Chapter 7 Chapter 7 Don’t you believe me?
After class at five o'clock, Tang Ningyue went to pick him up as usual. This time, she didn't see him at the main gate. After waiting for a long time and planning to call him, she received a call from instructor Li Jinglang, saying that he had sprained his ankle in the afternoon and was resting in the infirmary.
Tang Ningyue hurriedly followed the security guard's instructions to pick him up, but when she entered the infirmary, she only saw his cell phone on the pillow, but he was not there.
"Li Jinglang?"
"Jinglang?"
Tang Ningyue looked around but didn't see anyone. Just as she was about to go out to look for him, she bumped into the medical teacher who was coming in.
"Who are you looking for?"
"Li Jinglang, I'm his sister."
"I'm going to the bathroom. Please wait a moment."
"How is he?"
"It's nothing. You'll be fine after two days of rest. You can move around freely now." She pointed to the small sofa by the window and said, "You can sit here and wait for him for a while."
"Okay." Tang Ningyue felt relieved. "Thank you."
Tang Ningyue's racing heart finally settled down when he sat down on the sofa. She had always thought they'd gotten along well, that she could be his primary caregiver when Zhou Su was away. But Li Jinglang clearly didn't think so. Since she'd been injured, she hadn't received a single message from him, let alone a phone call.
In his eyes, she was just a guest now. After not seeing each other for so long, how could they not feel distant?
Tang Ningyue breathed softly, her eyelids moved, and she looked out the window tiredly.
The infirmary is located in a remote corner of the old campus, with a large forest behind it. In winter, there is nothing but the desolate scenery and the occasional bird calls. This seems to be the only way in this season. If it is too warm, it will make people feel uneasy.
Coming out of the bathroom, Li Jinglang spotted Tang Ningyue from afar, hurriedly heading towards the infirmary. Her face seemed to be etched with worry, her hair flying as she ran, and she hadn't even had time to touch up her lipstick. She was usually such a proud person, never losing her composure, and never showing any pity for anyone, so this was a bit of a lapse of composure for her.
Standing outside the window, he could hear her frantically searching inside, the clatter of her high heels on the floor, especially loud in the open space. Her sincerity was undeniable, but for him, it was too little, too late. He vaguely remembered that he wasn't a sentimental person.
He stared at the woman in the window for a long time. She was sitting on the sofa, looking intently at her phone, changing boring games one after another. From time to time, she looked up at the door, then lowered her head in disappointment.
There was nothing wrong with his foot anymore. After resting for an afternoon, he could now move normally. Li Jinglang turned his ankle, stepped lightly on the wet ground and walked towards the window, finally stopping at the wall next to the window.
The weather outside was still very cold, with cold air mixed with chilly wind blowing in and out. The thickened two layers of glass couldn't fit tightly together, and the people were getting headaches from the wind.
Li Jinglang waited for a while, the person inside remained in the same position. His hand hanging at the edge of his pants finally lost his patience and followed the trouser line up to the pocket, grabbing the square box inside.
He hesitated for a long time before taking out the thin white cigarette. He lit it with his lighter in an unskilled manner, and when the wisp of tobacco came out, he was ready to put it between his lips.
The cigarettes and lighter were just bought at noon, and I just decided to try smoking. The incoherent movements and frown finally ended with a cough.
The cigarette was still between his two hands, his slender fingers were slightly curled up, and his eyes seemed to be stained with a layer of ink, too black.
"Li Jinglang."
The familiar female voice finally sounded. Li Jinglang breathed a sigh of relief and put out the cigarette.
"What are you holding?"
This was Tang Ningyue's first time catching someone in the act. She had no experience and didn't even have time to ask him about it. His body language had already made the decision for her. She pressed against his cold coat and touched his icy hand. She finally snatched the half-burned cigarette from his hand, which was still emitting residual heat.
Little bastard.
"When did you learn that?" Tang Ningyue couldn't describe her mood. The report form was still in her bag this morning, and she hadn't said the words of comfort she was about to say. In the afternoon, she received a call from the counselor and just learned that she had lost his trust. Now she found that he had changed a long time ago.
"I can't remember." With the light behind him, she couldn't see much expression on his face. He was still the same as usual.
"You can't remember?" Tang Ningyue was helpless with his answer and suppressed her anger.
If the person she caught today was Tang Zhaoming, she would definitely teach him a lesson without hesitation, but the person in front of her was Li Jinglang. If it were a few years ago, she would not have hesitated like this, but now she just couldn't get angry at him. She didn't know why. It was obvious that she was not an easy person to get along with at heart, and she was just pretending to be so.
