Chapter 22
This topic is somewhat obscure, and it's something Xu Qingzhou had never considered before.
The little girl was a bit confused when she heard this, and after a few seconds, she shook her head.
Chi Jun: "Do people at your school date?"
Xu Qingzhou didn't know why Chi Jun would suddenly ask such a question. She usually didn't care much about her classmates, but she remembered that once during a class meeting, the homeroom teacher, Lao Zhao, seemed to have brought up the topic of "puppy love" in a meaningful way. Maybe... maybe?
Xu Qingzhou: [Possibly]
"Then why don't you talk about it?"
"..."
There's no necessary connection between the two, is there?
Xu Qingzhou was a little confused, but still answered earnestly: "Early romantic relationships are bad; they affect studies."
Chi Jun chuckled and picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks.
"Who said that puppy love will definitely affect studies? I saw a news story a few days ago about two top students who fell in love in high school and both got into the country's top university, becoming an enviable couple of academic stars."
"Perhaps you could give it a try, otherwise—"
Chi Jun held his bowl and chopsticks, looked up at Xu Qingzhou, and paused, saying, "When you're old and look back on your student days, all you'll see is studying, studying, and more studying. Wouldn't that feel boring and regrettable?"
This is clearly an attempt to persuade her to date.
If someone else had said this, Xu Qingzhou might have thought they were joking. However, since it was Chi Jun who said it, Xu Qingzhou naturally assumed that Chi Jun wanted to leave.
Because she wants to leave, I hope she'll find a relationship.
In this way, she would no longer be lonely, and she would stop pestering him to stay with her.
A moment of silence fell over the small dining table.
After a while, Xu Qingzhou looked at Chi Jun and gave an awkward smile: "[Dating isn't something you can just start on a whim. I'm not as popular as you.]"
After saying it, he regretted it.
Because she remembered the love letter she had delivered for Xu Yunyun before, which she had mistaken for a letter from another boy because she was afraid that Chi Jun would be angry.
What if Chi Jun uses this letter to confront her—
However, Chi Jun abruptly changed the subject, staring directly at her and asking:
How do you know I'm popular?
"..."
Xu Qingzhou instantly recalled the table full of love letters in the classroom.
To avoid bothering or burdening Chi Jun, she kept the love letters hidden from him from beginning to end. Even when she was wronged after the affair was exposed, she never mentioned a word to him.
Now that many days have passed, there's no need to bring it up again.
Xu Qingzhou pursed his lips:
No one could dislike your looks and temperament.
So you like it too?
As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Qingzhou's eyes widened instantly, and his temples throbbed.
She quickly lowered her head and clarified on the paper: "I like it, but it's just a natural liking for beautiful things, definitely not the romantic kind. Don't worry."
Seeing her eager yet anxious expression, Chi Jun raised his eyebrows and chuckled.
"Just kidding, what's there to be nervous about?"
Xu Qingzhou bit her lip and remained silent.
The two of them lowered their heads and continued eating, and the small rented room returned to silence.
After taking only two bites, Chi Jun looked up at Xu Qingzhou, and the smile on his face had already faded.
That question was clearly a perfect opportunity for her to play the victim. If she had just said, "Because I actually helped you fend off a lot of love letters, I know you're popular," she could have legitimately made him owe her a favor, morally blackmailing him to stay or at least give her more care or less burden.
However, even after bringing the conversation to this point, she still remained silent.
Chi Jun frowned.
For a moment, I couldn't tell if she was just incredibly stupid, or if she truly didn't care about anything in return and only knew how to give blindly.
*
Because of Chi Jun's interruption, Xu Qingzhou was unable to say what she wanted to say in time during the meal.
But thinking that she would have to go out in the evening, she hesitated for a moment, then put down the bowls, plates and chopsticks covered in foam, wiped her hands, and took out paper and pen from her pocket.
Chi Jun was squatting in the corridor, playing mobile games with the neighbor's child.
As Xu Qingzhou walked in that direction, he overheard a game ending and the child saying to Chi Jun:
"Brother, let's add each other as game friends, and we can team up to play next time."
Chi Jun: "I can't add you, I don't have a phone."
The little boy's eyes widened in surprise: "Huh? You don't even have a cell phone?"
Chi Jun unwrapped a lollipop and put it in his mouth, then handed one to the little boy: "What, is it absolutely necessary to have one?"
