Chapter 25 Strategy: How Much Do You Like Me on the Twenty-Fiveth Day

"No." With his head pressed down and unable to move, Xiang Di could only guiltily shift her eyes. "I'm listening to whatever you say."

Bai Jiangxin: "So what did I just say?"

Xiang Di: "You mean cream puffs..."

Bai Jiangxin: "So, what about cream puffs?"

“The cream puffs were shared with the class,” Xiang Di said. “You were there during lunch break too… Oh, you were looking at your phone then, so you probably didn’t see it.”

Huh? If he didn't see it, how did he know she brought cream puffs to school?

Her answer was off-target, and communicating with her was practically pointless. Bai Jiangxin gritted her teeth and said, "I know you divided the cream puffs."

Xiang Di was a little confused: "Then why did you ask?"

"..."

Bai Jiangxin choked.

That's not what he asked.

She wanted to share the cream puffs, and he had no objection. It's good for a child to know how to share. But if these cream puffs were for him, shouldn't she at least leave some for him?

But why did he end up with nothing, while Wang Sichen reaped the benefits?

When did her relationship with Wang Sichen become so good, so good that she was generous enough to give him the rest of the cream puffs?

Isn't the person she likes Bai Jiangxin?

If you like someone, shouldn't you be biased towards them? Shouldn't you think about giving them the best and the most?

What Bai Jiangxin actually wanted to ask her was this.

He pursed his lips, staring at her, his brows furrowed, and a fleeting, bewildered, and contradictory emotion flickered in his dark pupils, as black as ink on rice paper.

Unable to control his emotions, the hand that was pressing on her head ultimately didn't vent his anger on her, but gently lowered itself.

But it doesn't mean that if you like someone, you have to put that person first in everything you do.

Perhaps he was blinded by her feelings recently and really thought that this girl liked him so much. Therefore, he took it for granted that she should like him so much that she could only have him in her eyes and no one else.

Besides, she had never told him she liked him to his face; she had only thought about it in her heart. Yet, he inexplicably declared his ownership of her.

She never asked those questions; Bai Jiangxin knew she had no obligation to.

But if he didn't ask anything, he would feel even more uncomfortable, so he asked the most indifferent question: "...Didn't you say you would bring me cream puffs?"

Xiang Di asked with surprise, "Huh? So you still remember?"

When she was distributing cream puffs to others at lunchtime, he didn't even glance at them. She thought he had already forgotten about them, which made her a little sad.

Bai Jiangxin frowned: "Don't you remember?"

Xiang Di explained, "I remember, I remember. Actually, this cream puff was originally brought for you. I asked my brother to buy it for me, so he bought too many and asked me to share them with the other students in the class. You were busy at the time, so I thought I would share some with the other students first, and then give the rest to you."

Bai Jiangxin nodded; he had guessed this beforehand.

"And what about the rest?" he paused, then asked, "Why were they all given to Wang Sichen?"

The mere mention of this made Xiang Di angry, and her previously gentle face immediately wrinkled up.

"Let me tell you!" she said, her tone becoming more forceful as she launched into a rapid-fire explanation. "Wang Sichen is just so unhygienic. After playing basketball, he doesn't even wash his hands before taking my cream puffs to eat. I had saved a few for myself, but after he took them, I didn't even want to eat them anymore. How could I give them to you? I just gave them all to him."

Without comparison, there is no harm. Thinking about it this way, Xiang Di suddenly felt that Bai Jiangxin was even more impeccable. Society's requirements for boys are already low enough. A boy doesn't need to be handsome, but at least he should be clean and hygienic.

Because she was angry, she forgot to pay attention to her tone in front of Bai Jiangxin, and spoke as if she were complaining to a friend, her mouth opening and closing incessantly. She usually gives people the impression of having a good temper, but when she gets angry, she is actually quite lively, unlike her usual quiet demeanor. When she grits her teeth, she looks like a cat with its back raised, very fierce, but still fluffy.

