Chapter 34 You can see me
When Wen Zhi saw the blunt statement on the screen, her fair face instantly flushed red, and her eyes darted around.
What do you mean by sleep? What nonsense is this person spouting?
How could he possibly be with Song Juelan...?
The more he tried not to think about it, the more uncontrollably the image of Song Juelan's sharply defined face and his body, which perfectly matched his aesthetic standards, appeared in his mind.
Wen Zhi felt her face getting even hotter.
Seeing that he hadn't replied, Yao Zhihua couldn't hold back any longer and sent another message.
Yao Yao: [What exactly happened between you and that person?]
Yao Yao: [Last time you were staring at your mouth, this time you just went straight for your hands?]
Wen Zhi typed slowly and deliberately.
Wen Zhi: [I don't know either]
Yao Zhihua's speechlessness on the other end of the screen could almost penetrate the screen itself.
Yao Yao: [...]
Yao Yao: [He definitely likes you]
Wen Zhi's fingertips, which were resting on the screen, twitched slightly, as if she had been burned by the word "like".
That shouldn't be the case...
Wen Zhi: [Didn't I tell you? He thinks Xiao Tang is my child.]
Yao Yao: [So what?]
Yao Yao: [If he really liked you, he definitely wouldn't care about these things.]
Wen Zhi stared at the words on the screen, lost in thought again.
He tried to recall every detail since he met Song Juelan, but when he thought back, it seemed that Xiao Tang was always in the middle of their interactions.
It can be said that their friendship was as pure as it gets, without crossing any lines.
While he was still pondering the possibility that Song Juelan might like him, Yao Zhihua couldn't wait to ask the next question.
Yao Yao: [Do you have feelings for him?]
Before Wen Zhi could figure out the previous problem, someone threw another one at her, making her mind even more confused.
Although he had never thought about it in that direction, if he had to answer, there would be a slight possibility.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been attracted to Song Juelan in the first place and would not have taken Xiaotang to the swimming pool to enroll in classes.
However, that little feeling wasn't even enough to be called being moved, let alone liking someone.
Thinking about this, Wen Zhi suddenly felt that her thoughts were a bit unnecessary.
He didn't even know if Song Juelan really liked him, yet he was already thinking about these things. What if it turned out to be a misunderstanding? Wouldn't he have been deluding himself?
Let's not let Yao Zhihua lead us astray.
Wen Zhi: [I'm not talking to you anymore]
Yao Yao: [You're not talking to me again?]
Yao Yao: [If you won't tell me, can you even think straight?]
Wen Zhi looked at her phone screen and pouted somewhat resentfully.
At worst, he can just go to Song Juelan next time and ask him why he kissed his hand while he was sleeping. Wouldn't that make things clear?
The thought had barely crossed my mind when my phone vibrated again.
Yao Yao: [Also, have you thought about how to explain Xiao Tang's situation to people?]
Yao Yao: [No offense, but why are you pretending to be a widow for no reason?]
Wen Zhi blinked her long eyelashes in surprise, then remembered the most important thing.
If he and Song Juelan really develop something, he must tell Song Juelan the truth.
But when he told that lie, he never thought he would have to confess one day.
As if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head, Wen Zhi's romantic thoughts vanished instantly.
Song Juelan definitely doesn't like him, and there's no way he and Song Juelan could develop anything. After swimming class ends, he and Song Juelan will never see each other again.
He will take this truth to his grave.
Wen Zhi instantly snapped out of her daze, no longer worrying about whether Song Juelan liked her or whether she had feelings for him.
His gaze refocused on the screen, he replied with a few casual words to get by, and then moved on to other topics.
When Yao Zhihua saw him using the same trick again, she rolled her eyes on the other side of the screen and changed the subject accordingly.
After chatting for a while, Yao Zhihua was about to go to sleep, and Wen Zhi also put down her phone and lay back in bed.
He stared at a point in the darkness with his eyes open, blinking only once after a long while, suddenly feeling a bit sleepless.
After summer vacation ends, will he and Song Juelan really never see each other again?
Wen Zhi felt a strange emptiness in her heart, but she couldn't explain why.
We've known each other for a while now. Even if we don't develop any other relationship with Song Juelan, just being friends seems pretty good.
He thought vaguely, his heavy eyelids finally closed, and he drifted off to sleep.
*
Before we knew it, it was time for swimming lesson again.
Before leaving home, Wen Zhi stood at the door, mentally preparing herself and clearing her mind of all distractions before stepping out.
