Chapter 73: If You Truly Trusted Me, You Wouldn’t Think I Was Playing Tricks on You

This was no big deal; Ye Luo simply got out of the car and moved to sit in the front passenger seat.

Once she’d fastened her seatbelt, Gong Lu finally started the engine.

It wasn’t until the car had put some distance between them and the school that Gong Lu took off his sunglasses and casually hooked them onto the collar of his dark red shirt.

He turned to glance at her but said nothing.

Since he remained silent, Ye Luo had no intention of speaking either. She just put on her headphones, tilted her head, and listened to music while watching the scenery outside the window slide backward.

As she watched, a sudden craving hit her. She happened to have some chocolate in her backpack.

Ye Luo took off her headphones, turned around, and reached for her bag on the back seat.

After placing the backpack on her lap, she opened it and took out the box of chocolates Qin Zhaoyu had given her.

The chocolate box had already been opened; she’d shared a few pieces with her friends in the classroom, and now only three pieces remained.

Ye Luo took one out, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth.

Her face remained expressionless, as if she simply had no other expressions.

Her gaze happened to catch Gong Lu watching the chocolate in her hand. She didn’t know how long he’d been looking, but she thought perhaps he wanted some too, so she offered him the box with the remaining two pieces.

Gong Lu merely glanced at the box, covered in foreign writing.

Then, the faint smile at the corner of his lips faded a little.

Ye Luo found this odd, but didn’t bother to ask what was wrong. She simply took back the chocolate and ate the rest herself. If he clearly didn’t want any, why should she force him?

She unwrapped another piece and put it in her mouth, when she suddenly heard him ask, in a calm voice, “Who gave it to you?”

“You mean the chocolate?”

“Mm.”

“A classmate.”

Gong Lu’s expression didn’t change, but his grip on the steering wheel tightened. A female classmate wouldn’t give her chocolate—this had to be from a boy.

Ye Luo could see that despite his usual charming, devil-may-care smile, the mood around him had clearly grown heavier, which only made her feel more puzzled.

Yet her own face remained completely blank.

“Aren’t you going to ask why I came to pick you up from school today?” Gong Lu suddenly chuckled and asked.

“Would you tell me if I did?” she replied. How many of her questions had he ever really answered?

Understanding her meaning, Gong Lu smiled.

Looking at her, and almost as if admitting fault, he gave a low laugh. “It won’t happen again.”

After a pause, he added, “Anything I can tell you, I will.”

In other words, if he couldn’t tell her, he’d be just as tight-lipped as before.

Ye Luo frowned. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Hm?”

“Why are you acting so strange?”

Gong Lu answered simply, “Once I’m completely sure, I’ll answer that question.”

“What do you have to be sure of?” Ye Luo pressed immediately.

“Whether you’re the person I like.”

Ye Luo was stunned; she hadn’t expected him to say that. Then she gave a cold laugh. “Do you find it amusing to play with me?” Not long ago, he’d said he would never like her, told her to give up.

Though she’d never had any feelings for him.

But he had indeed said that before.

Gong Lu kept his eyes on the road, his tone calm. “If you trusted me, you wouldn’t think I was playing with you.”

“I don’t trust you.”

“If you really are the person I like, I’ll make you believe me.” The unspoken meaning: if you’re not, then whether you believe me or not doesn’t matter.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Ye Luo, making her laugh coldly again. “Am I just a stand-in for someone else?”

Gong Lu couldn’t help but let out a quiet laugh. “If I wanted a stand-in, I’d have found one long ago. Why would I wait until now to pick you? But why would you ask that?”