Chapter 9 Red Hair Camping
I dyed my hair.
An outrageous color. Red.
I passed a travel agency and saw a draw for a self-drive camping group.
I was a little interested. I had no car, so I let it go.
I was about to leave when a clerk stopped me. "Miss, the win rate is really high. Two-person slot. You can bring your boyfriend."
"Try your luck. It's fine if you don't win."
The box came over.
I hesitated a second, then drew.
First prize. Two people, the whole trip free, fuel included.
I hadn't expected that kind of luck. I took the ticket. Whether I went or not, I still posted happily on Weibo.
Back home, I opened Weibo. More than fifty likes, and a lot of comments.
【哇，幸运女神。】
【令人羡慕，有颜有钱，还有运气。】
【又要和男神甜蜜旅游了吗，多久结婚，等着喝喜酒。】
I had not made the breakup with Xu Heng public. Most people still didn't know.
I scrolled farther down.
【缺人吗？】
I looked hard at that comment's avatar. A flashy man's selfie.
I replied with one line.
【缺人，缺车。】
That was how Chu Lin added me on WeChat again.
He didn't ask why I had deleted him. I didn't explain.
Chatting with him was easy and natural.
We set a time. On the day we left, he drove over early and waited downstairs.
He leaned on the car door. When he saw me, he waved, open and easy.
I walked over. He opened the passenger door, a crooked smile at his mouth.
"Beauty, please get in."
I pressed my lips. "Smooth talk."
We reached the camping meet-up. I got out, saw a familiar figure, and went blank.
Xu Heng was there too. A woman had her arm through his.
In one moment, my face went blank.
Dyed hair. Tattoos. A hot outfit.
All of it was what he had never allowed me.
In his eyes, was I that vulgar a picture?
He saw me. He hooked an arm around the woman's waist in a way that looked like a provocation.
The next second, Chu Lin got out. Xu Heng froze.
I looked away and didn't give him another glance. I found the guide, verified myself, and got into the driver's seat.
Chu Lin lifted a brow. "You're driving?"
I started the car like I knew it and tilted my head. "You don't trust me?"
Chu Lin raised both hands in surrender. The muscle in his arms stretched his sleeves tight.
"How would I dare? Little Wildcat's attack power scares me."
I couldn't help a small laugh. "You're talking nonsense."
On the road, a car cut me off twice. I hit the brakes twice and got angry.
I pressed the gas, sped up, and passed it in one go.
When I was level with that car, I saw who was inside.
It was Xu Heng. When he saw me driving, surprise flashed through his eyes. Then his brows pressed very low.
After that, he didn't cut me off again.
I gripped the wheel. My heart kept sinking.
That kind of behavior disgusted me.
At the destination, the guide had the men move the food and the women sort things.
When Xu Heng walked past me, he said quietly:
"A man who lets a woman drive is a useless man."
I hit back at once. "The man who cuts people off is the most useful."
Xu Heng stalled, like he had not expected me to mock him straight on.
I walked past him, cold.
"Tian Yue."
"Even if you leave me, you should find a proper man."
I didn't turn back. I didn't stop.
Telling me to find a proper man was him looking down on Chu Lin. How was that not looking down on me.
I knew that scholar's pride of his. He couldn't stand anything but studying. Anything else, he took as not a real pursuit.
It seemed to me that agreeing to let a junior-college student like me chase him had already been, in that pride, a stain.
But I was already the ex. Did he have to reach this far?