Chapter 37
However, this thought only lasted for a moment.
After all, Chi Jun and Zheng Yangshu had only met briefly a few times when he took her to school, and they hadn't even exchanged a few words. Moreover, he was always very good-tempered and easy-going, so why would he be indifferent to Zheng Yangshu?
She's being overly sensitive.
Zheng Yangshu and Chi Jun remained calm and chatted briefly. They talked about how it was a coincidence that they met here, how they had just finished a day of tutoring and came to check out the newly opened night market. However, Zheng Yangshu barely spoke to Xu Qingzhou, only waving goodbye when they parted ways.
"I'm leaving now, bye-bye."
Xu Qingzhou smiled and waved.
As the brother and sister watched Zheng Yangshu's departing figure, the stall owner's voice rang in their ears once more:
"Little girl, sixty yuan. You can take this rabbit for just sixty yuan, okay?"
Xu Qingzhou looked down at the rabbit that had pounced at his feet.
The round little rabbit looked adorable, with a gray mark on its ear, and its eyes looked especially clever, as if it was silently observing her.
—It has a familiar feeling of déjà vu.
But buying a pet is too extravagant for someone like her.
Xu Qingzhou didn't hesitate for long and shook his head.
Just then, a cheer came from not far away. She and Chi Jun turned their heads at the same time and saw, through the colorful stalls and the crowd of people, that someone was performing fire-breathing five meters away.
The fire raged skyward, dangerous yet thrilling, and exceptionally conspicuous against the night sky, attracting the attention of many.
Xu Qingzhou and Chi Jun couldn't help but walk over, eating some sweet soup while watching for a while.
At the end, the two took a quick stroll through the night market they hadn't finished exploring. Finally, they stopped at a stall selling miscellaneous goods, where Chi Jun bought a piece of fabric that looked like a curtain.
Xu Qingzhou found it strange and couldn't help but ask:
【What's this? 】
Chi Jun rolled up the fabric, turned around, and gave her a half-smile.
"amulet."
amulet?
Xu Qingzhou was puzzled.
When the two finished their night market trip and returned home, Xu Qingzhou went downstairs to take a shower. When she came back, she saw the curtain-like fabric hanging down in the middle of the bed, dividing it in two.
Chi Jun stood by the bed with his arms crossed, admiring his masterpiece with satisfaction before turning back and raising an eyebrow at her.
Xu Qingzhou: "..."
Now I know why it's called a "talisman".
So it was to protect him...
Recalling what happened on the bus tonight, Xu Qingzhou sighed softly to himself:
Okay, it seems Chi Jun really did take it as her sleeping in a crooked position on purpose...
That night, the bed curtains divided the bed in two; Chi Jun slept on the right side of the curtains, and Xu Qingzhou slept on the left side.
At first, Xu Qingzhou, as usual, carefully stayed close to the edge of the bed, fearing that Chi Jun might mistakenly think that she had improper thoughts about him again.
But soon, as her body stiffened and she couldn't help but subtly adjust her posture, Xu Qingzhou discovered that this curtain actually had some advantages for her, namely—
She can adjust her posture at will.
As long as she didn't actively lift the curtain, Chi Jun had no reason to say that she harbored improper thoughts about him.
Thinking of this, Xu Qingzhou couldn't help but loosen his posture a little.
Because of this thought in his subconscious, Xu Qingzhou finally dared to turn over freely while sleeping that night. When he woke up, his body was free of stiffness and soreness, which was a long time ago.
As Xu Qingzhou got up, she looked back at the bed curtains and couldn't help but think:
This isn't Chi Jun's possession charm; it's clearly... her protective charm.
*
Perhaps it was because she had slept well for several days, or perhaps it was because she had just received a sum of money yesterday; in any case, Xu Qingzhou was in high spirits due to good news. When she entered the classroom that day, her eyes were bright, and the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned in a smile.
The homeroom teacher rearranged the seating a few days ago.
Coincidentally, she became deskmates with Zheng Yangshu.
At this moment, Xu Qingzhou subconsciously went to his seat, but before he got there, he found that his seat was crowded with classmates.
