Are You Addicted? (English Translation Vol 1)

Chapter 34: Actually, You Heard Wrong.

After a long time, when Gu Hai reckoned that Jin Lu Lu should have calmed down by then, he turned on the phone again. This time, the phone didn't start ringing immediately. Gu Hai waited for a while, but there was still no activity from the other side, so he reluctantly gave her a call.

"Hello..."

The nasally sounds of sobs reached Gu Hai's ears. His heart trembled. Jin Lu Lu is a very resilient girl, and she rarely cries. At least in Gu Hai's memories, Jin Lu Lu has never shed a single tear.

"It's going to be okay, baby, don't cry."

(T/N: Gu Hai called Jin Lu Lu "丫头" as a form of endearment. It literally means "girl," so I thought "baby" would sound better.)

Jin Lu Lu's breathing hitched as she cried. When she spoke, she took long pauses between each phrase.

"I know I shouldn't let my imagination run wild...but you changed so much... We also went to different schools in the past...but I always felt like you were right next to... Now, I feel like...you're so far away from me... "

Gu Hai paused, "I'm not far away. It only takes half an hour on the high-speed rail going non-stop to get here."

Jin Lu Lu smiled through her tears, "Why did you hang up on me?"

"I didn't hang up, the signal was bad."

Gu Hai suddenly realized how easy it was for the lies to slip out.

Jin Lu Lu snorted twice, "I keep on getting migraines these past two days, and it hurts so bad."

Gu Hai looked at the time and saw that five minutes had passed.

"This is caused by looking at your computer and playing on your phone for too long. Plus, you put the phone next to your ear when you call. Think of all the radiation! Be good and listen to me, go to bed early tonight, and you'll feel better when you wake up tomorrow."

Jin Lu Lu let out a long breath, "Can you come visit me on Saturday?"

"Li Shuo, Hu Zi, and I already made plans to meet up this Saturday. Does Sunday work? I'm free all day on Sunday."

"You always think they are more important than me and put them first."

"This is not a question of who is more important. I just made a promise with them first. You should always do what you promised!"

Jin Lu Lu was silent for a while, then she lightly said, "On Sunday, I need to go to a classmate's birthday party. I'm not free at all that day. You should probably just come next weekend. I don't want you to tire yourself out."

When it was time to hang up, Gu Hai could still hear Jin Lu Lu's disappointed sigh.

After turning off the lights in the room, Gu Hai suddenly remembered two years ago around this time when Jin Lu Lu led a group of girls to smash the windows of the school director's house. Then she returned to school and openly challenged the principal. During that time, she was so wild and outspoken and knew exactly what she liked and disliked. Everything was beneath her. Though she was just a scrawny little girl, she exuded an earth-shaking dominance.

Gu Hai remembered how Jin Lu Lu had sat on the table and smiled so dazzlingly. He still thinks it was a beautiful sight to this day.

The Jin Lu Lu from that time has totally captivated Gu Hai's heart.

Perhaps, you shouldn't touch the thing that you like. If you don't touch it, then it will retain its original form, and no matter how you look at it, you would think that it is still pleasing. However, if you place it in front of you and look at it and touch it too much, its original beauty will corrode away.

Gu Hai thought about it for a long time. Then he picked up the phone and went through much trouble to send a text.

"I'll tell Li Shou and the rest that I'm not going on Saturday. I'll go see you instead."

Gu Hai put down his phone, his heart feeling much more at ease.

The next morning, Gu Hai is once again riding his bike and taking Bai Luo Yin to school. This time, Bai Luo Yin changed his position. Before, he always sat facing the back, but today, he is standing up and facing the front. He stood on the back of the bike, both hands pressed on Gu Hai's shoulders. This way, he could see the road in front of them and prevent Gu Hai from purposefully riding over every bump and crack in the pavement in what he called "exercising on the road."

However, the wind is blowing quite strong today, and the Beijing wind is never alone. If it didn't raise sand into the air, then it would have swept dust all over the ground. Bai Luo Yin decided to stand despite all the debris in the air. As they biked down the road, who knows how much sand got into Bai Luo Yin's mouth just from breathing.

"Why don't you sit? I can help you block some of the wind."

Bai Luo Yin ruthlessly pinched Gu Hai's shoulders twice, but didn't say anything.

Gu Hai knew what Bai Luo Yin and immediately assured him, "I won't purposely ride over rocks, don't worry!"

"Tomorrow's Saturday, do you wanna hang out together?"

"What?"

Gu Hai couldn't hear what Bai Luo Yin said due to the loud wind blowing by his ears and the honks of nearby motor vehicles.

Bai Luo Yin slightly lowered his head and tried to bring his mouth closer to Gu Hai's ears.

"On Saturday, do you want to go fishing together?"

The bike's handlebars shook under Gu Hai's hand. He fixated on the road in front of him, looking like he is making a very difficult decision.

"I'm busy, I can't go."

The light in Bai Luo Yin's eyes dimmed, "In that case, forget about it."

He didn't say those words very loudly, but Gu Hai heard them loud and clear.

"Okay! I'll go and look for you on Saturday!"

Bai Luo Yin bowed his head a little, just enough to see Gu Hai's strong nose bridge.

"Didn't you just say you're not going?"

Gu Hai looked up slightly, catching sight of Bai Luo Yin's strong chin.

"The wind was too loud just now. You heard me wrong."