170 Not My Type

Lu Jingren was not very experienced when it came to dealing with women or coaxing them so he tried to remember what the mist told him.

"Smile. Just smile! Your face is your only asset!"

However... People always make weird expressions every time they saw his face. Anyway, he still tried it and attempted to pull out a smile by lifting the corners of his lips.

"Don't worry, Lilian... I won't hurt you." Lu Jingren thought that he seemed harmless as he said this but he did not expect Lilian Mo to stand up and turn her back, leaving him without a word.

Lilian Mo felt goosebumps rising on her skin as she went to the fields, intending to take care of the crops.

She felt like she saw the devil smiling at her and telling her that her death was approaching.

Furthermore, because she had only seen Lu Jingren smile three times in her previous life, she got used to his facial paralysis.

And for those three times that he smiled genuinely, Lilian Mo couldn't forget about it.

The first time he smiled was the time they first celebrated his birthday together.

In her previous life, everytime she celebrated his birthday over a bowl of longevity noodles, he would hug her silently for a few seconds and the corner of his lips would quirk slightly to the side.

"Lilian, you are the only person who would celebrate the day of my birth." He would tell her.

Lilian Mo quickly understood what he meant because she knew then that because he was an illegitimate child, he was unwanted and was always looked down upon. No one was really happy because he was born. Mixed children were frowned upon these days since discrimination and racism were still quite rampant.

Naively, she told him.

"I will try to celebrate your birthday with you every year."

He must have been satisfied with her answer because he stayed with her until morning.

The second time was when she knitted him a sweater. In which he told her, "Lily made me a knitted scarf before. Your handiwork is like hers."

"Your mother must have really loved you."

Lu Jingren smiled when she said that but for some reason, his smile that time was ambiguous. It seemed sad yet happy at the same time. There was also a trace of bitterness which she thought was only an illusion.

The third time he smiled was when she confessed to him and said that she loved him. He was her first love.

"Good," was the only reply she got.

Lilian Mo couldn't help but feel bitter inside as she remembered those times. She was clearly traumatized from being controlled by him and yet she still ended up feeling for that man.

She crouched down on the fields and began weeding. She didn't glance beside her because she knew that Lu Jingren also crouched down to join her.

Lilian Mo's body was very tensed.

"Don't worry, Lilian... I won't hurt you."

The thing he said from earlier didn't give her any comfort at all.

Why?

Why was he like this? He was a cold man who didn't even know how to properly communicate with people and was the type to hold grudges like any other.

And yet, he was being nice to her.

Lilian Mo suddenly had a thought.

"Lu Jingren, if you are only treating me nicely because of what Grandma and Grandpa said, forget it... You don't owe me anything... I can take care of myself..."

Lu Jingren didn't spare her a glance and calmly weeded quite peacefully.

"We are engaged so as the man, I naturally have to be responsible... But... I would also understand if you don't want that. We are two strangers who aren't familiar with each other. If not for Grandma and Grandpa Chen, we wouldn't even know of each other's existence. "

Lilian Mo paused. She glanced at him curiously. He actually responded and said so many things at once.

This Lu Jingren also seemed to be quite understanding...?

But, but...

He wasn't like this before.

Lilian Mo took a deep breath. While his calmness was quite different from what she remembered, she didn't question it anymore. Being able to talk like civilized people was better than having a one-sided conversation with an ice block.

"The engagement... Let's forget about it. In the future, we might meet other people and fall in love. Being engaged when we don't even like or know each other well will only serve as a hindrance. Times have changed. We are no longer in a peaceful era and can never go back to what was once normal." Lilian Mo told him her honest thoughts. Furthermore, she really didn't want to fall in love again. For her, loving someone was really too exhausting. She was already fed up.

Perhaps she was being dramatic but falling in love in the middle of the apocalypse didn't give her a good experience and so, Lilian Mo truly didn't want to have to love another again.

"Hm... I understand, Lilian."

I understand? Lilian Mo looked at him doubtfully.

"I also don't want to be engaged." Lu Jingren explained when he saw the kind of stare she was giving him.

"You are five years younger than me and still underage. I don't want to date a minor..."Then he paused before quickly adding something.

"And... you are also not my type."

"...."

Lilian Mo was taken back.

"What?" She asked.

"You are five years younger than me and underage."

"What?"

"I said that I don't want to date a minor."

"What?"

"And... you are also not my type."

Lilian Mo staggered and blinked at him repeatedly.

"I'm not your type?"

"No." He said with a straight face.

How was this possible?

"You don't even have a type."

Lu Jingren seemed to think for a while. "How did you know?"

Lilian Mo was stunned into silence once again. After being reborn, she had assumed that nothing would surprise her anymore. However, she was wrong.

She was absolutely not prepared to hear what she had just heard.

She was not Lu Jingren's type.

She was not his type!

Lilian Mo shook wildly.

"If I wasn't your type, then why the hell did you kept me captive, you damn bastard!"

Of course, Lilian Mo did not say this out loud. She kept these thoughts to herself and merely looked at Lu Jingren as if he was an alien that she wanted to dissect and dismember. She also contemplated whether killing him right now would cause her some huge problems in the future.

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Mass Release is done. Because the target was reached, I uploaded five chapters at once.

I hope you enjoyed them. They are unedited and did not go under proofreading so I hope you don't mind the mistakes.

This is actually the first time I wrote a story with some slow-burn romance. I'm surprised that so many people are reading it, lol.

In regards to the ML being Chinese-European, the community where I'm from does not really take it well when it comes to mixed children.

And said illegitimate children are usually looked down on by people because it is usually assumed that they are much like their parents who are considered the 'homewreckers' and you know of the saying, "The apple does not fall far from the tree," in which a child usually has a similar character or similar qualities to his or her parents. So if a parent has a bad reputation, most people assume that the child will grow up the same as their parent.

It's sad since this is actually happening. This is also based on a true story since one of my friends is an illegitimate child. I have forgotten the number of times she would cry to me because she was mocked for her origins. It's a pity since she is such a good person and people can't see that. So if you know some people who are illegitimate children, please respect them and make sure to get to know them first before making any judgments <3

That's all.

Have some idea about my story? Comment it and let me know.