Chapter 19: The Agile Rabbit and the Shrinking Snail

Until the end of the exhibition, Chen Zan did not see He Jingsui come back again. He left in a hurry and she had no time to ask why he left. She just felt that the perfect arrangements and plans were disrupted so abruptly, and she felt empty and sad in her heart.

In order to take him to appreciate her painting, she prepared herself mentally for a long time, but it was all in vain.

The painting was taken down, she put away her work and returned to the dormitory alone.

The exhibition went very smoothly. The outstanding performance of the painting club was recognized by the school leaders. The president Lu Wei also benefited from it and was filled with joy. He announced in the group that the painting club would organize a team building at 8 o'clock this Friday night. Everyone must participate in the team building activities to celebrate the successful completion of the painting club's first activity this semester.

The group kept flashing "Received", even He Shiyi "received" it. Chen Zan had no reason not to go, so she sent a received message. She turned off her phone boredly and put it aside, then picked up the folded painting next to it.

Expand.

It's the orange blossom.

Bud about to bloom, pure and flawless.

Chen Zan touched it lightly with his fingers, and some memories flashed through his mind.

It's about him too.

That was when Chen Zan was in his second year of high school. The Education Bureau issued an emergency policy to all schools that year, requiring them to pay attention to the all-round development of students, urge students to improve their own quality and grow healthily, promote a learning strategy that combines theory with practice, and pay attention to the physical and mental health of students.

In the sunny weather of March, the school organized a spring outing, which was full of freshness for every student.

At eight o'clock in the morning, all students arrived at school on time and took the bus to their destination. Chen Zan missed the bus that was supposed to pick up his class because he had a stomachache.

The bus that picked up the second-year high school students had already left, and she was standing alone in the playground, feeling a little lost.

Only the senior high school students were left on the playground. They were lining up in an orderly manner to get on the bus. Chen Zhan was standing alone in the senior high school area, not knowing what to do for a moment.

Fortunately, a teacher quickly noticed her and learned that she had missed the bus. While calming her panic, he kindly invited her, "Why don't you go with our class first? We'll tell your homeroom teacher about the situation later."

This is the only way at the moment.

Chen Zhan nodded and said, "Thank you, teacher."

She was taken to the senior high school area by her teacher, followed at the end of a line, and got on the bus slowly.

There was chatter and laughter all around her, and no one noticed her. It felt like she had accidentally entered someone else's territory, which made Chen Zan a little uncomfortable.

After getting on the bus, the teacher asked her to find a seat to sit down.

Looking around, Chen Zan noticed the two seats at the back of the bus. He clenched his backpack straps with his fingers and walked towards that side.

It is located in the corner so that it will not attract attention or be discovered.

It's just right to sit there.

Chen Zan sat in the innermost seat. The bright sunlight shining through the glass window made the seat a little hot. Almost her whole body was immersed in the sunlight, which made it difficult for her to open her eyes.

Fortunately, she brought a sun hat from home, took it out of her schoolbag and put it on her head.

While her vision was blocked, she felt someone sitting next to her.

Out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of the hem of his black clothes, a thin sportswear with two thin white stripes on it.

The two long legs were bent as if they were wronged.

"Asui, where have you been? Why are you here just now?" A voice suddenly shouted towards this side.

"What do you care about me?" The voice sounded beside him in a lazy tone.

It's so familiar.

Recognizing who the voice belonged to, Chen Zan froze in place, her body tense, not even daring to look up.

Her slender fingers trembled as she gripped the seat cushion, and she felt her heart being filled with warmth.

His breath mixed with the scent of sunshine drifted over and lingered on the tip of her nose.

Dry and warm.

It took over her senses at a terrifying speed.

The chattering sounds in his ears were still making noise, but Chen Zan had no intention of listening to what they were saying.

Her world now only has room for one more person.

When all the students arrived, the bus started to move. The roar of the bus was heard and I felt the engine right under my butt, and the seat was shaking slightly.

The scenery outside the window slowly recedes.

Chen Zan turned his head to look out the window, watching the bus drive out of the No. 1 Middle School campus.

This time they were going to the Geological Museum, which was a long way from No. 1 Middle School.

Chen Zhan couldn't ride long-distance buses. She hadn't been on the bus for long. She started to feel unwell, her eyes darkening and her head spinning. She leaned back in her seat, her pale lips dry.

The laughter and chatter in the car never stopped along the way. Those sounds pierced her ears like fine needles, making it unbearable.

She closed her eyes, feeling like she was about to vomit any second.

It would take some time to reach the destination, and Chen Zhan could hardly bear the pain.

She tugged at the zipper of her schoolbag with weak fingers, opened it, and grabbed something like a sachet from inside and held it in her palm.

She bought the sachet at the school canteen. The owner said it contained orange blossom petals, which could effectively relieve dizziness.

He sniffed the fragrance with his nose, and the faint aroma soothed Chen Zan's nerves.

But it was only a temporary solution and she even started to hiccup. Chen Zan had a bad feeling and raised his hand to cover his mouth, using the brim of his hat to cover her cheeks. She tried to curl herself up into a small ball, her shoulders trembling.

