Chapter 32 Thin lips pressed against his wrist
The boiling hot pot was bubbling and steaming, and the freshly added shrimp paste was tumbling in the clear broth.
Wen Zhi stopped what she was doing and stared blankly at the person opposite her.
He enrolled Xiaotang in a summer swimming course, but since he would be returning to school after the new semester started, he naturally didn't plan to continue the course.
He just didn't expect Song Juelan to bring this up on her own initiative, as if she was hinting that he should continue the course, which didn't seem like something Song Juelan would do.
Wen Zhi stared blankly into those dark eyes for a moment before speaking tactfully: "Xiao Tang will be starting kindergarten this year, so she might not have much time for extracurricular classes after school starts."
After a pause, he added, "Besides, you'll be going to university soon, right? I'm afraid Xiaotang won't be able to adapt if a different coach comes to teach."
Song Juelan's hand holding the chopsticks tightened suddenly, and his eyes darkened.
His idea was that if Wen Zhi planned to continue the course, even if he went to study in another city, he could come from school every weekend to teach Xiao Tang.
But he suppressed the thought. To outsiders, traveling between two places for a regular part-time job was obviously a strange act.
Wen Zhi noticed Song Juelan's obviously gloomy expression and felt a little sorry for him.
Song Juelan has helped him so much, yet he can't let Song Juelan earn more tuition fees.
After a moment's thought, Wen Zhi unconsciously poked the bottom of the bowl with the tip of her chopsticks and said, "However... if Xiao Tang wants to learn, we can renew the course for next summer."
Hearing this, Xiao Tang next to her nodded vigorously like a chick pecking at rice: "I want to come again next year!"
He loves learning to swim and is reluctant to part with his brother Jue Lan.
Song Juelan's heart sank uncontrollably.
He suddenly realized that although he and Wen Zhi seemed to have a good relationship on the surface, once the swimming lessons were over, the two would no longer have any contact.
In fact, they were destined to be two parallel lines that would never intersect. Wen Zhi lived a life centered around her child, while he was still just a student who hadn't yet stepped out of school.
Without swimming lessons, what excuse could he possibly use to see Wen Zhi again?
A long silence ensued at the dining table before Song Juelan finally responded softly, "Okay."
It's better to see each other again next summer than never have the chance to meet again. He can wait.
Seeing that the problem seemed to be solved, Wen Zhi immediately picked up a soup spoon, scooped out the shrimp paste she had been longing for, first put a few pieces on Xiao Tang's plate, then a few pieces on Song Jue Lan's plate, and poured the rest into her own bowl.
He dipped the shrimp paste into his own dipping sauce, rolled it around, and then put it in his mouth. The fresh and fragrant taste made his eyes light up slightly, and he immediately picked up a slice of beef roll.
He ate with relish, and after a while, he realized that the amount of meat in his bowl hadn't decreased at all.
Looking up, I saw Song Juelan across from me, intently cooking meat, his expression serious as he meticulously controlled the time it took for different types of meat to cook in the hot pot.
Once cooked, first scoop it out and give it to Wenzhi, then cut it into small pieces and give it to Xiaotang.
Xiao Tang next to me had her cheeks bulging from eating, and her little mouth was covered in oil. After swallowing the food in her mouth, she picked up the glass with both hands and drank her beverage heartily.
Wen Zhi paused in her movements.
No wonder he felt like he had forgotten something; he was so engrossed in eating that he forgot to take care of Xiao Tang next to him.
Xiao Tang was so happy eating that she completely forgot about Wen Zhi next to her.
At the entire dining table, only Song Juelan across from them was diligently serving the two of them, while her own bowl remained empty.
Wen Zhi coughed lightly, feeling embarrassed, and put down her chopsticks: "I'll do it, you should eat some too."
Song Juelan gripped the strainer tightly, not intending to give it to Wen Zhi: "I'm not very hungry."
He enjoyed feeding Wenzhi. Seeing Wenzhi pick up the food he had cooked, put it in her mouth, and chew it in small bites gave him a strange sense of satisfaction.
"We agreed that I'd treat you today, so how can I let you keep working?" Wen Zhi took the strainer without giving any room for argument and put food into Song Juelan's bowl.
His movements weren't as nimble as Song Juelan's. He had just finished serving Song Juelan some food when Xiao Tang's bowl was quickly emptied.
Xiao Tang stared longingly at the food bubbling in the pot with her round eyes, smacking her lips greedily as she waited patiently for Wen Zhi to serve her some.
Although Wen Zhi isn't a picky eater, when she's in charge of cooking, she still unconsciously puts the dishes she doesn't like into other people's bowls.
