let himself be fully immersed in the melody.

  The song is very familiar, but it's the singer that makes the difference.

  Wang Jinglu rested her arm on the table, propping up her face with her hand, and gazed at Li Qian sitting on the bed edge playing and singing to himself with a look of surprise and infatuation. At this moment, she didn't even notice what song Li Qian was singing, her eyes and heart were completely filled with Li Qian's appearance of gently swaying his body to the rhythm with his eyes closed.

  In the end, her gaze had lost its focus, and a sweet smile appeared on her face.

  The music ended, Li Qian opened his eyes, and Wang Jinglu also suddenly came back to her senses.

  "Hey, Teacher Wang, is this tuition fee okay?"

  Wang Jinglu smiled and turned her head to glance at the door, saying in a low voice: "You've been singing for a while now, we can't just listen to you sing all the time. Shall we start our supplementary lessons?"

  Li Qian rolled his eyes, "Is it so hard to praise me just once?"

  Wang Jinglu smiled again, "No, what you played earlier was certainly worthy of praise and encouragement, but now that you've played so well, there's no need to praise you anymore! If I praised you again, wouldn't you become arrogant?"

  Li Qian raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, put down his guitar and smiled: "Alright, I'll take that as a compliment."

  As they spoke, he suddenly turned his head and his gaze swept across Wang Jinglu's body before fixing on her.

  Wang Jinglu's figure was slender, a 17-year-old girl, thin and weak, as if she hadn't fully blossomed yet. But her skin seemed to have been washed with cow's milk, already possessing the luster and whiteness of a grown woman. Just now, when she was singing, she rested her snowy arm on the table, causing the edge of the table to press out a deep mark. It made people who saw it feel some pain for her, yet there was an inexplicable charm that suddenly stirred one's heartstrings.

  Li Qian hastily lowered his head, coughed, and then raised it again to ask: "Then where do you plan to start tutoring me?"

  Wang Jinglu seriously opened her textbook and said, "From lesson one."

  Li Qian nodded and said, "Okay!"

  But as she opened the book, Wang Jinglu stared at the textbook for a moment, then suddenly turned her head to look at Li Qian.

  "You'll come... and meet me in Beijing, right?" she asked.

  Li Qian nodded solemnly, "I will."

  Wang Jinglu smiled slightly.