Han Xue's Thoughts
The sounds of keyboards clattering and mice clicking filled the internet cafe with a vibrant symphony. The teenagers stared intently at their screens, fingers flying across the keyboard, eyes focused.
"Tingyue, there's someone in the bushes to your left rear." Qi Xu's urgent voice came through the earpiece. She was being relentlessly pursued by the enemy in front of her and had no time to pay attention to anything else.
The moment she finished speaking, the screen went dark—a cold gun from the shadows had struck her precisely.
Qi Xu sighed softly, watching as the character controlled by Ting Yue rushed towards the sound, only to collapse to the ground after a few gunshots.
"Hey, it's up to you guys, Xu Bai and Han Xue." Qi Xu took off one earphone, her tone a little helpless, and together with Ting Yue, they switched the camera to their teammates.
On the screen, Ting Xubai and Han Xue's characters stand back to back, weaving through a hail of bullets.
After swiftly eliminating an enemy on the flank, Bai's voice, clear and calm, came through the earpiece: "Follow me."
Han Xue followed closely behind, and the two quickly occupied a high point on a two-story building.
I had just set up my gun, and my field of vision was not yet fully open.
Bang!
A cold shot rang out, and Han Xue's character fell to the ground.
"Rooftop, the rooftop across the street!" Qi Xu couldn't help but shout from the spectator's perspective.
"It's alright." Xu Bai's voice remained steady, carrying a strange, comforting quality.
He instantly turned his gun around and fired a precise shot, and the enemy on the opposite rooftop fell to the ground.
However, the gunfire also revealed his position, and his enemy teammates quickly surrounded him. Under the pincer attack, the screen went dark.
"Shall we continue?" Han Xue's voice came through the earphones, revealing little emotion.
“Of course I’ll play!” Tingyue responded immediately.
But the next second, Qi Xu suddenly remembered something, "Oh no, I can't take it anymore."
She ripped off her headphones, her voice slightly panicked, "I have to go, I have things to do, I'll play next time."
Han Xue also took off her headphones and stood up: "I'm not playing anymore either."
"Okay, then be careful on the road." Ting Xubai nodded, his eyes still focused on the screen.
"Okay, my brother and I will play for a while longer." Tingyue turned her gaze to Qi Xu and Han Xue.
The two walked out of the internet cafe, the evening air carrying a slight chill.
Just as he turned a corner, Qi Xu suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Hao Nan pushed his bicycle and stood at the edge of the streetlight's halo, his gaze fixed on her with a silent scrutiny.
Qi Xu felt a sudden pang of guilt, as if he had been caught red-handed doing something wrong.
The air froze for a few seconds as Hao Nan simply stared at her, seemingly waiting for her to speak.
"...What a coincidence, Hao Nan." Qi Xu tried her best to make her voice sound natural. "We're going back now!" She practically dragged Han Xue along, hurrying towards home.
Hao Nan tightened his grip on the handlebars. He pursed his lips, watched the two hurried figures, and silently pushed his bike, following them from a distance.
After taking a few steps, he couldn't help but speak, his voice low but clear enough to pierce the night: "Where...did you go this afternoon?"
Han Xue silently followed beside Qi Xu, and upon hearing this, she glanced warily at Hao Nan.
Qi Xu didn't stop walking, her mind racing to organize her thoughts. The phrase "going to the library" almost slipped out, and even she couldn't explain why she subconsciously concealed the fact that she went to the internet cafe.
Hao Nan's gaze swept over Han Xue's wary eyes before returning to Qi Xu's slightly stiff back.
He gave a very slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, as if he had caught something, but in the end he just gave a faint "hmm" and didn't ask any more questions, quickening his pace to pass them.
Watching Hao Nan walk away, Han Xue asked in a low voice, "What's going on between you and him?"
"Friend, what else could it be?" Qi Xu replied casually, but his mind was in turmoil.
Han Xue secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but her dislike for Hao Nan became even more certain.
