Chapter 144: Don't Guess a Young Girl's Thoughts

In January 2003, Lu Kuan, having wrapped *The Thief*, and Liu Liu Yifei, having wrapped *Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils*, both flew into Jingcheng to prepare for their various affairs regarding Sundance.

Before that, the two frequent leave-takers had to return to school first to attend final exams and class meetings.

Taking leave as usual was one thing, but the exam process still had to be followed properly, otherwise it would be taking the school too lightly.

Boss Lu was drinking tea under the large locust tree in the courtyard when he suddenly received a call from Liu Liu Yifei.

"Hmm?"

"Xiao Lu, want to go singing?"

Boss Lu looked bewildered: "What on earth?"

How did that sound just as improper as "Boss, want to buy some discs?"

"I've finally returned to school for a few days, and my classmates are organizing an activity at this Xiao Qian Gui near the school."

Boss Lu was concise: "A chain karaoke place? Not even a dog would go there."

Liu Liu Yifei didn't understand what he meant; besides chain places, what else was there?

"Oh, come on, I've already bragged to my classmates that I could pull you over."

Damn!

Lu Kuan got goosebumps all over; this was the first time Liu Liu Yifei had acted spoiled with him.

Had this girl been possessed by something?

Outside the KTV, Liu Liu Yifei was being chilled by the wind, and a group of classmates gathered behind her.

Zhu Zhu Yawen, Luo Jin, and Jiang Jiang Yiyan—every single one of them was craning their necks, waiting for his answer.

This was one of the few opportunities to have contact with a Golden Lion Award-winning director!

Liu Liu Yifei hummed a few times, watching the white mist she exhaled in the freezing winter, and then hung up the phone with satisfaction.

"Mm, that, he'll be here soon!"

"That's awesome!"

"Sister Xixi, you're really something!"

"Sister Xixi, you're so reliable!"

Jiang Jiang Yiyan, on the side, did not show her joy as openly as Zhu and Luo; she simply turned and entered Xiao Qian Gui first, as she needed to touch up her makeup.

Boss Lu couldn't resist the young girl's pestering; after all, it was her first time acting spoiled, so he would give her some face!

"Boss, are you going out?"

"You don't need to go, I'll drive myself, it's only a few kilometers."

Hearing this, A Fei returned to the room and handed the keys to Lu Kuan.

Living in the core area is great; wherever you want to go is just a step on the gas pedal away.

Following the information Liu Liu Yifei sent to find the private room, Boss Lu felt he had instantly entered a place of chaotic revelry.

Two men and three women; Lu Kuan squinted as he looked at them one by one. There were familiar faces, but he didn't recognize them all.

"Zhu Yawen, stop howling, hurry up and turn off the music, I'll introduce you all."

Liu Liu Yifei felt she had arrived on her home turf, directing things with the composure of a big sister.

The music in the room stopped abruptly, the lights were turned up, and everyone sized up the dashing young man in the trench coat beside Liu Liu Yifei.

The temperature in the room wasn't low, so Lu Kuan loosened his collar slightly.

He had a sense of déjà vu, like joining a college girlfriend's dorm mixer in his past life, and smiled as he greeted the little brats.

"Hello everyone, I'm Lu Kuan."

Jiang Jiang Yiyan couldn't be bothered with other distracting thoughts; she smoothed the stray hair by her ear and, before anyone else could react, hurriedly stood up and reached out to Lu Kuan with reserve to say hello.

"Hello Director Lu, I'm Sister Xixi's classmate Jiang Jiang Yiyan, very happy to meet you."

Today, Luo Jin and Zhu Zhu Yawen had brought along two female classmates, Jiang Jiang Yiyan and Li Li Danni. Lu Kuan cordially tapped Jiang Jiang Yiyan's tender, smooth little hand and greeted the others one by one as they excitedly lined up to introduce themselves.

Liu Liu Yifei was gathering with classmates she hadn't seen in a long time, and the crafty Luo Jin had instigated her to invite the great director Lu Kuan over, which could be considered a benefit for the classmates.

Jiang Jiang Yiyan was also one of those who participated in the instigation, but she hadn't expected Liu Liu Yifei to actually be able to call Lu Kuan over. How could such a young, famous genius director be so compliant?

What was their relationship?

After greeting him, she silently observed the distance, gazes, and expressions between the two.

Using her still-immature "tea art" skills, she analyzed the exact relationship between the two people in front of her.

Zhu Zhu Yawen had always been a cheerful and lively character. Although he knew the person in front of him was a big director holding resources, he didn't fawn too much and smiled as he handed over the song-ordering book unique to KTVs of this era:

"Director Lu, you've come to join in the fun with the people; see if there are any songs you'd like to sing, and I'll order them for you!"