“Um…” The little boy scratched his head, his gaze towards Chi Jun was somewhat complicated, but he also “highly EQ” and did not hurt his feelings: “It’s not that I necessarily need to have one, it’s just… having a cell phone is convenient.”
He was too embarrassed to tell Chi Jun that at least half of his classmates had a cell phone, even if they were old phones handed down by their parents. But Chi Jun, an adult, didn't even have an old cell phone... that was just too pathetic.
However, what he couldn't bring himself to say, Chi Jun said quite frankly:
"It's because we're poor. Look, if we don't study hard, we'll end up like our brother, unable to even afford a cell phone."
Although it sounded a bit odd coming from Chi Jun, who clearly didn't care about being poor or rich, there was some truth to it. The little boy didn't know how to respond for a moment, so he smiled awkwardly and remained silent.
Chi Jun didn't dwell on the topic. He felt the light dimming beside him, looked up, and saw Xu Qingzhou standing next to him, holding a paper card.
There's something I need to tell you.
The sunlight was blinding, and Chi Jun unconsciously squinted.
"What?"
Xu Qingzhou lowered his eyes and quietly took a deep breath.
"That's right, I'll be having evening self-study sessions at school from now on, so I won't be able to come home to cook for you tonight."
However, I will prepare your three meals a day in the morning, and you can just heat them up when it's time to eat.
Chi Jun glanced at the words on the paper, opened his mouth as if to say something, moved his lips, but in the end only uttered an "Oh": "Okay, I understand."
Xu Qingzhou nodded slightly.
As I turned to go back and continue washing the dishes, I suddenly remembered something.
I have to go to class this evening.
Having just written these few words, Xu Qingzhou suddenly paused, then drew several horizontal lines on the characters, turned the page again, and wrote a sentence:
What would you like to eat tonight? I'll prepare it this afternoon.
Chi Jun smiled and said, "No need, I have dinner plans with friends tonight."
【good】
*
Since then, Xu Qingzhou has indeed been coming home much later every night, usually not arriving until around 10 p.m.
Chi Jun was already getting ready to sleep, while Xu Qingzhou quietly returned, put down her schoolbag, and went downstairs to take a shower. She would then tidy up the room very quietly before she could sit down and study in peace.
Chi Jun, however, was not affected by this.
Because of his busy daytime activities and high energy expenditure, he has been sleeping well at night recently. However, sometimes when he wakes up at night and tries to fall asleep again, the bright lights in the room can give him a headache.
So one evening, when Xu Qingzhou came home, he found a green frog-shaped desk lamp on his small desk.
She looked at Chi Jun in surprise, but the latter remained calm:
Are you moved?
Xu Qingzhou's eyes lit up, and she nodded with a smile.
Chi Jun closed the book with a joking expression.
"You're too quick to be moved."
He pointed to the dim light bulb hanging from the ceiling by a wire: "I mainly feel that the light above my head is on in the middle of the night, which affects my sleep."
"..."
Okay, so it was for his own sake after all.
But thinking about it, it was something Chi Jun had given him after all, and Xu Qingzhou couldn't help but smile as he bent down to tidy up his bath supplies.
Chi Jun had already gone to bed.
Xu Qingzhou tactfully turned off the overhead light and turned on the desk lamp. A cold light instantly poured out from the lamp tube, quietly enveloping the small desk.
Xu Qingzhou lowered the lamp to minimize the light so as not to disturb Chi Jun's sleep before carrying his things to the first floor to take a shower.
Unexpectedly, after taking only a few steps, Chi Jun suddenly looked up and asked her:
Are there a lot of mosquitoes at your school?
Xu Qingzhou was stunned and hadn't reacted yet when Chi Jun said again:
"You've been wearing a lot of floral water lately."
Xu Qingzhou moved her lips awkwardly, her cheeks immediately feeling hot.
She gripped the small basket in her hand tightly and nodded gently.
Sorry, I'll be more careful to spray less next time.
Chi Jun didn't say anything more, only hummed in response, and then turned his head back down. But just as Xu Qingzhou was about to close the door, he suddenly added:
"Go ahead and rant. I was just asking casually."
In the dim light of the night, Xu Qingzhou nodded slightly and gently closed the door.
