Chapter 14
The air immediately fell silent.
Guan Nan looked at Chen Aimei, his lips moved silently twice, and he gently pulled down her hand, as if he wanted to say something.
Just then, the car arrived.
"Sorry, I have a bad memory." Jiang Li didn't respond to the next sentence. After speaking, he opened the car door and got in, not caring about Chen Aimei's expression.
Guan Nan blinked slowly, trying to think of something to say to comfort him.
But in the next instant, the Khan launched a grand military review.
"Guan Nan."
In front of everyone, before Chen Aimei got into the car, he didn't have time to think about whether what he was doing would put Guan Nan in a difficult position.
"?" Guan Nan turned her head to look over, looking very confused, with a big question mark in her eyes.
And just like that, Guan Nan inexplicably got on the same bus as Jiang Li.
Yu Shumei said, "Anyway, you two are sitting at the same table, so it won't make a difference if we go this way again. Just consider it as going the same way."
She might not have thought anything of it at other times, but it was only when Chen Aimei was present.
After all, Chen Aimei's affection for Jiang Li was so blatant; anyone would have left on their own if they were a third wheel. Guan Nan felt a little annoyed that she hadn't left sooner.
At that moment, Chen Aimei had already been pulled into the car by Yu Shu, and the two were whispering something to each other.
Lin Rui glanced at the grinning Yu Shu, his expression mocking, and as he closed the window, he muttered "idiot."
The sound was quite loud inside the car, and everyone inside could hear it clearly.
Guan Nan: "..."
"I wasn't talking about you." Jiang Li lowered his head, his voice nonchalant.
Upon hearing this, Guan Nan subconsciously turned her head away.
The car crossed the railway bridge, and the boy leaned back lazily, his body slightly hunched. The dim light cast shadows on his face, making it impossible to discern his expression.
Suddenly, light shone in.
His features were unruly and carefree, as striking as the blazing sun.
As if realizing something was belatedly, Guan Nan blankly uttered an "Oh".
After a while, Lin Rui turned his head and asked, "The songs for the Dragon Boat Festival are finished being rehearsed in the studio. When are you going over?"
Clearly, Lin Rui was talking to Jiang Li.
Guan Nan glanced at him.
For some reason, Guan Nan remembered what she had overheard while waiting for the bus. She wanted to ask him about it but didn't know how to start, which made her a little frustrated.
"Friday, I guess." Jiang Li casually fiddled with his phone, then reached out to Guan Nan, "Give me your phone."
His words and actions came out of nowhere.
Guan Nan looked up and her gaze settled on his face.
Jiang Li reached out and touched his neck. The moment he saw her clearly, the corners of his mouth curved into a smile.
Lin Rui didn't look back, but handed over the phone and asked curiously, "Is Friday a holiday?"
"Hmm." Jiang Li said, then casually pushed Lin Rui's hand away.
Lin Rui pressed on, then suddenly remembered something and retracted his half-finished question: "You know, you know... Oh, I remember now."
Just then, Lin Rui turned his head and saw Guan Nan obediently take out her phone.
A long, black board. It landed in Jiang Li's palm like a little toy. Lin Rui's eyelids twitched as he watched Jiang Li calmly press a string of numbers onto the small board.
"Wow, what kind of phone do you have?" Lin Rui asked, skipping over him.
Guan Nan paused for a moment, then honestly replied, "A second-hand phone."
"You can still buy this kind of phone now?" Lin Rui's usually tactless mouth was now full of surprise. "Even my grandfather doesn't use this kind of phone."
Pretending not to hear what Lin Rui said next, Guan Nan said calmly, "You can buy ghosts at the flea market."
She originally wanted to say "ghost market," but judging from Lin Rui's reaction, she realized he had never heard of it before.
Guan Nan's basic reaction was to consider others' feelings. She subconsciously changed her words, referring to the "ghost market" as the simple and easy-to-understand "flea market".
However, Lin Rui didn't know what fleas were: "A flea market?"
"It's Wulidian, right? The secondhand market." The driver said with a smile, "They usually set up stalls at night, and you can buy almost anything there."
Guan Nan nodded. "Yes."
"There are places like this?" Lin Rui said to Jiang Li, clinging to the seat. "Let's go check it out next time."
Jiang Li didn't even look up, lazily replying, "I'm not going."
Immediately afterward, his phone rang for two seconds, and he quickly typed a note on the screen.
Lin Rui: "......"
His stunt completely stunned Lin Rui.
After a moment's hesitation, Lin Rui seemed to understand something and silently turned his head away.
Jiang Li returned the phone to Guan Nan, but noticed that her expression was a little strange as she quickly typed a few words in the text message with her head down.
Ding! A text message arrived.
—Don't play with him.
"..." Guan Nan glanced at the text message and said proactively, "Actually, I have QQ."
There's no WeChat, but there's QQ.
Jiang Li glanced at the candybar phone again, seemingly finding it somewhat absurd.
He turned his head to look at Guan Nan, his eyes fixed on her, his expression as if to say, "Why don't you say anything?"
This time, Guan Nan was too embarrassed to say, "You didn't ask."
