novelraw Chapter 1054 - 1052: What I Want Is a Girlfriend
Chapter 1054 - 1052: What I Want Is a Girlfriend
These past two days, Ji Huan had been busy with matters at the L City production base. A little after four, the proposal he’d just submitted finally got unanimous approval from the working group.In a pretty good mood, he somehow ended up driving in the direction of R University.
Since he was already here, he might as well try his luck and see if he could run into her.
When he got out of the car, he saw, from a distance, two women and a man standing not far away. The girl with short hair looked like Zhu Qianyu, while the other man and woman, Ji Huan didn’t know.
Before he’d even figured out whether he should go over and say hi, that man pulled Zhu Qianyu into his arms, leaned his head to her ear and said something. Ji Huan clearly saw Zhu Qianyu smiling very happily, carefree like a child.
This side of Zhu Qianyu was unfamiliar to Ji Huan—he’d basically never seen it before.
But he was very familiar with this kind of smile and expression on Zhu Qianyu’s face, because when Ji Dabao hugged Sister, she often smiled like this too.
It was a kind of completely relaxed, utterly guileless smile—most people would only show that kind of smile to someone extremely close and trusted.
For some reason, seeing Zhu Qianyu like this suddenly made Ji Huan unbearably irritable.
He knew very well that a hug, a whisper, a smile—none of that necessarily meant anything.
The guy might just be a very close brother figure to her, which was why she would smile so defenselessly.
But even though he understood all that, he still couldn’t control those inexplicable, frantic guesses flooding his mind.
Before he finished wrestling with himself, the man let her go, then got into the car with the other girl with the ponytail.
Zhu Qianyu stood outside the car, smiling and waving at them, saying something as well.
Ji Huan didn’t smoke, but at that moment he had the urge to pull out a cigarette and light it.
After the man and woman got in, the car quickly drove off. Ji Huan thought about whether he should leave, but in the end he stayed, because he wanted her to personally give him an explanation.
As long as it came from her, whatever it was, he’d believe it.
When Zhu Qianyu saw him, she clearly froze for a second, then slowly walked toward him.
Ji Huan watched her in silence as she came closer and closer, until she stopped in front of him and lifted her face slightly to look up at him.
"What are you doing here?"
Ji Huan pressed his lips together and didn’t answer, just stared fixedly at her.
He didn’t even know what he was doing—was he sulking?
Or was he protesting?
Clearly, this reaction from him was something Zhu Qianyu hadn’t expected. Ever since she’d known him, he had always had a wonderful temper, and he was always very gentle.
The one who threw little tantrums, who acted willful—that had always been her, not him.
Seeing him remain silent, Zhu Qianyu felt a bit embarrassed. She bit her lip and pointed behind her, in the direction the car had left.
"That just now, that was my Sister, Zhu Qianying."
Ji Huan still said nothing. He blinked, those unreadable eyes still locked on her.
Not getting any response, Zhu Qianyu rubbed her nose and added, "That guy is my Sister’s good friend, Xing Bailun. You might know him too—the eldest son of the Xing Family, ranked third on the L City rich list."
Even she didn’t know why she was explaining it all in such detail. She just couldn’t stand Ji Huan being this silent.
So she instinctively wanted to coax him into saying something.
"No." The young master’s lips finally moved.
Zhu Qianyu didn’t understand what that "no" was supposed to mean. She frowned slightly and stared at him.
"I don’t know any Xing Family, Zhu Family, or Yan Family people. There are so many people in L City, and I only know one person—Zhu Qianyu!"
When the young master said this, his gaze was stubborn and searing. Even an idiot could understand what he meant.
The heat in his eyes was too much for Zhu Qianyu to take. She turned her face slightly away, her heart pounding wildly, her cheeks flushing redder and redder.
"Ji Huan, I told you before..." Zhu Qianyu’s gaze fell on the car window glass behind him.
Ji Huan took a step forward, closing in on her, and cut her off a little impatiently.
"I know. You said you weren’t interested in making a friend like me. But the fact is, in the months after that, we not only became friends, we became best friends who tell each other everything. And sure, you also said you had a boyfriend, but I don’t believe that, because I know you like me, the same way I like you! So this so-called boyfriend you mentioned—unless it’s me, there cannot be a second one!"
After he fired all that out, he reached both hands out and gripped her shoulders.
This time, he swore he wouldn’t let her run away again!
Even though she’d been deeply shaken by his words, some instinct in Zhu Qianyu still wanted to escape. But with Ji Huan’s hands holding her firmly in place, she could only turn her face away, refusing to look at him, and respond to what he’d said.
The little turtle drove Ji Huan half crazy with love and frustration. "Xiao Yu, look at me! If you really don’t like me, then look me in the eye and tell me you don’t like me!"
He refused to believe he couldn’t force this little turtle out of her shell.
For a brief moment, Zhu Qianyu wavered and softened inside. She really wanted to just say yes and be done with it.
All this struggling, tormenting both him and herself—what was it even for?
But reason won out at the last second. Her mom’s awkward position, and those things she’d said to Sister at the hotel that day—all of it hammered at her like warning bells.
Zhu Qianyu closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, then summoned her courage and turned her face back, meeting Ji Huan’s gaze head-on.
"Ji Huan, I admit I like you. But that’s a friend kind of like. It’s not the same as the like you’re talking about."
Ji Huan stared at her, silent for a long time.
He didn’t believe what she’d said.
But her stubborn denial still hurt him, badly.
He looked at her deeply and asked in a low voice, "Are you sure?"
A flicker of hesitation and pain flashed through Zhu Qianyu’s eyes. Afraid her eyes would betray her, she quickly lowered them.
"I’m sure." Her voice carried a faint tremor.
Staring at her lowered brows and lashes, Ji Huan exhaled a long breath, flung his hands away, and let go of her.
"All right. Since you’re sure, then we’ll leave it at that. Zhu Qianyu, you probably think that even if we’re not a couple, we can still be friends. But I’m not like you. I don’t need this ’friend’ kind of like. What I want is a girlfriend, not a good friend!"
With that, Ji Huan turned, pulled open the car door, ducked in, and slammed it shut with a loud bang.
Then Zhu Qianyu heard the engine start, and in the blink of an eye, the car shot away like an arrow right in front of her.
He was...leaving?
Staring in disbelief at the receding back of the car, Zhu Qianyu imagined that he would suddenly turn around and tell her he’d just been joking, just teasing her.
But a fantasy is still just a fantasy. Within seconds, the car merged onto the campus road and quickly disappeared from her sight.