Someone who is afraid of cats might be scared and think this cat is fierce, but Bai Jiangxin has owned cats before, and he knows how much a cat can bluff.

Bai Jiangxin didn't interrupt her, just quietly watched her and listened to her talking badly about Wang Sichen behind her back.

After saying that, Xiang Di let out a heavy sigh.

Once she had finished speaking, she suddenly realized, "Oh no, I forgot to maintain my ladylike image in front of Bai Jiangxin!"

Xiang Di quickly tried to justify himself: "I just couldn't stand it today. Actually, I rarely get angry."

Bai Jiangxin said calmly, "It would be strange if you weren't angry today."

He didn't seem to care that she showed her fierce side in front of him.

Xiang Di breathed a sigh of relief.

"I thought you had long forgotten that I said I would bring you cream puffs. Since you can't have any today anyway, I didn't tell you. I thought I could just bring you some next time."

At this point, Xiang Di bit her lip with a hint of smug delight, looked up at him, her eyes sparkling: "...I didn't expect you to remember."

Xiang Di was initially quite angry with Wang Sichen, but the thought that Bai Jiangxin actually remembered their puff pastry promise made the world seem beautiful again.

Looking into her bright eyes, Bai Jiangxin nodded and said, "I remember."

As her lips gradually curved into a smile, he added, "After all, you've been brainwashing me with how delicious the cream puffs sold downstairs from your house are."

Just like a while ago, I kept telling him I liked him in a brainwashing-like manner.

"Oh, that's just how I am. If I like something, I can't wait to recommend it to the whole world." Xiang Di scratched his nose sheepishly and said self-deprecatingly, "It's a bit annoying, huh?"

Bai Jiangxin: "It's alright."

Xiang Di smiled and asked him, "So you called me out just to ask me about cream puffs?"

He opened his lips, then closed them again, letting out a simple "Mmm" from his throat.

Xiang Di blinked in surprise, not expecting that Bai Jiangxin would go out of his way to talk to her over a bag of cream puffs.

So he actually cared that she didn't share the cream puffs she brought with him.

He always gave off an aloof, unapproachable vibe, as if nothing in the world was worthy of his mere glance. Little did she know that the cream puffs sold downstairs from her house would actually catch his eye.

It seems the cream puffs downstairs from her apartment are really to his liking, that he can't stop thinking about them.

Xiang Di felt that Bai Jiangxin suddenly had a more down-to-earth side; it turned out he also had a craving for food. But instead of feeling disillusioned, she found him quite adorable. After all, no matter how composed he was, he was still just an eighteen-year-old high school boy.

Xiang Di chuckled inwardly, but said aloud, "If you want to eat it, I'll bring you some next time?"

Bai Jiangxin: "Okay."

"Shall we go back to the classroom? Class is about to start."

"good."

Just as she was walking toward the classroom, Bai Jiangxin called her from behind.

Xiang Di turned around: "Huh?"

“Next time, one serving is enough for me. I can finish it all by myself.” He paused for a moment, then said casually, “Don’t give any more to Wang Sichen.”

Xiang Di patted his chest: "Don't worry! I'll only give you one, I absolutely won't give him a single one!"

The bell rang for class. This was the homeroom teacher's chemistry class, and Xiang Di dared not be late. Although she knew that even if Bai Jiangxin was late, the teacher wouldn't say anything to her, she still reminded him, "You should hurry back to the classroom too."

Then she started running towards the classroom.

She didn't tie her hair into a bun today; instead, she wore a simple and refreshing ponytail with the braids swinging behind her head, the strands of hair rising in soft arcs in the air.

Her legs weren't long, but they were agile and light, so she ran quite fast. The wind from the corridor window blew into her oversized school uniform, supporting her slender back. Her back looked so cheerful. It was early spring, and the green of summer hadn't arrived yet, but he could already see the shadow of summer in her.

Bai Jiangxin didn't know that during her three years of high school, through spring, summer, autumn and winter, Xiang Di had also watched his back countless times, whether he was wearing long sleeves, short sleeves, white shoes, or black shoes. She had even seen him with his hair cut short at the nape of his neck.