She sat up straight and said calmly, "I just remembered."
Jiang Li chuckled.
Guan Nan pursed her lips, lowered her head guiltily, and clicked into her browser to go to QQ. It was then that she saw the message from Qi Yang, telling her to pick up the test papers at noon.
Before the start of the school year, she asked Qi Yang if he could find brand new textbooks and test papers for the entire second and third year of high school.
This message came before the phone call, perhaps because they hadn't waited for Guan Nan's reply before calling.
"Stop the car." Guan Nan looked out the window and suddenly shouted sharply, "Driver, please stop the car."
Jiang Li grabbed her arm, leaned slightly to the right, and looked out in the direction she was looking.
The driver braked suddenly at the side of the road, but Lin Rui, unaware of what was happening, asked, "What's wrong?"
"You guys go ahead, I have something to do."
Given her gentle and calm nature, Jiang Li knew that she was in such a panic, and no matter what the situation, he would never let her go alone.
Lin Rui got out of the car and ran forward with them. They turned into a small alley after Fushi. The alley was formed by two residential buildings, and further in was the back door of an abandoned parking lot. It was narrow and small.
The three of them went inside, where the ground was covered with a thick layer of dirt, mixed with a mess of cigarette butts.
Lin Rui, panting heavily from running, asked, "Wait, what's wrong with you guys? Are you lost in a maze or something? What are you doing in this ghostly place? Have you lost your soul?"
Jiang Li asked in a low voice, "What did you see?"
"..." Guan Nan pursed her lips, her eyes searching around, and hesitated before saying, "I really want to see my sister."
"Your sister?"
What's your sister doing here?
Is she sick?
Jiang Li glanced at him, and Lin Rui realized that it was inappropriate to say such things in front of a girl, so he shut his mouth.
Looking around, it didn't seem like anyone was there. Lin Rui asked, "Where should we look now?"
"us--"
"What are you doing?" A voice came from the parking lot, accompanied by a lingering sound effect.
Guan Nan recognized it; it was Lin Zhaozhao's voice, and she sounded very impatient.
The habitual troublemaker immediately recognized the sound and the two exchanged a glance.
"What are you pretending to be innocent for?" The girl shoved her, her expression disdainful.
Lin Zhaozhao retorted, "How did I pretend?"
“How was I pretending?” Another girl mimicked her, deliberately emphasizing her tone: “Why would we arrest you if you weren’t pretending?”
Before Lin Zhaozhao could speak, the girl slapped her across the face, saying, "You really think you're so great just because you've hooked up with Jiang Li—"
The three were too late; by the time Jiang Li grabbed the girl, the slap had already landed on Lin Zhaozhao's face.
A group of girls surrounded Lin Zhaozhao, a clear case of school bullying.
Lin Zhaozhao turned around, her head still bearing the handprint, and asked, "Why are you here?"
Guan Nan didn't say anything, but pulled Lin Zhaozhao out and looked at these people with a cold face.
Two of them were the girls at the entrance of Fushi yesterday.
The classmate Lin Zhaozhao was referring to.
“Yeah, it’s definitely nothing special,” Lin Rui said sarcastically, arms crossed. “It’s just that it can make it impossible for you to stay in Fuling. What kind of skill is that?”
Upon hearing this, the girl's expression immediately changed, and she became somewhat frightened.
"What nonsense! You can't even make it in Fuling? Do you think Fuling is your personal property?" One of the girls didn't believe her. "Do you even know who my brother is?"
Lin Rui became interested: "Who's your brother?"
"Xin Jia." The girl raised her chin, exuding a sense of superiority.
"Wow, Xin Jia, I'm so scared!" After clapping for her, Lin Rui couldn't help but laugh at the girl's smug look. "Which sister are you? Let me ask her for you."
"This is my privacy, why should I tell you?"
Lin Rui: "Oh, so you understand privacy."
As he spoke, the person on the other end of the phone answered, and Lin Rui turned on the speakerphone: "Xin Jia."
"What is it now?"
"Don't you have a younger sister?"
"What?"
"Fushi, do you have a younger sister studying here?"
“What sister?” Xin Jia said impatiently. “I’m an only child, don’t let just anyone try to take advantage of me.”
After hanging up the phone, the girl's face tightened; she felt guilty but had to pretend to be tough.
Lin Rui was too lazy to argue with a girl. Under Jiang Li's furrowed brow, he asked directly, "Speak, what happened? Why were you bullying her?"
Before he even asked his question, Guan Nan had already started questioning Lin Zhaozhao.
"How many times has this happened?" Guan Nan asked with a serious expression.
Lin Zhaozhao: "What do you mean, the number one time?"
"How many times have they bullied you?"
Lin Zhaozhao moved her lips, her eyebrows drooping, but she did not answer her question.
He looks like a habitual offender who has been bullied.
Jiang Li said coolly, "I guess this isn't the first time."
"Why didn't you tell the teacher?" Guan Nan was furious that her current behavior was completely different from her arrogant and domineering nature at home, and she couldn't help but question her.
Lin Zhaozhao: "Do you think telling the teacher will work?"
How do you know it's useless if you don't sue?
