Chapter 21 She knew nothing about him
Chapter 21
Wen Yining stood at the dormitory elevator for a while, thinking about how to tell the two of them about this.
She has very few friends, and she cherishes each one of them. Gu Lingling and Jiang Fengqing are her best friends. She doesn't want to hide it from them, but after thinking for a long time, she still can't come up with a solution. So Wen Yining simply gives up and decides to say whatever comes to mind.
Reaching the dormitory entrance, he rubbed his face, cleared his throat, and stared at the faded watercolor painting of "Tomson Riviera" hanging on the door, painted by Gu Lingling, before opening the door and going inside.
She had just gone inside and closed the door when Gu Lingling practically skipped over, exclaiming, "I'm going to be famous! I'm going to become a mini-internet celebrity!"
Wen Yining realized what she meant and laughed along, "With your makeup skills, you're bound to become famous!"
Gu Lingling immediately wilted, turned her head in frustration, sat back down, and continued fiddling with her phone.
"What's wrong?"
"She posted the handsome guy she filmed today on Douyin. People liked the video of him, not her makeup tutorial," Jiang Fengqing explained with a laugh as she drank her water.
Gu Lingling retorted indignantly, "It wasn't just me who took the picture, other people did too, but the number of likes they got was far less than mine, which means it was still me who got the likes."
It seems like a lot of people have taken pictures of him; they've all seen him before...
Wen Yining fell silent immediately, then quietly walked to the balcony to collect her clothes and prepare to take a shower.
Jiang Fengqing coaxed her, "Yes, yes, you took the better photos."
"Of course! Campus, streetlights, college students, and suddenly a handsome guy with an air of nobility who doesn't fit in, plus a Maybach under a streetlight! That's called extreme contrast! There are techniques to it, which is why I became popular!" Gu Lingling said proudly, admiring her work. "There are tons of people in the comments section claiming me as their husband, daddy, or brother."
"What the heck! Calling him 'little uncle' is one thing, but what kind of sister calls him 'the little brother-in-law who married a seriously ill young master to bring him good luck, and who took my place in the bridal chamber!'"
"..."
Wen Yining silently connected the phrase "the younger brother who took his brother's place in the bridal chamber" with Li Changjing's face, and felt a strange sensation.
"Hey Yi Ning, where did you go just now? You were gone for so long? Are you alright?" Jiang Fengqing put down his cup and suddenly remembered to ask her.
Wen Yining fell silent. She already didn't know what to say, and now it was even harder to speak. How could she say anything...?
Is this what they mean by saying I have a boyfriend?
"What's wrong?" Jiang Fengqing wasn't that interested in handsome men, and seeing her hesitation, he composed himself and came over.
"It's nothing." Wen Yining shook her head. "Let's talk about it another time when we have the chance."
Jiang Fengqing was much more mature than Gu Lingling and wouldn't keep asking questions. Although it was strange, she stopped asking after hearing this.
Wen Yining opened the bathroom door.
"Hey, this person looks like they're from our school! She said this handsome guy is the one who came with Chen Yu last time!" Gu Lingling exclaimed in shock, "Holy crap, no way!"
Wen Yining suddenly stopped in her tracks.
She knew she couldn't keep it a secret.
Gu Lingling was already holding up her phone when she came over: "Wenwen, take a look and see if this is true!"
Wen Yining glanced quickly at the photos Gu Lingling had taken, feeling guilty, and nodded haphazardly. "It seems so."
Without waiting for Gu Lingling's reaction outside, he quickly closed the door as if fleeing.
She put down her clothes, opened her phone, and searched using the tags related to her school. She found several videos from previous nights, but they didn't have many likes, were blurry, and only showed a vague image of him.
*
Her video was deleted by the platform, and she tried to repost it, but she couldn't get it to go through. The same thing happened on every platform she tried; all of them were being throttled.
Wen Yining had a vague guess in her mind.
I took out my phone and searched, and sure enough, the posts that were easy to find before were all gone.
Even the next day, Gu Lingling was still lamenting the loss of her data usage.
She dated someone who was eight years older than her and whose social status was vastly different.
Perhaps because she had been a good student for too long, Wen Yining felt a strange sense of guilt from the moment she agreed to his request.
Feeling guilty, Wen Yining sat at her desk until midnight, torturing herself by being so sleepy that she kept rubbing her eyes but refused to go to sleep.
It wasn't until Jiang Fengqing, who had finished playing on his phone and was about to go to the bathroom and go to sleep, yawned and asked her in confusion that Wen Yining felt a little better, turned off the light, and went to bed.
But I woke up inexplicably in the middle of the night, looking at the dark ceiling above me and listening to the faint sound of the air conditioner running in the quiet dormitory, my mind was perfectly clear.
She took out her phone and opened WeChat. In the message list, his profile picture had been buried under several group messages, but his clean and crisp profile picture still seemed to have a magnetic attraction that instantly drew her attention.
*
The next afternoon.
Li Changjing called her specifically to say that he had attended a memorial service and wouldn't be back until later, so he couldn't pick her up.
