Chapter 33
However, Yu Chao would probably be furious after hearing this. He looked at his clenched fist, grabbed it, and Shen Xuzheng smiled and said, "Haha, it's normal that she's new and doesn't remember. Hello, new classmate. Let me introduce you. This is our No. 1 brother from No. 7 Middle School. His name is Yu Chao, and my name is Shen Xuzheng. Hello, hello. We are both good buddies of Chen Zhoujing. It's an honor to meet you here."
What a polite remark! It made Jian Sheng feel a little strange.
She thought these people were there to cause trouble, yet one of them was actually introducing himself to her seriously. Jian Sheng looked at him; this Shen Xuzheng looked like a smiling tiger, all smiles on his face and peacemaker on his lips.
She nodded politely, turned around, and prepared to walk away. Just as she turned to the side, a force came up on her wrist, and the pull was rough, spilling the milk in her arms all over the floor.
The crisp sound of shattering glass was exceptionally clear on the somewhat empty street.
Milk started leaking from the bag.
Jian Sheng glanced back at the hand on her wrist and said coldly, "Let go."
Yu Chao's face darkened, and he tightened his grip on the object.
Just as Shen Xuzheng was about to pull him away, a soft, bright sound came from behind him.
What are you doing?!
The sound of that voice calmed Jian Sheng down a bit. She saw Lin You carrying a bag, dodging the cars and walking briskly toward her. Then, a strange feeling of bitterness suddenly welled up inside her.
Lin You's voice was usually gentle, but it sounded cold at this moment. She looked at Yu Chao and asked, "What are you planning to do now?"
Yu Chao was somewhat surprised. He glanced at her, slowly released his grip, and said, "Oh, you've attracted a good student here."
"You'll let me off the hook for my grudge against her?" He disliked this pretentious behavior, the kind of so-called "good student" that teachers often talked about.
Lin You frowned and stepped forward to block Jian Sheng behind him: "Go back to your place if you're sick. Why are you bringing a bunch of people to bully one person?"
She wasn't tall, but she had a very imposing presence.
Yu Chao didn't really want to provoke this teacher's favorite, so he muttered a curse and turned to leave with his men.
Lin You let go, her grip on the bag loosening as well. She turned and took Jian Sheng's hand, circling her once: "Are you alright? Did he hit you?"
Jian Sheng's eyes were slightly red, and her chest was throbbing so badly that she almost couldn't breathe. She said to her worried face, "No...it's nothing."
"You...how did you get back?" Jian asked in a low voice.
Lin You patted her chest, forgetting that she was still holding her hand: "My cousin wanted to drink milk tea, so I ran back to get her one. It was over there, but I didn't expect to see Yu Chao and the others."
"I'm glad you're alright... It's best to ignore these petty thugs if possible. He's probably only doing this because of Chen Zhoujing..." As she spoke, Lin You sensed something was wrong. Seeing their hands clasped tightly, she suddenly tried to let go. "Sorry, sorry, I wasn't paying attention."
"It's okay." Jian Sheng raised his hand and pressed down on her hand that was trying to let go. The discomfort she felt had somehow subsided, and she was no longer averse to this kind of physical contact between friends.
She smiled, her eyes red and swollen: "Thank you."
Lin You felt a little embarrassed and patted her on the shoulder: "Don't be so polite."
"But...this is..." She glanced at the mess on the floor. "Did you bring this for your family? Won't you get scolded?"
"How about I take you to buy another one?"
"No need." Jian Sheng squatted down and slowly put the unbroken, bagged milk back into the bag, then took out a tissue from her pocket to wipe away the undried liquid.
Lin You squatted down, took out tissues from her bag to wipe the contents, and while tidying up the bag, she saw that it was full of pure milk...
She glanced at Jian Sheng, who had his eyes downcast, and smiled, "You didn't buy this for me, did you?"
Jian Sheng didn't look up, but nodded slightly.
Lin You's pupils flashed with surprise, then she felt a warmth in her heart: "Oh~ but you've been sending me milk for a week already."
Jian Sheng nodded in confusion, then said, "Then we can't deliver it?"
"Drinking too much might cause inflammation, so I'm planning to bring you some the next day," she added earnestly.
This left Lin You speechless for a moment.
Looking into her sincere eyes and serious expression, she suddenly wanted to laugh.
"Let me pack first, I didn't say I couldn't... I'll feel bad if you send too much..."
"You've helped me a lot, Mo."
Final grades came out quickly; they were almost finished grading by the end of the weekend and Monday.
During Tuesday's long break, raindrops fell continuously outside, and a draft blew into the corridor through the windows, causing the test papers on the desks to rustle loudly.
Just a few minutes after class ended, Jian Sheng looked at the rain outside and a bad feeling was about to burst forth in her heart.
