Shadow and Sunlight
A few days later, Xiaofeng and Xiaoqi were having lunch in the university cafeteria when Jiang Wenfeng approached her again and invited her to watch the basketball team practice. Xiaofeng felt too embarrassed to refuse, so she agreed. Turning around, she pulled Xiaoqi aside and whispered, "Come with me. I don't want to go alone."
"What's wrong?"
"I want to introduce you to Jiang Wenfeng. You might like him." Xiaofeng avoided her question and changed the subject.
"Do you want to introduce him to a girlfriend?" Xiao Qi raised his eyebrows.
"Yeah."
Xiao Qi leaned closer to her and lowered his voice, "Jiang Wenfeng is the star of the school basketball team. So many girls are eyeing him. But lately, they've been saying that Jiang Wenfeng's 'girlfriend' went to see him train."
Xiaofeng froze there like a robot that had suddenly lost power. She tried hard to understand Xiaoqi's words, but her brain seemed to be clogged with paste and could not move.
"If he has a girlfriend, then I'll just go and watch the training," she said hesitantly.
"Xiaofeng, if you really want to introduce him to a girlfriend, why don't you go buy a good mirror and look at yourself first." Xiaoqi's words carried a subtle reminder.
Xiao Feng was even more confused: "What do you mean?"
"The way he looked at you..." Xiao Qi's voice was almost inaudible. "Have you been there before?"
"I..." Xiaofeng was speechless.
"If you don't want to go, don't go. If you want to understand, go and experience it yourself today. But I advise you not to play with fire." Xiao Qi said, turned around and left with the plate.
Xiaofeng's mind was buzzing, and her feet felt like they were filled with lead, yet she kept moving uncontrollably towards the gym. Jiang Wenfeng was already waiting at the door. Seeing her approach, he raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Why are you so distracted again?"
"No, what do you mean by 'again'?"
"She's usually a bit silly, but...she's quite cute." Jiang Wenfeng's voice was very soft, like a feather brushing past his ear.
"Wenfeng, will I disturb your training?" Xiaofeng was still uneasy.
"Just do what you have to do."
"What's up?"
"Pass the towels and drinks."
"Oh, okay." Xiaofeng nodded. His obedient look made him look like a slightly confused assistant.
The gym was filled with the smell of rubber flooring, mingled with the sweat of young people. The sharp squeaking of sneakers echoed through the gym as they braked. The wind blew as the corners of their clothes flew as they shot. Drops of sweat fell from their hair, leaving small wet marks on the floor.
When Jiang Wenfeng finished training and walked off the court, Xiaofeng quickly handed him a towel. He took it, turned around and walked two steps toward the center of the court, wiping his sweat hastily. He turned back and raised his chin. "Catch it!" His voice was a little proud, and he tossed the towel back. Xiaofeng hurriedly caught it and handed him an energy drink. When he took it, his fingertips touched her hand, and he was stunned for a moment: "Your hands are so cold, are you feeling uncomfortable?"
Xiaofeng shook her head. Jiang Wenfeng lowered his head and said in a muffled voice, "Let's go, then." He gently touched her left hand with his with his left hand and walked away. That fleeting glance, mixed with the faint scent of sweat on his body, was like a fine needle, gently piercing Xiaofeng's heart.
She stood there for a moment, stunned. When she turned to catch up, Jiang Wenfeng was gone. She walked out of the gym alone, repeatedly unlocking and extinguishing her phone, the light from the screen reflecting her bewildered face.
"Rao Xiaofeng." A shout suddenly came from behind.
Xiaofeng turned around and saw Yao Anni. "What were you doing just now?" Yao Anni's tone was hostile.
Xiao Feng wanted to dodge sideways: "I'm going to take the car home."
Yao Anni and a few other girls gathered around her, blocking her way: "What's your relationship with Jiang Wenfeng?"
"Get out of the way." Xiaofeng raised his voice a little, but couldn't hide the panic in his words.
"If you don't make it clear today, don't even think about leaving!"
"It must be made clear!"
…
Yao Anni raised her hand to interrupt her companion's chatter, staring at Xiaofeng with a snarky tone: "Rao Xiaofeng, are you a vixen? You lived with Zhou Yang in high school, then hooked up with an older man, and now you're seducing Jiang Wenfeng from the basketball team."
Those words struck Xiaofeng like an electric current, her eardrums buzzing. She opened her mouth, but her throat felt like it was stuck with a red-hot stone, preventing her from making a sound. Her vision gradually blurred, and the figures before her became nothing more than swaying blocks of color.
"If you don't say anything, that means you agree?" Yao Anni reached out and pushed Xiao Feng, "You bitch!"
Xiaofeng's knees buckled, and she instinctively reached for something to hold onto, only to be met by a strong arm from behind. A tall, thin figure loomed over her. It was Jiang Wenfeng.
The surrounding girls took two steps back and timidly called out, "Jiang Wenfeng..."
"What are you doing?" There was no warmth in Jiang Wenfeng's voice and no expression on his face, but the noisy crowd quieted down instantly.
Seeing that no one spoke, he took Xiaofeng's right hand and was about to walk out.
A sharp female voice suddenly exploded from the crowd: "What is your relationship with her?"
Jiang Wenfeng stopped, turned around, and said clearly: "She is my girlfriend."
Xiaofeng felt a chill creeping up his spine, but he couldn't suppress the panic exploding in his chest, and his fingertips were shaking.
"She's not a decent girl!" someone shouted unwillingly.
"It has nothing to do with you." Jiang Wenfeng's tone remained calm, yet with an undeniable firmness.
"She's lived with someone before and was even kept by someone... You don't know her past!"
"It has nothing to do with me." Jiang Wenfeng said, no longer paying attention to the discussions behind him, pulling Xiaofeng into a taxi and sending her home.
As soon as the car stopped, Xiaofeng staggered down and Jiang Wenfeng reached out to support her.
Xiaofeng hurriedly pulled her hand back: "I'm fine."
"Then I'll be leaving first."
"Um."
Xiaofeng crouched in the hallway as soon as she entered, her back against the cold shoe cabinet. What kind of dream had she had today? How could she wake up from it? She wandered upstairs, showered, and changed her clothes. Suddenly, her phone rang urgently—it was Xiaoqi.
"Today Jiang Wenfeng..." Xiao Qi's words were interrupted by Xiaofeng's crying. Xiaofeng spoke incoherently about what had just happened, tears falling like beads from a broken string.
The sound of Wenqing entering the room suddenly interrupted the call. Before hanging up, Xiaoqi said tremblingly, "Calm down, don't be afraid."
Xiaofeng leaned against the dining table, tears rolling down her cheeks like rain-soaked pear blossoms. Seeing her like this, Wenqing couldn't care less and rushed over: "What's wrong?"
He had prepared countless words of comfort in his heart, but when he heard Xiaofeng choke up and say, "I went to watch the basketball team practice this afternoon," all the words got stuck in his throat. Without thinking, he blurted out, "Didn't I tell you not to go to the basketball team?"
Xiaofeng was stunned. Wenqing had never been so harsh to her before. Little did she know that this incident had struck a nerve in this man.
He was holding back his anger, she was holding back her grievances, and they just stood there, neither of them saying anything. The incident just ended like that.
The days are like a cup of warm water, neither cold nor hot, reflecting the silent reflections of the two people in the morning light every day.
When she had classes in the afternoon, Xiaofeng would stay in school to study, the sound of her pen scratching across the pages was very light; when she didn't have classes, she would go to the team for training, every movement being meticulous, as if only in this way could she sort out the confusion in her heart.
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