19 Chapter 19
◎Don't touch me!◎
Hearing this, Liao Yishen's mouth curled up slightly, "Let's study first."
Sang Xinqi nodded obediently, "Okay, let's study first."
Perhaps because she was caught red-handed by Liao Yishen just now, Sang Xinqi was extra focused this time and before she knew it, it was already five o'clock in the afternoon.
"Time flies," Sang Xinqi glanced at her phone, a little surprised.
Liao Yishen was putting the books into his schoolbag. "Indeed."
Sang Xinqi packed up her things and rubbed her rumbling stomach. "Let's go eat something. I'm starving." She didn't feel full at all after the instant noodles she had at noon.
Liao Yishen nodded and picked up her schoolbag. Sang Xinqi was stunned for a moment and let go of the bag strap. The two walked out of the library side by side.
In the autumn evening, the sky gradually darkens, and the cool breeze swirls the fallen leaves.
"How about going for some spicy hot pot?" Sang Xinqi suggested.
Just as Liao Yishen was about to respond, a clear female voice suddenly interrupted, "Brother Liao!"
This voice made Sang Xinqi feel irritated. She looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was indeed Gu Chaoyan, accompanied by two of her best friends. Sang Xinqi looked away and caught a glimpse of helplessness in Liao Yishen's eyes.
Gu Chaoyan trotted over, her skirt fluttering in the wind. Sang Xinqi wanted to greet her politely, but immediately gave up the idea after seeing the hostility in her eyes.
"Brother Liao, why are you here?" Gu Chaoyan smiled brightly.
"From Xi," Liao Yishen said in a flat tone.
"You can ask me to come with you next time," Gu Chaoyan tilted her head, "We live in the same neighborhood, it's much more convenient than asking Sister Sang to accompany you to study."
Sang Xinqi, "......"
Sister Sang? This name made her temples throb.
"Is that so, Sister Sang?" Gu Chaoyan looked over with a smile.
Sang Xinqi resisted the urge to roll her eyes, turned to look at Liao Yishen, and repeated with a forced smile, "Isn't that right, Liao Yishen?"
Liao Yishen, "......"
The girl next to Gu Chaoyan suddenly started to attack, "Sister Sang, it's common knowledge in the school that our Chaoyan likes Senior Liao. You must be aware of this, right?"
Another girl in a miniskirt chimed in, "Exactly. Don't you know how to avoid suspicion? And you're even out alone with Senior Liao."
Sang Xinqi, “….”
Gu Chaoyan quickly waved her hands, "Don't be like this, Sister Sang and Brother Liao are just good friends."
Sang Xinqi was almost choked by the smell of green tea.
Liao Yishen frowned, his voice cold, "I've told you very clearly."
Gu Chaoyan's smile froze instantly, and her eyes turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye. "I know... I didn't do anything... Brother Liao..."
"I don't have any brothers or sisters," Liao Yishen interrupted her, "Just call me by my name."
Gu Chaoyan's face turned pale, and she bit her lower lip, "...I know."
The sound is as thin as a mosquito.
Her little sister immediately exploded, "Senior Liao, how could you treat Chao Yan like this!"
Liao Yishen glanced at them coldly, and the two of them were immediately silent.
"Let's go," Liao Yishen said to Sang Xinqi.
The two turned and left, and behind them could be heard Gu Chaoyan's suppressed sobs and her besties' comforting words:
"Don't be sad..."
"Senior Liao must have been confused for a moment..."
"That girl is not as pretty as you..."
The voice gradually faded away. Sang Xinqi was both angry and amused. She tilted her head and looked at Liao Yishen, "Brother Liao, you have a very good luck in love."
Liao Yishen, "......"
"I'm sorry," he said with a guilty look on his face, "for causing you to be spoken of in that way."
Sang Xinqi waved her hands, not caring at all. "It's okay. I won't argue with a child."
Liao Yishen's gaze unconsciously fell on her profile.
The afterglow of the autumn evening cast a soft warm light on her delicate features, even the tiny hairs were clearly visible. Suddenly, a strange throbbing passed through his heart, as if being gently brushed by a feather.
After the two sat down at the Malatang restaurant, they each ordered a bowl of old-fashioned Malatang. A subtle silence filled the small dining table, with only the occasional light from their mobile phone screens reflected on their faces.
Sang Xinqi was scrolling through her Moments out of boredom, but her eyes couldn't help but glance at the boy opposite her with his eyelashes drooping.