With mediocre grades, unfashionable clothes, and an eye-catching buzz cut, Hao Nan was not worthy of Qi Xu in her mind; there was nothing about him that she found agreeable.
Back home, the aroma of food filled the air. Han Cheng was putting the last dish on the table: "Your mother is away on a business trip and won't be back for a few days."
A secret joy welled up in Qi Xu's heart; finally, he could have a few days of peace and quiet.
She suppressed the urge to smile, obediently sat down, buried her head in the rice in her bowl, and cleverly used the rim of the bowl to cover the barely suppressed smile.
Han Cheng glanced at her and carefully said, "Qi Xu, the fact that I am the principal of Mingde School was not something I deliberately kept from you before."
"Hmm, it's nothing." Qi Xu didn't even look up, his tone indifferent.
"If you need anything at school in the future, you can come to my office anytime."
"OK."
"Dad, don't worry," Han Xue interjected at the right moment, "I will take good care of Qi Xu."
Han Cheng nodded and said nothing more. The three of them finished their meal in silence.
After finishing their meal and cleaning up their dishes, Qi Xu practically rushed back to her room, collapsed onto her soft bed, and rolled around excitedly, exclaiming, "Yay, I'm free!"
Every cell in her body seemed to be cheering. After lying there for a few seconds, she suddenly sat up, her eyes sweeping over the bookshelf—Hao Nan's birthday present!
She jumped out of bed, rummaged through the bottom shelf of the bookshelf, and finally pulled out a slightly worn hardcover sketchbook.
Turning the pages, my doodles and dreams from junior high school come rushing in.
She picked up her paintbrush and, under the soft light of the desk lamp, began to carefully revise the lines and colors of the figures that she had previously felt were not perfect.
This album, which holds memories of her past, will be her gift to Hao Nan.
On the last blank page, she neatly wrote: May all your wishes come true.
The pen tip grazed the paper, making a soft scratching sound. When she put down her paintbrush, night had already fallen outside the window.
A wave of overwhelming drowsiness washed over her, and she fell asleep almost the instant her head hit the pillow.
Under the same night sky, Hao Nan's desk lamp was still on. He repeatedly recited English words, his eyelids heavy and drooping, but Qi Xu's words echoed clearly in his mind: "The future is more important than anything else."
He shook his head vigorously, picked up a cold, wet towel and wiped his face, then continued staring at the book.
Believing that hard work would pay off, he kept encouraging himself.
However, exhaustion eventually triumphed over willpower. After an unknown amount of time, a dull thud echoed as his forehead slammed heavily against the open vocabulary book, and he fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning.
At Tingyue's house. Hunger gnawed at her stomach like a small animal, but Tingxubai's door remained tightly shut.
Tingyue drew back the heavy curtains, and the blinding sunlight poured in instantly, making the heat outside the window seem visible to the naked eye.
Frustrated, she scrolled through the food delivery app on her phone, her decision-making indecisiveness flaring up again.
In the end, she resigned herself to her fate, donned full sun protection gear, and ventured out to find food under the scorching sun.
She walked back and forth along the street several times, and the dazzling array of restaurant signs only made her more confused.
"New deskmate?" A familiar voice rang out. Tingyue looked in the direction of the voice and saw Jiang Hui standing in front of a small shop, smiling at her. "Can't find anything to eat? How about trying our cold noodles?"
"Jiang Hui? This is your shop?" Tingyue was a little surprised. She went in and casually found a table to sit down.
Jiang Hui nodded, sat down opposite her, and handed her a laminated menu: "What would you like to eat? Udon salad, shredded chicken with sesame sauce, and hot and sour cold noodles are all pretty good."
Tingyue stared at the menu, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Then let's have a bowl of hot and sour noodles."
"Just a moment." Jiang Hui got up and went into the kitchen. A moment later, he came out carrying a large bowl of noodles, holding disposable chopsticks in his hand. His gaze swept across the shop, and just then, a table of customers near the air conditioner left. "Sit here," he gestured to Tingyue, "it's cool here."
