Chapter 35 Why are you smiling at him? ...
What are you looking at?
Wen Zhi paused for a moment, her gaze suddenly falling on Song Juelan's strong and full muscles. Combined with that nonsensical gossip from earlier, the answer was already very obvious.
Was Song Juelan inviting him to look at his muscles?
Actually, there was no need for Song Juelan to invite him; he had already seen it countless times, but Wen Zhi's mind still went blank.
Song Juelan... seems to be acting a bit strange.
Wen Zhi lowered her head, staring guiltily at her toes, and whispered, "Isn't it okay..."
When Song Juelan heard Wen Zhi reject him, his thin lips pursed tightly.
He had seen Wen Zhi talking to the lifeguard from afar, and Wen Zhi's gaze was clearly sizing up the man, lingering on his bare upper body for an extra second.
He knew Wen Zhi was interested in muscles, so why go to such lengths, preferring to look at others rather than him?
Song Juelan was feeling a bit down, unable to understand why she was inferior to the lifeguard.
In the pool, Xiao Tang poked her head out and looked at the two people on the shore: "Zhi Zhi, where did you go just now?"
"I went to get a glass of water," Wen Zhi replied, adding casually, "You need to concentrate in class and not keep looking around."
How could Xiao Tang discover that he was missing during class and ask Song Juelan to go and look for him?
Xiao Tang blew a few bubbles in the water, her tone somewhat aggrieved: "It wasn't Xiao Tang, it was Brother Jue Lan who saw it first."
Wen Zhi subconsciously looked at Song Juelan beside her, only to see that the other person's face was turned to the other side, and his profile revealed a hint of unease.
He gave a dry "oh," said nothing more, and immediately turned around and sat down on the bench.
Xiao Tang looked around with her round eyes, not understanding why Wen Zhi didn't criticize Song Juelan for not paying attention in class, since he wasn't the one looking around earlier.
The interrupted class continued. Wen Zhi sat on the bench, staring at the screen of her phone, her fingertips still a little hot, unable to concentrate on a single word.
What should we do? Yao Zhihua's words seem to be true.
Song Juelan seems to be acting strangely.
But he never imagined that Song Juelan would have other thoughts about him, otherwise he wouldn't have put himself in the role of a widow in the first place.
Wen Zhi felt a slight sense of bewilderment.
Wait a minute, shouldn't this be a character who's emotionally immune?
What exactly is Song Juelan thinking?
A soon-to-be college student, who is outstanding in both appearance and personal qualities and has a bright future, doesn't pursue a normal relationship but instead falls for a single father with a child.
How can this person be so stupid?
Wen Zhi's mind was in a mess, and she couldn't figure out why her heart was beating so fast. After the confusion, only three words remained in her mind—what to do?
Even if he had ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare to reveal the truth about Xiao Tang's identity to Song Juelan, so he was destined to be unable to give Song Juelan any response.
After much deliberation, Wen Zhi came up with only one perfect solution.
Playing dead.
As long as he pretends not to know anything and doesn't expose Song Juelan, given Song Juelan's personality, he probably won't directly bring it up.
Falling in love with someone whose status is incompatible with his is probably even more agonizing for Song Juelan than for him. He'll be fine once he figures it out himself.
While Wen Zhi was lost in thought, time flew by, and soon it was time for get out of class to end.
Xiao Tang's legs were sore from swimming in the pool. She lay on the float, looking up at Song Juelan who still wasn't ready to leave get out of class: "Brother Juelan, isn't it time yet?"
Song Juelan glanced at Wen Zhi, who was still lost in thought on the shore, and lied to the little dumpling who couldn't tell time yet without changing his expression: "Five more minutes."
Xiao Tang puffed out her chubby cheeks, feeling that today's class was exceptionally long.
About five minutes later, Song Juelan finally announced the end of get out of class. Xiao Tang couldn't wait to climb ashore and ran to Wen Zhi, soaking wet.