Each of them wore a broad smile, heads bowed, staring intently at something, occasionally letting out a joyful exclamation:
"Ahhhh, so cute!"
"What will we do during class, class monitor?"
"You'd better be careful, especially with the chemistry teacher, that guy... he's really fierce!"
Zheng Yangshu was surrounded in the middle, bent over doing something, occasionally looking up to respond with a word or two, his face full of smiles.
At this moment, someone turned around, saw Xu Qingzhou, raised their hand, and cautiously greeted her:
Hi... Good morning.
Xu Qingzhou responded with a smile.
Just then, the morning reading bell rang.
The students reluctantly dispersed and returned to their seats to prepare for morning reading. Xu Qingzhou walked to his seat and put down his schoolbag. When his eyes fell on something on the ground, he was stunned.
Between her and Zheng Yangshu's chairs, on the floor, was a small iron cage.
A round, fluffy little creature was perched on top of the cage; it was clearly a rabbit.
Xu Qingzhou's eyes lit up.
She looked up at Zheng Yangshu and couldn't help but reach out and gently touch the little rabbit. But then she was surprised to find that there was a gray mark on the little rabbit's ear.
Could it be... the rabbit I saw at the night market last night?
Just as she was wondering, Zheng Yangshu's next words confirmed her doubts.
"I bought this at the night market last night."
Xu Qingzhou nodded, and couldn't resist patting the rabbit's little head again.
I saw it last night too.
"Really? What a coincidence."
Zheng Yangshu seemed to have no recollection of the fact that when they met last night, they happened to be in front of the stall selling this little rabbit.
However, Xu Qingzhou didn't specifically mention it at this time.
Just then, she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure appearing at the front door out of the corner of her eye.
The homeroom teacher arrived.
Xu Qingzhou instinctively nudged Zheng Yangshu's shoes with his foot to remind him.
Zheng Yangshu calmly put the rabbit back in its cage, then sat up straight and began reciting from an open English book in front of him. Xu Qingzhou, on the other hand, pulled out a book of classical Chinese poems from a pile of books and began to recite them from memory.
As usual, the homeroom teacher came in and patrolled the corridor.
As she approached Xu Qingzhou, she twitched the hand holding the schoolbag, hesitated for a moment, and then covered the cage with the schoolbag.
Zheng Yangshu caught a glimpse of this and looked up at Xu Qingzhou.
Their eyes met, and they smiled at each other.
After looking around, the homeroom teacher left.
Amidst the cacophony of reading voices, Zheng Yangshu glanced back at the back door, tore a piece of paper from her notebook, quickly scribbled a line, and pushed it in front of Xu Qingzhou.
Xu Qingzhou glanced at it and saw that it read:
Can I ask you for a favor?
Because of the help she received when entering and leaving the campus, Xu Qingzhou was always grateful to Zheng Yangshu. It could be said that Zheng Yangshu was currently her best friend in the class.
Xu Qingzhou replied with a line of text:
【What? 】
Seeing that she did not hesitate, Zheng Yangshu smiled and wrote a bunch of words on the paper in a flamboyant style.
Xu Qingzhou glanced at it, and it said that Zheng Yangshu bought a rabbit last night, but his mother refused to let him keep it, saying that keeping small animals would make the house too dirty and smelly.
This morning, Zheng Yangshu was on his way to school when he passed by his house and discovered that his mother had thrown the rabbit next to the trash can. He had no choice but to bring the rabbit to school first.
He is asking Xu Qingzhou for help because he wants to know if he can leave the rabbit with Xu Qingzhou.
The reason for choosing Xu Qingzhou was because she lives with her brother and there are no adults in the family. Young people would probably be more accepting of rabbits.
After reading the words on the paper, Xu Qingzhou couldn't help but look down, open his schoolbag, and peek at the little rabbit in the cage.
It was thrown next to the trash can...
Is it really that bad?
Xu Qingzhou agreed to Zheng Yangshu's request almost without hesitation.
【good】
Zheng Yangshu was very happy.
