Chapter 296 Machine 35
The arrival of the new students only caused a slight splash in the water, and soon it was like a raindrop sinking into the sea, no longer creating ripples.
Logically speaking, this shouldn't happen.
Nian Xingchen's attire and speech betrayed his noble family background and excellent upbringing. Aristocratic school is a miniature society, where wealth and power attract adulation and flattery. Appearance is also a sought-after asset. Yet, Nian Xingchen seemed to have vanished without a trace. No one in the academy heard a word about him, and even the teachers seemed to have lost sight of him.
Jiang Chan felt inexplicably resentful and depressed. At first, she was in a calm mood. Nian Xingchen took the initiative to be her deskmate, which confirmed her guess. The inexplicable joy made her wait patiently for his explanation, but he said nothing. He just sat quietly beside her every day, as if all Jiang Chan's guesses were wrong.
The more Jiang Chan thought about it, the more depressed she became. A cool breeze blew in from the window, and she shrank slightly, lowering her head and lying on the desk.
Most of the classmates had gone home, and the classroom was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Slowly, the only sound was the beating of her heart. Next to her, Nian Xingchen was sitting there silently. Suddenly, there was a sound of a chair being pushed open, and Nian Xingchen walked towards the classroom door with his back to Jiang Chan.
Nian Xingchen's back was tall and strong like a silent mountain, but he still didn't make her feel as safe as Yin Jia. Jiang Chan compared them silently and watched his back as he left. The faint expectation in her heart gradually shattered. Just when her eyes were blurred with tears and she was about to lose control of her emotions, the sound of footsteps that had been fading away suddenly approached.
"Have some water."
The mixed warm water was handed to Jiang Chan. Jiang Chan looked up blankly. Nian Xingchen looked at her with a gentle face and a polite smile.
but--
The boy's gentle expression was like a welded mask. No matter how gentle he appeared, the familiar emotion in his eyes that was almost overflowing was like an icy spike under the eaves, piercing her chest sharply and making her feel panic-stricken again.
She wondered, if he was just an ordinary classmate, would she have such complicated feelings? Would the feeling of being overwhelmed, panicked, and delighted, which she only felt when faced with Yin Jia's confession of love, appear in someone who was just an ordinary classmate?
Jiang Chan didn't drink the glass of water. She turned around and left the classroom, and Nian Xingchen followed her closely.
Passing by a busy street, just when Jiang Chan was about to collide with a pedestrian, Nian Xingchen hurried forward and grabbed her arm, "Don't lower your head when walking, and be careful not to stumble or bump into anything."
Jiang Chan pulled her arm back: "Thank you." She looked up at the boy in front of her. His delicate features, gentle eyebrows and eyes, and outline had a sense of déjà vu. He looked very much like the characters in the comics she often read. Jiang Chan squinted her eyes. From certain angles, Nian Xingchen and Ji Rong looked a bit similar...
She shook off the strange thoughts that emerged in her mind and said coldly, "Are you going the same way as me? Please don't follow me anymore."
Just keep your head down and move forward.
Nian Xingchen stood there quietly. After Jiang Chan took a few steps, she continued to follow her as if she hadn't heard her words.
Jiang Chan didn't know how she ended up in the former slums, the residential area where she lived. It was still in ruins. Although the Mechanical City was gradually getting better under Ming Jianyue's governance, there were too many drawbacks during Louis's reign that could not be reversed in a short time.
Drunkards lay on both sides of the street, some with blank eyes, unaware of the current situation, some with ferocious expressions like hungry wolves waiting for food, and some staring greedily at Jiang Chan's exposed fair skin...
Jiang Chan paused slightly, and heard familiar footsteps. Her heart gradually relaxed, and she continued to move forward. The streets before disappeared, and the buildings became ruins after the explosion. There were messy debris under her feet. Just as she was about to move forward, her ankle was suddenly entangled.
She lowered her head and saw that it was the limb of a spider-shaped cleaning robot. The pitch-black spider-leg-like thing was tied to her ankle. The numbness hit the top of her head and Jiang Chan's whole body was stiff. It was not because she was afraid of this kind of thing, but because this thing was very dirty. It had been in the ruins for who knows how long. The surface was stained with sticky wine. It just touched her ankle, but the disgusting smell went straight into her nostrils.