Until the boss came over with the steaming hot spicy hot pot, the red oil soup base was shaking slightly in the bowl, and the steaming heat blurred the vision between the two people, "Be careful, it's hot."
The boss's kind advice broke the frozen atmosphere.
"It smells so good!" Sang Xinqi couldn't wait to pull out her chopsticks, picked up a piece of beef slice soaked in red oil and put it into her mouth. It was so hot that she was breathing heavily but she was reluctant to spit it out.
Liao Yishen looked at her greedy look, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously rose. The girl's nose was sweating because of the spicy food, but she still kept stuffing food into her mouth. It made him feel as if his heart was being gently scratched by a kitten's claws, and he felt numb and tingling.
The sky darkens quickly in late autumn, and by the time they'd finished their meal, the lights outside were already on. They left the spicy hot pot restaurant and walked along the path, scented with the sweet scent of osmanthus, toward the library parking lot.
"Are you cold?" Liao Yishen asked, turning around while sitting on the tram.
Sang Xinqi shrank her neck in the back seat and said, "It's okay."
The night wind blew her voice into pieces, but it couldn't hide the smile in her words.
The tram soon stopped downstairs of Sang Xinqi's house.
"See you tomorrow." She jumped out of the car, waved to him, and ran into the unit door happily.
When I opened the door, a family drama was playing in the living room. Mother Sang was curled up on the sofa and asked without turning her head, "Are you back?"
"Yeah!" Sang Xinqi kicked off her sneakers and sat down next to Sang's mother.
"Have you eaten yet?"
"Eat! How about you, Mom?"
"I made some instant noodles," Mother Sang pinched her daughter's cheek.
Sang Xinqi chuckled, "What a coincidence! I also had instant noodles for lunch!"
"Tsk, you inherited all my laziness," Mother Sang pretended to sigh.
The mother and daughter laughed together, and even the bloody plot in the TV series became heartwarming.
-
The days of senior year passed quickly, and it was already mid-November.
In the biting cold wind, the two of them put away their trams and took the bus to go to and from school. Inside the crowded carriage, Jiang Xun stood by the door holding the handrail and suddenly leaned in and said, "I can't go with you after school tonight."
Sang Xinqi was staring out the window in a daze. Upon hearing this, she turned around and asked, "Where are you going?"
"Date~" Jiang Xun grinned, his white teeth dazzling.
Sang Xinqi didn't want to respond immediately. As for his crappy relationship, she didn't even know if he was still in it or not. "...Okay."
When getting off the bus, cold raindrops hit her face. Sang Xinqi took out a folding umbrella from her schoolbag and opened it with a "click".
"This damn weather..." she muttered softly, watching the rain splashing tiny drops of water on the umbrella.
Jiang Xun also opened his umbrella and suddenly said mysteriously, "By the way, I told Brother Liao this morning to pick you up."
"Why did you call him here!" Sang Xinqi felt a heat in her ears.
"Someone is thinking about it~" Jiang Xun said in a long tone, "I am doing a good deed at this time."
"What nonsense!" Sang Xinqi pretended to hit him, then frowned as if remembering something, "He'll have to take a long detour this way..."
"Oh, you feel bad?"
Sang Xinqi really wanted to cover his mouth. His mouth was really not in vain.
Jiang Xun waved his hand nonchalantly, "What's wrong with a boy taking a few more steps?"
Sang Xinqi pursed her lips and didn't refute, but a sweet feeling rose in her heart.
When they said goodbye in the teaching building, she was shocked to realize that she hadn't seen Liao Yishen for two weeks.
She had been busy preparing for a fashion design competition recently, and even turned down his invitation to go to the library last week. Now, looking at the gray rain, she was inexplicably looking forward to meeting him again after school.
Perhaps time knew her expectations, the day passed exceptionally quickly, and Sang Xinqi felt as if today had been stretched to a day and a half, and she finally waited until the school bell rang.
But their school finishing times were different. Considering that Liao Yishen would finish school half an hour later, plus the distance, she would have to wait for an hour before she could see him.
While waiting, Sang Xinqi first finished her homework, and then inspiration suddenly came to her. She spread out the drawing paper and began to design a down jacket. The tip of the pen rustled on the paper, outlining smooth lines. She was so engrossed in painting that she didn't even notice the passage of time.
It was not until the design draft was mostly finished that she realized that it had already dark outside the window. She glanced at her watch and saw that the hour hand pointed to seven o'clock. Her heart skipped a beat - logically, Liao Yishen should have arrived long ago.
