Book a ticket home
Actually, Bai Yixia wasn't embarrassed by seeing that string of "I love you." After all, Zhou Qingchi had set up the "tap" feature on WeChat during the summer vacation.
Zhou Qingchi's mother was very busy. Bai Yixia had this knowledge since she was a child; whether it was a short weekend or a major holiday, she rarely saw Aunt Jiang.
Zhou Qingchi was probably used to it by now, but that time the problem was really serious. He stayed at school to handle some matters before summer vacation and wouldn't be home for a week.
Ms. Jiang Yinghua had promised to rest at home for a month. But plans change, and she got busy and left again, leaving her brother Zhou Qingyan alone at home.
The weather in Haicheng was very changeable during that period, and Zhou Qingyan didn't pay much attention. One day it rained heavily without an umbrella, and he got soaked all the way home. He developed a high fever in the middle of the night, and if he hadn't managed to knock on Bai Yixia's door across the street, he probably would have gone crazy from the fever.
When Zhou Qingchi found out, he didn't show any outward reaction, but he was still angry with Jiang Yinghua and didn't send her a single message for several weeks.
Ms. Jiang had no other choice but to indirectly seek help from Bai Yixia.
How enthusiastic Teacher Xia was! She fiddled with Zhou Qingchi's phone for a few seconds and got it sorted out.
The mother and son were neither truly close nor distant; their cloying expressions were something they wouldn't normally say aloud, perhaps better conveyed through a screen. Sure enough, although Zhou Qingchi knew Bai Yixia was behind it, his relationship with his mother improved.
Recalling this incident, Bai Yixia tapped her forehead on the glass a few times in frustration, her heart pounding as she watched the "typing..." message that kept appearing at the top of her phone.
But after typing for six or seven minutes without receiving a single message, and with the train about to arrive at the station, Bai Yixia decided to take the initiative.
- *kiss*: Is this a long essay criticizing me? [Poor soybean.jpg]
- *kiss* Otherwise, why would it take so long to send a message...
- *kiss*: Don't scold me, Little Zhou! [crying.jpg]
- *kiss*: You probably don't have a school group chat using WeChat, right...?
After four consecutive inputs, the input on the other end finally stopped, but then a video popped up.
Bai Yixia hurriedly pulled out her earphones and put them on, then tidied her bangs in front of the phone before answering.
The environment on the other side of the screen was somewhat dark, and the owner of the phone was probably walking, causing the camera to shake slightly. Bai Yixia didn't speak. A few seconds later, a few strands of black hair appeared first, followed by a fair and strong hand that entered the frame, brushing aside the messy bangs, revealing a pair of smiling, almond-shaped eyes to Bai Yixia.
"Xia?" A clear, gentle voice came through the earphone to Bai Yixia's ear. She was stunned for a moment and responded vaguely.
A few seconds later, Zhou Qingchi's entire face was finally framed in the shot. Judging from the background behind him, he was probably walking towards the classroom. Bai Yixia snapped out of her daze and said, "Good morning, Brother Zhou."
Zhou Qingchi replied with a "Good morning," and then said, "I just saw your message. Going out to play?"
Seeing that his gaze wasn't on the camera, Bai Yixia guessed he was looking at messages and assumed that the six or seven minutes of typing was an accidental touch. Her heart finally settled down.
"Yes, I don't have classes on Fridays." She paused for a moment. "You have an 8 AM class?"
After reading the message, Zhou Qingchi looked at her again. "Yes. I don't have the same good luck as Teacher Xia, who has to get up at 8 a.m. four days a week."
Bai Yixia comforted him, "Hey, that's not true. You don't have any early classes on Mondays, so you're lucky to be able to sleep in after the holiday."
A few muffled laughs came through the earphones: "I had a 9 PM show that day."
"..." That's terrible.
Bai Yixia glanced at the street scene and realized she was about to get off the bus. She thought she'd take a few more glances at Zhou Qingchi before hanging up. But when she looked down, she noticed his camera was black; he was probably covering it with his hand, though a few slivers of light could be faintly seen.
The voice on the other end was a little muffled, but Zhou Qingchi's voice was very calm: "Is the school map stored on my phone?"
The person next to him, presumably his roommate, kept saying a string of apologies, "Sometimes the eyes are just a little less polite than the person themselves. I will definitely punish them severely."
"Should we punish it by making it watch a video lesson?" Zhou Qingchi asked.
"Good method."
"..." Zhou Qingchi moved the hand away from the camera and shook his head helplessly, "So early in the morning..."
Bai Yixia said with a smile, "Your roommate is quite interesting."
Zhou Qingchi gave a muffled hum and asked, "What were you complaining about with Nie Jiayuan this morning?"
"Yeah, it's just a little trouble. How did you know?"
"She's insulting you in the group chat." They have a three-person group chat, where they usually post useless things when they have nothing to do.
Zhou Qingchi saw that Bai Yixia's camera had gone black and said, "Are you getting off the bus? Let me read it to you. 'Bai Yixia, I'll kill you, and you'll give me back my beautiful morning sleep.'"
Nie Jiayuan's tone was far more excited than Zhou Qingchi's; Bai Yixia knew without even looking at her phone how many exclamation marks could be added to that sentence. But Zhou Qingchi's serious recitation of "I'll kill you" was really funny, and Bai Yixia almost tripped from laughing so hard.
"Xia?" Zhou Qingchi heard her cry out in pain and quickly said, "Be careful."
