Chapter 25
When Jian Sheng arrived home, Jian Qingyao was not there. She did her homework while waiting, but when she didn't hear any noise at the door at midnight, she went to sleep.
The next morning, as she was carrying her schoolbag and opening the door to go out, she saw a body leaning against the white wall, about to fall down.
Jian gasped in surprise and instinctively raised her leg to block him.
He woke up as soon as I touched his back.
Jian Qingyao rubbed his eyes, leaned against the wall to get up, and met her frightened expression. He wanted to speak, but the pain in his mouth only made him look pained.
"Hiss." He raised his hand and wiped the wound at the corner of his mouth.
Jian Sheng was startled and took a step back. Ye Hua seemed to have always said that he was a good grandson, with good grades and filial piety.
She'd been here so long and he seemed like a hoodlum...
Seeing Jian Sheng step back, he chuckled softly, "Did I scare you?"
"A cigarette." He held onto the doorframe with his left hand and stretched out his right hand towards her.
Jian Sheng swallowed hard: "Wait a moment, I'll get it for you."
She ran to her room, grabbed two packs of cigarettes and 116 yuan, and handed them to him with both hands. She added the remaining 16 yuan to the total amount she had saved up.
Jian Qingyao squinted at the money under her two packs of cigarettes, paused for a few seconds, then reached out and took the two packs of cigarettes.
He turned around: "Don't tell anyone I came back."
After saying that, he turned and walked downstairs.
"Your money!" Jian shouted.
"Shut up! Here's the money." He waved his hand and hurried downstairs.
Jian Sheng stood there, clutching the money, somewhat at a loss.
She stood there for a while, then stuffed the money into her pocket, thinking she would find a chance to return it to him before going to school.
Lately, many people in the class seem to be plotting something. Every time Jian Sheng goes out for a while and comes back, a different person is sitting in his seat.
Chen Zhoujing's seat was always empty. She brushed aside the bangs that were covering her hair and walked towards his seat.
After waiting a while, she stared at the test papers on his desk again. It was a new set, and this set was very difficult, but he seemed to know everything about it.
This test paper is covered with formulas. Previously, there were only answers, but now he has written the solution process next to them.
I looked at a few questions and actually understood them.
"Hey, Jian Sheng?" The girl sitting in her seat only then noticed her.
Jian Sheng looked up, shook her head, and revealed her eyes: "What's wrong?"
She looked at the girl with the high ponytail in front of her with a hint of surprise in her eyes, then raised her eyebrows and said to her, "I... I'm sorry, I'm sitting in your seat."
"It's alright, it's alright, please sit down, you two continue chatting." Jian Sheng tried to smile.
The girl blushed slightly and smiled at her, saying, "Thank you, thank you."
"Jian Sheng, you look so beautiful when you smile," one of the six remarked.
Jian Sheng's pupils widened slightly, her ear tips turned red, she lowered her head, and whispered a thank you.
The girl in front of him hesitated for a moment, then gripped his chair with both hands and asked, "Are you... free this weekend evening?"
Jian Sheng looked up and hesitated for a moment.
Seeing her confusion, the girl explained, "It's my birthday on Saturday, and I'd like to treat everyone to dinner, but there won't be many people."
She thought for a moment and said, "Chen Zhoujing will come too."
"Huh?" Jian Sheng's heart pounded as she was invited to someone's birthday party for the first time.
The words of refusal were already on the tip of her tongue, but faced with her expectant eyes, she didn't know how to speak for a moment.
“It’s just the few of us, Lin You, Xia Xia, and I are here too,” Qi Jing said from the side.
Jian Sheng unconsciously sat up straight.
"Yes, it was just a few of us eating together. I wanted to ask you a few days ago, but you've been so engrossed in your studies that I felt a little embarrassed." She crossed her index fingers and winked at Jian Sheng.
Lin You looked over Gu Zhenyi's shoulder at Jian Sheng's drooping hair, thinking she was about to refuse, and was just about to smooth things over for her.
The next second, a clear and pleasant voice rang out: "Okay, I'll go."
She looked up and raised an eyebrow, and amidst everyone's cheerful voices, her earlobes quietly blushed.
