Chapter 64
We followed them all the way to an old neighborhood, to a coffee shop.
He stood in front of the bookstore across from the coffee shop, carrying his backpack, and looked towards Jian Sheng's direction.
Soon, the shop door opened from the inside, and a tall, thin, fair-skinned boy walked out.
He was wearing a clean white jacket, dark blue jeans, and white sneakers, the same brand as Jian Sheng's.
Chen Zhou's gaze froze, his eyes darkening.
The veins on my arms were more pronounced when I rolled up halfway up my sleeves.
Jian Sheng had her back to him, her movements relaxed, and the two seemed to have known each other for some time.
I watched for a long time until she went through that door.
More than half an hour later, Chen Zhou was surprised to see Jian Sheng and the boy leave. The two were chatting happily, and the atmosphere was harmonious.
He followed for about ten minutes, and it wasn't until they were close to the residential area that Jian Sheng noticed him.
She could feel him following behind her as she left the school gate, but the inexplicable anger in her heart prevented her from turning around.
When she reached Chenfu Road, she slowed down, but he didn't come. She thought he wouldn't catch up.
Just as he waved goodbye to Yang Shao and embarked on his journey back, that familiar figure appeared behind him again.
Jian Sheng slowed down as usual, a tingling sensation in her chest and a feeling of tension swirling within her.
My attention unconsciously turned to what was behind me.
After crossing a traffic light, she started walking towards the entrance of the residential area.
While I was distracted, an electric scooter came rushing from the side, at the same intersection as last time.
Just as she was frantically backing away, a force pulled her back, preventing her from getting into a car.
"Do you want to rush over and get hit by him?" Chen Zhou asked in a low voice, suppressing his anger.
Hearing his suppressed voice, Jian Sheng felt a lump in her throat, turned her head away, and withdrew her hand.
"Not going to say anything again?" Chen Zhoujing's voice was cold, so cold that it felt like an electric current was running through her body, leaving her numb and uncomfortable.
The standoff continued, and he grew somewhat annoyed, but he kept his tone steady: "Don't you know you should look left and right before crossing the road?"
"I don't know," she said stubbornly, not knowing why she wanted to do the opposite of whatever he said.
Chen Zhoujing took a deep breath: "Then I beg you to remember it now, okay?"
She didn't turn around, nor did she respond.
His Adam's apple bobbed as he changed the subject: "Where did you just leave?"
Jian Sheng turned around, looked up, and asked, "Can't we leave?"
He choked on his words: "I didn't say anything to her..."
"What does it have to do with me?" she asked indifferently.
Even indifference.
The fire in Chen Zhou's chest went out, replaced by a sudden sense of emptiness, followed by a dull pain.
After a few seconds of silence, he still said, "How can it not concern you?"
Her voice was so soft it was almost drowned out by the honking of cars on the road, but Jian Sheng still heard it and asked again, "What does this have to do with me?"
Chen Zhoujing was speechless. He looked into her cold eyes, and a sour feeling welled up inside him: "Is this how you are?"
The atmosphere dropped to zero. After she remained silent four times, he started walking towards the gate of the residential complex behind her.
Jian Sheng was left standing there alone.
She turned her head, and the moment he entered the room, her eyes instantly reddened.
The backpack on her back was so heavy that she bent over.
After standing there for a long time, with the traffic lights changing five or six times, Jian Sheng finally lowered his head and entered the school gate.
The two seemed to have reached a tacit understanding, avoiding communication and eye contact for several days.
Lin You was the first to notice. On Monday, after checking the discipline during the flag-raising ceremony, she went around to the back of the girls' line and walked up to Jian Sheng while Zhong Mei had her back to them.
She glanced at Jian Sheng's blank face, lowered her head in thought, and as the announcement came on, she leaned closer and slowly said, "You haven't been in a good mood these past few days..."
"Is it because of Chen Zhoujing?"
Jian Sheng glanced sideways, then shook his head after a long while.
Lin You understood, took a piece of candy from his pocket, put it into her right hand, and walked back to his original position without saying a word.
Jian Sheng paused for a few seconds, then opened his palm.
A milk-flavored candy.
She then thought of Chen Zhoujing's habit: every morning, whether he came or not, she would put a few candies or cookies in her desk drawer.
She always says that eating is fun and makes her feel good, but when she eats too much, she says that she has low blood sugar and that eating too often will cause cavities.