Lu Kuan looked around at the expectant gazes and, not being very supportive, politely declined: "Xiao Liu, you're about to enter the music scene, why don't you sing one for me to hear!"

Jiang Jiang Yiyan's eyes suddenly lit up!

"Xiao Liu"? It seems their relationship is nothing more than that.

Li Li Danni was also observant; smelling the scent of smoke and alcohol on Lu Kuan, she silently poured a cup of hot tea and set it down.

"Thanks, Xiao Li, you all play as you like, don't worry about me."

"Alright, let me pick a few."

Liu Liu Yifei didn't know yet that her Director Lu was already being targeted; she naively took the song-ordering book and bit her lip while flipping the pages.

In a flash, Jiang Jiang Yiyan's mind raced. Seeing that Li Li Danni had already done the basic service work, she smiled charmingly and stepped forward: "Director Lu, it's hot in the room, take off your coat and I'll help you put it away."

"Oh, okay."

The great director was happy to oblige and cooperated by taking off his coat. Jiang Jiang Yiyan thoughtfully folded his long trench coat in half from the waist and placed it neatly aside.

Then, she calmly took off her own coat and placed it with his. Wearing only a thin, dark gray turtleneck sweater on her upper body, she returned to sit beside Lu Kuan with graceful poise.

Lu Kuan turned his head to nod and smile at her politely. From the side, he could quite intuitively see the long, fair neck of this freshman from the Beijing Film Academy, and the budding curves beneath the thin, dark gray sweater.

The air in the small KTV room wasn't very well-circulated, and a faint fragrance wafted from Jiang Jiang Yiyan—elegant and leisurely, like the scent of verbena.

Liu Liu Yifei held the microphone in front of the screen, singing Zhou Zhou Jielun's "Tornado." Before singing, she had solemnly confessed that she had already received guidance from the little heavenly king himself and could definitely surpass the master.

Good women should be cherished; bad women shouldn't be wasted.

Lu Kuan suddenly smiled and chatted with her intermittently.

Liu Liu Yifei's confident singing drew criticism from Zhu Zhu Yawen and Luo Jin; she was off-key and jumping the beat, the rhythm completely chaotic.

The group laughed and played together, with Liu Liu Yifei still clamoring at them, "If you can do better, you try."

"I really envy Sister Xixi, being able to get along so well with boys. I don't have such high emotional intelligence; I run out of topics after saying a few words."

Jiang Jiang Yiyan clinked glasses lightly with Lu Kuan, looking at the lively Liu Liu Yifei with envy, seemingly sighing from the bottom of her heart.

Whoa! Her "tea art" is not low!

Lu Kuan smiled noncommittally: "Haha, yeah, Xiao Liu is indeed more approachable."

Jiang Jiang Yiyan stole a glance at Lu Kuan, who was leaning on the sofa with a calm and breezy expression; his sharp-angled profile was alternately bright and dark under the flickering KTV lights.

This opportunity today must be seized.

Jiang Jiang Yiyan lowered her head slightly so no one could see her expression, then suddenly used the excuse of getting a tissue to lean over and reach across Lu Kuan.

"Ah!"

Jiang Jiang Yiyan seemed to have stepped on a beer bottle; she lost her footing and looked as if she were about to fall into Lu Kuan's arms.

With warmth and fragrance in his arms, Boss Lu remained calm and composed.

"I... I'm sorry Director Lu, I'm a bit nervous, it's my first time seeing such a young and capable director like you..."

Jiang Jiang Yiyan didn't want to leave a frivolous impression on him, so she forced herself to forget the recent intimacy and silently distanced herself from Lu Kuan, appearing shy and unable to lift her head.

Lu Kuan inwardly marveled at Jiang Jiang Yiyan's exquisite acting skills and gently gave her a soft, metaphorical knife: "It's fine, as long as you didn't hurt yourself."

Jiang Jiang Yiyan's pretty face flushed slightly, and she brushed against Lu Kuan's arm lightly, a touch that was somewhat flirtatious and ambiguous, yet retained a lady's subtlety.

Lu Kuan, holding the mindset of playing along, tested the level of this actress who would later be famous for her "tea art," and it was indeed not low.

He had already met quite a few "green tea" types; if you threw all these women into the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, the whole country's people would probably be able to drink Longjing tea!

Li Li Danni had just finished laughing and playing with the others, and now she stole a glance at the interaction between these two.

She remembered the dark corners she had seen when running around film sets and spat inwardly.