Lin You stood up and clapped her hands: "Then Qi Jing and I will wait for you at the entrance of your community. We'll take you there; we know the location."
Jian Sheng raised his head and said, "Okay."
Lin You turned her head and met Qi Jing's eyes, raising her chin slightly.
Even as class was about to start, the group hadn't finished their discussion. Gu Zhenyi kept mentioning Jian Sheng, making her a little nervous.
She sat up straight, placed her hands on Chen Zhoujing's seat, and leaned forward to listen to their conversation.
After organizing her thoughts, she had to think about whether she had said anything wrong.
Not long after, the sound of a basketball hitting the ground came from the back door, accompanied by the boys' playful chatter.
As soon as Chen Zhoujing entered through the back door, he saw Jian Sheng sitting quietly in his seat, nodding occasionally and speaking occasionally, his fingers unconsciously stroking his cheek, his movements appearing very well-behaved.
He caught the ball as it bounced up, leaned against the doorframe, and looked at her with a smile.
There were seven girls in total, including her, and the discussion was very lively.
"So this germaphobe only has germaphobia when it comes to other people; he seems to have no idea what germaphobia is when it comes to his own people," someone in the next seat suddenly remarked.
Chen Zhou frowned in surprise. He turned his head and saw Zhao Chengyang sitting with his legs crossed, his eyes lingering on him.
With a mix of sarcasm and bewilderment.
Chen Zhou clicked his tongue in surprise: "What are you saying?"
"What do you mean, 'our own people'..." He held the ball and slowly walked in.
A strange surge of heat welled up in my chest.
He carefully circled around behind her, gently draped the school uniform jacket he was holding over the stool, and then tossed the basketball to He Shang, who had just come in. He then leaned against the cabinet behind him, arms crossed, and casually watched the group chat.
Meanwhile, Jian Sheng was completely absorbed in the tension of replying and did not notice the actions behind him.
She looked up at Gu Zhenyi's sincere introduction, and everyone responded enthusiastically. Instantly, an unprecedented warmth spread through her body.
Everyone seems to be very considerate of each other's feelings, no matter who it is.
“Then it’s settled. You don’t need to send anything or prepare anything. Anyway, this meal is on my dad’s payday. It’s been a long time since we’ve eaten out. We’re going to take advantage of him on Sunday!” Gu Zhenyi exclaimed in delight.
As she was pleased with her plan, she got up to return to her seat, when she suddenly saw Chen Zhoujing leaning against her back.
He was leaning against the cabinet with his arms crossed, his face expressionless, but his eyes were burning as he stared at Jian Sheng's back.
Gu Zhenyi pursed her lips, smiled and raised her chin at Jian Sheng, blinking her eyes.
The group noticed the people behind them and looked over.
Jian Sheng realized what was happening, turned around and saw Chen Zhoujing. When their eyes met, she paused for only a few seconds before preparing to look away: "I'll give you my seat."
"Excuse me......"
"This is a seat for you. You can sit here as long as you want." Chen Zhou smiled and took a step forward, placing his hands on the back of the chair.
"This seat is for you~"
"Yo yo yo~"
As soon as he finished speaking, someone couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Jian Sheng quickly stood up after a few teasing remarks and walked to the front row.
The school bell rang just then, and Shen Li walked in with her English book. The crowd finally dispersed.
Jian Sheng clutched the book, a tingling sensation in her chest.
"Everyone, take out your dictation notebooks, let's start with the dictation." A little bee's voice rang out from the podium.
Jian Sheng took out her dictation notebook, her heart pounding so hard she could hardly contain herself, and she touched her chest with her hand.
Chen Zhoujing was so strange; she could actually make her heart rate spike even when she was calm.
She shook her head and wrote the answer in her notebook.
The dictation ended quickly, and Chen Li got down and started spinning around.
With one hand behind her back and the other holding a small bee, she said, "Come on!"
The little bee's voice became shrill under her somewhat sharp tone, and Jian Sheng suddenly burst out.
The throbbing in my chest was replaced by tension.
"Switch between the front and back of the class for your critiques!" Shen Li had already moved to the first group. "Some people, I'm not saying this, even a simple dictation requires their deskmate to cover for them."