He spouted a bunch of strange and profound principles until she finally believed him.
She pursed her lips, remained silent for a few seconds, and then put the candy into her pocket.
The flag-raising ceremony ended quickly, the announcement came over the loudspeaker that the crowd was dispersing, and the crowd began to stir.
She turned around and followed the people behind her out of the playground. Chen Zhoujing happened to be standing at the very back of the boys' team.
He was the only one in the group who didn't turn around; he was looking at Jian Sheng with a serious expression.
Noticing her gaze, she looked up and met his eyes. Chen Zhoujing had no expression, only looking at her calmly.
"Is Chen Zhoujing leaving or not?" a boy in the front row shouted.
"What are you doing, Uncle Chen?" He Shang also reminded him.
Chen Zhoujing withdrew his gaze, turned around, and walked out of the playground with the last girl in the platoon.
Jian Sheng lowered his eyes and followed the group.
At the entrance to the playground, the classes dispersed, and people began to form small groups of two or three.
She waited for a while, and then Lin You and Qi Jing came up from behind.
"Let's go," Lin You said to her.
Jian nodded and said, "Thank you for the candy."
"It's okay." Lin You turned her head. "Don't be unhappy over unnecessary things."
Her tone was calm, but the sorrow on her face suggested that she had pondered for a long time before coming up with this comforting word.
Jian Sheng hummed in agreement, and was about to say that nothing was wrong when a burst of cheering erupted in his ears.
The sound source wasn't far away, just diagonally in front of the small entrance to the basketball court.
"You're something else. When did you meet?" Xu Yanghe's voice came through.
Jian Sheng subconsciously looked up.
His voice was quite loud, attracting several boys from Class 13 to gather around.
There were three or four people standing there, the most eye-catching being the girl in the center with a high ponytail and a very straight back.
She faced this way, speaking to Chen Zhoujing with a flamboyant smile on her face. Her eyebrows and eyes were delicate, and her red lips moved slowly as she spoke. Occasionally, she would raise her hand to brush the hair behind her ear, her movements calm and graceful.
Soon, a lot of people went up to the surrounding area, and the noise rose and fell. Jian Sheng remained stiff and stopped looking.
Lin You also looked away, her emotions inexplicably fluctuating.
Seeing that Jian Sheng had no expression, a feeling of emptiness mixed with a surge of anger rose in my chest.
"Let's go back." She took her arm and led the two of them back.
"What's going on? What happened to Chen Zhoujing?" Qi Jing looked at Jian Sheng with concern.
Lin You took a breath: "Who knows?"
"He doesn't seem like the type to spend too much time with any girl, except..." Qi Jing automatically fell silent.
After a few seconds, he said again, "Never mind, maybe we knew each other before."
“He was a classmate from junior high school.” Lin You said in a low voice.
In the past few days, different people have been appearing at the entrance of Class 13 every day, either to pass on a message to Chen Zhoujing or to give him something.
In an instant, information was transmitted throughout the entire floor, and even to the second-grade students.
Jian Sheng could hear noises coming from the back door every day, but there didn't seem to be much of a commotion inside the classroom.
Those who were stopped at the back door were mostly refused entry.
It wasn't until Friday afternoon that the transfer student came up to find him in person.
The back door was half-open, and after the bell rang, it was gently pushed open.
Shen Shuting stood at the door with his schoolbag on his back and peered inside.
Noticing the third group in the back row, she raised her lips and said in a slightly louder voice, "Chen Zhoujing."
As soon as he finished speaking, the sounds of students packing up their belongings stopped, and everyone turned to look behind them.
As soon as they saw the people at the door, hushed conversations began.
"Holy crap, I feel like we're about to witness a battle of the century."
"What kind of epic battle is this? Who's on whose side? Is it the new love supporting the old one?"
“The two of them haven’t spoken lately, and now a new one has appeared. The relationship is getting more and more complicated.”
Someone glanced out the window and then at Jian Sheng, who was tidying up her things. The rustling sound subsided when the person involved stopped making a sound.
Everyone was waiting for someone to speak first, but after a minute, no one spoke.
"Chen Zhou exclaimed at you." Xu Yanghe sensed the subtle atmosphere and nudged his arm.
Chen Zhoujing lowered his gaze from the table, and after a while, turned his gaze to Shen Shuting, who was standing at the back door.
