After She Fell for Me, I Lost My Memory (GL) - Chapter 13

“No, I wouldn’t.”

Cen Luo rubbed her stiff face, let out a warm breath, and stood up from her squatting position.

Zhao Zhao didn’t understand whether her “no” meant that no one would like her for more than ten years, or that she wouldn’t like that person.

Some answers are better left unknown to better hold on.

Zhao Zhao didn’t press for more. When she saw Cen Luo stand up, she walked over to her car, opened the passenger door for her, and said,

“Get in. I’ll take you home.”

The weather had been consistently cold these past few days. The sky was always hazy, and there were no pedestrians on the streets, making it look a little desolate.

Cen Luo leaned against the car window and yawned, feeling a little sleepy.

“You can sleep for a while. I’ll wake you up when we get to Nanyang Yulou.”

Nanyang Yulou was a famous villa area in Yun City, where many famous people from all walks of life lived.

When she got in the car, Cen Luo had told her the address.

While waiting at a red light, Zhao Zhao glanced at Cen Luo, who was sitting next to her.

Seeing her head resting against the car window and her eyes looking out with a tired expression, she spoke out of concern.

“I’m fine,” Cen Luo replied nonchalantly.

The drunkenness from the two glasses of wine had long since worn off, leaving only a feeling of fatigue.

But she couldn’t actually sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she would remember countless scenes from today.

The drive from here to Nanyang Yulou would take at least half an hour.

Zhao Zhao turned on the car music, adjusted the volume to a comfortable level, and let the air freshener fill the car.

The environment was too comfortable. Within a few minutes, Cen Luo’s eyes were already struggling to stay open.

“Why do you like someone like her?”

Cen Luo, who was on the verge of falling asleep, was suddenly jolted awake by the question and hummed in confusion.

Zhao Zhao repeated her question, her eyes fixed on the traffic light ahead.

Cen Luo didn’t answer. She just looked out the window, as if she were reminiscing.

“Tsk, with you being like that, don’t tell me it’s the most cliché thing—love at first sight?” Zhao Zhao curved her lips, a hint of mockery in her tone.

“It wasn’t!” Cen Luo retorted.

Earlier, Zhao Zhao had been so concerned about her that Cen Luo was a little unaccustomed to it. Now that Zhao Zhao was speaking to her in that tone again, Cen Luo felt a little more at ease.

The little devil was still a little devil.

“Then what was it?” Zhao Zhao pressed.

Over the years, Cen Luo had heard this question many times from Qin Ran.

But she had never answered it directly.

“Look, I’m taking you home, and you tell me a story to keep me entertained on the way. Isn’t that a fair deal?”

“Don’t worry. Once you get out of the car, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear anything.”

Seeing that Cen Luo didn’t answer, Zhao Zhao tried to entice her again.

She had to know the reason why Cen Luo liked that person today.

Cen Luo thought about it. She also needed a place to share things, and if it could also entertain someone else with a story, that would be pretty good.

“Well, it wasn’t love at first sight. The first time I saw Jian Mu, someone was confessing to her, but she was rejected without a second thought. The girl cried for a long time. At that time, I was thinking, ‘How can this person be so cold and heartless?’”

Zhao Zhao’s hand on the steering wheel tightened, then she let out a soft laugh. “Such a bad first impression? And you still like her?”

Cen Luo thought back and laughed softly, a hint of emotion in her voice.

“Yeah, it was really bad. But then the next day, I found out she was our class’s new student representative and the top scorer on the provincial middle school exam.”

“When she gave her speech, she was also very cold and distant, with no emotion. She didn’t even smile once. Her face was really beautiful, but she really pushed people away.”

Cen Luo opened up, and she continued without needing Zhao Zhao to guide her.

“We were in neighboring classes, so we often saw each other. I don’t think I ever saw anyone else around her. When I went to her class, she was always sitting alone at her desk doing her homework. No matter how noisy the class was, it seemed like it didn’t affect her at all. It seemed like her world only consisted of herself.”

“I also thought that was just the kind of person she was—cold and arrogant. At that time, I really disliked her.”

When Cen Luo was quiet for a long time, Zhao Zhao turned her face to see that Cen Luo had fallen into a reverie.

