Chapter 32 Chapter 32
When I got home, Lin Yuan was already preparing lunch in the kitchen.
"Why did you go out for so long this morning?" Lin Yuan poked his head out of the kitchen and asked.
Ren Li replied hastily, "I told you before I left. I went to the basketball hall with my classmates to practice shooting. I have to take the physical education test."
"Is it a boy?" Lin Yuan heard Ren Li mention it when she woke up in the morning, but she didn't ask in detail. Now that she saw Ren Li dodging, she began to doubt it.
Ren Li nodded. Lin Yuan put down the food in his hands and washed his hands. "Is he from your class, or from another school?"
After all that mental turmoil, Ren Li didn't know why. Although she didn't want to mention Wen Shuo, she still answered honestly, "Yes, he was my former deskmate. His name was Wen Shuo."
Lin Yuan seemed to remember the name. "Isn't that the tall guy I met when I went to pick you up from the bookstore last time? You two were pretty close, right?"
Ren Li didn't like Lin Yuan's insistence on interfering in everything. Although she didn't want to answer, she explained, "We're just ordinary classmates. He and Zhang Xintong are always very helpful to me."
Lin Yuan noticed that Ren Li was a little unhappy, so he didn't ask any more questions and chose to change the subject. "By the way, Lili, your Uncle Lin and his family recently moved into this neighborhood. Your dad is coming home tomorrow, and he said we should have dinner together tonight. You can talk to Jiacheng about school then."
In fact, after having dinner with Lin Jiacheng's mother that day, Ren Li hadn't had any contact with Lin Jiacheng since. One Monday, during the school flag-raising ceremony, she and Lin Jiacheng happened to run into each other, and they simply nodded and acquainted. She knew Lin Yuan and Zhou Yan had been close lately, so having dinner together was normal, so she didn't take it seriously.
Seeing her nod, Lin Yuan continued, "Doesn't your Aunt Zhou Yan have a driver at home? She told me the other day that it's a waste to send Jiacheng to school alone every day. What she meant was that since we're both on the way, we can pick you up and drop you off at school together. That way, you'll be safer when you get home, and I won't have to worry about you every day."
Ren Li had no intention of going to school with Lin Jiacheng: "Mom, I'm fine taking the school bus. The school bus stop is not far from the community, so it's not unsafe. Please tell Aunt Zhou that I don't need it."
Lin Yuan: "Why don't you try it next Monday? If you're not used to it, you can take the school bus again."
Compared to going to school with Lin Jiacheng, Ren Li still felt that taking the school bus was more freeing. She thought she had convinced Lin Yuan, but after meeting Lin Jiacheng on the weekend, having dinner with his parents, and being assigned tasks that she had to do, she realized that she had no way of saying no to anything that "adults considered a kindness."
Ren Li had no choice but to try once. At least on Monday, she would go to school with Lin Jiacheng. She had already decided that after Monday, she would tell Lin Jiacheng that she still preferred taking the school bus. That would make her argument more convincing.
Monday arrived as scheduled. As usual, when the alarm clock rang, Ren Li got up, dressed, washed up, and then sat down at the dining table to eat breakfast on time.
Who would have thought that when I opened the bedroom door, Lin Jiacheng was already standing in the living room.
He was chatting with Lin Yuan with a smile on his face. When he saw Ren Li, he greeted her naturally: "Good morning."
Ren Li seemed to feel that she was not yet that familiar with Lin Jiacheng, so she gave him a slightly awkward smile.
"Auntie, I see Lili is up too, so I won't disturb her from having breakfast. The car is downstairs, she can just go down after packing." Lin Jiacheng said to Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan responded with a smile: "It's okay, just sit for a while, and then go out with Lili."
Lin Jiacheng: "No, Auntie, I'd better go down and wait so that she won't be anxious."
Ren Li sat down at the dining table while listening to the conversation in the living room. She seemed to feel that Lin Yuan seemed to like Lin Jiacheng quite a bit.
Although she was not very willing, she still had to deal with work. Ren Li drank her porridge slowly until the time was almost up, then she forced herself to wash her hands and went back to the bedroom to get her schoolbag.
After saying goodbye to Lin Yuan, they were both quite polite when leaving. Ren Li thought that maybe Lin Jiacheng also needed to complete a mission, and he must have been forced to come to pick her up, which was just right.
There was a black car parked downstairs. Fortunately, there was no one else downstairs, and Ren Li didn't have to see Lin Yuan's parents, which made her breathe a sigh of relief.
Lin Jiacheng opened the car door and motioned Ren Li to get in. Ren Li said thank you and sat in. Unexpectedly, Lin Jiacheng also sat in the back seat.
She felt embarrassed and took out her headphones to listen to English to ease the atmosphere. She even felt more embarrassed than when she first met Wen Shuo on the school bus.
"What time do you usually leave after school in the evening?" Lin Jiacheng broke the silence first.
Ren Li didn't hear clearly, so she took off her headphones and looked at him with her head tilted.
His Adam's apple moved, and then he repeated it. Ren Li thought for a moment and replied, "There's no exact time. I'll go home after I finish my homework and evening study."
At this point, she quickly added: "Don't wait for me at night, my time is uncertain."
Lin Jiacheng seemed not to understand what she said: "I will leave late too. I will wait for you in the evening."
Hearing that they would be leaving together that evening, Ren Li felt that there was nothing to hide: "Thank you, but it's really not necessary. Actually, I'm just here to deal with my mom today. I really appreciate Aunt Zhou's arrangement. I usually take the school bus with my friends, so it's better not to bother you."
