Chapter 9, Chapter 9: Fang Minzhou is a bit late...
Fang Minzhou regretted telling her parents that she was going to the market with her classmates on Sunday, because her mother urged her to leave right after lunch.
Although Fang Minzhou clearly told them that the meeting time was 2 p.m., Fang Liangping and Zhao Ningying were still worried that she would be late.
Her mother said, "It will take you at least half an hour to get there by taking the No. 65 bus, not counting the time you spend waiting for the bus and getting stuck in traffic. It's already past one o'clock, you should probably leave now."
Her dad said, "Anyway, there's nothing else to do, so go early and don't keep your classmates waiting."
Fang Minzhou: "..."
It only takes twenty minutes by bus, and it's only 12:40 now.
Zhao Ningying nagged: "You kids have never bought anything wholesale before. Be careful with your eyes, ask around at several stores before you buy, and don't buy something too expensive."
"Are any parents coming along? Maybe Dad can come with you..."
Fang Minzhou quickly waved his hand.
"Are you coming back for dinner tonight?" Zhao Ningying asked.
"You should come back to eat."
Fang Minzhou: "I have tutoring on Saturdays."
"...Next week is still possible, right? It'll be all wet in the rain. Did you bring an umbrella?"
Staying at home wouldn't be any less relaxing, so Fang Minzhou compromised and started packing her bag, saying, "Okay, okay, I'll take it."
The weather forecast said it would rain, but it was just a shower. Yin Mengran needed to buy props for the opening ceremony performance, and time was tight because rehearsals were scheduled for next week. Everyone discussed in their small group chat that they still planned to meet today to get everything ready as soon as possible.
Fang Minzhou had just reached the bus stop at the entrance of the residential area when the bus arrived. There were very few people on the bus, and she arrived at the market entrance at 1:30 pm.
Standing under the arched red doorway with gilded characters, Fang Minzhou looked somewhat bewildered.
The late summer heat still lingered, but it was quite intense. Shops inside and outside the market were still on their midday break, bathed in a drowsy tranquility under the golden autumn sun.
A rain shelter had been erected in front of the first stationery store on the right side of the main entrance. Fang Minzhou walked over and stood beside it. The shopkeeper was a middle-aged woman with curly hair. She glanced at Fang Minzhou from behind the counter and then looked away.
Parents seem to have a much faster pace of time than they do. When Fang Minzhou was little, her parents would always leave early to take her to school and tutoring. She would often be the first one to arrive at the classroom and sit there, but her parents would say, "It's better to be early than late."
However, as she grew up, Fang Minzhou found herself becoming someone who also valued time very much, but... she had arrived a bit too early today. But after a while, watching the dark clouds gradually take shape and drift closer, she thought it was good that she had left early.
The rain started to fall.
Autumn showers are fine and silent, unlike the torrential rains of midsummer that stir up the earthy smell of lush foliage. After the rain, you feel the chill. But today's rain seems to be getting heavier and heavier.
The auntie in the shop watched for a while, then came out of the shop and moved her stall a little further inside. Fang Minzhou hesitated for a moment, then helped out.
"Thank you, young lady. Are you waiting for someone?"
"Um."
"What do you want to buy?" the aunt asked tentatively.
"It's the sports meet, everyone come and take a look."
"Oh, I see. My daughter's sports meet is coming up soon," the auntie said, starting a conversation. "How old are you? Are you in high school?"
"Yes, I'm a sophomore in high school."
"Oh, my daughter is in the second year of junior high. Are you waiting for a classmate? I've seen you've been waiting for a while. What time did you agree to meet?"
"Okay, wait for the students, they should be here soon."
"Then why don't you wait inside the store?"
"It's okay, I'm fine here."
"Okay, then move to the inside so you don't get wet in the rain."
"Okay, thank you, Auntie."
When Fang Minzhou took out her phone again, it was 1:56 PM. There was a new message in the group: Lin Sinian said he was stuck in traffic and might be a little late. Others had encountered the same situation.
She stretched out her legs a bit, looked up at the sky, and felt raindrops on her face. She wasn't upset; after all, rainy days often mean traffic jams, and she had arrived too early. She was just a little tired from standing for so long.
However, if everyone arrives later and it's raining so hard that they all have to take shelter here, the scene would be quite comical.
"Hey, little girl," Fang Minzhou suddenly heard an older woman in the shop call out, "Is that your classmate?"
Fang Minzhou lowered her head and saw a boy running towards her in the rain.
Just a step away, a gray and white curtain of rain blurred the street scene at the market entrance, making the boy who had come in the rain seem particularly out of place.
The boy suddenly stopped and plunged into the awning. Before Fang Minzhou could even see who it was, the boy shook his head violently like a dog, catching Fang Minzhou off guard and splashing her face with rain.
Fang Minzhou: "..."
Fang Minzhou didn't get angry. He took out a small pack of tissues from his canvas bag, pulled one out for himself, and handed the tissue to Wang Kan.
"Give it to me? No need..." Wang Kan's wet face showed exaggerated surprise, then she changed the subject, took the tissue, and said, "Thanks."
"Here, here, have a towel to dry yourself off." The aunt came out of the shop again, looked Wang Kan up and down, and said, "Oh dear, you're soaked. Didn't you bring an umbrella?"
"I forgot to bring it." Wang Kan's eyes lit up. "Thank you, Auntie."
He was wearing a light gray short-sleeved shirt, the lower half of which was soaked to a dark gray. He grabbed a towel and rubbed his head haphazardly. When he took the towel off, his short black hair stood up in clumps, turning him from a dog into… Fang Minzhou really didn’t know how to remind him.
Unaware of his surroundings, he casually swept his hair back, looked around, and asked Fang Minzhou, "What time is it? Why are we the only two here?"