Wen Zhi snapped out of her daze, took out a bath towel from her bag to dry him off, and then wrapped him in another bath towel.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Song Juelan had also come ashore and was walking this way, and her fingertips unconsciously tensed up slightly.
He silently told himself that he knew nothing and that he just needed to act normally as before.
Wen Zhi looked up, her eyes crinkling slightly, and gave a smile that she tried to make appear natural: "Jue Lan, is get out of class over?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he wanted to bite off his tongue.
Isn't that obvious? Xiao Tang is wrapped up like a little dumpling, does he think she's still in class?
Song Juelan was clearly taken aback for a moment, then, remembering that he had delayed for half an hour because of his own desires, a hint of unease flashed across his face: "Yes, get out of class is over."
Wen Zhi didn't dare to delay for a moment. She stood up from the bench and took Xiao Tang's hand: "Then let's..."
"Hey, you guys haven't gone back yet? Perfect timing!" Zhu Zhenghao's cheerful voice came from afar as he jogged up to them. "Our establishment just prepared afternoon tea for the staff and was just about to call you over. Why don't you grab something to eat before you head back?"
His gaze shifted downwards, landing on Xiao Tang, who was quietly licking her lips. He squatted down and asked with a smile, "Does Xiao Tang like to eat fruit and cake?"
Xiao Tang nodded vigorously without hesitation: "I like it!"
Zhu Zhenghao then looked at Wen Zhi, who was still hesitating, and said with a smile, "Mr. Wen, why don't you come along too? You're Song Ge's friend, and everyone will welcome you. Besides, Xiao Tang has been swimming for so long, she must be hungry."
Wen Zhi was looked at with expectant eyes by Xiao Tang, and finally agreed.
After persuading Wen Zhi, Zhu Zhenghao knew he didn't need to waste any more words trying to convince Song Juelan, so he turned and led them toward the activity room.
As he expected, Song Juelan followed silently behind.
After Song Juelan and Xiao Tang changed their clothes in the dressing room, they went into the activity room where afternoon tea was to be held.
The activity room was spacious and bright, with two long buffet tables in the middle, which were filled with a wide variety of fruits, desserts and drinks.
Several employees were already seated inside, eating and chatting. When they heard the door open, they all looked up.
Zhu Zhenghao gave a brief introduction to Wen Zhi and Xiao Tang, then led them inside to sit down.
Xiao Tang was already attracted by the colorful desserts on the long table. Just as she was about to grab a macaron, she was immediately surrounded by several employees.
"Oh my god, what an adorable child!"
"What's your name? How old are you? Do you go to kindergarten?"
"What do you want to eat? I'll get it for you!"
Xiao Tang wasn't shy at all and obediently answered their questions. Soon, all sorts of desserts were piled up in front of her.
Wen Zhi walked to an empty round table and sat down, resting her chin on her hand as she looked at the lively scene over there, somewhat used to this situation.
He couldn't help but recall his childhood, when he was often surrounded by a group of adults wherever he went, who would pinch his cheeks and praise him for being cute and pretty.
This situation continued until he entered junior high school, when his facial features matured and he lost some of his baby fat, and it gradually improved.
After junior high school, the people who approached him became some peers with ulterior motives, which annoyed him so much that he didn't want to give them even a second glance.
Just as my thoughts drifted away, a plate of crème brûlée was gently placed on the table in front of me.
After putting down the pudding, Song Juelan sat down opposite him with a normal expression.
Wen Zhi thought of the person sitting opposite her, who could be considered to have "ulterior motives," but she still picked up the small silver spoon and slowly scooped a spoonful of pudding into her mouth.
So sweet.
He then scooped out a large spoonful with a touch of restraint, put it in his mouth, and his long eyelashes curved almost imperceptibly.
Halfway through his meal, a large hand suddenly reached out and gently wiped the corner of his mouth with warm fingertips, removing a small crumb of pudding.
Wen Zhi froze, her hand holding the small spoon hanging in mid-air.
He was fine when he didn't know Song Juelan's feelings, but now that he does, he doesn't know what to do with himself and can't pretend to be nonchalant at all.