The test paper on the table was left by Zhong Mei from yesterday's math quiz. Lin You was helping her look at the second question when she saw Jian Sheng staring blankly for the first time. She was a little surprised and waved her hand, "What are you doing?"
Jian let out a soft "Ah," her eyebrows furrowing unconsciously. She slowly turned her head, but the back seat was empty. She turned back again: "Where's Chen Zhoujing?"
Lin You narrowed her eyes: "When did you start paying so much attention to him?"
"I don't know. He didn't come this morning, and he didn't come yesterday either. He should be fine, don't worry. You didn't know before you came, but he actually takes leave quite often, although he's taken leave much less this semester," she said.
Jian Sheng frowned and gave an "oh," scratching her index finger a few times with her nail. Feeling a little anxious, she looked at the questions on the table and casually asked, "Did it explain why?"
"Hmm?" Lin You looked up.
With a loud crash, the sky seemed to explode, and thunder resounded throughout the campus, spreading panic to every corner.
Suddenly, someone ran past in the corridor.
Someone was making a loud noise.
"Holy crap, a fight has broken out downstairs."
"Damn, Chen Zhoujing is going to kill someone again."
indoor.
Jian Sheng and Lin You exchanged a glance and walked outside together. Like the other students, they leaned on the railing, and she looked at the two figures between the two buildings.
In the rain, the two stood stiffly at the flower bed, fists clenched, facing each other.
"What are they doing, holy crap?" Xu Xiaxia also came over.
He Man, who had just come up, cautiously looked at Jian Sheng and said, "Um..."
Jian Sheng sensed something was wrong: "Is it because of me again?"
She felt a bit agitated, a restless feeling of dissatisfaction with herself.
He Man glanced at the classmates watching, then whispered in Jian Sheng's ear, "I just came back from the restroom. I heard that when Yu Chao first arrived, he ran into Chen Zhoujing, said a few provocative things, mentioned you, and in the end, Chen Zhoujing pushed him into the rain..."
Before He Man could finish speaking, Jian Sheng had already strode downstairs.
"Hey, Jian Sheng." Lin You didn't stop them, and the group followed them downstairs.
Downstairs, when Jian Sheng arrived, the two were still locked in a stalemate, seemingly waiting for the other to make the first move.
She slowly stepped forward, and some people, seeing her arrive, stepped back to join in the gossip.
The building across the street happened to be occupied by senior high school students. Hearing the noise, half of the classes opened their windows and looked in this direction.
The rain grew heavier and heavier, and amidst the shouts, besides the silent friction between the two, there was also the howling wind.
Chen Zhoujing looked impatient as he clenched his fists at the thug who had pushed him into the rain.
He didn't want to cause trouble, but Yu Chao's words were too harsh, and he kept touching him. He had just received a disciplinary action, and if this continued, Teacher Zhong would lose his position as the outstanding research group leader.
He hadn't expected that Jian Sheng would get involved with them again. Just as Chen Zhoujing was about to back down, he suddenly met Jian Sheng's cold gaze and his heart skipped a beat.
Chen Zhoujing glanced at the crowd pointing and whispering around her, gritted his teeth, and looked up at Yu Chao: "You're stupid to believe Li Xiangzhe. Stop spreading rumors. Let's go."
He then walked towards the teaching building, leaving the battlefield.
Yu Chao's eyes were fierce. When he saw Jian Sheng, he sneered and headed towards the dormitory building.
In less than ten minutes, the two left. Apart from their inaudible verbal sparring, nothing else happened, and many of the onlookers dispersed.
Chen Zhoujing stood in front of Jian Sheng, feeling somewhat embarrassed. He raised his hand and brushed his wet hair back, revealing his forehead. When he met her gaze, he felt inexplicably guilty.
Jian Sheng didn't speak, but leaned against the wall and watched him.
The raindrops brushed against her face, feeling cool. She saw his apologetic eyes, and that icy feeling extinguished half of the warmth in her heart.
Chen Zhou chuckled in surprise: "Why did you come down?"
Jian Sheng sighed inwardly: "Are you guys fighting?"
"Huh?" He paused.
Lin You followed behind, and upon seeing the two figures, stepped forward and exclaimed, "Damn it, Chen Zhoujing, what are you doing now?"
"Why are you showing off like that?" She grabbed Jian Sheng. "I was there the day before yesterday, and Yu Chao didn't dare to touch her. How did you end up getting involved with him?"
Chen Zhou was stunned and asked in confusion, "What, the day before yesterday?"
Lin You hummed in agreement: "Huh? You don't know? Then what were you two doing in the rain? Were you two fighting like elementary school kids?"
"He pushed me down there? And he even said I was sick," Chen Zhou exclaimed in surprise.
When Li Jing brought it to him, Yu Chao happened to get out of the car and cursed at him and Li Jing all the way. Finally, when Li Jing went to the infirmary, he started bringing up Li Xiangzhe again.