“What do you mean, ‘thought’? Isn’t that the truth?” Zhao Zhao didn’t understand. Wasn’t the truth that she was the kind of person who didn’t even dare to admit her girlfriend?

Didn’t it mean she only cared about herself?

Was she afraid of ruining her image? Or, did she not even see Cen Luo as her girlfriend?

Zhao Zhao didn’t ask directly. For one, she had no right to, and for another, it would be too hurtful.

Cen Luo didn’t continue.

In middle school, the person Cen Luo disliked the most was someone who was arrogant and looked down on others, even if that person had the right to be.

So when she first found out about Jian Mu, Cen Luo felt a strong dislike for her. When her friends talked about the school’s prettiest girl and mentioned Jian Mu, Cen Luo would always scoff.

Cen Luo was a firm believer in first impressions, and Jian Mu’s first impression on her was so bad that for a long time afterward, Cen Luo had a bad opinion of her.

So, even though Cen Luo and her friends had met most of the students in Class 1, she never planned on getting to know Jian Mu.

The turning point was one afternoon when she discovered that the Jian Mu she had seen before might not be the real Jian Mu.

“Is it related to your sister?”

From a distance, they could already see the main entrance of Nanyang Yulou. Seeing that Cen Luo still wasn’t ready to speak, Zhao Zhao asked.

“How did you know I have a sister?”

Since high school, Cen Luo had never told anyone about her younger sister.

“Did you really forget me?” Zhao Zhao was a little frustrated. She had thought that when they met again, Cen Luo would definitely remember her.

But after one, two, and three times, Cen Luo showed no signs of remembering.

She had tried so hard to remind Cen Luo not to forget her.

“Huh?”

They had arrived at Nanyang Yulou. Zhao Zhao parked the car in front of the gate.

Cen Luo pulled on the car door, but it didn’t open. She turned to look at Zhao Zhao.

But she didn’t expect Zhao Zhao to suddenly lean over to unbuckle her seatbelt. Cen Luo, who was about to move away, was stunned by her words.

“What did you say?”

She heard the sound of the seatbelt unbuckling, and Zhao Zhao smiled with satisfaction. She looked up at Cen Luo and said word for word, “Didn’t you promise to marry me?”

Zhao Zhao’s face was very close. The fine hairs on her face were almost invisible. It seemed like she wasn’t wearing any makeup. Her features were delicate, and her skin was fair.

But Cen Luo was not captivated by her beauty. At this moment, she only had one question in her mind: “When did I…”

Her voice suddenly trailed off.

“If you call me ‘big sister,’ then you have to promise to marry me.”

“With a face as beautiful as mine, you shouldn’t forget it.”

This memory suddenly appeared in her mind, and Cen Luo was in disbelief.

That had to be almost 11 years ago.

In her last year of middle school, after the provincial exam had just ended, Cen Luo, who was about to return to Yun City from Mian City, found a child on the side of the road.

The child was filthy, and her face was yellowish, showing signs of malnutrition.

She had thought the child was at most ten years old, but she was already 13.

She wouldn’t say where her home was or her name. It seemed she was very afraid that Cen Luo would send her home.

But where could a 13-year-old child go if she didn’t go home?

They stayed together for about a month. For the first half of the month, the child barely spoke and was very wary of Cen Luo.

After they stayed together for a while, they slowly became closer.

However, whenever Cen Luo told her to call her “big sister,” she would pretend not to hear her.

Later, when she was taking her home, she even said to Cen Luo in a threatening tone, “If I call you ‘big sister,’ you have to marry me.”

Cen Luo thought back carefully. At the time, she had refused without a second thought.

“Then don’t call me ‘big sister.’ We’ll see each other again.”

What did a 13-year-old middle schooler know about marriage?

It was different for her. When school started, she would be a high schooler and would get to meet more beautiful older girls.

She hadn’t expected that Zhao Zhao was that child.

Seeing her suddenly become still, Zhao Zhao knew Cen Luo had remembered.

“Your memory is even worse than I thought. I gave you so many hints.”

Cen Luo pursed her lips and answered her previous question. “I never promised you.”

“But I remember you did,” Zhao Zhao said with a smile. “And you’ve been working hard for that goal.”

Working hard for that goal…

Those words were a little too heavy.

Cen Luo glanced at her but didn’t say anything. She then opened the car door and got out.

