Chapter 36 Berries
People come and go at the classroom door.
Su Xia was standing a little stiffly, but when she saw him appear, her drooping brows lifted up instantly and she revealed a bright and soft smile.
"Xu Jiqing." She whispered his name and waved.
Girls seem to be sweet everywhere, especially when they smile.
Xu Jiqing didn't know what lip balm or lip gloss was. She just felt that her curved lips were like tender red berries, which would break and ooze juice if touched casually.
What do those two dimples feel like?
It's as sweet as it looks.
Or sweeter?
He wanted to touch it.
Even want to lick it.
This thought came suddenly and instinctively, but it went against all education and discipline.
The feeling of irritation was numb and sharp. Xu Jiqing subconsciously lowered his eyes and moved his gaze away from the corner of the girl's lips. He stopped thinking about it, but he couldn't control his body.
His legs barely obeyed his commands anymore.
The sound of the girl calling his name was like an invisible rope, pulling his heart wildly and making him walk over step by step.
The cheerleading team of No. 1 Middle School is well-known. Su Xia is not a recognized beauty, but thanks to her high-profile pursuit of Zhou Zhiyan before, she is famous enough.
Someone at the door took a second look. Xu Jiqing's thin and silent back blocked everyone's gaze. "What are you doing here?"
"I heard you guys were exhausted from the training camp, so I wanted to come and see you."
Su Xia has become accustomed to his cold face. She is still happy when she sees people, with bright eyes.
The administrative building was isolated from the outside world, and she had no idea how he had been doing these days. She just felt that since they were his friends, she had to come and show some concern on the eve of such a big competition.
Li Rui's family is powerful and he eats so much. His mother brings him food and clothes to school every few days and loves him very much.
But what does Xu Jiqing have?
It feels like he never had a proper childhood and grew up exposed to the wind and rain.
It just so happened that she had never been a mother, so she raised the child by groping in the dark, just as a way of caring for the mental health of the boy in his youth.
"Have you had dinner? Are you hungry now?"
Su Xia has been going back and forth between the classroom and the piano room these days, and has become accustomed to sticking with He Miao.
After saying this, she subconsciously glanced at Xu Jiqing's tense waist and abdomen. She wanted to touch it, but when her hand touched the hem of his clothes, she realized something was wrong and took her hand back awkwardly.
She scratched her head and said, "I brought some food for you. Is there a cabinet outside your classroom on the third floor? I'll bring it up for you."
Xu Jiqing looked at her hand with a calm expression, "There's no competition class."
"I knew it." Su Xia expected it and smiled sweetly again, with the corners of her cat-like eyes slightly raised, a little proud.
She untied one strap of her backpack and took out a bulging white plastic bag. Because it was so heavy, it took up almost all the space. After taking it out, the whole backpack deflated, and even the books and pencil case could not be put in.
The bag was filled with individually packaged small snacks, including small cakes, meat floss biscuits, chicken breast meatballs and egg yolk pastries. Every gap was filled to the brim, and there were also two bottles of imported milk with foreign labels on top.
"I still have some in my piano room. I can't eat so much myself, so I gave some to He Miao. The rest is for you."
Gradually more and more people gathered in the corridor.
A boy in the same grade who recognized Su Xia shouted from a distance in a strange tone, "Oh, the princess is here."
Xu Jiqing pursed his lips, wanting her to go back as soon as possible, the farther away from him the better, "No need to give it to me."
"Eh?" Su Xia tilted her head, frowning slightly, "So you still prefer sweet things."
The child is a picky eater and she is already worried.
"But I heard from others that your class schedule is so tight that you can't even have dinner because of exams. Chocolate can't be eaten as a meal."
"You need to eat carbs, or you'll have no energy. You also need to drink milk, or you'll get cramps when you sleep because you're growing taller. Take these to fill your stomach for two days. I'll see if I can bring you something hot."
She spoke seriously, her eyes full of worry.
Xu Jiqing didn't know what to say for a moment.
He had rarely eaten snacks since he was a child, and it was normal for him to not have enough food. Only Su Xia would worry about him being hungry and foolishly send him such a large pile of expensive snacks, and still think that she was just making do.
"There's time to eat."
He avoided her gaze and said, "I'll hand in the paper half an hour early."
Su Xia stood in front of the window holding a bag of snacks and exclaimed, "Wow!"
She seemed very proud of him, her eyes curved in a smile, filled with genuine joy, "Xu Jiqing is really amazing."
Once, twice.
The flesh and blood in my chest was buzzing.
His Adam's apple rolled and he turned his face away almost in embarrassment.
Under the street lights, the evening breeze blew through the osmanthus leaves, making rustling sounds and casting a chaotic swaying light and shadow on the ground.
Many people were looking over here and gossiping to each other, but Su Xia didn't care. Seeing Xu Jiqing walking out, she followed him.
"You know, Teacher Ding praised you several times in class the past two days. Once when the math scores came out, and again when the rankings came out. I was so happy for you."
She was carrying heavy plastic bags in both hands, her fingertips were red from being squeezed, but her steps were very brisk, as if she was going to deliver the goods to the door.
Xu Jiqing looked at it silently, then reached out and took the bag in a desperate manner.
He met the girl's stunned eyes and said coldly, "What's there to be happy about being ranked 26th?"
Su Xia was happy that he had collected the things. "It's just that you haven't finished the composition. It's not like you can't do it. Can you still do it in the future?"
She is short and has difficulty keeping up.
Xu Jiqing slowed down his pace, "What if I can't finish it in the future?"
Su Xia shook her head and said, "I will finish it. I believe you."
"But I heard that if the league goes well, you can join the provincial team and go to Beijing for winter camp during the winter vacation. You are so talented, you will definitely be admitted this year."
"Then there's no need to write," she paused, then added, "I believe you too."
Her voice was clear, but her tone was firm.
They were talking about his future, but it seemed like they were discussing the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, distinct and unmovable.
Xu Jiqing pursed his lips slightly.
"I did really well on this test. The key points you highlighted for me were spot on, even better than those given by tutors out there!"
Su Xia observed his expression for a while, and like a snail stretching out its tentacles, she tentatively proposed a condition, "We're at KFC during the National Day holiday. I see you also tutor junior high school students. I just wanted to ask you, if you still have time, can you add me in?"
Xu Jiqing remained silent, his eyes still calm.
Afraid of the other party misunderstanding, she blushed and tried to make amends, "Let's finish the competition first, I'll pay! I know that tutoring for the Mathematical Olympiad is expensive, I'll pay whatever you charge. My foundation isn't very good to begin with, so is double that kid's? You can add more if it's not enough..."
"If you don't have time on the weekends, I have my own piano room at school. It's very soundproof. You can come over during the week. It's just the two of us in the building, so it's very quiet."
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