chance encounter at the subway station
"Huh?" He Yixin stared blankly into her eyes.
His hand holding the scallion pancake trembled, and he rubbed his eyes with his other hands.
He frowned. He washed his face every morning, so where did the eye boogers come from?
"Then, do you want to eat some, hand-pulled pancakes?" He Yinxin turned her head to the side. "I learned to make them from my tutor."
"I made two. The first one was a bit of a failure, and I ate it myself. This one... was quite successful."
Jiang Yichun rubbed her rumbling stomach and glared at him: "Then give it to me. I haven't had dinner, I'm starving."
"I'll... I'll just have to eat this 'cake' you're selling, you liar—you probably put something in it, didn't you?"
"Let me pass out so you can do bad things."
"Huh?" He Yinxin hurriedly waved her hands, "No, no, maybe the bacon was a little burnt, how could it have been poisoned?"
"Jiang Yichun, what exactly are you thinking?"
"It's better than you thinking about how to lie to me every day." Jiang Yichun grabbed the plastic bag hooked on his little finger and took a big bite of the scallion pancake.
She took a bite and tasted the steaming hot tortilla, filled with crisp lettuce and a slightly sweet seafood sauce.
Jiang Yichun's previously drowsy mind suddenly cleared up.
She raised the corners of her mouth, looked up and glared at He Yinxin: "To be honest, the taste is alright."
She took another bite, her voice becoming indistinct: "Thank you, liar."
"But don't think I'll forgive you just because you offer me a scallion pancake and an umbrella!"
I still hate you.
She turned around, grabbed the steaming scallion pancake, and strode away.
She held the umbrella in her hand and hugged his clothes to her chest.
He Yinxin stood there, silently watching her figure disappear into the dense rain.
He sighed and opened his satchel.
The bag had everything, except an umbrella.
He gave her the only umbrella he had, once again using the lie that he had two umbrellas to make her accept it with a clear conscience.
If you get caught in the rain, I'll get caught in the rain with you. Maybe that will even things out?
Even if this is just my own wishful thinking.
Thinking this, He Yinxin took down the little rabbit hanging from her bag, held it in her hand, and walked into the rain.
The soft touch of his palm brought him back to his tutoring session that evening.
His tutoring student was a middle school boy who was going through puberty.
The boy immediately noticed the plush bunny hanging on his bag.
The little rabbit still lives in a pink little bag.
The boy grinned mischievously: "Hey, Teacher He, what's that hanging on your bag?"
"Aren't you usually aloof and indifferent? Why did you hang something so cute?"
He Yinxin frowned at the grinning kid, then raised his hand and tapped him on the head with the tip of his pen: "Look at the question. Don't interrupt."
The boy could only pout and temporarily become a good boy, burying his head in writing the test paper.
After he finished writing the entire test paper and He Yinxin finished grading it, the little devil peeked over again.
When He Yinxin started asking about the little rabbit keychain, he labeled the child as a "little devil".
The little devil grinned and asked, "Old He~ How did I do on my math test?"
He Yinxin frowned: "That's good. If you keep going like this, you should be able to get into a top high school."
"Old He, how about giving me a reward?"
He Yinxin looked at him, thinking about how he had read Jiang Yichun's favorite online novels in order to get closer to her, only to find some things that broadened his horizons.
For some reason, the image of Jia Shugui howling while singing "Chrysanthemum Terrace" popped into his mind.
He took a few steps back: "You...you tell me."
"As long as it's not some kind of overstepping reward."
The little devil grinned wickedly: "Where did you come from, you rabbit? You don't have a girlfriend, do you?"
He Yinxin's brow furrowed further, and he subconsciously clutched the little rabbit in his hand: "You want this rabbit?"
"Old He, I already asked you if you have a girlfriend, so it's definitely not this rabbit you want," the kid said, drawing out the words.
"Girlfriend, she's not... she's still far from me."
"Oh, you had a fight with your girlfriend."
The kid hit the nail on the head.
"I already said she's not my girlfriend. But we did have a fight."
"Oh, you had a fight with your crush."
“…Yes.” He Yinxin admitted helplessly.
The kid crossed his legs and said, "You did something to betray her?"
"Yes, I lied to her. She was quite angry."
"I get it, I get it. A jerk, liking two girls at the same time?" The kid raised an eyebrow. "I never thought my teacher would be like that..."
"I didn't cheat! I only love her..."
"Oh, he's not a jerk? That makes things easier."
The kid laughed again and patted him on the shoulder: "When it comes to love, I can be your teacher, Lao He."
He Yinxin sighed: "You little brat, you've never even been in a relationship, how can you be my teacher?"
"Even if you haven't eaten pork, you've still seen pigs run, right? There are quite a few couples in our class, and I even played matchmaker for one of them."
"I'm a top-notch lover."
The kid continued, "What hobbies does your crush have?"
He Yinxin's tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed. He touched his chin, and all the details about Jiang Yichun came flooding back.
Every meal he ate with her flashed before his eyes.
He blurted out, "She likes to eat it."
What do you want to eat?
"It seems like she likes to eat everything." He Yinxin touched her chin.
The kid slammed his hand on the table: "That solves everything! Now you cook!"
"Cooking is the key to winning her heart – it's all about her stomach!"
"This is practically the most basic question in the matchmaking manual."
"If one meal isn't enough, then two; if two meals aren't enough, then three!"
He Yinxin's eyes lit up for a moment, but then dimmed again.
He had never learned to cook; the only thing he knew how to make was instant noodles with a sausage and a braised egg.
Besides, Xiaochun isn't the kind of person who can be appeased with just one or two meals.
