Chapter 32
After breakfast, Zhang Jusong picked up his cell phone.
She was startled when she saw a dozen red dots in the upper right corner of the chat software.
But how come there are suddenly so many unread messages in just the time it takes to have breakfast?
She opened the chat app in surprise and clicked on the latest message.
"Ju Song, are you dating that freshman Xia Zhiheng?"
From a classmate, someone I had barely spoken to before.
The three words "Xia Zhiheng" were like a sudden gust of wind, blowing her mood into a mess. She clicked on the unread messages one by one, and the content was similar, all asking about what was going on between her and Xia Zhiheng.
No - where did they get the information?
She clearly just agreed to it last night?
Just as I was confused, a phone call came in and the caller ID showed it was Annie.
Although they have been roommates for such a long time and are not very familiar with each other, Zhang Jusong still has some understanding of Annie's character. If she doesn't answer the phone, she can persist in calling until her phone runs out of battery and turns off.
I pressed the answer button with all my might.
"Ju Song, what's going on between you and Xia Zhiheng?"
She lowered her head and began to pull at the hem of her skirt.
"Uh... that is, yesterday... um..."
He hesitated for a long time and couldn't explain the reason.
Anne went straight to the point and asked, "Are you together?"
"Um."
Although there was no one else in the dormitory, Zhang Jusong still had an awkward smile on his face. "Um...how did you know that?"
Annie was both angry and amused: "Hey, Xia Zhiheng is the new school idol, don't you know that?"
"What? There is such a thing?"
Zhang Jusong's eyes widened: "What is this? No, this... who chose it..."
"There may not be a proper election for this kind of thing?" Annie said, "It was only called out on the school forum. I have to admit that he has a face that looks like the school idol."
Zhang Jusong's mind flashed with Xia Zhiheng's image, and he blushed secretly, muttering, "How could that be..."
Annie laughed: "Don't be so ungrateful. What did you tell me before? The neighbor's brother-brother-"
This teasing tone made Zhang Jusong so anxious that he slammed the table.
“Originally, it was!”
"Hahaha, okay, okay, I won't say anything." Annie cleared her throat and smiled, "Sister, you are really good. You have mastered this."
Zhang Jusong didn't know how to answer, so he changed the subject: "Um - you'll be back tomorrow, right?"
"Pfft, yeah."
Annie didn't expose her little trick. She smiled and chatted for a while before hanging up the phone.
Zhang Jusong placed his phone upside down on the table, hugged his knees and sighed.
Thanks to Annie's excellent network of contacts, it is estimated that within this morning, anyone who is interested will know the news that she and Xia Zhiheng are together.
How did it develop so quickly? She raised her hand to scratch her hair, her brows knitted together. Counting the time, she and Xia Zhiheng had only been together for one summer, and confessed in one night, but today, the whole school knew about it, the next day.
It’s incredible to think about it.
He was like a boat rushing out of the dense fog, and she got on board in a daze.
Should I jump down and swim back to my own island?
As soon as this thought came to my mind, thousands and tens of thousands of "no"s flooded in. Can I stop it? No.
She stared at the phone on the table for a while, picked it up, and silently set Xia Zhiheng as the top contact.
Just let it be.
Just after setting it up, a message came from the newly pinned contact.
"Is it convenient to answer the phone?"
Did he encounter some urgent matter? Zhang Jusong sat up straight, holding his phone with both hands and typing: "Okay."
The first second the caller ID popped up, she quickly pressed the answer button.
"Hey, Zhiheng, is there something urgent?"
"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter."
Xia Zhiheng's voice was filled with laughter: "I just... want to hear your voice."
Zhang Jusong tightly gripped the phone, his heartbeat replacing his words, unable to find a suitable answer.
After a few seconds of silence, Xia Zhiheng's voice dropped: "Sorry, don't you like people calling you? Then I won't..."
"No."
"Um?"
Zhang Jusong lowered his head and traced his fingers on the desk: "I mean - if it's you, you can call."
The boy laughed softly. "Sister, is this a privilege that only belongs to me?"
