Chapter 18

After delivering the medicine, Sang Sui went straight home.

As soon as she pushed open the door, she saw Tan Huiyu sitting on the sofa in the living room, her face so gloomy it could drip water. Her younger brother, Sang Chi, was huddled in the corner of the sofa, hugging a cushion, his eyes darting away, seemingly afraid to look at her.

Every time Sang Chi faced Sang Sui, he was arrogant and defiant. When did he become so cowardly?

Sang Sui's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition immediately arose in his heart.

But after a quick thought, she realized that she had been behaving herself lately and hadn't done anything wrong.

Before she could figure it out, Tan Huiyu's voice was as cold as ice: "You're back?"

"Hmm." Sang Sui responded softly, bending down to change her shoes. She noticed the atmosphere in the living room was off and wanted to go straight upstairs to her room.

"Stop!" Tan Huiyu suddenly raised her voice, startling Sang Chi, who shrank back.

"What's wrong?" Sang Sui was a little confused and annoyed by Tan Huiyu's sudden outburst of temper.

Tan Huiyu asked coldly, "Where did you go just now? What were you doing?"

Sang Sui pursed her lips, remaining silent, unsure how to respond.

She truly had no idea what unforgivable crime she had committed to offend Tan Huiyu and cause her to speak to her so agitatedly.

"You won't talk? Fine, I'll talk for you." Tan Huiyu stood up abruptly, her finger almost poking Sang Sui's face. "Weren't you just delivering medicine to that Ming Ying? Sang Sui, you've really grown some guts, haven't you? Who told you to meddle in her business?"

Sang Sui suddenly looked up at Sang Chi in disbelief. No one but him would know what she had just been doing.

Sang Chi quickly lowered his head, but his ears turned red.

"Why are you looking at him? If Xiao Chi hadn't told me, were you planning to keep this from me forever?" Tan Huiyu's chest heaved with anger.

Sang Sui frowned, somewhat puzzled: "Mom, I was just delivering some medicine, it's not a big deal, there's no need to get so angry, is there?"

Upon hearing this, Tan Huiyu's tone became even harsher: "Do you know what kind of people they are? Huh? Her mother is a vixen who specializes in destroying other people's families, a mistress, a despicable person! What kind of good person could a daughter raised by a woman like that be? Huh? You're going to be friends with people like that?"

"Mom, why are you saying such things about others?" Sang Sui choked up, her voice trembling with emotion. "Mingying did nothing wrong. Her mother is her mother, and she is herself. Besides, her mother isn't actually..."

"Why should I? Because I'm not blind." Tan Huiyu's voice was sharp and piercing. "Don't you understand the saying 'one is influenced by one's company'? If you hang out with that kind of person, what will you do with your reputation? What will others think of you? What will they think of our family? I'm telling you, Sang Sui, you stay away from her, do you hear me?"

"No!" Sang Sui retorted to Tan Huiyu so fiercely for the first time. "She was injured, what's wrong with me bringing her medicine? Why do you judge someone based on those messy rumors? Besides, when you met Zhang Wenshu before, weren't you still talking to her?"

“That’s because I’m an adult and I have to maintain a decent appearance. Actually, I feel like throwing up just looking at her.” Tan Huiyu sneered. “Also, Sang Sui, let me tell you, from today onwards, you are not allowed to have any contact with her anymore.”

Sang Sui didn't understand: "Mom, don't you think what you're doing is very unreasonable?"

"I'm being unreasonable. I just don't want you to hang out with people who are mistresses. Is that my fault too?" Tan Huiyu suddenly lost control of her emotions again, and at this moment she couldn't help but burst into tears.

Sang Sui was completely stunned.

Sang Chi was also startled.

"Mom, what's wrong? Are you okay?" It is said that daughters are the most likely to feel sorry for their mothers. Even though Sang Sui was angry at the moment, she panicked instantly when she saw Tan Huiyu's sudden tears, and her voice softened a little.

"It's nothing, I'm fine, I'm just really angry." Tan Huiyu covered her face, choked up a few times, and then wiped away her tears: "Let's tidy up for a while, I'll cook dinner later."

This is simply a farce.

Tan Huiyu suddenly lost control, and then suddenly calmed down.

Outrageous, nonsensical, and inexplicable.

Sang Sui couldn't understand why Tan Huiyu had suddenly lost control like this, but in order to appease her, he promised that he would not go to Mingying again.

After dinner, she stayed in her room.

My mood, which was originally quite good, was made very complicated by Tan Huiyu.

