Who would have thought that although Lu Nanxun had never been in a relationship, he actually understood girls very well.
Lu Nanxun smiled. “I have a younger sister who often drags me along to be her photographer, so I’m not too bad at it.”
In reality, Lu Nanxun was being modest. His photography skills weren’t merely decent—they were exceptional.
Every photo he took of Ji Liuyue turned out beautifully.
In one, a girl in a blue spaghetti-strap dress sat in a shopping cart, leaning slightly forward. She held a bag of chips in her left hand while raising the other high toward the sky, looking carefree and radiant.
In another, she lounged against the back of the cart, holding a bag of chips in each hand and making a mischievous expression at the camera.
Every single photo was good enough to post without any editing.
Only a girl could understand the delight of meeting a photographer like that, so Ji Liuyue looked at him with a little more admiration.
“Your photography skills are really good.”
The first time they met, Xu Jinsi had also taken photos of her beneath the cherry trees, but his skills were nowhere near Lu Nanxun’s.
Lu Nanxun smiled and took the initiative to say, “Then call me whenever you want to take pictures in the future. I’ll be your free personal photographer.”
Ji Xizhou was a little unwilling to concede. In fact, he had also held up his phone and taken pictures for quite a while while Lu Nanxun was shooting. But after looking at the final results, Ji Liuyue could only shake her head helplessly.
She said tactfully, “Xizhou, I don’t think your talent lies here.”
That was the difference between Lu Nanxun and Xu Jinsi.
If Xu Jinsi had heard that, he would definitely have taken the opportunity to continue mocking Ji Xizhou, saying something like, “Xizhou may not be very good at taking pictures, but at least he can make breakfast,” leaving him utterly humiliated—or making him furious.
Lu Nanxun, however, was much gentler. He smiled and even consoled his romantic rival.
“Xizhou’s composition is pretty good in a few of them. He just needs more practice. You can start by photographing still life.”
Ji Xizhou let out a soft snort, but his hostility toward Lu Nanxun was no longer as strong.
After all, he still remembered that Lu Nanxun had kindly reminded him that Yueyue was sharing a room with Liu Qingye that morning.
At least he was better than Xu Jinsi.
It wasn’t until everyone regrouped that they realized Wang Aitian and Cen Yu’s shopping cart was filled with vegetables, while Ji Xizhou’s cart contained nothing but drinks and fruit.
“That should be enough. Let’s head back,” Lu Nanxun said.
Ji Xizhou handed him the shopping bags. “Sure. You can drive again.”
The group made their way to the underground parking lot. They had driven two cars there in total.
Just as Lu Nanxun, Wang Aitian, and Cen Yu got into one of the cars, Ji Xizhou suddenly said, “Oh no! I think I left my wallet at the checkout counter.”
Cen Yu grew anxious. “What do we do? Hurry back before someone takes it.”
Ji Xizhou glanced at everyone, then looked at Ji Liuyue, who had not yet gotten into the car.
“How about you guys go on ahead? Yueyue can come with me to get the wallet.”
Lu Nanxun frowned. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.
But Cen Yu said it was almost noon and that they wouldn’t have time to make lunch if they didn’t leave soon, so they had no choice but to remind the two of them to be careful.
Ji Xizhou initially ran hurriedly back toward the elevator. But only after he watched their car gradually disappear from sight did he slow down and start walking at a leisurely pace.
Ji Liuyue followed behind him and asked, “Where’s the wallet? Why aren’t you in a hurry anymore?”
Her almond-shaped eyes held a faintly amused expression, as if she had already seen through his little scheme.
Ji Xizhou gave a sheepish grin and scratched the back of his head.
“Yueyue, you figured it out?”
“Your acting isn’t very convincing.”
Only then did Ji Xizhou explain, “I wanted to spend some time alone with you, but with all those lightbulbs around, it was impossible.”
The brightest lightbulb of all was Lu Nanxun.
Ji Liuyue was rendered speechless with amusement. The cameraman was still following them, so she asked, “You do realize this is a dating show, right? You’ll be torn apart once this airs.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m willing to be criticized.” Ji Xizhou laughed heartily, completely unconcerned with how the outside world might judge him.
The two of them came to a small ice cream stand inside the supermarket. Ji Xizhou bought two cones and handed one to her.
Then, all of a sudden, the playful smile vanished from his face.
In a serious tone, he said, “Yueyue, everything I said during last night’s game was true. I’ve had a crush on a girl for more than ten years.”
Ji Liuyue said nothing, simply signaling for him to continue.
Ji Xizhou said, “That girl is you, Ji Liuyue. I joined this show because of you.”
Ji Liuyue smiled again without confirming or denying it.
In the original storyline, Ji Xizhou had indeed come for her, but in the end, he had fallen for Liu Qingye instead.
Ji Xizhou seemed surprised by her calm reaction. Looking a little aggrieved and sad, he said, “Do you remember that boy who always bullied you when you were in elementary school—the one who sat beside you?”
Ji Liuyue’s hand tightened around the ice cream cone.
After all, these were memories from the original owner’s childhood, and they were somewhat unclear. But she vaguely remembered a short, chubby boy with dark skin who was always picking on her, and who would grin happily every time he did.
The original Ji Liuyue had absolutely hated that classmate.
Who would have thought that the chubby, dark-skinned boy was Ji Xizhou?
And that he had bullied her back then because he liked her?
That really was exactly how elementary-school boys showed affection. When they liked someone, they wanted to get that person’s attention.
And how did they get her attention?
By bullying her.
Ji Xizhou also knew that he had gone too far back then, and his voice dropped as he said, “Yueyue, I didn’t know how to express my feelings at the time. I wanted you to look at me more, so I could only deliberately throw your eraser away, steal your ruler, and watch you chase me around.”
“I was young and thought that was what liking someone meant. After we were placed in different classes in middle school, I finally understood my feelings. But I didn’t dare approach you, because you hated me so much back then.”
Of course she had.
It would have been bizarre if she could have liked him!
Ji Xizhou continued, rambling on, “So I kept secretly loving you all the way through middle school, high school, and college. But the distance between us only grew greater.”
He spoke with such sincerity that it seemed to come from the bottom of his heart.
Yet Ji Liuyue suddenly interrupted him.
“Xizhou, when you say you like me, do you mean you like me as a person?”
Ji Xizhou nodded. “Of course.”
Ji Liuyue asked again, “Are you sure it isn’t just because of a feeling you had back then? Because you couldn’t have me, you kept that feeling buried in your heart, and over time, it gradually grew stronger. But you never figured out whether you couldn’t forget me—or the feelings you had never managed to express?”
Perhaps what Ji Xizhou loved was merely the feeling of having a crush. Because he couldn’t have her, those emotions had gradually expanded and remained with him throughout all these years.
And in the original storyline, Ji Xizhou had also come to the show for Ji Liuyue. But after meeting her in person, he realized that she was different from the Yueyue he had imagined and loved for so long.
He was then drawn to someone like Liu Qingye instead. Since he couldn’t win Ji Liuyue’s affection, all he could do was silently wish her happiness.
Ji Xizhou fell silent after hearing her words.
Ji Liuyue smiled, patted him on the shoulder, and said, “Come on. Let’s go back. As for the question I just asked, take some time to think about it.”