Wen Yining had already gotten into the car and hadn't felt disappointed at first, but after hearing him call specifically about this, she didn't know why, after hanging up the phone, she looked out the window for a while before noticing her unconsciously upturned lips reflected in the glass.
During the break between the first and second classes, Wen Yining opened the door to go to the bathroom. As she passed through the living room, she saw that Li Changjing had returned sometime earlier and was sitting on the sofa drinking water, while Aunt Liu was mopping the floor next to him.
He looked like he had just taken a shower; his hair was still slightly damp.
Lee Chang-kyung's hair was very black, and it became even blacker when wet, making his skin appear particularly white.
He seemed to hear a voice and looked up at her.
Feeling guilty, Wen Yining glanced at Aunt Liu, afraid that he might have forgotten the three rules they had agreed on yesterday and said or did anything in front of Aunt Liu. She quickly went into the bathroom.
After washing and drying his hands, he opened the door to find Li Changjing standing there.
Wen Yining was startled and looked at him in surprise. She subconsciously looked behind him, but Aunt Liu was not there.
Before she could react, Li Changjing came in and locked the door.
She took two steps back and looked at him with a puzzled expression, whispering, "What's wrong?"
He walked in, leaned against the sink, and looked at her with downcast eyes. "Look at my girlfriend."
Wen Yining's breath hitched, and she felt her face turn red. She stammered, unable to meet his gaze, "You, you should keep your voice down."
I really don't know how Li Changjing can say such things every day with that serious, indifferent tone, that very serious expression, and the air of someone sitting in the Great Hall of the People.
Li Changjing held out a hand to her, gesturing for her to come over. Wen Yining looked at the hand, turned and walked towards the door, lowering her voice: "I have to work now."
Suddenly, the sound of Aunt Liu mopping the floor could be heard outside again.
Wen Yining paused, suddenly remembering something. She looked at Li Changjing, then at the outside, and was a little dumbfounded. "How am I supposed to get out?"
He smiled, looking down at her, and then reached out his hand, gesturing for her to come closer.
Wen Yining looked at the hand in front of her. It was clean and beautiful, a pair of hands that had been pampered.
She blushed slightly, but still took two steps forward and gently took his hand; his hand was much warmer than hers.
As they walked, Li Changjing suddenly and gently tugged at her. Wen Yining stumbled forward a few steps and almost fell into his arms. When she got closer, she smelled a cool, clean scent on him, as if he had just taken a shower.
Even without standing straight, Li Changjing was much taller than her. He leaned down slightly and approached her ear, his warm breath brushing against her ear. Wen Yining's shoulders tensed, and all her attention was unconsciously focused on the side where he was approaching.
He whispered, "Ningning, beg me."
Upon hearing those two words, Wen Yining looked over his shoulder and stared wide-eyed at the wall in front of her.
After he finished speaking, he straightened up and casually threw the hand sanitizer from the cabinet onto the floor.
The sound of "snap!" seemed to echo in the quiet house.
Wen Yining was startled and subconsciously moved to the side, staring at him with wide eyes in disbelief, her heart pounding.
Li Changjing held her hand, looked down at her, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.
"Knock knock knock"
There was a knock on the door immediately.
Aunt Liu's voice rang out with concern, "Xiao Wen, what's wrong? Are you alright?"
She stared wide-eyed at Li Changjing, whose smile deepened as if he were watching a good show.
She was so angry that she wouldn't look at him. She cleared her throat and said, "I'm fine, Auntie. I just accidentally knocked something over."
Hearing Aunt Liu leave outside, she breathed a brief sigh of relief.
But... how is she going to get out?
She turned to look at Li Changjing and asked softly, "What should we do?"
Li Changjing looked down at her, his gaze, almost tangible, slowly and forcefully moving from her eyes to her lips, his eyes lowered as he stared at them.
The places he looked at seemed to heat up as if they were on fire. His gaze was so intense that Wen Yining's breathing became tight. She subconsciously took a step back to get away from him, but he grabbed her and pulled her back as soon as she took that step.
He stared into her eyes but didn't move, his meaning clear: he wanted her to take the initiative.
He looks a little scary...
Wen Yining forced herself to meet his gaze. After thinking for a moment, she started to play her little trick, cupping her hands in a respectful bow and saying in a low, sincere voice, "Please, please."
Li Changjing looked at her, his gentle smile unchanged, but his expression turned cold. Without warning, he suddenly threw something again, with another "bang!"
"!?"
Wen Yining opened her eyes wide and looked at the things and then at him.
How could he be like this!
There was another knock on the door: "Xiao Wen? Are you alright? What happened? Don't be shy about telling me."
She was frantic, stammering, "I, I'm fine, I just accidentally spilled the hand sanitizer."
"That's good." Aunt Liu left again.
Wen Yining was really anxious; if things continued like this, she would really be suspected.
She took a breath and moved closer to him.
Li Changjing maintained that posture, leisurely looking down at her.
He's a really awful person.
