Chapter 22

Jian Sheng opened the heavy iron gate as soon as he got home from school.

Suddenly she caught sight of a dark shadow standing behind the door, and she abruptly stepped back.

Snap.

The lights inside the door were turned on, and Jian Sheng breathed a sigh of relief.

Jian Qingyao was standing at the door at some point, as if he had foreseen her return, and he remained motionless, staring at her intently.

Jian Sheng ignored him and prepared to walk around him.

Jian Qingyao raised his hand to block her path.

Jian Sheng looked up and asked, "Are you going to kick me out?"

Jian Qingyao was clearly taken aback, and after a few seconds he spoke: "So what? Anyway, this is my home."

"Oh." Jian Sheng turned and left.

Jian Qingyao grabbed his schoolbag and said impatiently, "Grandma went to walk the dog..."

"Wash the dishes." He put his hands down, crossed his arms, and looked at it as if it were a matter of course.

Jian Sheng turned his head: "?"

"You ate it, and you expect me to wash it?" Her curt tone immediately created an awkward atmosphere.

"You live in my house, eat my food, and drink my drinks, can't you even wash my dishes?" Jian Qingyao turned her head away and leaned against the door frame.

Jian Sheng pursed her lips and said, "Get out of my way."

Jian Qingyao glanced at her, and seeing that she didn't refute him, he straightened up and made way for her.

Jian Sheng wiped the door shut as he entered, put his schoolbag in the room, rolled up his sleeves, and went into the kitchen.

There was still some food that Ye Hua had left for her inside. She put the remaining dishes aside and prepared to wash Jian Qingyao's bowl and some dirty plates.

Jian Qingyao leaned against the door frame with a composed expression, supervising in the manner of a master.

A short while later, Ye Hua led the dog inside.

"Why have you been coming back so often lately? Is your school meal card out of money or something?" Ye Hua asked Jian Qingyao while putting the dog on a leash.

Jian Qingyao didn't want to answer, so he just gave a casual reply: "There's no one in the school dormitory for Xiao Zhou, and I only came back because I missed you."

Ye Hua was very happy to be coaxed and scolded him a few times with a smile.

Jian Sheng had already finished washing the dishes. She wiped her hands, glanced at the spinach and pork liver stir-fry next to her, stared blankly for a while, and then put the dish in the refrigerator.

Fortunately, Jian Qingyao had already returned to her room. She pulled down her sleeves and prepared to go back to her room.

From the recliner in the living room near the balcony, came the rustling sound of turning pages.

"I've looked at the monthly exam results," Ye Hua said, looking at a book with her glasses on. She glanced at Jian Sheng, who was looking down at her with his head tilted to the side, put down her book, got up from the recliner, bent over and walked to the sofa to sit down.

Jian Sheng turned around and said, "I just came out."

“Zhong Mei praised you to me…” Ye Hua sighed, “but I have to remind you that No. 7 Middle School ranks very low among all the regular high schools in Yanjiang. Most of the students there are just people who got in by connections and are just coasting along. Half of them are students who were directly promoted from the junior high school next door.”

“I won’t talk about the good classes, but Class 13 is just an ordinary class. Being at the bottom of an ordinary class is the same as being at the bottom of the entire school, and it’s the same as being at the bottom of all the students in Yanjiang.”

Even if you get an average score this time, you might be in the middle of your class, but you'll still be at the bottom of the class and the whole of Yanjiang.

"Don't think it's a problem with your ability. Getting an average score is just barely meeting the basic requirements. What you've gotten rid of are those who don't study anything and are just here to coast along."

" Figure out your own position; learning is your own responsibility." After saying this, Ye Hua turned around, closed the book, lay down on the sofa, and closed her eyes.

Jian Sheng clutched the hem of her clothes and nodded slightly: "I understand, I will try my best."

"You're not helping me with my efforts," Ye Hua added. "I won't tell you not to do housework; just mind your own business."

After a long silence, Ye Hua waved his hand at her and said, "Go back."

Jian Sheng went back and turned on the small desk lamp to study, not finishing until late at night.

She didn't know what was wrong with Jian Qingyao; they seemed to be at odds with each other.

