Lu Xue didn't understand why Mu Yuze was asking this, but an inexplicable sense of nervousness began to well up in her heart.
She shook her head and replied, "No."
Mu Yuze nodded, clasped his hands on his knees, and then unclasped them after a while.
His index finger tapped on his knee absent - mindedly, as if he was pondering how to start his next sentence.
After waiting for about a few more minutes, Mu Yuze clasped his hands again.
Lu Xue watched Mu Yuze with his calm and expressionless face, but his hands kept clenching and unclenching. He seemed really entangled.
She really wanted to suggest that Mu Yuze change his sitting position. Maybe this position was so uncomfortable that it made him keep changing his hand movements.
After a while, she heard Mu Yuze ask again, "Then may I know your views on marriage?"
Lu Xue had become a bit vigilant about the topics tonight. She shook her head and spoke carefully.
"I don't have any thoughts for the time being. I don't know what you're trying to do by asking these questions."
Mu Yuze hesitated. He stared at Lu Xue. His clasped hands unconsciously separated and rested on his knees. One of his hands started tapping on his knee again.
The wall clock ticked steadily. The air was extremely quiet.
For a moment, Lu Xue even thought she could hear Mu Yuze's breathing.
"If you don't have a crush on anyone for the time being and you're not averse to going out with someone, could you..."
He paused. Mu Yuze found it really hard to say this. In his past experiences, he had never had such an experience.
Doing anything for the first time was especially difficult.
While Mu Yuze was silent, Lu Xue also fell silent.
Lu Xue's gaze fell on Mu Yuze's face, as if she was trying to figure out his intention tonight.
Mu Yuze shifted his gaze uneasily, only staring at the white wall. His ears were slightly red.
Just as they were in this stalemate, Aunt Chen knocked on the door and said, "Miss Lu Xue, I made some snacks for you. Do you want to have a taste? You ate very little for dinner tonight. Don't starve yourself."
Lu Xue let out a sigh of relief and immediately jumped up. "Got it. Thank you, Aunt Chen. I'll come and get them right away."
She opened the door, took the snacks from Aunt Chen's tray outside and put them on the table, deliberately avoiding the topic.
"Mr. Mu Yuze, do you want to have some too?"
Mu Yuze shook his head without saying a word. Aunt Chen was about to come in and chat with Lu Xue some more, but she met Mu Yuze's expressionless gaze.
Mu Yuze glanced at Aunt Chen and then at the door.
With just this subtle look, Aunt Chen understood for the first time.
Aunt Chen immediately wiped her hands and said, "Miss Lu Xue, I just remembered that there's a pot of soup simmering in the kitchen downstairs. I have to go and take care of it now, or the soup will boil over! I'll leave first. You two can chat slowly!"
Saying that, Aunt Chen rushed out like the wind. Before leaving, she even closed the door for them.
So, once again, only Lu Xue and Mu Yuze were left in the room.
Lu Xue began to feel nervous again. She looked at Mu Yuze and found that he was even more nervous than she was.
Lu Xue asked carefully, "Mr. Mu Yuze, do you have to say what you want to say tonight?"
Mu Yuze glanced at her and nodded.
He had decided that he must have this conversation with Lu Xue tonight. Even though it was extremely difficult for him, he didn't want to delay it any longer.
Maybe it was Ji Jingcheng's incident that had spurred him on, making him realize that there were obstacles between him and Lu Xue, and there wasn't much time left for him to waste.
Lu Xue had specially cooked soup and brought it to his company today, which proved that he did have a place in her heart, right?
Mu Yuze lowered his head and was silent for a few seconds. He took a deep breath and slowly said,
"Just as I said half of the sentence before, if you're not averse to going out with someone, could you—"
A few seconds later.
"—consider me?"
After he said this, the whole room became even quieter.
Lu Xue seemed shocked. She looked at Mu Yuze in surprise, and her facial expression froze.
Mu Yuze finally let out a sigh of relief after he said it. It felt as if a huge rock had been lifted from his heart.
The two of them stared into each other's eyes. Mu Yuze looked at Lu Xue calmly and steadily, while Lu Xue stared back at him in surprise and a daze.
The wall clock ticked for several more rounds. Finally, Lu Xue came to her senses.
"Mu Yuze, do you mean that you hope we two go out with each other?"
Mu Yuze nodded. "Yes. I want to pursue you now. I hope you can be my girlfriend."
Actually, Mu Yuze had much grander plans than just having Lu Xue as his girlfriend. But he didn't want to scare her, so he had to take it step by step to build a foundation of affection.
Moreover, this was already a compromised plan for him.