Chapter 29
Jian Sheng finally understood both solutions and felt a sense of admiration for the two experts who had explained them.
Lin You's mind was racing. While she was still recalling what had happened before, Lin You had already outlined the next steps. Once again feeling the gap between them, she swallowed hard and silently made up her mind.
"It's getting late. Monk and the others went back with the first-year students." Xu Yanghe, who had been quietly doing his homework in the back row, spoke up. "Is Chen Zhoujing leaving or not?"
"The bell hasn't rung yet." Chen Zhoujing didn't even look up, continuing to write on the table.
"Tsk."
"Tsk."
"Tsk." Xu Yanghe clicked her tongue three times, staring at him as if he were a monster. "When did you become so well-behaved!"
He glanced at Jian Sheng's retreating figure again, his expression turning into a sly grin: "Brotherly friendship can't withstand the warmth of human connection~"
Xu Yanghe's voice echoed in the classroom, which was almost empty. He even thought Chen Zhoujing's face wasn't dark enough, so he picked up his packed schoolbag, sang around the classroom once, and then leisurely ran out: "I don't care about you anymore, I'm going to find them."
After he left, the others' eyes remained on Chen Zhoujing.
Jian Sheng was a little embarrassed: "You can go first if you have something to do, I'll..."
“That won’t do!” he interrupted her. “get out of class isn’t over yet.”
Chen Zhoujing felt a little guilty and pointed to a multiple-choice question on her test paper, "There's another way to solve this. Do you want to hear it?"
Jian Sheng exclaimed "Ah!" and looked over. She knew both solutions to the multiple-choice question: "Oh, then tell me."
He breathed a sigh of relief and continued explaining the problem to her.
After I finished explaining a problem, a figure ran in from the front row, followed by another person.
Seeing them studying so diligently, Xu Xiaxia said breathlessly, "Why are you all so focused? My group leader has left, and your group is the only one left in the class."
She pulled out the chair in front of Xu Xiao's seat and sat down: "What's going on, a real study group?"
"You guys might as well be called the gossip group. Didn't you get scolded by the teacher the day before yesterday?" Xu Xiaxia pulled up her sleeves, her face slightly red.
Lin You coughed and said, "There are a few questions you don't know how to answer. What were you doing?"
Xu Xiaxia spoke up: "Accompany He...."
She realized what was happening, turned around, and found He Man standing in the doorway. She frowned and asked, "What are you doing?"
He Man laughed awkwardly, "Your class hasn't ended yet, so I felt a little embarrassed to come in."
She slowly moved in, glancing outside as she went.
"Don't worry, Ms. Zhong has to go back to pick up her daughter who just started junior high school every Tuesday afternoon, so she left a long time ago." Lin You said, then sat down on the chair next to him, leaving the seat in front of Jian Sheng empty.
He Man relaxed after listening and sat down in front of Jian Sheng.
She glanced at the atmosphere among the group, then finally focused on Jian Sheng: "I'll go."
"You got a haircut?" she asked, somewhat surprised.
Jian Sheng opened her eyes wide: "Yes, a few days ago."
"I almost didn't recognize you..." She laughed, and the air fell silent, gradually turning into an awkward silence.
Seeing that the others didn't speak, Chen Zhou patted himself, stood up, and pulled Xu Xiao's chair back.
He said to the group, "I'm leaving now. He Shang sent me a message. We'll talk about anything else tomorrow."
After saying that, he casually packed his schoolbag and headed out the back door.
His departure was like breaking the ice; Qi Jing led the laughter, and the others followed suit.
Jian Sheng scratched his face, and the corners of his lips curved up.
"You had an activity class today, did you finish your homework?" Xu Xiaxia asked.
Several people shook their heads. Lin You said, "There's no way to finish all the homework. We still have history and chemistry to finish."
"That'll be soon! You've been studying so hard, you deserve a treat to a bubble tea. There's a new bubble tea shop that recently opened on Jin Street in Longtangwan." Xu Xiaxia became more and more excited as she spoke. "Are we going? Are we going?"
"Wow, fangirls are really something else! Their information speed is amazing!" He Man gave a thumbs up. "I have to go and support them."
"Are you going or not?" He Man asked.
"Come on, let's taste the saltiness. Studying every day is exhausting, life can't be without a little sweetness." Lin You stood up and picked up the test paper on the table.
“You’re the most book-loving student in the whole class, and you still complain about studying being tiring?” He Man also stood up and smiled.
