Chapter 17 It seems he doesn't really like her...
Chapter 17
On Friday, Wen Yining finally found some time and treated Jiang Fengqing and Gu Lingling to hot pot.
She had originally planned to treat everyone to this hot pot meal when she got the tutoring job, but it was delayed for various reasons.
The three of them were so full after eating that they didn't go straight back to their dorms after returning to school. Instead, they went for a walk on the playground to digest their food. The playground was very lively at that time, with people talking almost everywhere.
The three of them, smelling strongly of hot pot, strolled leisurely along the playground. Even at night, the temperature remained warm in the sweltering summer heat.
Looking at the bustling playground under the night sky, at the youthful and energetic faces of the classmates she knew and didn't know, she suddenly thought of Li Changjing without warning.
I wonder what he's doing now, whether he's at home or at a social gathering where he's drinking and socializing.
If he were at home, and he lived alone on the entire second floor, wouldn't he feel that such a large house was too empty?
Tomorrow is Saturday. I don't know when it started, but the thought of Saturday brings a touch of joyful anticipation to my heart.
After walking for less than five minutes, Gu Lingling couldn't take it anymore. She bent over, her arms hanging limply like noodles as she walked, like a drunken zombie, shouting, "I can't do it anymore, I really can't."
"Women must never say they can't do it!" Jiang Fengqing patted her on the shoulder.
"Ouch!" Gu Lingling almost fell to the ground, wailing, "I'm a man! I'm a man! I can't take it anymore, I can't take it anymore! I ate too much today, my stomach is going to explode!"
Wen Yining: "..."
Jiang Fengqing: "..."
The two men had no choice but to support her on either side, intending to find a place to sit down. Gu Lingling directed them to drag her towards the basketball court, because that area was only separated from the basketball court by a net, and behind the net were the boys playing basketball.
The tall streetlights in the basketball court illuminated the court brightly, making it the brightest spot in the otherwise dimly lit playground. Inside, the boys were playing enthusiastically, with the sounds of basketball hoops hitting each other, shoes scraping against the ground, and the boys' passionate shouts and cheers filling the air.
Wen Yining pulled her with difficulty, when she suddenly felt a faint pain in her lower abdomen.
There were quite a few classmates over there, so the three of them found an open space and walked over. As soon as they got there, Gu Lingling immediately lay down.
Jiang Fengqing, panting, said, "Gu Lingling, you really should lose weight!"
"Tomorrow, I'm definitely going to lose weight!"
Wen Yining also sat on the ground, panting, one hand instinctively pressing against her stomach. The three of them were too breathless to speak.
As soon as I sat down, I heard three girls sitting next to me chatting while watching the male students playing basketball on the other side of the court: "It's like the crops in the field are getting worse with each passing year. Why isn't there a single handsome guy in our year! Look at those sophomores and juniors! Those are the real handsome guys!"
"Especially Wang Jingxing! He's so handsome and cute! His girlfriend is also very pretty. I even follow them on Douyin (TikTok), they're always showing off their love."
"I still prefer Chen Bowen; he's the perfect earth sign."
Wen Yining's heart skipped a beat and then began to pound wildly. She reflexively turned her head to look. The speaker was a girl wearing glasses. She looked familiar, but she couldn't remember her name. She was clutching her chest with one hand, her expression exaggerated as if she were acting in a play.
Ever since Li Changjing visited that time, there were posts about him all over the school for a long time. However, since there were no photos and his handsomeness only existed in legends, the hype didn't last long. Unexpectedly, several months later, I can still hear about Li Changjing from my classmates.
The girl's friend, unable to bear it any longer, gave her a shove, saying, "Hey lady! You've been reciting like that for half a semester!"
"I don't believe you, unless you win him over and bring him back so we can see for ourselves!"
"Superficial. Appreciating a handsome guy doesn't mean you have to date him. Besides, I don't even know his name."
"Sigh, I really don't know what kind of girl a handsome guy like would like. He seems to know how to coax his girlfriend. Being with someone like him must be very stressful."
A gust of wind blew across her cheeks, and Wen Yining's face suddenly began to burn. That feeling of having a heart attack returned, and her throat began to tighten, making her want to cough.
She looked away, staring at the people on the distant playground, and pursed her lips, feeling her heart pounding like a drum.
That's strange, what does it have to do with her?
Why are you blushing?
