Cheng Da School Heartthrob
The three of them enjoyed a delicious home-cooked meal, which Cheng Zhou treated them to.
The abalone rice with gravy was just as delicious as Hu Tong remembered. The rice was soaked in the gravy, the abalone was tender and sweet, and the broccoli side dish was refreshing and helped to cut through the richness. The aroma made Hu Tong smack his lips and savor the taste even on the plane back to Jinzhou.
"Your mouth is watering," Cheng Zhou reminded him, pointing to the paper cup on the table with the airline's logo. "Have some Sprite to calm down, we'll be home soon."
Outside the porthole stretched an endless sea of clouds. Sunlight streamed directly into the clouds, casting a magnificent golden glow, bright and dazzling, just like the glittering lights of last night.
While enjoying the private restaurant meal, Hu Tong sampled some wine. After the meal, as the group strolled through the bustling streets of Beijing, she suddenly pointed at a cedar tree and berated it for being ugly.
Jiao Yuhong poked Hu Tong's forehead and laughed, scolding her for being so weak, getting knocked out by just half a glass of wine.
Cheng Zhou, however, agreed earnestly: "Yes, the cedars in Jinshi are more beautiful, with more expansive crowns and more vibrant colors."
“That’s right!” Hu Tong clenched her fists, raised her flushed face, and said decisively, “So, let’s go home, Cheng Zhou, let’s go back to Jin City!”
"good."
Cheng Zhou agreed.
The sober and the drunk exchanged a smile.
Cheng Zhou gave a subtle, silent smile, while Hu Tong laughed loudly and foolishly, leaving Jiao Yuhong beside him completely bewildered.
"What are you doing, eloping?" Jiao Yuhong raised her hand and waved it in front of Hu Tong's eyes. The phoenix embroidered with gold thread trembled, shimmered, and looked lifelike on her sleeve.
The next morning, Hu Tong lay in bed, staring at the dormitory ceiling, and blinked in confusion.
"Get up, Hu Xiaotong!" Jiao Yuhong drew back the curtains. "Pack your luggage, we need to catch our flight!"
Hu Tong propped himself up, looking at the messy dormitory, feeling a terrible headache.
Having just finished her final exams, her desk was piled high with all sorts of materials: frayed textbooks, A4 sheets of paper covered in colorful highlights, and curled notebooks that looked like they'd been deep-fried... There were also two unwashed sweaters draped over the back of her chair.
The blankets weren't aired, the clothes weren't washed, and the house wasn't cleaned. Why is she going home already?
Hu Tong hurriedly stuffed a few changes of clothes and his laptop into his suitcase, covered his bed and desk with dust covers, shared snacks and fruit with his roommates, promised them that he would return to school early to take charge of hygiene, and then dragged his suitcase downstairs in a panic to meet up with Cheng Zhou.
She yelled at Cheng Zhou unhappily, "I was just talking nonsense when I was drunk, you idiot!"
Cheng Zhou pushed his suitcase, a faint smile on his face. "Did you inform your counselor?"
Hu Tong shut up: "I told you."
Cheng Zhou is always like this.
No matter what Hu Tong says or does, whether she is calm or frantic, he will unconditionally trust and support her.
The tickets were changed at the last minute. They were sitting near the wing, and could clearly hear the roar of the engines. The low-frequency hum was drowsy.
Thinking about the lavish meal he had before leaving Beijing, Hu Tong kept swallowing, his mouth watering more and more.
She gulped down her Sprite, put down the paper cup, and gave Cheng Zhou an exaggerated "ah," like she was filming an advertisement.
Cheng Zhou suppressed a laugh and handed the paper cup to the flight attendant who was collecting trash in the aisle, saying politely, "Thank you."
An even louder voice boomed behind him.
Not to be outdone, Hu Tong thanked the flight attendant, saying, "Thank you, flight attendant sister!"
The flight attendant and Cheng Zhou smiled at Hu Tong.
"You're welcome, passenger." The flight attendant pushed the cart and nodded to her.
Cheng Zhou raised his hand and patted Hu Tong's head, pressing him back into place.
"Drunk again? I remember you were drinking Sprite, not baijiu?"
Hu Tong slapped his hand away, closed the sunshade as instructed over the loudspeaker, and said without turning around, "Is it any of your business?"
The plane began its descent, bringing a brief feeling of weightlessness, and the cabin noise intensified. Hu Tong felt a slight pain in his ears and yawned several times.
She only calmed down after leaving the airport and getting into a taxi.
We set off at noon and arrived in Jinzhou at four in the afternoon. It was deep winter, and darkness fell early; the tall buildings were faintly visible in the thin mist. The camphor trees outside the car window rushed past, forming a hazy, deep green.
The air was damp and chilly, but Hu Tong's mood was brighter than the weather.