Just then, the phone lying quietly on the desk suddenly lit up, accompanied by a short vibration.

Sang Sui picked it up casually, his gaze falling on the screen, where a friend request had been sent.

When she saw the name in the application section, her breath caught in her throat, and her fingers gripping the phone tightened sharply, her knuckles turning slightly white from the force.

It was Liang Fengshen.

Liang Fengshen actually took the initiative to add her.

Sang Sui read the application text message several times, thinking she was dreaming. Only after confirming it multiple times did she realize it wasn't a dream, but truly the message.

— "LFS requests to add you as a friend."

These words seemed to possess a magical power, instantly shattering all her psychological defenses.

She could hardly believe her eyes; her heart pounded like a drum in the quiet room, so loudly that she wondered if the person outside the door could hear it.

My hand trembled slightly uncontrollably, my fingertips hovering above the screen. After hesitating for several seconds, I carefully pressed the "Agree" button.

A dialog box popped up, and the system also sent a text message: "You have become friends with LFS. Let's start chatting."

Sang Sui's heart was pounding even faster. She kept revising and editing, her thoughts racing, wondering why Liang Fengshen had suddenly added her.

Is it because of work, or something else?

But undeniably, at this moment, Sang Sui genuinely wondered if Liang Fengshen might have feelings for her, even if only a little.

Just as I was hesitating, a message appeared below the other person's name: "Typing..."

Her heart jumped into her throat.

Liang Fengshen: "How's your speech under the national flag coming along?"

He actually took the initiative to start the conversation.

Sang Sui quickly replied, "I'm still practicing, but it's better than before."

Liang Fengshen: "Yes, don't be nervous. I recommend you take a look at the 'Guide to the Mandarin Proficiency Test,' which we usually call □□. It contains many practical pronunciation tips."

Then he sent several pictures, photos of handwritten tongue twister excerpts, the handwriting neat and tidy, just like him.

"These are basic exercises; you can try them too."

Looking at the words and pictures on the screen, Sang Sui felt a warm current spread from her heart to her limbs. She carefully saved the pictures and replied earnestly, "Okay, I will definitely practice hard, thank you."

Liang Fengshen: You're welcome, keep it up.

Then, his profile picture went dark.

The conversation was incredibly brief, yet Sang Sui sat there for a long time, holding her phone, unable to suppress the smile on her lips, her heart filled with the sweetness of fireworks exploding one after another.

She almost immediately opened the chat window with Jiang Yaoyue, eager to share this immense joy.

Sang Sui: Yueyue!!! He added me on QQ!!!

Jiang Yaoyue: ?

Sang Sui: The boy I like!! Ahhh, God knows how excited I am right now, he actually added me on his own initiative! He even sent me materials to practice Mandarin!

Jiang Yaoyue: What's going on? Weren't you still suffering from unrequited love for him before? How come things are progressing so fast now?

Sang Sui: I don't know! I'm so excited I could die! Do you think he might like me even a tiny bit? Even just a tiny bit? Am I being a little narcissistic? But why did he add me and even encourage me? It's so inexplicable! Ughhhhh!! I think I'm going to be so happy tonight that I won't be able to sleep at all!! (creepy laugh)

Jiang Yaoyue: Hahahaha, you really are a lovesick fool. Are women in love this scary?

Sang Sui: I'm still in unrequited love, but I'm trying. I still don't understand why he added me out of the blue.

Jiang Yaoyue: Calm down, quickly show me the screenshots of you and him, what did he say?

Sang Sui sent over a screenshot of the brief chat history.

Jiang Yaoyue: Although you didn't say much, you seemed very serious. You even wrote out a tongue twister for me by hand. I think there's potential.

Sang Sui: I don't know... I'm just so happy, it feels like a dream.

Jiang Yaoyue: Hahaha, look at your lack of ambition. Practice hard and strive to make your speech amazing so that he will look at you with new eyes.

Sang Sui: Yes, I definitely will.

Sang Sui had already finished chatting with Jiang Yaoyue, but in the middle of the night, she suddenly became excited again when she thought of the simple words Liang Fengshen had sent her.

Unable to sleep, she went to bother Jiang Yaoyue again.

Sang Sui: What exactly does he mean?! What does he mean?!

Jiang Yaoyue was almost speechless: Go to sleep already.

For the next two days, Sang Sui practiced harder than ever before.