"Thank you so much, I don't know what to say."
He went on and on, saying he would take care of all the rabbit's expenses, such as vet visits and food, but Xu Qingzhou shook his head, thinking:
I didn't spend a penny, but I was able to see this beloved little rabbit every day afterward.
I should be thanking you.
Together with Zheng Yangshu, they hid the rabbit in the classroom for a day, evading the sharp eyes of all the teachers. After school in the evening, Xu Qingzhou took the rabbit back to the rented courtyard.
At that time, Chi Jun had not yet returned.
Xu Qingzhou first put the rabbit behind the door, then tidied up to prepare dinner.
As I was carrying the rice cooker to go out and wash the rice, I paused at the door.
She turned her head to look at the rabbit, tilted her head, and for some reason, felt a strange sense of déjà vu—
It seems her little fox has returned.
Even on the same spot on his ear, there was a mark.
As Xu Qingzhou thought about it, he couldn't help but squat down and pat the rabbit's ears with a smile.
Just then, Chi Jun returned.
Following Xu Qingzhou's movements, he naturally noticed the rabbit immediately. He threw the basketball into the cardboard box in the corner from a distance, then squatted down and reached out to touch the rabbit.
"Newly bought?" he asked.
Seeing that he seemed to like rabbits quite a bit, Xu Qingzhou's initial slight worry vanished instantly.
She smiled and shook her head.
【no】
Zheng Yangshu is being fostered here.
Zheng Yangshu?
Chi Jun paused, his hand that was stroking the rabbit also stopped.
Two seconds later, he withdrew his hand.
Why doesn't he raise it himself?
Xu Qingzhou didn't notice the unusual tone in Chi Jun's voice and answered earnestly:
His mother wouldn't allow him to raise the child, so he asked me to help him.
Chi Jun: "His mother won't let him keep pets, yet he still bought rabbits?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Qingzhou was momentarily speechless.
But then again, perhaps Zheng Yangshu didn't know beforehand that his mother would be so averse to small pets...
Xu Qingzhou didn't explain further, only shook his head.
Isn't it beautiful?
Chi Jun tilted his head and reached out to tug at the rabbit's ears a couple of times.
"That's fine then."
"..."
Xu Qingzhou pursed her lips: "Actually, I think it's quite cute. I think it looks like..."
After writing only half of the following words, Xu Qingzhou seemed to realize something and crossed out the rest of the words.
Chi Jun, however, noticed it with his sharp eyes and pressed for an answer:
"Like what?"
Xu Qingzhou turned to look at Chi Jun, and for some reason, she pursed her lips, but couldn't help but curl them upwards.
Finally, she scratched her temple and wrote down the whole sentence:
I think it looks a lot like your previous fox form...
Chi Jun chuckled: "You mean I'm ugly?"
Xu Qingzhou: "..."
She looked at the rabbit again: It's quite cute, it's not ugly at all...
However, even with her keen intuition, Xu Qingzhou could sense from Chi Jun's words that he harbored an inexplicable hostility towards the little rabbit. She thought for a moment, then decided to shut up and take the rice cooker to wash the rice.
Chi Jun continued to squat in front of the cage, staring at the rabbit.
There were two lettuce leaves in the cage; Xu Qingzhou must have put them in there to feed it.
The little rabbit was eating with great relish, its three-lobed mouth opening and closing so beautifully that it made you want to play a prank on it.
Chi Jun watched for a while, then suddenly snatched the remaining half of the lettuce leaf from his mouth like a rabbit.
Not only did they pull it out, but for some reason, they even whispered a comment to the rabbit—
"Ugly rabbit".
He didn't seem to care after saying that, threw the lettuce leaves into the cage, and got up to leave.
But as soon as I turned around, a sharp, unfamiliar voice rang out, filled with rage—
"You're the ugly one! You ugly fox!!!"
Chi Jun: "...?"
He suddenly turned around.
Then he saw the rabbit clinging to the cage with its two paws, its mouth opening and closing as it cursed at him again, clearly and distinctly:
"Ugly fox!"
Chi Jun: "..."
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