She rolled down the car window and took a deep breath of the familiar, authentic smog of Jinshi.
When they were little, adults always said, "The early bird catches the worm," urging them to get up, eat breakfast, and go to school. Apart from a small number of rebellious children who used the proverb "The early worm gets eaten by the bird" to refute their parents, most children, like Hu Tong, naturally believed that everything in the morning was good.
On a foggy morning, they walked along the road with their schoolbags on their backs, breathing heavily, thinking it would be good for their health.
As a result, I learned when I grew up that what I was trying so hard to breathe in was smog caused by vehicle exhaust, industrial emissions, construction, burning straw, and other factors.
As his thoughts returned, Hu Tong looked at Cheng Zhou. He was leaning against the car window, his chin resting on his hand, half asleep.
Hu Tong thought for a moment and asked, "How much money do you make per order, Cheng Zhou?"
Cheng Zhou struggled to lift his eyelids, as if his long, black eyelashes were made of iron, but when Hu Tong touched them, they were soft.
He answered honestly, "Five hundred, not including makeup and clothing."
Hu Tong exclaimed in surprise: "Only five hundred!"
“It’s already very good, Tongtong. My photography skills are not as good as professional photographers. I just pay more attention to color tone and lighting, and highlight the portrait. I took a shortcut and that’s how I gained a little fan base.” Cheng Zhou explained gently, “It was Jin’an, my roommate, the one with the green hair, who advised me to raise the price.”
Hu Tong stared at him, still puzzled: "Do you remember how much you spent on that private meal you treated us to? Cheng Zhou, 1,800! You earn 500 and spend 1,800!"
"That's another matter."
Cheng Zhou looked away, his pupils reflecting the street scene of Jin City.
As dusk settles, stalls selling barbecue, braised dishes, and "wolf tooth" potatoes appear, with diners sitting on low plastic stools, their bulky coats bathed in warm yellow light.
"Hehe, that's another matter." The more Hu Tong looked at Cheng Zhou, the more guilty he seemed. He said sarcastically, "Well, you're quite willing to spend money."
Cheng Zhou blushed and didn't reply.
The somber atmosphere persisted until the moment I got home.
Hu Jiale has a social engagement tonight and is taking her father with her. She sent a voice message to Hu Tong, telling them to buy something to eat.
Hu Tong turned on the ceiling light in the entryway, and while changing her shoes, she instructed Cheng Zhou to go to the entrance of the community to buy some food, "I want teppanyaki, with chicken cutlet and gizzard, and you can decide on the rest."
"We have takeout available." Cheng Zhou changed his shoes and went inside. After washing his hands in the kitchen, he placed a glass of water on the coffee table and reiterated to the dissatisfied Hu Tong, "You can now order takeout from the teppanyaki restaurant at the entrance of the community using your mobile phone."
Hu Tong plopped down on the sofa, brushed aside the phone Cheng Zhou handed her, and raised her voice, "That's different. The boss knows us, she'll give us two extra quail eggs!"
"If you want quail eggs, I can order two more," Cheng Zhou said helplessly as he sat down on the sofa. "I don't want to go out right now."
Hu Tong suddenly turned to look at him, as if he were seeing this person for the first time.
She hadn't been rejected by Cheng Zhou in a long time.
When was the last time? Five years ago? Ten years ago? Hu Tong couldn't remember.
But now, he did it, after taking a few photos of her roommate and treating her to a big meal.
Hu Tong felt angry, like a puppy he had carefully raised was now running into someone else's arms because of a bone.
Hu Tong stared intently at him and said, word by word, "I want to eat the teppanyaki at the entrance of the community."
"You can order takeout."
"I want you to buy it for me."
Cheng Zhou lowered his head, anxiously pinching his fingertips, his lips drooping. "I don't want to go."
Hu Tong narrowed his eyes: "Are you going or not?"
"I'm not going."
Before he finished speaking, Hu Tong pounced on him, shouting, "You've got some nerve, Cheng Zhou!"
A sudden gust of air caused the sheer curtains in the living room to sway like waves, before settling back to calm after a moment.
Cheng Zhou raised his hands and stared at Hu Tong, who was straddling his lap.
Hu Tong blinked slowly and helplessly.
Cheng Zhou stared at her, his dark pupils appearing mottled under the light. His fingers, hovering around Hu Tong's waist, curled slightly, but he ultimately did not press down.
The more he tried to ignore the weight and warmth falling on his thighs, the clearer and sharper the sensation became, eventually turning into a burning feeling that climbed up his muscles.
"Get down," Cheng Zhou said, looking into those light brown eyes, his words carrying no sincerity.
The tiny, barely perceptible flame in his heart flared up after that command. Hu Tong grabbed his shoulder and said through gritted teeth, "You think I'll just go down like that?"