She felt she had made herself clear, and Lin Jiacheng nodded, as if to say "OK," and Ren Li finally breathed a sigh of relief. Ten minutes later, the car finally stopped at the gate of No. 4 Middle School. Ren Li grabbed her schoolbag, said thank you, opened the car door, and eagerly got out. Before she could even land on the road, she saw Wen Shuo standing at the school gate with his arms folded, his gaze piercing.
At that moment, she felt like she was suddenly caught doing something bad. She knew clearly that she had not done anything to offend Wen Shuo, but she felt guilty and wanted to hide in the cracks of the ground.
She realized later that she seemed to have forgotten something very important. She seemed to have received a message from Wen Shuo over the weekend, but she seemed to have selectively ignored it.
Is he waiting for me now? But how is that possible...
Ren Li stood there in a daze. When she came to her senses, Wen Shuo had already turned around and walked away.
Seeing her standing still, Lin Jiacheng asked, "Did you forget to bring something?"
"I have something else to do. I'm leaving now." Without waiting for his reply, Ren Li almost ran into the school gate in one breath. She was almost out of breath when she climbed the stairs. But when she saw the back of Wen Shuo in a snow-white shirt not far away, Ren Li unconsciously slowed down her pace.
Need an explanation? He said he and Lin Jiacheng were just ordinary neighbors who happened to come to school together that morning.
But why should I explain all this to Wen Shuo?
It wasn't until they entered the classroom that Ren Li finally lost her nerve. Wen Shuo had already taken a seat in the back row, and people were surrounding him, asking him to hand in his homework. Ren Li no longer had the courage she once had, and even asked Zhang Xintong to help her submit her homework.
What kind of relationship did she have with Wen Shuo now? They weren't deskmates, nor were they friends in other people's eyes. They used to be able to chat on the school bus and study together on weekends, but now, due to the distance between them, even talking had become a luxury.
During the break, Ren Li took back her phone and her conversation with Wen Shuo was still about the message she received on the subway last weekend. Ren Li wondered if Wen Shuo would think she was crazy if she replied "I'm home" now.
Once some emotions have expired, they can no longer be fully expressed.
After struggling all day, Ren Li still didn't take the initiative to send a message to Wen Shuo. In the afternoon class, she was sometimes awake and sometimes distracted. Although Ren Li tried her best to concentrate, Wen Shuo's figure could not be shaken off her mind.
During the break between dinners, Zhang Xintong went to the radio station. For the first time, Ren Li lost interest in dinner and sat at the table, feeling a little worried.
She tried to distract herself from the sea of questions. Outside the corridor, the afterglow of the setting sun shone through the open doors and windows, dancing on the collection of wrong questions. Ren Li unconsciously looked up and saw Wen Shuo leaning against the railing not far away.
She wondered if Wen Shuo had deliberately chosen to stand there. In her narrow field of vision, his face tilted to the side, against the dim light of the setting sun, a scene so ordinary yet still dazzling. It was only a few meters away, but to Ren Li today, it felt like a whole light-year separated them.
Wen Shuo suddenly turned his head.
Her thoughts were exposed, and Ren Li quickly shifted her gaze. The uncoordinated movements she made while trying to find the book on the desk clearly revealed her panic.
The book in her hand was suddenly held down by someone. Ren Li looked up and saw Wen Shuo standing in front of her, his presence very close.
His gaze was still scorching, making Ren Li's cheeks hot: "What were you looking at me just now?"
Ren Li panicked and tried to pull the book back from Wen Shuo's hand: "You pressed down my book."
Her voice was not loud, but Wen Shuo attracted attention. The students who were still in the classroom at that time turned around and looked over here.
Wen Shuo ignored them and just said, "I want to hear your explanation for what happened this morning."
Ren Li hadn't expected him to ask that. The words she had prepared came to her lips, but she couldn't say them in this situation: "Class is about to start, stop making trouble."
The light in the corridor seemed to dim, and Ren Li's hand loosened, and the book was let go.
"Forget it." Wen Shuo looked at her and said slowly, "Okay, whatever you want."
He didn't wait for Ren Li to speak, and turned around and left the classroom. Ren Li was sitting there alone, holding a book, stunned.
What was she going to explain? Did Wen Shuo really care about this? He and she were just ordinary classmates, and they had only taken the school bus a few times. Why should he be so angry about her?
Besides, he has someone he likes...
This thought appeared in Ren Li's mind, and every time she finally mustered up a little courage, it disappeared without a trace when she reached here.
Tang Xiaoyun just happened to walk in from outside and only saw the second half of what happened. She was still a little unsatisfied: "What were you talking about mysteriously with Wen Shuo just now? What's wrong with him? He looks unhappy."
Ren Li simply replied, "Nothing, just some unpleasantness on the school bus."
"Oh." Tang Xiaoyun looked at Ren Li suspiciously and had to sit back awkwardly.
Zhang Xintong was absent during the first evening study session, so Ren Li had no one to talk to about these things. Wen Shuo was still absent from the evening study session today. Fortunately, Zhang Xintong returned during the second class, but Ren Li hesitated and did not tell Zhang Xintong what had happened today. She did not really want to talk about these groundless rumors.
After school, she was packing up her things with Zhang Xintong in a dejected mood, wondering whether she should take a taxi home today. Suddenly, someone called her name at the front door.
She looked up and saw the classmate pointing to the corridor outside: "Ren Li, someone is looking for you outside."
At that moment, Ren Li almost thought it was Wen Shuo.
She quickly put down what she was holding and walked out, only to see Lin Jiacheng standing in the corridor.
Only then did she realize that her previous thoughts were a little ridiculous. How could Wen Shuo be waiting for her here? She should have thought of it earlier.
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