A sudden surge of emotion
At night, after a sweltering day, a heavy rain finally fell.
Bai Yixia was wide awake by the chaotic images in her dream, so she simply opened the window to listen to the howling wind and pouring rain outside.
Summer brings heavy rains, battering the trees outside until their branches are bare and they sway precariously. The rain is blown into the house by the wind, and Bai Yixia, instead of enjoying the rain, gets her face soaked.
She hurriedly closed the window, and it seemed as if the clutter in her mind had been washed away. Bai Yixia lay back on the bed, intending to fall asleep again, but as soon as she closed her eyes, she saw Zhou Qingchi's tear-stained face.
Bai Yixia sat up helplessly, clutching the blanket, and silently screamed, her hands covering her face. If there were a mirror in front of her, she would probably see her face burning red.
Although she had never been in a relationship, she had seen quite a few. There were even young couples in her class who defied the teachers' rules. Novels and movies were full of sweet romances, but Bai Yixia had thought that one day she might fall for someone and have a relationship herself.
But I never expected that I would have different feelings for Zhou Qingchi.
She tossed and turned all night, her mind filled with Zhou Qingchi, memories that almost went back to elementary school. The more Bai Yixia thought about it, the redder her face became, and she finally understood why she hadn't been happy when someone hugged her and said, "Your brother really protects you."
Having grown up together for over a decade, it's one thing to be used to having Zhou Qingchi by her side, but another reason is that Zhou Qingchi is excessively kind to her.
It felt like she could see Zhou Qingchi right now. Bai Yixia sat on the edge of the bed, her toes tapping the ground, her heart pounding wildly.
She suddenly chuckled to herself. How strange, so this is what liking someone is?
Raindrops pattered against the window. Bai Yixia's thoughts drifted for a moment, then her smile widened. That was wonderful. All her strange ideas suddenly made perfect sense.
She wanted to drag Zhou Qingchi along wherever they went, so she wouldn't always feel like something was missing; seeing him opening his door when she went to school in the morning would brighten her whole day; when other girls glanced at Zhou Qingchi, her playful thoughts turned into frustration...
It turns out it wasn't excessive possessiveness between friends, but rather a crush that I hadn't even realized I'd developed.
The rabbit in my heart hopped and skipped through the thin veil, and my heart finally broke through the clouds to see the moon.
Bai Yixia sat on the edge of the bed, her chin resting on her knees, her eyes darting around. It was impossible for her to lean back and lie back on the bed to continue the previous dream; she felt terrifyingly mentally unstable.
It's only been a little over ten days of vacation, and there's already a stack of homework on my desk.
Bai Yixia suddenly stood up, turned on the desk lamp, and surprisingly began to do her homework with great joy.
The night rain didn't last long, stopping around five or six o'clock. When the first rays of morning light shone into the room, Bai Yixia had finished almost a third of her English workbook.
Only then did Bai Yixia feel sleepy. She didn't force herself to stay awake any longer and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
When I opened my eyes again, it was only 7:30.
Bai Yixia was full of energy. After quickly washing up, she stood in front of Zhou Qingchi's house.
Normally I would have knocked on the door long ago without hesitation, but today I hesitated a bit.
Just as she was thinking of sending a text message to Zhou Qingchi, Jiang Yinghua pushed open the door and came out. She was a little surprised to see Bai Yixia, but then she laughed and said, "What's going on? I thought you kids would sleep in, why are you all up so early?"
Bai Yixia greeted her with a smile, and upon hearing this, a thought struck her: "So early? Little Zhou, you're up too?"
Jiang Yinghua nodded, "It's still early, he's already gone for his morning run."
Slightly disappointed, seeing her pull her suitcase, Bai Yixia asked again, "Is Aunt Jiang going on another business trip?"
"Yes." Jiang Yinghua seemed a little hesitant, her brows furrowed slightly. "Always so busy. I wish I hadn't gone into this line of work. I haven't been able to spend time with my children at home either."
Bai Yixia smiled sweetly, patting her chest, "It's okay, I'm right across the street, what's there to worry about~"
Jiang Yinghua was amused by her, glanced at the time, and said apologetically, "Oh, Xiaxia, Auntie has to go."
After watching Jiang Yinghua leave, Bai Yixia stood motionless in front of the door.
She looked down at her phone, thinking sullenly that Zhou Qingchi wasn't home, so there was no point in going in. Maybe she should just go home and sleep a little longer.
Before her toes had even turned the corner, the elevator dinged and stopped on this floor, and Bai Yixia's heart pounded.
The next moment, it deflated like a punctured balloon, hissing and releasing air.
Nie Jiayuan, with her hair tied in a high ponytail full of energy and carrying a backpack, noticed Bai Yixia's disappointed expression as she stepped out of the elevator and asked warily, "Why the look on your face? Were you waiting for me?"
Bai Yixia's disappointment was fleeting; she quickly smiled again, looking at her attire with a puzzled expression. "No. Are you going on a trip?"
Nie Jiayuan's expression suddenly brightened. "I'm going on a date!"
"A date! A date!" Bai Yixia suddenly perked up and leaned closer to her. "What? Who are you going on a date with? When did you start dating?"
It wasn't until the early hours of the morning that Bai Yixia realized her own feelings. She was thinking of confiding in her when she was unexpectedly bombarded with a major piece of news.
Nie Jiayuan blushed, a little embarrassed, "We just talked about it last night."
