Chapter 22 Christmas Eve Kitten, Apple
Yan Ning looked up subconsciously.
Probably because of his height, although the seats in Class 1 were changed twice, Lu Chen was always rotated in the last row.
Recently, his position is right next to the window on the corridor.
Now.
There was a girl standing in front of the window.
Her cheeks were flushed, her upper body leaned forward, her arms resting on the windowsill, a red apple in her hand, and she was whispering something to the person in the classroom.
Then, the next second.
A slender hand picked up the apple and gently placed it back in the girl's palm.
Amidst the noisy voices.
Before Yan Ning saw Lu Chen in person, Xin Jing pulled her closer and closer, and she heard his calm voice:
"Thank you, Apple returns the favor to you, and I wish you a Merry Christmas Eve."
You can say that.
He rejects people.
He refused quite skillfully and saved people's face.
At least, for this girl, the apple she had just given away had simply passed through someone else's hands before returning to her own. The girl didn't look unhappy at all; instead, her cheeks became even redder, and she became a little bolder.
"Lu Shen, do you have time to come out and play on New Year's Day?"
When she finished saying this.
Yan Ning was being held by Xin Jing's arm and was slowly "passing" by the window.
"New Year's Day..."
Then I heard Lu Chen speak casually.
Xin Jing was nervous and excited. She was the first eyewitness to the scene at the gossip center. She lost control of the strength in one hand and suddenly clenched Yan Ning's arm tightly.
Yan Ning misunderstood and thought Xin Jing wanted her to look to the side.
Yan Ning did as he was told subconsciously.
However, the first thing that I met unexpectedly was the gaze of the person in the window.
Both of them were stunned.
Then, Yan Ning consciously looked away and continued walking forward with Xin Jing.
at the same time.
Lu Chen raised his hand and touched the back of his neck slightly uncomfortably.
When he spoke again, the ease and confidence he had just displayed had somehow diminished a lot.
"No, sorry."
The girl left feeling a little disappointed.
Xin Jing and Yan Ning have already walked to the middle of the class.
Xin Jing leaned close to Yan Ning's ear and sighed:
"Lu Shen really deserves to be called the campus idol! Just think about it, if he didn't refuse that night and really bought all the apples, it would probably fill up a truck, right?"
Yan Ning imagined such a scene.
She started from the reality and couldn't help but sigh:
"If he has so many apples, he probably won't be able to finish them all by the New Year."
After hearing Yan Ning's words, Xin Jing's mind suddenly had such vivid images that she couldn't help but burst into laughter for a long time.
Class 1 is also showing a movie.
The head teacher was also absent, which did not spoil the fun. Shi Caimeng sat in her seat, not looking at the screen, and chatted with her friends while eating melon seeds.
Xin Jing shouted at the front door, and Shi Caimeng and the others came out of the classroom.
The girls exchanged apples with each other, and then none of them returned to class.
During the rare break, a few people gathered at the railing and started chatting about all sorts of things.
We chatted for a while.
Shi Caimeng, who was originally chatting excitedly about which dolls were easier to catch in the arcade, suddenly fell silent without warning. Then, she excitedly winked at the person next to her in the direction in front of her.
Yan Ning had his back to that place, but when he saw this, he turned around and looked—
Then I saw Lu Chen coming out of the classroom at some point.
The temperature outside is below zero today, with a biting cold wind.
He was not wearing a down jacket, only the blue and white school uniform. He had his arm on the railing, leaning sideways, chatting with the boy next to him.
Because of the location.
He happened to be facing her direction.
Before his eyes could accidentally bump into her again, Yan Ning turned his gaze away. At the same time, he couldn't help but pull up the zipper of her down jacket.
Shi Caimeng lowered her voice, changed the subject, and said mysteriously to the people around her:
"Guess how many girls have come to give apples to the God of Roads as of now?"
Xu Jie next to him continued, "If not ten, then at least eight. Old Shi, did you even count?"
Shi Caimeng acted like a banker, unfathomable, and shook her head, "No, guess again."
Xin Jing: "Fifteen? Twenty?"
Shi Caimeng nodded. "You're right, barely—nineteen."
Xin Jing was surprised: "So many!"
Shi Caimeng waved her hands and said confidently:
"This is just the beginning, I'm afraid there will be more to come tonight!
After all, after the love letter incident at the beginning of the school year, there was no follow-up on the love letter signed to Lu Shen. It would be better to use the excuse of sending apples as an excuse, then see how things develop and confess your feelings. That way, the chances of success will be much greater!"
"Besides, Lu Shen hasn't accepted a single apple yet. If a girl succeeds in delivering one, then at least—"
Shi Caimeng calmly snapped his fingers, "Have we even started to capture the God of Road?"
A few girls nearby whispered excitedly for a while.
