Gu Yu glanced at Luo Ming, who was covering her mouth and laughing with a few girls. He shook his head. “I’d rather not. Let’s not disturb her.”
“Fine, fine. Then eat more. My mom said I can’t lose face when inviting classmates to dinner, so she picked a lot of expensive dishes. They weren’t even this generous for my own birthday.” He Yu opened a bottle of purple-red liquid on the table and poured a glass for Gu Yu. “Do you drink?”
“Don’t you know how to drink?”
“Exactly. That’s why this is grape juice.”
He Yu poured a glass for herself as well, picked it up, and finished it in one bold gulp.
“Why haven’t I seen your parents?”
“Do you want to meet my parents that much? Have you changed your mind?” He Yu licked a drop of juice from her lip, a playful smile on her face.
“Should I answer truthfully?”
“Probably not. I doubt anything good would come out of your mouth anyway. I didn’t let them come. At a Class Reunion, the atmosphere isn’t as relaxed when elders are around.”
He Yu picked up her glass, which still had some residue at the bottom, and held it in front of her. Looking at Gu Yu through the glass wall, she said calmly, “Besides, if they saw me confess to you in front of everyone later, they’d definitely pull me aside for a long lecture.”
“Huh?”
Gu Yu was startled. Rejecting He Yu’s confession in this kind of setting would be very embarrassing for her.
The girl’s gaze was serious. He could see a pure, naive, natural, and beautiful affection in her eyes.
“I’m just kidding.” He Yu put down the glass and laughed again. “There’s no need for me to humiliate myself in front of so many people and make things difficult for you.”
“Oh… right.” Gu Yu responded blankly.
Dishes began to fill the table. White porcelain plates held fragrant, tempting sauces, and the feast of fish and meat was very much to everyone’s liking.
“He Yu, as the Host, aren’t you going to stand up and say a few words?” a girl suddenly suggested.
“It’s not like I’m hosting officials. There’s no need for all that formality. It’s just a casual meal for everyone. Besides, I’m not as bold as you think. I’d be embarrassed to nag while the whole class is watching me.”
He Yu spoke in a relaxed and flat tone, showing no sign of being shy.
The girls continued to tease her, laughing cheerfully. Gu Yu felt very out of place.
He kept his head down and ate. Several dishes on the table were his favorites. The hotel chef was very skilled, and the food was delicious.
‘If possible, I’d like to just be a transparent person, fill my stomach, forget about the regrets of parting, and go home to sleep,’ Gu Yu thought.
However, as the other girls continued to mess around, they opened a bottle of red wine. A sweet, intoxicating aroma filled the air, quickly drifting into his nose after it was poured.
Wine was opened at the other tables as well. Their natures, normally suppressed by school rules and discipline, were unleashed. They poured drinks into their stomachs, and many faces were soon stained with a tipsy flush.
Gu Yu and He Yu still didn’t touch a drop, clinking their glasses of grape juice with the others. The atmosphere gradually loosened. Alcohol-induced courage began to take hold, and someone started to make a public Confession.
He Yu had guessed this would happen. It was one of the reasons she organized this Class Reunion — to give classmates who held regrets a chance to tell those they had an Unrequited Love for how they felt.
But she was the only exception. The person she liked was right beside her, yet she was giving up this last chance to try.
She might even have to watch the boy express his love to another girl and become a couple right in front of her.
‘I should just cut off my unnecessary thoughts,’ He Yu thought as she downed another glass of grape juice.
The boy who confessed failed. Then, someone else stood up under everyone’s gaze, left their table, and walked toward the girl they liked. Gathering all his courage, he said, “Luo Ming, I… I like you. Will you be my girlfriend?”
Luo Ming hadn’t been drinking. Her fair cheeks were still clean and pure. She stood up, but this time, she didn’t wear her usual polite, formulaic smile.
“No. I already have a boy I like.”
She was concise and ruthless. There was a clear, cold sense of rejection. She seemed to be… in a bad mood.
The boy took the hint and walked back to his seat.
Gu Yu watched from a distance, his eyes fixed on the girl’s face. He saw clearly that when Luo Ming said, “I already have a boy I like,” her gaze shifted toward him.
Resentment, confusion, unwillingness… Gu Yu seemed to see countless emotions in Luo Ming’s eyes, along with the feeling he was becoming increasingly sure of — love.
He felt his feet start to move. An impulse pushed him to stand up, to walk over, and to turn the love suppressed in the depths of his heart into a mutual romance.
“Gu Yu, I… I like you. Are you willing… to date me?”
A soft, sweet voice pulled his attention back. Gu Yu looked up. In front of him was a slightly timid girl, less than 5 feet 3 inches tall, with a bit of delicate baby fat on her face. Her large eyes were blinking, looking very cute.
He recognized her. She sat in front of him in class. They had talked a few times when she asked him questions about schoolwork. Her tone was always timid, she loved to laugh, and her emotions were always written on her face.
“I’m sorry, I can’t. I… already have a girl I like.”
“Oh… I see. Sorry for disturbing you.”
The girl’s face flushed as she retreated. He could vaguely see the bitterness in the corners of her eyes, but he couldn’t say anything more.
In his eyes, there was only the girl named Luo Ming.
The good news was that the impulse that had almost spun out of control was stopped. They would eventually end up in different places. Clearing up their mutual affection now would only make the unavoidable wound deeper later.
Afterward, another girl blushed and confessed to the boy she liked. They were the first successful pair of the night. A group of people started chanting for them to kiss. Gu Yu watched from afar, sending his blessings with a look.
He heard his phone buzz in his pocket. He took it out and saw it was a message from Chen Yang.
Gu Yu had very few close male friends at school, but Chen Yang was one of them. Although they had communicated less after being placed in different classes, they were still friends.
[Going for it?] Chen Yang sent.
“What?” Gu Yu whispered.
[Luo Ming. She’s such a beautiful School Beauty, and you’re the one with the most hope. Are you really going to let her get away?]
“I’d rather not. We’re just good friends. This is enough.”
“Is that so?”
Gu Yu suddenly heard a familiar voice beside his ear. He looked up. Luo Ming had walked over at some point. She was looking down at him, a bright smile curving her lips.
He subconsciously hid his phone, feeling a bit embarrassed. “Did… did you see that?”
“Yes.”
Luo Ming gave a soft reply. The commotion in the room had stopped. The surrounding classmates were quiet, their eyes focused on them. They had become the new center of attention.
She studied the boy’s wandering eyes. Gu Yu kept rubbing his hand against his pant leg, not quite daring to look Luo Ming in the eye, like a person who had done something wrong and was waiting for an interrogation.
“Gu Yu, why are you so nervous? This kind of reaction should be coming from me, right?”