Chapter 36

Seeing that he didn't say anything more, Jian Sheng felt bad and slowed down a few steps to wait for him to catch up. She noticed that his eyelids were downcast, and she didn't know what he was thinking. She raised her hand and waved it in front of him: "Are you angry?"

Chen Zhou looked up in surprise, noticed her furrowed brows, his heart tightened, and he subconsciously said, "I will never be angry with you."

Jian Sheng paused, the sudden serious tone leaving her speechless.

"I have a very good temper, really, He Shang and the others can attest to that. I never get angry with anyone..." he testified.

“Okay.” Jian nodded.

“Besides, I’m praising you because you deserve to be praised. It’s something that deserves praise, no matter how small it is.” Chen Zhoujing shifted the backpack on his shoulder and moved the lollipop in his mouth to a different position. “You can also find confidence in these small things, Mo.”

“A friend of mine taught me this,” he added.

"Oh, your friend taught you a lot, mostly profound truths," Jian Sheng said admiringly.

"That's a bit of a perfunctory response," Chen Zhou said in a low voice.

Jian Sheng thought for a moment, then asked seriously, "Your friend isn't named Chen Zhoujing, is he?"

When her name was suddenly mentioned, Chen Zhoujing didn't react for a moment. Her unexpected question made him want to laugh but he felt it was inappropriate, so he could only raise his hand to cover his mouth, his shoulders shaking incessantly.

After a moment, Jian Sheng didn't hear him speak again. She turned her head and saw him bending over, trying not to laugh. When she looked over, he couldn't help but burst out laughing: "Hahahahahahahaha."

"Ugh... Hahaha." Chen Zhoujing couldn't stand her serious expression any longer, his voice trembling, "How could you possibly think it was me?"

“You keep talking about a friend…” Jian Sheng glared at him. “What’s so funny?”

Chen Zhoujing bent over and laughed for a while. Seeing that Jian Sheng didn't say anything and was walking faster and faster, he finally calmed down. He slapped himself across the face and muttered, "Yeah, what's so funny?"

He then caught up with her in a few steps: "What's wrong? Are you angry again?"

"Yes." Jian Sheng wasn't telling the truth. The two were equal friends and there were no major conflicts, so why get angry and waste energy?

Chen Zhou gasped in surprise, a little flustered. He looked at her cautiously, and when his gaze fell on the corner of her mouth, he inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.

Jian Sheng smiled and continued, "Who is that?"

"Huh?" Chen Zhoujing rubbed the back of his neck and took a long time to speak. "You mean a friend of mine? Um... my childhood friend."

"His surname is Li... and his name is Li Jing."

When Li Jing was mentioned, his tone became much more normal, more calm, which was quite a contrast to his childish style just now.

"It's that doctor from last time..."

Jian Sheng could hear the change in his tone and hesitated whether to offer any words of comfort.

The next second, the person recovered on their own and said, "No matter who said it, what I said was what I meant at that moment, and that's what I wanted to say to you."

He circled back, and Jian Sheng began his incessant chatter again.

The further inside the city wall, the quieter it became. The group visited several locations, took photos, and then prepared to find a place to rest.

Beside the crowd, Zhao Chengyang took out his phone, opened WeChat, replied to He Man's message, scrolled down, and found the class group that had been buried by the previous message.

"What are you doing, fifth row, hurry up! Damn it, all Chen Zhoujing knows is dating, we're short-handed." He Shang shoved him.

Zhao Chengyang frowned: "Come on, five rows? I just got scolded by the teacher on the bus."

"It's alright, it's alright, she's not here." He gave an awkward smile and urged them on.

"No need to line up anymore. Just tag people in the group chat and we'll meet at 11:20 for lunch." Zhao Chengyang put away his phone and called out to the group.

He glanced at Chen Zhoujing, who seemed to be talking endlessly in the distance, and his expression faltered for a moment. He walked past him and kicked him as he went: "Meet at 11:20 for lunch."