It's not like I'm praising her.
"Hey, Wenwen." Gu Lingling suddenly called out to her softly, "Have you seen that 'Li Sheng'? What does he look like? Can you describe him to us in detail? Is he really that handsome?"
Her face felt even hotter. Wen Yining wanted to speak, but her throat was tight. Before she even opened her mouth, she already had a premonition of how unnatural her voice would sound if she did.
How can I explain this unnatural feeling to others?
For some reason, she suddenly felt very guilty, as if afraid of revealing some secret. She subconsciously clutched her stomach, lay down on the ground, buried her face in the cool ground, and mumbled in a nasal voice, "I can't take it anymore, my stomach hurts."
My stomach hurts, so my voice sounds unnatural. That way, no one will suspect anything.
Jiang Fengqing: "Oh, did you get diarrhea from eating hot pot? Should we go back?"
The girl was still saying something when her friend pinned her to the ground and beat her, making her laugh and wail as she begged for mercy.
Wen Yining shook her head and heard her own nasal voice say, "It's okay, I'll just lie down for a bit."
After they finally finished fooling around, a girl said, "Hey, by the way, how's your conversation going with that senior who's pursuing you?"
"Him? I was even thinking of blocking him."
"Why? Didn't you two chat until midnight the other night?"
"Yeah, and I think he's pretty handsome."
The girl said angrily, "You've only contacted me once every ten days or so. Are you kidding me or just using me for your amusement? Have you ever seen anyone pursue someone like this?"
Wen Yining opened her eyes, and the smile on her face faded.
"Maybe he's just too busy."
"Busy my ass! Is he busier than [someone else]? So busy he doesn't even have time to chat? I think it's because he doesn't like me that much. Maybe he's just playing with me. If you like someone, would you be willing to go more than ten days without contacting them? I certainly wouldn't. If you like someone, you'll definitely miss them."
Wen Yining slowly sat up, supporting herself on the ground. She felt the heat on her face turn into coldness, and her heart felt inexplicably heavy and suffocated.
At first, Li Changjing would only contact her once a month. Even now, apart from meeting in person, he hardly contacts her at all. They haven't even added each other on WeChat, and he has never mentioned adding her on WeChat.
Yeah, if you really like someone, would you not contact them for so long?
Things that I didn't care about before, I suddenly feel an urgent need to know the answer to today.
She glanced at Gu Lingling, who was lying next to her playing on her phone, and whispered, "Lingling, if someone says they like you and acts very gentle towards you, but then goes a long time without contacting you, does that mean they don't like you?"
Gu Lingling, the most emotionally savvy of the three, casually replied while scrolling through her phone, "Maybe not, maybe they're busy."
"Wait, why are you asking that?" Gu Lingling sat up abruptly. "Could someone have done this to you? Who? If someone is pursuing you, you must ask me, your strategist! Let me tell you, this kind of guy doesn't necessarily mean he doesn't like you, but he definitely doesn't like you that much. Guys like this are usually pretty shrewd."
My stomach, which had been aching slightly, seems to be hurting even more now.
Unconsciously, her fingers gripped the grass beside her. Wen Yining lowered her eyes, stared at the grass in front of her, and slowly shook her head. "No, I was just asking."
Actually, she had always felt that Li Changjing didn't really like her. She hadn't thought about the reasons for this before, but now she knew.
*
The dull pain in her stomach continued until the afternoon of the next day when Wen Yining packed her things to go to class.
Gu Lingling looked at her worriedly: "Aren't you about to get your period and have menstrual cramps?"
She's been so busy lately that she almost forgot about her period. When she did the math, she realized it was already ten days late.
Wen Yining shook her head, her voice weak and feeble: "I don't think so, I've never had pain before."
Gu Lingling: "That's not necessarily true. Didn't you fall into the water right after your period ended last time? Maybe you got chilled. Why don't you just take a day off?"
I don't know why, but when she heard this suggestion, she shook her head without thinking. "It's okay, it doesn't hurt that much, I can bear it."
Before even arriving, from a distance, Wen Yining could hardly wait to see the parking space.
The car that was parked there wasn't there this time.
She's been in a bad mood since yesterday, probably because of a stomachache, and she's been somewhat distracted in class.
But the pain only intensified. It felt like there was a cold, heavy stone in my lower abdomen, and my palms were sweating profusely. I became weak and listless when lecturing, and the air conditioning that I usually found cool and comfortable felt like torture.