"Let's change the way we change it today. Everyone, change it now! Quick, let's see who's still flipping through their books!" She looked around the classroom with a blank expression.
As soon as Shen Li uttered her request, Jian Sheng's inexplicable nervousness resurfaced.
Her heart was pounding. She clutched the dictation notebook, slowly turned around, placed it on Chen Zhoujing's desk, lowered her head, stretched out her hands, stared at her palms, and waited for him to place it on her.
Chen Zhoujing had been staring at his back since the start of class, and it was only after Xu Yanghe reminded him several times that he was able to calm down and listen to Shen Li's listening comprehension.
After finishing his writing, he watched her back as he slowly turned around, his head always bowed.
When she turned around, she slowly placed the book on his desk, put her hands together in a cupping gesture, and stretched them out towards him.
Chen Zhou bit his lip in surprise, and something in the upper left corner of his eye started throbbing wildly.
His Adam's apple bobbed, and he picked up the notebook, placing it in her slender, beautiful hand.
Oh my god......
"I have to go again~" Xu Yanghe said leisurely.
Chen Zhou waited for Jian Sheng to turn around, then turned his head and looked at Xu Yanghe expressionlessly.
"Haha." Xu Yanghe chuckled and pointed at himself, "Me! I'm talking about myself!"
"Oh my god, I don't want to copy it hundreds of times." He opened his mouth, "I'm going, Qi Jing, we're best friends, can you help me out?"
Chen Zhou rolled her eyes and turned to look at her notebook, where her name was written on the first page.
Simplified pronunciation.
The handwriting is elegant, neat, and beautiful.
Like her, she was strikingly beautiful, but upon closer inspection, she was just like her personality—refined and understated.
Jian Sheng didn't turn around until he had finished grading.
There were twenty questions in total, and Chen Zhoujing got ten wrong...
They made more mistakes than she did.
She turned around and placed the notebook on his desk, then reached out for her own notebook.
Chen Zhoujing was amused by her action. He tapped her notebook with the tip of his right finger: "Why aren't you looking at me?"
Jian Sheng straightened up and looked up at him: "Why are you looking at me?"
Chen Zhou was startled and choked.
He handed her the notebook: "It's nothing."
Then Jian Sheng turned back.
Chen Zhou gasped in surprise. What was he saying...?
A few days later, Jian Sheng felt that he was starting to act strangely again. Every time he turned around to give him the test paper, he would turn his head and make eye contact with him. This person neither spoke nor showed any expression.
She simply ignored him, but coincidentally, she kept bumping into him everywhere.
Friday break between classes.
When she returned from accompanying Qi Jing to the convenience store, she bumped into Chen Zhoujing and several other people coming down the stairs on the second floor.
They must have just come back from playing ball; the boys were wearing short sleeves, their foreheads covered in sweat.
Jian Sheng moved closer to Qi Jing's position.
He couldn't escape Chen Zhoujing's gaze.
"Hi," Chen Zhoujing greeted her.
Jian Sheng felt that strange feeling welling up inside her again. She nodded at him, without revealing her eyes from under her thick bangs.
Qi Jing glanced at the atmosphere between the two and sensed something was off.
"Are you going to the convenience store now?" she broke the ice.
He Shang, who was next to Chen Zhoujing, said, "I just got back from playing ball and I'm so hot. I wonder what the teacher will say during his self-study period later."
"Shall we go first?" He patted Chen Zhoujing on the shoulder.
"No need." Chen Zhou shook his head and slowly walked downstairs with his hands in his pockets.
He Shang and Xu Xiao looked at each other in bewilderment.
"He's acting crazy again," He Shang frowned.
"Who knows? I don't know what he's thinking these past two days. He hasn't been as enthusiastic about playing basketball." Xu Xiao shrugged.
"You two go up first. If the teacher comes and asks, please explain it to us." He Shang put his hands together in prayer towards the two of them.
Qi Jing gave an OK sign.
The two sides passed each other by.
Qi Jing looked at Jian Sheng, who was looking down, and asked, "Why has Chen Zhoujing been so quiet these past two days?"
Jian Sheng shook his head: "I don't know."
Qi Jing hissed, "Hard to understand."
Jian Sheng also felt that way.
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