Yan Ning never spoke about this topic.
However, Yan Ning usually didn't say much about gossip, so it didn't attract much attention from people around him.
The lights in the corridor were not very bright.
The night wind was chilly. Yan Ning was wearing a long black down jacket today. Her hands were tucked into her jacket pockets, which were bulging with apples she had exchanged with her friends.
And at the bottom of the right pocket.
At this moment, her fingertips touched another smaller, rounder apple that was not decorated with a ribbon.
In fact, the apples were originally bought by the number, but when she was checking out, the boss saw that she bought a lot, so he gave her an extra one.
The moment I saw the extra apple.
What flashed through Yan Ning's mind inadvertently was...
That black-haired, black-eyed girl with a pair of particularly beautiful eyes...
Lu Chen's face.
Yan Ning was almost frightened by the idea.
He didn't even delve into the reasons behind it, just like he was running away.
Yan Ning kept the apple in his pocket all day and never took it out.
Now, she was pushing it with her fingertips and putting it deep into her pocket...
The girls' topic soon turned elsewhere.
Yan Ning also rejoined the conversation.
Until a few minutes later——
A gentle and crisp voice:
"Lu Chen!"
It immediately attracted the attention of most of the people around in the corridor.
Shi Caimeng blinked and pointed across, "Here, the twentieth one."
Several people responded and turned to look.
At this moment, a few more boys were chatting on the middle railing. Because there was someone blocking the view, everyone's movements were not as cautious as before.
Yan Ning was originally leaning against the railing, arm in arm with Xin Jing. As Xin Jing moved, Yan Ning also turned to face the direction where Lu Chen was.
Take a look at who is coming.
Xin Jing was a little surprised and said in a low voice:
"Hey, isn't that school beauty Wen?"
Xu Jie curled her lips. "Why is she still here? Hasn't she given up yet? Hasn't she been having a hot affair with Cheng Yuan lately?"
Blocked by the boy next to him, Yan Ning originally couldn't see what was happening over there.
But just in time, the boy wanted to join in the fun and deliberately moved forward a little, leaving Yan Ning's field of vision clear.
In the corridor, Wen Shujin had a delicate and beautiful face, and her long chestnut hair was curled into big waves and spread across her chest.
She was holding a gift box containing apples. It was much more exquisite than the common packaging boxes sold in school. There was a perfect bow tied with a pink and white ribbon at the handle.
This was the first time Yan Ning saw Wen Shujin up close.
I have to say that Wen Shujin is indeed outstanding in appearance and is a beauty who catches people's attention at first sight.
Under the many eyes around, both openly and covertly.
Wen Shujin smiled sweetly, holding the gift box and handed it forward.
"Lu Chen, happy Christmas Eve."
Everyone couldn't help but look across.
Hidden from everyone's sight, Yan Ning subconsciously turned his head and looked at that person.
Then I saw——
Lu Chen leaned sideways, resting one hand on the railing, while his free hand went into his school pants pocket.
"Thanks."
He had an indifferent expression on his face, and spoke politely yet distantly.
No Apple either.
The meaning of rejection is obvious.
The smile on Wen Shujin's lips suddenly froze, and he looked a little embarrassed.
Then, she refused to admit defeat, forced a smile, and moved the gift box a little further forward.
“It’s just an apple, and you won’t accept it?
I thought we were at least still friends.”
In fact, Wen Shujin had heard that Lu Chen did not accept apples from anyone.
It can even be said that she appeared here because of this matter.
She just wanted to take a gamble.
Bet that even if he keeps refusing, he has no intention of being with her.
But in his heart.
She is different from other girls...
However, Lu Chen bypassed these two sentences and only said one sentence:
"Merry Christmas Eve."
Although he had said it very decently.
However, the gazes of the people around him and the low whispers turned into tangible knives, attacking Wen Shujin.
After all, she has always been proud and sought after.
How can you bear to fall to such a low position?
At this moment, Wen Shujin crumpled the gift box with her nails, almost angry and in desperate need of an outlet to vent:
"Because of the rumors on the forum that I confessed to you at the sports meet, you want to avoid me, right?"
This happened at the beginning of the month.
On the No. 1 Middle School forum, someone posted anonymously saying that the reason why Wen Shujin had recently lowered her status and gotten closer to Cheng Yuan was because she failed to confess her love to Lu Chen during the sports meet, so she did it out of spite.
The words were a mixture of true and false, and the post was quickly deleted, so it didn't cause much stir.
But Wen Shujin spoke loudly, almost as if he was questioning.
At this moment, all the conversations around stopped.
Everyone's attention was drawn to it.
Even in the classroom, there were many people who secretly peeked outside.
It was quiet all around, except for the two nearby classes, where the lines from the English movie were intertwined and difficult to distinguish.