She looked in the mirror and recited the tongue twister Liang Fengshen had sent her over and over again, “Four is four, ten is ten…”, until her tongue got tied in knots, and then she couldn’t help but laugh.

Those originally tedious practices became full of motivation and joy because of his presence.

Monday morning, the flag-raising ceremony finally arrived.

The weather was exceptionally good that day; the sky was a clear, deep blue, and the sunlight was bright but not scorching.

When Sang Sui's name was called, she took a deep breath, gripped the manuscript in her hand, and walked step by step toward the podium.

It's just a regular speech under the national flag; don't make yourself too nervous.

She gave herself a mental pep talk, took a deep breath, and her steps were initially a little unsteady, but as her gaze swept over the dark mass of people below the stage, a strange calm gradually replaced her tension.

Sang Sui stood in front of the microphone and adjusted the height.

Her newly cut bangs fluttered gently in the breeze, revealing her smooth forehead and her eyes that seemed exceptionally bright at that moment.

She was wearing a neatly pressed school uniform, which was slightly faded from washing but clean and tidy. She no longer deliberately lowered her head to avoid eye contact, but instead slightly raised her chin.

"Teachers and students, good morning. Today, the topic of my speech is..."

Sang Sui's voice was clearly transmitted across the playground through the microphone, louder than any previous practice session, and his pronunciation was much clearer.

Her hand holding the manuscript was steady, and although her eyes still flickered slightly, she was able to look straight ahead most of the time.

The sunlight shone on her, giving her a soft glow.

At the end of Class 7's line below the stage, Song Shiyue stood there, his gentle gaze fixed on the stage.

His position was right next to the back of the adjacent Class Six line. Cheng Xiao nudged Liang Fengshen beside him with his elbow, lowered his voice, and said with his usual teasing tone:

"Oh my, 'Thick Bangs' has a new hairstyle. She's quite a pretty young girl. I never noticed before."

Song Shiyue frowned slightly and reminded him in a low voice, "Cheng Xiao, don't give people random nicknames."

Cheng Xiao then turned to Liang Fengshen, who was standing behind him, and said, "Don't you think Sang Sui looks quite pretty with her new hairstyle?"

Liang Fengshen was still wearing his flag bearer uniform. He had just returned to his post when he heard the sound. He raised his head and looked over the crowd of people, his gaze landing on the girl giving a speech on the podium.

Undeniably, she looked completely different on stage compared to her usual self, appearing more confident and beautiful.

But when Liang Fengshen looked at Cheng Xiao, he misunderstood and asked suspiciously, "Cheng Xiao, do you have a crush on him?"

Song Shiyue laughed out loud.

Cheng Xiao's face contorted, and he pointed to his temple at Song Shiyue, implying that Liang Fengshen was an idiot.

When Sang Sui finished reciting the last sentence and bowed in thanks, the audience erupted in fairly enthusiastic applause.

She straightened up, her face flushed with excitement and her heart pounding happily in her chest.

As soon as he stepped off the stage and returned to Class 7's group, Zhao Yanqi, He Lili, and Qiao Chunzhao immediately surrounded him.

"Sui Sui, that's amazing!" Zhao Yanqi patted her shoulder hard. "Your voice is so loud!"

“Yes, yes, I was completely engrossed in listening.” He Lili’s eyes lit up. “And you looked especially confident today.”

Qiao Chunchao nodded vigorously: "You seem to be glowing."

The generous praise from friends enveloped Sang Sui like warm spring water.

She also felt that she had done a very good job, and a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, which she had never felt before, welled up inside her.

After the speech, Sang Sui made a special detour to the convenience store.

The convenience store was packed with students, and she managed to squeeze in with great difficulty.

The glass door of the freezer was covered with a layer of white mist, and inside, a dazzling array of beverages were displayed.

Her gaze swept over the colorful packaging and finally landed on a row of familiar green bottles—lime-flavored sparkling water.

It's the brand he usually drinks.

Almost without hesitation, she reached out and grabbed a bottle.

The cool touch from her palm calmed her anxiety slightly.

When she paid, she noticed sticky notes and pens next to the cashier, for customers to leave messages.

As if possessed, she tore off a pale yellow sticky note.

What should she write? She thought about it for a very long time.

In the end, she simply wrote down the two simplest words in the neatest possible handwriting:

"Thanks."

She has many things to be grateful for, not just that he took the initiative to add her as a friend that day and shared tongue twisters and [unclear text] with her.

She was especially grateful for his help when they first met on the green train, for being a part of her youth, and for remembering that she had an orange allergy...