After forcing herself to finish two classes, Wen Yining went to the restroom and found that she had indeed started her period, but only a little bit.
While washing her hands, she looked up at herself in the mirror. Her complexion and lips were an unhealthy pale, her face was a little swollen, and she had two big dark circles under her eyes.
As she left, knowing that Li Changjing hadn't returned, she inexplicably glanced at that parking space again.
He is still not here.
Wen Yining looked away.
Wen Yining walked very slowly, step by step. It hurt, she had never been in so much pain before. The pain made her whole body tremble, and every step she took intensified the pain. Every step required all her strength.
As she approached the main gate, Wen Yining could no longer hold on. Covered in cold sweat, she squatted on the ground, panting, clutching her stomach, and her vision began to blur.
The sound of a car approaching gradually drew near. Wen Yining's heart tightened, and with a mix of inexplicable tension and anticipation, she quickly looked up. A black car was driving towards her, but she couldn't make out the license plate in time.
The next second, the car started honking its horn at her frantically.
Because she squatted on the ground, blocking the other person's way.
She also saw the license plate clearly; it wasn't Li Changjing's.
The piercing horn sound was like an electric drill, each blast tugging at her nerves and drilling into her brain.
Wen Yining whispered an apology, stood up shakily, and, enduring the dizziness from standing, moved step by step with difficulty towards the roadside. When she finally squatted down by the flower bed, she was soaked in a mixture of hot and cold sweat.
The car drove past her, leaving behind scorching exhaust fumes.
Wen Yining rested for a long time before she had the strength to proceed to the next step.
She took out her phone, her fingers trembling as she tried to enter the password several times without success. Her palms were sweaty, as if she hadn't dried them after washing them, and the black screen was wet. Wen Yining wiped it on her clothes before finally unlocking it.
She intended to call 120, but when she realized what was happening, she found that she had actually opened her contacts and found Li Changjing's phone number.
After staring at the string of numbers for a while, Wen Yining returned, tapped the dial pad, and entered 120. As she pressed the call button, she hesitated for a moment, clinging to her remaining rationality.
Calling 120 must be expensive, right? And wouldn't that be making a mountain out of a molehill? Maybe we should just take a taxi to the hospital.
With that in mind, she opened WeChat and planned to call a ride-hailing service.
Suddenly, the sound of a car came from the intersection ahead again, followed by the sound of a car door opening and footsteps.
Wen Yining quickly looked up, then slowly lowered her head again.
They were a young couple who appeared to be husband and wife.
It wasn't the person she was thinking of.
She sniffed, looked at the gray ground, and suddenly felt a lump in her throat.
She hadn't seen him for a whole week.
Perhaps illness makes one vulnerable; she has never longed to see Li Changjing, to see his face, to hear his voice as much as she has ever longed.
The woman walked quickly towards her and asked with concern in Mandarin with a Haicheng accent, "What's wrong? Why are you so pale? Are you feeling unwell?"
Wen Yining tried her best to give her a polite smile, but when she spoke, her voice was so soft it was almost a whisper, "I, my stomach hurts..."
"stomachache?"
Wen Yining nodded with difficulty.
"Are you on your period? Why are you in so much pain? It's so pitiful. Come on, let's go to the hospital quickly." He said, trying to help her up.
Wen Yining was both worried about troubling others and very grateful. She nodded and tried her best to remain polite, saying in a whisper, "Thank you."
With each step she took after standing up, it felt like a tendon was pulling at her lower abdomen, causing her to bend over, her vision blurring from the pain.
"Poor little girl, her arms are so thin." The woman holding her wrist turned to her companion and said, "Drive the car a little further forward!"
Wen Yining shook her head, trying to stop him, but the car had already started moving.
"Ningning!"
Suddenly, a familiar voice rang in my ears, its tone deep and pleasant, as clear and cool as the sound of ice being struck and jade being shattered.
Li Changjing frowned, staring at her as he strode towards her.
She clearly felt nothing was wrong, and she even managed to act like an adult and thank her sister when she was being comforted by her.
But the moment she saw Li Changjing, a strong sense of grievance overwhelmed her, and Wen Yining burst into tears.
"Li Changjing".
Author's Note: I'll finish writing one more chapter this afternoon and need to revise it.
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