Xiao Tang didn't notice Wen Zhi's preoccupied look. She was immersed in the joy of being able to have swimming lessons again, and skipped along with Wen Zhi holding her hand.
The swimming pool was as lively as ever today, with the rest area packed with people and long queues at the ticket counter.
Wen Zhi led Xiao Tang through the turnstile and into the pool area, but she didn't see the figure that was always waiting by the pool.
Not far away by the pool, a group of young men and women gathered together, making a commotion.
Wen Zhi's gaze was also drawn to it, and she immediately spotted the tall figure standing out from the crowd, surrounded by people.
Just as he was wondering what had happened, Zhu Zhenghao from the other side of the pool jogged over, greeted him, and explained, "Sorry! Some of those people wanted to get to know Brother Song, and they surrounded him without saying a word. Please wait a moment, Brother Song will be able to handle it soon."
He was also a bit overwhelmed. Although many people had wanted to get to know Song Juelan before, they either asked him to pass on messages or approached him themselves. He had never seen anyone surround him like this before.
He wondered why that group of people had been coming over so often lately, and they didn't seem to be able to swim. It turned out they were observing when Song Juelan would appear.
Wen Zhi said "It's nothing" and stood there waiting for Song Juelan to come over.
Through the gaps in the crowd, he saw a boy with a sweet appearance standing opposite Song Juelan, with a perfectly measured smile on his face, looking up and saying something.
He was standing some distance away and couldn't hear what the two were saying, but he could see that Song Juelan's face was cold and his thin lips were slightly parted, saying no more than three sentences.
Immediately afterwards, he turned and left without hesitation, and the crowd that had been cheering him automatically parted to make way for him.
Song Juelan's expression darkened slightly, but when he saw Wen Zhi standing not far away, his tightly furrowed brows relaxed, and he strode over: "You've come."
The group of people hadn't left yet; they were gathered together, chattering and comforting the boy in the middle.
The boy's smile vanished, his expression less than pleasant, as he stared intently at Song Juelan's departing figure.
Upon seeing the handsome young man who was talking to Song Juelan, his expression instantly tightened, and he bit his lip in resentment.
The next moment, he saw that the young man was also holding a child's hand. He paused for a moment, his gaze swept between the three of them, and then he suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.
Thankfully, it wasn't what he thought.
Wen Zhi nodded to Song Juelan with a normal expression, while Xiao Tang beside her called out "Brother Juelan" in a clear voice. The three of them walked together toward the classroom.
Seeing that the group of people were still standing there looking this way, Xiao Tang tilted her head and asked curiously, "Do they also want to learn to swim?"
Wen Zhi didn't know how to explain this to Xiao Tang, so she could only lie and say, "Yes, but Brother Jue Lan only teaches children, he can't teach them."
Song Juelan, who was walking ahead, suddenly turned around, her gaze lingering on him for a moment, and blurted out, "Teach the big friends too."
Wen Zhi was stunned for a moment before remembering that Song Juelan had said he could teach him to swim, but as someone who couldn't swim, he never intended to actually learn.
He pretended not to understand the sentence and did not respond.
Song Juelan, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped. Wen Zhi couldn't stop in time, and her pert nose bumped into Song Juelan's broad back, instantly turning red.
"Careful, there's water on the ground." Song Juelan's deep voice came from the front. He turned around and naturally extended his hand to Wen Zhi.
Wen Zhi rubbed her nose, which was a little sore from the bump, looked down and saw the puddle on the ground. She instinctively grabbed Song Juelan's broad hand and used it to step over it.
Xiao Tang, who was following behind, looked at Song Juelan and Wen Zhi's hands clasped together, then looked down at the small puddle on the ground, a hint of confusion on her face.
He bravely lifted his little feet, stepped into the water, splashed around, and ran to the two of them, proudly tilting his little head back: "Zhizhi, I can come by myself! I don't need to hold your hand!"
Wen Zhi blinked her long eyelashes, understood what Xiao Tang meant, and somewhat embarrassedly withdrew her hand from Song Jue Lan's, praising Xiao Tang.
As they approached the swimming pool where classes were usually held, Zhu Zhenghao caught up from behind and told Song Juelan, "Those people have already left. Next time, I'll have security keep a closer eye on them so they don't come in and disturb others."
After saying that, he joked, "They weren't planning to leave at first, but then they probably thought you two were a couple, and that's when they gave up."