Tingyue changed seats, took the chopsticks, looked at the bowl piled high with noodles, and suddenly smiled mischievously, looking up at Jiang Hui: "Hey, did you secretly add some toppings for me? The portion is so generous!"
Jiang Hui met her gaze frankly and readily admitted, "Yes, I gave you an extra handful of shredded chicken."
Tingyue was taken aback. Why was this reaction different from what she had expected? She thought he would blush and be shy.
Remembering how he had mercilessly exposed her in the library, she instantly dismissed the idea and focused on eating her noodles. The sour and spicy flavor stimulated her taste buds and was indeed appetizing.
After taking a few bites, she asked in confusion, "Where's the shredded chicken? I can't see it."
"Check underneath," Jiang Hui whispered a suggestion.
Tingyue used her chopsticks to lift the noodles, and sure enough, there was a large pile of shredded chicken hidden under the noodles. "Wow, that's really generous."
She stopped thinking about it and started eating, enjoying the delicious meal. Within minutes, the bowl was empty.
"Pack another one for me," Tingyue said, wiping her mouth. "Take it back to my brother."
Jiang Hui quickly came out carrying the packaged noodles. Tingyue paid and took the bag: "Thanks, see you at school."
"Okay, see you at school." Jiang Hui watched her leave, then turned and went back into his busy shop.
The mother was taking inventory of the ingredients when she noticed the bowl of shredded chicken was noticeably smaller. She asked in surprise, "Huh? Why is this shredded chicken being used up so quickly?"
"Business is good, so the usage is naturally large." Jiang Hui replied without changing his expression. The slight guilt in his heart only lasted for a moment before he quickly threw himself into the busy work of serving new customers.
When Tingyue returned home, Tingxubai was still sleepy. She placed the noodles on the dining table and knocked on the door: "Brother, get up and eat."
Hearing Bai groggily open the door and see the takeout box on the table, he asked, "What food?"
"Spicy and sour noodles," Tingyue said in a flat tone, "you've definitely never had them before."
Hearing the story, Bai rubbed his eyes and went to the bathroom to wash up.
From the living room came Tingyue's slightly boastful voice: "It's sour and spicy, so delicious! I even got a ton of shredded chicken in it."
After washing up, Ting Xubai sat down at the table, unpacked the package, and eagerly began searching.
After a few bites, he looked up, puzzled: "Where's my shredded chicken?"
Tingyue glanced at his bowl and, sure enough, saw only noodles and side dishes. She couldn't help but chuckle, "Oh, I probably forgot to add some toppings, didn't I?"
Hearing this, Bai didn't think much of it, muttered something, and then started slurping noodles while scrolling through his phone.
Weekends always fly by.
On Monday morning, Qi Xu carefully placed the meticulously revised picture book into an elegant gift box and tied it with a ribbon.
"Are you done?" Han Xue knocked on the door.
Qi Xu opened the door and came out, carrying a conspicuous gift box. Han Xue's eyes were immediately drawn to it: "Who is this gift for?"
"Hao Nan, it's his birthday today," Qi Xu replied naturally.
Han Xue's heart skipped a beat, and a strong sense of unease welled up inside her.
Preparing a gift for Hao Nan? And with such care? She suppressed the urge to question why she was giving it to him, and tried to ask calmly, "Oh? What did you prepare?"
"It's just a sketchbook I drew myself, full of my favorite anime characters." Qi Xu didn't think much of it.
"Drawn by yourself?" Han Xue felt a wave of dizziness wash over her. "It's over. Could Qi Xu really be interested in that kid? No, absolutely not!"
What makes Hao Nan worthy of Qi Xu? His grades, taste, and temperament are all terrible.
Throughout the journey, Han Xue's gaze remained fixed on the gift box in Qi Xu's hands. Her mind raced: How could she subtly distance Qi Xu from Hao Nan? How could she get Hao Nan to give up?
As soon as she stepped into the classroom, Qi Xu went straight to Hao Nan's seat and gently placed the gift box that carried her feelings on his desk.
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