Unexpectedly, one day, she found herself being quietly watched by him, though she herself was unaware of it.

-

That evening, Wang Sichen treated Xiang Di to a meal in the cafeteria.

Xiang Di asked him what he and Bai Jiangxin had talked about in physics class that afternoon. How could Wang Sichen tell Xiang Di that he had been bragging to Bai Jiangxin about their good relationship? So he just laughed it off.

Seeing his guilty look, Xiang Di suddenly thought of a possibility.

I heard that the guys like to talk about dirty topics when they're together...

Xiang Di tentatively asked, "You weren't talking about anything restricted or adult-oriented back then, were you?"

Wang Sichen almost spat out her food on the spot.

"How could that be! I'm very innocent, okay?"

Xiang Di glanced at him without saying a word, but her suspicious look said it all.

Wang Sichen said helplessly, "Even if I wanted to talk to Bai Jiangxin about 18+ content, do you think Bai Jiangxin would pay attention to me? The way he looks, he's like a reincarnated high-ranking monk. If I talk to him about this, I'll be grateful if he doesn't arrest me and shut down the porn hotline."

Xiang Di was taken aback; indeed.

Silently shoveling a mouthful of rice into her mouth, Wang Sichen knew she couldn't talk about 18+ topics with Bai Jiangxin, so she had to keep her dirty little yellow heart well covered and absolutely not expose it.

Otherwise, that eminent monk surnamed Bai would have fainted from fright.

Seeing that she was silent, Wang Sichen suddenly laughed and said, "Xiang Di, I didn't know you before. I didn't expect you to know about adult content. Have you seen it?"

Before Xiang Di could speak, Liang Qianqian immediately put down her chopsticks and covered her ears.

"Hey, you're not allowed to talk about such lewd topics with Xiang Di," Liang Qianqian warned. "It's one thing that you dirtied the cream puffs with your filthy hands at noon, but now you want to use your filthy mind to taint Xiang Di's pure little heart?"

Wang Sichen was truly speechless: "Hey, wasn't she the one who said it was 18+ first?"

Xiang Di opened her mouth with an innocent and naive tone: "But I've only heard of 18+, I don't know what 18+ specifically means."

Liang Qianqian: "See? She doesn't even know this. You almost corrupted an innocent little girl."

Wang Sichen: "..."

A few seconds later, he clasped his hands in apology and said, "Alright, I was wrong, my two aunts, please forgive me."

...

After the meal, Wang Sichen and the two girls had completely reconciled. Wang Sichen sincerely apologized to Xiang Di for the puff incident and treated Xiang Di and Liang Qianqian to a meal. Xiang Di, being a kind and generous girl with a pure heart, naturally forgave Wang Sichen.

After evening self-study, Xiang Di was about to go home when Wang Sichen suddenly asked her in a flattering tone if she could bring him a cream puff to school.

Wang Sichen said, "These cream puffs really taste good. When I ate them in the afternoon, the crusts were all wilted, but they were still delicious."

Xiang Di reached out her hand: "Give me the money. Also, I'll only have time to buy it this weekend, so I can only bring it to you on Monday. You can only eat the leftovers from the previous day."

"It's okay, leftovers are fine. Leftovers even taste better." Wang Sichen immediately took out her phone. "I'll transfer the money to you right now, plus an extra fifty yuan for the delivery fee, okay?"

"Forget about the delivery fee. The poor don't accept charity." Xiang Di waved. "I'm leaving now, going home. Bye-bye."

Wang Sichen said respectfully, "Hey, take care."

As Xiang Di walked out of the classroom amidst Wang Sichen's respectful farewell, she bumped into Bai Jiangxin, who was returning from the office, just as she reached the door.

Her eyes lit up, and she said, "Well, when we have a holiday this week, I'll get up early to buy cream puffs. Is there anything else you want to eat? I'll bring it to you on Monday... By the way, do you mind eating leftovers? If not, I can find a delivery guy to bring them to you."