Lin You pouted and shook her head: "There's nothing I can do. My mom is a teacher at No. 1 Middle School. I grew up surrounded by her books. I was initially very resistant to them, but I eventually fell in love with them as I read them."
"I can only read novels," Qi Jing said with a worried look. "Your reading is too profound."
Lin You grinned: "No, there are some I can't even finish reading. I'm selective about what I read."
"Let's go, let's go." She took the test paper and walked towards the front row, then suddenly remembered something and turned back to ask, "Jian Sheng, hurry up and pack up, school is about to end, there are a lot of people passing by."
Jian Sheng, who had been wondering if she would be asked about it, immediately sat up straight: "Okay, okay."
She was frantically thinking about which course's assignments she needed to take back when a pair of fair hands suddenly appeared in her line of sight. She looked up and saw He Man helping her tidy up the papers on her desk.
Jian Sheng watched as she folded the scattered papers on the table into a stack and handed it to him. He paused for a few seconds, then reached out and took it, saying, "Thank you."
"Don't mention it." Xu Xiaxia squeezed in. "You don't need to bring it back for every class, just bring your homework."
The two looked at the homework left on the blackboard and helped tidy up. Soon, Jian Sheng picked up his schoolbag and followed the others out of the school gate.
Longtangwan Jin Street is very close to Yanjiang No. 7 Middle School. A new shopping mall, Wanzi, was built in the first half of the year. With the construction of surrounding buildings, the commercial model here has also emerged.
With the support of two schools and many residents, and the shopping mall coming together, the boom has been high, and most students go there after school.
The five of them walked there, chatting as they went, for about ten or twenty minutes.
Jian Sheng walked beside Lin You, clutching her schoolbag, listening to them gossip about their midterm exams.
"That idiot, he just confessed to me last month, I didn't say yes, and then he got together with her again." He Man's voice was full of disdain.
She walked in the middle with her arms crossed: "I'm speechless. I talked to Gu Zhenyi from your class last week, and I don't know why, but she actually agreed."
“There’s nothing we can do about it. It’s a matter of mutual consent,” Lin You said, glancing at Jian Sheng, who was staring wide-eyed, with amusement. “It’s all just rumors. You don’t need to believe them.”
"I didn't," Jian Sheng said subconsciously, then thought of the figure at the school gate before school ended, "Okay."
He Man interjected, "It was indeed consensual, but I'm just annoyed that idiot led the students astray."
Jian Sheng thought of the 'idiot' they were talking about, and then shook his head.
“Gu Zhenyi has known him since childhood, and her parents have also met him. She must have her own reasons. Let’s not talk about this anymore… We’ve arrived,” Lin You said.
The group walked slowly around the amusement facilities in the square to the Golden Street.
Jian Sheng looked at the familiar shopping mall... He had run into Jian Qingyao here last time.
The group walked along the side. It was nearly six o'clock in the afternoon, and Jin Street was still quite lively. There were many stalls and shops selling fried chicken, hamburgers, and barbecue. Further in, there were also shops selling clothes, but most of the shops were food stalls.
Apart from the entrance of the milk tea shop, almost every shop had tables set up in the middle, with many people chatting and waiting for their food.
Jian Sheng seemed a little awkward, but Lin You stood by her side the whole time, which eased her anxiety considerably.
She waited for the others to finish buying their drinks and was about to leave when Lin You suddenly held out an unopened cup of milk tea to her. While chewing on something in her mouth, she said, "Here."
Jian Sheng tugged at the hem of her clothes: "Um..." She had already given it to her, it didn't seem right not to take it.
"You can treat me next time," Lin You added.
Jian Sheng put down her hand and reached out to take the heavy milk tea: "So what do you like to drink?"
After she asked, Lin You's expression froze for a moment. She thought for a moment and said, "I don't really have any favorites. I usually drink plain milk. My mom is strict with me, and she won't let me drink this kind of milk tea."
Jian Sheng thought about it seriously for a moment, then unconsciously frowned: "Shall I treat you to some pure milk?"
"Okay." Lin You nodded casually.
The group took different routes and parted ways at the mall entrance.
Jian Sheng held the milk tea, staring at the black tapioca pearls inside for a while. The cup was made of transparent plastic with a white label and a green logo, which looked quite nice.
Chen Zhoujing stood in the glass window for a while, watching her back as she studied the milk tea, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up slightly.
He picked up the bag in his hand, glanced at his watch, and walked over to the group of people standing inside.
