Chapter 53: Kiss Him

His tone seemed to carry a hidden meaning, making her mind wander involuntarily in other directions.

When Lu Yiqi realized what he was implying, she stomped her foot in anger. "Stop talking nonsense!"

Xie Xu appeared quite pleased with how flustered he'd made her, leaning casually against the wall, his gaze clear and light as he looked at her. He let out a soft laugh. "Then tell me, why did you ask me to stay?"

Lu Yiqi's voice was soft and sweet. "No, I just wanted you to wait a bit because I..."

"What is it?" he prompted, following her lead.

"I just wanted to ask... would you like to stay and have dinner before you go?"

Xie Xu was a little surprised she would invite him to dinner, but he quickly suppressed his surprise. "Alright."

"Since you asked so sincerely, I’ll be magnanimous and accept your invitation."

What? She'd only asked out of politeness.

According to the script, Xie Xu should have refused her with his usual arrogance—why did he agree so easily?

Ugh!

He really didn’t play by the rules.

Was there still time to tell the housekeeper to cook more rice?

She was about to cry.

Leaving him only the words, "Wait for me," she ran downstairs.

When she rushed into the kitchen, the housekeeper was already placing dishes on the table. Lu Yiqi hurried over to help. "Let me help you."

"No, no, this soup is too hot—I don't want you to get burned," the housekeeper refused her help. "I was just about to call you all for dinner, and here you are. By the way, where's that handsome young man?"

Handsome young man?

Lu Yiqi immediately realized she meant Xie Xu, and his face flashed through her mind.

Well... he was pretty handsome.

"He's still upstairs," she replied, remembering her real purpose. "Auntie, how many people did you cook for? My mom went out. You didn't just cook for the two of us, did you?"

The housekeeper smiled. "Of course not. I heard you two were studying together and didn't know how late you'd go, so to be safe, I made enough for three."

"That's good," Lu Yiqi patted her chest in relief, finally able to relax.

"Shall I go call that handsome young man down for dinner, then?"

Lu Yiqi was just about to say she'd go, but the next moment, Xie Xu appeared in her line of sight.

He nodded at the housekeeper and spoke. "Auntie, my surname is Xie."

"Oh, right." The housekeeper took off her apron. "Little Xie, come sit and eat. Little Lu, you too."

Little Xie and Little Lu.

It sounded strangely awkward to Lu Yiqi, but she couldn't put her finger on why, so she suppressed the odd feeling and took her seat at the table.

Xie Xu sat across from her. Both ate quietly, neither breaking the silence.

After taking some food and putting it in his bowl, Xie Xu glanced at Lu Yiqi unintentionally.

Suddenly, he chuckled softly.

Lu Yiqi, noticing him, looked up with a puzzled "Huh? What is it?"

Xie Xu stared at her for a few seconds, his amusement growing with every glance.

She was still chewing her food, looking utterly confused, a grain of rice stuck to the corner of her mouth... rather cute, actually.

Xie Xu reached out and tapped the corner of his own lips.

Lu Yiqi watched him, completely baffled. Suddenly, a scene from a typical romance novel flashed through her mind: the male lead would point to his cheek, and the heroine would lean over and give him a kiss.

Watching Xie Xu's gesture, she wondered—was he asking her to kiss him?

Lu Yiqi held her breath, glancing at Xie Xu with a peculiar expression.