This nauseating feeling did not last long. As the drunks around her laughed obscenely at her embarrassing situation, the mechanical leg attached to her ankle collapsed to the ground with a crackling sound, like a firecracker exploding.
Jiang Chan stomped her feet to shake off the dirt on her ankle, then turned around and looked behind her. Nian Xingchen still maintained a gentle smile, but now it seemed that the smile was a little fake. Veins on his forehead were faintly visible, and the corners of his slightly raised mouth seemed a little stiff. It was obvious that his smile was not very sincere.
He said, "It's very dangerous here. Please don't go around here alone!" His voice fluctuated, but after a few seconds, it gradually returned to a steady state. He continued, "Although the Queen has rectified the once unreasonable laws since ascending to the throne, and the security in the Mechanical City has improved, there are still some places, such as where you are now, where there are no mechanical soldiers patrolling at all times. Your personal safety cannot be fully guaranteed. In their eyes, you are a piece of fat meat. Please be sure to pay attention to your own safety!"
His brows furrowed, and the corners of his mouth curled up for a moment. His whole face lost its gentle undertone, appearing cold and strong. But only for a moment, his brows softened, a smile appeared at the corners of his mouth, and his voice became calm again. "If you want to revisit the old place, I can accompany you by your side and protect you."
Jiang Chan pursed her lips, trying her best to ignore the hint in his words, and exhaled with her fists clenched. She couldn't explain her feelings. At the beginning, she thought that as long as Yin Jia was safe, it would be fine. As long as he was safe, it would be okay even if he didn't come to see her. But now, seeing that he had changed his appearance and appeared in front of her as if nothing had happened, what was he thinking?
Jiang Chan walked forward with her head down, her heart full of confusion and a little bit of depression as if she had been abandoned. Just as the rubble was falling, she was caught off guard and bumped into Nian Xingchen's arms.
"Woo..." Jiang Chan's first feeling was that his chest was so soft! When Yin Jia's body was made of metal, it was very hard. Jiang Chan needed to use a quilt to lie in his arms for a while, but Nian Xingchen's chest was not much different from a human body. It was warm, and Jiang Chan frowned and felt it carefully.
Nian Xingchen didn't stop her, but bent down and picked her up, "I'll take you home."
Jiang Chan didn't refuse, feeling an indescribable sense of peace. When they were about to reach the palace, Nian Xingchen put Jiang Chan down. Seeing that he had no regrets, Jiang Chan suddenly felt sad. She jumped out of his arms, took a few steps forward, turned back to him, and asked, "What's wrong with your arm?"
Nian Xingchen's eyes were gentle. "My arm was seriously injured, so I customized it to be used as a weapon. So, wherever you want to go in the future, you can take me with you. I can protect you."
Jiang Chan stared at him closely. "I don't need your protection." She turned around, exhaled, and looked at him again. "Also, we are ordinary classmates. I am neither your teacher nor your elder. Don't call me 'you'."
Nian Xingchen's gentle mask had cracks, and the stiff lines at the corners of his mouth were almost unable to be concealed. "Ah... Thank you for your reminder."
Jiang Chan returned to the bedroom, feeling increasingly frustrated. He was clearly right beside her, so why couldn't she just say it? She couldn't understand his thoughts, so she lay on the edge of the bed, staring at the door. Naturally, she couldn't see anything clearly, but she had a camera.
The screen showed a tall figure at the door. He stood like a quiet tree, as if blending into the night. Seeing his figure appear in the screen instead of leaving immediately after she returned home, Jiang Chan's mood improved slightly. She watched quietly for a while, and suddenly a faint odor came from her nose. Then she remembered what she had just experienced.
When Jiang Chan came out of the bathroom, several small toys made of machines crawled in front of her. Just as Jiang Chan was curious and reached out to touch them, this group of flexible little toys suddenly deformed and reorganized into several blooming mechanical flowers.
"...I really don't understand what you are thinking." Jiang Chan stretched out her finger and poked the mechanical flower.
The fingertips, still damp, were warm and soft, and the mechanical flower trembled slightly, just like a girl's blushing face, gradually revealing a pink color.
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