Song Juelan looked at the increasing number of oysters in the bowl, remained silent for a moment, and secretly noted down the foods that Wen Zhi did not like to eat.
By the end of the meal, Wen Zhi and Xiao Tang were both quite full, while Song Juelan finished off the last bit, not wasting much food.
They ate hotpot for a long time, while Teacher Xia from the other table left half an hour earlier, saying goodbye as she left.
Song Juelan was talking to Wen Zhi when Teacher Xia came over. He lowered his head with a cold expression, as if he didn't really want to see her.
Wen Zhi could understand; there must be competition among extracurricular activity teachers, so it was normal for them not to want to run into each other.
When we left the hot pot restaurant, it was already getting dark outside.
Car headlights swept quickly across the road, and the streetlights on both sides cast dim yellow shadows overhead, softening the silhouettes of the people around them.
Song Juelan deliberately slowed his pace, pondering how he could spend more time with Wen Zhi.
Should I offer to take Wenzhi home, or suggest we stroll around the neighborhood a bit more?
Before he could figure it out, the outline of the swimming pool building appeared in front of him.
Song Juelan's home is not on the same route as Wen Zhi's, so they will have to part ways when they reach the swimming pool.
He couldn't help but slow his pace even further, falling half a step behind Xiao Tang, who had short legs.
Xiao Tang looked at him curiously with her round eyes: "Brother Jue Lan, are you too full to walk?"
Wen Zhi looked at him and asked, "I have some digestive tablets here, do you want some?"
Song Juelan: "...No need."
Finally, after dawdling for a while, the three of them stopped at the entrance of the swimming pool. Wen Zhi was already on the verge of saying goodbye.
Suddenly, Xiao Tang let go of Wen Zhi's hand and excitedly shouted in one direction, "Circle!"
Wen Zhi looked in that direction blankly and saw a little boy holding a swimming ring, wobbling towards the swimming pool.
He couldn't tell for a moment whether Xiaotang was calling for the swimming ring or the little boy.
The next moment, the little boy looked up and met Xiaotang's gaze. He showed a surprised expression and ran over: "Are you here to play at the swimming pool today too?"
Wen Zhi then remembered that the little boy must be the new friend that Xiao Tang met in the shallow water area that day.
"No, no." Xiao Tang fidgeted with her fingers a little awkwardly, then looked up at Wen Zhi with her little face. "Zhi Zhi, can I go in and play for a while?"
Although Wen Zhi wanted to go back to rest, she couldn't bear to disappoint the two children, so she nodded and said, "You can only play for a little while."
"Great!" Xiaotang and Quan Quan jumped up happily and ran into the swimming pool hand in hand.
Students who have enrolled in swimming classes at the swimming pool do not need to buy additional tickets to enter the pool at other times. The two children passed through the gate by scanning their faces and quickly ran to the shallow water area.
Wen Zhi followed behind at a leisurely pace, walked to the familiar bench and sat down, when she suddenly noticed a figure standing beside her.
He paused for a moment, turned his head, and saw that Song Juelan had followed him at some point.
"Aren't you... going home?" He blinked, looking somewhat bewildered.
Song Juelan replied without changing his expression, "I ate too much just now. I'll take a walk before going back."
Taking a walk in the swimming pool?
Wen Zhi's eyes widened slightly, but she didn't voice her question.
Maybe they just enjoy taking walks around the swimming pool.
Zhu Zhenghao, who had come to pick up something, walked out of the corridor and was taken aback when he saw Wen Zhi and Song Juelan: "Huh, what brings you here at this hour?"
Wen Zhi looked over, smiled at him, and explained, "We just had hot pot nearby. Xiao Tang met some friends on the way, so we came over to hang out for a while."
Zhu Zhenghao's attention was only focused on the first half of the sentence, and he smiled meaningfully: "You guys are so close, you even went out for hot pot?"
It seems the method he taught Song Juelan was indeed effective; that's how they became good friends.
Wen Zhi vaguely sensed that Zhu Zhenghao's tone was a little strange, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong. She nodded and said, "Yes."
"Isn't our Coach Song a really nice guy?" Zhu Zhenghao said, beaming, wanting to help Song Juelan out again. He started to lie through his teeth, "I've known him for many years. He seems cold on the outside but warm on the inside. He may look unapproachable, but he's incredibly good to his friends! And he's especially kind and patient with the kids..."
He talked until his throat was dry, even more so than when he was selling swimming lessons, and he even felt a little guilty towards the end.
Wen Zhi tilted her head slightly, her beautiful eyes fixed intently on him, looking like she was listening very carefully. After Zhu Zhenghao stopped, she smiled and added, "Jue Lan is such a good boy."