I've been staying home with her every day for the past few days since I got back, trying to make my presence known to her.

"What exactly are you doing?" Jian Sheng asked, standing downstairs with his schoolbag in hand.

It's 6:05 in the morning. Jian Qingyao, with messy hair and wearing black pajamas, stands in front of her looking like he hasn't woken up yet.

"What time are you coming back tonight?" He yawned, still half asleep.

Jian Sheng didn't respond and turned to leave, but before she could take a step, her schoolbag was grabbed.

Jian Sheng frowned and turned around: "Around seven o'clock."

"What's it to you?" she asked again.

Jian Qingyao rubbed his eyes: "You don't have a cell phone, right?"

"No." Jian Sheng tugged twice, but couldn't budge it. She looked at his hand; he was holding the backpack very tightly.

"I'm going to be late, what's up?" she said impatiently.

Jian Qingyao didn't say anything. He rummaged in his pocket and soon pulled out two hundred yuan. He grabbed her backpack, took it, and then zipped up the top zipper, complaining as he did so: "Who the hell bought this for you? It's an old-fashioned bag from years ago, and it's all faded from washing."

Jian Sheng, barely containing his anger, asked, "What exactly are you doing?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Jian Qingyao stuffed the two hundred yuan into the innermost crevice of her schoolbag. He chuckled and said, "Oh, the schoolbag was originally white."

"Why are you giving me money?" Jian Sheng ignored his idiotic words.

Jian Qingyao zipped up his schoolbag and shoved it into her arms. He put his hands in his pockets and looked at her with a gloomy face: "Bring me two packs of cigarettes when you come back from school. They have to be Liqun."

"?" Jian Sheng's eyes widened. "What group...Are you crazy?"

She opened her bag, ready to return the money to him, but before her hand even touched the zipper, Jian Qingyao had already reached out and pulled her.

Jian Sheng took a step back: "Why are you smoking, you're just a high school student?"

Her chest heaved, and her cheeks flushed slightly with emotion.

"Pfft." Jian Qingyao scratched his head. "I'm telling you, can you stop being so narrow-minded, you country bumpkin?"

"You hunch over like an old lady all day, yet you have such a mature mind. I'm nineteen, almost twenty, so what if I smoke?"

"Besides, it's none of your business whether I smoke or not."

Jian Sheng sighed and said, "I'll give it back to you."

"Forget it, you're not allowed to refuse. Be careful or I'll send you back. Staying with that idiot Jian Zihua is much safer than staying here." Jian Qingyao smirked. "Buying a pack of cigarettes isn't a big deal, is it? Grandma won't check your bag. Help me this once, and you can have the rest of the money. It's a errand fee, okay?"

His tone softened considerably.

Jian Sheng found every sentence unpleasant, so unpleasant that it made her nauseous. Yet, when she heard Jian Zihua, she inexplicably lost the will to resist.

Seeing that she was hanging her head and not speaking, Jian Qingyao took it as her agreement and chuckled: "In my house, you have to listen to me. That's a good girl. Go to school, my good little sister."

A hint of disdain flashed in his eyes. Seeing her remain silent, he raised his hand and touched her thick bangs: "I don't know who got you this haircut, it's awful."

"Don't touch me." Jian Sheng took another step back.

Jian Qingyao launched an attack, then chuckled and said, "Fine, I won't touch you. Focus on your studies."

As he was about to go upstairs, he caught a glimpse of a figure out of the corner of his eye.

The figure, carrying a white backpack, stood a few meters away under a streetlamp, looking this way with a cold expression.

Jian Qingyao squinted at him for a moment, then looked away and focused his gaze on Jian Sheng. Suddenly, he leaned down and whispered in her ear, "If I were you, I would study like crazy, get into a good university, and work while I study..."

"If I were you, I would crush those who look down on me with my own hands."

He had just finished speaking and was about to say something more, but Jian Sheng slapped him away. Her eyes were red, and her voice was bright: "Get out."

Jian Qingyao gritted her teeth and rolled her eyes: "Two packs, the black ones, don't forget."

He then put his hands in his pockets again and went upstairs.