Chen Zhoujing didn't want to talk to him, so he took advantage of her kindness.
“Someone in the restroom said you pushed him, and that you hit him because of Jian Sheng,” He Man interjected.
Chen Zhoujing's smile vanished: "He contacted you the day before yesterday?"
"Where did you meet?" he asked, staring at Jian Sheng.
Jian Sheng was startled by his sudden coldness and took a step back.
Lin You sensed something was wrong, and belatedly realized she had been too talkative: "No, we were shopping at the mall the day before yesterday, and we didn't..."
She wanted to smooth things over but didn't know how to say it.
Chen Zhoujing, soaked to the bone and with a gloomy expression, smiled slightly: "You all go back, I'll go first."
After saying that, he ignored the people calling him and ran towards the dormitory building.
"We're doomed." Lin You swallowed hard. "I should have kept quiet."
She looked at Jian Sheng and said apologetically.
Jian Sheng raised her hand to her forehead and paused for a moment; her head ached.
"Shall we go see Teacher Zhong?" she asked.
"No need to look." Suddenly, a voice interrupted.
Shen Xuzheng, who had been watching the commotion from the sidelines for a while, finally spoke up: "They're just like that, nothing will happen. You two go up and listen to the lecture."
“If he says it’s okay, then it’s definitely okay,” He Man added.
Shen Xuzheng winked at her, and He Man glared at him before comforting him, "It's really okay. They've been fighting since they were kids. You two go up and study first."
Jian Sheng shifted her gaze from the dormitory building: "Are you really okay? I'd better stay with...."
“It’s no use following him, you’ll only hurt yourself.” Shen Xuzheng said with his hands in his pockets. “It has nothing to do with you, don’t blame yourself. Yu Chao is just being a jerk and likes to show off, but Chen Zhoujing knows his limits and won’t do anything. The two of them were always arguing in the first year of high school, and nothing happened to them.”
Lin You could assure her of this, and she nodded to Jian Sheng: "He is right."
Jian Sheng kept looking at the door as she returned to the classroom, feeling guilty until the bell rang, when a figure ran in through the front door.
Chen Zhoujing had changed into a clean school uniform, her hair was dry, her face was clean, and the corners of her mouth were still turned up. She smiled at Teacher Zhong after entering the room.
"Sorry, teacher, I arrived just in time, I wasn't late." He raised the hand holding the umbrella and glanced at his watch.
Zhong Mei rolled her eyes at him: "What were you two doing in the rain just now?"
Chen Zhou chuckled and said, "Nothing much. He said he was in a bad mood and wanted to walk in the rain, so I went with him."
Zhong Mei didn't believe her and warned, "Don't associate with him. You might not listen to me, but your mother will."
Chen Zhoujing didn't say anything and slowly walked in.
On the podium, Zhong Mei continued talking about the midterm exams, and Jian Sheng tore off a piece of scrap paper and wrote a few lines on it.
Chen Zhou sat down and put down his umbrella. A moment later, the figure in front of him turned around and placed a note on his desk. He looked up at Zhong Mei, who was writing something with her back turned. He took the note and flipped it open to read it.
Several lines of text came into his view, and Chen Zhou's heart skipped a beat. He saw that it read:
*：
I don't know what conflict you had before. If it was because I started it, I apologize.
You're a good person. I don't want you to get into a fight because of me. It would hurt you and make me feel guilty.
I'm sorry for causing this negative impact on your studies.
Chen Zhou stared at the note for a long time.
Finally, fold it up and put it in your pocket.
Jian Sheng's thoughts were completely interrupted by what had just happened outside, and this anxiety turned into tension when Zhong Mei called her.
She stood up, and the sound of applause rose and fell around her, mixed with the heartfelt blessings of her classmates.
"That's amazing! Very good. Jian Sheng has also made great progress in this midterm. Let's all learn from him. Come to the office to study every noon and even leave time after school. Some of you don't come when I call you!" Zhong Mei clapped her hands, her serious expression softening a bit.
"Sit down, keep up the good work, your results this time are quite impressive." Zhong Mei said a few more words of encouragement, and then began to praise other students who had achieved good results.
Jian Sheng slowly sat down, looking at the report card that had been passed to her.
Actually, the class didn't make much progress, only improving by a few places, just like Chen Zhoujing said last time, remaining in the twentieth place. The biggest difference was that her grade ranking rose by nearly a hundred places. Perhaps Teacher Zhong saw her efforts and encouraged her.
Because of what happened in the rain, Chen Zhoujing hadn't spoken to Jian Sheng for two days, and she wouldn't even look at him, which made him feel incredibly stifled.
He was depressed every day, lying on the table wanting to talk to her and explain, but he felt awkward when his hand was about to touch her.
He used to be shameless enough to go to her even when she ignored him, but now he finds it hard to take that step.
Until the day of the autumn field trip, there was a line outside the classroom.
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