"Whatever's convenient for you," Bai Jiangxin said. "I'll transfer the money to you directly."

"No need, no need!" Xiang Di said, "I already said I'd treat you to a meal, so I'll figure out what to do next."

Bai Jiangxin: "Mm."

Xiang Di and Liang Qianqian left hand in hand. Under the dim corridor lights, Bai Jiangxin watched her figure disappear at the end of the corridor.

He returned to the classroom, packed his bag, and prepared to go home.

Wang Sichen was also packing her schoolbag, and while packing, she happily exclaimed, "Ah, this is great, I can eat delicious cream puffs again next week."

Bai Jiangxin realized that she had also promised to buy cream puffs for Wang Sichen over the weekend.

However, he no longer felt the annoyed feeling he had in the afternoon. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and left.

Bai Jiangxin dislikes taking crowded buses, so he took a taxi home.

When he arrived home, there was no one on the first floor. His housekeeper was cleaning upstairs and had prepared a late-night snack for him, which was placed on the dining table.

Bai Jiangxin casually tossed his schoolbag onto the sofa and sat down at the dining table.

The porridge his aunt made today was on the sweeter side, which he didn't really like, but to show consideration for his aunt's hard work in making him a late-night snack, he still drank most of it.

He thought the cream puffs were too sweet, but he still asked Xiang Di to buy them for him.

Logically speaking, the matter of the cream puffs had been explained clearly, and Xiang Di had promised to bring him another cream puff. He should be feeling relieved now, but he wasn't.

Those questions he never asked have now become knots in his heart.

Xiang Di thought he was bothered that she had brought cream puffs but hadn't shared any with him. Before she explained, even he himself thought so. He even laughed at himself, wondering if he was a child who would care about a few cream puffs.

However, after she explained, he realized that what he cared about was not the cream puffs at all, nor that she had given the pork chop to Zhou Linxiao, nor that she had given the cream puffs to Wang Sichen.

Instead, she didn't put him first. She gave the remaining cream puffs to another boy, completely unaware that he had been hoping she would give them to him.

Don't you like me? Why am I not number one in your heart?

Why does your heart immediately stray when other members of the opposite sex appear?

How much do you like me? Are those passionate words that disturb my heart just your self-indulgent tale of unrequited love, or do you truly love me to the point of being unable to live without me?

Is your affection for me eternal, or just a fleeting moment? You'll soon fall for someone else.

Bai Jiangxin couldn't bring himself to ask. He knew that if he did, it would be disastrous. Xiang Di would be astonished that he could read her mind and knew her secret all along.

Bai Jiangxin knew very well that no matter what Xiang Di liked about him, whether it was his decent appearance or his cold inner self, she could never like his illness.

When she finds out, she'll probably feel embarrassed and angry. She'll be angry that he could hear her but pretended not to know, like an annoying and arrogant superior who mocks her foolish feelings while enjoying her admiration and adoration.

She would feel her self-esteem was hurt and then completely distance herself from him.

Just like Grandpa said, no one can guarantee that their heart will always be bright and upright. Everyone has their own dark side. An dishonest person might even lie in their diary, but their inner voice cannot. Whether it is good intentions or malice, love or hate, a person's inner voice is the greatest privacy. No one would want to have a monster in their life who can see into their heart.

He couldn't tell her that, otherwise he wouldn't be Bai Jiangxin.

He always harbored a proud peacock in his chest, and even his shadow held its head high. His aloofness and indifference towards people were not arrogance, but rather a result of being tired of dealing with the complexities of human nature and being used to processing all his emotions alone.

Children know that as long as they cry or make a fuss, adults will turn their attention to them. But Bai Jiangxin doesn't care about any of that. He doesn't care about so-called concern or love. His parents and friends are the same. If it's not someone's choice, even if there's a hint of hypocrisy in their love, he'd rather not have it at all.

Only Ye Minjia, that heartless fool, has tolerated his coldness and his annoying personality over the past three years.