Zhu Zhenghao choked for a moment, then remembered that the person in front of him looked young but actually already had a child, so it seemed normal for him to praise Song Juelan in such a tone.
So he chuckled and chimed in, "Yes, yes."
Upon hearing this, Song Juelan's deep-set eyes showed a hint of displeasure and frustration.
Zhu Zhenghao didn't stay there for long before going off to attend to other matters.
Laughter echoed from the shallow end of the water as Xiaotang made new friends, and the group chased and played on the slide.
Wen Zhi looked down, took out her phone, and casually glanced at WeChat. When she saw the red dot on the graduation project group avatar, a bad feeling rose in her heart.
He quickly opened the group chat, and after reading the messages he had missed that afternoon, his heart stopped for a moment.
Last time, my supervisor posted an academic video in the group chat, but no one responded. My supervisor was very dissatisfied and asked everyone to watch the video and then write a 500-word report to submit to the group chat.
This message was sent this afternoon, and the deadline is tonight.
Wen Zhi paused for a few seconds, then quickly switched to her notes app, intending to start writing immediately.
But the children in the shallow area were too noisy, and he couldn't concentrate on thinking. He kept cutting and rewriting, but couldn't write a single complete sentence.
His gaze fell on Song Juelan, who was standing by the pool. After hesitating for a moment, he got up and walked over.
"Juelan, may I use your lounge?"
Song Juelan turned his head at the sound of the voice, and his eyes met Wen Zhi's pale face. He paused for a moment, then subconsciously nodded: "Okay."
He took the key out of his pocket and handed it to Wen Zhi, who then turned around hurriedly and left with a somewhat hurried pace.
Song Juelan stood there, uncontrollably recalling the dream that had occurred in the lounge, her fingertips feeling slightly hot.
Practice makes perfect, and Wen Zhi quickly walked to the familiar door, unlocked it with her key, and went inside.
The last time I came to Song Juelan's lounge was when I got soaked in a downpour. This time, I noticed some subtle differences.
It seems to have more traces of life, as if someone comes here often.
Wen Zhi had no time to think about it anymore. She went straight to her desk, pulled out a chair, sat down, and started typing away on her phone.
He had already watched that video twice before, and his thoughts were fairly clear, but time was tight, so he didn't have time to think and wrote a bunch of nonsense.
With only one minute left before the deadline, he quickly saved the file, forwarded it to the group, and submitted it just in time.
Seeing that he hadn't exceeded the time limit, he breathed a long sigh of relief and collapsed onto his desk, completely exhausted.
Asking him to write a report of a few hundred words on short notice is no different from asking him to run 800 meters.
Wen Zhi closed her eyes, wanting to calm down quietly for a while.
Suddenly, he heard a soft click as the door to the lounge was pushed open.
He guessed that it must be Song Juelan coming to find him, so he didn't open his eyes and was too lazy to get up, intending to lie there for a while longer.
The door was closed gently, and deliberately quiet footsteps approached slowly, finally stopping in front of the desk.
Wen Zhi's eyes darted around slightly, wondering what Song Juelan was up to.
The incandescent light from the ceiling cast a soft glow in this small space.
Song Juelan lowered his eyelids, his gaze fixed intently on Wen Zhi, who was slumped over the desk.
Wen Zhi seemed to be fast asleep, one hand pressed under her face, the other casually placed on the table, her soft cheeks slightly chubby, and her lips, which had been pale, had returned to their natural rosy color.
His attention was unconsciously drawn to that slender hand.
On that snow-white wrist, Xiao Tang's toy bracelet was still on, the colorful gemstones clinging to her soft skin, shimmering with a gentle light.
Song Juelan twirled his fingers at his side, his Adam's apple bobbed silently, and he bent down, gently taking the other's hand in his.
The delicate touch from his fingertips made him pause slightly.
His fingertips rubbed against the inside of Wen Zhi's wrist for a moment, feeling the slightly pulsating blood vessels beneath the warm skin.
An inexplicable impulse surged within him, and he could not resist. He lowered his head slightly and gently pressed his thin lips against the prominent knuckles of her slender wrist.
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Author's Note: 3000 nutrient solutions! I'm celebrating my cat's birthday tonight and won't have time to write. I'll update more in a couple of days. [Cat emoji]
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution!
Force decides everything 156 bottles; Forget... 100 bottles; The beauty of sand gold, the glory of sand chefs 20 bottles; Astragalus 15 bottles; I'm such a little fool, ZY 10 bottles; Mao Bu Mao Mao, Su Su 2 bottles; I can still look!, Wen Weiyan, Today's vegetarian wontons are 20% off, Don't want to go to work, Qiu Zhi, Qing Si 1 bottle
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