Among the crowd, Yan Ning subconsciously raised his eyes and glanced at Lu Chen with some worry.
He still stood there sideways, his eyes calm.
Just then.
Wen Shujin suddenly turned around and looked in the direction where Yan Ning was standing.
As Yan Ning was looking away, he bumped into her.
Their eyes met for a moment.
A bad premonition suddenly emerged in Yan Ning's heart.
really.
The next second——
Wen Shujin turned to Lu Chen again:
"I checked the surveillance footage, and the only person there that day was..."
Wen Shujin hadn't finished his aggressive words, and his raised hand hadn't pointed in a specific direction.
"I said so."
He was interrupted by Lu Chen's indifferent words.
Wen Shujin was stunned, "You..."
Wen Shujin was not the only one who was surprised. Everyone else around him was also bewildered.
What is going on?
Lu Shen admitted that he fabricated his personal affairs and posted them on the forum?
Or did he simply take responsibility for what others had done in order to put an end to it?
Or maybe there is some other hidden secret...
As the only third person present at that time, Yan Ning's mood was particularly complicated.
Yan Ning certainly knew that the person Wen Shujin wanted to identify just now should be her.
She is also prepared and will not allow herself to be slandered.
But this crisis is about to happen.
Because of Lu Chen's words, everything disappeared...
At this moment, the silence in the corridor was broken by a person who rushed out from the crowd.
"Fuck, what's going on?"
This is the way to peace.
Fang Ze'an had obviously rushed over after hearing the news. Now, he stood between Lu Chen and Wen Shujin, looking left and right, obviously not knowing what to say to resolve the situation.
Finally, Fang Ze'an turned to Wen Shujin. He pinched his voice and coaxed softly:
"Hey, please don't cry!"
You're just bringing up things that are irrelevant to the topic.
Wen Shujin, with red eyes, ignored him completely.
Lu Chen withdrew his hand from the railing, his eyes calm, and he took a step to leave.
Wen Shujin finally held back her tears, stood in front of Lu Chen, and asked unwillingly:
"Why?"
It seemed like he was asking about what Lu Chen had just said, but it also seemed like he was asking something else.
Lu Chen walked around Wen Shujin, and just as he passed by her, he whispered softly:
"Why, you know."
The onlookers in the corridor automatically made way.
Lu Chen left without looking back. Wen Shujin stomped his feet and quickly left in the opposite direction.
Fang Ze'an hesitated for a moment, feeling hesitant, but finally followed Lu Chen's footsteps.
As soon as the protagonist leaves, the excitement ends.
But for the rest of the people, the heated discussion had just begun.
Xin Jing, Shi Caimeng and the others were also talking enthusiastically about what happened tonight, but in the end, it was nothing more than speculation.
Yan Ning listened from the side, feeling increasingly confused.
I don't know if this is the end of it, or if there will be any other impacts...
After school.
Yan Ning returned to Huize Community with his schoolbag on his back, walking slowly and with a heavy heart.
Go downstairs.
Suddenly I heard a cat's meow.
She was drawn to the sound.
When I turned around, I suddenly saw a figure standing at the foot of the wall.
Yan Ning was surprised for only a moment, then seemed to calm down.
The moonlight lengthened the man's shadow.
He looked up and saw her, his voice casual, with a hint of his usual smile.
"Student Yan Ning, what a coincidence."
yes--
Lu Chen.
Or rather, she couldn't think of anyone else except him.
There was no need to ask what he was doing. Lu Chen was holding a bag of cat food in his hand. In the food bowl on the ground in front of him, there were two kittens, their heads put together, eating happily.
Lu Chen put the sealed cat food aside, stood up, and explained to her with a smile:
"It's Christmas Eve, and I don't have any apples to give them, so I'll just give them some midnight snacks."
Suddenly saw him.
Yan Ning actually has a lot to say.
For example, the person who spread rumors and posted on the forum was not her.
For example, she wanted to thank him for taking the initiative to help her out tonight.
For example, whether he and Wen Shujin's matter needed her to come forward and help explain it...
But when the words were on the tip of his tongue, Yan Ning didn't know where to start.
The night is quiet.
She looked up at the person in front of her.
And suddenly I felt——
He knows all this.
She didn't speak.
He also said nothing, just quietly looking at her with his eyes lowered.
The moonlight is bright, and there is a slight white mist between breaths.
A full little black cat came from the food box, circled around Lu Chen, and rubbed its little head against his trouser legs twice.
Then, he noticed Yan Ning next to him, hesitated for a moment, and walked towards her again.
Yan Ning avoided meeting that person's gaze.
She lowered her head, squatted, and with a little more skill, stretched out her gloved hand, allowing the cat to smell the familiar scent.
Then, he finally spoke:
"You, don't you have any apples?"
It seems to be an irrelevant question.