Jian Sheng watched his retreating figure, her fingers digging into her flesh.

After calming down for a while, she straightened her hair, picked up her backpack, and slowly walked out of the community.

After walking for a while, she felt a gaze on her back. She turned around abruptly and saw a tall man following behind her, carrying a schoolbag. His face, which had been gloomy, turned into a smile when she turned around.

Jian Sheng blinked, waited a while, and then followed.

Chen Zhoujing rubbed the back of his neck and greeted, "Good morning."

"Good morning," Jian Sheng said softly, suppressing her emotions.

"Haha." Chen Zhoujing chuckled twice, tossed his backpack over his shoulder, and said, "The weather is really nice today."

“Yes,” Jian replied.

"With such nice weather, I feel that Xu Shu will probably do the 800-1000 test in the afternoon PE class," he said.

Jian Sheng nodded. She had never run 800 or 1000, but she had heard that it was quite difficult to pass the line.

"Ugh, I wonder if it'll rain. I don't want to run at all, I just want to play ball!" Chen Zhoujing said again.

Jian Sheng shook her head slightly; she didn't like rainy days.

Seeing that Jian Sheng didn't speak, he continued, "But, I think there will be an autumn outing after the midterm exams next month. I heard it when I was watering the pothos."

Jian Sheng: "Mm."

"Last year we went to an ancient town, I wonder where we'll go this year," Chen Zhoujing muttered to himself.

Jian Sheng: "Hmm..."

"Sigh, I don't know what the teacher is thinking, but I think it's better to be normal. I went hiking once in junior high school, and I was so small and physically fit, it exhausted me..." Chen Zhou shook his head.

After a moment, he sighed and continued, "Hey, where did you guys go to school before?"

“Our school doesn’t have autumn outings,” Jian said in a low voice.

Chen Zhou stopped the conversation he was about to continue. He carefully looked at Jian Sheng's expression and saw that his head was hanging down, but he didn't seem to be reacting. So he breathed a sigh of relief.

Then she looked up and met his gaze.

Jian Sheng shook her head, her bangs parted slightly to the sides, and the redness around her eyes had faded, leaving her eyes clear and bright, which made Chen Zhou's ears inexplicably turn red.

He swallowed hard. "Ah...no, nothing..."

"Is there something you want to ask me?" Jian asked in a low voice.

He was acting strangely today, talking incoherently, one topic after another, unlike his usual ability to discuss a single topic thoroughly. It was as if his mind was thinking while his mouth was flying around.

Chen Zhoujing habitually reached up and pinched the back of his neck. He smiled and asked, "Who was that boy just now?"

Jian Sheng looked at him for a while, then walked out of the community gate without saying anything.

Chen Zhou's heart skipped a beat, and he followed her back, hesitatingly saying, "I didn't mean to ask you that."

"No... I didn't come looking for you on purpose. I just walked around and ended up at Building 9. And for some reason, there was a sewer smell over there, so I came here."

"Oh." Jian nodded. She hadn't thought about why Chen Zhoujing had gone to Building 9. He reminded her that it was a detour to get from Building 9 to Building 13, even though Building 13 was closer to the entrance of the community.

She scratched her index finger on the strap of her schoolbag, her heart pounding inexplicably.

Chen Zhou was surprised to see her coldness and assumed that she must have understood him, so he continued, "That's why I accidentally saw that boy just now."

"He's quite... quite handsome." He acknowledged Jian Qingyao's good looks but dismissed his character. "However, his attitude is questionable. How can he boss around a girl like that?"

Jian Sheng smiled.

"Hey, what are you laughing at..." Chen Zhoujing kept a close eye on her expression, afraid of missing a single one.

“It’s okay. If you don’t want to talk about it, I don’t really want to ask either. I’m just a little curious,” he said.

Jian shook his head: "My uncle's son, he should be called cousin."

Chen Zhou exclaimed "Oh!" with a long, drawn-out sound. He nodded and said, "I see."

“I think he’s a pretty decent person,” he added.

Jian chuckled softly.

She was as soft as a marshmallow, melting into his heart, but he didn't detect the emotions hidden in her laughter.