Bai Yixia frowned and thought for a long time but couldn't figure out who Nie Jiayuan had been seeing lately. She could only look at her expectantly and ask, "Who? I don't know anyone."
"Isn't this why I came down here to tell you?" Nie Jiayuan said with a smile.
"You know him too. It's Qiu Ting."
Matching the face and name in her memory, Bai Yixia exclaimed in realization, "Oh, it's him! He used to play with Brother Zhou all the time."
Nie Jiayuan: "...So Zhou Qingchi is a landmark figure. You've linked so many people to Zhou Qingchi."
Normally, these words would just pass through Bai Yixia's ears once, but after realizing her own feelings, she felt that they had no meaning no matter how she listened to them.
Bai Yixia hesitated for a moment, but couldn't come up with anything coherent.
Fortunately, on the first day of her relationship, Nie Jiayuan was more focused on her new boyfriend and paid less attention to Bai Yixia.
Bai Yixia watched as she replied to the message with a smile, then secretly glanced at his own phone. Good, he hadn't replied yet.
"By the way, Xiaxia, do you want to come with me?" Nie Jiayuan asked suddenly after replying to the message.
Bai Yixia was startled and blinked at her, "Isn't this inappropriate? You're on a date, am I supposed to be a third wheel?"
Nie Jiayuan tossed her hair and hooked her arm around her neck. "What can high school students do when they're dating? It's so hot, I don't even want to go out."
She shrugged and swayed her backpack. "Going to the library. Are you coming?"
Bai Yixia was surprised that their date was so simple. She stared at her with her mouth slightly open, then thought for a moment and replied, "Let's go."
"I'll just treat it as a learning experience," Bai Yixia thought as she left with her schoolbag.
But to her surprise, the two went to the library and were genuinely studying; there was absolutely no flirtatious behavior between them.
The two people, like complete strangers, buried themselves in writing.
Bai Yixia looked around blankly at the other couples. They were all sitting on the same side. They were close together, shoulder to shoulder, and occasionally they would hold hands. When they wanted to talk, they would write a small note or whisper in each other's ears.
In short, I wasn't studying that seriously.
Startled by Nie Jiayuan and Qiu Ting's dating style, Bai Yixia looked down at the exercise book lying in front of her, feeling that the English letters on it were floating around.
She let out a desperate sigh. Why did she have to bring this book with her? Just looking at it reminded her of that inexplicable behavior in the early hours of the morning.
They finally made it to noon and the three of them went out for lunch. Bai Yixia finally caught a glimpse of what a couple should be like: you pick up a piece of food for me, and I'll bring you a sip of soup.
It was sweet and very enjoyable.
As Bai Yixia watched the interaction between the two, she felt the gloom that had been weighing on her mood by English finally ease.
At this moment, Qiu Ting mentioned Zhou Qingchi.
"By the way, I thought Brother Zhou would come with you." He said casually, with an innocent expression.
Bai Yixia, whose mind was not clear, stammered, "Ah, ah, he had something to do this morning, so we weren't together."
Qiu Ting suddenly looked up at her, without any strange expression, nodded, and said quite naturally, "That's right, if I didn't have something to do, I would probably be with you."
Upon hearing this, Bai Yixia's mind stirred, and she blinked tentatively, asking, "Why do you say that?"
"?" Qiu Ting looked at her in puzzlement. "Isn't this common? The three of you either split up in pairs or go together as a group."
"Oh." Bai Yixia responded listlessly, glancing over to see Nie Jiayuan putting a piece of chicken into Qiu Ting's bowl. She said mischievously, "No wonder, for a while it became a group of four. So you've got your eye on Jiajia."
"Cough cough cough!" Qiu Ting choked on her soup, her ears slowly turning red. It was unclear whether it was because of what Bai Yixia said or because she choked.
Bai Yixia felt she had won back a point and sat opposite him, smiling with her lips pursed.
Nie Jiayuan, puzzled, patted Qiu Ting on the back with concern and explained for him, "How could that be? He just thinks Zhou Qingchi is amazing and wants to study with him."
Perhaps a little embarrassed, she coughed lightly and said, "I was the one who brought it up first."
Bai Yixia's eyes lit up, and she said meaningfully, "Oh~~"
But then she thought about their library date, "Those who know you wouldn't understand your date today, and those who don't would think it was a study group."
Bai Yixia shrugged, “He’s like a learning machine, just burying his head in writing.”
Nie Jiayuan smiled helplessly, "My dear sister, isn't this stage all about studying?"
Bai Yixia agreed, but her eyes darted suspiciously between the two of them, as if to say, "You've finished your studies and are now dating?"
Nie Jiayuan raised an eyebrow and smiled, "A good relationship fosters mutual growth and progress."
Bai Yixia chuckled: "You talk as if you've had many relationships."
Nie Jiayuan loudly protested, "It's just one match!!"
"But I don't want the outcome to be that the parents in the office want to meet."
Bai Yixia nodded, recalling several couples who had been called to the office last semester, all of whom came out with long faces.
Thinking of Uncle Nie and Aunt Fang's stern faces, Bai Yixia shuddered and advised, "Then you should just focus on your study groups."
Nie Jiayuan burst into laughter without any restraint.
Finally, she looked at Bai Yixia with a gossipy expression, "Doesn't Xiaxia have anyone she likes?"
Bai Yixia was stunned. Just as she felt herself about to turn red, her phone lit up.
Bai Yixia looked down, her shyness faded, and her eyes crinkled as she thought: The person I like has messaged me.
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