But in fact, she just listened to his hints and said what he said.
This person.
He was so thoughtful and considerate that after helping her out, he would even prepare other topics to talk about so as not to embarrass her.
It turned out that I didn't realize it.
He wasn't the only one who knew something about her.
It seemed that she was beginning to understand slightly what he was thinking...
really.
Lu Chen's voice came from above his head, pretending to be distressed:
"Yeah, it's Christmas Eve after all, and apples are in short supply. I went a little late, and all the supermarkets were out of stock. Wouldn't it be a bit pitiful if I couldn't eat apples on Christmas Eve?"
"well,"
He sighed, "Unfortunately, no friends came to see me off..."
Indeed, few boys in school give each other apples.
The little black cat must have remembered Yan Ning's scent, so it let down its guard and moved its head closer to let her touch it, acting like a spoiled child.
Yan Ning gently scratched the cat's chin through her knitted gloves.
She didn't pick up on Lu Chen's previous words, and asked another question she wanted to ask tonight:
"It's minus three degrees Celsius today. You're only wearing your school uniform. Aren't you really cold?"
“Ah~”
Lu Chen's voice dragged out.
"Speaking of which, here's another tragedy that happened to me tonight—
Before the movie, a few boys were playing around nearby and knocked over a bucket of Coke, which spilled all over my down jacket.
As he spoke, he folded his hands around his shoulders and rubbed them.
A second later, he changed it again, his voice deliberately lowered, and he coughed:
"Now that you remind me, it seems quite cold."
After enjoying the chin scratching service, the little black cat rubbed Yan Ning's hand again, then stretched, walked with cat steps, and went to the food bowl to find its white cat companion.
Yan Ning belatedly realized the time and could not delay any longer. He stood up and said to Lu Chen concisely:
"Come with me."
And then.
Lu Chen just followed her obediently.
The sound-controlled lights light up layer by layer.
Yan Ning was in front and Lu Chen was behind, walking up the stairs one after the other.
There was only the sound of footsteps in the corridor, and neither of them spoke.
Until almost the third floor.
Yan Ning stopped and turned around, and the silver zipper head on his schoolbag shook slightly.
"You stay here, wait for me."
Lu Chen was still on the stairs at this moment. He also stopped and looked up at her, "Okay."
Yan Ning quickly ran to open the door, went into the house, and closed the door.
From the bathroom, the sound of water and Lin Xinci's voice came together, "Ningning is back?"
As the year draws to a close, the business in the store is busier than usual. Recently, Lin Xinci usually comes back half an hour earlier than Yan Ning, takes a shower and washes up in advance, leaving the bathroom for Yan Ning to use so as not to disturb her rest.
Yan Ning responded.
In order not to make any noise, she put her schoolbag in the entrance hall, tiptoed to the kitchen very quickly, and opened the refrigerator door.
The last apple in her pocket was gone.
Because before school was over, a girl who was not very familiar with Yan Ning but with whom he had discussed a question gave Yan Ning an apple, so Yan Ning gave the apple back to her.
Now, the only thing she could pin her hopes on was——
The three apples left in the refrigerator yesterday.
Fortunately, when I opened the cabinet door, the apple was still there.
Yan Ning quickly picked the reddest one from the middle and walked back to the door, originally intending to open the door directly to Lu Chen.
But the sound of water was still there, and she still had time, so she hesitated again.
Wouldn't it seem a bit bland to just give an apple as a gift?
But the ribbons are gone...
As Yan Ning was thinking, his eyes swept over the schoolbag beside him.
Ten seconds later.
Yan Ning carefully opened the door lock, lowering the volume to the lowest level, and opened the door a not-so-big gap.
In the corridor, the voice-controlled lights are off.
The light from the door was like a bright thin line, shining on Lu Chen.
But his facial features and the rest of his body were hidden in the darkness, and only a vague outline could be seen.
Yan Ning didn't go out, but stood inside and quickly handed the apple to the man.
After making sure he had caught it.
Yan Ning finally curled her lips, she withdrew her hand, and said quickly and softly:
"Lu Chen, Merry Christmas Eve!"
one way or another.
From today on, in her heart, he and she are friends.
Then, because she heard the water in the bathroom stop, she couldn't wait for his reply, so she looked at him with a look that was a little apologetic and believed that he could understand.
Immediately, he closed the door.
The moment the security door closed.
The sound turned on the lights in the corridor again.
Lu Chen lowered his eyes and looked at the apple in his hand.
On it, a kitten's face drawn with a black pen was smiling at him.
He couldn't help it, so he raised his other hand and gently traced the kitten's smiling lips with his index finger.
Then, he chuckled:
“How cute.”
The night is quiet.
My mood was healed in this way.
The low whispers drifted away, and at this moment, only he knew it.
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