She doesn't need such a cheap and perfunctory apology.
He Yinxin's lips trembled: "I can't cook, even though our dormitory has a student kitchen."
The kid rolled his eyes: "Old He, you can learn the questions you don't know how to answer yourself, so you can learn to cook too!"
"My mom is really good at cooking, why don't you just learn from her?"
The kid jumped up and dragged He Yinxin into the kitchen.
His mother is cooking.
"Mom, are you free now?" The little boy jumped up in front of his mother.
Aunt Li turned around: "What are you doing now? Have you done your homework properly? Are you here to cause trouble again, Xiao He?"
He Yinxin stood next to the kid and said, "Mm."
"Hey, Xiao He, are you staying for dinner? I got off work late today and didn't have time to buy groceries. It's just my son and me at home, so I'm thinking of just making a simple scallion pancake." Aunt Li looked at him, holding a scallion pancake in her hand.
“Okay. Auntie…can I try to learn how to make scallion pancakes?” He Yinxin stepped forward, his fingertips trembling slightly.
Aunt Li was taken aback, then chuckled: "Come, come, Xiao He, my son's grades have improved so much with you, of course you can!"
She took a scallion pancake wrapper out of the bag and threw it onto the oiled frying pan.
Aunt Li raised her hand, cracked an egg on top, placed the crispy fried bacon on one side of the tortilla, brushed on a layer of seafood sauce, and finally folded a few tender green lettuce leaves on top.
She scooped out the scallion pancake and placed it on a bowl to the side.
"Come on, give it a try." She moved aside, making room for He Yinxin.
He Yinxin took a deep breath, grabbed the thawed scallion pancake wrapper, and was about to pour it into the pot.
"Hey!"
"Old He!"
The mother and son spoke in unison.
"You need to put oil in the pan first!"
He Yinxin was taken aback, said "Oh", grabbed the oil bottle and poured it down.
Aunt Li quickly grabbed his hand: "You poured too much, the pancakes are going to turn into fried dough."
"Oh, I'm sorry. This is my first time cooking."
He Yinxin immediately withdrew her hand.
Aunt Li smiled and shook her head, scooped out the excess oil from the pot, and patted his shoulder: "No rush, no rush, learn slowly."
He Yinxin nodded, put down the pancake, and reached for the egg on the side.
He pictured those street vendors cracking eggs with practiced ease, and he tried to imitate them, tapping his egg on the marble table and pouring it onto the crust.
Unfortunately, the eggshell didn't split in half as I hoped; instead, it broke into several pieces, and one piece fell directly into the pot with the egg liquid.
...
After all that work, He Yinxin concluded that she had wasted her time.
He looked at the dark, greasy scallion pancake, covered his face, and sighed deeply.
"Don't rush, take your time. Nobody learns to cook in no time," Aunt Li comforted him, then tossed the charcoal into the trash can.
He Yinxin took a deep breath and picked up another scallion pancake.
"Okay, take your time."
After another flurry of activity, a slightly burnt scallion pancake was ready.
He Yinxin placed it on the plate, and the image of Xiaochun's dejected figure as she left work resurfaced in his mind.
He instinctively asked, "Auntie, can I make another one?"
"I... have a big appetite, haha."
Aunt Li didn't think twice at all: "Sure. Come on, make another one. You'll definitely get better and better at it!"
The kid stood behind the two of them, covering his mouth and chuckling.
He Yinxin picked up another scallion pancake, spread it on the pan, cracked two eggs into it, placed the slightly charred bacon on top, added two lettuce leaves, and finally poured in a few more spoonfuls of sauce.
"Wow, this is perfect!" the kid exclaimed.
He Yinxin blushed slightly and looked up out the window.
The sky was covered by large swathes of rain clouds, and strong winds swept up camphor tree leaves.
He Yinxin looked at her phone; it was already past 5:40 PM.
Jiang Yichun will be getting off work soon.
If she's like those characters in online novels, and didn't bring an umbrella...
If only I could be like the characters in those online novels, promptly handing her an umbrella.
Wait, isn't this the Legend of the White Snake?
Is she the White Snake Lady, and Xiaochun the Xu Xian?
Isn't that little boy next to me Xiaoqing?
The beautiful scenery of West Lake...
He Yinxin immediately shook off the jumbled thoughts in her mind, blushed, and waved to Aunt Li: "Auntie, I... I have to go back early. It's raining outside. I'll just eat these two scallion pancakes in my hands."
Aunt Li smiled and took a plastic bag, stuffing two scallion pancakes into her pocket.
After saying goodbye to the kid and Aunt Li, He Yinxin braved the strong wind, munching on her "failed scallion pancake," and rushed into the subway station.
Later, he encountered that familiar figure at the subway entrance near the school.
Outside the station, a fierce wind and torrential rain raged, while inside, a cool breeze swept through.
Jiang Yichun was soaked to the bone, frowning as he held his phone.
He Yinxin stood not far away, taking out a scallion pancake, a coat, and the only unused umbrella from her backpack.
He hesitated, unsure whether to go forward.
He was afraid she would push him away, afraid she would storm into the rain alone again in a fit of pique, but he was even more afraid that she would be left without anyone to support her.
Achoo!
A sneeze came from afar.
The sound dispelled all the turmoil in his heart, and he rushed forward, gently draping his dry coat over her shoulders.
At that moment, he noticed her bright red ears.
The feeling of wet hair brought He Yinxin back to reality.
He was already standing in the dormitory lobby, soaked to the bone, except for the plush rabbit in his palm, which remained soft and dry.
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