Back To The 80s-Chapter 628: Extra Two: Controllable Range Target Lock Twelve_1
Jiujiu agreed with what Gu Xiaobei had said, she had to conquer this hurdle on her own. Instead of burying her head in the sand, she decided to discuss it with Li Duo.
This was the first time Jiujiu had actively sought out Li Duo and the first time she had entered Li Duo’s dorm room.
Seeing Li Duo’s girlfriend come to visit, all his roommates tactfully made themselves scarce.
"What brings you here?" Li Duo stood by the window as he observed Jiujiu, who was sitting on his bed, twisting her fingers so tightly that they were on the verge of snapping. He had been waiting for her to take this first step.
Only after her fingers had turned white from the tight knot did Jiujiu muster the courage to speak: "Li Duo, I...I...have been keeping something from you."
Li Duo looked at Jiujiu warmly, his tone encouraging: "Tell me, what have you been hiding from me?" He didn’t move closer to her, fearing it might impose too much pressure.
With her head lowered, Jiujiu stared at her pale fingertips as she confessed, "I have a physical flaw...I have a particularly scary scar on my body..." She didn’t dare to raise her head after finishing her sentence, and didn’t hear from Li Duo for a while. Jiujiu suddenly felt scared and her tears dripped onto her fingers.
Her hand was suddenly grasped tightly by a larger, more refined hand. She looked up teary-eyed to see Li Duo squatting in front of her, holding her hand tightly.
Li Duo looked at Jiujiu fiercely and spoke slowly, "Jiujiu, what do you think love is? Do you think couples are together merely because of physical attraction?"
Jiujiu shook her head, her tears falling freely. "No, it’s...it’s just that the scar is really ugly, really scary...it frightens everyone who sees it."
Li Duo straightened up, cupping Jiujiu’s head with both hands, forcing her to look at him while saying earnestly, "Jiujiu, look at me. My Jiujiu is always strong and loves to smile. You should not feel this inferior, this sensitive."
Jiujiu looked at Li Duo grievously, her long eyelashes still wet with tears. Li Duo couldn’t help but gently kiss her trembling eyelids, his heated lips drying her tear tracks.
Li Duo’s forehead touched Jiujiu’s as he said, "I told you, I’m waiting for you to grow up. Do you think we don’t seem like we’re dating? Because I’m waiting for you, waiting for you to tell me your secret. I don’t dare to come on too strong, I’m afraid of scaring you away. I know how brave you are, and I believe you can overcome this psychological barrier."
Jiujiu sniffled, teary eyes staring at Li Duo. From his eyes, she could see her own reflection. His refreshing scent filled her nostrils, causing her cheeks to flush suddenly.
Li Duo, watching Jiujiu’s reaction, stood up and slowly began to undo the buttons on his shirt and took it off.
Jiujiu watched in surprise as Li Duo started to remove his shirt, leaving his upper body bare.
Li Duo pointed at the gunshot wound on his chest and the ugly knife scar on his stomach, looking at Jiujiu seriously he said, "Jiujiu, are you scared seeing old wounds on my body?" He took Jiujiu’s hand and placed it over his scars.
Jiujiu gently touched the scar on Li Duo’s body and shaken her head with affection, "It’s not scary, does it still hurt?" The knife scar was so long, she wondered how much pain he had borne at the time.
Li Duo clasped Jiujiu’s shoulders, looked deeply into her eyes, and said, "Jiujiu, if I see your scar, just like you, I’d feel the pain, not the disgust. To be together, it’s about more than physical attractiveness. If anyone isn’t worthy here, I think it’s me. You’re a university student while I’m only a soldier, it should be me who feels inferior."
Jiujiu shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes again. Before she could register it, Li Duo had already sealed her lips with his. Their lips barely touching sent a tingling sensation down her spine.
The most touching kiss is the one given inadvertently, one that is tender and harbors no lust.
Li Duo extended his tongue, gently tracing Jiujiu’s plush lips, and then gently grasping her lower lip, reluctant to suck too hard. It felt as though her lips were coated with honey, the sweetness making him not want to let her go.
Jiujiu forgot about her tears, her previously clenched fists slowly relaxed, naturally moving to wrap around Li Duo’s neck. Her eyes gently closed, her moist long eyelashes still trembling slightly.
Li Duo lifted his head reluctantly, pulled Jiujiu into a tight embrace and spoke in a hoarse voice, "Jiujiu, after you graduate, let’s get married, okay?"
With a blush, Jiujiu nodded, a sense of relief swelling in her heart like never before.
Li Duo also sighed in relief; before Jiujiu and Gu Xiaobei left for Capital City, Gu Xiaobei had also sought him out once.
Gu Xiaobei asked directly, "Do you like Jiujiu?"
"Yes." Li Duo didn’t shy away and admitted it outright.
Gu Xiaobei stared at Li Duo and with a smile, asked him, "What do you like about Jiujiu? The shared childhood that seems so familiar? The process of growing up without a father? A similar past?"
Li Duo paused while pouring tea for Gu Xiaobei. He wondered when he began to have feelings for Jiujiu. It was when he read about her father who was a hero, and when he rescued her from Ou Tiannan. At that time, he merely pitied her.
When Jiujiu reappeared under his sniper scope, his heart skipped a beat. Her startled deer-like eyes unexpectedly breached his heart; there’s never a reason for liking someone.
Now that Gu Xiaobei had raised this question, Li Duo was perturbed.
Gu Xiaobei regarded Li Duo sternly and stated, "If you like Jiujiu, I’ll tell you something. Jiujiu has a burn scar on her chest. Due to improper initial treatment, the wound got infected and worsened, leaving a gruesome scar that affected her feminine physical features. This matter has made her very self-conscious, fearing that the one she likes would reject her..."
Li Duo’s eyes flashed with a sympathetic heartache, and he finally understood why Jiujiu always acted so awkward around him.
Gu Xiaobei kept his gaze on Li Duo, watching the compassion flicker in his eyes, she felt reassured.
If Li Duo’s eyes had reflected pity, she would have done her utmost to prevent Jiujiu from being with him.
After hearing what Gu Xiaobei had to say, Li Duo decided to take the first step and then wait for Jiujiu to overcome her insecurities.
After waiting for two years, just when Li Duo thought his hair would turn white with the wait, Jiujiu finally had a breakthrough.
When Jiujiu returned to the dormitory, the blush on her face had not faded. Thinking about how different Li Duo had been that day, how he kept kissing her before he dropped her off, made her face heat up uncontrollably. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
Chen Lu was crying silently on her bed. Over the past two years, her dormitory roommates had kept their distance from her and instead became close with Jiujiu. Seeing them go out and come in together every day, sharing their meals, Chen Lu felt her heart filled with resentment.
During senior year, there were still some opportunities for students to stay back at the university. Chen Lu began having ideas; academic performance-wise, she definitely wouldn’t qualify, so she had to come up with some unconventional tactics.
Somehow, she got on the good side of the student affairs director. He was perpetually all-smiles and never refused girls who came to him. He also never took responsibility.
Chen Lu thought she had found a goldmine, but unexpectedly, she now found herself pregnant. If the school found out, she feared they wouldn’t even issue her graduation certificate, let alone offer her a job.
When she went to the student affairs director, he renounced all responsibility. He even threatened to claim that she initiated the whole affair if she dared to go public with it.
Chen Lu was scared and helpless, left with no other option than to hide in her room and cry. She didn’t have a single close friend to help her figure out what to do.
Looking at Jiujiu glowing with happiness, then at Chen Lu crying her heart out, and thinking about her own imminent breakup due to graduation, Li Fei also felt melancholic.