"Mr. Wen, it's been a long time!" A somewhat familiar voice rang out, breaking the somewhat strange atmosphere.
Wen Zhi looked up and recognized the person as Xiao Qi, the employee who used to work at the front desk. Back then, this employee had helped with course registration and parent-child activity signings.
"haven't seen you for a long time."
Xiao Qi pulled out a chair as if they were old friends and sat down at their table, smiling as he said, "So you really are friends with Brother Song. I didn't understand the situation back then and almost introduced you to other coaches."
Wen Zhi thought for a while before he remembered that he was referring to the misunderstanding on the opening day, but at that time he didn't actually know Song Juelan.
"How's your kid doing? He must be making a lot of progress with Brother Song, right? Did you enjoy that parent-child activity last time? I heard from others that you got first place..." Before he could even speak, Xiao Qi rattled off a string of questions like beans.
In order to appear natural in front of Song Juelan, Wen Zhi unknowingly started chatting with him.
Before I knew it, the pudding in front of me was finished, and the empty plate was quickly taken away and replaced with a pancake covered with fresh blueberries, along with a glass of apple juice.
Although he felt a little awkward, he still ate all the food that Song Juelan brought him, bit by bit.
Xiao Qi's mouth was almost constantly talking, but his eyes kept shifting between the two of them.
He suddenly remembered that on the parent-child activity registration form he had received before, the parents' information section listed the names Wen Zhi and Song Juelan.
These two... could there really be something going on between them?
Xiao Qi's gossip instincts immediately kicked in, but he didn't want to ask directly, so he asked indirectly, "Mr. Wen, you're raising Xiao Tang alone now, it must be quite tiring, right?"
Wen Zhi lowered her eyelashes, and a forced "It's alright" that fit her character was on the tip of her tongue when she suddenly remembered the person sitting opposite her who seemed to be eyeing Xiao Tang's stepfather.
He swallowed the two words that were about to come out, and smiled at Xiao Qi: "It's not hard. I'm used to this kind of life. It's fine to take care of Xiao Tang by myself."
Xiao Qi glanced furtively at Song Juelan, who was standing next to him with her eyes downcast.
It turns out he was overthinking it.
The door to the activity room was pushed open again, and a somewhat familiar figure walked in—the lifeguard who had spoken to Wen Zhi earlier that day.
Wen Zhi glanced at the doorway, and for some reason, Song Juelan's gossip suddenly echoed in her mind.
In my sight, the tall, handsome boy's image instantly collapsed, and he suddenly turned into several cans of protein powder.
He couldn't help but smile, and the corners of his lips curved slightly. Suddenly, he understood the meaning behind Song Juelan's words.
How could Song Juelan be so naive?
He's still just a little kid. How can he smear someone behind their back like that?
After the lifeguard came in, he quickly saw Wen Zhi, his eyes lit up slightly, and he started to walk over.
Suddenly, Song Juelan, who was sitting opposite Wen Zhi, stood up and sat down in the empty seat next to Wen Zhi, thus eliminating the possibility of that person getting close to Wen Zhi.
Wen Zhi's smile froze slightly. She lowered her head, pretending not to notice anything.
The next moment, Song Juelan's low voice, tinged with resentment and frustration, came through.
Why are you smiling at him?
-----------------------
Author's Note: Thank you to the little angels who watered my nutrient solution!
Two One Projects for a Hundred Years 32 bottles; Li Eve 25 bottles; Jiang Qian 13 bottles; He He 10 bottles; Wenrou Ji Liang 7 bottles; Mao Bu Mao Mao, Shizuku 6 bottles; Lance, Qi Sili's Little Dog, Huangqi, Jiuniang, Anzhao Master 5 bottles; Tangyuan Bu Yuan Ya... 3 bottles; Shanye You You Wudeng, Wen Weiyan, Qiuzhi 2 bottles; I Can Still See!, clcl, Qing Si, Heyu, Sakura Bing Lizhi, Xie Lan, Qing, Ken Ken Ken, Yu, Don't Want to Go to Work 1 bottle
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