A sense of resentment welled up inside me.
Wen Yining took two steps back.
Li Changjing raised an eyebrow, watching her movements.
She turned her head and looked around, and suddenly her eyes lit up. The bathroom window was not high and it was not sealed.
Thinking of this, she immediately walked over there. She had only taken two steps when someone grabbed her arm. Her vision spun around and when Wen Yining came to her senses, she looked at Li Changjing, who was almost pressing down on her, and realized that she had switched places with him. She was being squeezed by him, and her back was against the sink.
He looked at her for a few seconds, seemingly a little surprised and helpless, and smiled, but also seemed a little angry. It was the first time she had ever seen him express such obvious and complex emotions.
"Teacher Wen, are you still planning to climb through the window?"
Wen Yining spoke with self-righteousness, her chin held high, thinking herself very clever, "Yes, I climbed out of the window and ran in from the backyard."
After listening to her finish speaking in a soft, calm voice with obvious pride, Li Changjing stared at her quiet and delicate face for several seconds without saying a word. He took a deep breath, raised his hand to pinch his brow, nodded, and straightened up.
"Teacher Wen, could you explain the terms 'you can't judge a book by its cover' and 'straightforward woman' to me?"
Wen Yining understood immediately.
"..."
She glanced up at Li Changjing, who was tilting his head and looking at her, seemingly quite angry with her.
Wen Yining lowered her eyes and remained silent for a moment.
Li Changjing looked at her for a while, took out his phone, put one hand behind her waist, turned on the tap, and the sound of water immediately filled the bathroom.
He looked down, took out his phone, and dialed a number. Two seconds later, the landline in the living room rang. Wen Yining looked at him nervously, thinking that the sound of running water would give them away, but he was very methodical and wouldn't be so careless, so she held back from speaking.
Li Changjing looked down at the screen without saying a word. After a few seconds, he immediately hung up the phone and then silenced it. After doing all this, he looked up at her.
She raised her chin and said softly, "Go check at the door."
She walked to the door with some doubt, cautiously opened it a crack and did as she was told. Through the crack, she saw a corner of the living room where Aunt Liu was looking at the landline phone before leaving, seemingly going upstairs.
Wen Yining got excited. Hearing the sound of footsteps on the stairs disappear, she forgot to look back at Li Changjing and immediately opened the door and ran out.
Li Changjing watched her retreating figure, tilted his head, and gave a helpless smile.
*
She returned to Liu Hengheng's study with lingering fear.
Li Changjing never disturbed her during class.
When she finished her class and took out her phone, she saw the first WeChat message he had sent her.
—: [You get in the car and wait for me, I'll get off in a bit.]
Wen Yining replied with an "okay".
After she finished tidying up and changed her shoes, she went out into the yard. She heard the roar of an engine approaching from afar, then it went silent at the door, followed by the sound of a car door closing. She walked to the door and bumped into someone.
Before I could even see her face, I could smell a strong perfume from afar.
"Hey! Curly Sister!"
Wen Yining: "..."
Fang Qi still had that carefree playboy look, wearing a stylish black casual shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his arms. Several buttons on the front of the shirt were undone, revealing his clear collarbone, almost revealing his entire chest. He also wore a silver necklace and sunglasses. Not far behind him, outside the courtyard, a yellow supercar was parked crookedly.
She nodded. "Hello."
Fang Qi took off his sunglasses and looked her up and down very seriously, but his demeanor made him look like a spoiled brat flirting with someone.
Sure enough, he looked up at her and smiled, "They say a beauty is most beautiful under the lamplight, but even in broad daylight, Juanjuan is still so beautiful."
Wen Yining paused for a second, nodded to him, and said politely, "Goodbye, I'm leaving."
"Wait, why are you leaving?" Fang Qi actually turned around and followed her out. "Don't go, Juan-meimei, we haven't even chatted for a few minutes yet."
When Wen Yining saw him following her, she immediately quickened her pace to the door. The afternoon sun shone on her. She kept walking and turned back to Fang Qi, saying in a serious tone, "Li Changjing said that if he sees you, he should stay away and not talk to you. He also said that if you do talk, he should say that he said it."
"Fang Qi." Li Changjing's voice came from the second floor, interrupting him.
Wen Yining stopped and turned her head; from this angle, she could only see what was inside the courtyard.
Fang Qi stopped teasing him, put on his sunglasses, looked up at the second floor, and said with a very unserious smile, "Congratulations, congratulations, you've been promoted again, Lord Li! Please take good care of me!"
Without needing to say much, one sentence was enough to reveal the familiarity between the two—the kind of familiarity where they knew Li Changjing's situation perfectly well, and the natural intimacy between them.
Wen Yining suddenly realized that she knew nothing about Li Changjing.
She had no idea whether he was happy or sad, what the reasons were, or what had happened in his life.
Because he didn't reveal anything to her.
And he didn't ask her anything at all.
Wen Yining watched Fang Qi walk in with practiced ease, then turned around and walked towards the car, her smile fading.
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