"Does your mother know?" She spoke in a calm tone, perhaps because she took into consideration that he was a patient. If he needed to vent, she should also guide him gently.
"have no idea."
"You smoke every day?"
“Not addictive.”
"Who taught you that?"
“No one taught me.”
Tang Ningyue almost laughed out of anger when she saw his expression. He was so frank and showed no remorse, as if he was just trying to piss her off.
She didn't let him have his wish. Childish tricks were really not acceptable to her. There was no anger on her face. Instead, she asked him, "How are your feet?"
A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, but he quickly put away his expression and said, "It's okay."
"Why didn't you call me when you were injured?"
"It's not a big deal."
“…”
Facing the cold wind, the confrontation between the two people entered a silent stage. Even without words, both of them could feel the change in the atmosphere.
Tang Ningyue stared at his shadow, which was as thin as a dancing flagpole. The biting wind blew, his thin chin turned red, and his earlobes were frozen. The words to scold him were on the tip of her tongue but she couldn't say them.
"Are you cold?"
She suddenly held the back of his hand, like she did when they were little.
The line of defense he had just built was hit hard by her again.
"It's okay." He immediately pulled his hand out, and the brief warmth disappeared in an instant.
Tang Ningyue pursed her lips, exhaled a breath of cold air from her nose, put her hands back into her pockets, and said helplessly, "Let's go, let's go back to eat first."
On the way back, neither of them spoke. The car was quieter than usual. The yellow peach tea that Tang Ningyue prepared for him had already gone cold and was left alone on the central armrest.
Tang Ningyue drove in silence, and Li Jinglang just stared at the dark road ahead, also silent.
In the end, Tang Ningyue threw the cup of tea into the trash can in front of the underground garage door, with the reason being - it was cold.
After going upstairs, Tang Ningyue went into the bedroom and started a video conference with her computer. From the time she got off the car to the time she entered the bedroom, the two of them had no communication at all.
For the first time ever, Li Jinglang did not go into the bedroom as soon as he returned home. Instead, he sat on the sofa and stared at the corridor in a daze, looking at the light coming from her room.
After the meeting, Wen Xi popped up a small window for Tang Ningyue and chatted with her about gossip enthusiastically.
"How about I introduce you to that guy?"
"Which one?" Tang Ningyue looked up at her, holding the Nene Le in her hand.
"It's Xu Qingye's friend, he's so handsome."
"who?"
"Damn." Wen Xi slammed the table. "Didn't he push it to you?"
Wen Xi was filled with indignation, while Tang Ningyue was still replying to work text messages with her head down and did not react much to this matter.
"Wait, I'll go find him tomorrow, I..."
'Knock knock'.
Before the other end of the conversation could be finished, there were two knocks on Tang Ningyue's bedroom door. She tilted her head slightly, and the tassel earrings on her earlobes swept across her neck.
Li Jinglang stood at the door with his hands behind his back, head down and silent, looking like he was asking for forgiveness.
"I'll tell you tomorrow."
Tang Ningyue said goodbye to Wen Xi hastily, turned off the computer and looked at him again.
"What's up?"
She had no expression, no emotion visible. She just looked up at him and continued to reply to the message, the squishy in her hand still being ravaged by her. Li Jinglang felt a little uncomfortable for some reason. She hadn't hit or scolded him, but he was not happy with her like this.
He didn't say anything, but just placed the three boxes of cigarettes and two lighters in front of her.
The things on the table looked new, as if they had just been bought from the store downstairs, and the lighter was so shiny that it could reflect light.
"Admit your mistake?" She raised her eyebrows and looked at him with interest.
"Hmm." A muffled sound came out of his chest, and then he said, "You can tell my mom."
Tang Ningyue threw away the music in her hand, crossed her arms and turned to him, tilting her head slightly.
"Why should I tell her?"
Li Jinglang's eyelids twitched and his lips were tightly tightened.
"Then you can go."
"No one wants to be in the same room with someone like me. She'll understand."
"What kind of person?"
"Disgusting person."
"You think I hate you?"
“…”
He was silent, with his head lowered but his neck still straight, his ear bones turned outward, and he looked stubborn.
"I won't tell anyone about this, as long as you don't do it again." She said this like a merciful Bodhisattva, even though she could tell at a glance whether the other person was a smoker.
"Why?"
"Everyone deserves a chance to make amends. Also, I never hated you, ever."
Her eyes were like a fox's. Every time Li Jinglang looked into her eyes, he felt cheated, but she spoke so gently and sincerely.
"Jinglang, don't you believe me?"
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