Chen Zhou's expression turned calm.

Jian Sheng noticed something was wrong with him, then looked at Zhao Chengyang's back and asked, "Are you two still arguing?"

"Jian Sheng, let's go." Lin You called out, and when she saw Chen Zhoujing, she turned around and walked towards the crowd.

Jian Sheng, who had just taken a step, shrank back.

Chen Zhoujing tugged at her, gesturing for her to follow the group of people in front.

He said, "No, we didn't argue. I have a very good temper, how could we argue?"

"Oh." Jian Sheng didn't ask any more questions.

As the event neared its end at 4:20, a long banner was unfurled at the entrance and placed across the front row of the classrooms. Students in the rows gathered in small groups, laughing and making noise.

Jian Sheng and the others emerged from the city gate and saw a tour guide in the distance, calling out for photos. The guide's voice was enthusiastic. Jian Sheng smiled slightly and followed Lin You and the others, walking towards the lively scene.

"Taking photos again," Qi Jing sighed.

Jian Sheng turned her head and saw her pouting, looking lazy: "Last year's photo was taken and sent directly to the class group. Nobody understands the pain of having an asymmetrical face."

Jian Sheng remained noncommittal: "I can't tell, it's very beautiful."

The three looked at Jian Sheng with disbelief, and Qi Jing's eyes lit up. She grabbed Jian Sheng's arm and said excitedly, "Wow, you really are a good deskmate and a good friend, Jian Sheng. You're so good at praising people!"

"Thank you, you're the second person besides Lin You to compliment me..."

Jian Sheng's ears turned red; she hadn't realized that these words would cause such a strong emotional reaction in her, and she accepted them with pleasure.

Xu Xiaxia clicked her tongue: "What are you talking about? I haven't praised you? Didn't I praise you for getting an A in political science?"

Hearing this, Qi Jing clicked her tongue in response: "Then I should thank you, even though you know I don't vote for politics."

"Oh, I almost thought you just selected your subject and left," Xu Xiaxia smiled. "Did you click the wrong mouse button when selecting your subject?"

Qi Jing turned her head away and ignored her, but Lin You stopped their conversation from the side: "We're taking pictures, Teacher Zhong is here."

Jian Sheng glanced back at the group of people walking towards the city gate. Zhong Mei was surrounded by five or six people, with Chen Zhoujing, He Shang, and a somewhat familiar-looking boy standing on her right, and several girls on her left. The atmosphere was harmonious, and they were all smiling.

Zhong Mei usually spoke first, and only when Chen Zhoujing mentioned carrying his bag in his pocket and walking with a casual gait did he nod in response.

Jian Sheng looked away, but her peripheral vision lingered on his figure.

The gentle touch on her hand pulled her back to reality. She lowered her eyes and saw Lin You holding her hand, gesturing for her to move forward. Jian Sheng lifted her foot and walked to the third or fourth row.

Bang, bang, the horn was hit and made a buzzing sound.

"Quiet down, quiet down! All second-year high school students, counting from my left, classes one through twenty, each class line up in three rows. The first two rows, squat down. The taller students, go to the back. Hurry up, we're done taking pictures and then we'll head back." The tour guide banged the loudspeaker twice more, but the group was chatting animatedly and no one paid any attention.

It took five minutes for their respective homeroom teachers to come on stage and calm the students who were chatting and playing games. The girls were in the front row and the boys were in the back. Jian Sheng was pulled by Zhong Mei to the third row and stood with Zheng Nian.

“We’re doomed,” Zheng Nian suddenly said.

Jian Sheng turned her head and asked, "What's wrong?"

Zheng Nian hesitated for a moment, then pulled off her hair tie and ruffled her hair a couple of times: "My left jaw muscle is more developed than my right, so it looks distorted on camera. It won't look good in the photos, I'm doomed."

"You girls still care about this?" someone in the back row asked.

The two turned around and met a familiar gaze. Chen Zhoujing was standing behind her at some point, slowly giving her a smile. He Shang, who had just spoken, was also standing next to her.