"So who do you want to come up?"
Cheng Zhou frowned slightly: "Nobody."
"Nobody?"
Hu Tong chuckled, his gaze moving downwards, passing over his deep-set eyes, high nose, and pale lips, finally settling on his prominent Adam's apple.
Hu Tong pressed his fingertip against his Adam's apple, slowly increasing the pressure. "No one else, that's me."
She declared domineeringly, "I'm going to kiss you."
Her lips pressed down, but Cheng Zhou turned his head away.
His lips struck the side of his face.
Hu Tong, exasperated, cupped his face in her hands, wanting to do it again, but her wrist was grabbed.
Cheng Zhou turned around and accused, "You can't do this, Hu Tong."
"I can't do anything? I can do whatever I want."
Looking at Hu Tong's arrogant demeanor, Cheng Zhou suddenly felt very wronged—yes, wronged, an emotion that Hu Tong despised and that he was trying his best to suppress.
You can't treat me as your possession.
In an instant, the dark blue rocking horse that Hu Tong had snatched from him in kindergarten, the little toys that he would voluntarily hand over every time he ate his snack bucket, and the milk tea he bought to comfort the top student in the whole grade who had "did poorly" on the test—all the scenes he had deliberately ignored flashed before his eyes.
The high wall erected by time collapsed with a crash, and complex emotions surged in like a flood.
You can't do that.
Cheng Zhou gripped Hu Tong's wrist, his lips trembling, "You can't do this to me, Hu Tong."
"You can't just kiss me whenever you want, or touch my eyelashes whenever you want, you can't always..."
Cheng Zhou thought that it must be his five-year-old self who jumped out of his body; his eighteen-year-old self wouldn't talk so incoherently and make people laugh.
“I came to your house when I was very young. I know you have been kind to me, but you can't treat me like your child son-in-law because of that—”
"No, worse, worse than a child husband,"
Cheng Zhou grabbed Hu Tong's wrist, forcing her away from his Adam's apple. This physical distance, however, drew both of them into a whirlpool of emotions.
"You want to kiss me without any status or relationship, as if I'm some kind of... thing."
“I’m not even as good as your dog. At least you would genuinely love that dog. But with me, you only have possessiveness, not love.”
Hu Tong was stunned by Cheng Zhou's sudden accusations and resistance.
She forced a defiant stance, glared at Cheng Zhou, and muttered, "What are you babbling about? I don't own a dog, and what do you mean I want to kiss you without any status or relationship? If you want to date me, then let's date."
"Let's talk?" Cheng Zhou's dark eyes welled up with tears, and the corners of his eyes turned a light pink. "What kind of attitude is this? You don't really want to date me. You're just after my looks, trying to win me over with a kiss!"
Hu Tong's patience ran out: "So, are you going to kiss me or not?"
Cheng Zhou gazed intently at her, his emotions and instincts urging him to do something even more outrageous, something he had long fantasized about.
Reason and self-respect pulled him out of the frenzy.
"Not intimate."
Hu Tong shook off his hand and sneered, "I knew it!"
"You don't want to kiss me because you want to kiss Jiao Yuhong!"
Cheng Zhou's already furrowed brows furrowed even more: "What does this have to do with her?"
"You have a very close relationship with her. You like her, otherwise why would you only earn five hundred yuan, but still be willing to treat her to a private meal that costs six hundred yuan per person!"
“Because she’s your roommate.” Cheng Zhou paused for a moment, his expression turning cold. “You think I like her, so you tried to kiss me?”
Cheng Zhou was really angry.
Hu Tong had never seen him like this before; his handsome face seemed to be covered with a thin layer of frost, but his eyes were burning with fire.
Calm anger is the most terrifying, like the surface of a sea with surging undercurrents.
Hu Tong twitched her lips, wanting to ask if he was really angry, but before she could finish speaking, she was already thrown onto the sofa.
Cheng Zhou stood up, looking down at her. "I'm not your toy, Hu Tong. Not a toy that you leave aside and don't play with, only to snatch back when other children pick it up!"
Hu Tong also got angry, propped herself up, and kicked him, "How could you think so badly of me?"
She jumped up, glared at him, and went upstairs in a huff, "Fine, I'm going to sleep now, you big campus heartthrob Cheng."
Hu Tong said it that way on purpose, deliberately emphasizing those four words. Cheng Zhou disliked this form of address and would get goosebumps every time he heard it.
The person behind him immediately bristled: "Don't you dare call me that!"
"Chengda's campus heartthrob, Chengda's campus heartthrob, Chengda's campus heartthrob..."
Hu Tong, still angry, wouldn't listen to him and went back to her bedroom while muttering to herself.
Downstairs was quiet. Cheng Zhou didn't chase after him. Maybe he was so angry that he cried?
Hu Tong didn't care.
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