*
Xu Qingzhou is a very thoughtful and sensitive person. Ever since Chi Jun mentioned floral water that night, the scent of floral water on Xu Qingzhou has become much fainter. Not only that, but he also makes less noise when he comes back at night.
So much so that sometimes when she came back at night, the sleeping Chi Jun didn't know when she returned. When Chi Jun woke up the next day, Xu Qingzhou had already left for school—even though they lived under the same roof, they couldn't even see each other for a whole day.
Fortunately, Chi Jun is quite "independent" except for relying on Xu Qingzhou for meals, and he also knows how to find his own fun.
He was recently dragged into joining a basketball club by Li Rui.
This club is a group of basketball enthusiasts who just play around. From the club's facilities to the interviews of its members and even its organizational discipline, everything is extremely casual.
But it is precisely in this club, which is very casual inside and out, that the leader, Li Rui, is always busy, either organizing matches against the school's team or competing against some small social group.
That day, Li Rui was so excited that he dragged Chi Jun and the others out for a barbecue that very night after defeating the No. 3 Middle School basketball team by a score of 36 points. During the meal, he was so excited that he kept raising his wine bottle.
"Damn, did you guys notice their faces back then? Especially Qi Shuai, his face was as black as charcoal!"
"Who says otherwise! When Qi Shuai saw Xu Jun, he looked at him like he was seeing his nemesis, his eyes were practically glowing with greed."
"No, why? What grudge do you hold?"
Someone nearby asked, seeing that Chi Jun was engrossed in drinking his cola, and couldn't help but reach out and pry open his can.
Chi Jun turned his head and looked at the gossipy eyes of the people at the table, but his face was full of confusion.
"who?"
"Commander Qi."
Chi Jun: "Do I know him?"
"..."
Wang Shuai couldn't hold back any longer: "It was the guy who threw the ball at you the first time we met, and he almost hit a girl next to you!"
Upon hearing this, Chi Jun finally recalled a vague memory.
"Ah...it seems there is such a thing."
Wang Shuai: "Damn, if Qi Shuai knew you'd forgotten him so long ago, he'd probably vomit blood on the spot. Speaking of which, didn't his crush write you love letters...?"
As he spoke, Wang Shuai's eyes became ambiguous.
A chorus of boos erupted from the table.
"I heard his crush is an art student, and he dates like he changes clothes. He's quite the player. What did he write in his letters? Tell me about it!"
Upon hearing the word "wild," a group of men stared at Chi Jun like wolves, their gossipy eyes revealing a hint of lewdness.
Chi Jun chuckled and put down the Coke can.
"Sorry, I've received so many love letters, how would I know which one she wrote?"
"Tsk!"
Wang Shuai said with a look of disgust: "That's no fun at all. We all saw that girl give you the love letter the other day. She was the one wearing a white denim mini-skirt and had a really hot and amazing figure."
Chi Jun: "I don't remember."
"...Call him Sun Jiaojiao!"
When the name was announced, Chi Jun's gaze froze for a moment, and the explicit words involuntarily surfaced in his mind, along with the letter that had been torn up and thrown into the trash can.
"Do you remember now?"
Chi Jun raised an eyebrow and casually picked up a skewer.
"without."
"..."
The group of people at the table complained that it was boring, and some even took the opportunity to pour drinks for Chi Jun. Chi Jun laughed and played along with their antics.
Because the barbecue started early, it also ended relatively early.
In the darkness, Li Rui hailed a car and crammed the group inside like balls. He then pulled Chi Jun, who was going the same way, back towards the large shopping mall occupying the first and second floors directly below the barbecue restaurant, muttering to himself as they walked:
"I have to admit it. My mom actually called and asked me to buy her sanitary napkins. Don't I, a grown man, have any pride?"
Chi Jun stood on the escalator, his gaze drifting aimlessly across the colorful and dazzling shelves of the supermarket. Hearing this, he chuckled and casually retorted, "What's so bad about sanitary napkins? Why is it shameful for a grown man to touch one?"
Li Rui choked, opened his mouth, and couldn't think of a rebuttal for a long time.
Just then, one of the children suddenly let out a whistle-like scream.
Everyone turned to look in the direction of the sound.
Chi Jun also glanced in that direction.
It was just a casual glance, but as I looked away, I caught a glimpse of a figure in the fresh produce section behind the little boy, and my eyes involuntarily narrowed.
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