Immediately, she felt dejected; like herself, having neither Sister Xixi's hard work and conditions, nor Jiang Jiang Yiyan's courage and willingness to fight for things, her path in the entertainment industry would probably be quite difficult.

No, Sister Xixi is so good, I can't let Jiang Jiang Yiyan succeed!

During a break in the songs, Li Li Danni suddenly spoke up: "Sister Xixi, stop singing for a moment, Director Lu is bored sitting here."

"Ah? Is he?"

Liu Liu Yifei smiled charmingly and walked over, plopping down on Lu Kuan's right side, sandwiching him between herself and Jiang Jiang Yiyan.

Zhu Zhu Yawen and Luo Jin exchanged a glance, knowing that now was definitely not the time to go up and cozy up to him, so they could only order more songs and continue singing.

"What were you and Papa talking about?"

Lu Kuan asked curiously: "Papa, why do you have that nickname?"

Jiang Jiang Yiyan cursed Li Li Danni to hell in her heart, but on the surface, she still maintained a gentle smile.

"Because I've always been a step slower than others in everything I do since I was a child, so my mother gave me this nickname."

Her eyes swept over the bright-eyed and beautiful Liu Liu Yifei sitting pressed against Lu Kuan, and she felt quite bitter.

Her debut was a CCTV blockbuster like *The Story of a Noble Family*, looking every bit the pampered noble girl from childhood.

Relying on Lu Kuan to film his first movie, she walked the Venice red carpet and then landed the most likable role in the CCTV blockbuster *Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils*.

You aren't even an adult yet, why are you able to be so uninhibited?

One can only say that a dirty person sees everyone as dirty.

The disparities in life caused this Zhejiang girl's mentality to completely lose balance. With one foot on the threshold of the glittering entertainment industry, she saw the endless money and fame inside.

This temptation, which seemed capable of completing a leap in social class, gave birth to a morbid jealousy in the depths of her heart.

The massive psychological gap led her to project her own feelings onto others, completely objectifying Liu Liu Yifei before her as a woman who had gained success through luck by prostituting herself to Lu Kuan.

If she can do it, why can't I?

Under Liu Liu Yifei's unconscious stimulation, Jiang Jiang Yiyan seemed even more like a delicate, vibrant peony, unhesitatingly stretching her alluring body.

Her figure was slightly shorter than Liu Liu Yifei's, yet even more plump and shapely.

"Director Lu, Sisi has a cute nickname at our school too—it's 'Bun'!"

Jiang Jiang Yiyan didn't mind steering Lu Kuan's perception of Liu Liu Yifei toward being cute and childish; don't men all like mature women?

Liu Liu Yifei suddenly lunged past Lu Kuan at Jiang Jiang Yiyan, laughing as she reached out to cover her mouth: "Don't say it, don't say it!"

Boss Lu was speechless; freshman girls were too immature.

"I'm going to the restroom."

Lu Kuan walked out of the restroom, wiping the water stains from his hands as he headed out.

At the corner, a fragrant breeze suddenly rushed toward him, and a soft, supple body threw itself into his arms.

He instinctively tried to steady her, but the momentum was too great, and they both tumbled to the ground together.

"Ah!"

A few strands of hair hung down over Jiang Jiang Yiyan's flustered forehead, and her warm breath hit Lu Kuan's face; the two were almost kissing.

She steeled herself and, pretending it was unintentional, pressed a small hand between Lu Kuan's legs, then shrieked and pulled away, standing up in a hurry with a face full of shyness.

"Lu... Director Lu, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

Jiang Jiang Yiyan must have studied the portrayal of being "pitiful and cute" in her acting classes; in any case, even to the critical Director Lu, this performance was nothing short of masterful.

It was the kind of performance that felt like a stroke of literary genius, a girl with a literary temperament bumping into a man's heart like a little deer in the woods.

She didn't believe Lu Kuan could still resist.

Damn! This is green tea!

In his heart, Lu Kuan gave her "tea art" performance a score of 90; the points deducted were because this deliberately engineered encounter and accident were too stiff.

The music in the private room had stopped, and Liu Liu Yifei, with frost on her face, came face-to-face with the two who had walked over.

Watching Jiang Jiang Yiyan lean sideways against Lu Kuan's arm from time to time, deliberately creating physical contact.

And the beautiful, suggestive scene she had accidentally seen on her way to the restroom earlier, and...

She stood frozen at the door of the private room, feeling incredibly wronged!

Liu Liu Yifei didn't know why she felt this way after seeing that scene; it wasn't as if she didn't know he was a lecherous director.

But this time, it was her own classmate!

And a classmate with whom she was so close!

How could he not care about her feelings at all!