"Wait a little longer," she whispered to herself, and lowered her head to continue perfecting the design details. She was completely immersed in this painting. When the last stroke was put, the clock on the wall pointed to half past eight.
Her classroom was the only one on the entire floor with the lights on. Suddenly, footsteps and complaints were heard in the corridor. "The students in this class are really something. They don't even turn off the lights after school."
Sang Xinqi was startled by the sudden voice and quickly responded, "There's someone else!"
The security guard pushed the door open and saw the girl alone. He asked in surprise, "Child, why don't you leave?"
"I was so engrossed in studying that I forgot to check the time," Sang Xinqi smiled embarrassedly.
"If my child had worked half as hard as you, he wouldn't have to go out to work right after graduating from junior high school," the uncle shook his head, his tone full of envy.
Sang Xinqi smiled lightly and quickly packed her schoolbag.
She put her drawings, textbooks, and stationery into her bag, zipped it shut, and said, "Uncle, I'm leaving now."
"Be careful on the road and stay safe," the uncle warned.
"Okay," Sang Xinqi responded.
When she opened the door, cold raindrops hit her in the face. Sang Xinqi couldn't help but shiver. Her school uniform jacket was instantly soaked by the cold air. The drizzle formed silver threads under the street lights, making the night blurry.
She hugged her schoolbag tightly, looked at the empty campus, and suddenly felt an indescribable sense of loss in her heart.
She walked to the school gate and looked around, but there was no familiar figure in the rain. Her heart felt like it was soaked by the rain and fell heavily.
Sang Xinqi took a deep breath, walked to the side of the road and waved to stop a car. The cold raindrops hit her face, but it couldn't extinguish the flames that were rising in her heart.
"Liao Yishen, what do you mean?" She gritted her teeth in her heart, "If you don't want to come, don't agree!" The strap of her schoolbag was wrinkled, and the ribs of the umbrella creaked between her knuckles.
It is particularly difficult to wait for a taxi on a rainy night. Time passes by minute by minute, but no empty taxi passes by.
The tip of her nose suddenly felt sore and her eyes became hot. She secretly swore in her heart: If I pay any attention to Liao Yishen again, I will be a dog!
What kind of person is this!
At this moment, a taxi slowly stopped across the street. Her eyes lit up and she was about to rush over -
“Sangsang!”
The familiar voice made her stop suddenly. Looking up, Liao Yishen was running towards her with an umbrella. The accumulated grievances suddenly burst out, and warm liquid flowed out of her eyes uncontrollably. She hurriedly wiped it away with the back of her hand.
"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry," Liao Yishen stopped in front of her, panting, with water dripping from the ends of his hair.
"If you don't want to come, don't force yourself," she said in a trembling voice. "I waited in the classroom until half past eight, like a fool..."
The other party's repeated apologies made her even more annoyed. Sang Xinqi walked around him and was about to stop the taxi, but the car drove away at this moment. This coincidence seemed to be mocking her, and her chest was so blocked that she could hardly breathe.
Her wrist was suddenly grabbed, and she shook it off, "Don't touch me. I'm annoyed just by seeing you now!"
"I'll take you home," Liao Yishen's heart sank. He stood there at a loss, his coat soaked by the rain. "Please leave me alone, okay?"
"No, there's no need for you to send me off," she said, walking forward without looking back.
"Aren't we... friends?" A hesitant voice came from behind.
This sentence completely ignited her anger. Sang Xinqi turned around abruptly and asked, "You still think we're friends?"
"I didn't see Jiang Xun's message this morning. I only found out when I got home from school..." Liao Yishen's voice became increasingly quiet. "I rushed over right away."
The sound of rain suddenly became distant. Sang Xinqi's clenched fists slowly loosened, and her anger mostly deflated like a popped balloon. She bit her lip and asked, "Why didn't you say it just now?"
"It's my fault for being late," he said, staring down at the waterlogged ground.
"Jiang Xun is so unreliable!" She suddenly vented her anger, "I must settle the score with him tomorrow! No, I will settle the score with him when I get home."
"Actually, I heard my phone ring this morning..." Liao Yishen added softly, "I was in a hurry to go out, so I didn't check it."
Sang Xinqi hummed, and the two of them fell silent for a moment.
Suddenly she realized her own misconduct, and her ears felt hot. "It's mainly...mainly Jiang Xun's fault!"
In the rain, the boy hummed and breathed a sigh of relief, "Let's go, I'll take you home."
Sang Xinqi nodded slightly, and the two waited in the rain for a while before finally hailing a taxi.