"...There's a traffic jam."
How did you know?
"I saw it when I ran over."
Fang Minzhou thought about his words carefully and couldn't help but ask him, "Did you run over from the overpass?"
The overpass is about one or two bus stops away from here.
"Yeah, I was going to take a taxi, but there was a traffic jam on the overpass. I thought I was going to be late, so I ran here myself. But the rain just kept getting heavier." Wang Kan was still a little out of breath when she spoke, but her tone became smug. "But I didn't expect everyone to be late, haha."
Fang Minzhou did not respond.
She felt that Wang Kan needed to improve his speaking skills. She had initially changed her opinion of him a little, but as soon as he started talking, her opinion of him plummeted back to square one.
"When did you arrive?" Wang Kan asked Fang Minzhou as she returned the towel to the shopkeeper after entering the store.
"Just arrived," Fang Minzhou said softly.
The aunt heard this and interjected, "She's been waiting for you for a long time, almost half an hour."
Wang Kan asked in surprise, "Why are you here so early?"
Fang Minzhou mumbled, "...Not very early."
Being punctual is a good thing, but arriving too early seems strange and puts pressure on people, so Fang Minzhou didn't speak in the group chat.
Wang Kan stood next to Fang Minzhou again. The rain was pattering. He looked at Fang Minzhou, who had another expressionless profile. So Wang Kan also looked at the rain.
But in less than a minute, his patience ran out. What was so interesting about rain? He asked Fang Minzhou, "Do you want to buy some pens or notebooks or something?"
"……I have."
Wang Kan picked out stationery himself and asked Fang Minzhou which pen he liked best. Fang Minzhou said that everyone has different preferences and told him to try them out himself. Wang Kan was too lazy to do that, so he just picked out a few at random.
Fang Minzhou didn't understand his sudden urge to shop, but when he paid the bill, Fang Minzhou noticed the aunt's gaze on them, and her hair stood on end instantly.
No, does she look like the type to start a relationship with Wang Kan early?
Wang Kan found carrying the bag troublesome and said that she couldn't fit it in her pockets, so she insisted on tearing open Fang Minzhou's canvas bag and throwing the pens in. "I borrowed someone's shop to take shelter from the rain and also borrowed a towel, so I'll just buy a few pens as a token."
He spoke almost into Fang Minzhou's ear, probably afraid that her aunt would hear. The warm breath and temperature brushed against her ear, and Fang Minzhou got goosebumps all over.
The rain pattered against the awning overhead, making an increasingly muffled sound.
She snatched her bag back, glanced at Wang Kan with a sense of unfamiliarity, and remembered that he had mentioned before that his family was in business, so it was not surprising that he had such a shrewd mind.
"When will they arrive?" Wang Kan asked, then followed up with, "Do you want something to eat?"
"No," Fang Minzhou said impatiently, wondering why the others hadn't arrived yet.
"It's my treat."
"Need not."
"Then lend me your umbrella."
How annoying... now they suddenly need an umbrella?
Fang Minzhou took a folding umbrella out of her bag, and Wang Kan took it and looked at it: "Folded so neatly?"
He opened his umbrella, and just as he was about to leave, he asked Fang Minzhou, "Do you like sweets?"
Fang Minzhou instinctively reached for a reply, then realized what he'd done and closed her mouth. Wang Kan, having already gotten his answer, smirked and strode confidently into the rain, holding his pale blue floral umbrella. Soon, he returned, carrying something in his arms, jogging along, accompanied by a sweet fragrance that seemed to drip honey from the raindrops.
He bought two egg waffles, shoved one of the paper bags into Fang Minzhou's hand, and took a bite of the other himself. As a result, he burned his face and grimaced, making Fang Minzhou, who was still somewhat embarrassed and annoyed, want to laugh but didn't want to.
Seeing that she stubbornly turned her face away, Wang Kan slurred, "If you want to laugh, then laugh."
Fang Min straightened her expression.
"Wow...you..." Wang Kan exclaimed. He didn't even mind her mocking him, so why did she carry such a heavy burden? Did she hate him so much that she was reluctant to even smile?
Fang Minzhou glared at him, and Wang Kan fell silent. He took another bite of the egg waffle, but it was too sweet. He frowned and decided he didn't want to eat anymore.
"How much?" Fang Minzhou asked, and seeing Wang Kan's disgusted expression, she frowned as well, "Don't waste food."
“I didn’t waste it. I shared it with Zheng Yanhang and the others after they gave it to me.” Wang Kan tore off the part she had bitten.
Fang Minzhou: "...So how much?"
"You eat first," Wang Kan said, shutting her down.
Fang Minzhou knew that Wang Kan was not short of money, but she didn't want him to treat her. She would pay him back anyway, so she stopped asking questions. She carefully tore off a small piece of egg waffle, took a bite, and found it to be crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and filled with red bean paste. It was clearly delicious.
Noticing Wang Kan's gaze, she looked back.
"...Delicious?" Wang Kan asked.
Fang Minzhou felt that Wang Kan's gaze was a bit strange, as if she didn't really want to ask her how it tasted, but she still nodded.
Wang Kan suddenly clicked her tongue and said, "I really don't understand why you girls love sweets so much."
"Because wild boars can't eat fine bran."
“My mountain…” Wang Kan stopped speaking, took a deep breath and turned his head away, muttering something else, but Fang Minzhou didn’t hear it.
Maybe it was an insult calling her an ingrate? She didn't know. Fang Minzhou tore off another piece of egg waffle, stifled her laughter, and looked at the drizzling rain. Anyway, she was very satisfied with her retort.
A note from the author:
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Barring unforeseen circumstances, I will update daily at 9:30 PM. I will ask for leave if anything comes up.
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