The school gate was full of students heading home after evening self-study. A row of private cars were parked at the gate waiting for students, and there were also students pushing bicycles, chatting and laughing.
No. 1 Middle School is not a boarding school; only students who live far away can apply to live on campus.
Su Xun called a car on the app a few minutes in advance, and received a call from the driver just as she arrived at the school gate.
The two got into the car and drove towards a well-known upscale neighborhood in the city.
They remained silent the entire way.
He Manli had never been friendly to Su Xun since their first meeting, always thinking that Su Xun and her mother would steal her father away, and that her status would be greatly diminished.
You've been reading too many novels and watching too many idol dramas.
However, Su Xun could tell that the little girl was just insecure. Her parents divorced when she was only seven or eight years old, and her father was too busy to take care of her, so she used such harsh words to protect herself.
People are still lovely.
The taxi stopped in front of a villa complex, and Su Xun paid the fare and led the people out.
Because it's a villa area, each house is quite far apart, and it's very quiet here. The dim streetlights stand alone by the roadside, and the cold wind blows against you, feeling quite biting.
"I'm hungry." He Manli, who had been silent with a cold expression, suddenly spoke, her tone somewhat awkward.
She's still growing and gets hungry easily. Usually, her dad or assistant picks her up from home and always brings her some snacks to keep in the car so she can eat them when she arrives.
It will take at least twenty minutes to walk out from here. The car from earlier has already left, leaving only its faint taillights, which disappeared completely after turning a corner.
If she tries to hail a taxi again, she'll have to wait a while. I wonder if the hot-tempered girl will be willing to wait.
"Is there anything left to eat at home?" Su Xun asked patiently.
"No, and I've never been into the kitchen."
This means you can't cook.
Su Xun smiled and said, "If we go out to eat now, we'll be back very late. High school students should rest earlier. How about this, I'll make you something to eat?"
He Manli didn't say anything, neither agreeing nor refusing, but simply moved her foot and opened the door.
Su Xun glanced at the little girl's awkward expression and couldn't help but laugh. He then followed her into the house.
This was her first time visiting He Chengzheng's home. The house was quite spacious, and it did feel rather empty since only two people usually lived there.
After He Manli entered the room, she went back to her room alone. Su Xun went straight into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator door, and saw that several shelves inside were filled with food, arranged neatly. It didn't seem like He Chengzheng had put it there, and it was even less likely that He Manli had put it there. It was probably because a housekeeper came regularly.
It's not good to eat too much at night, so she simply cooked a pot of clear soup noodles and made a small portion for herself. She hadn't eaten much at the afternoon gathering because she wanted to have fun, and she was already feeling a bit hungry.
She placed the noodles on the outdoor dining table and went upstairs to call He Manli down.
He Manli had taken off her oversized school uniform and changed into a thick white sweater with a furry collar around her neck, making her look like a little fox.
He Manli and He Chengzheng do not look very alike. He Chengzheng has gentle features and a refined appearance, while she has a beautiful face with slightly upturned eyes, which is a very good color, probably inherited from her mother.
However, the little fox continued to walk down the stairs with a straight face and no expression, holding the bowl and eating noodles.
After eating for a while, she suddenly spoke in a low voice.
"Don't think that just because you're pretending to be nice to me, I'll accept you and your mother."
The first time Su Xun heard such words, she was quite angry, but after hearing them many times, she became somewhat numb to them. This was because she realized that no matter how cold and sarcastic He Manli was to her, she always seemed to only have a few sentences to say, and she didn't even know how to curse.
This time, Su Xun also chose to ignore it and continued eating his noodles.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" the little girl asked in a clear, melodious voice.
"After you finish eating, quickly wash up and go to bed," Su Xun said slowly, without even lifting his eyelids.
"Are you secretly laughing at me?" She suddenly put down her chopsticks and stared intently at Su Xun.
Su Xun had no idea what kind of scenario she was imagining, but she still patiently replied, "Why would I laugh at you?"
“You came to pick me up in place of my dad, so you must know what happened at school. I made a fool of myself, and you must be laughing at me behind my back.”
It turns out the girl was concerned about her image and didn't want to lose face in front of her.
"Why would I laugh at you? Actually, I quite admire you." She spoke truthfully, admitting that she didn't have He Manli's courage.
He Manli's eyes widened as if she had heard some unbelievable news. She had been ridiculed by her classmates at school for this, who said she was a toad trying to eat swan meat, and that she had no shame in confessing her feelings to the top student next door when her grades were terrible.
She's been ridiculed so much lately that she naturally assumes Su Xun would laugh at her for overestimating herself if he knew about this.
Seeing He Manli's obviously disbelieving expression, Su Xun put down his chopsticks, placed his hands on the table, looked at her, and repeated, "I don't think you should be ridiculed for confessing to the person you like, and I admire your courage."
"Why?" He Manli asked in surprise.
"I heard that the person you like is the top student in the grade and also the school heartthrob, is that right?"
She nodded slowly.
She didn't do well in school, but she fell for the boy who transferred to the school that semester. He was good-looking and ranked first in the grade, but his family was poor. She often brought him breakfast and gifts, but he wasn't moved by her at all. In a fit of anger, she kissed him in the stairwell.
"Such an outstanding person must have many girls who secretly admire her, but none of them are like you, confessing your feelings and forcibly kissing her. Just for this, you have already won over them by a lot."
"But he rejected me and he hates me. Now I've become the laughing stock of the whole school."
"I'm asking you, after you kissed him, what was his reaction? He didn't report you to the teacher, did he?"
He Manli thought for a moment and replied, "He pushed me away, but he didn't tell the teacher. The teachers only found out about this from the CCTV footage."
She also remembered that after the boy pushed her away, he blushed and stared at her for a few seconds before leaving.
"That means he probably doesn't dislike you. And you said this boy's family isn't well-off, so maybe he just wants to focus on his studies and doesn't want to be distracted by other things."
"You mean he's actually afraid to accept my confession?" He Manli suddenly perked up, her eyes sparkling.
"So don't bother him for now, let him study hard, and you should also focus on next year's college entrance exam."
Why do I need to study too?
Su Xun sighed, "If you don't study hard, how will you catch up with him when he goes to university in another city?"
"Yes, I don't want him to be alone out there. When he gets to university, there will definitely be a lot of people surrounding him, and then I will have no chance at all. I want to go to the same city as him and keep an eye on him."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