The taxi was filled with damp silence, with only the sound of raindrops hitting the window. Liao Yishen would occasionally glance at her from the corner of his eye. Under the dim streetlight, the slightly red corners of her eyes were particularly noticeable.
——She cried.
This realization made his chest feel tight and his Adam's apple rolled unconsciously.
Sang Xinqi kept tilting her head to look at the neon lights flying by outside the window until the taxi stopped at her neighborhood.
Neither of them spoke again when they parted.
Sang Xinqi went to the 13th floor, but instead of going home, she knocked on Jiang Xun's door.
"Sangsang?" Aunt Jiang, who opened the door, was surprised.
"Hello, Aunt Jiang," Sang Xinqi smiled sweetly, "Is Jiang Xun back?"
"I just came back and am in his room." Aunt Jiang stepped aside to let her in. "You two can chat while I go cut some fruit."
After thanking him, Sang Xinqi walked straight to Jiang Xun's door, and her knocks were filled with anger.
"Who is it——" The door suddenly opened, and Jiang Xun's eyes widened, "What a rare guest!"
"Jiang Xun, you're such a fool," Sang Xinqi flashed into the room, locked the door, and picked up the pillow on the bed and started smashing it.
"Ah! Are you crazy?" Jiang Xun hurriedly caught the pillow, "Why are you hitting me?"
"Am I crazy? Why would I hit you? I want to kill you right now," Sang Xinqi grabbed another pillow. "Do you know I waited at school until 8:30? Liao Yishen didn't even get the message!"
Jiang Xun was stunned. "I thought he saw..."
"What do you think?" Sang Xinqi threw the pillow at him, "Won't you confirm the message after sending it?"
"My fault, my fault," Jiang Xun clasped his hands together, "So... was it Liao Yishen who picked you up?"
Sang Xinqi sat heavily on the gaming chair. "I rushed here as soon as I got home from school and heard the news. Unlike some people..."
"My ancestor, I was wrong!" Jiang Xun pretended to kneel, but was kicked away by Sang Xinqi.
"I don't want to bother with you," she stood up and was about to leave, but was stopped by Jiang Xun. "I'm so angry now, I won't forgive you."
Sang Xinqi walked around him and opened the door.
Aunt Jiang came out of the kitchen carrying some fruit. She didn't notice anything was going on between them and greeted them with a smile, "Sangsang, have some fruit."
Sang Xinqi was really hungry at this moment, so she didn't hesitate and sat down to eat some fruit before leaving.
Jiang Xun also followed him out.
In the corridor, Jiang Xun grabbed her wrist and refused to let go. "You really won't forgive me?"
"Let go!" Sang Xinqi shook him off. "If you do that again, I'll—"
"There won't be a next time!" Jiang Xun raised his hand and swore.
"Okay, okay."
Back home, the pitch-black living room made the chill of the rainy night even worse. Sang Xinqi turned on the light, walked into the bedroom, and picked up her phone from the table. The screen lit up with a message from her mother: "Working overtime, home late."
She curled up on the sofa and replied, sharing what happened tonight with her mother. The sound of rain outside the window became heavier, and the glass reflected her angry reflection until she pressed the send button.
The next morning, when Sang Xinqi ran into Jiang Xun at the school gate, she couldn't help but glare at him.
Jiang Xun immediately came over, smiling like a golden retriever trying to please its owner, "Sangsang~Have you had breakfast? I bought an extra sandwich..."
"Don't give me that," Sang Xinqi deliberately put on a stern face, but the hot milk he stuffed in her palms warmed her palms.
Sitting on the bus, Jiang Xun suddenly lowered his voice, "Seriously, what's going on between you and Liao Yishen?"
Sang Xinqi paused, then looked up at him, "That's it."
"It's obvious from the first glance that you two are in love," Jiang Xun curled his lips, "Are you really not planning on falling in love too early?"
"What are you talking about?" Sang Xinqi's cheeks flushed. "I don't know."
"How about we have a six-person group gathering this Sunday?" Jiang Xun suddenly suggested, "It's a good opportunity for you."
Seeing her hesitation, he bumped her shoulder again, "Just consider it an apology for making you wait so long yesterday."
Sang Xinqi tightened her grip on the milk carton, causing the carton to make a slight clicking sound.
Premature love with Liao Yishen!
It seems like he really wants to, but I don’t know what he thinks.
She hesitated for a moment and agreed, "..Okay."
"Leave it to me!" Jiang Xun said excitedly when he saw her agree.
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