When You Finally Turn Around After Playing Enough, I’ll No Longer Be There - Chapter 3:

Chapter 3: Is Our Relationship That Special?

“Chen Luo, why aren’t you here yet?”
“If you don’t come soon, you’ll be late!”
“We still haven’t settled the score from when you hung up on Kewei last time. If you’re late again, I won’t let Kewei forgive you!”

Su Panyue also looked at Chen Luo, her beautiful eyes flickering.
“We’re not waiting anymore,” Chen Luo said calmly.

Over the years, how much transportation money had he saved for Jiang Kewei and Song Qingyu?
“Alright,” the driver responded.

Su Panyue looked at Chen Luo in surprise. Her Brother Luo had changed.

At the Jiang residence, Jiang Kewei wasn’t in such a good mood. She stood at the door with a pile of luggage. Her soft black hair was tousled by the wind, and her white dress fluttered in all directions. Yet even so, her beauty was undiminished. Like a butterfly struggling in the wind, she stirred feelings of pity.

Song Qingyu was furious, “Chen Luo actually ignored me! Kewei, you absolutely cannot forgive him so easily this time. He needs to be taught a lesson.”

Jiang Kewei didn’t speak, but a trace of anger flashed in her beautiful eyes. How could Chen Luo ignore her for an entire summer vacation? In the past, he used to greet her with a ‘good morning’ and ‘good night’ every day. Though she only responded on days she felt like it, the sudden absence of those messages had left her feeling oddly unaccustomed.

Just then, a familiar car approached.
Song Qingyu jumped up in surprise, “It’s Chen Luo, he’s here!”
Jiang Kewei’s tense mood eased slightly. Although she was still mad at Chen Luo, at least she wouldn’t have to keep standing in the wind now.

Sometimes it was strange—she clearly didn’t like him, yet couldn’t bear to be without him…

But unexpectedly—

The car drove straight past them, leaving only a trail of exhaust behind.

“Kewei… was that Chen Luo?”
“Chen Luo is so awful, he just left you behind!”

Fuming, Song Qingyu took out her phone and messaged Chen Luo.

——?
——Kewei is waiting for you. Why did you leave? The wind outside is so strong, she’ll freeze out here!
——What does her freezing have to do with me?
——Kewei is your girlfriend! How can you treat her like this? How am I supposed to trust you with her?
——Did she ever agree to be my girlfriend?

When this reply from Chen Luo popped up, Song Qingyu froze. She looked helplessly at Jiang Kewei. Jiang Kewei had naturally seen the message too. Her face turned red with shame and anger, her pearly teeth biting her lip, looking as if she couldn’t accept what she’d just read.

Back when Chen Luo confessed to her, Song Qingyu had advised, “Men don’t cherish what they already have. Don’t say yes yet, just keep him hanging.” Jiang Kewei didn’t like Chen Luo anyway, so she rejected him.

She never expected Chen Luo to throw that back in her face today.

That’s right, she wasn’t his girlfriend. So why should he keep picking her up from school?

But there were no taxis available at this hour!

Song Qingyu realized this too. Feeling helpless, she sent Chen Luo a red packet of 10 yuan.

——Is this enough?

On the other side, Chen Luo let out a laugh. He got thousands of yuan as monthly pocket money—why would he care about such a small amount?

Still, he accepted it.

——Not enough.
——Not enough? A ride only costs 5 yuan!
——For nine years I picked you up and dropped you off every day. If we calculate 5 yuan per ride, that’s tens of thousands. You can start by paying that back.

Song Qingyu’s eyes widened. Tens of thousands! Her father didn’t even make that much in a year! But Chen Luo wasn’t wrong. Over the past nine years, they really had taken his car every day.

“Kewei, what do we do?”

After reading through the entire chat log, Jiang Kewei pressed her lips together and softly said, “Qingyu, we can’t keep troubling Chen Luo. He’s right. He’s not my boyfriend. He has no obligation to do these things.”

“But he’s picked us up every single school day for nine years!”

Yes… nine years already.

Jiang Kewei felt a bit lost. How had that once utterly obedient boy changed in just one day?

Although she’d always treated Chen Luo with a cold attitude, only Jiang Kewei knew that she actually enjoyed having him revolve around her.

A wealthy young master, a top science student—those halos on Chen Luo were enough to make up for his looks. Being liked by Chen Luo had greatly satisfied her vanity.

Feeling unwilling to let it end like this, Jiang Kewei directly called Chen Luo.

“Chen Luo, I saw everything you said to Qingyu. I’ll pay you back for the rides,” she said softly, sounding as if she’d suffered great injustice.

But Jiang Kewei also knew she couldn’t actually repay tens of thousands. Without Chen Luo, she and Song Qingyu couldn’t have attended day school for all of elementary and middle school—their families simply couldn’t afford it.

She was gambling—betting that Chen Luo wouldn’t make her pay.

Chen Luo could easily sell a model for several thousand yuan. He had a whole cabinet of them. How could he care about such a small amount?

Unexpectedly, Chen Luo agreed, “Sure.”

Jiang Kewei felt like her heart had been struck with a heavy hammer. “Chen Luo, you’ve really disappointed me.”

In the past, that would have been the most hurtful thing she could say to Chen Luo.

But now, all she got in response was a cold laugh.
“Jiang Kewei, is our relationship that special? Didn’t you say you only saw me as a regular classmate? If that’s all we are, then how can you talk about being disappointed?”

Jiang Kewei trembled in the cold wind. She didn’t know whether it was from the chill or Chen Luo’s words. She forced herself to stay calm, “I don’t know what your goal is in saying all this, but I’ll tell you, you’re only making me hate you more.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore. Whether you like me or hate me, I don’t care anymore, Jiang Kewei.”

Su Panyue blinked her starry eyes at Chen Luo, her heart pounding like a rabbit. She never interrupted when Chen Luo was on the phone, but now she really wanted to jump up and cheer.

Brother Luo finally didn’t like Jiang Kewei anymore!

But… was this dislike just temporary, or would it last forever?

At Qinghe High School, new students gathered at the gate, pointing at a red poster.

“This Chen Luo is amazing! He actually got a perfect score!”
“I wonder what he looks like. Hopefully not one of those nerdy, chubby guys with glasses.”
“I heard Chen Luo is a fat guy. But I know who Xu Yi is—he’s a total heartthrob!”

Right in front of everyone, Chen Luo and Su Panyue stepped out of the car.

Previously, Jiang Kewei never let him drive to the school gate. She said it would look like she was showing off. Later, Chen Luo understood—it wasn’t about vanity. Jiang Kewei simply didn’t want to be seen with him.

She was afraid people would think she was already taken. That was also why she never wanted to make their relationship official. A beautiful girl was only most desirable when she was single.

Now that Jiang Kewei was out of the picture, Chen Luo walked confidently to the registration desk and politely said, “Hello, teacher. I’m Chen Luo from Class 3, Grade 1.”

Su Panyue followed behind obediently and said, “Hello, teacher. I’m Su Panyue from Class 5, Grade 1.”