The palms of her hands holding the sachet were covered with sweat. She huddled close to the window, not daring to get too close to He Jingsui.

The rustling noise beside him soon attracted He Jingsui's attention.

When he first got on the bus, he didn't pay any attention to who was sitting next to him. Later, he heard from them that there was a high school classmate who was alone in the car.

His eyes fell on her. She was wearing the uniform of No. 1 Middle School and a hat with a wide brim. From his angle, he could only see a small section of her chin.

He didn't stay on her for too long, but the next second after he looked away, the high school classmate next to him suddenly snored.

A very crisp sound.

When he turned back, he saw her covering her mouth with her hand. She was huddled up, wanting to retreat into the corner of her seat.

His eyes fell on her again, and this time he noticed the object she was holding in her hand.

It was exactly the same as the one he saw at the convenience store before getting on the bus. The owner of the convenience store said that this thing could relieve dizziness when riding in a car, and said that he knew they were going on a spring outing by bus, so he specially bought the goods.

He was taking mints from the shelf when he heard the boss say to two female classmates, "Girls, trust me, this sachet smells delicious. It smells like the flowers your school grows. It's so pleasant. Mine is the same, it smells like that flower. I guarantee you won't get carsick..."

So she's carsick?

He Jingsui stared at her for two seconds, watching her bring the sachet to her nose, sniff it lightly, and then take it away, raising his eyebrows.

The repetitive actions made him question his boss's statement, "I guarantee you won't get carsick."

The back seat of the car was shaking violently, and the occasional braking and turning made Chen Zan really uncomfortable. She felt like her internal organs were about to be shaken out, her stomach was nauseous and acidic, and her ears were filled with dense noises.

She felt like she was about to collapse and she felt like she could no longer hold on to the string.

Until suddenly a candy was thrown into my arms. The green wrapper gleamed in the sunlight.

And a voice fell into my ears.

"Eat this, it will help you feel better."

She raised her head slightly, and the brim of her hat also lifted up a little, and her sight fell on the face of the person next to her through the not-so-wide gap.

The boy had deep eyebrows, a straight nose, thin lips, and eyes as black as ink.

She didn't dare to look at him any longer. She just glanced at him and then looked away. She said thank you to him in a muffled voice.

She tore the candy open and put it in her mouth, and the cool taste of mint spread in her mouth.

Next to me, I could hear the sound of candy being thrown into someone's mouth, and the sound of it being chewed by teeth.

His presence was so strong that Chen Zan's heart was beating uncontrollably.

Later, when she got off the car, she ran away like a frightened rabbit. After she ran far away from the car, she found that the sachet in her hand had been lost.

Fresh air filled her nose again, and she took a breath. The coolness in her mouth still clung to her tongue and taste buds.

It was the scent of He Jingsui. She got it unexpectedly, possessed it carefully, and was reluctant to let it dissipate.

The sachet fell on He Jingsui's seat and he only discovered it when he was leaving on the bus on the way back.

He put his fingers into the thin rope and sat in his seat, watching the ugly thing swaying in the air.

He chuckled casually and was about to put the little thing away when Jiang Qiannan suddenly came over, noticed the thing in his hand, snatched it away, and looked at it curiously, "What is this thing?"

"Sachet."

"What?" Jiang Qiannan looked at the ugly thing and noticed the yellow word "fragrance" embroidered on it. He couldn't help laughing, "Which girl who likes you gave you this? This unconventional thinking is quite impressive, but it's a bit tacky, hahahahahaha..."

"It's someone else's," He Jingsui snatched the item from his hand and corrected him with a warning, "It's not for me."

"Then how come it's in your hands?"

"I found it."

Jiang Qiannan obviously didn't believe it, thinking that he was refusing to acknowledge it because it was old-fashioned. "With so many people on this bus, you're the only one who picked it up?"

"Everyone in this car is from my class. Just shout and return it to its rightful owner." He said, and was about to grab it. "Don't be shy. Let's see who it is. You're already in your third year of high school and you're still after you..."

But He Jingsui stopped him abruptly with a look.

He Jingsui's voice was slightly unhappy, "Don't mess around, this thing doesn't belong to our class."

"Whose is that?" Jiang Qiannan scratched his hair, then suddenly stopped and looked at him in disbelief. "Is it from that sophomore classmate who was alone?"

He Jing gave him a speechless look.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Qiannan still had wild ideas and applauded beside him, "Man, this girl's way of pursuing men is quite clever."

His voice crackled in his ears.

He Jingsui was too lazy to pay attention to him. After putting the rustic sachet into his pocket, he folded his arms across his chest and closed his eyes for a nap.

Perhaps it was the noise beside him that made him unable to calm down, or perhaps it was the subtle fragrance emanating from the sachet in his pocket.

Suddenly, the image of that high school classmate flashed through my mind. When she raised her head slightly, the brim of her hat lifted up, and they made eye contact briefly.

The bright black eyes, illuminated by the sunlight outside the window, looked like a pool of mist, clear and soft.

Suddenly I thought of some similar small animal.

The clever rabbit and the shivering snail.