There are so many things I want to say, and I've wanted to tell him for a long time.

She carefully stuck the sticky note onto the cool bottle, and water droplets condensed on the transparent bottle wall, slowly wetting the edges of the note.

Once the rush hour after school has passed, the school building becomes quiet.

Her heart was racing, but she walked resolutely toward Class 6 of the second year of high school.

The corridor was empty, and the setting sun cast her long shadow.

The classroom door for Class 6 was ajar, and the room was empty. She took a deep breath, gently pushed the door open, and the familiar classroom layout came into view.

She walked quickly over and deftly placed the bottle of sparkling water with a "thank you" label on his desk. The green bottle stood out against the dark surface.

The delivery went very smoothly, and unfortunately, Cheng Xiao wasn't encountered.

Stepping out of the teaching building, a cool evening breeze blew by.

She glanced back at the window of Class 6, feeling nervous yet strangely calm.

She didn't have her name on the label, but she thought that when Liang Fengshen saw the word "thank you," he would guess that the bottle of sparkling water was from her.

Would he be surprised if he saw this bottle of water? Would he guess that she liked him?

Courage is something you can only use once in a while.

Fortunately, she now has the courage to face the fact that her secret crush has been discovered.

What she didn't know was that the windows of Class 6 were wide open at that moment.

Liang Fengshen's seat was by the window, and the bottle was damp. The label had long since lost its stickiness, and with a gust of wind, the label was blown far away.

One student stepped on the floor as they entered the classroom, and another student, thinking it was trash, picked it up and threw it into the trash can.

Liang Fengshen did not see it.

The sudden appearance of the bubbly water, along with the previously unexpected appearance of the medicine, left Liang Fengshen completely bewildered.

He didn't think much of it. He knew he was popular at school, and too many people liked him; he couldn't possibly notice everyone.

He opened WeChat, found a person with an owl profile picture, took a picture of the sparkling water on the table, and then sent a message with a smirk.

LFS: Did you send it to me?

Ying: Do you think that's possible?

LFS: Only you would like this drink. The lime flavor is a bit strange; I've never seen anyone like it.

warbler:.

It was just an ordinary period, but Liang Fengshen found it inexplicably cute, and he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

LFS: Then I'll take it as a gift from you, and I'll return the bottle to you next time.

That evening, Sang Sui was called to the office by his math teacher, Ji Yungui, who once again reminded him about the summer math competition training.

Sang Sui nodded earnestly: "Teacher Ji, I will do my best."

Clutching a stack of extra practice problems given to her by the teacher, Sang walked briskly down the teaching building.

As evening sunlight streamed through the tall glass windows, it cast interplay of light and shadow on the staircase.

She saw a familiar figure in front of the vending machine in the lobby on the first floor.

Liang Fengshen was standing in front of the vending machine, putting money in and the machine spitting it out. He frowned, seemingly troubled.

Sang Sui stopped in her tracks, and her heart started beating faster again.

She hesitated for a moment, but still mustered up her courage and went over.

"Um...do you need any help?" she asked softly.

Liang Fengshen turned around when he heard the voice, and seemed somewhat surprised to see her.

“It seems to only accept coins,” he pointed to the vending machine. “I didn’t bring any. It used to accept paper money.”

“I have some.” Sang Sui almost immediately pulled a few coins from his pocket and handed them over. “Here you go.”

Liang Fengshen looked at the coin in her palm, hesitated for a moment, and then took it.

"Thank you." He tossed in a coin, pressed the button, and a bottle of green lime soda rolled out.

He took it out, and a fine layer of water droplets instantly condensed on the bottle.

“I should be thanking you,” Sang Sui looked up at him and said earnestly, “Thank you for giving me the information that day and for encouraging me.”

Liang Fengshen paused in his act of twisting the bottle cap, looked at her, and seemed to have a very faint smile on his lips: "You're welcome."

He seemed to remember something and then said, "The speech was very good."

Those five simple words filled Sang Sui's heart with sweetness, almost overflowing with it.

"I'm going back to the classroom now, goodbye." He nodded to her, took his soda, and turned to leave.

Sang Sui nodded: "See you next time."

Sang Sui stood there, watching his slender and upright figure disappear around the corner of the stairs, feeling as if the air around her was filled with the sweet scent of lime soda.

She couldn't resist walking up to the vending machine, dropping in a few coins, and buying a bottle of the same soda.

The cool liquid slid down her throat, carrying a slightly bitter and sweet taste, much like her mood at that moment.