"Holy crap, I want two!" Xu Xiao shouted in his loud voice as he took two hamburgers from Xu Yanghe's plate.
The two started arguing at the front desk, almost getting caught in the crossfire with other people who came in.
Chen Zhoujing took a step back and said, "I'm leaving now."
He Shang turned around: "What? You're really not going?"
Chen Zhou shook his head: "Li Jing came back late today, so I brought him a portion."
"Don't you hate him?" He Shang chuckled. "A living Buddha."
He nudged his shoulder with his elbow: "Hey, let's go, let's go, no one's stopping you, see you in the canyon tonight."
Chen Zhou chuckled and chased after him, only to find Jian Sheng already drinking her milk tea.
The sky was ashen, the horns of cars blared incessantly, and the evening wind whistled softly.
He was about five or six meters away from her. Watching her slow steps, he unconsciously slowed down as well.
She raised her hand, and he raised his hand too; she propped up her backpack, and he propped up his backpack too.
His steps began to unconsciously follow her path, leisurely moving forward; she took one step, and he took one step.
A cool breeze brushed against his cheeks, grazed his raised eyebrows and then stopped on his burning chest.
The coolness calmed his pounding heart.
He suppressed his smile and followed after them, saying, "It's delicious."
"Hmm...hmm?" Jian Sheng turned around, "Chen Zhoujing?"
There was something bulging at one corner of her mouth, making her look a little dazed.
Chen Zhoujing couldn't help but smile: "Yeah, I'm going to buy food."
He adjusted the bags in his hands and walked alongside her, asking, "Did you come with the class monitor?"
“Hmm.” Jian Sheng nodded and took a step forward. “We have… five people.”
“But the place we stayed was different.” She thought for a moment. “Lin You invited me.”
Chen Zhou was surprised and delighted by her response. At that moment, he could feel her happiness, a happiness he had never felt before.
He let out a long "Oh," and said, "Then the class monitor is quite generous, isn't he?"
“Yes,” Jian nodded. “She’s fine.”
The time she lost her temper with Lin You had made her feel guilty ever since, but Lin You didn't care and continued to be her friend. Jian Sheng was very grateful to Lin You and also to the girls who always tolerated her. If it were her, she probably wouldn't be able to talk things out like they did; she would just keep it all inside.
They were afraid that getting too close would hurt the other person, and they were also afraid that accepting kindness would make them feel indebted.
Chen Zhou paused for a moment, then asked, "Oh, so do you think I'm good?"
After asking the question, he noticed her stunned expression and realized what he had just said, but he wanted to continue the thought that had slipped out: "You said last time that I was also your friend. You gave her such a high evaluation, so does that mean I deserve the same praise?"
He asked the question jokingly, but there was a hint of anticipation in his voice.
Jian Sheng looked away, held the milk tea in her hand, and took a sip. The sweetness filled her mouth, but surprisingly it wasn't cloying.
She nodded slightly and said softly, "Hello to you too."
Carried by the evening breeze, it fell into Chen Zhou's startled ears, as light as cotton and as soft as sugar.
After a long silence, he slowly reacted, his chest heaving like waves crashing against it.
He averted his gaze from her long, drooping eyelashes, lowered his eyes, and his ears turned bright red.
Jian Sheng didn't hear a response. Following the silence, she looked up and saw his bright red ears. Instantly, her body felt like it had been electrocuted, and she turned her head away abruptly.
But soon, she heard him cough dramatically: "Cough...cough cough."
Then she heard Chen Zhou hurriedly say, "Oh... I'm fine."
"Yes, I'm fine." He chuckled twice, repeating eighteen actions in a second, and said without any politeness, "Of course, I'm definitely fine, that's what everyone says, haha."
Actually, no one said anything about him. But when the news of his fight spread, some people even spread rumors about him, saying that he almost killed someone with a stool and knocked them unconscious. Many people avoided him like the plague.
He habitually reached out and pinched the back of his neck: "Then I'm practically the only male friend who's squeezed into your little circle."
Chen Zhoujing muttered something to himself, then regretted it. He explained, "What I meant was..."
“Yes.” Jian interrupted him, then suddenly turned to him and said very seriously, “Yes.”
Chen Zhoujing muttered "Holy crap" under his breath, and the redness from his ears instantly spread to his face.
Seeing his blush, Jian Sheng felt a little embarrassed and stopped looking at him.
The two walked slowly across the zebra crossing. Amidst the noisy and chaotic city streets and the hustle and bustle of people, their heartbeats rose in unison.
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