His brows were slightly furrowed, his eyes were brooding, and his pupils held a hint of ferocity.
He leaned back in his chair, waiting for her to continue.
Shen Shuting sensed his meaning but didn't pay attention. He called out again, "Come out, Chen Zhoujing."
She wasn't embarrassed at all; in fact, she was overly generous.
He Shang couldn't stand it anymore and threw his schoolbag onto the chair: "What do you want?"
His tone was unfriendly, and he wasn't going to give me a pleasant look.
Shen Shuting pressed a straight line to his lips, his tone stiff: "Aren't you coming out?"
"What are you doing out here? Once is one thing, but disturbing me time and time again is inappropriate, Miss Shen." He Shang was annoyed and clenched her fist as she walked towards the back door.
Chen Zhoujing withdrew his gaze, picked up his schoolbag from the table, and said calmly, "He Shang."
He Shang stopped and turned around.
Chen Zhoujing had already slung his schoolbag over his shoulder, strode out, and stood in front of Shen Shuting: "Let's go?"
Shen Shuting raised an eyebrow, satisfied, and arrogantly turned his body to walk towards one end of the corridor.
After everyone left, the class erupted in chaos.
"Holy crap, He Shang, what's going on? I don't even dare to speak. Why does she keep coming to see Chen Zhoujing?" Xu Xiao asked, frowning as he held a book.
He Shang glanced at him and asked, "Does it still smell good now?"
"Huh?" Xu Xiao realized his teasing and his face darkened. "It's undeniable that she's fragrant, but... she can be a bit eerie sometimes, that kind of aura... it's kind of scary."
"I always feel like they're looking down on me..."
He Shang rolled his eyes at him and was about to walk back to his seat when he inadvertently saw Jian Sheng sitting blankly in his seat.
He changed direction, hesitated, then turned back and walked towards his seat.
There are always some conflicts that need to be resolved by both parties.
After packing his things, he followed Xu Xiao and Xu Xiu toward the school gate. The weather was getting hotter and hotter, and some people on the road had already started wearing summer school uniforms. He Shang carried his schoolbag in one hand and prepared to take off his school uniform jacket.
Someone called out to him from behind.
He Shang turned around, and Xu Xiaxia was standing with her arms crossed, raising her chin at him: "Let's go back together."
Without saying much, He Shang was somewhat surprised, his chest pounding.
He raised his hand and stroked his buzz cut a few times, then smiled and said, "You guys go back first."
After the others left, Xu Xiaxia slowly walked to his side and got straight to the point: "What's the situation with Chen Zhoujing?"
"Uh..." He Shang choked, "You came here just to ask about Chen Zhoujing?"
"Otherwise?" Xu Xiaxia lifted her eyelids. "You're not worth my time to ask."
"Are you crazy?!" He Shang was furious, his breath coming in short gasps.
But Xu Xiaxia poured cold water on his composure: "If you can't win an argument, you resort to verbal attacks. What's there for me to ask about that?"
After a long silence, He Shang finally managed to say, "It's nothing. That girl said she liked him, so he forced himself on her."
"But the two of them had some conflicts before."
"At first, Chen Zhoujing was quite wary of this matter, so no one dared to say anything. Later, after getting to know him better, they found that he was very easy to talk to, so everyone joked about it. In reality, it wasn't some 'white moonlight' at all. This girl used to be quite famous in their junior high school, and she dated the guy who hit him..."
"I followed that guy and messed with him a few times, indirectly... well, I guess you could say I directly hurt him. Later, that guy dropped out of school, and this girl started targeting Chen Zhoujing. In the second semester of his third year of junior high, he grew taller and his grades improved a lot. Then she started going to see him occasionally, and gradually, rumors started to spread."
"So she's fallen for Chen Zhoujing?" Xu Xiaxia sneered. "Isn't that ridiculous?"
She gritted her teeth and rolled her eyes: "Are you sick? What kind of junior high school do you go to? How come a bunch of geniuses come out of there?"
He Shang's lips twitched: "Don't generalize and condemn everyone... Look at me."
"Look at me! I'm a good person!!"
Xu Xiaxia pursed her lips and moved to the side: "You... are quite nice."
After struggling to utter a single sentence, unable to find any praise, she quickened her pace and turned left onto the road to the left of the school.
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