She didn't know what standing she had to lose her temper; the young girl, whose heart had just begun to stir, was flustered, so she simply followed her instincts, pulled a long face, wrapped her clothes tight, and left.

She didn't want Lu Kuan and Jiang Jiang Yiyan to see her eyes, which were already hot and red.

"Little Liu? Little Liu?"

Lu Kuan watched her strange behavior, puzzled, only then realizing that the young girl had witnessed his "ugly scene" from earlier.

Lu Kuan said a word to the others, grabbed his trench coat, and chased after her.

"Director Lu! Director Lu!"

Jiang Jiang Yiyan watched the young man's retreating back and stomped her foot in resentment.

"Little slut!"

Liu Liu Yifei walked quickly out of the Xiao Qian Gui entrance with her long legs; she took a gulp of the biting cold wind, and her body shivered.

She felt as if she had gone from a greenhouse into an ice cellar; the bitter cold seemed to pierce through all her clothes, threatening to freeze the tears that were about to fall.

Lu Kuan caught up from behind, finding it quite amusing to see the young girl giving him the cold shoulder for the first time.

Liu Liu Yifei heard him running up, panting, and said without looking at him: "I'll go back myself, you guys keep having fun, don't worry about me."

At this moment, you must absolutely not answer: "How can I not worry about you?"

Otherwise, you will be met with: "Why do you care about me? Why don't you go care about that vixen?"

This would immediately trap the male lead in an endless cycle of self-justification, or even lead to another argument because his voice (while arguing) was slightly too loud.

That is a dead end with no exit.

"Where is your driver?"

"I don't know! You don't need to worry about it!"

Lu Kuan had only had a few beers, so he tugged at the young girl's sleeve, signaling her to get in the car with him.

The two stood in a stalemate for a while, standing in the winter night like two fools for several minutes.

Liu Liu Yifei didn't know if she had thought it through or just intended to forgive him for the moment, but she got into the car without a word.

They drove and stopped along the way, neither of them speaking again.

The more Liu Liu Yifei thought about it, the more wronged she felt; after getting out of the car, she didn't even offer a goodbye and paced toward the villa.

Lu Kuan thought to himself that a woman's beauty and her temper were likely directly proportional, so he helplessly grabbed her forearm.

"Little Liu, let's talk."

I'm innocent!

Liu Liu Yifei didn't answer, and she didn't even turn her body all the way around.

She gently shook off Lu Kuan's grip, turned slightly to the side, and signaled that she was listening.

The streetlights and moonlight poured down, illuminating the girl's profile, which was exceptionally pretty; her pure white, clean down jacket contrasted beautifully with her fair face.

It seemed to be the first time Lu Kuan had looked at her from such a close distance, thinking that even the most critical eye could not deny such soul-stirring beauty.

If a flurry of snow were to fall on this winter day, she would instantly transform into an ice-and-snow elf.

"Just now..."

Liu Liu Yifei turned around as if an ice sculpture had thawed; the white mist of her breath was clearly visible under the streetlights, and her voice was no longer as cold as the weather.

"Don't say it."

She stepped closer, her smooth forehead barely reaching Lu Kuan's chin; her pretty face was frozen red, and a few strands of hair had escaped from her scarf and were fluttering.

Liu Liu Yifei looked up at the young man's calm expression.

"Lu Kuan."

"Only that which is worth waiting for is the best."

Her words seemed to have no logic, yet they expressed everything clearly.

Lu Kuan admitted he had underestimated Liu Liu Yifei.

The family changes during her childhood and the experience of moving several times had given her a maturity far beyond her youthful appearance, far from a naive and innocent 16-year-old girl.

The conversation stopped abruptly here due to the young man's hesitation.

Liu Liu Yifei was not disappointed by his silence; she was simply persistent in her own pursuit at an age when her heart had just begun to stir.

There is a pretentious and literary saying that best describes the state of mind of a young girl who has not yet seen much of the world.

I like you, it has nothing to do with you.

What young girl hasn't had such beautiful, romantic thoughts at this age?

The two stared at each other silently for a few seconds, not knowing what they had seen in each other's eyes.

Liu Liu Yifei's phone rang; she knew it was her mother calling to urge her.

She suddenly looked up and rolled her eyes at Lu Kuan; her charming and cute demeanor was something the pretentious "tea women" could never compare to.

"Lu Kuan, you looked really ugly just now!"

Lu Kuan watched her disappearing back, the boss sighed slightly; he really couldn't wash himself clean even if he jumped into the Yellow River.

The little girl is grown up; she's not easy to fool anymore.

I updated early for the holiday, Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to all my readers ∩∩, may your whole family be happy and healthy!

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(End of this chapter)