Jian Sheng turned to the side, looked up at him, and grinned back. Chen Zhoujing's gaze faltered slightly.

"You don't understand what I mean? What do you mean by gender antagonism? You've been online too much, haven't you?" The two people next to her suddenly started arguing, which startled Jian Sheng. She turned around to see He Shang explaining.

"What I mean is that it's a camera, and it's far away, so the difference between the two sides of your face will be slight. Besides, you can't see the difference with the naked eye. Your face is small to begin with, and your features are big. Who's going to stare at the tiny curves of your face? As long as you look good overall, that's enough..."

Zheng Nian suddenly stopped talking, swallowed hard, and turned away.

He Shang was stunned: "No, you're still angry?"

"I didn't mean to, how come I'm just like Xu Xiaxia..."

"Am I wrong?" His gaze fell on Jian Sheng, who was looking over.

Jian Sheng's lips parted slightly, and she paused for a moment, unsure how to respond. She turned to look at Chen Zhoujing.

When Chen Zhoujing met her gaze, a smile appeared in his eyes: "Be careful how you talk to girls."

"What attitude did I have? My attitude wasn't good, Zheng Nian..." He Shang got angry and bent down to slap her, but was slapped away by a hand.

Xu Xiaxia stepped into the third line and punched him lightly: "What are you doing?"

"Are you bullying a girl?"

Seeing her arrive, He Shang rolled her eyes and said nothing more.

Despite their heated exchange that morning, neither side managed to slap her. In the end, he accepted the fact that an actor is an actor and an idol is an idol.

“Turn around, it’s time for a photo.” Chen Zhou exclaimed in surprise. Her smile deepened as she looked at Jian Sheng. Before she could move, he bent down to look at her: “What are you doing? Don’t you want me to stand behind you?”

“You really like stirring up trouble.” Jian pursed her lips and turned away.

Chen Zhou raised an eyebrow slightly, waited for a while, and just before the photo was taken, he moved closer to her side, so that from the camera's angle, he was standing right next to her.

Click, several pats, Jian Sheng stood straight, his lips pursed into a thin line, his movements somewhat tense.

"Everyone relax, okay, one more picture," the tour guide said.

Jian Sheng kept her eyes open, maintaining the same posture until the filming was finished. She relaxed and was about to walk forward when something was suddenly shoved into her hand. She turned around, and Chen Zhoujing was letting go.

Her fingers touched his burning heat, as if she were being scalded. The heat sent a warm current through her body, and a dense, pricking sensation rose up on the back of her head.

Jian Sheng let out a sigh of relief and looked at the round object that had been stuffed into his hand...

"What is this?" She squeezed it; it was soft.

Chen Zhoujing placed his hand on the back of his neck: "Motion sickness patches, stick them behind your ears, they'll relieve the discomfort of motion sickness, give it a try?"

"Do you want me to help you?" He stepped forward, about to take the motion sickness patch from her hand, but suddenly felt it was inappropriate and stopped. He said, "Or should the class monitor help you put it on?"

Lin You had already walked up: "What post?"

Chen Zhoujing took a step back and pointed to the motion sickness patch in her hand: "Could you help me put this on behind my ear? I'm getting on the bus now, thanks."

"Oh right, if we put it on now, it'll take about half an hour to drive there, which is perfect." He took a few steps, turned around and added a few more words, before being pulled into the car by He Shang.

Jian Sheng's breathing slowed slightly as she looked at Lin You Shi, her expression awkward, yet her chest felt tingly.

"I'll put it on for you." Lin You smiled, seemingly understanding, took the motion sickness patch, tore open the packaging, and gently placed it near her ear.

On the way back, Jian Sheng sat in the same spot she had come from, with Chen Zhoujing sitting behind her. However, whether it was because of the motion sickness patch or a placebo effect, she felt that the discomfort had lessened considerably.

Instead of feeling uncomfortable, there was something surging within her heart that was about to burst forth.