She stopped talking again.
Guan Nan glanced at the group of girls again, "They've bullied you like this, why do you still hang out with them?"
Lin Zhaozhao stared at her stubbornly, without saying a word.
"They beat you up, and you still hang out with them?" Lin Rui, who was in front, asked incredulously, turning to Guan Nan and asking, "Does your family provide all the nutrition for you? Otherwise, why doesn't she have a brain?"
Tears welled up in Lin Zhaozhao's eyes, and she said in a choked voice, "If I don't play with them, then no one will play with me."
"......"
"Are you really out of your mind, Lin Zhaozhao?!"
Guan Nan was furious at her lack of common sense and scolded her for the first time. She was so angry at her for not knowing what was going on.
After Lin Rui inquired about the reason, he walked to Jiang Li's side, shook his head, and whispered, "Well, the second Chen Aimei..."
Guan Nan, whose attention was focused on Lin Zhaozhao, did not notice Lin Rui's words.
......
The group slowly walked out, and Lin Zhaozhao was still crying.
She wouldn't listen to anything Guan Nan said.
“I asked,” Lin Rui said, putting his arm around Jiang Li’s shoulder, telling them what he had coerced into saying, “They said the class monitor of Class 6 likes you and thinks you’re very innocent. She said you’re just pretending to be innocent, and she’s just not happy with you, so she dragged a bunch of people out of PE class.”
After he finished speaking, he couldn't help but complain, "This plot is really cliché; even our Fuyang Foreign Language School doesn't do this."
"You too, I don't think you're pure, you're just plain stupid." Lin Rui glanced at Lin Zhaozhao and said mercilessly, "Damn it, people are hitting you on the head and you're still standing there like a big idiot, tsk."
"......"
"......"
Lin Zhaozhao retorted angrily, "It's none of your business!"
"You think I want to get involved?" Lin Rui sneered. "If Guan Nan hadn't come, I wouldn't have bothered to even glance at you getting beaten up right under my nose."
"Then leave!" Lin Zhaozhao glared at Lin Rui, her eyes red.
"Besides being a bully at home, what else can you do?" Lin Rui said. "Oh, Lin Zhaozhao?"
Hearing this, Guan Nan was stunned for a moment.
Jiang Li and others seemed surprised that Lin Rui and Lin Zhaozhao actually knew each other.
After leaving the alley, several people escorted Lin Zhaozhao to the entrance of Fushi.
Jiang Li said, "You must tell the teacher and your parents about what happened today, understand?"
Lin Zhaozhao did not show much resistance to what he said.
Lin Zhaozhao glanced at Guan Nan and, finding nothing unusual about her, couldn't help but mention it again:
"Brother, do you have a girlfriend?"
"......"
Jiang Li immediately lost his composure and felt that the child was beyond saving.
Lin Zhaozhao said repeatedly, "You can be mine—"
"No!" Guan Nan interrupted her, saying expressionlessly, "Are you going to tell the teacher by yourself, or should I go with you?"
Why should I listen to you?
The two were deadlocked.
Lin Rui stood to the side expressionlessly, looking completely unconcerned.
"......"
This matter will never end unless it is resolved.
Jiang Li was too lazy to bother with other people's messy affairs, but he glanced at Guan Nan and then spoke to Lin Zhaozhao in a kind tone, "If you don't speak up today, similar things will keep happening to you in the future."
“I said I would too.” Lin Zhaozhao didn’t believe them and said in a low voice with her head down, “They said that if I dare to tell the teacher, they will beat me every time they see me.”
She actually believed those scare tactics...
If the person in front of him wasn't Guan Nan, Jiang Li would have turned around and left immediately.
But he found that his sister seemed to only listen to him.
I can't be bothered to find out why.
Jiang Li closed his eyes, patiently said to her, "If they weren't afraid of you telling the teacher, they wouldn't be threatening you like this, you know? Go back to school now and explain the problem to the teacher, explaining when it started."
“Then ask for leave, go home and tell your parents what happened today and before, and let your parents and teachers handle these things. Just leave it alone for now,” Jiang Li said. “Once things are resolved, you can decide whether to stay at Fushi or transfer to another school.”
Lin Zhaozhao nodded, and as she turned around, she looked up at Jiang Li.
"Brother Jiang Li."
"Hmm?" Jiang Li's attitude was better than ever before.
"Can I add you on QQ?" Lin Zhaozhao said. "WeChat is fine too."
Jiang Li's eyelids twitched, and he immediately refused firmly: "No, I have a girlfriend."
"Is it really not allowed?"
"No." Jiang Li left no room for negotiation, his previous soft tone completely gone. "I have, and only have, a girlfriend, now and in the future. I will marry her; she is my only life partner."
Lin Zhaozhao was a little disappointed: "Oh."
Then, she gave Guan Nan and Lin Rui a defiant look.
"......"
"Idiot."
For a moment, I didn't know what to say and remained silent.
On the way back to Fuzhong, the three of them rushed onto the nearest bus, and Guan Nan took advantage of the gap when boarding the bus.
She gently tugged at Jiang Li's sleeve and said softly:
"Thank you for your help earlier."
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