Hua Jinyue turned her head, her high ponytail drawing an arc in the air: "Sister Wan!"
She trotted over, her school uniform swaying slightly as she moved. "Why are you here so early?"
Ning Xiwan rubbed the little girl's head and said, "Bringing you breakfast."
She pulled out three insulated boxes from the thermos bag. "Shrimp dumplings, red date soy milk, and your favorite custard buns."
When Ye Qingliu took the food box, his fingertips accidentally brushed against the back of Ning Xiwan's hand, which was as cold as a piece of jade.
"Thank you," he whispered, his eyelashes casting a small shadow under his eyes.
When the bell rang, Ning Xiwan was looking out the back door of Senior 3 (1). The classroom was filled with the mixed smell of coffee and medicated oil, and everyone's desk was piled with precarious reference books.
"Sister Ning!" Ma Yingying was the first to notice her, waving with obvious dark circles under her eyes. "Ye Qingliu was called to the office by the physics teacher."
Ning Xiwan tiptoed over to Ye Qingliu's seat. The tabletop was surprisingly tidy, with a small photo frame in the upper left corner—a photo of them playing snowballs last winter.
She noticed a pink thermos next to the photo frame with a sticky note on it: "Remember to drink water - Nako"
"Naizi went to Nanjing to participate in the biology competition training camp." Ma Yingying came over to explain, "Before she left, she specifically left this cup for Ye Qingliu, but this guy..." She lowered her voice, "hasn't even drunk from it all day."
Ning Xiwan laughed and was about to speak when there was a sudden commotion at the back door.
Duan Shuce leaned against the door frame with his schoolbag slung across his shoulder. His dark blue school uniform jacket was casually open, revealing the wrinkled shirt underneath.
"Brother Duan!" Hua Jinyue ran over from the next class, holding half a chocolate bar in her hand. "Why are you here?"
Duan Shuce ruffled the little girl's hair. "Our school's mock exam ended early." His gaze passed over the crowd and locked onto Ning Xiwan. "I'm here to pick up my girlfriend for dinner."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Qingliu appeared at the end of the corridor, holding a stack of test papers. The two teenagers of similar height met at the classroom door, and the atmosphere instantly became tense.
"A rare guest." Ye Qingliu said lightly, his eyes sweeping over Duan Shuce's messy collar.
Duan Shuce raised his eyebrows: "I came to see if my girlfriend had been kidnapped."
"boring."
"childish."
Ning Xiwan held her forehead and was about to step forward to stop the fight when Hua Jinyue suddenly raised her phone: "Brother, Brother Duan, look here!"
With a click, the picture froze - Ye Qingliu was holding the test paper with an expressionless face, Duan Shuce was making a scissors hand gesture in a rogue manner, and there were a few classmates watching the fun in the background.
"I'm going to send this to Sister Nai," Hua Jinyue said, shaking her phone proudly. "She's definitely regretting going to the training camp."
The bell for the end of evening study rang at 9:30 sharp. The early spring night sky was as clear as a piece of black jade, dotted with stars.
Ning Xiwan wrapped her windbreaker tightly and watched the students pour out of the teaching building like a tide.
"Sister Ning!" Hua Jinyue was the first to rush out, her nose red from the cold. "Brother said he still needs to sort out his wrong answer book."
Duan Shuce stood behind Ning Xiwan without knowing when, and naturally took off his scarf and tied it around her neck: "You are wearing so little, what if you catch a cold?"
The scarf still lingered with the boy's body temperature and a faint minty scent. Ning Xiwan was about to thank him when Ye Qingliu came out holding two thick exercise books.
Seeing this scene, he calmly handed the coat in his hand to Hua Jinyue.
The four of them walked slowly along the long street. The streetlights stretched their shadows very long. Hua Jinyue held Ning Xiwan's arm and chattered about interesting things at school.
"My brother took first place in the math test last week again," the little girl said proudly, "and he was a full twenty points behind second place!"
Ye Qingliu was walking behind and hummed softly when he heard this. Duan Shuce put his hands in his pockets and suddenly asked, "I heard you were recommended to Tsinghua University?"
"Department of Physics." Ye Qingliu paused, "Nanako too."
Duan Shuce whistled: "What a coincidence! I might be going to Peking University." He deliberately bumped into Ye Qingliu's shoulder, "Then we can see each other more often."
Ye Qingliu rarely dodged and just said "hmm" softly.
In the moonlight, the shadows of the two boys briefly overlapped.
When they reached a fork in the road, Hua Jinyue suddenly remembered something: "Oh, Sister Ning! My brother said he'd take me to the library to review this weekend. Do you want to come?"
Before Ning Xiwan could answer, Duan Shuce put his arm around her shoulders and said, "Sorry, little girl, your sister Wan is going to a concert with me this weekend."
Ye Qingliu frowned: "She wants to..."
"I know, I know," Ning Xiwan interrupted them with a smile, "I'll spend the weekend with Jinyue reviewing in the morning, with Shuce watching a concert in the afternoon, and make braised pork ribs for you in the evening. Is that okay?"
Hua Jinyue cheered, the corners of Ye Qingliu's mouth rose slightly, and Duan Shuce lowered his head and gave Ning Xiwan a light kiss on the top of her head.
The spring night breeze blows through the treetops, bringing the message that the cherry blossoms are about to bloom.
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