Female lead’s Delusion of Starting Over

Chapter 23 - Lu Li's Old Friend, Zhang Ziqin's Bestie

Chapter 23: Lu Li’s Old Friend, Zhang Ziqin’s Bestie

The phone rang, and Lu Li slightly furrowed his brows, glanced at Chen Xiaoyi, and answered the call.

“Yo, big bro, I’ve arrived in Hangzhou. Hurry up and pick me up, hahaha!” A hearty laugh resounded through the phone, coupled with a somewhat magical laughter.

“How come, wasn’t the Magic City enough for you to roam? What brings you to Hangzhou?” A smile appeared on Lu Li’s face as he teased.

“Hahaha, I missed you, my big brother! Hurry up, arrange all the good food, good drink, and fun for tonight, or don’t blame me for not recognizing you as a brother.”

“What do you want to eat, fart? I have nothing here.”

Chen Xiaoyi couldn’t help but steal a few more glances at Lu Li. This was the first time she saw Lu Li joking so freely with someone, as if they had no barriers between them.

“Tsk tsk tsk, look at how stingy you are, just come pick me up.”

“You don’t even say where you are, how am I supposed to pick you up?” Lu Li couldn’t help but banter with the other party.

“Guess where I am. There’s only one airport in Hangzhou. Where else could I be? Hurry up, I’m waiting for you.”

“I’ll be there in an hour. You’d better wait outside the airport with a broken bowl. Who knows, you might even make some extra money!” Lu Li joked without any reservations with the caller.

The caller was a scion of the Li family from the Magic City, also Lu Li’s childhood friend whom he had grown up with. They went to primary school, middle school, and high school together, sharing a tight bond that could fit them both in the same pair of pants. He was the only one who avenged Lu Li after his death in the previous life.

Lu Li remembered, in his previous life, his friend also came to Hangzhou around this time. But back then, he was completely submerged in the shadow of a ‘broken heart’, without any hope, failing to spend quality time with him or even say a proper goodbye.

Thinking back, Lu Li felt heartache.

“Get lost, just hurry over, or if you don’t come, I’ll… ” Li Gongzi started to get angry.

“Or what?” Lu Li smiled knowingly.

“I’ll just stay at your place, eating and drinking at your expense, until I bankrupt your family.”

“Hahahaha!”

Lu Li laughed heartily, “Wait for me; I’ll be there soon.”

After hanging up, Lu Li’s face still beamed with a cheerful smile. Chen Xiaoyi couldn’t help but feel that Lu Li’s mood seemed particularly good now.

“We’ll be home late tonight; first, I have to pick someone up,” Lu Li mentioned to Chen Xiaoyi, accelerating the car, speeding through the streets like wind, deftly maneuvering through traffic.

Chen Xiaoyi couldn’t help but give him a sidelong glance. If it weren’t for a man’s voice, she’d suspect…

“Ptui, ptui, ptui, Chen Xiaoyi, what are you thinking? Even if it’s a woman, that’s Lu Li’s business, what does it have to do with you!” she harshly scolded herself inwardly.

(tln : ‘Ptui’ is an onomatopoeic expression used to mimic the sound of spitting. In Chinese culture, and thus often found in Chinese novels or conversations, spitting (represented by the sound “ptui”) is a way to express disdain, rejection, or to ward off bad luck.)

Perhaps she hadn’t realized that during her time with Lu Li, she had become more and more relaxed.

“Who are you going to pick up, Lu Li?” Still unable to curb her curiosity, Chen Xiaoyi asked.

“My best friend,” Lu Li simply replied.

Indeed, his best friend, to the extent that if Lu Li wanted to murder someone, his friend would help keep watch and even hand him the knife, and vice versa.

No matter the previous life or this one, always the best brothers.

For some reason, Lu Li’s words made Chen Xiaoyi unexpectedly nervous. Being referred to like that by Lu Li, the person must be very important to him. Chen Xiaoyi, you must behave properly!

Li Zichuan, with sunglasses covering half his face, couldn’t hide his joy even if he tried, his fashionable appearance standing out in the bustling airport entrance.

Holding a bottle of milk tea filled with pearls and coconut jelly, his aura shattered into pieces.

Fiercely sipping the milk tea, indeed, milk tea without ice is the best!

Suddenly, Li Zichuan seemed to see something, pulled down his sunglasses, revealing a face too pale to be handsome, and took another look. Indeed, it really was!

“Damn, seeing this woman the moment I get off the plane, bad luck.” He cursed inwardly, turning his head away, just seeing that woman’s face made him uncomfortable.

No, disgusted!

Tui!

It’s just my brother who can’t see through you, falling for a thing like you, a woman who is nothing but pretty and selfish, a green tea woman.

***

“Bing Qing, why did you suddenly return to the country?” Zhang Ziqin’s face brightened with joy, seeing her best friend, her bestie, her mood uplifted.

Although she didn’t know why Su Bingqing came back earlier than in her previous life, having someone to help her made her happy.

“I completed my studies early, so I returned,” Su Bingqing also smiled, her gaze at Zhang Ziqin full of complexity.

She harbored a secret; she was reborn.

A few days ago, she suddenly returned to this time point. She was ecstatic. If it was now, hadn’t Lu Li’s tragedy happened yet?

This time, she wouldn’t let the tragedies of her previous life occur again. No one would be allowed to hurt Lu Li again, not Ye Chen, for sure.

And this best friend before her…

In her previous life, because of Zhang Ziqin, as a solidarity between women, she caused quite a bit of trouble for Lu Li on Zhang Ziqin’s behalf, even humiliating Lu Li several times under Zhang Ziqin’s instigation and Ye Chen’s plots. Such things absolutely couldn’t happen again.

She said no woman could hurt Lu Li, including the best friend before her.

If it hadn’t been for Zhang Ziqin almost going mad to avenge Lu Li after his death, Su Bingqing wouldn’t have known Zhang Ziqin actually loved Lu Li.

It was just too late.

Her previous self, unable to escape the shadow in her heart, died in her forties, sorrowful and weakened. This time, she absolutely wouldn’t allow such things to happen again.

She would protect Lu Li well.

This time, no matter how Zhang Ziqin targeted Lu Li, she would be by Lu Li’s side. Sooner or later, she would replace Zhang Ziqin in Lu Li’s heart.