Zhao Zhao also got out of the car and called out to Cen Luo, who was about to walk into Nanyang Yulou.

Cen Luo suddenly realized that she might need to make things clear with Zhao Zhao.

“Zhao Zhao, at that time, I just thought you looked a lot like my sister. I didn’t have any other thoughts. I still don’t. And I have a girlfriend.”

But apparently, those words had no effect on Zhao Zhao.

“That’s okay, big sister Cen Luo. You’re just in a relationship, not married. Who can guarantee that you won’t break up?” Zhao Zhao chuckled softly. “Besides, that person doesn’t seem to have admitted your relationship.”

Cen Luo: “…”

This Zhao Zhao was a master of words.

Cen Luo didn’t want to discuss these things with Zhao Zhao. The events from ten years ago didn’t mean anything to Cen Luo.

She hadn’t expected that her unintentional actions would be remembered by someone for so many years.

Cen Luo’s reaction seemed to be within Zhao Zhao’s expectations, so she wasn’t sad about her rejection.

In the guard booth, two security guards were chatting and eating sunflower seeds. The sky was dark, and the streetlights on both sides of the small path were all lit up, casting a dim yellow light on the road.

“Cen Luo.”

“Hmm?”

As soon as Cen Luo answered, Zhao Zhao suddenly came closer and gave her a light hug.

The force was very gentle. She let go the moment she touched her. The action was so fast that Cen Luo didn’t have time to react.

“Big sister, I’m very happy to see you again.”

It was just a long-awaited hug, polite and thoughtful, and Cen Luo couldn’t find anything wrong with it.

Cen Luo suddenly remembered what Zhao Zhao looked like when she saw her in the office today. It was also like this, with a wide, surprised smile, saying, “found you.”

If it was really as Zhao Zhao said, and she had been working hard just to see her again, then maybe this feeling was something she couldn’t handle.

After a long time, Cen Luo heard her own voice. “Thank you for taking me home. It’s cold out. You should go home early.”

Cen Luo didn’t sigh again and walked back toward Nanyang Yulou until Zhao Zhao’s car disappeared from sight.

But as soon as she turned around, she saw Jian Mu standing at the entrance. She didn’t know how long she had been there.

But Jian Mu’s eyes weren’t on her. They were looking in the direction Zhao Zhao had left.

Cen Luo quickly walked in front of Jian Mu, a puzzled expression on her face. “Weren’t you in a meeting? You’re back so soon?”

She had even arrived home before her.

Jian Mu’s eyes returned and landed on Cen Luo, who had spoken.

A conversation between classmates in high school suddenly came to her mind:

“Do you know Cen Luo from Class 3? Her personality is so nice, and she’s so good-looking. It feels like her friends are always happy and laughing. It must be so fun to be her friend.”

“But she has a lot of friends.”

“Then I’ll just be her girlfriend. A girlfriend is one of a kind. Cen Luo likes girls, right?”

“Yeah, but I heard before that she was pursuing a senior from Class 3, and when the senior was about to agree, Cen Luo stopped pursuing her and moved on to someone else.”

“Jian Mu?”

Cen Luo didn’t hear Jian Mu’s reply. She tilted her head and waved her hand in front of her.

She rarely saw Jian Mu zone out. Cen Luo was a little curious about what she was thinking.

She also suddenly remembered Zhao Zhao’s actions just now.

Could Jian Mu have been here the whole time?

It was only a brief second. Even if she saw it, she shouldn’t mind, right?

Cen Luo remembered when she had asked Jian Mu if she would be unhappy if she became an actress one day.

Because being an actress meant she would have to film kissing scenes with many people, and she might even fall in love with someone on set.

Cen Luo had said this on purpose, wanting to see if Jian Mu would be jealous or angry.

But it seemed she had overestimated herself or underestimated Jian Mu.

After she said those words, Jian Mu’s expression didn’t change at all. She just said, “As long as you’re happy.”

It seemed that jealousy was something that could never exist in Jian Mu.

Jian Mu lowered her eyes, her gaze fixed on Cen Luo.

After a long time, just as Cen Luo thought Jian Mu wouldn’t answer and was about to suggest they go home together.

Suddenly, a gentle and fresh scent of roses filled her nose, and the arms that were embracing her were slightly cold.

Cen Luo heard Jian Mu mumble softly:

“Just for a little while.”