The end of his voice rose, a proud tone.
This guy, she complained in her heart, snorted and didn't respond.
Xia Zhiheng asked again: "Today is the last day of the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday. Have you decided where to go?"
"not yet."
Speaking of this, Zhang Jusong had a headache. Where is the best place to go? At this time, whether it is an amusement park, an aquarium or a movie theater, it is estimated that there will be a sea of people.
Just thinking about it can make you feel the discomfort of being squeezed in a crowd.
Xia Zhiheng asked patiently: "So, where would you be at this time of year in previous years?"
This is an easy question, and Zhang Jusong gave the answer immediately: "At this time last year or the year before last, it should be the library. Generally, the library is closed on the Mid-Autumn Festival, but it will be open as usual today."
"If it's open as usual, how about going to the library?"
Zhang Jusong hesitated for a moment, but couldn't think of a better place to go, so he agreed.
After packing her things, including her campus card, water cup, umbrella, laptop... she went out carrying her backpack.
At the end of the sunlit corridor, Xia Zhiheng was waiting quietly.
He changed out of his sportswear and put on a pure white T-shirt and black trousers with crisp fabric that highlighted his long legs.
As soon as he saw her, he smiled.
"Let me carry your backpack for you?" He stepped forward and tried to take the backpack.
Zhang Jusong said in a panic: "No, it's not heavy, I can carry it myself."
"Sister," those puppy eyes revealed an accusing look, "other boyfriends will help their girlfriends carry their backpacks."
When she heard the word "boyfriend", Zhang Jusong's eyes widened slightly and she stammered, "Ah, this..."
This seems to be the case, she thought to herself, and as she loosened her grip, the backpack fell into Xia Zhiheng's hands.
He smiled like a little kid who had succeeded in his plan, with his fangs showing.
"Don't worry," Xia Zhiheng assured, "I won't let your bag get wet even in the rain."
"You're talking nonsense again." Zhang Jusong glared at him, raised the corners of his mouth, and walked forward with his hands behind his back.
Without looking back, she could sense his presence.
On the last day of the holiday, there were not many students from Xi'an, and the library seemed a little empty.
After swiping his card to enter the lobby, Xia Zhiheng lowered his voice and asked, "Which floor do you usually like to study on?"
Zhang Jusong quietly replied: "The top floor."
The view from the top floor is the best, and she especially prefers seats by the window. When she gets tired of studying or doesn't want to study anymore, she turns her eyes to the window and stares out in a daze.
Don't think about anything, don't do anything, just sit quietly, and occasionally there will be a very shallow joy floating in your heart. Maybe this is what the Zen poem says: "If there is nothing to worry about, it is a good time in the world."
On the way upstairs, she shared with him the pros and cons of the top floor: "Are you afraid of the heat? Although the view is good on this floor, it is a bit hot when the sun is setting in the west. It's the same if we study on other floors."
"Here it is." Xia Zhiheng smiled, "I will definitely like the seat you like."
They found a seat by the window and sat opposite each other.
Opening the laptop, Zhang Jusong's eyes inevitably focused on the boy sitting opposite him.
There were a math book and a piece of draft paper spread out on the brown desk. A beam of light shone through the window onto his body, making his outline even clearer.
The beautiful ones look like stills from a youth film, with accompaniment from a piano-based symphony.
She looked at him, then at the computer screen, and sternly warned herself in her heart: Zhang Jusong, study hard.
After repeating the advice of "study hard" in his mind for a long time, Zhang Jusong finally gathered his thoughts and opened the unfinished investigation report from his last research trip.
She didn't know that Xia Zhiheng, who was sitting opposite her, also breathed a sigh of relief.
He was glad that she was not good at mathematics, otherwise she would have noticed that he had written a full page of calculation paper but had not come up with a valid result.
Xia Zhiheng quickly raised his eyes and glanced at Zhang Jusong.
When he was in school, some of his classmates were troubled by their lack of concentration, but he didn't take it seriously at the time. However, he didn't expect that his self-control, which he had always been proud of, would be completely defeated by her gaze.
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