Ji Xingqiao felt that his arms had been getting tortured more often since he got a new deskmate, so he casually refused without thinking, "No."
"Why not?" Gu Qingqiu said aggrievedly, "I've been bringing you breakfast every day, what's wrong with you teaching me to write?"
Ji Xingqiao thought to himself, how can these be compared? But looking into Gu Qingqiu's big, watery eyes, he couldn't bring himself to refuse.
"No...don't call me deskmate." Ji Xingqiao frowned and changed his words.
"Can I call you by your name then?" Gu Qingqiu asked in a drawn-out, coquettish tone, "Ji—Xing—Qiao—"
Having never been called by his name before, Ji Xingqiao felt a strange and indescribable feeling in his heart. "...Whatever."
"Ji Xingqiao, Ji Xingqiao, Ji Xingqiao~" Gu Qing hummed happily twice, "Then you have to call my name too, we've been deskmates for so many days, and you've never called my name before."
“Gu…Qingqiu…?” Ji Xingqiao hesitated for once.
"Mmm." Gu Qingqiu nodded in agreement.
Ji Xingqiao asked, "How was it written?"
Oh my god! You didn't even know which two characters they were! How dare you eat my breakfast for free!
Gu Qingqiu explained angrily, "Tonight we'll drink wine together, why does the autumn wind grieve over the painted fan?"
"Hmm." Ji Xingqiao said calmly, "I'll remember it." It's a very nice name.
Gu Qingqiu felt a little happier. Her relationship with Ji Xingqiao had progressed from casual breakfast acquaintances to calligraphy tutors, which meant she could start dating soon. She needed to find an opportunity to tell her mother the good news and prepare her mentally.
Wait... do parents also need to sign the exam papers?
Gu Qingqiu belatedly remembered her less-than-ideal grades, and her mood plummeted again.
If she had known Ji Xingqiao was so easy to coax, why had she been so conflicted and guilty for so long? He was just after her breakfast!
As revenge, Gu Qingqiu, who holds a grudge, decides to pick out a smaller portion of breakfast for Ji Xingqiao tomorrow so he won't starve!
...
Zhang Xin'ai found it strange that Gu Qingqiu had been getting home from school a little later recently, usually half an hour to an hour later than before.
Gu Qingqiu has never been a playful child. She used to go straight home after school. But her recent unusual behavior has set off alarm bells for Zhang Xin'ai – could she be in a relationship?
At the dinner table, Zhang Xin'ai hesitated, not because she was worried that Gu Qingqiu's early romance would affect her grades, but because Gu Qingqiu was always innocent and she was afraid that Gu Qingqiu would get hurt in the relationship, and also afraid that Gu Qingqiu would... discover some abnormalities in her body. Most importantly, being in love might lead to pheromone imbalance.
Gu Qingqiu noticed Zhang Xin'ai's lingering gaze, put down her chopsticks, and asked, "What's wrong, Mommy? Is there something you want to tell me?"
"Sigh..." Zhang Xin'ai sighed quietly, "Tell your mother, are you in a relationship?"
"Dating?!" Gu Qingqiu feigned shock, widening her eyes and stammering, "N-no! Why is Mommy suddenly asking this?"
"Oh, no...that's good..." Zhang Xin'ai secretly breathed a sigh of relief. "It's okay, Mom just noticed you've been coming home late from school lately and thought you were dating someone."
"What does dating have to do with coming home late?" Gu Qingqiu asked, biting her chopsticks in confusion.
"You silly child," Zhang Xin'ai explained with a smile, "For example, if you accompany someone home after school, doesn't that mean you take a longer route? Or if you treat someone to milk tea after school, doesn't that take time too?"
"Oh..." Gu Qingqiu nodded blankly and explained, "No, it's because my deskmate taught me to write after school that I went home late."
"Your deskmate?" Zhang Xin'ai smiled. "It seems you've made new friends at your new school. Tell Mom what kind of person your deskmate is?"
"Hmm..." Gu Qingqiu tried hard to find a good adjective, "His name is Ji Xingqiao, he... is quite quiet and won't disturb my studies, and his handwriting is very beautiful!"
"That's good." Zhang Xin'ai nodded. "Classmates should help each other; it's beneficial for their studies. But don't bother them too much. How can you expect them to stay after school every day to teach you calligraphy?"
Gu Qingqiu thought to himself that Ji Xingqiao was always the last to leave after school, and he would stay a little longer than usual. Besides, Ji Xingqiao wasn't actually teaching him to write! He just wrote a few example characters on the notebook in a very aloof manner, and Gu Qingqiu had to imitate them with great difficulty!
However, explaining all this to Zhang Xin'ai was too complicated, so Gu Qingqiu could only retort softly, "It's not particularly troublesome, is it... We agreed that I would even treat him to breakfast every morning as tuition..."
"Someone taught you calligraphy, and you just offer to treat them to breakfast and that's it?" Zhang Xin'ai felt something was off. "How about this, you ask your deskmate when he's free, take him home, and Mom will cook a nice meal for him."
Gu Qingqiu hesitated and said, "Isn't this a bad idea..."
“What’s wrong with it?” Zhang Xin’ai made the decision: “Then it’s settled. I’ll buy more groceries tomorrow, and you can bring her home for dinner tomorrow night.”
Gu Qingqiu was caught off guard and given a task, one that she didn't even know if she could complete.
Although Gu Qingqiu had invited close classmates to her home for dinner before, and had also eaten at other classmates' homes, she always felt that inviting Ji Xingqiao to her home was not so easy. Ji Xingqiao seemed to be the type who was very resistant to interacting with people. If she hadn't broken the deadlock with breakfast, Ji Xingqiao probably wouldn't have spoken to her at all.
But has my relationship with Ji Xingqiao gotten so good that I can invite him over for dinner?
Gu Qingqiu thought back and realized that she knew very little about Ji Xingqiao and his family. How could she be so presumptuous as to invite him to her home for dinner? They hadn't even started dating yet, why was she already asking to meet his parents?
I should think about how to coax Ji Xingqiao home tomorrow! Gu Qingqiu thought to herself, her mind heavy with worry.
...
In the classroom in the early morning.
"Good morning, Ji Xingqiao." Gu Qingqiu greeted Yan Qiao with a smile.
Ji Xingqiao lifted his head from his arms. Although he didn't speak, his dark eyes followed Gu Qingqiu's movements closely.
Gu Qingqiu felt a little nervous for some reason, and cleared her throat. "Ahem... um, I... I have something I want to tell you..."
This doesn't seem like an invitation to dinner; it's more like a confession of love.
Realizing this, Gu Qingqiu quickly added, "Promise me first, and then I'll give you today's breakfast!"
Ji Xingqiao slowly straightened up and scrutinized Gu Qingqiu with a critical gaze. "Are you trying to negotiate with me?"
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