After all, normal people wouldn't hold hands by the pool.
When Song Juelan heard Zhu Zhenghao mention those people, his expression unconsciously darkened, but when he heard the last sentence, his expression brightened again.
Zhu Zhenghao came over, said a few words, and then stopped disturbing their class and went to do other things.
Song Juelan took Xiaotang to class. Wen Zhi sat down on a nearby bench, her gaze about to fall on Song Juelan as usual, when Yao Zhihua's words from that night flashed through her mind.
What to sleep, what to like...
He suddenly found it difficult to look directly at Song Juelan's bare upper body. His eyes darted around a few times before he silently looked away.
Halfway through the class, Wen Zhi felt she had been sitting for too long and wanted to stand up and move around, so she got up from the bench and went to the water station to get a drink.
The nearby shallow water area was still bustling with activity, filled with the screams and laughter of children, as beach balls flew back and forth on the water, and floating boards were occasionally thrown ashore.
Wen Zhi had sprained her ankle here last time, so she was a little wary of the place and carefully walked along the wall.
Suddenly, a panicked scream came from the pool. A child was seen thrashing about in the water, seemingly unable to stand up due to a leg cramp.
Wen Zhi was stunned for a moment, and before he could react, a figure rushed over from his side and jumped into the water without hesitation.
The man swam quickly to the middle of the pool, scooped up the still struggling child, and carefully lifted the child onto the shore.
Wen Zhi had subconsciously taken a half step back, but her clothes were still soaked by the huge splash of water.
His gaze swept over the unfamiliar man, and he breathed a sigh of relief for the child. Just as he was about to turn and leave, a figure blocked his way.
"I'm sorry, I got your clothes wet." The other person's tone was sincere and apologetic.
Wen Zhi looked up and first saw a large area of muscle dripping with water droplets. Then, she saw the unfamiliar but handsome face—the man who had jumped down to save people earlier.
"It's alright, you were just in a hurry to save people." He shook his head dismissively.
The man seemed a little guilty, his eyes fixed on his face, and said, "How about... I take you to change your clothes?"
"No need, it'll be dry in a bit," Wen Zhi politely declined, then noticed the swimming pool logo on his swim trunks and instinctively asked, "Are you an employee here?"
The man nodded: "Yes, I'm a lifeguard here."
Wen Zhi stared at the person for a while and realized that she didn't recognize the face at all.
In the past, he certainly wouldn't have missed a man with such good looks and a decent physique. Even if he wasn't his type, he wouldn't have been completely unaware of him.
Wen Zhi hesitated for a moment and then asked, "When did you start working here?"
Hearing this question, the man assumed Wen Zhi was interested in him and gave a slightly shy smile: "I've been here for half a month."
Wen Zhi's eyes widened slightly as she looked the man up and down again, wondering if she had been blind for half a month.
Could it be that for the past two weeks, his attention has been entirely focused on Song Juelan, and he hasn't even noticed the handsome men around him?
Was it that Song Juelan's brilliance was so dazzling that it overshadowed everyone else, or was he simply too busy looking at Song Juelan?
Wen Zhi felt something was off and lost interest in talking to the handsome guy. Just as she was about to leave with a perfunctory reply, a tall figure suddenly appeared between them.
A familiar, deep voice sounded above him: "Xiao Tang couldn't find you earlier, so she sent me over to check."
Wen Zhi didn't think too much about why Xiao Tang was looking for her before get out of class was over, and replied, "I just came to get a glass of water and was about to go back."
He nodded to the lifeguard who was being shielded by Song Juelan, and followed Song Juelan back.
On the way back, Song Juelan suddenly asked, "You know him?"
Wen Zhi shook her head: "This is the first time we've met."
After a moment of silence, Song Juelan suddenly blurted out something rather strange: "I heard from others that he seems to eat protein powder quite often."
Wen Zhi was surprised that Song Juelan would gossip about other people, and turned her head to look at him with some surprise: "Really?"
He had indeed heard that some people use protein powder to build muscle, which could improve the efficiency of muscle training, but he couldn't see any difference.
The person next to him fell silent again, as if the gossip he had just mentioned was just a passing thought.
As they were about to walk back to their classroom, Wen Zhi heard Song Juelan's low voice again, tinged with awkwardness and seriousness.
"...If you want to see, you can look at me."
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Author's Note: Bonus chapter for 3,000 nutrient solutions! Update tonight will be around 11 PM.
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