Chapter 3

Chapter 3

My car was parked in the mall’s underground garage. It was a tall, eye-catching Land Rover.

The car itself wasn’t bad, but I’d just come from a construction site, and half the body was splattered with mud.

Forget mud-even a layer of dust or a few drops of water would look completely out of place next to Lu Boya.

Lu Boya, however, didn’t say anything. After getting in, he simply fastened his seat belt.

I drove out of the mall and onto the main road. Scrambling for something to say, I said, “It’s raining pretty hard, huh?”

Lu Boya kindly played along. “This season is the rainy season in Sunan. It rains five days out of the week.”

“Rainy season is such a pain. Everything gets damp and humid… and driving is inconvenient too. The car gets muddy so easily!”

It wasn’t because I was sloppy. It really wasn’t!

Lu Boya lowered his eyes and let out a soft laugh.

There happened to be a red light ahead, so I quietly stole a glance at him. He looked as gentle and refined as ever, and nodded. “You’re right.”

I let out a huge breath of relief.

With my mood lifted and my whole body relaxing, I casually asked, “My aunt said you’re a university professor. Which university? What do you teach?”

“Sunan University. Mathematics,” he answered.

“That’s amazing!” My eyes widened. “Sunan University is top ten in the country!”

“What was your major?” he asked in return.

I subconsciously tightened my grip on the steering wheel. Just before the red light started counting down, I gave a faint smile and answered softly, “I… didn’t go to university.”

The light turned green. I kept my eyes straight ahead and didn’t look at Lu Boya’s expression, pretending to sound relaxed. “My aunt hid that from you too, didn’t she?

“I actually never went to college. I came out to work construction pretty early.

“It’s my own fault too. My specs aren’t great. Aside from having a little money, I really don’t have any other good points for her to brag about, so that’s why she…”

I couldn’t quite keep going.

Lu Boya turned to look at me, his lips parting slightly as if he wanted to say something.

“Want to listen to music?” I cut him off, jabbing randomly at the controls. “I just updated my playlist a few days ago. Let’s listen together.”

Someone as considerate as Lu Boya would definitely say something comforting next.

But I didn’t want to be comforted by him.

“…No matter what, I can’t fly out of this dazzling world, no matter what-”

The instant music blasted out of the speakers, I nearly lost it.

“What the hell!”

Trapped in evening rush-hour traffic, I kept one hand on the steering wheel while the other frantically hammered the next button.

Seven or eight songs in a row, and every single one was explosive.

Had this playlist downloaded the year’s hottest square-dancing hits or something?

Like I’d been turned to stone, I stiffly twisted my neck and looked toward the passenger seat.

Lu Boya had his long, elegant fingers curled against his lips, looking like he was trying not to laugh.

“This car… I lent it to a friend a few days ago. He was the one who updated the playlist. I don’t usually listen to music,” I struggled to explain, trying to salvage my image.

But image was something I probably never had to begin with.

For the rest of the drive, I didn’t want to say a single word. I was mentally exhausted.

It was Lu Boya who, in his soft, unhurried way, chatted with me from time to time, keeping the atmosphere from freezing over completely.