But he wouldn't tell Ye Minjia that people always move forward with time. No matter how deep the friendship between high school classmates is, it will eventually fade with graduation. Ye Minjia will have her own circle of friends, more compatible friends, and even a lover to grow old with. This is the life Ye Minjia should have.

This is the life Xiang Di should have, the life a normal person should have.

Instead of someone like him.

He had originally planned to live a good life on his own, until Xiang Di appeared and caught his attention in an extremely blatant way, forcing him to pay attention to her.

He didn't want to admit that he cared about her, and he didn't want to show that he was actually happy to be cared for by her. She was the one who liked him first, and she liked him one-sidedly. So why was it that in the end he was the one who lowered his head and went to her?

He thought that once he could no longer hear her innermost thoughts, life would return to normal. In any case, they would never see each other again after graduation, and he would keep her secret for her forever.

But now life can no longer return to its usual tranquility; he can no longer hear and is even more troubled.

At this moment, Bai Jiangxin finally realized that he cared very, very much about Xiang Di.

Once you start to care about someone, you'll want to know what they're thinking, and that's something you can't control.

But now he can no longer hear her true feelings at all.

I couldn't finish the remaining half bowl of porridge, and just then, the auntie who came downstairs saw me. She thought the porridge wasn't good today.

"Did you put too much sugar in?" the aunt asked apologetically. "It's my fault. I know you don't like sweets."

"No, it's because I ate too much for dinner," Bai Jiangxin added. "The porridge was delicious."

The aunt finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After going upstairs and returning to his room, Bai Jiangxin wrote some test papers and then picked up his phone.

It's already very late, and the elderly person should be resting by now.

He thought about it and decided that he didn't want to disturb the old man's rest, so he sent him a message first and would reply after the old man woke up.

However, just a few minutes later, the old man called him back.

On the other end of the phone, the old man's voice was gentle: "Xin'er, senior year of high school is so tough, and you're still up so late."

Bai Jiangxin said, "You didn't sleep either."

"Once I start playing chess, I easily lose track of time and go to sleep right away," the old man said. "Why are you suddenly asking about our family's illness? Has something happened?"

"It's nothing." After a pause, Bai Jiangxin said, "I just have a question I'd like to ask you."

"you say."

"A while ago, I accidentally drank a classmate's milk tea by mistake, and then I heard her inner thoughts, but after a few days, I couldn't hear them anymore."

The old man explained, "This is normal. Your body has already metabolized it. In fact, according to the normal human body's metabolic process, when other people's saliva enters the body, the water, digestive enzymes, and some antibacterial proteins it contains are digested and broken down very quickly. It can usually be completely digested in a few hours. However, our bodies are a bit special, so digestion is slower. Didn't I tell you this when you were learning biology in elementary school?"

“I know that, that’s not what I wanted to ask,” Bai Jiangxin said. “...It’s that after digestion, physical contact also becomes inaudible.”

The old man let out a long "oh".

Bai Jiangxin: "Grandpa?"

"Yes, I am here. This can actually be explained biologically, because your body has produced antibodies, so slight physical contact is no longer effective."

The old man said in a relaxed tone, "Actually, I wanted to tell you this method when you first started school. You could invite all your classmates to drink a beverage, and then drink from the bottles they used. That way, you could get along normally with all your classmates."

Bai Jiangxin frowned instantly: "..."

"Haha, but Grandpa knew you were a germaphobe, so I didn't tell you. But isn't this perfect now?" the old man said with a smile. "You can get along with your classmate normally from now on, and you don't have to avoid physical contact anymore."

"..."

"Xin'er? Why aren't you saying anything?"

Bai Jiangxin nodded.

The old man asked, "Is there anything else you want to ask?"

After a few seconds of silence, Bai Jiangxin spoke: "Then, how can we hear that classmate's true feelings again?"

The old man asked in a puzzled tone, "Huh? I finally couldn't hear anymore, and now you want to hear me again?"

"..."

Bai Jiangxin gave a wry smile.