"It's okay, it's okay." Bai Yixia flipped through her phone. "I'm sorry, Jiajia, I misread her class schedule."
She glanced at Zhou Qingchi and waved to him, "You need to apologize to her. You go to class."
After Zhou Qingchi said goodbye, he directly opened the ticketing app and efficiently bought a train ticket for noon.
"Are you going home, Lao Zhou?" His roommate came over again and saw his payment screen.
This time, Zhou Qingchi didn't say anything to him, but nodded and said, "Go home and see if my brother has starved to death."
My roommate said, "You're so good to your brother. Every time I go back to my house, all I want to do is kick him a few more times."
--
It was just past nine when they arrived at the agreed location. The sun was out, but the temperature wasn't high. Bai Yixia sat under the flower-covered veranda and sent a message to Nie Jiayuan asking for forgiveness, but unfortunately, she didn't receive a reply.
Nie Jiayuan, who probably also misread the class schedule, has already gone back to sleep for the second time.
Bai Yixia had arranged to meet two fans at 9:30, and she still had some time. Feeling bored sitting there, she picked up her camera and started looking for a good spot.
Bai Yixia has visited this park countless times since she was a child. When the three families have holidays, they would come together. The adults would sit on the grass chatting about life and work, while the three children would run around the flower corridor.
These kinds of chasing and playing games are mostly started by Bai Yixia. Nie Jiayuan seems quiet, but she's actually quite energetic. Zhou Qingchi, on the other hand, was exceptionally mature since childhood and rarely participated in their activities. If you ever saw him playing around, it was always because Bai Yixia dragged him along.
In September, pink trumpet vines bloomed all over the flower stand. Sunlight fell on the petals, tinting the edges with gold and adding a touch of vibrancy.
Bai Yixia took several photos, and as she looked down and flipped through them, she suddenly thought: Let's come here again with Zhou Qingchi this year or next year.
Before she could finish her thought, someone patted her on the shoulder. Bai Yixia turned around and saw two girls smiling and greeting her.
The girl with the bun hairstyle was more outgoing. She generously handed over her phone, "I just saw someone taking pictures here from afar, and I thought it must be you, teacher. I snapped a quick photo, what do you think, teacher?"
The girl said it was a casual shot, but it actually has a clever composition. In the picture, Bai Yixia holds the camera to her chest, her head slightly lowered, a few short strands of hair falling to her eyes, partially obscuring them, revealing only a small section of her eyelashes, and the corners of her mouth are turned up. Behind her is a lush wall of flowers, and sunlight spills onto her, giving her a warm glow.
Bai Yixia's eyes lit up, and she exclaimed, "It's so beautiful! Please send me this photo!"
Bai Yixia was very familiar with the park and quickly took the photos with the two girls. She had been taking photos frequently since starting university and was quite skilled. By the time the sun was at its highest, the three girls were already sitting comfortably in the coffee shop choosing their pictures.
Bai Yixia, who dislikes the heat, was eating ice cream when her phone kept popping up with messages. Nie Jiayuan finally woke up after sleeping until noon.
-Add one more Yuan: It's so late today, have you eaten yet?
-Give me a kiss: [Image]
-Add one more Yuan: Wow, this one looks great. It seems this client was quite difficult to handle. The person who took such a beautiful photo of our teacher Xia must have a very discerning eye.
-Please have some porridge: It looks great.
-Add one more Yuan: Not bro? So you can see the phone? Was the message I sent you an hour ago transparent?
-Please have some porridge: We were eating at that time.
-Please have some porridge: Xia Xia isn't done yet?
Just as Bai Yixia was about to join their chat, the two of them had already chosen their photos.
The girl with the bun hairstyle clasped her hands together and rested them on her chin, looking at Bai Yixia. "Actually, I've wanted to make an appointment with the teacher for a long time, but it seems like the teacher didn't have any appointments at that time, so I guess I managed to snag one."
"Haha, this is just a hobby for me, I don't do it often." Bai Yixia wrote down the photos. "That's all for today. I'll send the finished photos to you two when I get back."
"Okay! Thank you, teacher."
It was past 2 PM when it was finally over. On her way back, Bai Yixia replied to their messages and received an old "ugly photo".
-Add a Yuan: Actually, the photo you sent today wasn't like this, so I was a little disappointed.
-Add another Yuan: [Image]
That photo was taken by a client when Bai Yixia first started taking photos. It was a windy day, and she was jumping off a large rock, her hair disheveled, her limbs flying, and her features were blurred in the photo.
Bai Yixia didn't care about any of that. After the client showed it to her, she immediately shared it in the group chat and even photoshopped a meme of "a tiger descending the mountain".
- *kiss*: I don't have any, but I have a lot of yours, want to share with you? [smirking.jpg]
-Add one more Yuan: No need, I'm in class, I can't talk to you. [Goodbye.jpg]
Bai Yixia chuckled to herself for a while, then picked up her phone and opened her chat with Zhou Qingchi, trying to think of something to start the conversation. But before she could come up with anything, her roommate's message arrived first.
Chen Wanyi: Xiaxia, when are you coming back? Please help me.
Chen Wanyi: [Pitiful.jpg]
Bai Yixia replied blankly, "What's wrong?" Chen Wanyi then hurriedly sent a voice message, which sounded like she was speaking in a low voice from outside.
"Help! Xiaxia, even with the dorm's air conditioner at 21 degrees Celsius, the atmosphere between those two is still so tense! I'm freezing to death!"
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